Manage updates with the Download AppPanasonic DMP-BDT220
Manufacturer: Panasonic Part number: DMP-BDT220
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Panasonic DMP-BDT220 is the best Blu-ray value of 2012, with built-in Wi-Fi, tons of streaming-media apps, 3D compatibility, and a simple user interface.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Great technology, Great advice, Great Price! |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 05/21/2013 |
 | | In stock | as of 05/21/2013 |
CNET editors' review
Panasonic DMP-BDT220 price range: $126.99 - $157.95
- Reviewed by: Matthew Moskovciak
- Edited by: David Katzmaier
- Reviewed on: 04/13/2012
- Released on: 03/15/2012
The good: The Panasonic DMP-BDT220 has built-in Wi-Fi, 3D compatibility, and the Viera Connect suite of streaming-media services, which includes Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, Pandora, and Vudu. The user interface for the streaming-media apps is straightforward, plus you can jump right to Netflix with the dedicated Netflix button on the remote. There are a few other minor perks, including Skype compatibility, a front-panel SD card slot, and a superfast quick-start mode.
The bad: Viera Connect doesn't support any subscription music services (like MOG, Rdio, or Spotify) nor does it have Flixster for UltraViolet support. The DMP-BDT220 also doesn't play back DivX or Xvid files.
The bottom line: The Panasonic DMP-BDT220 is the best Blu-ray value of 2012, with built-in Wi-Fi, tons of streaming-media apps, 3D compatibility, and a simple user interface.
User reviews
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Firmware needs major improvements!
by testdrivela on July 19, 2012
Pros: ID looks great!
Cons: Streaming services all have issues and lack flexibility in control interface
Summary: I bought this player because of cnet's review, and now i wish i hadn't.
1. Netflix load time is terrible (actually 57 seconds) compared to:
Sony S570: 45s...Summary: I bought this player because of cnet's review, and now i wish i hadn't.
1. Netflix load time is terrible (actually 57 seconds) compared to:
Sony S570: 45s
Sony S580: 46s
WD TV Live Hub: 38s
(I have all 4 units and use FiOS, so connection speed is not an issue)
2. YouTube videos CANNOT be fast forwarded or reversed and on top of that, play, stop buttons won't work, have to use arrow keys instead (come on, Panasonic, what are you thinking!!!!?)
3. NO subtitle button on the remote (had to navigate thru menus every time)
4. Skype cannot be used without a camera.
5. Quite the contrary to what the reviewer emphasized, the menu is very hard to use and navigate (exit button takes you to the homescreen no matter what, then what is the point of Home button?) I actually prefer Sony's interface, much better.
These are just deal breakers for me.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Blue-ray player, but horrible internet problems.
by ts47 on July 17, 2012
Pros: Great Blue-ray and DVD player. I've watched several movies in both formats. Discs load quickly, picture quality is great!
Cons: The wireless connection on this player is broken. It drops the internet all the time.
Summary: Before I describe my Netflix problems, you should know that I have a current technology wireless network in my house with all the latest firmware installed in my router. My ...
Summary: Before I describe my Netflix problems, you should know that I have a current technology wireless network in my house with all the latest firmware installed in my router. My router is a Linksys E3000 dual band wireles N router. I also have a ROKU box that streams Netflix wirelessly and quickly with absolutely no problems. My Panasonic Blue-ray player says it has a full strength connection to my router. In the little over a month I have owned this machine, I have installed two Panasonic firmware updates.
Here are the problems with Netflix. (Yes, this is a Panasonic issue not a Netflix issue) Netflix takes a long time to load, perhaps 30 seconds or more. You can litterally get up, get a drink from the kitchen and come back before you ever get to Netflix. It will work fine for a week, then all of a sudden, I'll start getting a "This program can't be played right now" error right in the middle of the movie. My only recourse is to turn the player off and back on again - or go upstairs and watch it on ROKU where everything works! Most recently Netflix has refused to load at all. I've now had to reset the player and redo all the initial settings. Very frustrating!! It seems like bad reviews like mine exist throughout the internet. If you don't believe me, you should try going to the Panasonic site and read reviews there. They echo all the problems I'm having.
I had hoped the reset I did would solve my problems. If it does, I'll update my review. Until then, assume that this is one player NOT to buy if you plan to watch Netflix or use any of the internet features. There is no excuse for a piece of electronics to be this buggy! I say PASS on this one and BUY SOMETHING ELSE!!1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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The blu-ray player seems fine, but wireless is broken
by blizzjunkie on July 12, 2012
Pros: I've only watched a single blu-ray movie on it (Scott Pilgrim vs the Wolrd), it seemed to function adequately.
Cons: This model is plagued with problems with its wireless connection. There are numerous complaints about it losing the wireless signal, and unable to gain it again until the unit is restarted.
Summary: I purchased this model because I needed both a blu-ray player and a streaming device, like a Roku. This seemed like my best option. I ordered it from Sears, online, ...
Summary: I purchased this model because I needed both a blu-ray player and a streaming device, like a Roku. This seemed like my best option. I ordered it from Sears, online, and immediately tried watching netflix on it.
In the middle of the streaming video, it would suddenly attempt to load, and then complain that it couldn't load the video. I'd go to the connection settings, saw it was no longer connected, and attempted to reconnect. It'd report that it detected no wireless connection. I'd have to turn off the unit and restart it. Upon restarting, it would instantly connect to the network that it had previously been connected to. This constantly happened, I wasn't able to watch anything with it.
I'm on my laptop this entire time, chatting and web-browsing, so my connection was fine. I get 20-30 MB/s, and my router is in the same room as my player, maybe 20 feet away.
I returned it to Panasonic for service. They sent me back a new or factory refurbished model. I tried it again and encountered the same problem. Although, this time, after a couple of restarts, it would make it through an entire movie on Netflix.
I called Panasonic customer service, they tried to blame it on my internet connection, but eventually had be reset using some button pattern on the remote.
I'm not sure if this will fix the problem, but I suspect it won't. There are numerous complaints about this model, online, here's an example:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1395341/official-panasonic-dmp-bdt-220-320-500-owners-thread/1140
I suspect many of the people that haven't had a problem with it don't use streaming extensively, and I doubt the CNET reviewers played a whole movie streaming wireless. Stay away from this player.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Noisy as...Heck!
by D-Hicks on May 3, 2012
Pros: Good Picture & Audio, nice navigation
Cons: Did I mention it was Loud?
Summary: I only had this player for 30 minutes hoping that the noisy disc drive would go away, but it didn't, no matter what I played, Blu Ray, DVD, CD, ...
Summary: I only had this player for 30 minutes hoping that the noisy disc drive would go away, but it didn't, no matter what I played, Blu Ray, DVD, CD, whatever! It was very annoying. It might have been just THAT player, but I tried a disc on the floor model...same thing. But hey, you can always take it back.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A total disappointment
by HTInstaller on September 9, 2012
Pros: None, none, none, none
Cons: Under powered processor, clunky inconsistent menus, poor button and USB placement
Summary: Bought this based on the Panasonic AV reputation. What a disappointment.
1. The Tray and Power buttons are poorly placed, inducing numerous unintentional presses.
2. The menu, apps, and graphics ...Summary: Bought this based on the Panasonic AV reputation. What a disappointment.
1. The Tray and Power buttons are poorly placed, inducing numerous unintentional presses.
2. The menu, apps, and graphics overwhelm the processor, pausing, freezing, etc. You'd think they would design graphics the unit could handle.
3. The style of navigation changes. It's like each section was designed by a different person. The main menu follows the D-pad directly, others use different versions of the standard navigate>enter system. Stupid.
4. USB port is in front, and under the cover, so leaving one plugged in for BD Live means the cover stays open. Also stupid. (the Samsung this replaced offered USB on the front, AND back, so I could leave one in place, and still plug in media)
5. Like the other apps, Netflix is clunky, and shifts quality, usually staying low. I using a wired conenction and it still can't play HD consistantly. (My TV plays VUDU and Netflix just fine in HD, even over WiFi)
6. From reading the reviews at Panasonic, there is clearly an issue with the WiFi on this unit, beyond just slow speed.
HUGE disappointment
This cannot even be close to the best BD Player of 2012. CNEt must be taking payoffs to rate this so high1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Such high hopes... such utter disappointment.
by skaramanga2 on September 1, 2012
Pros: The blu-ray player itself rocks! It starts up fast plays very well and has a great picture.
Cons: Internet apps stop working often--requiring a power cycle to clear up the issue or a special key code to reset the device to original factory settings.
Summary: I do not recommend this DVD player at all!!
I understand that this DVD player was an Editor's pick, but after owning it for three months, I STRONGLY disagree....Summary: I do not recommend this DVD player at all!!
I understand that this DVD player was an Editor's pick, but after owning it for three months, I STRONGLY disagree.
The unit started out performing well for the first couple of days. Then the crashes started happening while watching Netflix. Then the issue moved over to HULU. The apps would freeze and the unit would become unresponsive requiring one to remove the power source to restart. The crashes happened about 3-6 times a week while watching about one to two hours of streaming video a day. It was inconvenient, but with a busy schedule, I could just unplug the unit and go to work. It would work OK for a while after I got home.
After a month of this, the unit actually stopped working while watching Netflix (not a Netflix issue--Netflix worked like a champ on my laptop and Roku). I had the unit over 30 days and it was non-returnable. I contacted Panasonic and they commiserated with me and provided a factory reset sequence. The sequence cleared up with immediate issue, but the crashes continued
The crashes typically occurred after 5 and 20 minutes of use. Over the next two months the crash frequency stayed the same, but I had to use the factory reset code one to two times a week. While it works, it takes several minutes to complete the process and you have to reconfigure EVERY internet app that you have (Netflix, Hulu, etc...)
After having to reset the unit 5 times while trying to watch Captain America last week, I called Panasonic again. This time, they did some research and said that the issue is a known problem requiring a new firmware build. Engineers have been working on the problem for a couple of months, but there is no estimated release date. The wouldn't provide a replacement or offer to repair the unit in any other way.
The unit was utterly worthless.
I did have some good luck returning the unit to Amazon. Based on the miserable case history I submitted (with case notes from Panasonic support), Amazon allowed me to return the unit and has refunded my money. This was well outside the normal return policy--THANK AMAZON!!
I have to find another Blu-ray player now.--rest assured, it will NOT be a Panasonic.1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Software is half-baked
by khisel on June 23, 2012
Pros: Nice PQ
Sleek design
Decent remoteCons: Wireless glitches lock up whole machine
Netflix stopped working after 3 weeksSummary: Worked great for about a week. After a firmware update the wireless would go out and lock up the whole machine requiring a power-down-up to fix. Then it would die ...
Summary: Worked great for about a week. After a firmware update the wireless would go out and lock up the whole machine requiring a power-down-up to fix. Then it would die again. Switched to wired connection and it worked for another 2 weeks and then it refused to log into Netflix. Not a fan of this player and I feel like I wasted my money. Hopefully future firmware upgrades will fix the problems. Until then, I bought a Roku.
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Highly over-rated. Returning tomorrow.
by miraclejohn on April 30, 2012
Pros: The blu-ray plays fine.
Cons: Picture quality of streaming content ranges from underwhelming to terrible. All of it: Vudu, Amazon, Netflix. I have very fast, strong wifi signal, so this level of performance is mystifying. Roku is light years better than this unit.
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Loved it for two weeks
by fnix2000 on April 20, 2012
Pros: Super easy setup
Cons: It worked grest for two weeks then all of my blu-ray discs started to freeze. Returned it to Best Buy.
Summary: Wish it had worked because it super user friendly.
Summary: Wish it had worked because it super user friendly.
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Due to problems with Netflix I had to give a low score.
by cole6824 on April 17, 2013
Pros: Plays BlueRay well
Cons: Ongoing problems with netflix.
Summary: Good player except for netflix.
Summary: Good player except for netflix.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Panasonic
- Part number: DMP-BDT220
- Bottom Line: The Panasonic DMP-BDT220 is the best Blu-ray value of 2012, with built-in Wi-Fi, tons of streaming-media apps, 3D compatibility, and a simple user interface.
General
- Component type 3D Blu-ray player
- Form factor Tabletop
Network & Internet Multimedia
- Connectivity Built-in Wi-Fi
- Internet Streaming Services Viera Connect ,
Netflix ,
Amazon Instant ,
Hulu Plus ,
MLB.TV ,
Flixster ,
NHL ,
NBA ,
MLS4 ,
YouTube ,
Skype
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Panasonic products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Panasonic
- Address:
One Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094 - Phone: 800/662-3537
