Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The DMP-B100 is a solid portable Blu-ray player with very good picture quality when playing back Blu-ray Discs and DVDs, however it is missing something so basic that it's almost hard to believe: a video output. Every portable DVD and Blu-ray player we have used or tested in the past - even the super-cheap ones - has included a video output: this allows you to hook your player up to a TV or projector and enjoy movies on a larger screen. Not really essential when you're in a plane, train or automobile, but certainly a nice feature when you reach your destination (e.g., hotel, home or vacation home). When people pay this much for a portable disc player, I think they expect more versatility out of it than use just as a standalone portable player.
The player is also lacking Panasonic's "VIERA Cast" feature for online networking and content streaming (YouTube, Pandora, Netflix, etc.). Again, not that essential in a portable player, but if anyone is considering this as their primary player, then the networking features would have been nice. Panasonic's first generation portable player did include VIERA Cast and an HDMI output, as does their step-up model, the DMP-B500. The B500 even includes built-in WiFi so you can enjoy Netflix streaming, Pandora, YouTube or Amazon Video-on-demand from anywhere you can get a WiFi connection.
The LCD screen itself is not a full resolution 1080p screen (or even 720p), but at this small screen size (just shy of 9 inches diagonal), that resolution would be overkill. For DVD and Blu-ray playback, the picture is bright, colorful and detailed - better than any portable DVD player we've used. Audio quality of the built-in speakers is fair, but to hear every last detail, you'll probably want to use the headphone jack hooked up to a set of powered speakers or headphones.
In terms of loading times, the player is pretty perky. A little slow to load DVDs (28 seconds), but a standard Blu-ray Disc loads in just about 16 seconds and a BD-JAVA Disc (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl) loads in about 20 seconds. This is actually faster than most home Blu-ray players. Battery life is pretty good too. With an overnight charge, the battery lasted about 183 minutes which is long enough to watch most movies (even most Kevin Costner movies). You'll get a warning about 8-9 minutes before shut down that the battery is running low.
Judged solely on its own merits: audio and video quality, speed of operation, reliability and portability, the DMP-B100 is a fun unit and a solid performer. If you've started building up a collection of Blu-ray Discs, this player will allow you to play them, as well as CDs and DVDs, virtually anywhere. But omitting a video output from the player is a pretty major flaw for those who want to experience the benefits of Blu-ray on a larger screen. We'd recommend spending more to get the B500 instead.
Our detailed review is available at Big Picture Big Sound (dot com).
Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic DMP-B100 8.9-Inch Screen Portable Blu-ray Disc Player
Enjoy your High-Definition video library on the go with the Panasonic DMP-B100 portable Blu-ray Disc player, which features an 8.9-inch screen and Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot that can play back JPEG photo slideshows as well as High-Def AVCHD video. With its mono-arm design, the display angle of the B100 can be freely adjusted for optimal viewing. And with the included car DC adaptor, running out of power supply is not a problem during a car trip.
Despite its small, easily portable design, the DMP-B100 offers much of the same state-of-the-art technology found in Panasonic's stand alone Blu-ray Disc players, including the PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus technology--a proprietary image-processing technology that precisely processes each pixel of the Blu-ray Disc video signal in the vertical direction. It reproduces color data with twice the accuracy of conventional systems, resulting in faithful and sharp colors.
Key Features
8.9-inch LCD screen lets you view movies with much higher image quality than standard definition portable DVD players.
SD memory card slot enables you to play your photos and movies taken with digital cameras and camcorders by just sliding in an SD memory card into the SD slot. You can enjoy the content easily during your trip with elimination of cables to connect to digital cameras and camcorders.
Built-in speaker (2-channel)
Up to 3.5 hour battery life
What's in the Box Portable BD player, remote control, AC adapter, rechargeable battery, DC (car power) adapter, operating instructions
Specifications
