As an unexpected bonus, I discovered that the remote will operate the basic functions of my Sony TV and Pioneer Receiver/Amplifier…….That means I no longer have to sit there with 3 remotes controls when watching a movie.

I use a Mac Mini in my home entertainment setup, I don’t have a wired network connection nearby, but my Mini has N-wireless built in and I was able to share this wireless connection via the wired LAN port on my Mini to the Samsung wired LAN port, it worked flawlessly! When I tried the same setup with the Panasonic DMP-BD65, the player would not pull an IP address automatically. As I said, the Samsung blu-ray had no problem pulling an IP address automatically, I also tested it with a netbook and another laptop, both got the IP address without a problem. I then manually set the IP address on the DMP-BD65 and I finally got a network connection. I downloaded the firmware update (1.14), installed it, rebooted, thought maybe that would fix the DHCP IP address issue, no luck! With the manually configured IP address, I tested out Netflix streaming, the Panasonic was quicker to determine network speed and to start the stream than my Samsung BD-P1590, but the network connection was often detected as “too slow” or slow enough to severely degrade the Netflix video quality, then other times it would show great network speed, movie would start in HD mode, then a few minutes in a message would pop up telling me my network speed had slowed and the movie would restart in much lower quality. I never had any issues like this with my Samsung, network speed is always detected at highest level and HD available movies always play in HD mode. I know some of you may think that I may have manually set up the network incorrectly, but I have worked in IT support for over 11 years, I understand how to configure network settings. My network connection at home is very good, when using sites like [...] and others, I consistently get over 30mbps download speeds, so it is not a network speed issue.

Back to the main reason I bought this player, DVD upscaling, when I tested it on the DMP-BD65 it wasn’t any better than my Samsung BD-P1590! Maybe I have become accustomed to watching blu-ray disks and just had fond memories of how DVD’s looked on my old Panasonic player, or maybe the older Panasonic actually did a better job of up-scaling DVD’s? I returned the Panasonic DMP-BD65 and now have a rekindled affection for my Samsung BD-P1590.

I have been extremely happy with the player so far. The picture quality, as displayed on my big Sharp LCD TV, is top-notch — I’m pretty positive even better than my PS3′s Blu-ray movie output, which is already among the best to begin with. (In case you’re curious, Consumer Reports’ top-ranked players are from Pioneer, which cost more and are harder to find in retail stores.) Boot-up time is fast and the streaming video feature, called Viera Cast ™, works great, allowing seamless watching of videos from Netflix, Amazon VOD and YouTube, among others. You should know that the BD65/BD655 has built-in support for Ethernet cable; if you want wi-fi, a wi-fi adapter is required. Some other reviews have great recommendations, or you can spend more and get the official Panasonic wi-fi adapter. Audio output is on par with other leading Blu-ray players and is best realized when you have a 7.1 system.

In short, I find the BD65/BD655 to be an excellent Blu-ray player and probably the best value at this price range. My other Panasonic DVD players have lasted for ages, so I’m confident this will last a long time, too. The Netflix and Amazon streaming feature makes this simply the best Blu-ray player for under $200.

As an unexpected bonus, I discovered that the remote will operate the basic functions of my Sony TV and Pioneer Receiver/Amplifier…….That means I no longer have to sit there with 3 remotes controls when watching a movie.