Panasonic discontinues DMP-BD35 Blu-ray player

(Credit: Panasonic)

Over the past several weeks, we've noticed that our favorite standalone Blu-ray player to date, the Panasonic DMP-BD35, seems almost impossible to find. The player is either out of stock at nearly every retailer, or priced at excessive premiums ($700 at Amazon Marketplace--more than double its $299 MSRP).

Indeed, a Panasonic rep we contacted confirmed that the DMP-BD35 has been discontinued. (The same is presumably true for its big brother, the DMP-BD55.) The good news is that it will soon be replaced by the Panasonic DMP-BD60, which offers a nearly identical spec sheet plus the addition of Viera Cast (support for online media services such as YouTube and Amazon Video On Demand). The bad news? The BD60 isn't due until April. That means prospective Panasonic fans either have to wait, or scour eBay for deals on the hard-to-find BD35.

If neither of those are appealing to you, there are plenty of recommendable alternatives from Sony, Samsung, and LG.

[sdf0013]

Two things they need to address on the next rev.

1) There are times when the player won't resume play after turning the power off. It happens. You have to stop a movie mid-way. Sometimes the player won't resume where it left off. This happens on both blu-ray and dvd. I don't think I've had any blu-ray start where it left off. Most dvds will.

2) The remote doesn't have button to distinguish between menu and root menu for dvds. Most of the time this isn't important, but I've found some titles in my library won't let me skip a section with just the menu button. The root menu button usually let's me skip the previews, etc.

Naturally, speeding up response times (load, eject, etc) would always be welcomed. Oh, and add in some internal memory. The manual never said you had to have an SD card to get BD Live to work.

[supayne]

This player has been stocked at Costco. They even offered a $50 instant rebate with coupon in January; the sale price was $230. Internet prices are not always the cheapest!!

[cpaus]

I just got my BD55....Yikes!! Will they continue to support it and for how long (i.e. firmware updates, etc.)

[Ni_Hao]

I love this player. I want a second one for the other room, but not at a premium over suggested retail price. That's nuts on electronics.