Every new phase of technology has its first few tentative steps. Not only is Blu-ray in its earliest stage, but that stage seems to be subdivided into a few mini-stages. As we talked about in The State of Blu-ray, most Blu-ray players today are Profile 1.0, which means they play Blu-ray movies (usually).

The two above are currently available with Profile 1.1, with several more, such as Samsung's BD-UP5000 and Denon's DVD 3800BDCI, on the way. This profile is characterized by dual-decoder picture-in-picture—and at the moment nothing else.

The final profile is often referred to as 2.0, though the requirement is simply BD Live, that is, an Ethernet port that allows internet connectivity for downloading bonus content. There are currently no players that fit this description on the market.

This week, we decided to take a pre-CES look at Blu-ray 1.1. The movies are cool enough—who doesn't like a sci-fi thriller by the guy who made 28 Days Later? And can you even be on Gizmodo if you don't think Milla Jovovich is some kind of supreme being? But the movies' status as the next phase in Blu-ray evolution seems to be an embarrassment for the studios. Rather than champion the 1.1 players and the discs' new capabilities, they celebrate them in the finest of print sizes: For first attempts, the "enhanced viewing" is not bad: In the 1980s, picture-in-picture was a lame concept created to convince wives that the football games could go on in the corner while the soap opera took up 85% of the screen, but that never actually happened. Now picture-in-picture has been reborn as something far more useful, where you can watch a movie while seeing the shots the director saw before special effects came into play, or the sketches that became the sets, or the faces of the commenters as they goof on their faulty stunts.

The Sunshine disc handles PIP with a shiny golden console screen that pops up to contain the standard-def bonus commentary. There aren't many segments, but what is shown, such as walkthroughs of the sets and shooting in zero-gravity, is cool to see juxtaposed with the final film.

Sweet Resident Evil home screen:
Resident Evil shows PIP videos sans fancy frames, but tips the viewer off in a different way. If the shot is on the bottom right, it's actor or director commentary; if the shot appears on the top right, it's a storyboard sketch; and if it's on the bottom left, it's a behind the scenes making-of view.
I will admit, I am not so in love with either title as to spend several more hours combing through each, but functionally it's great, and there are probably many Boyle-heads or fans of "the other" Paul Anderson who would gladly set aside a Saturday for this. I can see how a simulcast of Star Wars with Lucas' ugly mug would make a ton of sense, and all of those bonus Lord of the Rings DVDs might get watched if the making-of footage was embedded into the original high-def films.

The players themselves behaved well. I have recently been on record angry that too many CE products act like PCs, but in both cases the players performed admirably. The PS3's update was easy, and it took the BD Profile 1.1 discs without a hitch. The Panasonic shipped with all the right firmware, and never once rejected a disc. We ran some tests using the HD HQV Benchmark from Silicon Optix as well as the FPD Benchmark Software, and both came out in good shape, though when it came to processing motion, we agreed that the PS3 edged out the Panasonic by a nose.

Everybody knows that precision video testing requires footage of hot Asian women swinging on things: Of course, the Panasonic beat the PS3 in the role of traditional disc player. Sometimes when you hit a button on the PS3 remote, you jump back to the main menu and have to boot up the Blu-ray disc all over again; not so with the Panny. Speaking of remotes, the Panasonic's had a very handy pair of buttons to turn PIP on and off, and to toggle the audio between the two.In the end, we were glad that Blu-ray could now do what we've already seen in Warner HD DVDs such as 300 and the latest Harry Potter. PIP may yet be a wondrous tool. But we're a little puzzled by two things:

1) It's hard to believe that $1,000+ players from Pioneer and Sony Electronics can't do what these were able to do so easily.

2) If this is all possible, why does it take so long to just complete the damn profile and make all players capable of both picture-in-picture interactivity and online connectivity?

If I had to lay money down on one Blu-ray-only player at this minute, I'd have to choose the PS3. The jury is still out on the dual-format players we want to love best, but the early rumblings suggest they may need some work. And any standalone Blu-ray player without an Ethernet jack may be in danger of obsolescence in a few years, if not a matter of months.

We'll personally be looking into all of that... right after CES. In the meantime, stay tuned for big Blu-ray and HD DVD announcements at the show!

This feature would not have been possible without the excellent assistance and admirable photography of Mr. Benny Goldman. Thanks BG!

That said, the DMP-BD30 is nothing but "standard." To meet the BD Profile 1.1 spec, it needed internal storage. Panasonic answered that in the the way it knows best, by adding an SD card slot. (This is essentially their way of saying, "Get your own damn 256MB of flash memory," but since I've got more than my share of those, I will happily comply.) It can read JPEGs, MP3s and even video files in the popular high-def AVCHD format used Panasonic high-def camcorders as well as those of competing manufacturers.It's using the P4HD system and Uniphier chip developed for the original DMP-BD10 for 1080p/24p rendering as well as upconversion that can give HQV a run for its money, and it supports HDMI 1.3 for Deep Color (when available).

It's also significantly smaller than its pricier predecessor, as you can see from my picture (top) and the brochure illustration:Of course, the crowning glory of the 1.1 spec is picture-in-picture. Two tuners are required, though as in the case of this player, only one has to be HD. The second tuner is standard-def, but capable of simultaneous reading of other parts of the disc. Those discs aren't yet on the market, but when they hit, this player will be the only thing that can play them. (Samsung's Duo will get that capability following a firmware upgrade promised for January.) That means that, if you are hankering for a Blu-ray player that isn't obsolete the minute it hits the store shelf, your choices are limited, but clear.

Way to go, Panasonic. We applaud your ability to deliver on the Blu-ray promise. Sony, Pioneer, Philips, Sharp, Hitachi... what the heck happened?

PANASONIC INTRODUCES NEXT-GENERATION BLU-RAY DISC™ PLAYER

Only Blu-ray Player to Feature Final Standard Profile

LOS ANGELES CA (October 30, 2007) - Panasonic, a leader in High Definition technology, announced today the introduction of the DMP-BD30, the next generation High Definition 1080p Blu-ray Disc player. The DMP-BD30 is the first Blu-ray player to be introduced with Final Standard Profile, which adds a variety of new and enhanced features to the Blu-ray arena and one that separates the Panasonic Blu-ray player from the rest of the field. Also unique to the DMP-BD30 is the inclusion of an SD Memory Card slot for playback of High Definition content recorded in the AVCHD format. The SD slot also allows for viewing of digital still images recorded to an SD Memory Card.

Final Standard Profile is an advanced function added to the Blu-ray standard, which opens the door to new functions such as Picture-in-Picture (which displays a second image in a sub window) and Audio Mixing (allows the consumer to switch the sound between the main and sub windows).

"The DMP-BD30 will contribute greatly to Blu-ray's mounting lead over the competing format," said Gene Kelsey, Vice President, Panasonic Entertainment Group. "Panasonic's adoption of the Final Standard Profile adds a whole new dimension to the entertainment experience. For example, when the added value features inherent to the Final Standard Profile are incorporated into a Blu-ray movie, the viewer could have a myriad of entertainment options. One of the more intriguing aspects of the Final Standard Profile is the Picture-in-Picture feature that would allow the movie fan to access a variety of entertainment enhancements, such as having the director or an actor pop up to discuss a scene you are watching, or with an animated movie, you might see the actor performing their character's voice over, all while still watching the movie. Not only do these features give Panasonic a strong advantage in the high definition market, but they provide the movie community with numerous opportunities to embellish the viewing experience with additional creative elements."

With an SRP of $499.95, the DMP-BD30 also features a myriad of technology advances, including Deep Color Compatibility, and HDMI 1.3B, that bumps the step gradation from 8-bit 256 all the way up to 12-bit, 4,096 step gradation. To further enhance the viewing experience, the DMP-BD30 also provides 1080/24p playback, so the consumer can enjoy the same 24-fps (frames per second) reproduction as the original movie. This eliminates the need to utilize 3.2 pull down, a process to convert 24-fps images to 60-fps, resulting in a smoother picture.

The inclusion of a multi-function SD Card slot is another new addition to the Panasonic Blu-ray player. Coupled with the AVCHD codec, the DMP-BD30 allows for images recorded on a high capacity HD SD card to be outputted directly from the player's HDMI terminal in their original 1080p form. To further benefit the user, the DMP-BD30 provides an AVCHD Direct Navigator function that makes it easy to search for particular scenes. The player can also play back JPEG still images on an SD card, such as those recorded with a Panasonic Lumix digital camera. The DMP-BD30 converts the images to 1920x1080 resolution, ideal for viewing on a1080p HD Plasma and output them through the HDMI terminal.

Like its predecessor, the DMP-DB30 features the EZ-Sync™ HDAVI Control that allows the consumer to operate their Panasonic home theater system with one remote. With one touch of the EZ-Sync button, all the components turn on, the correct TV input is chosen, the TV's built-in speakers are muted and the home theater starts playback.

"Panasonic's commitment to excellence in entertainment and technology is evident in the establishment of Panasonic Hollywood Labs, where a great deal of research went into the development of Blu-ray," added Kelsey. "PHL has become one of the major centers for the authoring of Blu-ray titles and works closely with studio engineers in developing High Definition compression technologies."