Panasonic Viera Cast TV on 2011 Blu-ray players review
CNET reviews Panasonic's Viera Cast streaming-content portal, finding that although it offers fewer overall streaming services than competitors, its easy-to-use interface makes it one of the top picks.
They may be called Blu-ray players, but in 2011 they're as much about streaming-media services as they are about high-definition discs. With every manufacturer having a different collection of streaming-media services, we've been taking an in-depth look at each company's content portal for 2011.
Today, we're looking at Panasonic's Viera Cast, which takes after LG's Smart TV in its simplicity. There's no app store or cross-platform search, but it has a solid collection of streaming-media services and an easy-to-use interface.
Panasonic Viera Cast is the same on most 2011 Panasonic Blu-ray players--and home theater systems with built-in Blu-ray players--but considerably different from the Viera Connect content portal offered on Panasonic HDTVs. Additionally, note that the entry-level DMP-BD75 doesn't offer the full Viera Cast suite, instead offering access only to Netflix, CinemaNow, and Vudu.