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Panasonic DMP-BDT220 photos

The Panasonic DMP-BDT220 is the best Blu-ray value of 2012, with built-in Wi-Fi, tons of streaming-media apps, 3D compatibility, and a simple user interface.

Matthew Moskovciak
Covering home audio and video, Matthew Moskovciak helps CNET readers find the best sights and sounds for their home theaters. E-mail Matthew or follow him on Twitter @cnetmoskovciak.
Matthew Moskovciak
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1 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Panasonic DMP-BDT220

If I had to recommend just one Blu-ray player for 2012, it would be the Panasonic DMP-BDT220 ($130 street price). It's in the sweet spot of Panasonic's Blu-ray lineup, with built-in Wi-Fi and an excellent set of streaming-media services, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, Vudu, MLB.TV, and Pandora. And while competing players from Samsung and Sony offer just as many streaming apps, they're hamstrung by awkward user interfaces.

The DMP-BDT220 also has a few other perks, like 3D compatibility, 2D-to-3D conversion, and Skype, although the front-panel SD card slot is probably the most useful. Altogether, the Panasonic DMP-BDT220 is the best current value in the Blu-ray player category, earning an Editors' Choice Award.

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2 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Design

The DMP-BDT220 has one of the sleekest looks from the outside, with a long front panel devoid of buttons. The panel automatically flips up or down when you open or close the disc tray, so it's not a nuisance in normal use, although if you plug in a USB drive, the panel stays down and the look is unattractive.
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3 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Look behind the flip-down panel

The flip-down panel conceals the disc drive, SD card slot, USB port, and play/pause buttons.
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4 of 11 Matthew Moskovciak/CNET

User interface: Strange, but it works

Nearly every TV-based interface I've used is cursor- and icon-driven. Move the cursor to the icon you want, hit the Enter button, and away you go. Panasonic's interface breaks that convention by displaying a menu that replicates the remote's D-pad. There's no cursor, just press the direction you want and you'll jump to the next screen.
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5 of 11 Matthew Moskovciak/CNET

Viera Connect

The Viera Connect interface uses a cursor and icons, and the home screen is wonderfully simple. It's a basic grid of icons, displaying seven different apps at once. Nothing fancy, but it's easy to use. Even better, you can customize which apps show up on the home screen.
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6 of 11 Matthew Moskovciak/CNET

Viera Connect Market

In addition to the preinstalled apps on Viera Connect, there's an app store called Market. You can install additional apps from here, and although the selection isn't great, there are a few apps that are worth adding. Overall, the Viera Connect experience seems significantly more well-thought-out and integrated than any of its competitors.
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7 of 11 Matthew Moskovciak/CNET

Netflix

The DMP-BDT220 has a modern Netflix interface, allowing you to search and browse movies that aren't in your Instant Queue.
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8 of 11 Matthew Moskovciak/CNET

Amazon interface

The Amazon interface may not be as pretty as the PS3's, but it's good enough.
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9 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Back panel

Around back there's a basic set of ports, including an HDMI output, optical output, and Ethernet jack. There's also a USB port called "communication camera" that's used for connection with Panasonic's Skype camera. The DMP-BDT220 doesn't have dual HDMI outputs like Panasonic's step-up DMP-BDT500 or Samsung's flagship BD-E6500, but they're not that useful anyway. You can always use the optical audio output for audio (without losing much, if any, sound quality) if you have an older non-HDMI receiver.
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10 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Remote

The included remote is a good one, with dedicated buttons for Netflix, Viera Connect, and Skype. Playback buttons are well-positioned and the play button has a helpful tactile nub so you can find it by feel. The only problem is the positioning of the home, Internet, and pop-up menu around the directional pad. Those buttons are similar in shape to the directional buttons, so I ended up pressing them accidentally a few times.
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11 of 11 Sarah Tew/CNET

Side view

The DMP-BDT220 is 7.1 inches deep.

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