Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update 12/10/2009: Panasonic recently released firmware revision 2.2. This firmware appears to have resolved the issue that I explain below. If it's not fully resolved, it at least reduces the number of occurrences very significantly. I would urge everybody who purchases this player to update their firmware to the latest revision to prevent potential freezing problems. Although I believe the issues I had were resolved, I am keeping the review at 2 stars. Right now, I believe the player (with the latest firmware) deserves at least 4 stars, and possibly 5. Hopefully, people who are less technically savvy will read this "negative" review, and then make sure that they are running with firmware 2.2 or higher if they decide to purchase this unit. Please read the player's manual to see how to do this. My original review is below: I purchased one of these from Amazon, but was experiencing random freezing in Blu-ray discs. The disc would simply stop playing for approximately 10 seconds, and then resume as if there was no problem. I tried to replay over spots where I encountered the freeze, but was never able to duplicate it. After my 4th movie that froze, I returned the unit to Amazon and got a replacement. Even the replacement unit had this problem, so I shipped that one back too. [...]. So far, Panasonic has not issued any kind of statement or even acknowledged that this is a problem. I would recommend people look elsewhere for their player. I am highly disappointed, because this player had the potential to be a great, yet affordable, unit. [...] A quick summary of the facts on this problem: 1. The freezes are random. They don't occur in the same place in a movie. People have reported freezing in MANY movies, not just a select few. If a movie that froze in the past is viewed again, it may not freeze at all. 2. This problem occurs on the BD60 and the BD80. 3. Current firmware (1.7) does not resolve the issue. 4. People have been reporting what their unit is connected to (TV, receiver, etc), and it doesn't matter what it's connected to. 5. Manufacture date doesn't matter 6. Overheating is apparently not the issue. People have reported having plenty of space around the unit to keep it cool and it still occurs. 7. Several people have reported watching several movies without problems, and then having several consecutive movies freeze. 8. About a week ago, one of the editors from [...] that Panasonic MAY have seen the problem, and it has to do with the video buffer not being flushed properly. They didn't give any indication when a fix would be released, or how difficult it will be to resolve. Edited on 07/28/09: Firmware 1.9 has been released, and the problem still has not been resolved. Additionally, an editor from a well-respected home theater site has been in contact with Panasonic. According to him, Panasonic has stated that they have fixed all known freezing issues, and that they are unable to find this particular problem. It may still be quite some time before it is resolved. (Amazon edited out a link to another website before, so I don't want to post another link that will just be removed.) Edited 11/21/09: Firmware 2.1 has been available for a while now, and people are still reporting freezes. At this point, it looks like Panasonic either cannot or will not fix the problem. I would urge new owners to wait a while before posting a review. There's a good chance that you won't experience any freeze issues, but there's also a good chance that you'll see the problem only after you have watched several movies. Edited 11/30/09: Firmware 2.2 has been released for the BD60/70/80 players. This firmware SUPPOSEDLY provides a "workaround" for the random freeze issues. I don't really know what a "workaround" means in this context, but if it prevents movies from freezing, then it's probably sufficient. It may take a while to prove or disprove that 2.2 actually resolves things, but I will update my review again once more concrete information is available. Edited 12/08/09: Firmware 2.2 has been available for just over a week, and nobody has reported encountering a freeze in that timeframe. While I'm not quite ready to state that the problem is definitely resolved, things are looking go so far.