As a follow-up to Alan's comments and JC's experience, a couple of weeks a go I purchased the Panasonic BD-55($399.00) and I couldn't be happier. I can't comment on the comparison to the PS3, but it is interesting to note, I went in to the store with my heart kind of set on buying the Pioneer Elite 05FD ($899.00!!). This was before I read the less than spectacular dual reviews on this unit which made me feel that much better about my purchase. When I compared them both in the store, the Pioneer was, of course, a terrific looking and rather LARGE unit, but I chose to look past that and decided to strictly compare performance.
The 05FD was considerably slower loading than the BD-55 and it had problems connecting to the television(handshake) via the receiver. This has been a problem which has not gone unnoticed in the reviews. The Panasonic has all the latest internal decoding, 7.1 outputs and it has a unique option of directing the back channels to convert to front left/right analog channels and use 5.1,only, if you wish that option. It has been stated in reviews of the BD-55 that, compared to previous BD players to date, it has the best scaling and playback of standard DVD's and I couldn't agree more. The Panny has the latest 2.0 profile which allows you to access all the BD Live features(if you want that), whereas the 05FD is only 1.1! I was surprised and somewhat disappointed, to see a unit, especially at the Pioneer's price point, that does not contain all the latest features. (As a side note, if you don't need the 7.1 outputs and analog option, you can get the BD-35 for about 100 bucks less).
The newer generations of units with all the mainstream companies are coming fast and furious onto the market with lower and lower price points, however, The BD-55/35, at least at this point, provides all the features you will need for the foreseeable future.
