Panasonic’s first 3D Blu-ray player, the DMP-BDT300, will reportedly have two HDMI connections, and is expected to go on sale this spring.

February 16, 2010 — Reports on several internet portals suggest that Panasonic’s first 3D Blu-ray player, the DMP-BDT300, will offer two HDMI outputs and will hit the market during spring 2010. The crucial point: Having two HDMI sockets means you can enjoy 3D video without having to sacrifice the Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD sound.

In other words, the video travels to the TV or projector via a version-1.4 HDMI output, which is 3D-compatible; the other HDMI output communicates with a conventional AV receiver using HDMI version 1.3 and therefore guarantees the best sound quality.

If Panasonic’s new player only had one HDMI-1.4 output, the user would face two unsatisfactory options: The first is to send the 3D video directly to the TV and do without HD sound. The second is to have HD sound but do without the 3D picture because the HDMI-1.3 sockets on the AV receiver can’t relay 3D to the TV.

Practical: The Panasonic DMP-BDT300 has two HDMI outputs.

In addition, the DMP-BDT300 is said to have an analogue 7.1-channel output, and will therefore cater to owners of older receivers which lack HDMI connections. Furthermore, the player will offer Panasonic’s Viera Cast, allowing it to access YouTube videos from the internet, for example.