Blu-Ray advice needed

[Pindar]

I live in the UK and am planning to finally upgrade to hi-def soonish.

I thought I would get a Blu-Ray dvd player before I got my hi-def tv, to start my collection of discs.

Can I use a Blu-Ray player with a standard def tv?

I know the picture won't be any better.

Can you get Blur-Ray players that are multi-region when it comes to playing normal dvd's?

Thanks.

 

[Hermiod]

You can typically connect Blu-Ray players to standard definition televisions. It will look marginally better than a DVD due to the generally higher quality of the video.

You can buy modified Blu-Ray players that will play multiregion DVDs. Some can also play Blu-Rays from multiple regions. I have bought multiregion DVD players from Multiregion Magic before and they have always proven to be reliable.

 

[Pindar]

You can typically connect Blu-Ray players to standard definition televisions. It will look marginally better than a DVD due to the generally higher quality of the video.

You can buy modified Blu-Ray players that will play multiregion DVDs. Some can also play Blu-Rays from multiple regions. I have bought multiregion DVD players from Multiregion Magic before and they have always proven to be reliable.

Thanks, what makes are good choices for players?

 

[Hermiod]

^I have never had a reason to complain about any Panasonic equipment I have ever bought.

 

[Mike Farley]

Also, many Blu-rays are region free. For whatever reason studios have not been nearly as agressive about region locking with BRD as they are/were with DVD.

Here's a handy site.

 

[Pindar]

Region coding is a stupid pain in the ass.

 

[CommodoreKong]

If having a region free Blu Ray player isn't a necessity I would go with a PS3, especially if you're interested in gaming at all. Since the PS3 is the best selling Blu Ray player of all time I'm sure Sony will ensure that all disks will always work with it. You wouldn't have to worry about any of the specials features not working with your player (I'm not sure how much of a problem this is now, but I know it was with early Blu Ray players).

 

[LitmusDragon]

If having a region free Blu Ray player isn't a necessity I would go with a PS3, especially if you're interested in gaming at all. Since the PS3 is the best selling Blu Ray player of all time I'm sure Sony will ensure that all disks will always work with it. You wouldn't have to worry about any of the specials features not working with your player (I'm not sure how much of a problem this is now, but I know it was with early Blu Ray players).

This.

Also, keeping your player's software current is very simple with the PS3. If you have a wireless internet access point it's an simple as selecting a menu option.

 

[Mr. B]

I have a PS3 for Blu-Ray and would recommend it as long as you don't have an IR universal remote system. The PS3 remote is bluetooth and the console has no built-in IR port.

 

[Saturn0660]

I have a PS3 for Blu-Ray and would recommend it as long as you don't have an IR universal remote system. The PS3 remote is bluetooth and the console has no built-in IR port.

1. they do sell a USB 2 IR converter.

2. Ya you can use a BD player on SDTV.. Heres the problem, it may not come out of the composite jack(the yellow one). BD movies don't have to down-convert. It's not required by the BD consortium.

 

[Pindar]

If having a region free Blu Ray player isn't a necessity I would go with a PS3, especially if you're interested in gaming at all. Since the PS3 is the best selling Blu Ray player of all time I'm sure Sony will ensure that all disks will always work with it. You wouldn't have to worry about any of the specials features not working with your player (I'm not sure how much of a problem this is now, but I know it was with early Blu Ray players).

I have a huge R1 dvd collection.

I went out at lunchtime and bought a Samsung BD-P3600.

Supposedly better than the PS3 and is multi region.

Now I need to navigate it home on the bus.