Help me choose a blu-ray player

[GNDN]

PS3 at present is the best BR player on the market.......If you can hold off a bit longer there are rumors of a slim version of the PS3 and price cut supposed to be announce next month.

I can definitely hold off for that, thanks for the heads up. I have been kinda lazy doing the research on this one, so thanks for all the good info. Especially now that I know the PS3 has wi-fi standard, I think this has become a no-brainer, but I'll wait to see if there's an upgrade or price cut coming before November!

 

[Mike Okuda]

Whatever you do, don't buy an older player. Many first-generation Blu-ray players won't work with some current disks. I've gone through four different players and have been dissatisfied with them. I finally broke down and bought a Sony Playstation 3, and am very happy with it.

-Mike

 

[Irishman]

OK, November 17 can't come quickly enough, and I'm afraid the DVD/Blu-Ray release of ST may finally convince me to upgrade to Hi-Def.

Please share what Blu-Ray player you have, your likes and dislikes, and what you would look for if you were buying one today (or November 16! )

Thanks for any and all advice.

I have a Pioneer BD51FD which is no longer made. I bought it because between it and the Panasonic 80K, the Pioneer's CD playback was an order of magnitude better (the audio DAC for the Pioneer was one more commonly seen in disc players that cost $1000 or more). Plus, the DVD upconversion was second to none in my price range.

I love that it will play any disc I throw at it with aplomb, something that I understand owners of Samsung and LG players can't say. With both these manufacturers, firmware updates can't seen to come fast enough to fix new disc compatibility issues. Plus, I didn't need the BDLive (AKA Profile 2.0) interactive features newer players offered. I wanted the best picture and the best sound, and in that regard I'm happy.

What would I change? I'd make it load faster. It takes about 45 seconds to go from closing the tray to the menu loading.

 

[Amaris]

^ Exactly. I have a Magnavox NB530MGX and every disc thrown at it is played happily and without fail, and it too doesn't have BD Live, but the image quality and sound is absolutely superb.

J.

 

[Irishman]

If I were to recommend a stand-alone player I would probably say something like the LG BD390 which has internal Wi-Fi and offers Netflix and YouTube streaming.

I'm looking to get a blu-ray player in the near future and wondering if the network connectivity really offers any benefit?

Don't really care about the any online content that might come with discs so wondering what other advantages it might have?

Something you should know about the online interactive (BD-Live) content - it will slow your BDP down to crawling like molasses. All you're getting for the privilege is special HD movie trailers, some chat forums, etc. The only thing that might make it worth it would be if you had a Netflix account. But, my understanding about streaming Netflix movies is that they're not going to be surround sound. They will be stereo only. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[GNDN]

PS3 at present is the best BR player on the market.......If you can hold off a bit longer there are rumors of a slim version of the PS3 and price cut supposed to be announce next month.

I have done a few searches and there does seem to be a lot of speculation but very little real info on if/when a slimmer model will come out. Are there any reliable sources indicating a date or order info?

Also, can anyone recommend a reliable dealer? Just looking at Amazon right now.

 

[Saturn0660]

As has been said here many times.. PS3

 

[Marc]

PS3 at present is the best BR player on the market.......If you can hold off a bit longer there are rumors of a slim version of the PS3 and price cut supposed to be announce next month.

Not sure if this matches the what you've read but Slashdot has an article up that says pretty much a similar thing - slim line model and the 80Gb model to be phased out.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...coming-evidence-builds-for-updated-system.ars

Maybe they'll run out the old models are near blu-ray player prices - already got a Wii so don't need another console but want a blu-ray player.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

Don't really care about the any online content that might come with discs so wondering what other advantages it might have?

The big advantage is firmware, since BluRay features are being added all the time. (One reason the PS3 is so good as a player, since Sony is religious about getting those features installed ASAP). A network enabled player will always be up to date (so long as you're on a network), whereas older players can make themselves useless pretty quick.

What the frak ever happened to "you buy it once and you're done"? Update this, firmware that...how long before you'll have to pay a monthly fee to KEEP that player working because they couldn't be bothered to sell you a finished product to begin with (like current DVD players)?

 

[Mr. B]

What the frak ever happened to "you buy it once and you're done"? Update this, firmware that...how long before you'll have to pay a monthly fee to KEEP that player working because they couldn't be bothered to sell you a finished product to begin with (like current DVD players)?

The Blu-ray spec isn't exactly done... neither is HDMI for that matter.. This is still bleeding edge tech and the Blu-ray Disc association is a much more diverse group than the DVD forum was... exponentially more so than Red Book which was just Sony and Philips. Nobody's charging for firmware updates though and you shouldn't worry about that happening in the future.

 

[GNDN]

Thanks to everyone for all the advice. Just placed my pre-order for the PS3 slim, along with all the cables I'll need for the new HDTV I'll be buying. Man, this ST collecting doesn't get cheaper, does it? Ok, now to buy all the movies.... again.....

 

[destructive]

the best connection for your ps3 will be a HDMI cable, www.monoprice.com has the best prices by far, don't waste your money in a brick&mortar on a HDMI, they'll rip you off

 

[seigezunt]

Peeking in here, any decent models for under $200? I can't justify the $300, as I will have no interest in the gaming.