Buying a Blu Ray Player What do I need to know?
- Thread starter Tomato
- Start date
Yes.
Well it is a good idea to get one with internet capability as you will be able to download new firmware easily, BD-Live tends to come with these anyway.
If your new player doesn't come with an HDMI cable or you otherwise need one, don't buy it in store. Go to monoprice.com.
I think every Profile 2 player is required by the spec to have an ethernet port for firmware updates.
I am not a fan of just doing fw upgrades simply to do it. Why? Because there have been too many horror stories of people bricking (i.e. rendering inoperable) their player after getting caught in a fw ugrade that doesn't complete. That's more of a hassle than you want to deal with.
I don't connect my player to my network now and may not ever, unless new discs suddenly don't work, or if people are gushing about how awesome a new function is they gained after an upgrade.
I am not a fan of just doing fw upgrades simply to do it. Why? Because there have been too many horror stories of people bricking (i.e. rendering inoperable) their player after getting caught in a fw ugrade that doesn't complete. That's more of a hassle than you want to deal with.
I don't connect my player to my network now and may not ever, unless new discs suddenly don't work, or if people are gushing about how awesome a new function is they gained after an upgrade.
But not really needed, since all HDTVs can upconvert (indeed, they must). And any *decent* HDTV will have a better upconverter than a DVD player.
Our grand prize winner! The thousandth use of that exact post wins you our top prize, a 1985 Austin Allegro!
Our grand prize winner! The thousandth use of that exact post wins you our top prize, a 1985 Austin Allegro!
I know I say that a lot, but it happens to be true. Upconverting DVD players? That's a marketing gimmick, nothing more.
needing a blue-ray is the best excuse ever for going out and getting a PS3...
Not for me hence I ain't buying a PS3. I already picked one up, so I'm good to go guys.
I have no interest in PS3's (I'm definitely no gamer), but my current Blu-Ray player is a Sony BDP-S560 and I like it a lot.
Make sure that any BR player you get, has built in wireless connectivity. That's my main advice. Then you won't have to fuck around with burning CDs for firmware updates or anything like that (I have no use for BD-Live, I just like the ability to update the player over the internet without having to download anything separately).
Make sure that any BR player you get, has built in wireless connectivity. That's my main advice. Then you won't have to fuck around with burning CDs for firmware updates or anything like that (I have no use for BD-Live, I just like the ability to update the player over the internet without having to download anything separately).
I bought a Sony bluray player model S360 on Ebay on Saturday. It was 110 plus 13 dollars shipping.
Walmart's price is 148. Can't wait to get it.
Yes the appeal of bluray players is that not only can play bluray discs but you can also play your old dvd's and it will upcovert all your dvd's to near 1080 definition.
That means you don't have to buy bluray versions of dvd's you already own.
Ofcourse if the bluray dvd version is superior(Blade Runner vs standard Blade runner) then you might want to buy the bluray.
Walmart's price is 148. Can't wait to get it.
Yes the appeal of bluray players is that not only can play bluray discs but you can also play your old dvd's and it will upcovert all your dvd's to near 1080 definition.
That means you don't have to buy bluray versions of dvd's you already own.
Ofcourse if the bluray dvd version is superior(Blade Runner vs standard Blade runner) then you might want to buy the bluray.
No, it won't.
I can't emphasize this enough. Upconverting DVD players do not make your standard DVDs into high definition, or even anywhere NEAR it. All upconverting does is make sure that the image fills the screen when you play it on an HDTV. If upconverting did not occur, then all you would get (when playing a standard def DVD on a HDTV) would be a small postage stamp sized image surrounded by a foot of black on each side.
Make no mistake, no matter how good a standard def DVD is, or how upconverting your DVD player is, the Blu-Ray version will always be superior. That's been the case with every title I have. I always get the BR version as soon as possible. The leap in quality is unmatched.
Then I guess I really have to sell off my dvd's for the bluray equivalents.
Dark Knight and King Kong are really cheap on Ebay too.
Dark Knight and King Kong are really cheap on Ebay too.
In Canada atm the moment a number of Blu-ray players are being bundled with The Dark Knight so it could be the same for U.S which could explain the glut of them on E-Bay.
Our grand prize winner! The thousandth use of that exact post wins you our top prize, a 1985 Austin Allegro!
I know I say that a lot, but it happens to be true. Upconverting DVD players? That's a marketing gimmick, nothing more.
I've never seen a TV that up-converts as well as the DVd and Blu ray players I've used, so it goes to prove your mileage can vary.
As I asked once before do you have any particular makes/models of TV you believe to be superior? They might not be on sale in the UK.
It's certainly true that upscaling is not half as useful as a lot of people seem to think. The bottom line is that you can't add pixel data that wasn't there to start with no matter how clever your DVD player is. You can duplicate it, but not create new information.
Well actually, you can. The "upscaling" process interpolates new information from what is already there, that is basically what it does, create new information. What you can't do is accurately recreate the original image but of course every time you open a JPEG you see something slightly different, how often do you notice?
It is a very mature and effective technology these days and is used in all kinds of communications applications and error correction.
It has been a staggering drag on the uptake of Blu Ray as well. If all Blu ray had to compete with was DVD fed through an interlaced SCART input into the average HDTV then it likely would have wowed more people.
As it is Blu Ray has to compete with upscaled DVD pictures output progressively through HDMI into HDTVs, which is a much bigger difference in quality than the further jump to Blu Ray.
When it is good, Blu Ray is VERY good, however so many piss-poor and cheap transfers have crippled it in many ways. Let us also not forget the screwing up of big releases. There is no way in heck I'm going back to the theatrical cuts of LOTR in order to see the films on Blu.
^ Yes I realise it produces a "best guess" attempt at adding new data, but that is all it is, the new data is a fabrication from a mathematical calculation. It is not even close to producing a picture that rivals the original hi-def source. I have DVDs and HDs of the same movie, and the upscaled version is no comparison at all.
Edit: Apologies, I should have picked my words more carefully, I should have said it cannot reproduce information that never existed, that you can add information is a no brainer.
Edit: Apologies, I should have picked my words more carefully, I should have said it cannot reproduce information that never existed, that you can add information is a no brainer.
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Well quite, and your clarification is much appreciated.
Blu Ray is fantastic and it is the way for movie buffs to get films these days, but I'm personally strictly following a no-rebuys rule for now, and will try to until we get a proper release of the extended LOTR.
Just bought "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" on E-bay
Won the Dark Knight for 13 dollars and Iron Man for 19 dollars.
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