Ok Time to buy a Blu Ray, but which one?

[mraudit]

I am going to buy a new Blue Ray Player, as now seems like a good time to buy. Don't know why, it just does. Cost is not really an issue, as long as its under $700. So I am asking all of you, what are some of the really good ones out there. It will be hooked up to a 52inch DLP Mits, via HDMI. I also want to connect it to my Home Theater Receiver.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[teachsac]

So,

What are the capabilities of the receiver? Does it have HDMI or will you be using analog? Just an FYI, which Mits.

S~

 

[navychop]

It's "Blu-ray"

One of the best, maybe THE best, Blu-ray players is still the PS3. I have a PS3 and not a single game. It's just a Blu-ray/DVD/SACD player. Note that the current PS3 models do not play SACDs.

If you are interested in one box to play Blu-ray, DVD, CD, SACD and probably DVD-A also, OPPO is coming out with such a box in the near future. But probably not until next quarter. And while it might be $700, it also might be more.

I also have a Samsung 1500, which works well enough, but I only have it because I got the chance to buy it new for $80. You might be ahead to look at the Samsung 2500 instead.

There will be a $128 Blu-ray player on Black Friday at Wal-Mart. It's a cheap start. Others are available at the cheap end for $200-$250.

I suggest you give preference to the version 2/BD-Live models. These will allow firmware updates over the internet, and certain extra online features. Even if you don't use such features, you might sell it one day and that would be a selling point.

You might also look at the Panasonic BD-55. Read up on various models in this forum.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Im gonna recommend PS3 or Panny. I recommend the Panny over the PS3 just because the PQ is a little sharper. Dont take that as the PS3 having bad PQ, because its great.

BD35 is a good deal if you have a rcvr that can internally decode the HD audio formats.

 

[teachsac]

BD35 is a good deal if you have a rcvr that can internally decode the HD audio formats.

Otherwise I would recommend the Panasonic BD55. In no way, shape, or form would I ever recommend a Samsung at this time. The Sony 550 is also nice, but not as user friendly as the Panasonic and has a few quirks.

S~

 

[teamerickson]

I got my Pani 55 for about $250 (I had to buy 4 discs to recieve $100 off) and I bet there will be some deals soon. I think it is the best player. Even better then the much loved PS3.

 

[SatinKzo]

I too recommend a Panny 35 or 55 (current models). But I also could easily recommend the Sony s350 or s550 (depending on your receiver).

PS3 is always a safe bet (again depending on your receiver).

I only steer people away from 1 brand, Samsung. If you buy one and have issues, don't say people didn't warn you.

 

[Zookster]

I really wanted a BD player that could stream Netflix (I don't have a 360), but I just couldn't bring myself to get a Samsung based on what I've heard here and in AVS forums. I just picked up a Panny BD35 for $237 at Amazon and figure $100 more for a Roku and I'm pretty much at the price of a new Samsung 2500/2550.

 

[Jamey K]

I got my Pani 55 for about $250 (I had to buy 4 discs to recieve $100 off) and I bet there will be some deals soon. I think it is the best player. Even better then the much loved PS3.

And where did you find that? I'd buy one tonight!

 

[SatinKzo]

Jamey, I think teamerickson got it from Amazon on one of their last promotions. That is where I picked up my 55 For about the same price.

 

[gadgtfreek]

And where did you find that? I'd buy one tonight!

I bet if you can hol dout another couple of months, the BD35 will be $200 on Amazon and the BD55 will be around $300.

I just paid $236 for the BD35, HELLUVA deal considering I paid $500 for a BD30

 

[bhelms]

...The Sony 550 is also nice, but not as user friendly as the Panasonic and has a few quirks.

S~

Not to shanghai the thread, but I'm curious what those quirks are you mentioned with the S550? I have used mine only a limited amount (about 6 BDs played, a couple of upconverts, and one 3" mini DVD with AVCHD content) and all played flawlessly. PQ has been great (except for the blue artifacts in Indy 4 others reported) and AQ variably excellent (TrueHD superior to DD5.1 or Disney's "lossless" audio of course). I have not yet tested any of the internet features as I still have dial-up only, but that will be a short-term upgrade. I took this unit out of the box, connected the single HDMI cable, and had it playing at full capabilities within 5 minutes which included a very simple one-time set-up to match the audio and video capabilities of the attached equipment, all via a very simple GUI. No SW upgrade needed. The "Bravia sync" feature matches-up well with the rest of my Sony equipment so merely loading the disk switches everything to play the BD. The only tweaks needed at this point is if I have to select something in the disk's own set-up menu, like TrueHD audio (if the content is there) which is usually not the default setting. I don't know how much more "user friendly" that could be.

Disclaimer, I am a Sony fan to a large extent, and as this is my first BD player I have no basis for comparison except with "red" players. The $274 on-line price I paid for the 550 had more to do with my decision for that unit however. That was a short-term deal that is not presently running at SonyStyle (get a 1-time $150 discount for signing-up for their Chase/Sony Visa card), but could be repeated. It's currently $324 at Amazon...

 

[teachsac]

Not to shanghai the thread, but I'm curious what those quirks are you mentioned with the S550? I have used mine only a limited amount (about 6 BDs played, a couple of upconverts, and one 3" mini DVD with AVCHD content) and all played flawlessly. PQ has been great (except for the blue artifacts in Indy 4 others reported) and AQ variably excellent (TrueHD superior to DD5.1 or Disney's "lossless" audio of course). I have not yet tested any of the internet features as I still have dial-up only, but that will be a short-term upgrade. I took this unit out of the box, connected the single HDMI cable, and had it playing at full capabilities within 5 minutes which included a very simple one-time set-up to match the audio and video capabilities of the attached equipment, all via a very simple GUI. No SW upgrade needed. The "Bravia sync" feature matches-up well with the rest of my Sony equipment so merely loading the disk switches everything to play the BD. The only set-up needed is if I need to choose something in the disk's set-up menu, like TrueHD audio (if the content is there) which is usually not the default setting. I don't know how much more "user friendly that could be". Disclaimer, I am a Sony fan to a large extent. The $274 on-line price I paid for the 550 had more to do with my decision for that unit however...

One of the quirks being reported is setting the player to PCM when the player recognizes a receiver that decodes advanced audio codecs.

S~

 

[teamerickson]

Jamey, I think teamerickson got it from Amazon on one of their last promotions. That is where I picked up my 55 For about the same price.

Correct. Out the door about $310 with four discs.

 

[mraudit]

Thanks all for the help. I am leaning towards the Panasonic BD55. I can hook it up to an internet connection very easily.

One last question, my receiver does not have HDMI inputs, so can I hook this up using a HDMI cable to the TV, and then a optic cable to my receiver?

 

[teachsac]

Thanks all for the help. I am leaning towards the Panasonic BD55. I can hook it up to an internet connection very easily.

One last question, my receiver does not have HDMI inputs, so can I hook this up using a HDMI cable to the TV, and then a optic cable to my receiver?

Use the 5.1/7.1 analog inputs on your receiver to take advantage of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-Master.

S~

 

[Ilya]

One last question, my receiver does not have HDMI inputs, so can I hook this up using a HDMI cable to the TV, and then a optic cable to my receiver?

Sure you can. But like teachsac mentioned above, you should use 5.1 (or 7.1) analog cables instead. You will get much better sound quality compared to the optical cable.

 

[bhelms]

One of the quirks being reported is setting the player to PCM when the player recognizes a receiver that decodes advanced audio codecs.

S~

OK - I'll check for that. I remember seeing "Linear PCM" reported by the receiver for the PotC BDs I played, but I'm almost positive it reported TrueHD for Indy - will confirm...Tks...

 

[teamerickson]

$75 dollars off the 55 ($325) when you buy four discs.

Save $75 When You Buy a Blu-ray Player and Four Warner Blu-ray Discs Together
Back to a 100 dollars and the 35k is back on the liast 4DVD and the 35k for about 206 or less.

 

[bhelms]

Originally Posted by teachsac
One of the quirks being reported is setting the player to PCM when the player recognizes a receiver that decodes advanced audio codecs.

S~

OK - I'll check for that. I remember seeing "Linear PCM" reported by the receiver for the PotC BDs I played, but I'm almost positive it reported TrueHD for Indy - will confirm...Tks...

Just to put closure on this - I checked several BDs in my S550. Both Ironman and Indy 4 came up in DDTrueHD as shown in the receiver's display just as soon as the movie started (everything leading up to that point was DD3/2.1), for I am Legend I had to choose TrueHD in the disk's set-up menu as it was not the default, and for the 3 PotC disks, the best audio is their "lossless" DD5.1 that the receiver indicates as "Linear PCM 48kHz". In my case it's Sony into Sony (into Sony), thus YMMV.

Best to all, and may all have a Blue (or Red or Purple as you so choose) Holiday Season...!