Playstation 3 vs. LG BH200 vs. Panny BD30 vs. Sammy BD-U5000

[allargon]

Right now I'm leaning hard towards the LG BH200. All of these are about $350 in terms of E-bay pricing.

The LG BH200 plays HD DVD (saves me a hDMI port) plus has profile 1.1 playback capability. Unlike the Panny, it internally decodes Dolby TrueHD (want to hear my PiP) and unlike the PS3, it bitstreams high res audio.

The PS3 is ugly, very fast for Blu-Ray playback (important), has that crappy Bluetooth remote or ill functioning IR hack, gaming is absolutely worthless to me (Sorry, that's how I feel about it.), plays WMV and DivX (nice), has BD 2.0, decodes dolby TrueHD, may or may not do DTS-MA.

The Panny BD30 is good looking and does profile 1.1, only bitstreams for decoding of TrueHD and DTS-MA. (What's the point of having PiP if you can't hear it?) Err...

The Sammy isn't hideous. It sort of plays Blu and HD DVD. However, Sammy isn't exactly famous for being fast on their toes with updates. It should at some point be profile 1.1?, perhaps 2.0 compatible? It sort of internally decodes TrueHD. I heard nothing about DTS-MA though.

Hmm...

 

[diogen]

May not be exactly on topic, but I was surprised to read this comment by Sigma Design kjack (posted a week ago):

The cell performance will be matched by SoCs by the end of this year, and at a much lower cost and much
lower power dissipation (which is now being regulated for CE products world-wide).

He isn't exactly an impartial party in this game, but I don't think he would have any motives to make this up...

Diogen.

 

[navychop]

Welcome to the dark side. The dark Blu side.

I have a PS3, and what you say about it is quite true. Well, 2.0 Real Soon Now. And I wouldn't call it ugly- it just doesn't fit well with my other AV components. Or anyone else's. The Bluetooth remote works for most things. Doesn't power on or off. And you have to use the game remote to do the updates, anyway. Don't know why the bluetooth "player" remote doesn't fully function for that purpose. I don't care whether my PS3 or 805 does the decoding. And I don't own a single game. Not sure I ever will.

That being said, I'm quite happy with my PS3. And plan in some future year to replace it with a dedicated stand alone player that matches or exceeds it's capabilities and speed.

I'd suggest looking closely at the LG. Choose between the LG and the PS3. I doubt you'll be happy with the others. Frankly, if I had HD DVDs I planned on keeping, I'd be inclined toward the LG (to save an HDMI port) but don't know enough about it to be certain.

 

[stimpson]

Hey navychop. If you press the PS button on the remote, it can power up and power down the PS3.

 

[nonrev]

Right now I'm leaning hard towards the LG BH200. All of these are about $350 in terms of E-bay pricing.

The LG BH200 plays HD DVD (saves me a hDMI port) plus has profile 1.1 playback capability. Unlike the Panny, it internally decodes Dolby TrueHD (want to hear my PiP) and unlike the PS3, it bitstreams high res audio.

The PS3 is ugly, very fast for Blu-Ray playback (important), has that crappy Bluetooth remote or ill functioning IR hack, gaming is absolutely worthless to me (Sorry, that's how I feel about it.), plays WMV and DivX (nice), has BD 2.0, decodes dolby TrueHD, may or may not do DTS-MA.

The Panny BD30 is good looking and does profile 1.1, only bitstreams for decoding of TrueHD and DTS-MA. (What's the point of having PiP if you can't hear it?) Err...

The Sammy isn't hideous. It sort of plays Blu and HD DVD. However, Sammy isn't exactly famous for being fast on their toes with updates. It should at some point be profile 1.1?, perhaps 2.0 compatible? It sort of internally decodes TrueHD. I heard nothing about DTS-MA though.

Hmm...

STAY AWAY FROM THE PANASONIC BD30!!!!!
The DMP-BD30 has no internal decoding for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution, or DTS-HD Master Audio. This lack of internal decoding is particularly disappointing because the older DMP-BD10A itself offered internal decoding for all of these formats except DTS-HS Master Audio.

 

[JoeSp]

The BD30 is fine if you have a new AVR that does decoding of the HD codecs. If you do not have a newer AVR that decodes then you might want to wait just a few more months (maybe 2) till the BD50 comes out. It will be 2.0 compliant, will decode all codecs within the player and it will probably be joined by other manufacturers products that will do the same. And one or two of them will be under $400.

 

[nonrev]

The BD30 is fine if you have a new AVR that does decoding of the HD codecs.

JoeSP don’t you think its very misleading to sanction the BD30 considering that less then 1% of all AVR ever manufactured is compatible with it?

And one or two of them will be under $400.

I doubt the BD50 will be less then $500 very likely $600 MSRP. BD prices have been going up since New Years for the existing product line, therefore I see no reason why a new and improved product would be as low as $400.

 

[allargon]

My issue with the Panny BD30 is that for PiP if the receiver decodes, you can't hear the PiP audio.

 

[teachsac]

My issue with the Panny BD30 is that for PiP if the receiver decodes, you can't hear the PiP audio.

How often do use use this feature? I've only used it a few times with either format. Personally, I find the secondary audio track distracts me from the movie. It kind of blares while not being able to hear the movie. I actually liked the invite a friend feature on HP better. I watch supplemetary material after the movie.

Anyways, set secondary audio to on and it will mix the audio with either the DD, DTS, or PCM track. Supplmentary material is either stereo, PL, or DD anyways, in either format. I bitstream my BD30 and XA2, and PCM my BD10 and A35, only because my Lexicon doesn't have advanced audio decoding.

But back on topic, I am not a fan of either of the dual format players. Neither company is that supportive. Browse the LG thread at AVS to see how people are enjoying it. I know before the 1.1/TrueHD upgrade they weren't. I still don't think it decodes DTS MAster although I think they enabled bitstreaming.

Not a fan of the PS3 either for media. Sure it plays movies just fine and Sony is supporting it nicely, but it is a game machine (Sorry Joe). Best bet might be to wait for the BD50 oor the Sony 550 if you want internal decoding.

S~

 

[allargon]

Update, I bought the LG BH200. I like it. It's got decent picture quality. I think my A20 has sharper upscaling. The BH200 annoyingly stretches 4:3 SD DVD's when upconverting them. It reads every disc I've thrown at it. It's got some quirks with smaller studio HD DVD's. However, it plays every Blu-Ray out there like a champ (the main reason I bought it). It's profile 1.1 w/ good PQ and an IR remote (why I chose it over the PS3), internally decodes TrueHD (unfortunately Universal has decided to go the Fox route so that means I might have to bitstream) unlike the Panny, upscales well (unlike the Panny) and it's likely upgradable to profile 2.0. The Sammy got discontinued and Samsung's support for the product has been lackluster. Samsung has a horrible reputation in the Blu-Ray player market. Too bad as it's a better player on paper--has the Reon for killer upscaling and VQ plus has 7.1 analog audio outputs. However, it only decodes two Dolby TrueHD channels and doesn't do DTS-HD HR or MA or bitstream high res audio formats.

Oh, I snagged the BH200 on Fleabay brand new, sealed for $460. The seller even threw in 6 free Blu-Ray discs. 3 of which I promptly put up for sale!

 

[gadgtfreek]

Congrats!

, upscales well (unlike the Panny)

I do wish, however, that people would quit making unexperienced comments like this.

 

[allargon]

Congrats!





I do wish, however, that people would quit making unexperienced comments like this.

So, are you saying your Panny DMP-BD30 is a good upscaler? It's been universally panned by every professional reviewer. Most people with larger than a 50" screen on AVS have also said the same. To me this counts as pretty much gospel.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Im saying ive owned a PS3, a BD30 and a A2 and the BD30 and A2 are 1 and 2 in my book. Another forum member here has stated comments very similar(Toshiba and Panny). I also wouldn't go so far as took take the AVS comments as any better than someones opinion.

People have a right to their opinion, its just when someone who is going solely off the opinion of someone ELSE and stating it like gospel is when its annoying to me. If you've owned it and can say it fine, but dont make the statement without the personal experience.

 

[allargon]

Understandable... My understanding is that the PS3's upscaling abilities got improved with certain firmware updates. Have you tested one w/ the 2.2 or 2.3 (actually I hear it's worse w/ the 2.3 update) update vs. the Panny? The A2 was an okay upscaler. It was never a great one, IMHO. (I do own one.) I have my A20 for that.

 

[teamerickson]

Can the Samsung BD-P1400 get some love? Has everything but profile 1.1.

 

[NightRyder]

I also have a LG BH200 and am very happy with it. It's played every HD-DVD and Blu-ray disc I've thrown at it. :up

NightRyder

 

[navychop]

You really lucked out, what a great price!

 

[gadgtfreek]

Understandable... My understanding is that the PS3's upscaling abilities got improved with certain firmware updates. Have you tested one w/ the 2.2 or 2.3 (actually I hear it's worse w/ the 2.3 update) update vs. the Panny? The A2 was an okay upscaler. It was never a great one, IMHO. (I do own one.) I have my A20 for that.

No, Im thinking I got rid of my PS3 right before 2.0. I think the upscaling was really bad before 1.8, I had the luck of buying it right when 1.8 came out.

The a2 and bd30 are very comparable to me in sharpness, for some reason I thought the ps3 was a little softer. I personally feel that the BD30 is a good player in the upscaling dept and has excellent 1080p BD PQ. Believe me, I would not defend it if I did not believe it, Id sell it and buy another model. The only real flaw this player has is the higher end audio support issues and lack of 2.0, which is not an issue for me and I knew it going in.

 

[gadgtfreek]

You really lucked out, what a great price!

No crap, I missed the $460 comment. :yikes

 

[allargon]

Can the Samsung BD-P1400 get some love? Has everything but profile 1.1.

Hell no... Reports of that player being buggy, refusing to play discs, etc. still abound. However, it's grey market price has gone up. You usually could get one for around $190 after the Warner announcement. Now, it routinely sells for $220. It must've solved a lot of its bugs. People still pay $180 and up for the BD-P1.2k.

In fairness to the BD-P1400, I believe it's the only non-Pioneer profile 1.0 to bitstream HD audio? Remember, I'm a former HD DVD owner. No way in hell am I going back to being sans PiP. Even HD DVD pornos have PiP. It's a basic, expected function to me. I didn't even mention the profile 1.0 players. I guess I could mention that Philips profile 1.1 player that looks like it costs $40 rather than $400. (The Denons were also never in the running. When I posted this, the four players in the title were the only profile 1.1 players.)