Going format neutral
OK. I've had my XA1 HD DVD player for a year now, and love it. I think it's been one of the best "bang for the buck" I've added to my home theater system for some time. And after long consideration, I decided it was time to give it some company - a Blu-ray player.
I realize this thread was started in the "dark days" of March (for HD DVD owners/supporters) when the initial wave of PS3's hit and, supported by a strong BD title release, it looked bleak for HD DVD. But for me, I decided to add a Blu-ray player because I am first and foremost a fan of High Definition, am convinced neither format is going away anything soon, and I'm darn sick & tired of watching the BD only releases I want to see on Netflixed DVD's.
So over the past few weeks I've "window shopped" online and on eBay and read reviews. My considerations - based on a budget of $400 - $450 were:
Samsung BD-P1000: This 1st gen. BD player was recommended to me by a dual format owner on another forum as one of the best values for the price. Amazon had them for $455, but they're now $490, and can be found refurbished, factory sealed & warrantied on eBay for around $400. Samsung has a Feb. 2007 firmware update on their website, so good continued support. But, in the end, my very first DVD player was a Samsung and I thought it was a POS.
Philips BDP9000: This 1st gen player was one of the poorest received. Although cNet gave it good reviews for design, build quality and fast load time (22 sec.), they really skimped on the audio. Although it can output the LPCM high def audio on most BD titles via analog 5.1 or HDMI 1.2, it has only the most basic DD decoding, and no DTS. This wasn't a big issue for me as my 6 yr. old Sony receiver supports both DD+ & DTS, and the analog outputs meant I could still use my perfectly good but old receiver for some time. I just missed a few bids on eBay for new, factory sealed units for just under $400, and an Amazon store currently has factory sealed units for $400 + $28 shipping. That was my backup plan if I grew weary of eBaying.
PS3: When Sony announced they were discontinuing the 20GB model is when I first thought about adding a BD player. I'm not a gamer & will only use it for BD playback. My router is in my home theater room, so I can easily connect it via ethernet cable for updates, etc. So if I could pickup one of the 20GB models "on the cheap" it may be the best way to add BD to my setup. The big drawback for me is no analog audio outputs. This is a big one for me, as I won't be able to enjoy HD audio until I get an HDMI receiver. I do have my eye on the Onkyo 605 receiver due out later this month. And the HDMI 1.3 on the PS3 is more "future proof" than the 1.2 HDMI on the Samsung & Phillips (the Sammy 1200 mention in the previous post does have 1.3 HDMI). And I expect Sony to provide much superior support for the PS3 than Samsung & Phillips will for their 1st gen. products.
There's quite a glut of PS3's on eBay; I think there's still a lot of "investors" out there who snapped them up early & planned on profiting by selling them above retail. But there no shortage of PS3's at retail stores these days, and the 60GB PS3's regularly go for less than $500 with these guys dumping their "investments". Well, last night I snagged a new, sealed box 20GB PS3 for $410.11 - the eleven cents did it; the last bid in the last few seconds was $410.00.
So, loading up the Netflix Q with Blu-rays, and looking forward to enjoying the best of both worlds.
And I guess I need to order that PS3 TV remote.
