View Full Version : What is the best Blu-Ray player out there?
Quagmire
2009-06-24, 12:01
I am looking for a Blu-Ray player and am wondering what is the best out there?
I've had nothing but amazing experiences from the PS3 and even though I never play games, it's not a bad option when something comes out and I pick it up to play.
hmurchison
2009-06-24, 12:15
I am looking for a Blu-Ray player and am wondering what is the best out there?
For me it's the Oppo BD-83 (which I do not have I have a Samsung BD-P1500. It has terrific upscaling, a great build and supports DVD-Video, DVD-Audio and SACD. I'll probably replace my Sammy with the Oppo eventually and pick up some SACD for fun.
bassplayinMacFiend
2009-06-24, 12:24
With the recent reports of the Blu-ray consortium discussing 'managed copies' and disc backups, you may want to wait a little bit and see where the future of Blu-ray is going before plonking down any hard earned cash on a possibly soon to be obsolete model.
PS3 here.
+1. Same. If you're not gaming.
Quagmire
2009-06-24, 14:13
Does anyone know anything about the LG BD390 or the Samsung BD P-3600? C|NET gives those high marks along with the PS3.
EDIT: Went with the PS3.
Story from slashdot (http://slashdot.org/story/09/06/22/1339213/Blu-ray-Adoption-Soft-More-Still-Own-HD-DVD?from=rss) says there are still more HD owners out there than Blu-Ray. (10% to 7%) prices of discs (catalog stuff) is starting to drop, with BB offering sale titles at 10 - 15 bucks regularly now. But the new release titles have to get closer to regular DVD titles and there has to be under 100 dollar players to see any real growth.
as an owner of both (unfortunately) I still think HD is better, in terms of the online experience and the fact that the discs weren't region coded. every body crowed about the disc size difference but I don't see to many 2 disc hd sets that aren't two disc on blu-ray as well.
But no one asked me.:lol:
hmurchison
2009-06-24, 18:33
Story from slashdot (http://slashdot.org/story/09/06/22/1339213/Blu-ray-Adoption-Soft-More-Still-Own-HD-DVD?from=rss) says there are still more HD owners out there than Blu-Ray. (10% to 7%) prices of discs (catalog stuff) is starting to drop, with BB offering sale titles at 10 - 15 bucks regularly now. But the new release titles have to get closer to regular DVD titles and there has to be under 100 dollar players to see any real growth.
as an owner of both (unfortunately) I still think HD is better, in terms of the online experience and the fact that the discs weren't region coded. every body crowed about the disc size difference but I don't see to many 2 disc hd sets that aren't two disc on blu-ray as well.
But no one asked me.:lol:
The better "consumer" format died. Though I've made a killing buying HD DVD movies from Traderbora on Amazon.com and iNetvideo.com. $4 per movie delivered to my home. Now it's hard to find movies I don't already own.
You might want to wait a bit before buying a Blu-ray player since the recently finalized AACS spec may require new hardware (http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/06/aacs-license-finalized-managed-copy-coming-to-blu-ray.ars) if you want to take advantage of your singular "managed copy".
Yech. Looks like managed copies promises to be nothing but extra hassles, headaches and ass-rending exercise.
I think I'll stick with my old-school DVD, kthkxbye.
So a software update won't make a PS3 work...oh well. I'll just pirate a copy as needed them. :D I have no moral issue doing that in a case like this.
bassplayinMacFiend
2009-06-25, 07:13
With the recent reports of the Blu-ray consortium discussing 'managed copies' and disc backups, you may want to wait a little bit and see where the future of Blu-ray is going before plonking down any hard earned cash on a possibly soon to be obsolete model.
You might want to wait a bit before buying a Blu-ray player since the recently finalized AACS spec may require new hardware (http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/06/aacs-license-finalized-managed-copy-coming-to-blu-ray.ars) if you want to take advantage of your singular "managed copy".
Glad I'm not the only one mentioning this.
drewprops
2009-06-25, 08:08
Screw Blu-Ray, I went with digital VHS (D-VHS).
They can't be scratched, they stack well, there's a TON of old storage solutions out there that can be picked up for pennies on the dollar, they can be repaired with two pencils, they can hold EIGHT HOURS of material on them, AND YOU CAN MAKE AS MANY COPIES AS YOU WANT and some models even have accelerated duplication modes so that you don't have to wait through a 1-to-1 transfer!!
Think about what I'm saying to you. D-VHS is the way to go.
...
Managed Copy isn't going to be too important for your BD player, like every other copy protection hassle ever invented, it'll be defeated in short order, and people will just copy their BD's the way they want to on their computers.
Quagmire
2009-06-25, 12:14
Didn't anyone see my edit to my last post? I went with the PS3. :)
hmurchison
2009-06-25, 12:56
Didn't anyone see my edit to my last post? I went with the PS3. :)
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooo...
just joking. Good choice.
Didn't anyone see my edit to my last post? I went with the PS3. :)Good for you, and I probably would've gone with the PS3 as well. That said, the thread title isn't "What is the best Blu-Rray player for Quagmire?", so the discussion still has a life (and it's interesting).
Quagmire
2009-06-25, 13:13
The PS3 just made better sense for me. Although I already have a Xbox 360 and prefer the exclusives for the 360( particularly the Battlestations series), the PS3 just offers a whole lot more then the standalone LG BD390 and Samsung BD-P3600 for the same price as the PS3. Not only is it a good gaming console and Blu-Ray player, it is a good multi-media platform and as of right now using it for Folding@home. From what I have heard, the Cell CPU still has a lot of potential waiting to be tapped. But, who knows when/if developers will tap into that. :\ The LG and Samsung didn't really offer anything that I cared for( Netflix and Pandora streaming). The only thing I haven't find is what kind of Wi-Fi does the PS3 use? G or N?
I'd assume it's G. I mean N is still relatively new, isn't it? :confused:
I'd assume it's G. I mean N is still relatively new, isn't it? :confused:
Wow, now when you mention it, I realized that we've been in "draft-N" limbo for two years and if Wiki is accurate, not until Dec 2009.
Did it take A/B/G even that long?
Quagmire
2009-06-25, 13:46
I'd assume it's G. I mean N is still relatively new, isn't it? :confused:
I believe Sony updated the PS3 back in October, but the only thing read about it was a HD bump from 60 GB to 80 GB and dropped PS2 backward compatibility for that model. Who knows if they changed it over to the N standard.
I just poked around on the Playstation site, and to connect to the internet wirelessly on the PS3 it says: "802.11n routers need to be set to mixed mode (i.e., set so that it accepts 802.11b or 802.11g wireless signals)." So yeah, sounds like it's still G.
Brave Ulysses
2009-06-25, 22:09
The PS3 just made better sense for me. Although I already have a Xbox 360 and prefer the exclusives for the 360( particularly the Battlestations series), the PS3 just offers a whole lot more then the standalone LG BD390 and Samsung BD-P3600 for the same price as the PS3. Not only is it a good gaming console and Blu-Ray player, it is a good multi-media platform and as of right now using it for Folding@home. From what I have heard, the Cell CPU still has a lot of potential waiting to be tapped. But, who knows when/if developers will tap into that. :\ The LG and Samsung didn't really offer anything that I cared for( Netflix and Pandora streaming). The only thing I haven't find is what kind of Wi-Fi does the PS3 use? G or N?
Hm... both of those stand alone players actually offer quite a few advantages over the PS3. The PS3 was once the best blu-ray player but it has been surpassed... and it still isn't the most elegant way to just put a movie in and have playback control as you usually do with a set top player. Of course, if you buy the PS3 Bluetooth remote then its a bit better but its lack of infrared sucks if you use a Harmony remote (excluding their new overpriced PS3 adapter).
Those players have support for additional audio codecs, analog out, better upscaling, netflix and pandora support, use far less power, quicker load times (which the PS3 use to dominate in) and are cheaper.
Quagmire
2009-06-25, 23:07
Hm... both of those stand alone players actually offer quite a few advantages over the PS3. The PS3 was once the best blu-ray player but it has been surpassed... and it still isn't the most elegant way to just put a movie in and have playback control as you usually do with a set top player. Of course, if you buy the PS3 Bluetooth remote then its a bit better but its lack of infrared sucks if you use a Harmony remote (excluding their new overpriced PS3 adapter).
Those players have support for additional audio codecs, analog out, better upscaling, netflix and pandora support, use far less power, quicker load times (which the PS3 use to dominate in) and are cheaper.
http://reviews.cnet.com/best-blu-ray-players/
The LG was the top contender with the PS3 second and Samsung third. I didn't care for the Netflix and Pandora support. I have Pandora on my iPhone and Netflix streaming on my 360. And getting it from Best Buy, the LG and PS3 were the same price($399) and the Samsung was $50 cheaper due to it being on sale. And I didn't say the PS3 was the best Blu-Ray player, but I said one of the best out there. I watched Transformers last night on it and it did a pretty good job at upscaling it. While the LG and Samsung may be better( Best Buy didn't have any hooked up to their TV's), I am satisfied with the PS3's performance.
The PS3 still makes more sense to me. I lost exclusive titles that I liked going from the PS2 to 360 so now I can play the newer versions with the PS3. That was one consideration that went into my decision. Seeing it was still a top contender as a Blu-Ray player was another consideration. Not a consideration, but after purchase I remembered that there was a Folding@home program for the PS3. So that is another plus. There are many more uses for the PS3 then there was for the standalone players for me. Once "The Dark Knight" arrives tomorrow via Netflix on Blu-Ray I will rate it on how well it plays Blu-Ray DVD's. But, so far I am very pleased and satisfied with the PS3. It was the gaming aspect that made the decision mostly.
I have the Samsung 3600 (connects to web with wifi) and when you put in BluRay disc it boots up way faster that my HD (toshiba HD-A3) player does. I would like SACD support so if I get a second player it will have that.
I gotta admit to digging it's netflix support not so much pandora. They charge more if you want Blu-Ray but their is always a wait on NR titles. If it weren't for the series that they show HBO and Showtime would be history in our house but I love WEEDS & Nurse Jackie and Sopranos on demand.
Quagmire
2009-06-26, 16:16
Just watched the Blu-Ray version of "The Dark Knight" and wow the image quality is amazing. Although it kept on changing from taking up the full screen and not. I messed with settings on the PS3 and didn't change anything. Is it a Blu-Ray thing or was it just this one movie?
Just watched the Blu-Ray version of "The Dark Knight" and wow the image quality is amazing. Although it kept on changing from taking up the full screen and not. I messed with settings on the PS3 and didn't change anything. Is it a Blu-Ray thing or was it just this one movie?
I think it's the movie. There are some scenes that are full HD and most of the other stuff is in letterbox. What does transformers look like? I'm told it's used as a refernce disk by a number of hi-fi review pros.
Quagmire
2009-06-26, 16:48
I think it's the movie. There are some scenes that are full HD and most of the other stuff is in letterbox. What does transformers look like? I'm told it's used as a refernce disk by a number of hi-fi review pros.
Well Transformers was a regular DVD that was upscaled, but it was pretty good. It was maybe 60-80% the quality that "The Dark Knight" on Blu-Ray was in the letterbox format.
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