which blu ray player??????

[tn001d]

Cant wait to get the new Sony S550 I just wished the chasis was similar to the S500.

$700 for the Panny BD50 is too high. You might as well get the new Pioneer Elite for $100 more.

 

[itschris]

I think at this point in the game, $600+ is just too high for the players...especially in such a rapidly changing environment. Considering you'll like replace... or at least want to replace your player in 2 years, you're better off getting the most current player that offers the base line functionality you care about. For me, that'll likely be the Sony 350 which is supposed to come in under $400.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Cant wait to get the new Sony S550 I just wished the chasis was similar to the S500.

$700 for the Panny BD50 is too high. You might as well get the new Pioneer Elite for $100 more.

What is the big advantage with the Pioneer Elite over the Panny BD50?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I think at this point in the game, $600+ is just too high for the players...especially in such a rapidly changing environment. Considering you'll like replace... or at least want to replace your player in 2 years, you're better off getting the most current player that offers the base line functionality you care about. For me, that'll likely be the Sony 350 which is supposed to come in under $400.

You never know these days. It was rumored that the Panny BD50 was supposed to be $400 and no more than $500. It was way off. The DMP-BD30 is $500. If the Sony 350 were to be $400, it would definitely have the edge.

 

[itschris]

You never know these days. It was rumored that the Panny BD50 was supposed to be $400 and no more than $500. It was way off. The DMP-BD30 is $500. If the Sony 350 were to be $400, it would definitely have the edge.

Well...if they tighten the bolts up on everyone like that you know what? I'll just find myself a Panny BD30. It does what I need now... I was just waiting to see what comes out in the new stuff. There's no reason this stuff should be priced that high anymore and the technology is chaning to rapidly to spending that much on soon to truly obsolete versions like those who spent $1k on first gen players barely 2 years ago.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Well...if they tighten the bolts up on everyone like that you know what? I'll just find myself a Panny BD30. It does what I need now... I was just waiting to see what comes out in the new stuff. There's no reason this stuff should be priced that high anymore and the technology is chaning to rapidly to spending that much on soon to truly obsolete versions like those who spent $1k on first gen players barely 2 years ago.

I've had both Sony & Panasonic blu-ray players, and I liked them both. Good choices.

 

[tn001d]

My new favorite player to look at this summer is the Pioneer BDP-51FD player. Has a nice build/chasis and will feature all codecs. DTS-MA will be available with firmware update. Also has a remote that is based on the Toshiba XA1/2 remote control (no back light though )

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

DTS-MA will be available with firmware update.

I heard that line before.

Unless it is in black and white, I would not hold my breath.

Oh, by the way, DTS-MA rocks!

So far I've seen AVP Raquiem, Golden Compass, Hitman, Mr. & Mrs Smith in DTS-MA and I have to say that it is AWESOME!!!

 

[tn001d]

I read somwhere that pioneer confirmed a firmware update after launch. Also from what i have read, pioneer has been very good with firmware support of there 3 blu-ray players

 

[itschris]

Cant wait to get the new Sony S550 I just wished the chasis was similar to the S500.

$700 for the Panny BD50 is too high. You might as well get the new Pioneer Elite for $100 more.

Have you seen pics of the new Sony players?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I read somwhere that pioneer confirmed a firmware update after launch. Also from what i have read, pioneer has been very good with firmware support of there 3 blu-ray players

That may be true, but I still would not buy anything unless the actual owner's manual (PDF) confirms it.

When I bought the Panasonic DMP-BD10A, Panasonic gave a press release stating that they will come out with a firmware to include DTS-MA. Same thing with the Samsung 5000UP. But it never happened.

Now I think they can upgrade with a firmware to BITSTREAM DTS-MA, like the Samsung, but not to Internally Decode DTS-MA.

The Sony PS3 is the only machine that is able to upgrade to Internally decode DTS-MA with a simple firmware, although it cannot Bitstream yet.

The new Pioneer BDs better be able to decode DTS-MA for their sake. The new Panasonic and Sony "should" also decode DTS-MA.

I just cannot believe it is that difficult to implement DTS-MA!

 

[ParkerAudio]

I have seen a lot of posts saying that a lot of the current 1.1 profile Bluray players are going to have firmware upgrades to make them 2.0 profile, but don't they have to have 1gb of memory versus 256mb of memory to be true 2.0 profile?

 

[tn001d]

Have you seen pics of the new Sony players?

Yes

 

[moreira85]

Decoding

WHEN DECODING dolby true hd or DTS-MA I believe there are two ways of doing it.
1. the DVD Player can decode it internally
2. It can send a bitstream

is this correct, if so what is a bitstream? Is it when the DVD can send the signal to the receiver the receiver can interally decode the signal?

 

[jostenmeat]

I just cannot believe it is that difficult to implement DTS-MA!

ADTG, fwiw, MA is two concurrent bitstreams. Core + Extension. So, I think that in of itself makes it trickier. Why the core? So that people w/o HDMI receivers can still enjoy significantly improved bit-rates thru SPDIF.

WHEN DECODING dolby true hd or DTS-MA I believe there are two ways of doing it.
1. the DVD Player can decode it internally
2. It can send a bitstream

is this correct, if so what is a bitstream? Is it when the DVD can send the signal to the receiver the receiver can interally decode the signal?

In a nutshell, yes. Though more knowledgable people will say that bitstream might be a misnomer? Since its all just a stream of bits?

The whole point of using T-HD and MA is to pack the info into less space. Wherever it is "decoded" (or more perhaps more accurately "unpacked", since there is nothing to decode) does not matter, in theory. But, it needs to be unpacked somewhere into PCM.

Of course, a lot of discs just have PCM. No unpacking required. At first, some were worried about the great amount of space that takes on a disc. Some are just against it period, as a waste of space just equals a waste of space, and they would like to see that space used for further decompression of video.

Thankfully, the proportion of 50g discs seems to be slowly, but continuously, climbing in proportion to 25g discs.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...DTS-MA is two concurrent bitstreams. Core + Extension. So, I think that in of itself makes it trickier. Why the core? So that people w/o HDMI receivers can still enjoy significantly improved bit-rates thru SPDIF.

Well, isn't Dolby TrueHD the same way? It contains Dolby Digital Core + TrueHD so that people without access to TrueHD can just get DD?

 

[itschris]

Yes

I just saw them last night in my new issue of HT Magazine. They have the 350 @$400 and the 550 @$500. They sill look the coolest to me.

However, I got my new Pioneer Elite 94 last night from SoundPros (delivered as promised - more on all the continuing drama in a different thread I'll update everyone on) and I have to say, I'm actually thinking about spending a couple of hundred extra bucks on an Elite player. Their stuff just looks so high end to me and it'd be nice to have some matching equipment of equal good looks and quality.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

However, I got my new Pioneer Elite 94 last night...I'm actually thinking about spending a couple of hundred extra bucks on an Elite player. Their stuff just looks so high end to me and it'd be nice to have some matching equipment of equal good looks and quality.

Let me be the first to agree with you on this.

Elite AVR + Elite BD =

 

[itschris]

Let me be the first to agree with you on this.

Elite AVR + Elite BD =

I was just saying in another thread that if I spend too much on a remote, my wife is gonna have my a$$. She hasn't really said a peep about any of this, so I'm gietting nervous about pushing my luck any further. She already knows we'll be spending about $400 for the Sony... it's gonna be hard to tell her I need to double the cost because the Elite player looks pretty and it more matchy-matchy.

I'm already getting cnocerned that she's gonna cream me this xmas with some outrageous high dollar request and turn the HT into a formidable tool against me a take out any leg i have to stand on.

 

[ParkerAudio]

I was just saying in another thread that if I spend too much on a remote, my wife is gonna have my a$$. She hasn't really said a peep about any of this, so I'm gietting nervous about pushing my luck any further. She already knows we'll be spending about $400 for the Sony... it's gonna be hard to tell her I need to double the cost because the Elite player looks pretty and it more matchy-matchy.

I'm already getting cnocerned that she's gonna cream me this xmas with some outrageous high dollar request and turn the HT into a formidable tool against me a take out any leg i have to stand on.

Join the club! That Pioneer isn't going to crank out a 2.0 profile until November, at least that is what I read, so consider that.