LG BH-200 BD/HD DVD player $339 + $25 gift card + 12% off

[j_garcia]

Those with a HD DVD catalog still might be interested in this one:

$339.99 on sale with another 10% off with Reward Zone coupon.
Should be $306 plus your local tax.

$299.19 with 12% Reward Zone member coupon.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8504709&type=product&id=1186004964788&D

They also have a $25 gift card for purchase of $250 and up and if you are a Reward Zone member, you can use the 12% off coupon this weekend. Could work out to a good deal.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

That thing was 1k until the war ended, if I remember correctly.

 

[j_garcia]

Yep, that's why I put it up

 

[TripleAgent]

How do you get the coupon, and is the gift card also for this weekend only? I am a Reward Zone Member, but have only got certificates, but no coupon.

 

[j_garcia]

You should have gotten a mailer with a 10% and 12% off coupon that is sent out to RZ members on a regular basis. I got mine on Sat. When I first signed up, I wasn't getting them either, but recently I have been getting them every few weeks. Yes, they are date sensitive in that they are generally only good for a 3-4 day window and they have restrictions on how they can be used (some are for media, some are for electronics only, etc...).

 

[TripleAgent]

Printed the coupons, and snagged one last night. Used HD-DVD 50 dollar card, 12% coupon, gift card coupon didn't want to work, so they gave me 10 off, which I preferred, honestly. Out the door for 263! Will update and fire it up tonight. Thanks again!

 

[darien87]

Makes me kind of sorry I sold all my HD-DVD's.

But the site says it decodes "DTS-HD". Is that the same as DTS-MA? I thought there was a difference, like Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD.

 

[j_garcia]

Makes me kind of sorry I sold all my HD-DVD's.

But the site says it decodes "DTS-HD". Is that the same as DTS-MA? I thought there was a difference, like Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD.

I do think they are different, but I am not sure if that means that if it can do HD that it can do MA also or not.

 

[jostenmeat]

You know... I don't think I have any MA tracks among my modest HD-DVD collection.

Anyone know which of the more popular titles that might have that codec?

 

[allargon]

Makes me kind of sorry I sold all my HD-DVD's.

But the site says it decodes "DTS-HD". Is that the same as DTS-MA? I thought there was a difference, like Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD.

I can definitely tell you that with the current "June" firmware the BH200 does not internally decode DTS-HD MA or DTS-HD HR. It recognizes it. DTS-HD by itself usually refers to DTS-HD HR in the HD DVD world. However, it can refer to either. Examples of DTS-HD MA tracks that are labeled as only DTS-HD are "Uncommon Bach" and about 7 other titles from Surround Records.

You know... I don't think I have any MA tracks among my modest HD-DVD collection.

Anyone know which of the more popular titles that might have that codec?

Yep...

The only mainstream US movie that has DTS-HD MA on HD DVD is Pan's Labyrinth. There are quite a few music and concert HD DVD discs that have DTS-HD HR and DTS-HD MA for their audio tracks. It is also a common codec on European Studio Canal HD DVD's.

 

[darien87]

You know... I don't think I have any MA tracks among my modest HD-DVD collection.

Anyone know which of the more popular titles that might have that codec?

I was thinking more on the Blu-ray side. It would suck to have a Blu-ray player that couldn't do DTS-MA.

 

[jostenmeat]

I was thinking more on the Blu-ray side. It would suck to have a Blu-ray player that couldn't do DTS-MA.

Oh. DUH. lol

I haven't looked into it in a while, but I believe HD is its own codec; different from MA core. So, if that were true, I don't think that HD capability equates to MA capability.

I think one of the main reasons that MA was so tough at first is because it comprises of TWO concurrent streams. Core + extension.

If it cannot send MA either as bitsream(s), or unpacked, its definitely something to scratch off the list for me. OTOH, Im sure others into for the video, on a budget, could happily welcome this deal.

 

[allargon]

I was thinking more on the Blu-ray side. It would suck to have a Blu-ray player that couldn't do DTS-MA.

Lionsgate, Universal, Fox, New Line (what's left of them), RBFilms and Surround Records are firmly in the DTS-HD MA camp.

Paramount, Warner (therefore future New Line), Sony and Weinstein are firmly in the Dolby TrueHD camp.

Disney and Opus Arte have yet to make up their collective minds.

Oh. DUH. lol

I haven't looked into it in a while, but I believe HD is its own codec; different from MA core. So, if that were true, I don't think that HD capability equates to MA capability.

I think one of the main reasons that MA was so tough at first is because it comprises of TWO concurrent streams. Core + extension.

If it cannot send MA either as bitsream(s), or unpacked, its definitely something to scratch off the list for me. OTOH, Im sure others into for the video, on a budget, could happily welcome this deal.

The BH200 is perfectly capable of bitstreaming everything. Cheap Funai clone players (Magnavox, Emerson, Insignia, etc.) can bitstream everything. Unlike the Sony BDP-S350, the BH200 can reformat multichannel DD+ and Dolby TrueHD into DTS for legacy (read: SPDIF) receivers.

 

[jostenmeat]

Unlike the Sony BDP-S350, the BH200 can reformat multichannel DD+ and Dolby TrueHD into DTS for legacy (read: SPDIF) receivers.

Wow, I would imagine that to be a complex process to turn one algorithm/codec into another. That's how they work right, algorithms? All in the player nonetheless . . . that's a first one for me. Thanks.

 

[allargon]

Wow, I would imagine that to be a complex process to turn one algorithm/codec into another. That's how they work right, algorithms? All in the player nonetheless . . . that's a first one for me. Thanks.

Sony does *NOT* get a pass on me for this one. A $99 Toshiba HD-A2 could do this at launch.

 

[jostenmeat]

Sony does *NOT* get a pass on me for this one. A $99 Toshiba HD-A2 could do this at launch.

I understood that you already said the Sony cannot do what the LG could. But, my question, or I should say my surprise, was that players could actually transform one codec into another!?

DD+ and Dolby TrueHD into DTS

I didn't know that. Wow. Is DTS cool with that? Its almost strange that the new higher res DOLBY tracks are not being turned into DD, but DTS. I know DTS has a higher max bitrate, but I guess Im surprised its not kept "in-house", and just to repeat myself, I didn't know players could transform the actual codec/algorithm.

 

[allargon]

I understood that you already said the Sony cannot do what the LG could. But, my question, or I should say my surprise, was that players could actually transform one codec into another!?



I didn't know that. Wow. Is DTS cool with that? Its almost strange that the new higher res DOLBY tracks are not being turned into DD, but DTS. I know DTS has a higher max bitrate, but I guess Im surprised its not kept "in-house", and just to repeat myself, I didn't know players could transform the actual codec/algorithm.

DTS is like any other organization. They just want their money. One of the reasons I suspect the A3 cost a lot less to build than the A2 (despite people claiming Toshiba was losing *hundreds* of dollars per unit) is that it transcodes DD+ and Dolby TrueHD into DD rather than DTS. (That's another subject.)

No worries on the surprise, but it's actually quite common among players. I'm sure that quite a few Blu-Ray players can do it, too. I'm fairly certain the PS3 is one. The Xbox 360 transcodes everything into WMA (Blech!) I believe. It's one strange bird.

Back on topic: the two things that set the BH200 apart from most other Blu-Ray players (including the profile 2.0 ones) are its all region (SD DVD *AND* Blu-Ray) playback capabilities and its excellent video processing/upconverting capabilities via the Marvell QDEO chip.