Need help deciding on a BD Player

[snmhanson]

I am in the market for a new blue-ray player. I am currently using a PS3 for BD movies but would like a dedicated player to make things a little more straight forward for my wife, kids and nanny. I am willing to spend up to $500 or so if necessary so both the Oppo and the Denon 3800 being closed out at ListenUp are in the cards. However, I also know that there are quite a few players around $200 that may do the trick. Since I am going to be getting a projector in the near future I want something that does a good job upconverting SD discs and has good picture qualities. Other than that, reliabilty, ease of use, disc loading speed and audio quality are important to me. Netflix or other movie downloading services is a feature I am interested in but not necessary (unless I don't know what I'm missing as I've never used it before). Basically, I don't want to trade quality/other features for download capabilities but I will take them if there is no trade off. I am also questioning whether the Oppo is worth the extra cost or not for me. I am not sure I would benefit from it being a universal player and am not completely clear what it would allow me to do that other players wouldn't. We will use the player mainly for watching movies and listen to very little, if any, music on it. What do you guys think?

Thanks for any advice anyone can offer.

Matt

 

[Adam]

Hi, Matt. I own a Panasonic DMP-BD60 and am very happy with it. The load times aren't exceptionally fast, but at the current price of around $130 (not even on a sale), it's hard to beat, IMO. I also own the Oppo DV-980H, and the SD upconversion between it and the Panasonic seem darn near identical, with a possible slight advantage going to the Panasonic. The Oppo BDP-83 is supposed to be better than the 980H, so it likely has an edge on the Panasonic. Deciding if that's worth another $370 or more is up to you (of course).

Depending on the connections that you want/need to make, you may also want to look at the DMP-BD80.

 

[tcarcio]

Just an opinion but the Pioneer bdp-23fd is a nice player and has just about all you need. I think it also has a great look which to some is important. You might be able to find it cheaper but you can check it out here.....http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=pioneer+bdp-23fd+blu+ray+players&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=8728934814094049915&ei=fvkKS8y7I4HRlAfVg4mFBA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB8Q8wIwAw#ps-sellers

 

[Adam]

I like how the auto-translator turned part of the link into an "embarrassment" smiley.

 

[tcarcio]

That is funny............

 

[j_garcia]

I used to own a 980H and now own the BDP-83 and it definitely does a better job at upscaling of SD DVDs. If you are serious about $500, then the Oppo is the easiest choice. If you want to save a bit, go with the BD-80.

 

[snmhanson]

Thanks for the advice. I checked out the BD-80 and it looks like a pretty nice unit. I was also kind of eyeing the LG models as they have all of the streaming and from what I hear a pretty quick load time and seem to get good reviews all the way around. Still undecided about the Oppo unit. I don't mind spending the $500 as long as I am going to noticably benefit from the Oppo over other units. On the other hand, I don't want to spend more, not get that great of an improvement over what I could have gotten for hundreds less and also miss out on the streaming capabilities. Tough decision. I'll keep humming and hawing and in the mean time feel free to add any additional comments.

Thanks again,

Matt

 

[j_garcia]

I read that Panasonic has new models coming soon that are capable of streaming, though that may be a month or two off. Sony has the N460 out now that can stream for an MSRP of $249, so street price will be lower.

 

[garman]

How about the LG BD390, since it has analog 5.1 outputs for an older receiver that lacks its own internal decoding of the new audio formats. You did not mention if your current receiver is able to decode the new HD audio formats.

I also am looking for a player that can handle the Netflix downloads, but like you, I am not sure how important this feature may be to me in the future. As of now, I am most concerned with a player that can internally decode the new audio formats and pass them to my older receiver.

Neither the Panisonic BD80 or the Toshiba BDX 2000 have the analog 5.1 outputs or the Netflix capability.

I do not want to spend more than $300 now, considering that prices are falling so quickly. Buyers will have remorse in a few months when they can buy a better player for half the former price. The Samsung BDP 3600 is off my list due to the numerious negative reviews.

 

[j_garcia]

Neither the Panisonic BD80 or the Toshiba BDX 2000 have the analog 5.1 outputs or the Netflix capability.

The BD-80 does have 5.1 outs. The BD-60 does not, but neither have Netflix.

 

[snmhanson]

Thank again all for the advice. I have narrowed my search down to a few players. For high end I am of course looking at the Oppo. For a streaming player I think I am setting my sights on the Sony BDP-N460 or maybe the LG BD390. For a budget player I am considering the Panosonic BD-60 (although the Sony above is not much more). I am slowly moving away from the Oppo since I am focusing mainly on blue-ray performance. While we do have a rather large library of SD discs, we are fine with the picture we get on those discs playing them on a regular non-upconverting DVD player. I am guessing that we shouuld then be ok with any upconversion that we get from a new BD player, right? Anyone care to comment more on any of the players that I am considering? In particular, how does the Sony 460 compare to the LG BD390 that I was looking at earlier? It is quite a bit less expensive but will I get similar performance out of it?

While I wasn't previously so concerned with the streaming capabilities of a player, it is now starting to look more attractive to me. There have been several nights where my wife and I want to watch a good movie but there is nothing on TV (all 250 channels) and we don't feel like going out and renting a movie. Being able to choose a movie from Netflix on demand seems like a nice option. Can anyone tell me how streaming works? Does it require significant buffering or can you start watching virtually immediately after you choose the movie? What about the video and audio quality? Are we talking 1080p and HD audio or more like 720p/1080i and regular surround sound? Anything else I should know about streaming before taking the plunge?

Thanks for any additional help,

Matt

 

[j_garcia]

If I am not mistaken, nobody streams HD audio at this time. Netflix streams in stereo and the PQ will depend on the movie itself, but so far it has been DVD quality for me (480p).

The BD PQ from all of those players (N460, BD-60, BD390) is going to be pretty much the same. The BD-60 is $109 right now - see deals area. You may have missed your best window of opportunity this weekend, as there were a lot of deals on the BD390 with free movies or at a low price over the holiday weekend. Might still be some good ones if you check since it is Cyber Monday.

 

[3db]

Whats the rage with streaming if it doesn't do HD audio? I don't understand To me its worth the hassle of going to one's local rental of chocie and picking up the Blu Ray and get the whole enchilada than to miss out on the sound.

 

[j_garcia]

Whats the rage with streaming if it doesn't do HD audio? I don't understand To me its worth the hassle of going to one's local rental of chocie and picking up the Blu Ray and get the whole enchilada than to miss out on the sound.

Yeah, it is kind of a step backwards, but it is extremely convenient. The benefit being, for movies I am not sure about, I don't have to wait for them to show up in the mail, I can watch some right now and see if it is something I want to watch more of; if it is then request the disc. For movies that I want to hear the audio, I just put them in my regular queue to get on BD. Many brand new releases are not available to stream right anyway. There are some movies for me, generally comedies or documentaries or something like that, that I don't really need the HD audio on also.