New Blue Ray player advice sought

[Swerd]

I'm finally going to step up to getting a new Blue Ray disc player. It will replace a Sony DVD player DVP-NS700H that presently works fine. It is set up to run all digital audio to my AVR and video directly to my TV. It cost all of $30 several years ago. I need some advice on what to look for.

I have waited for BR players to mature, and I hope that finding something suitable will not be complicated or too expensive. I would like to pay no more than $150, preferably less.

I ask this because every time I think of getting a BR player, the models and their features have all changed and I’m tired of educating myself about them.

I realize that there are many options available for streaming video over the internet to a home theater system, and that I am aware of some but not all the new options. Keep in mind that I prefer to keep things simple which I hope is obvious from my present DVD player and set up. For those who don't know me, sound quality is more important to me than video quailty.

Ability to hook up to other gear I now have:

• Panasonic LCD TV with HDMI connections and 1080p resolution
• Older AVR (B&K AVR507) with features typical of the pre-HDTV era. It does have inputs to hook up 5 channels of analog audio signals decoded by a BR player.
• My home computer is a PC, which will be soon replaced by a newer PC
• Typical high-speed internet connection
• Lynksis G-type wireless modem
• Please note, I don’t have cable TV, I presently use only a TV antenna or DVD discs.

What features I think I want

• Plays BR, DVD, & CD formats
• Decent load time for the above formats
• Able to download Netflix movies from internet (wireless or some wired connection can both be available)
• Able to play 5-channel music formats. This is low priority, but OK if available.

I am open to all suggestions, especially reasonable digital streaming options I am unaware of. I have no intention of replacing my older AVR and I will politely ignore any such advice.

Thank you.

 

[j_garcia]

I am not sure you are going to get a player with internal decoding required for your non-HDMI reciever for $150 unless they are on sale. I'd definitely go with a Panasonic though; I've owned 3 of their recent models and they have been good players. The second reason you will also need their top model is because it has wifi included, which the lower models do not. All current players from major manufacturers should load quckly; that shouldn't be an issue anymore. Unfortunately, most of the under $200 players will not play the 5.1 portion of SACD and will only play the DTS portion of DVD-A discs.

It looks like that is the Panny BDT-100 and it is right at $150.

 

[Swerd]

I am not sure you are going to get a player with internal decoding required for your non-HDMI reciever for $150 unless they are on sale. I'd definitely go with a Panasonic though; I've owned 3 of their recent models and they have been good players. The second reason you will also need their top model is because it has wifi included, which the lower models do not. All current players from major manufacturers should load quckly; that shouldn't be an issue anymore. Unfortunately, most of the under $200 players will not play the 5.1 portion of SACD and will only play the DTS portion of DVD-A discs.

It looks like that is the Panny BDT-100 and it is right at $150.

Thanks for the info. I went to the Panasonic web site and read about their BR players. Their info left me unclear whether the various BR audio codecs are decoded by the player and available thru the 5.1-channel audio outlets or whether they are only available by HDMI connection.

Where can I get this straight? In comparison, I read the info on the Oppo BDP-93, and they made it clear what is available and how to hook it up. I hope to find something similar to the Oppo, but without SACD and DVD-A capability, 3D video, and the $500 price tag.

I guess I need to know if my price goal is unrealistic.

 

[dkane360]

If the player has 5.1 or 7.1 analog audio outs, it should be able to decode the lossless formats and output them through the analog jacks. I have never seen a br player that had the multichannel analog outs and couldn't do that.

I have the pioneer bdp-320 which I bought on sale for $150 a little while back. It doesn't have netflix on it and it's painfully slow, but it has the 7.1 analog outs.

This is a previous generation panasonic that has the analog outs. It fits your bill except it can't do netflix or SACD/DVD-A. The newer version that can do netflix is $300 I believe.
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-BD80-Clarity-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B001V9LA4E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1308600101&sr=8-3

Edit- just looked, its not actually amazon selling it, and there's $40 shipping. Forget that lol

Edit #2 - I saw at a local best buy that they had a Denon DBP 2010CI open box for $100 (no remote or box). I could see if they have it if you're interested.

 

[Swerd]

If the player has 5.1 or 7.1 analog audio outs, it should be able to decode the lossless formats and output them through the analog jacks. I have never seen a br player that had the multichannel analog outs and couldn't do that.

I have the pioneer bdp-320 which I bought on sale for $150 a little while back. It doesn't have netflix on it and it's painfully slow, but it has the 7.1 analog outs.

This is a previous generation panasonic that has the analog outs. It fits your bill except it can't do netflix or SACD/DVD-A. The newer version that can do netflix is $300 I believe.
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-BD80-Clarity-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B001V9LA4E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1308600101&sr=8-3

Edit- just looked, its not actually amazon selling it, and there's $40 shipping. Forget that lol

Thanks. So I'm not suffering from wishful thinking. I was surprised at how vague the language was in Panasonic's description of just what it's present BR player models can and cannot decode. I couldn't find a manual to read.

On another subject, Dennis say yes I can borrow his drivers. I'm now working out how small a piece of MDF, a full sheet or a half sheet, I'll need to get.

Do you have screwdrivers for square-drive? Like this?

I have both phillips head and square-drive screws with black finish that look good with speakers. I much prefer the square-drive screws and will use those if you have the right tools.

 

[dkane360]

Yea, I have a set of screw driver bits that should work.

 

[Swerd]

I saw at a local best buy that they had a Denon DBP 2010CI open box for $100 (no remote or box). I could see if they have it if you're interested.

That price for a Denon player had me interested for a moment, but no remote control is a show stopper. In my hands, the universal remote that came with my receiver has been pretty good but not good enough to 100% replace the remote control for a DVD player. There are some functions that you only use during initial set up that are hard for me to reproduce on a universal remote.

Thanks for looking. I'll keep looking at the Panasonics.