Help Me Find a BD aka Nemo Lured by the Dark Side

[Nemo128]

Get this outta the way:

1. I freagin hate Sony.
2. I freagin hate BluRay.

I refuse to spend a lot of money. $100 is basically my max.

I need a BD player for a child. 6 year old. Probably play Disney BDs. Has to play DVDs too. Netflix would be a plus since they have a Netflix account in their house.

PS3 is not an option, don't recommend one. Xmas gift, no more than $100, I can buy online. Sounds simple enough?

Recommendations?

 

[Pyrrho]

Panasonic.

 

[agarwalro]

I need a BD player for a child. 6 year old.

Since this player will not have a long life, best to ignore any quality related aspects. Here is the cheapest I found.

Toshiba BDX2150 BDP for $80 at OfficeMax.

Want the beauty of Blu-ray and streaming too, without blowing your budget? Toshiba's BDX2150 Blu-ray Disc Player is ready, waiting and way-affordable. Plug it in, then sit back to watch your favorite movies in stunning native 1080p Full HD. And treat your ears to amazing surround sound, thanks to Dolby True HD and DTS-HD. You'll also see what sets Blu-ray apart with BD-Live 2.0, going online right from the movie to view filmmaker chats, deleted scenes, short clips and more. Plus, you will be able to view additional onscreen content thru Bonus View. Take advantage of popular streaming services like Netflix, CinemaNow, YouTube, VUDU, Pandora, Blockbuster and Picasa. And don't fret over building your home theater, because this player comes with USB and HDMI w/CEC ports, and is Wi-Fi ready for clutter-free, in-home connectivity. So why wait? Get into Blu-ray and onto the Internet with the BDX2150 Blu-ray Disc Player from Toshiba.

Features
•Full HD 1080p/24 fps video output: provides an amazing cinema experience in the comfort of your own home
•BD-Live: opens up a world of online features, with a convenient USB Memory for storing saved content
•Internet Connectivity: makes access to online content from Netflix, CinemaNow, YouTube, VUDU, Pandora, Blockbuster and Picasa possible
•AVCHD Playback for HD playback of your home movies
•HDMI w/CEC Connectivity for easy setup to highdefinition video and optimum video playback

 

[Nemo128]

Also it's going to be used on a small TV, so it's not like the uberest of video quality is necessary.

 

[markw]

Also it's going to be used on a small TV, so it's not like the uberest of video quality is necessary.

Such being the case, why not just stick to a DVD player? They can look pretty fine on a nice flat-screen TV, particularly a small one.

Internet is another stoy. Be careful here. "Wi-Fi Ready" means that you need to but an exra piece to avail yourself of that feature. Otherwise, you'll need to run a line to your LAN.

Also, be careful. Since HDMI seems to now the official standard and it passes audio as well. some units don't include analog audio or component/composite outputs, if that means anything to you.

Read the specs carefully.

 

[Nemo128]

mark, I figure why not. She'll probably want Disney movies anyway, the price difference is nill if it's $100 or less.

If I can pick one up with Netflix, that's just icing. I'm also going to stay away from the Wifi-ready marketing crap, I'm not buying additional hardware.

You bring up a good point about audio. The TV is going to need to decode the audio coming from the HDMI, isn't it? She won't have a receiver in her room, just a simple flat screen TV, I think a 19". I'm buying the BD more for compatibility with BDs than the need for the video quality boost over DVD.

 

[j_garcia]

I'd go Panasonic as well. Even the cheapest players they make have done well for me so far. The BD-65 I was using for streaming isn't that great at streaming however, so I wouldn't consider that a huge bonus unless the newer models are better at it. PQ/AQ are solid on it. I paid I think $99 shipped for it new.

 

[Nemo128]

j, when you say not good for streaming, in what way? For example, the Netflix interfaces I've seen on 360 and PS3 and PC are all fine. Are BD Netflix UIs that different from those?

I'll keep looking at all the Panas. I do trust Pana more than most makers (peep the sig) and I still have internal connections to get the best possible prices.

 

[markw]

j, when you say not good for streaming, in what way? For example, the Netflix interfaces I've seen on 360 and PS3 and PC are all fine. Are BD Netflix UIs that different from those?

I'll keep looking at all the Panas. I do trust Pana more than most makers (peep the sig) and I still have internal connections to get the best possible prices.

Check my recent post in the Steam Vent on this...

As for DVD's, these can be picked up used for two to five dollars almost anywhere around here. A great way to build up a collection of bejewled baby-sitters dirt cheap.

 

[j_garcia]

j, when you say not good for streaming, in what way? For example, the Netflix interfaces I've seen on 360 and PS3 and PC are all fine. Are BD Netflix UIs that different from those?

I'll keep looking at all the Panas. I do trust Pana more than most makers (peep the sig) and I still have internal connections to get the best possible prices.

With the same connection, the Panny frequently pauses to buffer (on my relatively slow connection at that house) with Netflix and is slow to queue and switch tracks on Pandora. My PS3 has no problems at all on that same connection (wired), likely do to far more memory and ability to buffer. The UI on most players and TVs is pretty simplistic compared to what you get on the PC or PS3; you typically cannot access your queue - you have to add things to watch via another device that can.