HK AVR 347 and Blu Ray

[Mauskar]

Hi. Im a noob and been researching what blu rayplayer to purchase. I plan to run this with a HK AVR 347. After much research, I've narrowed my choices, but needed some expertise in picking which to pull the trigger on

1. Panny BD 60/80 (not sure if I need the additional 7.1, but since my receiver handles it I'd opt for the BD80, plus digital audio is sent via HDMI...)
2. LG BD390- streaming but reliability ?
3. Samsung P3600

My preferences are mainly image quality, sound quality, and good dvd upconversion since I have tons of DVD's. Streaming music is nice, but optional for me.

So which would be the best, and if anyone has a HK AVR 347, which did you select with your setup- if there is a BD that's better, please let me know.Looking to spend about $250.00

thanks in advance

 

[allargon]

Hi. Im a noob and been researching what blu rayplayer to purchase. I plan to run this with a HK AVR 347. After much research, I've narrowed my choices, but needed some expertise in picking which to pull the trigger on

1. Panny BD 60/80 (not sure if I need the additional 7.1, but since my receiver handles it I'd opt for the BD80, plus digital audio is sent via HDMI...)
2. LG BD390- streaming but reliability ?
3. Samsung P3600

My preferences are mainly image quality, sound quality, and good dvd upconversion since I have tons of DVD's. Streaming music is nice, but optional for me.

So which would be the best, and if anyone has a HK AVR 347, which did you select with your setup- if there is a BD that's better, please let me know.Looking to spend about $250.00

thanks in advance

The question of reliability might want to go up to the Panny. There have been plenty of complaints about the Panny player's drives failing to read discs after awhile.

My vote is clearly for the BD-390 unless DVD upconversion is paramount. (If it is, find a Samsung BD-P2500/2550 on E-bay for $100.)

I have a HK AVR 247 which is the same but with one less remote and less power. I had a LG BH200 connected to it which did fine (but no DTS-HD MA). Now, I have a LG BD370 connected to it via a Monoprice switch. The BD-390 will work just fine. The BD390 will also read files from a file server off the network. It's definitely something consider for future proofing. The BD390 is the only standalone south of the Oppo that gives the PS3 a run for its money.

Why did you peg LG (and not Samsung's 90 day warranty) on reliability?

 

[lsiberian]

Hi. Im a noob and been researching what blu rayplayer to purchase. I plan to run this with a HK AVR 347. After much research, I've narrowed my choices, but needed some expertise in picking which to pull the trigger on

1. Panny BD 60/80 (not sure if I need the additional 7.1, but since my receiver handles it I'd opt for the BD80, plus digital audio is sent via HDMI...)
2. LG BD390- streaming but reliability ?
3. Samsung P3600

My preferences are mainly image quality, sound quality, and good dvd upconversion since I have tons of DVD's. Streaming music is nice, but optional for me.

So which would be the best, and if anyone has a HK AVR 347, which did you select with your setup- if there is a BD that's better, please let me know.Looking to spend about $250.00

thanks in advance

This isn't a contest. the LG BD390 is hands down the best player in the list.

However the Panny 60 is the best value.

 

[PENG]

Your $250 budget should allow you to consider the Pioneer BDP-320 as well but it won't let you do streaming. For $40 more the PS3 will be another option but it does not have 7.1 analog out. Both should do well in real world DVD upconversion/upscaling, but the Pioneer will get you top scores that apparently rival the Oppo (but not quite as good) in lab tests. If you are willing to pay even more, then the LG BD390 seems to be the best overall and it offers all the features you mentioned.

 

[lsiberian]

Your $250 budget should allow you to consider the Pioneer BDP-320 as well but it won't let you do streaming. For $40 more the PS3 will be another option but it does not have 7.1 analog out. Both should do well in real world DVD upconversion/upscaling, but the Pioneer will get you top scores that apparently rival the Oppo (but not quite as good) in lab tests. If you are willing to pay even more, then the LG BD390 seems to be the best overall and it offers all the features you mentioned.

The 370 is the 390 without wireless. So that's an option too.

 

[Mauskar]

Wow! Thanks for the replies guys. I actually just pulled the trigger and got the Panny BD80, but mainly to demo it. I actually have couple of setup issues, nothing major that i have in another thread. I did look at the LG370 and was tempted!!!

 

[Mauskar]

The question of reliability might want to go up to the Panny. There have been plenty of complaints about the Panny player's drives failing to read discs after awhile.

My vote is clearly for the BD-390 unless DVD upconversion is paramount. (If it is, find a Samsung BD-P2500/2550 on E-bay for $100.)

I have a HK AVR 247 which is the same but with one less remote and less power. I had a LG BH200 connected to it which did fine (but no DTS-HD MA). Now, I have a LG BD370 connected to it via a Monoprice switch. The BD-390 will work just fine. The BD390 will also read files from a file server off the network. It's definitely something consider for future proofing. The BD390 is the only standalone south of the Oppo that gives the PS3 a run for its money.

Why did you peg LG (and not Samsung's 90 day warranty) on reliability?

Hmmm... from all the reviews i read (testfreaks, wikiproduct, etc) it mainly had LG pegged with product reliability issues. Plus hometheatermag had the Panny rated high in its review. How much can you get an LG 390/ 370 for? Dont care about wifi- about to do a line drop to my wall next to my receiver...

 

[allargon]

Hmmm... from all the reviews i read (testfreaks, wikiproduct, etc) it mainly had LG pegged with product reliability issues. Plus hometheatermag had the Panny rated high in its review. How much can you get an LG 390/ 370 for? Dont care about wifi- about to do a line drop to my wall next to my receiver...

You can get a BD370 for less than $150 (probably like $130) if you know where to look. Best Buy even had them on sale right before Christmas. A US BD370 lacks Vudu, multichannel analog out, DLNA support and proper de-interlacing. If your display can handle 1080p24, a BD370 isn't a bad deal at all. It's not a great upscaler. I still have my A20 HD DVD player for that.

The BD370 does do a good job with YouTube. I haven't tested the Netflix or Cinema now.

 

[blackzarg]

For those of you with the HK AVR-X47, are you outputting your sound from the Blu-Ray player as Linear PCM?

Just wondering what I should set mine as. I have a HK AVR-247 and a PS3, and I have the PS3 set to LPCM, since the AVR-247 can't decode TrueHD or DTS-MA. Is that correct?

 

[allargon]

For those of you with the HK AVR-X47, are you outputting your sound from the Blu-Ray player as Linear PCM?

Just wondering what I should set mine as. I have a HK AVR-247 and a PS3, and I have the PS3 set to LPCM, since the AVR-247 can't decode TrueHD or DTS-MA. Is that correct?

Yep, that's correct. LPCM or Multichannel PCM depending on the player. I don't have a PS3, but that sounds right. Most PS3's (the new Slim being an obvious exception) can't bitstream high res codecs, anyway.