Looking for a good Blue Ray player.

[tjlmbklr]

Assuming BlueRay will be the way of DVD's future over HD DVD that is; what is the best player for the buck

 

[LEVESQUE]

After trying almost all the Blu-ray players on the market (Samsung, Panasonic, PS3, Pioneer), the answer is really simple.

Best bang-for-the-buck: PS3

Best picture quality (but more $): Pioneer BDP-HD1

 

[Seth=L]

Assuming BlueRay will be the way of DVD's future over HD DVD that is; what is the best player for the buck

It doesn't seem that you know much about the Blu-Ray format so I will paraphrase as much as possible here.

Blu-Ray is a larger capacity format that utilizes smaller pits and lands and a narrower laser beam to fit more data on a disc. A single layer DVD can hold 4.7 GB(gigabytes) and a dual-layer can store around 8.5 GB. Blu-Ray can hold 25 GB on a single layer and a dual-layer can store 50 GB.

Sony's Blu-Ray isn't the only mass-production format competing or superceding DVD though. There is also HD-DVD by Toshiba, single layer 15 GB, dual layer 30 GB and triple layer 45-50 GB.

Toshiba's HD-DVD hardware is less expensive than the Blu-Ray hardware. The least expensive Blu-Ray player is the PS3 and the Samsung player has dropped to $700-800. Toshiba's HD-A2 retails for $500 and apparently the HD-DVD is superior to Blu-Ray's and I feel the same about their software.

The first HD-DVD was the first out the door with their product and their first software releases were nothing short of stunning. Blu-Ray was initially a dissapointment because they were using the same form of compression as do DVDs (MPEG 2) and they were using only 25 GB discs which limited the possibilities for special features and good picture. HD-DVD, I believe started off by using the newer compression formats that utilize disc space more efficiently with less data loss. The compression formats that supercede MPEG 2 are VC-1 and MPEG 4.

Blu-Ray has improved it's game since the start by starting to use the newer compression formats and utilizing 50 GB discs. Both formats have a decent selection of titles but they are studio specific because certain studios have signed with one format or the other or both. Warner (New Line and Warner Bros.) for instance signed with both and has releases in both formats. Fox, Disney, and Sony Pictures (Columbia/Tristar) are Blu-Ray exclusive studios at this time. Universal is HD-DVD exclusive and I believe that Paramount is doing both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

Another thing to consider is the LG dual format player that will play Blu-Ray and HD-DVD on the same machine. It will be released fairly soon.

As for me, I am sitting it out untill one format dies or combines so I don't get screwed.

 

[no. 5]

As for me, I am sitting it out untill one format dies or combines so I don't get screwed.

I'm with Seth on this, no point in spending $700 on obsolescence.

and besides, as of now there are no Blu-Ray or HD-DVD players that support DVD-A or SACD.

 

[stratman]

Ditto Seth and No.5

 

[Jedi2016]

I thought the PS3 supported SACD? Or it was supposed to, at any rate.. not sure if they removed the feature before the end.

I was hoping not to choose sides, but it's starting to look like Blu-ray for me. The LG player was my last desperate hope, but my funds won't allow it. But I'm getting a PS3 anyway, regardless of the movie thing, and all the stuff I want to watch is coming to Blu-ray. The only thing I'm really missing are the Universal films. And they'll come around eventually.

 

[Seth=L]

I thought the PS3 supported SACD? Or it was supposed to, at any rate.. not sure if they removed the feature before the end.

I was hoping not to choose sides, but it's starting to look like Blu-ray for me. The LG player was my last desperate hope, but my funds won't allow it. But I'm getting a PS3 anyway, regardless of the movie thing, and all the stuff I want to watch is coming to Blu-ray. The only thing I'm really missing are the Universal films. And they'll come around eventually.

The PS3 is the only one that plays SACDs, no DVD-Audio though.

You really don't lose by getting the PS3 or the 360 with the HD-DVD drive.

 

[darien87]

I say you wait a while on this one. I have a feeling that Blu-Ray is gonna go the way of the do-do. Remember Beta? Minidiscs? It just seems like every time Sony pushes a new technology, it fails.

Hey Levesque:

What are you, a Rockefeller or something?!?!? Your home theater is..... WOW. I hate you.

 

[LEVESQUE]

Why wait?

I have over 100 HD titles (75 HD-DVDs and 25 Blu-rays) and enjoying HD totally in my room since april last year...

The only think that get through my minds after reading all this is "too bad for you"...

I'm using the Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1 for Blu-ray titles and the Toshiba HD-XA2 for HD-DVDs titles and all my friends who didn't believed that HD was making a "real difference" compared to standard resolution DVDs, and wanted to "wait" for a winner, came out of my room with the mouth wide open, and the tail between their legs... They all bought a true 1080p projector and HD players since then...

I can't even watch a standard DVD in my system. It's unwatchable after looking at all those HD titles.

 

[KrisJ]

Not being impressed with any of the demos I have seen of BD or HD-DVD I was a fence sitter for some time until I purchased a Ps3 for games. Remembering how awful the Ps2 and other systems fared vs a stand alone player for movie playback I had no intent on using my Ps3 as anything other than a game console. I was at BB and had so, e reward zone certs to burn so I decided what the heck and picked up a couple titles. After watching them at home on my gear I admit Im impressed. They cost a little more, but I like having movies in HD today.

 

[Seth=L]

What are you, a Rockefeller or something?!?!? Your home theater is..... WOW. I hate you.

Rockefeller doesn't live in Canada.

 

[j_garcia]

But he could live wherever he wanted...

Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with what Blu Ray gives me on the PS3 as well. I wouldn't say I can't watch SD DVD anymore, but I do notice the difference between them for sure.

As far as I can tell, PS3 does SACD - via HDMI only, and you will have no bass management options that I could find. I already have 2 SACD players, so that wasn't a selling point for me.

 

[Jedi2016]

Remember Beta? Minidiscs? It just seems like every time Sony pushes a new technology, it fails.

You mean like reel-to-reel tape? Compact discs? 3.5" floppies? Things like that?

Betamax? Long story, that one. Lack of hardware support, lack of content, and smaller storage capacity. That's what killed Betamax. And which of the two HD formats has those same problems? Gee, it's HD-DVD, not Blu-ray.

Minidisc? The U.S. was about the only place those never took off. They were quite successful overseas. I went into an electronics store in Norway about ten years ago, it was nigh impossible to find a system in there that didn't have a Minidisc slot.

Their track record really isn't all that bad. The only times their formats have been less-than-successful is when they try to do something entirely on their own, separate from the rest of the industry. Whenever they combine forces with others in the industry, as they've done with Blu-ray, they tend to do rather well.

The problem is that, for some reason, Sony has become this "evil empire" of the electronics industry, and everyone seems to hate them. Then, without realizing it, they're looking at the world through a pair of Anti-Sony blinders, conveniently ignoring even simple fact.

Me, I could give a rat's *** who makes what. I want the format that has the movies on it that I want to watch. And as of now, that format is Blu-ray.

 

[BMXTRIX]

apparently the HD-DVD is superior to Blu-Ray's and I feel the same about their software.

I wish people just wouldn't post statements like this. The Toshiba is a nice piece of gear, but the PS3 is getting rave reviews, and for the money is excellent. But, at the end of the day, it is all about the movies. This is where Blu-ray shines. After some early release debacles, they have turned around to set the standard for what the total HD disc experience should be with phenomenal audio and top notch video.

Review sites, such as www.highdefdigest.com will help point you towards movies that have video to die for. The choice is up to you as to whether you like the film or not.

At this past weeks CES, there were dozens of new Blu-ray release exclusive titles announced. No new exclusive titles were announced at all for HD DVD, well, unless porn is high on your list of must haves. While there are some in the pipeline, there was no spectacle of movies put forth by HD DVD.

Bottom line: Both formats look and sound excellent, Blu-ray has more movies available.

As I did recently buy a Blu-ray player, I went with the PS3. I figure that PS3 will be popuar no matter what and even though I plan to use it for 90% movies, I also have a 3 year old in my home. It will more than see its share of gaming over the next 5 years.

Yes, PS3 looks awesome, no I have not had a single issue with it whatsoever. I've hooked it up HDMI and component without issue. Right now, I'm using component with great success.

Would I spent more for a Samsung, or Sony? No. But, the Panasonic seems very attractive, as does the Pioneer. Not sure where your money lies though.

 

[Seth=L]

I meant to say HD-DVD hardware was better than Blu-Ray's Hardware, at least at the start.

And I agree that Sony has started to come out of it's shell, but there is no hard-core evidence showing one way or the other to what the outcome of the format war will be.

The only issue I have with the PS3 is surface charge. A friend of a friend of mine has a PS3 and I get zapped ever time I touch the thing.

 

[darien87]

The problem is that, for some reason, Sony has become this "evil empire" of the electronics industry, and everyone seems to hate them. Then, without realizing it, they're looking at the world through a pair of Anti-Sony blinders, conveniently ignoring even simple fact.

Me, I could give a rat's *** who makes what. I want the format that has the movies on it that I want to watch. And as of now, that format is Blu-ray.

I'l admit that I'm a Sony hater. But that's because just about EVERY piece of electronic equipment I've ever bought from them, (Mobile ES amp, Car Stereo's, Walkmen), broke down. And usually just after the warranty expired. The only Sony product I'll buy is another Playstation. But I'm waiting for the price on that to come down a bit.

Like I said, my opinion was based more on my gut feeling and Sony's past track record with new technology.

I don't care who wins either. I'm just not jumping into the HD-DVD pool until there's a clear winner. Unlike some of you other guys on here, I don't have money to burn.

 

[Jedi2016]

I'l admit that I'm a Sony hater. But that's because just about EVERY piece of electronic equipment I've ever bought from them, (Mobile ES amp, Car Stereo's, Walkmen), broke down. And usually just after the warranty expired. The only Sony product I'll buy is another Playstation.

Bad luck, that.

I've only ever had one piece of Sony equipment die on me (an old stereo system), and it was well beyond it's time when it did it. Never had a problem with Playstations.. I replaced my Sony stereo with a Sony 5.1 receiver. When my Panasonic DVD player died, I replaced it with a Sony (after I bought a JVC that flat-out sucked). I'm not a follower of theirs, per se, but I have no aversion against them.

The main reason I'm going for Blu-ray at this point is because, A) I was getting a PS3 at some point anyway, B) The dual-format player is priced beyond my means at the moment, and C) That's where the movies are.

 

[BMXTRIX]

C) That's where the movies are.

I think for anyone fence sitting they should consider this:
HD DVD represents about 10-15% exclusive titles and can deliver about 50% of the titles that are available.

Blu-ray represents about 50% exclusive titles and can deliver about 90% of the titles that are available.

Since quality is showing the be identical between the formats, and PS3 offers a very high quality/low cost (relatively speaking) player, it really is a great way to go. Plus, extended warranties aren't terribly expensive from places like BB - and the PS3, unlike expectations, is becoming more readily available already.

 

[Jedi2016]

I think for anyone fence sitting they should consider this:
HD DVD represents about 10-15% exclusive titles and can deliver about 50% of the titles that are available.

Blu-ray represents about 50% exclusive titles and can deliver about 90% of the titles that are available.

Excellent comparison.

In fact, if I can work up the motivation this afternoon, I might even put forth a compilation of exact numbers, based on films that have already been released and those that have been confirmed and/or announced on both formats. HighDefDigest, here I come.. hehe.

 

[Jedi2016]

Well, I did the math, based on listings at HighDefDigest.com (which seems to have the most up-to-date listings, including stuff that was announced at CES), and here's what I came up with:

(note: the following numbers include films that are already available, those with set release dates in the future, and those that have been announced by their respective distributors. I have removed non-mainstream titles like music concerts, demos, and various non-Hollywood productions like Bikini Destinations and pretty much anything with "Best of HD[something]" in the title)

There are, total, 472 films available on HD-DVD and Blu-ray.

There are 250 total HD-DVD titles.

There are 352 total Blu-ray titles.

HD-DVD has 120 exclusive titles.

Blu-ray has 222 exclusive titles.

130 titles have been/will be released in both formats, or in Warner's TotalHD format (which I'm bundling in as "dual format" releases, this includes everything from New Line, for example).


Percentages (numbers are rounded to the nearest one-hundredth percentile):

74.57% of all titles are available on Blu-ray.

52.96% of all titles are available on HD-DVD.

47.03% of all titles are exclusive to Blu-ray.

25.42% of all titles are exclusive to HD-DVD.

A surprisingly low 27.54% of all titles are released on both formats.


So, while BMXTRIX was a little low on HD-DVD exclusives and a little high on Blu-ray market share, he was otherwise pretty accurate. Paints a good picture, doesn't it?