I thought about posting this in the HD DVD player or Dual Format player section, but I wanted to get a more neutral response.

I am looking to go back to SAs after having an HTPC for a number of years. I will need to pick up a BD player as my HTPC was doing that.

I currently have an Onkyo DV-HD805 (aka Toshiba XA2) with the Reon upscaling chip. It is amazing how great of a job this player does in upscaling SD DVDs... much better than my HD-A3 and HTPC (Zoomplayer with the FFDShow filters, Nero 8 for BD playback and PowerDVD).

Looking over the bluray players, I am leaning toward the LG Superblu BH200 or the Samsung BD-UP5000. The main reason for the Samsung is the Reon Chip that it has. It not only helps with SD but I also see a noticeable difference with HD content as well. Helps reduce grain without dulling the image and my projector is 720p (at 94" 8 feet away) so it has to be scaled anyway (Caddyshack HD is night and day between my HTPC&HD-A3 and HD805)

Here are the players that I am looking at

Samsung BD-UP5000
LG SuperBlu BH-200

I do not know much about this Qdeo Video Processing chip. Is it equivalent or a step down from a Reon.

Of course the other possibility is just to use my Onkyo for upscaling and HD DVD and a cheaper BD for BD only playback.

(I currently have an HD-A3, xbox player and an Onkyo DV-HD805 all less than 1 year old)

I guess a third option would be to just pick up a cheaper sub $300 bluray player for now. It would be just easier to have a single player and I have learned from experience now that the expensive players cost more for a reason.

If the picture is close enough, I have even considered pawning off my 805 on ebay for (200-400) and just using the dual format player. I still have an HD-A3 as a backup for the 70+/- HD titles that I currently own.

Well based on what you have said I would recommend sticking with the Onkyo DV-HD805 for DVD upscaling and getting the Sony BDP-S350.

Well based on what you have said I would recommend sticking with the Onkyo DV-HD805 for DVD upscaling and getting the Sony BDP-S350.

Any reason you would suggest the BDP-S350 (other than price) over the Pioneer, Panasonic, LG or Samsung Blu-Ray players?

There are plenty of opinions on the BH200 vs. the Sammy BD-UP5k in the dual format forum. I'm staying out of those. (The Sammy has multichannel analog outs, and the LG has easy region free playback.) What I will tell you is that both have their respective issues with obscure domestic and import HD DVD titles. You may reconsider keeping your Onkyo for HD DVD and SD DVD playback.

Any reason you would suggest the BDP-S350 (other than price) over the Pioneer, Panasonic, LG or Samsung Blu-Ray players?From what I have read the Sony BDP-S350 looks to have a good price to performance ratio since at $400 it is both BD-Live ready and has Dolby TrueHD decoding. The Samsung BD-P1500 has those as well but Sony has a better history when it comes to Blu-ray player firmware support.

The one main advantage of a combo player (I have the BD-UP5000) is that when I want to watch a movie, regardless of whether it's a DVD, Blu-ray or HD DVD, it plays. The convenience of having one single player do it all is great.

I should add that the image quality of all formats on the Samsung is fabulous.

I would just add a cheap Blu-ray player, since you already had the DVD and HD DVD bases covered -- especially if you have a programmable remote to simplify switching between multiple sources. I currently have separate players for DVD (OPPO 983), Blu-ray (PS3) and HD DVD (HD-A30) and it is no big deal. In fact, it would be impossible to get a single player that is as good as these separates.

I own an LG BH 200 and the SD upscaling is excelent - as is all the other formats! From what I know the Marvell Qdeo is a very highly regarded chip used in much more upscale implementations than the Reon. The same Qdeo chip that is on the LG is also on the uber Meridian reference projector and on several of the more expensive Blu Ray recorders in Japan. Also, when I was looking at Blu ray players, the BH 200 was much faster than any of the standalones. What would take the Sony 300 2 minutes to load would take 20 seconds on the LG.

So based on my experience I would recommend it. I recently saw the S350 at a SOnystyle store and the build was really cheap. Nothing like their first and 2nd gen players. The Pioneer I recently saw at Magnolia has a nice chasis, but was it slllloooowwww. Not impresive for such a premium product!

Has anyone been able to compare the Qdeo chip to the reon? Compusa has the LG for $499. I am thinking that for another $100-200 that it might be worth getting the LG.

Also, I imagine that LG and Samsung would have a better PQ than the Sony. I know there is a definite difference between my HD-A3 (no slouch) compared to my HD805 on HD DVD media. No night and day... but definitely a difference. This is what surprised me the most when I picked up the Onkyo. I expected great SD upconversion, but I didn't expect my HD DVDs to look better. I think it has alot to do with the post processing in the Reon.... and the fact that it has to downcale to 720p.

analog outs are important as well. My Onkyo 305 still uses optical and coaxial. I currently have the HTPC hooked up via analog and definitely hear the difference between that and the optical out. another reason to go to one as I only have one 5.1 analog input set. Not that optical still doesn't sound great. But the analog does edge it out in discreteness.

I like the LG better from what I have read, but I have become a real "Reon snob" over the last few months.

Has anyone been able to compare the Qdeo chip to the reon? Compusa has the LG for $499. I am thinking that for another $100-200 that it might be worth getting the LG.

Also, I imagine that LG and Samsung would have a better PQ than the Sony. I know there is a definite difference between my HD-A3 (no slouch) compared to my HD805 on HD DVD media. No night and day... but definitely a difference. This is what surprised me the most when I picked up the Onkyo. I expected great SD upconversion, but I didn't expect my HD DVDs to look better. I think it has alot to do with the post processing in the Reon.... and the fact that it has to downcale to 720p.

analog outs are important as well. My Onkyo 305 still uses optical and coaxial. I currently have the HTPC hooked up via analog and definitely hear the difference between that and the optical out. another reason to go to one as I only have one 5.1 analog input set. Not that optical still doesn't sound great. But the analog does edge it out in discreteness.

I like the LG better from what I have read, but I have become a real "Reon snob" over the last few months.

The LG is no slouch. Check the dual format forum. There is like a thread every other week comparing the BH200 and the BD-UP5k. The Reon is considered "sharper" whereas the BH200 is considered more film-like by those who have both. Disclaimer: I only have the BH200. If you want analog outs, then the BD-UP5k is your player unless you are willing to go for the profile 1.1 only Pioneer. (People are saying great things about that one in the Blu-Ray player forum.)

Now is a good time to choose. I also have a 720p projector and recently picked up an open box Samsung 5000.

For all the scaling to 702p, regardless of source, the reon in the Sammy does a fantastic job.

If it were a 1080p projector, then just get any Blu for those and keep the Onkyo for scaling to 1080.

The real advantage of the Samsung comes in the adjusting 1080 and sd dvd for the 720p projector. The analog outs are nice also.

The other option that I have in the back of my mind is selling my soul to the devil and just getting a PS3. It would make a good present to the family. I just really hate to think of going with a PS3.

Has anyone been able to compare PS3 BD picture with that of the LG or Samsung? If it is anything like the PC, it is probably prone to the same artifacts and excessive noise that I get with the PC and HD-A3.

The only thing that intrigues me about this is that is could perhaps act as a media server like I have read that the 360 does. I am planning on getting rid of my HTPC so this could be handy.

I just hate to pick up a Sony product. I know I shouldn't feel that way about this company, but it is hard for a Red / Nintendo Wii owner, now purple person to go that route. A personal flaw I know.

Apparrently there is a blu wave adapter for the Harmony remote so atleast there is a way to handle that. Of course, you can pick up a refurb'd 360 pretty cheap for the gaming side. And it seems that it is the best in terms of being a media center.

I have all 3 players: the 805, the up5k and the lgbh200.

Id say its subjective and very close as all 3 have great pq, but Id rate them for pq:
1. 805
2. up5000
3. lg bh200

I have all 3 players: the 805, the up5k and the lgbh200.

Id say its subjective and very close as all 3 have great pq, but Id rate them for pq:
1. 805
2. up5000
3. lg bh200

I have the Lg bh200 and I love this machine. The picture is better than my A35,A2, A3, and while i never had an xa2, I consider it one of the best HD-DVD machines out there. Picture for BD while some of the older titles look like upscaled DVD, Disney Pixar titles look Awsome. Starwars upscaled, is the best it has ever looked. And now with a confirmed 2.0 update in progress by LG, I don't think you can go wrong. I was able to pick it up at Worst Buy NIB for 399.

One thing I forgot to mention about the BH200 and the BD-UP5K is that both of them S-T-R-E-T-C-H 4:3 SD DVD's when upconverting. If you have any old TV's shows, adult or indy movie material, or even non-anamorphic widescreen discs, this might be an issue.

And now with a confirmed 2.0 update in progress by LG, I don't think you can go wrong. I was able to pick it up at Worst Buy NIB for 399.

Confirmed 2.0 update? Can you give me a link to more info?

John

I have 2 BD-UP5000s, HD-A35 and the PS3. Personally, I really like the convenience of having one player to do everything. But I do feel this player may not be for everyone as others have mentioned about small issues with playing certain discs. I’ll go out on the limb here and say at least 95% of the discs on both formats should be problem free. Having these minor issues isn’t a big concern since I’ve have solid players for each format.

I do think my 5Ks output video slightly better than the PS3 and A35, but only marginally. Upscaling is pretty good, slightly better than the A35 and PS3, but the 5K doesn’t have as many picture adjustments as the XA2 (I read that the Onkyo remote doesn’t have the button that allows you to access the additional PQ adjustments). But an upscaled SD DVD always looks exactly what it is even on my 52” XBR4. I’m generally not extremely impressed like some people.

If you can get a 5K or an BH200 for a good price, they are very good players albeit each has its own minor issues. I bought both my 5Ks for less than $300 and one being as cheap as $220 so it was a no brainer to at least try it out. But if you can’t find a cheap one, I’ve been reading good things about the Sony 350.

It would be a tough decision to sell off the 805 since it’s an excellent player and would be your primary back up for HD DVD if you bought a dual format player. Of course, this is dependent if you require all the high end features of the 805. Even though I could’ve sold my A35 for a good price, I really wanted to keep it because it had all the features I needed for my HT. Yes, the upscaling is not as good as XA2, but the difference is so marginal to my eyes and the fact that I bought the A35 for dirt cheap there is no reason for me to sell it.

Can the up5000 be made region free for blu ray and sd dvd?

Selling the Onkyo?

PM me. :)

Selling the Onkyo?

PM me. :)

Who is this aimed at?

Confirmed 2.0 update? Can you give me a link to more info?

John

I double this.

Confirmed 2.0 update? Can you give me a link to more info?

John

Fron LG customer Service:

-----------Reply to Customer Inquiry------------
Dear Scott, Thank you for your email. We apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing. We are currently working on the 2.0 profile firmware for this unit, is not ready yet but we are aware that is need it. If you have other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us again either via email, or by calling our customer service division at 800-243-0000 at your convenience. Virginia Q. E-mail Administrator Customer Interactive Center LGEAI This communication is confidential, intended only for the named recipient(s) above and may contain trade secrets or other information that is exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any use, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication by anyone other than the named recipient(s) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by calling (256) 774-4021. Thank you.

Fron LG customer Service:

I hope they are right, but I wouldn't put to much faith in a CS e-mail.

John

I would lean toward the BH200 - LG has really impressed me with their commitment to continued support of this player.

PLUS you get 7.1 channel playback from DTS HD MA and Dolby TrueHD, something that still is not consistently available from BD players at the great price the BH200 goes for.

For SD playback, the XA still rules, but that would not sway me from the BH200.

I'm confused! When I do a Google search for "riddick pitch black serenity blu ray" This page comes up as the top hit. Did the URL to this page change or something?

One thing I forgot to mention about the BH200 and the BD-UP5K is that both of them S-T-R-E-T-C-H 4:3 SD DVD's when upconverting. If you have any old TV's shows, adult or indy movie material, or even non-anamorphic widescreen discs, this might be an issue.


re: LG bh200
can someone please tell me if the 4:3 SD dvds
can be changed back to normal pillar box / not stretched status
using the 4:3 format / aspect button on your display ?

---- make sense ?

can the display detect the OAR/4:3 ? or does the LG bh200 send it to the display as a 16x9 image ?

re: LG bh200
can someone please tell me if the 4:3 SD dvds
can be changed back to normal pillar box / not stretched status
using the 4:3 format / aspect button on your display ?

---- make sense ?

can the display detect the OAR/4:3 ? or does the LG bh200 send it to the display as a 16x9 image ?

I have the LG BH200 and I can not get it to display non-anamorphic letterbox DVD material in the proper aspect ratio without having black bars on all four sides of the screen (doesn't matter what zoom mode I set on my TV). I just discovered this last night. Really sucks, so now all my DVD's are going to be played in the Toshiba XA2.