Hello,

I have an "old" Panasonic PT L300U and am not in a position to update to a newer projector right now. I was wondering if I would benefit by hooking up a Blu-Ray player to it? I see there is a previous thread that indicates you would have to hook it up with the component cables, not HDMI. As I remember my projector is 1/4 HD and was supposed to scale to HD pretty well. Would I see a noticible improvement over plain old DVD?
My next question is what is what is the best price/performance Blu-Ray player at this time? (I realize that's a subjective question.) I would want one that would work with the new Panasonic AE4000 down the line when I save my pennies :)
I haven't been doing much "homework" on projectors since I purchased my old one - so my questions may sound naive. Be gentle.

Mark

Murwille, the Panasonic will look very nice with Blu-Ray via component, you should notice quite a difference from a DVD given the transfer is well done.

The Pioneer 320 can be had now for a very nice price, and provides good performance.

I used to have the L300U before I downsized to a 42" LCD screen. The L300U was FANTASTIC when showing HD. DVDs always were soft and muddy looking. I used to throw a 120" image and sat from 15' away.

Look up a post made by myself in the archives and I went into detail about HD vs DVD on the L300U. Back then I was comparing DVD to Comcast. Blu-ray looks twice as good as my Comcast does today.

When talking Blu-Ray players, the difference between picture quality is almost none. I myself use a PS3, but have seen an Oppo blu-ray player vs a PS3 at a friends and there was no difference that I could see. Both used an HDMI connection. You pay for features on a blu-ray player, which are 1.1 vs 2.0 compliant, if they have internet capabilities, how fast they load discs, do they have discrete RCA outs etc.

I've a L500 and a JVC RS2, don't bother to connect the blu-ray with the Panny. Tried it with both the Pioneer 320 and the Panny bd35k. Save your money until you upgrade your PJ to 1080p, IMHO.

I've a L500 and a JVC RS2, don't bother to connect the blu-ray with the Panny. Tried it with both the Pioneer 320 and the Panny bd35k. Save your money until you upgrade your PJ to 1080p, IMHO.

I disagree. With the low price of blu-ray players these days, (sub $100 even), it certainly can't hurt anything. It WILL be a very noticeable upgrade over DVD on his L300u. I have no doubt it pales in comparison to the RS2, but that is not a fair comparision, and isn't applicable as far as I am concerned to his situation.

As a former owner of the Panny L300u, I can attest to the excellent HD performance via its 960x540 "quarter HD" panel. 1080i movies via cable always looked FANTASTIC on my L300u. Blu-ray can only be, and will be, even better. Not to mention access to higher quality audio codecs.

There is no good reason not to get a blu-ray player now, and enjoy its benefits now. It is a miminal investment for a major upgrade in fidelity. Enjoy an improved experience now, while you save to upgrade to a 1080p projector.