Which Bluray Players

NOone here owns the Goldman or I suspect would even consider it. One really has to work if every component in ones reproduction chain needs to cost over $20,000. I think it would be impossible,


Some here own the Theta Bluray player which is a reboxed Oppo with a new power supply etc. MSRP around $3K if I remember correctly.

Many hereown one of the Oppo players which top out at about $1K but you can dispose of the cash burning in your pocket by having them modified with better parts, power supplies etc.

Me.. I have an expensive projector, screen, and room. I really care little about the audio though I do have a good 7.channel system with lots of subs that I usualy don't turn on. I have an old audio processor and not the world's fair in amps. I am concerned with the video chain and use a Lumagen and Darbee. Sources? Set top box and.a cheap Panasonic Bluray player. I can see no video improvement using a friends Oppo though the audio is a tad better. I plan on getting (actually i have preordered the Redray server. Itsrather cheap $1450 and its just a server with the right stuff to get distributed content up to 4K and have it fed to my 4K projector. Obviously it feeds the audio as well to where it needs to go, the audio processor.

My Oppo BDP 83 may have cost more than your Panasonic, but so far it's lasted longer - my Panny Blu Ray player died 2 months after the warranty expired. AMEX refunded my money ( thanks to the extra year warranty they give you ). The Oppo has been working flawlessly since then!!

Hi. I could buy a new Panny every year for less than the dealer cost on the Oppo. I have sold plemty of Oppos and it is a very good unit and I think woth the money though I don't see any video gain. The new Oppos have some nice video processor ship but I use my Lumagen for video processing. I thought about getting an Oppo this year but hopped on the Redray because of potential 4K content from Odemax. Rather than buy an Oppo, I think there will be some sort of 4K source player from Sony this year also calling for my cash. The ball game changes when you have a true 4K projector. If I hade just a 2K machine, I would consider a new Oppo but probably would just sit.

Just FYI, the Panny I had that died right after the factory warranty was up cost over $ 500.00 - more than an Oppo. The AMEX refund paid for the Oppo !!

Good luck having any true 4K content to watch thats worth a ____ anytime soon. I played the early adopter game with HD DVD / Blu Ray. High Def cable and Blu Ray looks perfectly fine on my Lumis right now. I can wait until there are at least 50 of my favorite films ( 100 would be better ) on this new 4K format. I'm betting that will take at least 4 years. In the mean time, I'll put my money into 2007 Brunello di Montelcino Riservas and 2002 vintage Champagne.

Craig. Plenty of AVSers have purchased the Sony VPL-vw1000ES from AVS and plenty are still buying it. If you have a 4K capable machine and want anything in 4K to let it perform at its best, why noit buy the redray. Its little more than a $1000 Oppo and I am sure plenty of worthwhile content will be available. Maybe not current releases but soon we will also have some sort of solution from Sony for its and its partners movies already released on Bluray. Right now I would take content from wherever I can get if the price is reasonable. To me $1450 is a reasonable price to pay if one has a 1000ES already.

If one goes to Sundance or Teluride to see a bunch of independent releases, it will cost you a bundle. Way more than just buying aRedray player and paying a rental fee for content. now that service which you need to pay $35K for the server and $500 per current release, that is too steep for me, I will just go to a commercial theater and pay the seniors rate, under $30 for me and my wife and watch what I want to watch like skyfall etc.

BTW. glad to see you back at AVS, you are indeed a valuable asset.

Thanks Mark. In this case ( 4K content ) I hope it becomes available at reasonable prices and soon - I'd love to be wrong! 4K source material will make even 1080p projectors look better. I just don't want to be that guy ( again ) that only has " Bikini Paradise " and " The Chronicles of Riddick " to watch in the new format........................

The real key will be what the new format delivers beyond. 4 times the pixels like bit lengths etc.. .

Guys, what I think the OP was really trying to ask and get across is, (same thing I have been wondering about this particular forum) the title to the forum says $20,000+ , meaning, you can not talk about anything that costs less than $20,000 in this forum because it is the "$20,000+" forum. Whether you do or not, or whether the title of the forum intended this or not doesn't matter, the actual most logical conclusion a reader comes to when scrolling over the forums is, every single piece of gear talked about in this forum needs to be 20k or over, or needs to be talked about in another forum.

So with BluRay players on his mind, he just wanted to know, do you guys talk about BluRay Players here ? Cause if you do, and if you want to stay within the AVS law, it needs to be worth 20k or over. So he wants to know which BDP out there is frickin 20k. The first reply sorta answered him, yes.... But then no one here supposedly owns that. So I am guessing we can not talk about BDP here ? lol.

Also, I guess we are not allowed to talk about cables here either right ? Cause no cable is 20k. BUT, I would be interested in knowing about the most highest end analog cables/speaker wires there are available. So I want to know about something Ultra Hi End, but yet I can't ask about it here, cause it is not 20k+.

Seriously, to end confusion and make this forum slightly more helpful, I petition to get the "$20,000+" removed from its title. Its misleading. We all know and respect what "Ultra Hi-End" would mean by itself. The 20k does not need to be there.

I think you only need to have one piece of equipment in your theater that costs $20K or more ( typically your projector ) to discuss stuff here. So no, every item doesn't have to cost 20K - it just has to be connected to something that cost 20K !!

Ha ha ! Ok, that sounds a lot easier to qualify to be here then. I feel better, and less like I am breaking the AVS law every time I post here. Is this indeed confirmed the real rule though ? lol

Yes. Just buy a projector that costs $ 20K or more, and you are fine. If you need to buy one, just call me !

So...there might be posts on here about components I own but as I haven't got them connected to a 20K device I can't post. OK, just pretend you haven't seen this post then.

Actually I do like to read on this section as there is a fair amount of 'trickle down' that eventually drops to a level that I can afford, I just have to be patient. A bit like my AV processor that I bought used for 1/5 th of it's £3.5k new price. I like to be informed about the high end just incase I win the lottery too.

Most of the stuff discussed here is under $20K but there are some items which of course cost more than $20K. I think the tendency would be stuff you would use in a high end HT. Thinks that you would use with a projector costing more than $20K. Its a club of high end *******s, one club that I am proud to be a member of. Many of us use a darblet which costs a mere $300 or so. We have a whole thread on that because many of us use it with a projector costing more than $20K.

That was indeed the description that backed-up the '$20K+ list' title. However this was never enforced or at least it hasn't been enforced for many years. Alan Gouger put forward a much looser guideline, of equipment around the 20K+ MSRP or stuff related. It would also include discussions of CRT projectors, the stompingground of us 'bottomfeeders', as MSRP of any 9"-er would have been a multiple of the 20K figure.

If one was to be strict about it discussions should be limited to display devices, aswell.

And not even Jeremy's $6 million list Playstation system would meet the every item has to be $20K+ criterium.
Edited by donaldk - 12/19/12 at 4:50pm

I think YIN is doing some market analysis before he makes a 20K Bluray to sell to you guys...

No doubt it will consist of a fancy faceplate with an Oppo inside ...........

He said YIN. Not Theta or Lexicon. Though there is nothing wrong in improving things in a Oppo, like better drive isolation, better power supplies, better dacs yada yad.
Edited by mark haflich - 12/20/12 at 11:44am