OFFICIAL "HELP ME CHOOSE A PLAYER" THREAD: Can't decide? Start HERE. - Page 420

Plus, you can play without converting raw Divx file formats like .avi files and can use a USB 4 terrabyte drive to play all your DVD, Blu-Ray, music, photos and computer internet movies. That what I planning to do in the near future. Streaming will come in time - it depends on your router speed - dual band is the best!

Interesting input.

I'm not sure what the age has to do with it unless you think age has caused it to degrade in some way. If it still works why does age matter???

Faster startup would be appreciated but I don't understand faster playback speed.

As for frimware updates since I have not found anything that does not play I am not sure why I would want to have to go through regular firmware updates to keep it working.

The point about the hard drive is interesting; do I interpret that to mean I can just copy material such as DVD, Bluray, CD etc to a drive and then play them back as if they were streaming from the net?

How about any improvement in picture or sound quality?

Hello,

Does anyone know of a player that can play TS files directly, both locally and via a network?

I have an Hauppauge HD-PVR 1212 that I use with Windows 7 Media Center. I then use MC-TV Converter to remux to TS because it's really quick. I'd like to avoid transcoding or creating AVCHD discs.

Thanks!

The OPPO BDP-93 will do so, but it is $499.

I haven't tested many TS files or heard of many users, so you might want to have yours tested before proceeding. If you can upload small samples we'll look at them for you.

-Bill

After looking at what feels like a hundred players, I rapidly got lost deciding which player I wanted.

Looking for a bluray player that has these features:

- Ethernet hardwired connection, don't care about wireless and would prefer it to not be wireless if it is cheaper

- DLNA that can play videots, it seems like this is pretty impossible to find, but all of my dvd's are already ripped to videots folders

- Amazon video on demand streaming, we don't use netflix streaming but want a good interface to amazons video on demand which we get through amazon prime

- 3D, we have a 3d tv but no glasses yet so this would be a step in the right direction

- DTS-MA & TrueHD, I am hooking this up to an Onkyo TX-SR608 so I dont need it to decode this just pass it through.

- Fast loading, this is almost a necessity because having to wait forever to watch a movie is just horrible

I would appreciate any models you guys can recommend for me to look at.

I was thinking about the PS3 since you can pretty much guarantee its always going to be up to date firmware wise. But it fails most of the other points I am looking for, I hear its not the fastest at loading and it doesn't do Amazon natively, you have to do it through Playon.

Thanks

You might investigate PS3 Media Server. It transcodes VIDEO_TS and ISO files to a format that more players will accept over DLNA.

-Bill

The HT was dismantled and stored during a move and is still apart. starting to plan and get stuff together again as well as checking in on what's new in technology and products.

I do have a newish Panny 54" vt25 and bdt100 3D setup in living room with no audio system. The future dedicated HT will be a projector setup to be determined.........I'm sure I'll go 3D capable. My current HT hardware consists of a heavily modified(Noble Electronics)and great sounding EAD TM 8800 pre/pro. It will stay in service because of the money invested and it really does sound amazing. Because of the source unit, I bought the Denon 3800 back in 08 I think.......it was considered one of the best, fully decoded and had good bass management setup. I still have it and it has the latest firmware and is ready to use whenever. My question is if this is still probably the best non-3D blu option considering my setup? I know it has the LFE bug but does have the boost and the EAD does have trim available through the analog pass......so there should be no problem achieving a proper setup. Thoughts?

Last, when I do want a full 3D setup in the HT, what is the top recommendation considering the EAD is still the source unit? I would assume the Oppo 93/95????? Others to have on list that must have 7.1 out and good bass management? Thanks for the input guys!

Thanks for the info. I am currently using SageTv to stream from my WHS without having to transcode it since my WHS isn't very powerful. I was hoping to get something all in one instead of getting a player for physical discs, a Roku for internet streaming, and something like wd live streaming for local files. But if I can keep the number of components down to two that's still not bad.

Trying to find a cost effective player that will bitstream Dolby HD and DTS master at 96k, I do not need 3d, wifi etc.

Connecting to NAD T175HD

I'm looking for (on behalf of my sister) a BR player that supports Netflix and ESPN3 (Hulu+ and/or AmazonVOD would be icing on the cake.)

They don't really need to worry about bitstreaming TrueHD or DTSHDMA for discs. As long as the player will physically support the core tracks and/or output 2 ch analog, that will be fine.

Any direction on where to start researching would be appreciated.

-Suntan

Our now "old" Sony 370 supports Amazon, Netflix, Hulu - but not ESPN3.
Maybe the new Sony models do. They are reasonably priced and work well. Think current model is 580 altho I think you can still find a 400 series model.
Panasonic seems to get good reviews here. Go backwards a couple weeks.

Panny doesn't have ESPN3. HERE's a fairly current list of devices that have it. AppleTV does as well, I think. There are no BR players that have it, AFAIK.

Hello. I am looking to purchase a region-free Blu-ray player on a bit of a budget and was wondering if anyone could help me find one with the specific features I am looking for.

I would like a player capable of...

-Playback of any Blu-ray disc from any region
-Playback/conversion of 1080i50 content to a format that my US TV (LG 55LW5600) can recognize
-Playback of 3D Blu-ray content
-Playback of any DVD from any region
-PAL to NTSC conversion for DVDs
-DVD upscaling

In short, I am looking for a player that can play any and every disc without worry. Are there any further specifications that I am forgetting to include?

Does anyone have any ideas for a Blu-ray player that can do all of these things? Ideally, I would like to avoid spending over $250.

Thanks in advance for the help.

The fact that you are seeking both 3D playback and all region Blu ray playback pushes it out of your price range

+1.

you should look to getting an oppo 93 player. it does cost more. it can do 3d and do region free for dvds/blu ray. you have to buy a super disc or a mod for it to make it region free.

Jacob

Hey guys I need some suggestions. I've been out of the market for a blu-ray player for a few years. My wife and I would like to get my brother-in-law a blu-ray player. They watch a lot of movies, and last year they bought a new 46" 1080p LCD TV for their living room, but they're still just watching DVD's. They talk all the time about how great the picture is, and how much they like watching HD content on tv, so I think they'll love watching movies in blu-ray. The only problem is they aren't fanatics like everyone on here. They don't need 3D or WIFI or integrated Netflix/Pandora/etc. They don't even need any bitstreaming capabilities because they just have a cheap little 2-channel soundbar attached to the tv (blasphemy, I know). What do you guys recommend? I think it would only be used for blu-rays. They'll probably continue to use their current DVD player for DVD's.

The refurb Insignia HERE would be fine, as would any player. There's no good reason for them to keep their old DVD player either. It just complicates things.

Thanks for the headsup.

Now what if I were to omit that 3D requirement?

What If I only required...

-Playback of any Blu-ray disc from any region
-Playback/conversion of 1080i50 content to a format that my US TV (LG 55LW5600) can recognize
-Playback of any DVD from any region
-PAL to NTSC conversion for DVDs
-DVD upscaling

Would there be any decent players that anyone could recommend within the $250 price range?

I remember reading that some players convert 1080i50 content in real-time worse than others- causing choppiness. Are there any players that can do everything I need, while doing a good job of the 1080i50 conversion within this price range?

Thanks.

Thanks for the recommendation however this is about double my price range, especially after purchasing the mod. What do you think the cheapest price would be in on a player that could do everything I originally requested?

not really.. you might be able to find an oppo 83 but it still cost a bit. a used one for 399 or so

Jacob

I'm pretty sure THIS $40-$60 Insignia meets all your requirements. It has exactly the same drive as Oppo if that makes you feel any better. I have this player and it works quite well, but I've never used multi-region discs myself. You may want to ask junglalien or post in the Insignia main thread for more details.

I would not recommend this player even on my worse enemy. I heard that it does indeed play region free. but it means that you can't do the firmware upgrades on it. the brand is not that good. I would highly recommend something else.

Jacob

Jacob is a harsh critic of this brand, but thousands of us are quite happy with it. It is a low end brand for sure, and you will be stuck at the same firmware forever. But check out the threads and judge for yourself, especially if you want a region-free player for less than $400. For $40, what have you got to lose (besides $40).

Do you guys know anything about/recommend the players offered on this site?
http://www.world-import.com/region_f...VD_players.htm


From what I can tell, these 3 LG players seem to be able to do what I want (minus the 3D)
http://www.world-import.com/lg-bd-63...-converter.htm

http://www.world-import.com/lg-bd-55...ray-player.htm

http://www.world-import.com/lg-bd-64...-converter.htm

It doesn't mention 1080i50 specifically and I can't claim to know enough to make assumptions. Does what they are offering with their conversion seem to be indicative of converting 1080i50 content?

I like the idea that they are hard-modded as well.

I've seen some dlna devices Samsung DB-5700 and LG BD670 but I have no idea how well they play mkv's from a NAS or if it;s just through the USB port. Does anyone know of some players that will meet my need. Connect to my NAS device, play mkv files and other formats?

OK guys, I too have been doing some reading and was wondering what the hierarchy of players would be. Lets start with the Oppo 93 on the top. Not willing to go above that price range of player. So what I mean to say is, if the oppo 93 is the top end whats the next step down and so forth? I am judging purely based on quality of product. Speed, capability to support current formats, don't give a crap about web based app capability or wireless. Do have a gig Ethernet connection for it in the rack. Im looking for a high end player that will last me a while and supports 3d for future upgrades to the HT.

Connecting to a Lexicon RV8 receiver (no uncompressed audio ) and a JVC RS45 projector with 3D emitter and HDMI switch box (forget the brand) on a 108" 2.40 curved radius Stewart Film Screen.

Good question...
Another variation to answer such a question would/could be:

How's about a break-down of what's the best blu-ray player for a given price range?
If someone has an up-to-date list of what unit is considered best at say, $100, at $130, at $160, at $200 etc.

What I find discouraging is that so many reviews list poor reliability & poor streaming & slow loading very often. These are three considerations that I really would appreciate assistance on, in buying a good player.

Am replacing a PS3 that's constantly giving me the "An ethernet cable is disconnected" error. Have tried all the solutions I can find & none resolve the error.

This is to hook-up w/ a Pioneer vsx-1121 AVR, a DishNetwork vip-722 DVR & a Mitsubishi 53" DLP rear-projector.

I would say that the ps3 slim is the next best one. behind the oppo 93. that is just me. I understand that some people want a cheaper price. they cannt afford the expenstive ones. its just that some of the cheaper ones.. you get what you pay for.. meaning that they are not that good. saving said that, I would try the panasonic 110,210,310. I own the oppo 93, panasonic 210 and the ps3 slim.

Jacob

I would put the oppo93 about mid range player given its price.


the oppo 95 witHin the top range of denon, onkyo & yamaha flagship bd players 3-5 times the price of the oppo with 1 vast difference the oppo 95 is multiregion where as most other bd players are region locked, with likely option pin number hidden menu system...

I am a dinosaur coming out of the dark ages. Really need some help. I just ordered a panny vt30, which has wireless internet connectivity, 2d to 3d conversion, etc. Is there any advantage is getting a blu-ray that also has these features?

Thank you