OFFICIAL "HELP ME CHOOSE A PLAYER" THREAD: Can't decide? Start HERE. - Page 444

I am thinking about purchasing this Blue Ray along with a new Denon AVR 4311 to replace my 3806 and a 1910 Denon DVD player. Is there any other unit that is better within the same price range?

Yea, try the S590 ... or spend the extra and get the S790. Bit nicer box and additional video settings.

I never had a dedicated blu ray player. PS 3 is what I have been using without complaint. Now I need another player and can't decide if I should get another ps3 or something else. I have BenQ w6000 projector and pioneer 1121 -k receiver. I want to get best pq, reasonable loading times and Netflix. No need for wireless streaming, 3D.. One HDMI to receiver should be sufficient. If I go with dedicated player it needs to be better (and cheaper) than ps3 otherwise no point to deny myself with occasional playing.

PS3 is my main player, and I hate it. It's expensive, slow, clunky, has limited apps, and uses a lot of power. I can't imagine using it as my main player long term. The sony 390 will fit the bill for you.

Maybe I should start a new thread, not sure . . .

I need to buy a new tv and blu-ray player, but I have two basic questions about streaming capabilities and their upgradability.

1. It seems that, since streaming is basically software based . . .
if your blu-ray player didn't have the streaming or channel capability for a desired service xyz,
that you could just navigate to it using an onboard browser or the like.
So then, you'd not really be limited to the built-in streaming & channel capabilities.
For example, suppose it didn't have Netflix or Pandora ( I know they all have these, but just as an example ) - could you custom add - or navigate to - things like this ?

In general then, can you somehow add on xyz streaming capability, or would that only be by a complete firmware upgrade, assuming that firmware upgrade included the desired streaming capability.
Or are you just stuck with whatever the box comes with.

2. In the same regard, does it make any sense to pay extra for a tv with a set of streaming capabilities, vs a blu-ray player with a set of streaming capabilities, just in that respect alone ? What would be the difference there.

My personal opinion is that sense a TV far outlasts its streaming software, it's best to get a cheap external device for that (roku, blu-ray player, apple TV, etc.) which can be upgraded/replaced cheaply and easily. Also most TVs are much worse at streaming than other devices anyway. No matter what you buy, the streaming apps will be obsolete in a few years and the latest devices will have much better ones.

To answer your questions, the browsers on blu-ray players and tvs aren't good enough for streaming, so that's not an option. The browser on an HTPC is ok for streaming, but still not as good as a stand-alone player. Netflix, for example, is higher resolution on many blu-ray players than on PCs.

So if you want to stream and play discs, I'd go for a TV without networking and a blu-ray player I know has all the apps I want today.

^ thanks. I will check it out. Price is definitely good. I am assuming Netflix and hulu will work as good or better than ps3.

ok...time for an upgrade from my BD550.
I believe I have narrowed it down to two players based on my needs, functionality and price. The two are:

BDP-S390 and DMP-BDT220

I realize that the panny has 3D, but I dont really care about that.
Most of all the other functionality seems to be very similar across the board....

My current want is playing video files from my computer.
I currently play different formats of files from my PC running Playon, through my Xbox.

Since I plan on signing back up for Netflix, I want an all in one solution....

So the easy question is, which one does network sharing better and has more file format compatibility??

thanks
bama

Pretty much the same but a bit slower to load due to having less computing power than a PS3. Not a big deal.

The sony is better at that by far.

Interesting dilemma. I am after a bluray player that is not noisy during disc playback. I couldn´t care less about pointless streaming or file support since I find computers superior media centres anyway.

I currently has a Sony BDP-S370 and PS 3. The PS 3 I believe there is something wrong though and there is room for improvement over the S370. S370 is great for low quality dvds because it´s noise filters actually work for once and it´s tendencies to soften images suite such material. It don´t seem to handle black levels very good often getting bluish tints though and the picture can get a bit mushy for bluray.

Tried the Panasonic BDT310 but it was to noisy. Not the best dvd scaling but on good discs it looked great slightly preferrable to my other bluray players I felt.

Thought about the Sony S590/BDT320 and Asus BDS-700. Having the S370 felt it would perhaps be better with the BDT320 or BDS-700. Having the Qdeo chip in my onkyo receiver and seldom preferring it make me think maybe the BDT320 would suite me better. I liked the sense of more depth in the310 over the PS3/BDP-370. Sense of depth is quite good on the PS 3 as well but it totally crush details in the blacks and it´s impossible to get a good image if I calibrate it for decent black levels for getting all the detail.

BDS-700 seem to be in beta so I am a little afraid to try that one as well though it may have more room to grow then the Panasonic and Sonys.

Thanks for the info..I do have a question after perusing the manual...
(and this is probably just my limited knowledge on DLNA)

Under playable file types, it says that .MKV, .MP4, MPG, etc. are file formats not playable on this DLNA server...

Can someone explain this to me???
Does it mean I have to render the file prior to it playing through the Sony??
I currently play my MKV files through my Xbox with no issues....

thanks
Bama

I see that the manual says that, but it makes no sense. All those play fine on Sony via DLNA without any transcoding. At least they have on past models. I'll try an x90 series player next week. Otherwise ask in the main 590 thread to confirm.

Quick question: I'm looking for a Blu-ray player that supports media off of an external hard drive. Two very important formats are FLAC and MKV. I'm not looking to spend more than $150. What are some good choices?

Thanks!

I have a 2-channel stereo/home theater set-up with B&W 685 speakers, a Rotel RX-1052 receiver (2-channel, no digital inputs), and a Panasonic TCP46G10 plasma.

My old Samsung Blu-ray player recently died. I had been using it for audio CDs as well as DVDs and Blu-rays.

What do you recommend for a replacement player that has good analog audio quality? Is the Oppo 95 the way to go? Or is it overkill for my current set-up? Or maybe is there some in-between territory between a $1000 Oppo 95 and the usual $129 players that aren't so great for playing CD's through an analog stereo out?

Thanks!
Tim

If DVD upscaling was my priority over all else (large collection I don't plan on replacing), which model is generally recommended these days? Dual HDMI 3D capabilities are a plus, but not required.

Looking to stay under $200. BDT310 perhaps? Does another best it in upscaling in this price range?

Look at the Sony's, the S590 doesn't have dual HDMI and is below your price point and the S790 has dual HDMI and is above your price point, plus if you like SACD both do DSD over HDMI. I went from a Panny 210 to the Sony and have no regrets, esp with DVD upscaling. I had the Oppo DV983H and prefered the Panny upscaling of DVD's to the Oppo and find the S590 I have now no worse than the Panny.

Hello,

I currently have an LG BD390 that I purchased a few years ago that I would like to upgrade and replace. The player still works good, it is just extremely slow at loading some of the newer blu-ray titles.

I originally purchased the BD390 after doing some research on this site which stated at the time that it was a great player and was capable of Network streaming of multiple different file types especially .MKV files.

I have been reading quite a few posts about the different recommended players and the majority of the answers have been about:

Sony BDP-S590
Panasonic BDT-220

I would like to get a player that has the best Network Streaming capabilities and plays the most file types especially .MKV files but also has great blu ray picture playback quality and sound.

Here is some info on my current use and setup:

1. I have a wired internet available for the player so Wifi is not necessary but I don't mind paying extra for it for future proofing or if the best player just happens to come with it included.
2. The player will not be hooked up to a 3D Television at this time and probably by the time I end up replacing my 50" Panasonic Plasma there will be a better blu ray player that I will buy
3. The majority of the time I will be using the player to stream movies from my home wired network. Mostly .MKV files.
4. I would like to try and avoid Cinavia but from what I have read in previous posts, I think that I am out of luck since most newer players will come with it or have an Update to include it as per agreements. I currently have quite a few movies that will not play on my PS3 for this reason.
5. I live in Canada, so as far as I know, most of the streaming services will not work here. I would probably be using Netflix though.

I have been currently looking at the following players:

Sony BDP380 - $79
Sony BDP590 - $159 (just released here)
Sony BDP780 - $149
Pany BDT210 - $149
Pany BDT220 - $199 (just becoming available here)
LG BD660C - $119

Keep in mind these are Canadian prices. After reading the post about Cinavia being included in all players soon, I am seriously thinking maybe I should just get a Western Digital Live Streaming media player to stream from my network and a cheaper non 3D, non Wifi player that ia quick and has good picture quality and upconverting capabilities.

What are your thoughts from my list or if there are any other current options that I might be missing.

Thanks,

I'm looking at purchasing a Marantz SR5006 receiver in the next couple months but I'm also trying to plan now what the best route would be to matching a BR player with it. My initial reaction was to use the matching Marantz UD5005 player because it would maintain a consistent "look" in the system, and remote functions would already be on the receivers remote. But I've also heard good things about Oppo, and the BDP-93 is $100 cheaper. I'm guessing the receiver remote could learn the Oppo codes, but is there an advantage or disadvantage to either choice with regards to video and sound quality?

I also have a connection question. I'm not much aof a videophile (yet) so I don't know the technical differences between component video and HDMI. Which is better? I believe my TV has both connections, but it will route it through the receiver first for switching. Should I do component video and use a digital audio connection, or should I go with HDMI to do all? And if I use 1 type to go to the reciever and another type to go to the TV will that even work, or will it defeat any benefit of using one connection over the other? I could use HDMI or Component all the way from BD to the TV, but there will be other video sources connected to the receiver as well. (Wii for sure, and possibly satellite in the future). I really only want to have 1 video connection to the TV if possible and let the receiver do all the switching for simplicity. I don't have a problem remembering what input to change on the TV now,(like between cable, computer, game and DVD) but my wife always freaks out because she cant remember which input to select on the TV. (shes blonde) So having the receiver switch all the video and audio signals will simplify my life somewhat.

Thanks,
Bud

My new Samsung TV came with a 3D player (Samsung BD-E5900...no AVS thread for this model). The specs say it does upconverting. However, there is no menu item related to this at all. Does the upconvert happen automatically?

Is it common for lower-end blu-ray players to *automatically* upconvert without a menu option? I had expected to have an option to at least turn it on or off.

The display for this unit has no bitrate information (unlike my $99 Sony BD player); it only shows elapsed time and total time. Thus, I cannot tell if if it is upconverting at all.

upscaling doesn't change the bitrate so a lack of bitrate display won't help you...

the player most likely is doing the upscaling... if not your TV will upscale the image anyway

It's automatic, and there is no way to turn it off, except on sony which added "source direct" back in this year's models.

Since you mention 3D, are you talking about 2D to 3D conversion, not upconversion of 2D 480i to 2D 1080p? In that case, most 3D players should have options to control that.

TV's generally just scale, not upconvert. So the jaggies on a 480i image will simply be magnified if you leave the scaling to your TV. Your player will interpolate between the missing lines and give a much sharper and more detailed looking image. Unless you have some other video processor in the mix that does a better job than your player, then limiting DVD to 480i is a bad idea.

upconvert is another word for scale

the player just uses a scaling method that may or may not be different from the display (in the case of both being samsung probably not)

Use HDMI for both. Component video is being killed off by the industry and will be more or less "gone" very soon.

-Bill

The DVD player specs say upconvert, not upscale. My TV does not do either. I really did not notice a difference when I put in a standard def. DVD, compared to my older DVD player.

your TV scales the image

ALL non CRT displays scale the image if it's not already in the native resolution of the display

Your TV takes any of it's supported input types and converts it to the native resolution of the display, presumably 1920x1080. That's commonly called upscaling or upconverting; there is no precise definition. There is no control; it has to happen. No choice.

Blu-ray native video doesn't need any conversion, because it is already 1920x1080.

DVD video is stored on disc as 480i. The interlaced video must be deinterlaced to 480p, then that image is scaled to 1920x1080. Your TV will do it, or if your BR player has output resolution options (480i, 480p, 1080p, etc) some or all of the work can be done in the player.

Without testing to see if there are perceptible differences there is no way to prefer one way or another.

Calibrate the basic controls on your display when testing this.

-Bill

Thanks Bill and AmishFury.

Bill, I see you have knowledge and/or experience with the Oppo 93. Is the upconverting it does also automatic? Will I really see a difference on commercially produced DVDs? I was going to buy this unit, but the TV came with a player, I'm not sure now.

Any player that allows different output resolutions gives you some control over where the deinterlacing and scaling for DVD takes place:

1080p: the player does everything
480i: the display does everything
other settings: some combination

I recommend learning about display calibration before switching to new gear. You can always buy another player but you need a well-tuned system and an experienced eye to see some of the differences, which can be subtle.

There is only so much you can do to DVD; possible improvements are not unlimited. If you are trying to squeeze out that last few percent of quality, then consider a new player.

We have a Calibration forum here. At the basic level (which is all I do) you get a test disc and learn to adjust your display by looking at the patterns.

-Bill

Thanks Bill, That simplifies things quite a bit.

Any opinions of the Marantz vs. Oppo from my post, or any other outstanding players that are cheaper?

Thanks,
Bud