OFFICIAL "HELP ME CHOOSE A PLAYER" THREAD: Can't decide? Start HERE. - Page 448

I currently have a Sony BDP-S580 blu-ray player but also need another. One is going to be for my sitting area, and the other is going to be for the theater. I need to be able to bitstream for the theater (which I believe the BDP-S580 can do).

I was going to pick up another lower end Sony for the sitting area, but I learned the hard way that Sony uses the SAME IR codes for all of their Blu-ray players (I just found this out). So now I'm not sure what to get. I kind of want to connect the current one to the sitting area and buy a new one for the theater.

The Oppos are way out of my price range, so those are out. Anything else I should look at? I don't need any other features. No Netflix or internet streaming, no local streaming, and no wi-fi. The s580 has all of that, but it isn't going to be used.

If you have two particular Blu-ray players in mind, I can always get rid of the current Sony one. Thanks in advance!

I apologize if my post doesn't read right. Sony support is actually making my blood boil. When I ask them which model of their players I can buy so I can keep them next to each other and use them seperately, they literally tell me, "Please keep both the devices distant apart".

EDIT: Alright, I think I'm going to pick up a Yamaha BD-S667 for the theater and move the Sony BDP-S580 to the sitting area. If anyone thinks there is a better option, feel free to let me know .

As you already know, a different brand will solve your problem. But for others considering multiple players, panasonic uses 3 different IR codes which can be selected on any of their players.

So I need new player to take the place of my ps3 in my living room since I am getting a vt50 in the next couple days I want one with dual outputs for my older sc-05 receiver. I was looking into the 2 models above I don't need the analog outs on the 500 really but it does look nice. I do stream Netflix a fair amount other than that it will just be for br playback and 3d playback and an occasional DVD. So I am looking for suggestions I am open to anything sub 500 and I do work for a retailer so I get a discount on a wide variety of players.

Check if you can still find a Panny 310.

Yea you think that would work just as well I'm pretty sure I still have one in my store.

I wouldn't recommend that model for Netflix.

Ok here is another question I don't know if you guys can answer for me but the analog outs on the 500 won't work better than hdmi to my sc-05 right? I know it's corny but i do like the look of the 500 and think it will mesh well with the vt50's design. I am sure Panasonic put there heads into that one.

Posting to these boards has always steered me in the right direction and hoping for the same now.

I am ready to upgrade my old DVD player to Blu-ray -- don't have a 3D television -- but looking at reviews/prices, etc., it seems like going 3D is the way to go ... Don't have an AV receiver with HDMI connections ... but I would like to stream from Amazon and Netflix -- run some Blu-Ray discs ...

I was considering the Panasonic 220 and 320 (not scared off by the touch screen remote despite reading probably a majority of comments against it). The more I have read on these boards, now I am questioning whether to go with one of these models as planned or look at at Sony. Through the years, I have owned products from both, although my all-time favorite DVD player/recorder was a Panasonic.

Looking for some recommendations ...

The 110 has always worked well for me with Netflix (hard wired, with Fios).

Can I also add the pioneer bdp-53fd to the short list I have come up with.

Thanks for that valuable piece of information! I went with Sony because I assumed it was standard practice to be able to change IR codes. /shrug

So I scratched the idea of picking up a Yamaha blu-ray player because there seems to be a lot of reliability issues. After reading this thread and AnnaJune's awesome summary, it looks like I'll be going with a Panasonic. Maybe if I can off load my Sony, I'll just go with two of them.

Can someone help me understand the differences between the BDT220CP and the BDT320? My understanding is the 220 doesn't bitstream TrueHD or DTS-HD so that's out and the 500 is just plain overkill for my use so I've removed those both as possibilities.

The 220CP doesn't have 'High Clarity Sound Plus' or 'Digital Tube Sound' while the 320 does. Will those features help in a 7.1 environment?

EDIT: Going through the specs it does look like the 220 can bitstream. Panasonic's website left that field blank during the comparison. So I guess that's back on the table.

Glad it worked for you. But unfortunately very few of us have Fios bandwidth to overcome the blank flash issue. My 110 is long gone, and my 390 is working perfectly on my paltry 30Mbps service.

scl23,

Your questions have been asked and answered many times in the panny threads. But the handy dandy chart on THIS page shows that the 320 only adds a few useless gimmicks.

I should have searched, my apologies. Thanks for not letting me have it! I'll read up on it now, thank you for linking me.

Folks- I'm trying to choose between these 3 players:
1. Oppo-93 (stretch)
2. PS3
3. Panny BDT-310.

(2) and (3) are within budget.
I want this mainly for CD, DVD and Bluray in that order.

a) I don't care about the DAC, as I'll connect the player to my UMC-1 pre/pro via HDMI.
So, all I need is a very good transport for CD.

b) DVD upscaling is VERY important. I know Oppo-93 does this really well. But, how does Panny and PS3 fare here? Is there is a good difference, I'll drop Panny/PS3.

c) I'm assuming that bluray playback quality will be almost similar in all the 3.

d) Should I hold out for more reviews about Sony 790?

Thanks.

I have a cheap Sony BluRay BDPS580 player in my family room that does OK with playing BluRay discs but it's connectivity features are troublesome.

I have a Western Digital drive connected to my home network in my theater room. My Sony BluRay player can "see" the Western Digital and play content but it frequently freezes up and I'm tired of it.

What is a decent BluRay player out there which does a good job of network / internet connectivity? Should have Netflix app capability, not sure if I care about Blockbuster network.

None of the above. The 310 is obsolete and buggy. The PS3 is slow, noisy, hard to control and is a power hog. Sony has grace note for CD's, and the others don't. Why the 790 instead of the 390 or 590? It's almost as expensive as Oppo. Do you have a 4k display?

I'm in a wierd position. Normally my answer as to which BluRay player would be easy (Oppo) as I was one of the first 500 to get the BDP-83. It's working fantastic and is still the core of my home theater system.

However in my bedroom, I'm lacking.

Right now I have a Oppo DV-980HD hooked up through my Yamaha AVR to a Panasonic TH-50PX80U 720P plasma. It's great for DVD and SACD playback, but it won't do BluRay (obviously) or any streaming media services.

I do have an X-Box 360 in there connected to a TVersity server that I use to playback my MP3's, photo's, and videos. I don't have Netflix through it as I'm not keen on paying for another X-Box 360 subscription.

So that brings me to the point of wanting to replace my trusty Oppo. I have a ton of points on my credit card to use and they have several options to choose from. I have it narrowed down to three finalists but could use some help picking. The Sony unit stands out only because it will do SACD, which isn't mandatory but nice to have.

Sony BDP-S590
Samsung BD-EM59C
LG BP-620

Thoughts?

The S790 is 1/2 the price of the Oppo. $250 vs. $500. How does that equate to "almost as expensive as"?

Sorry, I was thinking they were around $300 now, but turns out those are only used BDP-83s. I stand corrected.

When I got my sony S590 I finally took my Oppo DV 983H out of my rack. If you don't need 3D, you should consider the Sony S390. The DVD scaling with the Sony is great and the Sony gives full MCH PCM over HDMI, which the Oppo couldn't do.

AVCHD is supported from USB on the Sony x90 series. Not tried it with DLNA ... But can if required.

Well I have 100mb/s down and the panny 210 didn't work right for Netflix. Black flashes ....

What exact content causes the player to freeze and lockup ?

Both the Panasonic and sony 2012 players have improved Netflix over the 2011 players. Several users have complained though that the Panasonic interface isn't as responsive as the Sony and seems to have a audio sync issue in some circumstances. It is able to start the Netflix stream faster than the Sony though.

If network and Netflix is primary for you... Why not keep the 580 for disks and just buy a Roku ?

No subtitle button on Panny 220? Maybe return and get a Sony?

I've hardly ever returned an electronic item (maybe once), but I think I may return my new (1 week) Panasonic 220 to Amazon. The lack of a subtitle button amazes me. I haven't played with it a lot but it appears that to turn subtitles on/off I have to:

1. pause
2. press Options button
3. press OK
4. press down arrow
5. press OK
6. press right arrow
7. press down arrow
8. press OK
9. press return a few times

This is probably not the exact sequence, but it's something similar. Now that is a PITA! On my old Momitsu V880 DVD player remote there's a subtitle button. I can't choose my preferred subtitle (a shortcoming), but pressing the button pushes the player to the next subtitle option (e.g. the options might be English, Spanish, French, Off). I don't even have to pause the movie and I can adjust my subtitles. On the Panny 220 this looks impossible. I doubt I can do this even with a macro on my MX-700 remote.

I saw mention that Sony makes players with a subtitle button. Is that true of the S390? How does it work? Is the S590 basically the same player with 3D added (I don't need 3D).

How is Netflix streaming on the Sony(s) compared with the Panny 220?

I'm open to suggestions on what to get instead of the Panny 220. I don't need 3D, would like great DVD upscaling, have never streamed off the Internet but would like to do it, and do it well. I have a wireless network, but this player could be connected by ethernet. And yeah, I want to be able to toggle my subtitles on/off. Thanks for any ideas!

Well, I don't get much of a choice other than the options I've listed. They're coming from my credit card company's "rewards points" system. It's been a pain honestly as they do not list model numbers on any of the listings. I've basically had to compare pictures to the manufacturers website.

The one interesting thing about the Samsung is it's built in web browser and ability to talk to a media server on a PC, which I have. I wish there where somewhere in town I could actually LOOK at these things. Sure there's Best Buy, but that's just a unit on a shelf, not something hooked up and running.

Just got off the phone with the credit card company and they were able to actually give me a list of the model numbers available. I have it narrowed down to three finalists.

Sony BDPS590

Samsung BDE5900/ZA

LG BP620


Right now I'm definatly leaning towards the Sony. It seems to have the best media streaming capability over the local network from a media server. It supports SACD, which I'd like to keep functionality for. Also, it seems to support the greatest number of streaming services.

Is there really any huge difference in picture quality now amongst consumer level players? I'm sure my Oppo will have better picture quality but I'm mostly concerned that there won't be any obvious image differences between the players.

So, I figured I'd return my new Panasonic 220 because it doesn't have a subtitle button. Figured the Sony 390 would be an OK replacement, at least it has a subtitle button on the remote, has Netflix HD streaming, plus superior file play support. But a couple of guys at the Official Panasonic DMP-BDT 220/320/500 Owners Thread said they think the Sonys' picture is noticeably not as sharp as the Panasonics'. Is this true? How significant is this? Here's the exchange, currently the last post in the thread, post 1373: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=1373
- - - -


Can anyone speak to this? It's the first I've heard of such a thing. Usually people say that blu-ray players' playback if disks is pretty much the same. Is it a problem? Is the difference significant? Is the Panasonic playback a better experience?

If it's true it's not significant. I went from a panny210 to a sony 590, then a 790. Like the Panny, the Sony's DVD upscaling was very good. I saw no PQ difference with Blu-ray. I did see a more reliable HDMI interface with the Sony, plus I was able to finally remove my Oppo DV983H from the rack because I could play SACD's and get multi-channel PCM Over HDMI with the Sony.

My experience is exactly the opposite. I found the S790 to produce superior Blu-ray playback in Direct mode than the Panny DMP-BDT320, the BDT-220, and the Oppo BDP-93. Now people will say that bit-perfect video is bit-prefect video, but my eyes and brain tell me differently. I now own the S790 and none of the other above-mentioned players.

There is little to no difference in PQ with BluRay discs between players. For upscaled SD DVDs, however, yes, there can be a significant difference.