OFFICIAL "HELP ME CHOOSE A PLAYER" THREAD: Can't decide? Start HERE. - Page 286

I personally have a Panasonic DMP80 that I love. The newer version is out now the DMP85. It is under $300. But... if you could swing it, the Oppo for $200 more will probably be the only Blu Ray player you will ever have to buy again. That's just my 2 cents.

Jeff

I was one of the first people in line to buy the Oppo BDP83 when it first came out and I've never looked back to the PS3 for my movie useage.

The PS3's video quality when playing Blu-rays is as good as any player. If the article said different, it's bs. You will see no improvement if you buy a new player. And you already have Netflix and media-center features if you have a PS3.

That leaves upscaling. The PS3 is an average upscaler. You can get better upscaling from several players; I recommend this site for comparisons:
http://winstonsreviews.com/?page_id=63

But whether the better upscaling will be worth the investment in a new player is largely a function of the size and quality of your display. On a typical mass-market 42" LCD, for example, you won't see much difference.

Maybe I should have been more specific than just saying "video" the 3 ratings that caught my eye were:

color quality
detail
brightness and contrast

all were rated at "good" on a scale of good,very good,superior. also did rate upscaling as "fair" and this is mostly for playback on a 42" Panasonic plasma.

I have to go with the above poster RDCLARK. I own many players including the PS3. It's BD PQ is as good as any, I'd even rate it's scaling of SD-DVD as good and I own one of the highest rated SD-DVD scaling players out there.

Now, I never really got the PS3 to be what I wanted in the theater as far as automation goes, so I still use stand alone players there and can understand somebody wanting to do that regardless of any PQ or audio feature defferences.

In terms of performance the Oppo or the Panasonic will blow away a PS3. And before you PS3 people get your feathers up, it's my and many people I know that owned a PS3 and "upgraded". When it comes to Blu Ray playback the Oppo is your best buy hands down, if you have the extra money.

Jeff

Hi
I am about to decide for one of these Players. Can someone with experience tell me what is the best since the price in my country is the same(around 2000 Euros)?
Tank you

Howdy.

I need help finding Blu-ray players with both:

• Onboard decoding (for everything except Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II which my receiver can handle)
  
  
• 5.1 analog output (at least)

I know the OPPO 80 does this, but I'd like to consider cheaper options as well. I'm having trouble finding players that I can mate with my circa 1998 Denon AVR-3200. And my brand spankin' new dual Epik Empires NEED some DTS-HD Master Audio!

Any tips on finding models that do both onboard decoding and have at least 5.1 analog output I can hook up to my AVR-3200?

Check the table in the first post here: Bluray Player Audio Support Comparison Chart .

-Bill

Thx for the reply. Actually, I had looked there earlier and didn't know exactly what I should be looking for. Am I looking for the info in Column "G" - Max # Channels, Analog?

The table linked by Bill is a good place to start, but some newer players from Oppo and Panasonic and Sony, at least, are still missing.

IMO, the Oppo BDP-80 at $290 is actually a bargain for buyers who need analog multichannel, although I must say I might be a little disappointed in its rudimentary setup options (only one crossover frequency, which must be applied to all speakers, for example) if I needed to use them. Fortunately I don't, so I've been very happy with the player.

Other players aren't much better in this regard.

Yes, for 5.1/7.1 analog output.

For decoding of the various codecs you will want orange (=decode) or green (=decode or stream).

-Bill

A popular option for someone in your position has been the Pioneer BDP-320. Mostly because it offers excellent PQ and SQ, great DVD upscaling, 7.1 preouts, internal decoding, and has been discounted greatly lately (down from $400 retail to being available several places for $170 shipped). The only downsides are that it doesn't do Netflix (or much of anything for streaming) and is much slower at loading discs than the Oppo.

TYVM lennon_68! Now to see if I can scare one up local so I can pick it up on the way home to scratch my itch that's been drivin' me NUTS NUTS NUTS since Tue nite when I tried (and tried and tried and tried) to play "9" on the cheap-o Magnavox Blu-ray we bought a coupla weeks ago for the bedroom TV...

Hmm it seems just as good as my Panasonic BD35 in serious side by side scrutinization on Blu-ray media.... Terms like Blow away don't apply either, of that I am sure. Your talking about imrpovements most people could never see.

Will the Oppo 80's DVD upscaling be as good as my current 981HD or should I be looking at a Panny or Sony? I really cannot afford the Oppo 83...

Looking at a Magnavox NB500MG9 and a Philips BDP 5010 blue ray player.
Any input as to which is the better "budget" player??

I find the BDP-80 to be sharper than the 981, but not so much as to seem artificial. It is as least as good as other players in the under $300 range.

-Bill

Well, I read about 30 pages here, and decided to just throw out the question.

I have a mid-90's vintage Yama DSP-A3090 AVR. No HDMI. I'll settle (for now) for 5.1 lossy optical. The TV is a Panny 50" plasma, a few years old.

Top priorities are:

Blu-ray PQ, DVD up conversion, loading speed, Netflix, Pandora. I'd like the BD to also be a multi-media, and play my mp3s via a built hd, or USB connected device.

I have only wireless G, so would probably want to upgrade to N to support wireless.

I am looking at PS3, Panny BD65/85, Sony S570.

Will the PS3 up-convert as nicely as the Panny or Sony BDs?

Thanks for any advice or thoughts,
JWhite

What reasons would you say the Oppo bdp-80 is better than the Panasonic dmp-bd85k?

Anything significant enough to justify $50 more for the Oppo that doesn't have wi-fi or any streaming service?

Don't get me wrong, I love Oppo products and have been extremely impressed with their customer service and excellent performance of my 981 DVD player...

I'm not familiar with the Panasonic. Try http://winstonsreviews.com/ for test results and features that are important to you.

-Bill

Hey guys, what's the best blu-ray player that I can get for less than $200? Let's make that $250 and assume I can actually get it for less than $200.

1) High def PQ
2) Disc support (and loading times)
3) Ability to send TrueHD and DTS-HD to my receiver

I've been waiting for something cheaper with streaming, but I finally got my xbox set up to the point where I don't need streaming from a blu-ray player. Suggestions?

I'm happy with the Sony 370... it was $161 (shipped) from amazon. they will update to streaming in June/July of this year... runs off a hard drive, even if fat32.

Overall, I'm had oppo 83, lg 570 and this player. This player I kept... and even if they had all been the same price, I'd kept this one as well. It has more features than oppo and works MUCH better than the LG. Although, I'm sure a firmware will boost the LG.

I guess it would depend on what your preferences are. I could point you to the the Panny DMP65 or 85 (I have the DMP80 last years model) which are highly rated. Load times have been a hot bed for decussion here and it all depends at least to me how paitent you happen to be. I simply turn on the player, open the disc and pull it out, and then I press the open tray button and wa-la! It opens right away. Load times vary per disc but avg would be in my estimate 15ish or more seconds when the tray closes.

Jeff

I have read a ton of the posts in this thread and I'm nowhere close to making an educated buying decision. I need to buy my first BD player and am a little overwhelmed with the choices. I'm looking for a player that:

1) Will not have any issues with my Pioneer 9040 AVR, either Samsung 63B590 or Panasonic 65V10 (haven't decided yet), and 5.1 speaker setup
2) Is wifi capable to allow for streaming HD content (i.e. Netflix) - haven't used this but would imagine that it would be really convenient
3) Decent upconversion for my existing non-BD collection of movies
4) Would like to spend $300 or less. Would be willing to spend more on a PS3 if it will solve my problems (I already have a Xbox 360)

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Well since I have a external video processor, I was thinking if it makes a difference in the picture quality if I connected a PS3 or a OPPO 83.

No naswer to my thread but no problem, yesterday i was watching the Denon 4010 and the Pioneer BDP-LX91...poor Denon. The Pioneer smokes it...

I just bought a Panasonic tc-p65v10 and I love it! I currently own a samsung 3600 blu ray player that is hooked up to the tv via hdmi. My question is should I get the panasonic bmp 85 to go with my tv? I dont have a hdmi receiver so i have analog hooked up to receiver. Is the panny a better player? what would be the advantages or disadvantages?

probably few advantages or disadvantages. id get a hdmi avr if I had some change burning a hole in my pocket if it were me i dont see much reason to change bdp's in your situation. congrats on the shiny new tv!!

Ya, I was kind of thinking the same thing. Acually I think my best bet would be get a HDMI receiver but I have a B&K AVR 307 and I love that too. I know its an awsome receiver but would hate to part ways with it. Ill get a new one some day then I think Ill get a OPPO 83 Blu ray player. I need to make it worth the upgrade and I dont think switching to Panasonic would be.