OFFICIAL "HELP ME CHOOSE A PLAYER" THREAD: Can't decide? Start HERE. - Page 325

Trying to decide between the Pioneer 51fd and the 320. Any thoughts on which one I should
Get and why?

I knew I shouldn't have came to AVSForum to research Blu-Ray players. So much great info :-) ...After much reading, I think I'm going to end up with a lower end model (less than $150) as I was in the first place. Still don't know which one though.

I don't know anything about URC, but the general idea is if you can set a bit in your macros, you can do your own tracking. In the JP1 world it's called a TOAD-Tog. So with a couple of macros you can power toggle then set a bit to remember you meant power on. Next time you power on, you check to see if the bit is set. If it is, you do nothing, so you've remembered the on state and avoided sending an unwanted toggle off. When you power off, clear the bit. If the bit is already clear, you do nothing. That logic will work on any advanced remote with variables. I assume at least some URC's can do something similar. With harmony, you don't have to do anything. It's handled automatically.

Has there been a clear winner for streaming mkv (720p with HD audio, plus DTS or AC3) from home network? This would be secondary use of the player, but would like for one that works.

I have Samsung LNB650 LCD TV (has an ethernet port but not wireless) and I do not have the Samsung wireless adapator for this TV. It is almost impossible for me to run a network cable from my router to this TV. I just placed an order for the Samsung blue-ray DVD player BD-C7500. This has the wireless capability but not 3D capabilities.

Should I still buy the wireless adapter for the TV in order to connect the TV to my LAN or will this DVD player do the job of the TV's wireless adapter? TIA.

Hi all,

I have owned 2 PS3's, and have over 100 blu-rays. They worked great, but I sold the first PS3 to get the quieter 2nd one. Sold the 2nd one to try a computer set-up for BR playback. I have been extremely disgusted with the amount of time I have to waste getting the computer to WORK entirely using HDMI audio (seems like I waste 30 minutes just getting it all to jive between my computer, TV, and reciever). I finally gave up and moved the computer out to be used elsewhere.

So now I'm back to square 1, and am interested in buying a BR standalone player. I have some concerns, though..... maybe you can chime in. Notice first that buying a blu-ray player from well-known brick and mortar stores in Korea is a very expensive affair. You might think they would be cheaper here, because the brands are Korean -- they're not. It's the opposite, because they have total control of price and import through the "good old boy" network.

Now, back to players...

It seems like, although they are getting faster, I keep reading thread after thread about blu-ray players dying, not receiving updates, receiving bad updates, or poor service. As I have noticed these players grow noticeably cheaper in build on the outside, I have concerns that whatever player I will purchase is "built to break" just outside of the warranty period. Sooooo many products these days seem to be built as such, and it's frustrating. I can almost live with that if we're talking sub $100 players from Wal-mart, but we're not -- they're just more expensive here, overall.

Being that I live in South Korea, I thought it'd be a good idea to go with an LG or Samsung player (Sony can be found, but at a premium due to protectionist import policies). I almost pulled the trigger on an LG390 at $180, but found more than one thread on different tech sites about a "bad batch" of these where the drive inside would burn out within several months.

Then I started looking at Samsung. I keep reading about how they rarely update their firmware, and even read some complaints that Samsung has ended support (updates) for players in the past. That is enough to scare me away from Samsung.

So I'm interested in the Sony 370, but I'm Korea, and as I mentioned, they're a premium here. I can buy that model at the Sony Style store for about $250, though. Illegal imports (USA models) are sold online for cheaper, but I'm wary of that.

Then, there's the Samsung 1600 for about $125 -- but on the internet. To buy it from a brick and mortar shop here costs close to $200 for that model. When you buy from the internet here, you take your chances of getting something that's refurbished, used and reboxed to look like new, or problematic. Besides, it's a Samsung, and well... I'm just reading a lot of bad threads on these!

Buying another PS3 is out of the question, as the slim model has gone way up in price here (well over $300) and I'd rather get a cheaper stand-alone anyway.

Should I get:

1. LG370 (good price, more features, but bad track record of repairs)
2. Sony370 (pay through the nose)
3. Samsung 1600 (cheapest option)

Note: Panny's are even more insane in price than Sony here, and are pretty much all illegal imports.

which player would be the better choice - i am thinking of either the panasonic 85k or the lg 590 ?

Hi can someone help me, I just bought a 55LH90 and need a blu ray player ASAP.

Budget: ~130$
Needs:
Wi-fi
Netflix Streaming
Would like Perks:
USB/SD card support
MKV file support

Thanks guys.

I don't think you can get wi-fi under 180

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia...0ray&cp=1&lp=3

Hows good is this one, it used to be 179 but now its 130


Hmm, seems link is bad:
The model is
Insignia™ - Internet Connectable / Wi-Fi Built-in Blu-ray Disc Player
Model: NS-WBRDVD

Panasonic BD85 or Oppo BDP83?

I'm looking at the Panny 50" G25 plasma and was wondering what would be the better player. The Panasonic of course is the same make as the tv and has WiFi where the Oppo doesn't but I would be using it mostly for Blue Ray and SD playback, don't know that I would have much interest in streaming etc.,

Is there enough of a PQ difference to go with the Oppo? I don't mind paying more if it is the better way to go...

TIA,

Geoff

If you sit within 6' of your screen and watch mostly DVD's, then maybe.

I'm looking for a Blu-Ray player with Netflix Search capabilities (doesn't just play stuff from my queue). I'm trying to avoid buying a BD player and a Roku box. What player should I get?

I can't say anything about the Oppo but I do have 50G20 (identical to 50G25 except for camera feature) and a BD85. The two do complement each other well. Here's why.

First, the BD85's chroma processor can output YCbCr(4:4:4) color and the G20/G25 can process that natively. Not all blu-ray players and TV's can support 4:4:4 color (4:2:2 is more common).

Second, the BD85's Uniphier processor can interpolate to squeeze a little more color resolution out of a DVD/BD. This allows it to actually utilize the "deep color" option in the HDMI interface. Lots of devices support the deep color option, but only a few blu-ray players can actually utilize the extra bandwidth.

For more information, see my post here and read the referenced links. Included is a link to one of the better reviews of the BD85 (written by Chris Boylan):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post19029881

I wish I had an Oppo to test with my G20, it would be interesting to do a side-by-side comparison with the more expensive player. Maybe someone else here has done that. I've only tested against a Sony S470 and LGBD550 (less capable BDP's) and the BD85 was the winner in my eyes.

The Oppo may be a great player, but the BD85 is a real value at the current street price. And if you don't need wifi, there are plenty of people in the G20/G25 and VT20/VT25 AVS threads who will be willing to buy your wifi adapter to use with their TV's, I sold mine for $50. That would bring the price for a BD85 down to around $130-$140 - that's an absolute steal for good playback, de-interlacing, and up-scaling.

I don't know of any with search except game consoles. However some have browse capability. My Insignia lets you browse several genres of 100 titles each. PS3 and Wii are similar.

There will be no difference in Blu-ray quality, and any differences in SD quality will be insignificant on a screen that small.

Unless you need the functionality of a universal disc player (SACD and DVD-A), or of the upgraded DACs in the 83's stereo output stage, or wish to pay extra for Oppo's legendary customer service, there's no reason to buy one, IMO.

I think that's backwards. 4:4:4 is the common case.

-Bill

at first i was thinking the same thing - but i gave in and got a Roku box - its pretty good and very small - really not in the way - now i am looking at the 85 panny - which would have netflix and pandora which is what i use the most anyway -

then i could move the roku box to my other TV in the bedroom - then i would move my oppo 981 to my main system for SACD - and keep the 85 for everything else - move my current maganavox to my bedroom --

i was curious how good the 85 was up against the oppo bd80 -

i do like oppo - but its nice to have some extra features that the 85 has -

It's pretty simple, IMO. Is the streaming more important? Get the Panny. Is SACD/DVD-A and/or DLNA more important? Get the Oppo. (The US version of the Panny doesn't do DLNA, I believe.)

I haven't compiled any hard data myself since its not a spec which is usually published. I got that impression from Chris Boylan where he says only the high-end 2009 Panny's supported 4:4:4:

http://forum.bigpicturebigsound.com/...eep-color.html

" ... And although having "DeepColor" support with 36-bit color (aka 12-bit color) does not always mean that a display will also support a 4:4:4 color input, you do frequently see both specs on higher end displays. In the 2009 Panasonic display line, for example, only the V10 and Z1 series support 4:4:4 color inputs ..."

Are you aware of any way to determine if a set natively supports 4:4:4 without seeing it in a spec or a menu? According to Chris, this year's Panny G20/G25 and VT20/VT25 support 4:4:4 but you wouldn't know it by looking in the menus.

That's correct. Some Euro versions do support DLNA according to the UK-based review sites.

The US version does not have either uPNP/DLNA support *or* network file sharing (e.g. CIFS/SMB). It only has internet connectivity (for the Vieracast applications like Netflix/Pandora/Amazon-VOD/Youtube/Weather and firmware update). If you have a Divx/Xvid avi movie to play, it needs to be on a thumb drive or SD card.

Over a LAN, the latter movie apps can be handled with an inexpensive WDTV or similar media player.

i do have a Roku box - so its not a must - but i also have a oppo 981 which can do SACD in my bedroom - i was thinking of the panny with all the streaming and move my 981 to my main system on top of my panny just for SACD if i want and put my current player in my bedroom -

since the panny has both netflix and pandora which is what i use mostly -
does the netflix on the panny have the same interface as the Roku box ?

how does the pandora run off the panny ? sometimes i have issues with mines losing the internet connection - i have it connected wireless - but the netflix works fine - so i think its pandora ? and not my box - but who knows -

would you know if anything new is coming out soon ? would hate to buy something now and a few months later a new model comes out

I use both my Panny BD85 and WDTV media player to listen to Pandora. Both will stay on for hours at a time. I don't think I've ever had a disconnect. Live365 internet radio on the WDTV is a different matter - depending on which station I'm tuned in to, the streaming connection often breaks in less than 20 minutes.

So the client device (BD85, WDTV) sometimes isn't the problem. It can be the local LAN in your home, your internet provider, or the regional application server you're connected to. People take for granted what it takes to get streaming media these days. 10 years ago it was a totally different story.

I turn on my receiver, BD85, and TV to start Pandora, then turn off my TV while listening. When I get some time, I'm going to try to automate some of that with my Harmony remote.

YCbCr 4:4:4 is the default HDMI output on the OPPO players and I don't recall reports on any of the threads of a display which would not accept it. I think this is the standard for other players as well. Sometimes displays have been confused about rec 601 vs 709 color standards but that is a different issue and happens less with the passage of time.

DVI output uses RGB because YCbCr support on DVI is rare.

-Bill

The only one I found (and have) that does it (via network) is the latest Samsungs. I have the BD-C5500 and am very impressed so far. After installing a small utility (Samsung Share Manager v4.1) on your "server". it will access any shared folders you setup. I have sucessfully played mkv, avi, and mp4. As for the audio, whatever the source is encoded with, will pass on to the player. With the mp4 file the acc audio was only 2 channel, but with my mkv (bd rips) the audio was 5.1 DTS.

thanks is most likely my network connection - or pandora etc. with netflix - it hasnt happened - maybe once - but lately i notice pandora works - and can stop at some point - sometimes its soon and sometimes after a hour or more - when i check the TV - says cant connect to pandora etc. - i rerun the setup and pick wireless to start it again -

sometimes its a bit annoying - i wonder if i connect it wired - it it would still happen - i might have to try that one day - i just dont want to run a 25 feet cable from my bedroom to my living room - or maybe 50 feet - not sure

but thanks for that info on the panny

Why didn't you simply buy the Sony BDP-S570 player which has wireless built in?

Hi,
I need recommendations, please, for a Blu-ray player that will handle the following:-
- Blu-ray/DVD/CD + video files of some format
- Wi-fi for home LAN built-in
- play PAL and NTSC DVDs on US (110V) NTSC HDTV (PAL discs mostly home made from family in UK and Australia, so region-code-free not a huge issue, but useful)
- Instant Netflix-able
- HDMI output + normal miscellany of connectors
- Upscale DVD to 1080p
- Remember where a DVD was stopped (Vizio VBR220 doesn't do this, I discovered)
- price to ~$250
I've discovered some players WILL play PAL though they say they don't - any place to find such info? Tried a 'customized' "region-free" PAL/NTSC DVD player - not good picture quality...

All input gratefully received and acknowledged!

TIA

Dan E

The second post in this thread lists the PAL characteristics of a few players: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1117941

-Bill

Thanks Bill. Sorry to be an ignoramus - did a quick Google on 1080i50 and understand that bit, but unsure if the list in the second posting of this thread implies also that those players convert PAL to NTSC, or is that question irrelevant, superseded by the 1080i50 format?

TIA,
Dan