[johncongemi]

I am ready to invest in HD. I was ready to buy an LG BH200 (or Samsung 5000) but wonder if I am better off with a Panasonic 30 and a Toshiba A35, plus an Oppo HDMI switcher. For the same money, I am trading convenience for performance? I want both formats. I have read the forums and still uncertain. My Receiver (Denon 4806ci) has HDMI and 7.1 but no decoding for the HiDef sound formats, so I know I would have to upgrade for HDMI 1.3 later. Any advice?

 

[jbrinegar]

If it were me, I get the two separate players and a new recvr like the Denon 3808 or Onkyo 805. IMO, I think the two players are better than any of the combos on the market.

 

[pbmpharmacist]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jbrinegar /forum/post/12920792


IMO, I think the two players are better than any of the combos on the market.

I agree, but I'd hold off on the HD DVD side since the format could be dead soon and at the very least prices will continue to slide. Just buy the Blu-ray player now and see what happens.


Since you paid a ton of money for your receiver, I'd probably recommend buying the Panasonic DMP-BD50 player when it comes out in a few months. I have the 30 and a Pioneer Elite 94 receiver after selling my Yamaha Rx-v2700... but it looks like I could have saved a lot of money if I had just held out a while longer and kept my receiver. Stiil, I'm happy with what I have.

 

[ca1ore]

This is what I tell my friends who ask this question ....


If you already have an extensive collection of BR and HDDVD discs, the combo players are a nice, compact way to go. My experience with the Samsung 5000 has been very good (although inexplicably, others have apparently had chronic problems. Go figure!). If you have not invested yet in HDM discs please think carefully before sinking money into HDDVD. BR has an impending content advantage and is making significant gains in hardware and software sales. Predictions are always dangerous, but it certainly appears that HDDVD is headed for format oblivion - and soon! By all means buy a BR player, and if HDDVD makes a 'Harry Truman like' recovery you can always buy the HDDVD player later.

 

[jbrinegar]

Ill second the recommendation on the Panasonic bd50. Thats the one Im waiting for. If it does all the things its touting like bitstream or internally decode all codecs and is 2.0 should be a great bd player and you could keep your current recvr.


PS3 wouldnt be a bad choice either, but theres currently no DTS HD MA support I believe.


I agree that you could hold off on an hd dvd player. If you want to get one though for existing movies, should be some good deals coming up on a quality player like the HDA35.