[audvid]

Please pardon me if this is a repeat question.


I am trying to select a Blue Ray player in the $300 to $400 price range.


There are so many pages and pages of discussions on these players, their firmware, their issues etc.. Its just too much information!


I am going to use a Integra 9.8 processor - for HDMI switching and Dolby True HD and DTS HD audio. I have already ordered a Toshiba A35.

HD Audio and HDMI switching without hand shake problems are important to me.


I did a quick study for a BD player in this price rage and it seemed to me that the choices are:


Panasonic DMP-BD30K

Sony S301

Samung P1400


I don't want to spend too much more because these will probably be obsolete after a year anyway.


Frankly, all things being equal, I would probably like to buy the Sony – for convenience of remote codes (which are already programmed) but that too is not important.


Suggestions would be appreciated..


Thanks

 

[BLT]

Very short answer is the Panny because you can bitsteam to your Integra. Too many issues with the Samsung and the Panny is more reliable. BTW I own the Panny and have not had any issues so far.

 

[audvid]

Thanks for the suggestion. Would the Sony and Samsung not output hd bitstream audio via hdmi to the integra processor? Any negatives about the Sony 301?

 

[audvid]

Thank you both for your suggestions. You and another friend helped me decide - that the panasonic bd30 is the best choice for me at the present time.


My friend suggested this link: on avsforum. its an excellent source of information!


I ordered the bd30 from Amazon - seems to have a good price.

 

[ferrari fan]

Stay away from ANY SAMSUNG product...run, run, run. I got rid of my Sammy 1200 for the new Panasonic 30 and have not regretted it one bit. Even though I "lost" $400 + on the Samsung.


GO PANASONIC BD30

 

[Toe]

Spend a little more and go for the Pioneer Elite 95 so you can have correct LFE levels for uncompressed PCM tracks on the BR discs that have them ( A LOT!) considering you have the 9.8 and will be using HDMI for audio. Wish I could take my 30 back for the 95 to pair with my 885 just for this reason.

 

[namechamps]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Toe /forum/post/12888038


Spend a little more and go for the Pioneer Elite 95 so you can have correct LFE levels for uncompressed PCM tracks on the BR discs that have them ( A LOT!) considering you have the 9.8 and will be using HDMI for audio. Wish I could take my 30 back for the 95 to pair with my 885 just for this reason.

I considered this but price is much higher on the 95 ($1000 vs $500) and it lacks pip (BD 1.1). Hell it would be cheaper to get a BD30 (1.1) now and then buy a BD50 later than buying a 95 for almost a grand. BD50 likely will have $500-$600 MSPR so 6 months after launch I would guess street would be around $400 - $500.


Given the new announcements plus current players the 95 is harder to justify. If pioneer dropped the MSRP to $799 (with $699 street) that would be a different story.

 

[Toe]



Quote:
Originally Posted by namechamps /forum/post/12888259


I considered this but price is much higher on the 95 ($1000 vs $500) and it lacks pip (BD 1.1). Hell it would be cheaper to get a BD30 (1.1) now and then buy a BD50 later than buying a 95 for almost a grand. BD50 likely will have $500-$600 MSPR so 6 months after launch I would guess street would be around $400 - $500.


Given the new announcements plus current players the 95 is harder to justify. If pioneer dropped the MSRP to $799 (with $699 street) that would be a different story.

If that truly is the best price on the Pioneer, then I agree that it is to much. I have read street prices between the BD30 and 95 are anywhere from $100-$300 dif which If I had to have a standalone over the PS3, and had to have a BR player today would be worth it to me for correct PCM LFE considering the amount of BR discs with uncompressed PCM tracks.


If you dont want to spend the extra on the 95, Go for the PS3 in this case as you get TrueHD, correct PCM, and still get DTS core at 1.5, plus it is 1.1, will be 2.0 with a future FW update, can be had for $299 if you get the $100 rebate by grabbing a sonystyle card. In the future when a stand alone comes out that fully works correctly, at a good price point, 1.1 and 2.0 compliant, sell the PS3 for little lost out of pocket.

 

[audvid]

Gentlemen, I do appreciate all the advice. As I wrote earlier, I have already ordered the panasonic bd30 from amazon.


I heard about this LFE problem. Toe - if you wish, you can elaborate - if not, thats fine. I will deal with it later. The 'official threads' have simply become too long!

 

[Toe]



Quote:
Originally Posted by audvid /forum/post/12889351


Gentlemen, I do appreciate all the advice. As I wrote earlier, I have already ordered the panasonic bd30 from amazon.


I heard about this LFE problem. Toe - if you wish, you can elaborate - if not, thats fine. I will deal with it later. The 'official threads' have simply become too long!

Sorry

Did not realize you allready ordered the 30. Must have missed that.


Anyway, the LFE issue will ONLY affect uncompressed PCM soundtracks for you since you will be using the 9.8. Anything that you bitstream (which will be everything but uncompressed PCM) will be perfect.

There are a few options that will help (but not totaly fix the issue) with this.


1. Boost LFE for PCM tracks by up to +5db, but understand the more you boost the LFE, the more the redirected bass from the mains (assuming your speakers are set at small) will also be boosted which is not wanted since this bass is correct. A good compromise might be a 2-3db LFE boost.


2. Discs that contain PCM tracks, you may want to choose another option such as DD or TrueHD(if the disc has this) both of which will be correct bitstreamed to your 9.8.


3. Use analog out of the BD30 which has been reported to NOT have the LFE issue, so any 5.1 uncompressed PCM track will be perfect. The only problem with this is that the BD30 only has 5.1 analog out, so any 7.1 PCM tracks (not that many) will be output as 5.1 I would assume. This is the solution I would use as it is a complete solution for all 5.1 PCM tracks, and there are not many 7.1 PCM tracks at the moment.


There is no perfect solution, but one compromise may be prefered for you over the other.