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Looking for a Blu-ray player

post #1 of 11
12/27/11 at 6:46pm
Thread Starter 
Okay, I think I'm finally going to be in the market for one of these but I can't tell one from the other. What I'm really interested in is a replacement for my DVD player that's dying. Therefore, it has to be able to do region-free DVD, including NTSC and PAL. Beyond that, I'd prefer something sub $200. I don't particularly care about region-free Blu and I'm even less interested in 3D. Anything good out there?
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post #2 of 11
12/29/11 at 12:52pm
Fantastic! If I were you I'd look into "Philips Blu-ray Disc Player, BDP7200/37", available on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Blu-ray-Player-BDP7200-37/dp/B0013H99OM


Almost could not believe it when I saw the average review of only three stars as I write this. Did a lot of homework before buying this and when I saw it on sale for just under $200.00 at a competitor of Amazon.com, I had to pull the trigger. I am very glad I did, because the very minor flaws I have encountered thus far (after three weeks of ownership) seem insignificant to me.

Don't compare a player in this price range to one that has double the retail price. To me that is unfair.

I am a guy who has a decent Dolby Digital 5.1 sound system. I don't care if this does not have the latest Dolby TruHD or DTS HD decoders built in, because I am not going to take the plunge into a new AV Reciever thank you. The 5.1 sounds excellent via the optical input. I have a feeling that Philips knows who they are building these things for.

As for Picture quality, I could not be happier. I have it hooked up via HDMI (with the audio off so I can send that via Optical) to a Panasonic 42" Viera plasma (which accepts 1080P24 signal). Blurays look absolutely stunning if you have a TV that can accept 1080P24, and I have not had any of the freeze issues that some others talk about after viewing approximately a dozen bluray titles so far. DVD's look excellent as well (maybe not as good as Oppo), but MUCH better than my previous Samsung DVD player ever produced. Another selling point to me is the fact that it plays all DVD formats. Not just the minus only, some others in this price range. If you have any family stuff, home movies, etc recorded on Plus format dvds, watch out. You might end up not being able to watch them on your new player.

Lastly, If you look at some "big time" reviewers like CNET for example, you may be wrongly swayed against buying something that is not at the absolute top of their list. That would be a shame. I think they got it wrong when they gave this one an average rating.
I really like mine a lot, and I can't imagine that most people would not feel the same way if they picked one up.
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post #3 of 11
12/29/11 at 12:59pm
sorry... double posted frown.gif
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post #4 of 11
12/29/11 at 1:00pm

Amy, welcome to the forum and thanks for providing your opinion on 

a Blu-ray player for Scott.

 

One of the things Scott was looking for, I believe, was a BD player

that could do region-free DVD.

 

What he is looking for might be rather difficult considering the

price range.

 

The only thing close I could find is this on eBay:

 

http://compare.ebay.com/like/300619507265?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

 

 

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post #5 of 11
12/30/11 at 7:49am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the responses. I've done some digging myself and came up with a couple of ideas. Obviously, the Oppo is the place to start for region-free. I'm not particularly excited about the price, however. After that, AVS didn't seem to have a whole lot more to recommend so I went back to basics. I happen to be currently using a Philips as my region-free DVD player. Did some checking and, sure enough, Philips has a Blu on the market which can be made region-free through a simple remote code. Once set, it survives firmware updates and the price is only 70 bucks on Amazon. It also reads PAL natively and just dumps everything out as 1080P. Hugely important because a number of players I've read about can technically be set to region 0, however they still can't read a PAL encoded disc, which obviously defeats the purpose. Now I fully appreciate that the Oppo will be a better quality unit that should last longer than the Philips, but at that price differential I would have to go through 6 Philips decks before I approached the price of the Oppo.

At this point, I'm strongly leaning towards the Philips. Primarily because of my experience with the SD model but it also is a perfect fit for the tech I currently own. I won't be upgrading my audio anytime soon. The whole point of this exercise is to open the door to that handful of titles that are Blu exclusive that have some appeal. I'm thinking stuff like The Man Who Would Be King, so I can finally retire that flipper. I never thought that would be what pushes me over the edge, but the idea of getting up and turning that disc over actually prohibits me from watching the movie. rolleyes.gif
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post #6 of 11
12/30/11 at 10:32am

 

Quote:

Now I fully appreciate that the Oppo will be a better quality unit that should last longer than the Philips, but at that price differential I would have to go through 6 Philips decks before I approached the price of the Oppo.

 

Interesting way to look at it if not wrong.  You pay for a better quality machine, better processing... picture, sound...  You can go through a 100 of those Phillips decks and never reach the quality of the Oppo.

 

 

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post #7 of 11
12/30/11 at 10:36am

I agree with Gary.

 

Nobody's trying to talk you into an OPPO, however,

there is a reason why it's so expensive.  Once you have

one, you don't want anything else.  It does offer superior

processing, audio and video.  It's built like a tank and 

supported by a company that will take care of their product

should you have problems.

 

Their players can be modified for under $100 to play

all region BD, DVD and PAL discs.  I did the modification

myself and it was fairly straightforward.

 

Something tells me that any BD player you buy at a

$70 price point is just going to become a disposable

unit within a year or so.  Not saying it will -- but,

personally, I'd be a little skeptical.

 

 

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post #8 of 11
12/30/11 at 7:56pm
Thread Starter 
I should probably explain my reasoning and then it might make a bit more sense. Currently, my upconverting region-free Philips DVD player is attached to a 36" Visio LCD. That's it, audio straight out of the TV. Now the Visio 36" basically does 720P. I will grant you that the Oppo very likely looks and sounds much better than the Philips in question, however does anybody think it'll look and sound that much better given what I'm currently running? Personally, I have my doubts. I may be wrong, but the main reason I'm down on the Oppo is because I don't have the gear to really take advantage of it, so I'm paying a lot for the quality construction aspects of the machine. If all I'm really gaining from it is longevity, then my logic isn't that crazy. I should point out that I'm not considering Blu because of any improvement in the home viewing experience. I'm only interested in not being shut out of "exclusive" titles down the road.
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post #9 of 11
12/31/11 at 3:46am

Scott,

 

If you were starting to build your first full-scale home theater,

anticipating slowly adding equipment, I would have pushed you

to go with the Oppo.  Under those circumstances, you would have

been purchasing a key piece of hardware that would future proof

anything that you added to it, including 3D if you changed your mind

about it at some point.

 

WIth your setup, running audio straight out of your display that only 

handles 720p, then there is absolutely no need to go with anything

above the Philips you are looking at.

 

Do us a favor and post a small review on how the unit performs 

for you when you purchase it.  This way you can help others in the

same situation as you.

 

Happy New Year!

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post #10 of 11
12/31/11 at 4:06am

I wonder if Oppo is coming out with a new BR player in 2012?

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post #11 of 11
12/31/11 at 8:06am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein View Post

Scott,

If you were starting to build your first full-scale home theater,
anticipating slowly adding equipment, I would have pushed you
to go with the Oppo.  Under those circumstances, you would have
been purchasing a key piece of hardware that would future proof
anything that you added to it, including 3D if you changed your mind
about it at some point.

WIth your setup, running audio straight out of your display that only 
handles 720p, then there is absolutely no need to go with anything
above the Philips you are looking at.

Do us a favor and post a small review on how the unit performs 
for you when you purchase it.  This way you can help others in the
same situation as you.

Happy New Year!

Once I pull the trigger I'll be happy to post a review. Unfortunately, I'm neither logistically nor financially in a position to build a home theater and likely won't be for some time. I actually hold an engineering degree and am somewhat tech savvy. I appreciate the value of a good piece of equipment but circumstances have pushed me in a direction where I'm forced to make difficult choices. It's my fault for not describing my viewing enviroment from the start. Regardless, I do appreciate the feedback. If nothing else, it prompted me to dig a little deeper instead of having someone "give" me the answer.
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