Budget Bluray Players (1 Viewer)

A couple of months ago The Digital Bits mentioned a few players (along with a link) to a Bluray player that was $299 at Amazon, Best Buy, etc. I don't recall the brand (may have been Sony), but it soon disappeared and now most cost $399. Anyone have ANY idea when cheaper players will be coming out? I was one of the unfortunates who bought into HDDVD, and now want to swallow the blue pill and hope that there are no other formats that come out in the near future!

Thanks for your help!!

I also bought into HD-DVD (but I don't consider myself unfortunate).

However, I am waiting for more details on the Panasonic BD50. I'm not taking the Blu Pill until it's Profile 2.0.

Just my two cents.

I'm with ensign eddie...

Won't get fooled again.

Back to renting sd dvd for me until there is a cheap profile 2.0 on the market. I am thinking a year at least.

I'm waiting for a Profile 2.0 player as well.

I'll probably "swallow the Blu pill" in September.

I'll still be purchasing SD-DVDs in the interim, though!

I would love to pull the trigger but I won't take that pill until I can have 2.0 under $300.

Personally, I think passing on the PS3 for a mythical budget 2.0 BD deck is a huge mistake. Think of all the movies and games you could have played while waiting for a machine that doesnt even exist on paper yet.

I don't feel it's a mistake. All of those great movies will still be there when the machine I can't live without comes along. For me, personally, the PS3 isn't it. But I have no quarrel with those that love theirs.

Also, although some have mentioned a budget price, you might notice that I did not. Actually, the mythical beastie I'm looking for is a Toshiba Combo Player (but I'm not holding my breath).

Oh please let’s not turn this into another PS3 thread. We already have one so we don’t need another.

Here is something new, why not keep this one about stand alone players?

I too am waiting for the Panasonic BD50 and the other 2.0 units.

The PS3 is a stand-alone player. It's also a full featured and quality player that's available at a reasonable price. That's why it deserves to be mentioned in any thread asking about Blu-ray players.

I do realize there's a certain "evangelical" quality from many of the posts regarding the PS3 that can be annoying. Part of this is due to the fact that the system is just that good, but I think even more so it's in response to the constant bashing some posters continue to give the PS3 because it's "a game machine."

Personally, I'd buy the PS3 (two, actually, one for each Region!) in a heartbeat, if there were any means of getting the hi-res sound via analog outputs to my non-HDMI Denon 7.1 receiver. There isn't, without spending significant money on a bulky second receiver, which I have neither the rack space nor the budget for.

So for me, my path into Blu-ray will be as and when either (a) someone comes up with a DVD-player-sized pre-pro that can take HDMI in and output uncompressed via analog, in which case PS3 here I come, or (b) a decent 7.1 analog out-equipped 2.0 profile standalone is released. And even then I might sit it out until if and when region-free Blu-ray becomes a reality (beyond one company whose stated firmware upgrade-compliant modification hasn't been tested yet, AFAIK).

I would love to see a Toshiba combo player, I would jump in pretty quick then. I just have no love for the PS3 despite it's capabilities. It would drive me insane watching without the counters on the face.

A Toshiba combo would be great, especially if it's announced asap -- so I can make use of clearance priced HDD sales.

I don't get the player display counter thing though unless you plan to use it for audio-only playback, not video, a lot. Personally, I much prefer the PS3's info display (on its video output) than any others I've seen on DVD. And I have no plans to use the PS3 for audio-only playback -- I'll just use my Denon 2910 for that...

_Man_