Insignia WIRELESS Network Blu Ray player with Neflix - $120 at Best Buy 12/20 - 12/26 (1 Viewer)

Joseph DeMartino · Dec 20, 2009

The Insignia NS-WBRDVD is a terrific player and a bargain at its usual retail price of $179.99. (Comparable players have an MSRP of around $250 or quickly get up there once you add in the required external "dongle" for the "wireless-ready" models. The Insignia wireless is built-in.)

I bought one of these the day before Thanksgiving for $129.99, in preference to the non-wireless version that was going on sale on Black Friday for $98.99. There's just no practical way to get an ethernet cable to my entertainment center. That was a fantastic deal at the time, and it is $10.00 better now. Anyone who is in the market for a player and considering the Netflix streaming service (which I am already addicted to, especially for catching up on old TV shows) should consider this player.

The wireless set-up was a snap, and the Blu Ray quality is astonishing. I was blown away by doing an A/B comparison between 2001, Star Trek: First Contact and CSI: Season 1 in SD via my upconverting Sony DVD changer and Blu Ray versions on the Insignia. All-in-all a solid player with good features. And for that price, unbeatable as an entry-level BD unit.

Regards,

Joe

Joseph Bolus · Dec 20, 2009

Thanks for the tip!

Joseph DeMartino · Dec 20, 2009

FYI: Netflix streaming was just added to the unit via a firmware upgrade in November. This also fixed a few problems with wiireless networking. Anyone who picks one up should do themselves a favor and have this ready to go before they hook up the unit and try to use it for the first time. This will save you from the Catch-22 of trying to get the initial firmware update via the wireless connection, when one of the things the firmware fixes is the wireless connection.

Go the the support page for the player, and download the firmware file, either to your hard drive or directly to a USB drive. (Use a brand-name USB key like a PNY, SanDisk or Kensington. I've heard of people having odd issues with off-brand drives - including Geek-Squad labeled drives, ironically enough.) Also make sure the drive is formatted as FAT-32. The player does not recognize NTFS-formatted drives. You can also burn the *.ISO file to a CD or DVD, but that seems like adding an extra step for no good reason. There is an instruction document for updating the firmware, but the process is pretty straight-forward. You can also download the quick setup guide and owner's manual from the support page, in case you want to look them over before making a decision.

Connect the USB drive prior to powering up the player for the first time. (The USB port is on the back, which I find inconvenient with my set-up, so I run a USB extension from the back of the player to the next shelf down in my entertainment unit and connect it there.) When you first start the player it should detect the drive, download and install the software and then prompt you to remove the drive, at which point it will reboot itself. (Do NOT, under any circumstances, power-off the player in mid-update. Keep little hands away from the remote. You might want to consider connecting it to a UPS just to make sure. If the unit gets interrupted in mid-update it will have to be returned to Best Buy for an exchange or repair.)

Delete the contents of the USB key and you can use it later as available storage for Blu Ray live. But make sure you delete it, otherwise the player will go trough the update process the next time you power it on. I keep the update file on my hard drive, just in case, and will probably do the same with future updates, even if my player does download and install them automatically, as I understand it should.

Regards,

Joe

Ric Easton · Dec 20, 2009

Hmmmm... I've always said I don't care about any of that Blu-ray LIVE crap... that the extras that are already on the discs are plenty enough for me... But with the recent releases of my prized Star Trek discs (with downloadable content) as well as the Net-flix option, this seems very tempting. Of course I got lost pretty early on in the firmware update instructions... FAT 32, what?? Is there an option for them to send me a disc?!

Joseph DeMartino · Dec 20, 2009

Of course I got lost pretty early on in the firmware update instructions... FAT 32, what?? Is there an option for them to send me a disc?!

You can download the file and burn it to disc yourself, but I may have made this sound more complicated than it is.

FAT-32 has nothing directly to do with the firmare updates for this player.

Basically there are two ways for a Windows PC to format a hard drive or removable drive - NTFS (NT File System) or FAT-32 (File Allocation Table, 32-bit.) Most USB drives come pre-formatted as FAT-32. I don't know if Macs can read these directly or if you just get a prompt to reformat the drive if you plug it into a Mac. Some Windows users prefer to format their USB drives using NTFS because that allows for larger file sizes. (FAT-32 has a limit of 4 GB for a single file.) The Insignia players can only read FAT-32 drives. They don't recognize the NTFS format.

I just put that note in there because I've seen posts on the Insignia community forum from folks who have tried to use USB drives that they formatted to NTFS for the firmware update or Blu Ray storage or both and have had problems. Odds are that this would not be an issue for you. But if you were to get an error saying that the player couldn't read one of your USB drives, reformatting it and making sure it is formatted as FAT-32 would be a good first troubleshooting step.

Regards,

Joe

mike caronia · Dec 24, 2009

Ordered one online yesterday for in-store pick up.
Went to BB after work, spent 5 minutes in the store, laughed at the line of people around the store waiting to checkout.
Got home, hooked it up in the bedroom, and was streaming Netflix within 20 minutes.
If that was the only feature of the box for $119 it would be worth it...but playing Blu discs while in bed at night is a huge bonus!

Happy Holidays!

David_Jr · Dec 24, 2009

Originally Posted by Joseph DeMartino ">[/url]

FYI: Netflix streaming was just added to the unit via a firmware upgrade in November. This also fixed a few problems with wiireless networking. Anyone who picks one up should do themselves a favor and have this ready to go before they hook up the unit and try to use it for the first time. This will save you from the Catch-22 of trying to get the initial firmware update via the wireless connection, when one of the things the firmware fixes is the wireless connection.

Go the the [url=http://www.insigniaproducts.com/cms/documents/NS-BRDVD3_NS-WBRDVD%20FWU%20Inst%20EN.pdf]instruction document for updating the firmware[/url], but the process is pretty straight-forward. You can also download the quick setup guide and owner's manual from the support page, in case you want to look them over before making a decision.

Connect the USB drive prior to powering up the player for the first time. (The USB port is on the back, which I find inconvenient with my set-up, so I run a USB extension from the back of the player to the next shelf down in my entertainment unit and connect it there.) When you first start the player it should detect the drive, download and install the software and then prompt you to remove the drive, at which point it will reboot itself. (Do NOT, under any circumstances, power-off the player in mid-update. Keep little hands away from the remote. You might want to consider connecting it to a UPS just to make sure. If the unit gets interrupted in mid-update it will have to be returned to Best Buy for an exchange or repair.)

Delete the contents of the USB key and you can use it later as available storage for Blu Ray live. But make sure you delete it, otherwise the player will go trough the update process the next time you power it on. I keep the update file on my hard drive, just in case, and will probably do the same with future updates, even if my player does download and install them automatically, as I understand it should.

Regards,

Joe
[/QUOTE]
Thank you for posting this very useful information. I downloaded the file to a PNY thumbdrive and will have to install it after the kids unwrap the new player later this morning. Sounds like a fairly simple process. We shall see......

Ric Easton · Dec 25, 2009

Well, I had to let this great deal pass me buy... Still, I will keep this player in mind, next time I am looking for a new player!

David_Jr · Dec 28, 2009

The firmware upgrade worked flawlessly. My kids did it. The wireless connection connected without issue after that. Thanks again. Player works great BTW.

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Insignia WIRELESS Network Blu Ray player with Neflix - $120 at Best Buy 12/20 - 12/26 (1 Viewer)

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