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blu-ray player for discs ? (1 Viewer)

jimmyjet

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hi,

i am thinking of experimenting with blu ray to see just how much better it is ?

when i started doing some research, it seems as if they all seem to need constant firmware updating ?

which requires me to download from the net, write to a blank cd, and load that into the blu-ray player to update.

if i need to do this, i dont think i am that interested. the product, imo, needs more seasoning.

but my research also talks about netflix, streaming, hulu, and a billion other things that i care nothing about.

100% of my video viewing are from discs that i own. i think that will be true until the day i die.

so that is all i need my blu-ray player to do - play blu-ray disks.

can i get a player on the market that i dont constantly have to fiddle with, so that it will play blu-ray disks as i buy them ?

thanks.
 

moviepas

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Never had to update a Blu Ray player or recorder yet and I have 3 and a computer recorder drive. My Blu Ray recorder is abut 4 years old and my computer one as long as or older.
 

Chris Gerhard

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Most Blu-ray players will update firmware by direct connection to the internet, no downloading and writing to disc is required although that is an option. I have been using Blu-ray for over 6 years and I have updated players many times and feel that is a requirement although I have seen some others indicate they don't bother with it. It isn't much of an inconvenience in my opinion so my advice is to buy without concern. I would stick to Sony,LG or Panasonic if buying a mainstream low priced player or Oppo for something better and more expensive.
 

sidburyjr

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I have a PS3 (and a drive that I put in my latest do-it-yourself computer). I have not upgraded the computer but it is less than a year old. The PS3 has been updated several times over my home network. The updates were unobtrusive and took perhaps half-an-hour each. The work I had to do was click a virtual button on my screen with my remote and walk away for a while. And although the PS3 is expensive relative to many players, it also has other very useful functions such as media streaming from my computers and services that you have indicated you don't care about.
 

jimmyjet

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my computer system is separate from my tv system.

i simply have a tv monitor (i dont have an antenna, since i dont watch over the air). i currently have a dvd player hooked to it. it has upscaling to try to give it a boost in video quality.

so i dont connect my dvd player to my computer ?

i know some of you guys have a video receiver with multiple speakers, etc. i dont really want anything that involved.

what is involved in connecting a blu-ray player to the net, in order to update its firmware ?
 

sidburyjr

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jimmyjet said:
my computer system is separate from my tv system.

i simply have a tv monitor (i dont have an antenna, since i dont watch over the air). i currently have a dvd player hooked to it. it has upscaling to try to give it a boost in video quality.

so i dont connect my dvd player to my computer ?

i know some of you guys have a video receiver with multiple speakers, etc. i dont really want anything that involved.

what is involved in connecting a blu-ray player to the net, in order to update its firmware ?
If you have a wireless router in your home then depending on the blu-ray player you buy you can just have your home network search for the player and it will probably connect that way. If you have no wireless router then if your blu-ray player has an rj-45 (ethernet) connection, you simply take an ethernet cable and plug it into the player and the router that you got from your network company. I'm sure that the manual for the Blu player will explain this. You can likely get a pdf of the manual for any players that you are interested in.

HTH
 

jimmyjet

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you guys all have more sophisticated stuff than me.

i do not have a router. i have one computer, with a westell modem that i got from dsl extreme.

i guess that is why there was lots of stuff on the net, regarding writing to the cd, and loading it into the blu-ray player.

i currently own a pioneer dv-610av dvd player. and i was thinking of purchasing a blu-ray player.

although i dont know if i can hook 2 separate players into my tv.

i do know that i am using the hdmi cable, instead of all the individual ones.
 

Steve Schaffer

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You can still do updates--unplug the computer's ethernet cable from the modem, run an ethernet cable from the BD player direct to the modem, do update, swap cables back to the original setup. I used to do this before I got a Wi-Fi router. If your tv has enough inputs you can connect both the old dvd player and the new BD player, but the BD player will also do a great job of playing your dvds so you really only need the one player.
 

jimmyjet

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my tv does have 4 hdmi connectors, along with 1usb, and 1 earplug.

that is good to know that a blu-ray player also plays regular dvds.

on the modem, there is a label, called "ethernet". it is fairly fat.

are you saying to disconnect that cable at the modem. and then run an ethernet cable from the blu-ray player to that exact connection on the back of the modem, where i just made the disconnection ?

i guess i was thinking that i needed all the cables that are currently connected to the modem, to get on the internet ? and i need to get on the internet, in order to download ?
 

schan1269

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The BD player gets itself on the internet. You could also buy an ethernet switch. They cost all of $20. $10 on Ebay for a used one. I bought two Netgear FS605 for less than $10 each.
 

Mark-P

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You don't need to buy anything extra. Just unplug the ethernet cable from your computer and plug it into the BD player, so that the BD player is hooked directly to the modem. However you will need a monitor connected to the BD player to see where you are in the menu to request a firmware update.
 

jimmyjet

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let me repeat some things to see if i am understanding correctly.

1) i do not touch anything on the modem.

2) there is an ethernet cable that runs from my computer to my modem. i disconnect this cable from my computer and plug it into my blu ray player. so that the cable goes from my modem to my player ?

3) the blu-ray player is now able to connect to the net, and get the download ?

now the monitor - if i do all of the above as stated, the monitor for my computer will not work, in regards to monitoring the bd player ?

just so that you guys understand my current set-up --- there is no connection whatsoever between my computer and my tv. my computer has a modem, monitor, modem, cables, etc.

my tv is a standalone tv monitor with a dvd player hooked up to it.

i am still unclear as to just how the bd player accesses the internet, and just what sorts of connections the bd player has.

from what you guys have said, the bd player must obviously have a connection that you can plug the ethernet cable into.

if the bd needs a monitor, and the one on my computer wont do, can i temporarily disconnect the monitor from my computer and plug it into the bd player, as well ?

or do i need to get a special monitor that is solely used to plug into my bd player just when i am updating the firmware ?
 

Mark-P

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Just like a DVD player, menu functions are all on-screen. So yes you have to be able to see what you are doing. Somewhere in the setup menus on the BD player will be a section about checking and updating firmware, but it can only be accomplished if the BD player is hard-wired into the internet.
One other solution would be to get a super-long ethernet cable to temporarily hook your BD player into the modem whenever you need to do a firmware update.
 

jimmyjet

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well, my blu-ray would be hooked up to my tv, just like my dvd player.

so if it is just like my dvd, then i can simply use the tv monitor and diddle with the bd player's menu functions.

at least now, my computer and tv are close to one another. so i can take the cable out of the computer and plug it into the bd player.

so, when i do that, my bd player is hard-wired into the internet, as opposed to my computer being hard-wired into the internet ? is that correct ?

that would be simple enough that i dont mind doing that !!

how come bd players need firmware updates, but dvd players do not ??

is it simply because the bd technology is still more in its infancy ?
 

Mark-P

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Yep, that should do it.
Blu-ray players are more like computers than DVD players are. Once you actually get a Blu-ray player, you will be surprised how interactive they are. They use java and take longer to load discs because of all the intricacies of the interactive programming.
The main reason they need updates is because disc programmers keep making things more complicated and are also trying to make the encryption harder to break.
 

jimmyjet

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when you say that discs are becoming more complicated - i take that to mean that if at any point in time, my player can play a disk in my library, it will always be able to play that disk.

but a new disk may have new encryptions, such that my bd player may not be able to read said new disk, without an upgrade to the firmware ? is this correct ?

sorta like updating my computer's anti-virus, so that it can keep up-to-date on the latest bugs that are around !!

i think my first bd purchase will be the twilight zone. i never bought the original because for some strange reason, the episodes were all in haphazard order.

i only buy complete series, cuz i want to be able to watch from beginning to end, in order, the complete show, so that i can get the complete effect that the show was delivering.

thanks everyone for all the replies.
 

Brian McHale

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"how come bd players need firmware updates, but dvd players do not ??"

DVD players did need firmware updates. My first DVD player, a Toshiba I purchased in 1999, was having trouble playing a disc from a small studio. I contacted Toshiba and they informed me that there was a firmware update available for my player. The catch was that I would have to take the player to a Toshiba service center and pay about $40 for the update.

The Blu-ray spec is so much more complicated that having the players be user upgradeable is a must. If you want compatibility with the latest discs, you'll need to be able to update your firmware.

For what it's worth, Panasonic and Sony are two companies that have excellent reputations for generating firmware updates when needed. Some other companies (notably Samsung) are not quite so well regarded in this respect.
 

jimmyjet

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thank you. i think someone else already recommended panasonic and sony - so i guess i will stick with them.
 

jimmyjet

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when i went to amazon, just lots of bad reviews. mostly with updating firmware, extremely slow response from the player. and poor service from the manufacturer.

i only looked at sony and panasonic.

i am beginning to think that i better wait until the blu-ray system has some stronger roots.

if the producers keep making their discs more and more complicated, they may just kill the whole thing.
 

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