Just the basics: any known troublesome BR players out there? (1 Viewer)

[BillBR]

Hey folks,

I'm a film buff and extras junkie, so I wasn't planning on upgrading to hi-def until it became obvious that that was where all the special features were going. Now that time has come, and I indicated to my family for christmas that I wanted a Blu-Ray. Now I'm just as tech-stupid as any layman, so I heard that a PS3 was the easiest BR player to manage. However my mother in her Black Friday excitement, bought a regular BR player (she did not tell me which model).

Basically all I want is to view Blu-Ray discs and their extras. Are there any models out there that are really troublesome/buggy? Should I just have her exchange it for a PS3? Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Stephen Tu]

PS3 - I'd only get it if I was interested in the games, personally. It's a good player for speed/features, but it's also a bit noisier and consumes more power, plus has a drawback of only being able to be controlled via bluetooth, not IR remote. So you either have to use the game controller, or the add-on Sony bluetooth remote. To use a universal IR remote you need a third-party USB->IR sensor dongle or IR->bluetooth converter box.

If you only care about movies I think there are better choices. If you are an extras junkie and want *all* the extras, no matter how lame they turn out to be, you need one of the "BD-live" profile 2.0 compatible players. Your mother may have bought an older 1.0/1.1 model which won't be able to access the extras that require internet downloads. I think the 2.0 models worth considering right now are the Sony BDP-S350/550, Pansonic DMP-BD35/55, Samsung BD-P2500/2550, LG BD300. If you don't care about the internet extras, many of which are pretty stupid IMO, then there are some 1.1 models that are reasonable if you are looking to save a $100 or so.

Exactly which one depends on your audio receiver capabilities and desire to try/use the newer lossless compression audio schemes, plus if you have any interest in the Netflix movie streaming feature on the Samsung/LG.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

FWIW, I just bought the Nyko Blu Wave remote solution (during Amazon's BF sale) for IR-to-USB function w/ the PS3. Seems to work fine w/ my Universal RF20 remote though it's not as full featured as my PS3 bluetooth remote. I don't mind the lack of power on/off too much (as I usually need to go over to the components rack anyway), and now, I don't have to worry about hitting the darned stop button (of the bluetooth remote) by mistake anymore -- or having any other accidental button clicks effect playback.

One thing about BD-Live. If you go w/ any other Profile 2.0 player besides the PS3, you will either need a hard line connection to the player for internet access or set up a WiFi bridge to run a hard connection. The PS3 comes built-in w/ WiFi (as well as regular hard connect).

Also, since extras and such are important to you, there will be much greater likelihood of upgrading the PS3 (via a software update) for future stereoscopic 3D capability (as that's the next big thing for Blu-ray) than of upgrading other current BD players. If a standalone is still desired, I'd suggest sticking w/ either Panasonic or Sony in this regard (if not for anything else). Panasonic has already demo-ed a customized version of a current player for 3D playback, so you know there's some possibility of an upgrade for that (although it might not actually become feasible/available in reality). And Sony's the 800lb gorilla when it comes to Blu-ray, so... but then again, neither one designed their previous run of players to be (feasibly) upgradeable to Profile 2.0 either, so... you're probably left w/ just the PS3 as the best choice, if this aspect matters to you.

_Man_

 

[BillBR]

Thanks Man-Fai and Stephen, now I have a bit of a better idea what to expect. I'll just have to ask my family which one they bought and go from there.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

Are the Samsung and the LG the only players that support Netflix? They are the only ones mentioned on Netflix's site, but I'm wondering why more players don't offer that feature. It seems like a big selling point. For me right now, the main reason to get the player.

 

[Ed Moxley]

That wouldn't be a selling point at all for me.
The Netflix streams aren't in surround. When I watch a movie, I want it to be in surround sound. That to me, is the whole reason for having an HT system. That would especially be true with a blu ray player........

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Probably at least some of the other makers like Sony have their own VOD/download business (or co-venture w/ some other content provider like Microsoft and Apple) to market and wouldn't want the competition from Netflix (at least at this point in time).

_Man_

 

[Stephen Tu]

- It's not discrete 5.1 sound, but you do get matrixed surround sound (decode with Prologic/Prologic II) on titles that have it.
- they are working on 5.1 support, need to sort out stupid DRM issues, should get here in a year or two I imagine.
- For a lot movies available, the DVD was only DD 2.0 stereo (or mono, or 1.0 mono) anyway, so you don't lose much if anything on those.
- there are a ton of streaming titles that are talky dramas/comedies/documentaries/TV shows where there just aren't surround effects being used to any noticeable extent.

Would you want to watch some action comic book movie like The Dark Knight by Netflix streaming, given current limitations? No, I certainly wouldn't either. But these action blockbusters mostly aren't available to stream anyway. By the time they are, maybe they'll have 5.1 available.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

Stephen, thanks. I should have said "Blu-ray players" that support Netflix, since I was aware of the other options.

I was going to buy the Roku box, then I found out that the Xbox supports Netflix, so I thought I'd pay more and get that instead. Then I found out I need a 2nd subscription to use those together and decided to go for a Blu-ray instead since I only have a cheap standard DVD player.

I agree with you that a lot of the streaming titles are TV shows and the like where surround would not be as much of a factor. That's the type of thing I would stream- for something like an action movie I'd want the disc. Also because movies are more likely to have extras that streaming doesn't give you.