Wal-Mart Selling 1.1 Profile Blu Ray Player for $298.00 (2 Viewers)

[John Dirk]

Magnavox NB500MG9 Blu-ray Player

These are OEM'd by Chinese manufacturer Funai. I picked one up today. Haven't connected it yet because I'm still waiting for my new Onkyo SR805 to arrive, but the specs look promising. I'm hoping this player will get me through the next couple of years or until more diverse Blu Ray products begin appearing on the market.

John

 

[Rich Allen]

AVS forum seems fairly inpressed with it including the build quality.

It's been reported that the pickup is a Panasonic and the loader is a Sony.

 

[David Lambert]

How about getting a $100 gift card back when you purchase this player? Promo next week; details here:

Wal-Mart Blu-ray Player Promos a Net Cost Under $200 for Father's Day! - DVD News and Reviews | TVGuide.com

 

[John Dirk]

David. You are the man!!! I'll be boxing mine up and returning it tomorrow unless they'll grandfather me in.

John

 

[Timothy J Wolfe]

Does this Bluray player have 7.1 Surround Sound capabilities or is it just 5.1?

 

[John Dirk]

Via HDMI, it should have no problem with properly encoded media, but if you're talking analog pre-outs, it has none.

John

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I like Funai made players really well, but I would sure pay an extra $100 at Wal-Mart, get the $100 gift card and a PS3 if the PS3 design works well in your system. I just don't think this player is worth only $100 less than the PS3 comparatively when you consider all the PS3 does.

Chris

 

[John Dirk]

Chris;

That's a good point. I returned my Magnavox [Funai] player today and may consider replacing it with the PS3, even though I really don't get into gaming. The only concern I have is the wired remote. I need something that my Pronto Pro can control. I've heard that there are available options for the PS3, but haven't realy researched it yet. Now I have a reason to get on the ball.

John

 

[David Lambert]

 

[Chris Gerhard]

As mentioned by the previous poster, the Nyko Blue-wave remote is one solution. I use it and it makes programming a universal remote control easy enough.

Chris

 

[John Dirk]

Thanks David and Chris. I'll look into it. I see Amazon has this item for as low as $10.00!

John

 

[Todd H]

Don't forget about the IR2BT adapter, which also gives you the ability to turn the PS3 on and off with a universal remote.

IR2BT - InfraRed to BlueTooth Converter for the PS3

 

[Rich Allen]

So it's 55 bucks plus shipping extra just to be able to turn it off and on with a universal remote?

Something to think about when figuring the overall cost of it and what you want it to do.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

RE: the remote thing for PS3, I ended up picking up the PS3 bluetooth remote on Amazon's gold box deal the other day (for ~$15) instead of trying one of the IR solutions (for now). I plan to rearrange my HT a good bit over the next few weeks and probably won't have IR access to the gear anymore (plus my universal remote seems to be fried), so not much point in forcing the IR issue for my situation at this point.

For those still wanting IR, is the power on/off really that necessary? I guess it depends a lot on how you use your PS3. If you're just using it mainly for BD/DVD playback, then wouldn't you normally need to get up and swap discs or similar anyway? But if you plan to use its other media hub features (w/out swapping physical media), then I guess remote power on/off becomes more useful...

_Man_

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I usually remove the disc when done so I have to go to the player anyway and I just it turn it off after removing the disc. Even if I don't remove the disc, it isn't very hard to turn it off without using the remote control, so it certainly isn't a big deal to me.

Chris

 

[Rich Allen]

When I'm paying for a good universal, a Harmony 880, so there is a one button all on or off, it is a big deal for me. Especially when I need to keep things as simple as possible for certain parties in my household.

I'm done watching the movie, I hit one button and it turns off the player and turns on something else.

 

[John Dirk]

I was in my local Wal-Mart today. If they are going to do this, they sure are keeping it quiet. The employees I asked in the electronics dept didn't know anything about it, nor did I see any mention of it on Wal Mart's web site. What I did see in the store was a flyer advertising the $100.00 gift card with the purchase of a PS 3 only, no other Blu Ray players were listed. According to this flyer, the deal ends tomorow, June 7th. Anyone have any different information from Wal-Mart?

John

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Hmmm... The article does mention "next week" at the very beginning, so maybe it's not actually supposed to be well known and "happening" until next week (though it's coming up fast).

_Man_

 

[David Lambert]

Well, here's the link to the original Wal-Mart press release:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - Wal-Mart Boosts Volume of Blu-ray and Hi Def Among More New Electronics Enhancements


So it's really gonna happen. My experience is that most Wal-Mart employees only know what's current promo-wise. I think they try to keep the upcoming weekly flyers under wraps until the flyer becomes "active".

 

[John Dirk]

Thanks David. This puts my mind at ease. I visited another Wal-Mart today and was told that the Magnavox player and a Sony model [the 300 I believe] are the only eligible players. The Playstation deal ends today. They also said the units had to be ordered through Wal-Mart.com and the gift card would be redeemable only for online merchandise.

Since that's clearly not what the article you referenced says, I am assuming Wal-Mart wants to keep this quiet since quantities are limited. I'll be first in line tomorrow morning, God willing. This is just one of many reasons I love this forum.

John