Blu Ray Players - Recommendations?
Discussion
Hi all,
Recently, i watched a couple of films on my friends new Blu Ray player (Sony BD S500) and was blown away by the image quality. Ever since, ive been looking around at various manufacturers to find the best players for the best prices.
I wondered whether anyone on here has Blu Ray (there must be quite a few!) and what other people would recommend? I have around £250-£300 to spend, and would be watching the films through a Sony 42" W-Series.
Any suggestions? I was considering sticking with Sony, seeing as the one my friend has was amazing for the price, but there are alot out there and wanted some different opinions/short reviews before i make my mind up.
Thanks for the help in advance.
Cypher
Recently, i watched a couple of films on my friends new Blu Ray player (Sony BD S500) and was blown away by the image quality. Ever since, ive been looking around at various manufacturers to find the best players for the best prices.
I wondered whether anyone on here has Blu Ray (there must be quite a few!) and what other people would recommend? I have around £250-£300 to spend, and would be watching the films through a Sony 42" W-Series.
Any suggestions? I was considering sticking with Sony, seeing as the one my friend has was amazing for the price, but there are alot out there and wanted some different opinions/short reviews before i make my mind up.
Thanks for the help in advance.
Cypher
Cheers so far guys. I think you're right being able to link remotes from the W series and the S500 or S550, which would be useful.
Sinizter - On the PS3 front, i'm still also considering this, being that for the same price as the Sony S550 you can buy a PS3, but i've been looking at reviews to find out whether image quality is as sharp as the standalone units. Would be great to have a console that played BluRays in the same quality, but as i've never watched a BluRay movie through the PS3, i don't know how the quality differs. Does anyone else have any info on PS3/Standalone unit comparisons?
Sinizter - On the PS3 front, i'm still also considering this, being that for the same price as the Sony S550 you can buy a PS3, but i've been looking at reviews to find out whether image quality is as sharp as the standalone units. Would be great to have a console that played BluRays in the same quality, but as i've never watched a BluRay movie through the PS3, i don't know how the quality differs. Does anyone else have any info on PS3/Standalone unit comparisons?
That sounds good, but a little over my price range, seeing as i spent most of my 'budget' on the TV, originally thinking i was just going to stay with my Sony DVD player for the time being. That was until i saw how brilliant the Sony BD player was, and now thats made my mind up.
Sony seem to be doing some good deals on their standalone units, and as ive already seen how clear and sharp they are, im tempted by one of those. But then also considering how much use a PS3 would get in terms of gaming, as well as doubling up as a Blu Ray player, as i already have a 360 and don't really want 2 different consoles..
Sony seem to be doing some good deals on their standalone units, and as ive already seen how clear and sharp they are, im tempted by one of those. But then also considering how much use a PS3 would get in terms of gaming, as well as doubling up as a Blu Ray player, as i already have a 360 and don't really want 2 different consoles..
I got the Pioneer BDP-51 from Richers
http://www.richersounds.com/product/blu-ray/pionee...
Slow to boot up even with the latest firmware, but an excellent picture.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/blu-ray/pionee...
Slow to boot up even with the latest firmware, but an excellent picture.
aspender said:
Been very pleased with my Sony BDP-S350 and it has had a couple of over-the-network firmware updates since I bought it. Linked up to 40" W4500
Is there any major differences between the S350 and the S500 or 550? The S350 is a very good price, and would be interested to know what the image quality is like on yours? I think if that does everything you'll need, i might be tempted to get that one over the 500 or 550.CypherP said:
Is there any major differences between the S350 and the S500 or 550? The S350 is a very good price, and would be interested to know what the image quality is like on yours? I think if that does everything you'll need, i might be tempted to get that one over the 500 or 550.
Afraid I'm no expert on the differences, but it is certainly good enough for me. DVD and Bluray playback are both excellent. I don't link it up to any amp at the moment so can't really comment on that side of things. I think one of the differences between the 350 and 550 is that the latter supports more audio capabilities.
This is all really helpful, thanks guys. Was browsing last night and comparing the 350 and 550 online, does appear that the 550 supports better audio, but there doesn't seem to be too much in it.
I'm still torn between getting a PS3 just because its a little bit extra but you're getting the console as well, or just sticking to Blu Ray only and getting the S350. I can't see me using the PS3 all that much for anything else if i already have an Xbox 360.
I'm still torn between getting a PS3 just because its a little bit extra but you're getting the console as well, or just sticking to Blu Ray only and getting the S350. I can't see me using the PS3 all that much for anything else if i already have an Xbox 360.
CypherP said:
This is all really helpful, thanks guys. Was browsing last night and comparing the 350 and 550 online, does appear that the 550 supports better audio, but there doesn't seem to be too much in it.
I'm still torn between getting a PS3 just because its a little bit extra but you're getting the console as well, or just sticking to Blu Ray only and getting the S350. I can't see me using the PS3 all that much for anything else if i already have an Xbox 360.
Just a quick note if you're not going to use the PS3 for gaming/streaming then don't buy it,I'm still torn between getting a PS3 just because its a little bit extra but you're getting the console as well, or just sticking to Blu Ray only and getting the S350. I can't see me using the PS3 all that much for anything else if i already have an Xbox 360.
because it's power consumption is horrific, it's about twice what your TV uses, I know it's
got quick load time but it's not the end of the world to have to wait 60secs for a disc to load
just go to the fridge and get a fresh cold one to enjoy with the film.
Now as to choices of standalone players
Pioneer BDP-51FD For- Good picture,looks about a £1000 worth
Against only profile 1.1, no ethernet (firmware upgrades have to be downloaded to disc via PC and then uploaded to
your player) and it's bloody enormous, and just a bit clunky in operation
Panasonic DMP-BD60, For Profile2 ethernet for live streaming of YouTube, and firmware updates, very slim easy
to house, stunning picture quality.
Against uninspiring to look at as a product.
Sony BDP-S350 For Cheap! ethernet profile 1.1 out of the box , but the first firmware update you do via it's
ethernet port takes it to profile2, very small front to back so very easy to accomodate, good build for the price
Against not quite as good a picture as the Panasonic or the Pioneer but it takes a keen eye and a Pioneer Kuro
to see the differances!!
Samsung BDP1500, For IMO a real sleeper very good picture slightly better than the Sony, Good looks again it has an
ethernet port and its profile 1.1 out of the box but there's a profile2 update on Samsungs website.
Against, the badge!, build quality average.
I hope this helps you and it's based on my experiences selling hundreds of these things each month and spending nearly 50 hours a week playing with and setting them up with every TV imaginable
My recomendation would be the Panasonic BD60 but the Samsung is an excellent second choice
Thats brilliant, thanks very much for that! I've had a look at the Pana and it does seem like a good purchase.
The only other thing i wanted to find out, is that i checked my TV last night, and according to the features, it supports 1080i but not 1080p. Would this be a problem when buying a Blu Ray player, as i want to get the best image quality that i can for the money, but don't want to spend out on this if the TV i have won't support the features its providing. I was under the impression mine was 1080p, but it only supports upto 1080i.
The only other thing i wanted to find out, is that i checked my TV last night, and according to the features, it supports 1080i but not 1080p. Would this be a problem when buying a Blu Ray player, as i want to get the best image quality that i can for the money, but don't want to spend out on this if the TV i have won't support the features its providing. I was under the impression mine was 1080p, but it only supports upto 1080i.
CypherP said:
Thats brilliant, thanks very much for that! I've had a look at the Pana and it does seem like a good purchase.
The only other thing i wanted to find out, is that i checked my TV last night, and according to the features, it supports 1080i but not 1080p. Would this be a problem when buying a Blu Ray player, as i want to get the best image quality that i can for the money, but don't want to spend out on this if the TV i have won't support the features its providing. I was under the impression mine was 1080p, but it only supports upto 1080i.
No problem at all, just set output to auto or 1080i and the BD60 Will sort everything out!The only other thing i wanted to find out, is that i checked my TV last night, and according to the features, it supports 1080i but not 1080p. Would this be a problem when buying a Blu Ray player, as i want to get the best image quality that i can for the money, but don't want to spend out on this if the TV i have won't support the features its providing. I was under the impression mine was 1080p, but it only supports upto 1080i.
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