Thinking about Blu-ray

dholmes
dholmes Posts: 1,136
edited March 2007 in Electronics
Im thinking about getting into Blu-ray, how many brands are there out there? thanks
My HT set-up Panasonic front proj, 120 in ws screen, ATI amp,Integra 9.8 pre-pro, 2 Polk rti150, cp 1000, 4 fx 1000, Pioneer blu-ray 2 SVS sub pb 12-ultra 2, & Paragon popcorn popper. ps 3 Coaster leather HT recliners.
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  • Monster Jam
    Monster Jam Posts: 919
    edited February 2007
    Sony and Samsung for sure. LG perhaps?

    Cheesy will be on this thread shortly with a full run-down of Blu-Ray products and their merit as the technology of choice. LOL
    Do you hear that buzzing noise? :confused:
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  • dholmes
    dholmes Posts: 1,136
    edited February 2007
    Thanks
    My HT set-up Panasonic front proj, 120 in ws screen, ATI amp,Integra 9.8 pre-pro, 2 Polk rti150, cp 1000, 4 fx 1000, Pioneer blu-ray 2 SVS sub pb 12-ultra 2, & Paragon popcorn popper. ps 3 Coaster leather HT recliners.
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  • Sherardp
    Sherardp Posts: 8,038
    edited February 2007
    Sony, LG, Samsung, Pioneer, Panasonic, and the Sony PS3 being the cheapest to enter the format. I have had nothing but a positive experience with it myself. I have a Sony Standalone player, updated firmware and it has been superb. If you are ready to get into it I would say go for it and dont look back.
    Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!

    Home Theater Pics in the Showcase :cool:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=73580
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  • dane_peterson
    dane_peterson Posts: 1,903
    edited February 2007
    If you're trying to cut costs, the 20GB PS3 will be cheapest by several hundred dollars (if you're buying new). Sony will be releasing a $599 BluRay player in a few months, which will make it the most affordable standalone BDP on the market.
    LG has a BD/HD-DVD combo player that retails for $1199. If having both formats interests you, that may be another route to take.
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  • MikeC78
    MikeC78 Posts: 2,315
    edited February 2007
    BTW,

    If you go to www.sonystyle.com and open up a Sony CC, you get $100 off your purchase. You could pick up the 20g PS3 for $400.

    Mike
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  • dane_peterson
    dane_peterson Posts: 1,903
    edited February 2007
    Nice find, Mike! I might have to do that...
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  • MikeC78
    MikeC78 Posts: 2,315
    edited February 2007
    I just recently did it with the 60g model, last I checked they were out of the 20g. They might have more in stock at the moment?

    Mike
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  • Huck344
    Huck344 Posts: 453
    edited February 2007
    dane_peterson wrote:
    LG has a BD/HD-DVD combo player that retails for $1199. If having both formats interests you, that may be another route to take.

    The LG has gotten some pretty bad reviews. No HDi support, no 5.1 sound through HDMI cable, no HDMI 1.3. For $1200, you would think all those would be included. I think LG rushed to get this on the market. It would be great to have a device that completely supported both formats.
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  • MikeC78
    MikeC78 Posts: 2,315
    edited February 2007
    ^ I agree, not to good of a buy right there.

    BTW, You also get free shipping from SonyStyle if you purchase by the 1st.

    You can also have both formats for about $800! www.ValueElectronics.com has the Toshiba HD-XA1 Player on sale for $399 and that includes shipping. Grab the 20G PS3 off of SonyStyle with a new Sony CC purchase and get that for $400 with free shipping. There you go, format free for about $800!:)

    Found the Sammy stand alone player for a good price, http://www.secondact.biz/product/BDP1000RB

    Now you can have two stand alone players for $850!

    Mike
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  • Huck344
    Huck344 Posts: 453
    edited February 2007
    This may be a dumb question, but why are blu-ray players so much more expensive than HD?
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  • dane_peterson
    dane_peterson Posts: 1,903
    edited February 2007
    They're not. Some of the earlier HD-DVD players didn't support 1080p, and their price reflects that. Feature to feature, they are priced about the same.

    I hadn't read reviews on any of the units, so thanks for the heads-up on the LG.
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  • MikeC78
    MikeC78 Posts: 2,315
    edited February 2007
    Huck344 wrote:
    This may be a dumb question, but why are blu-ray players so much more expensive than HD?

    It's called subsidizing, Toshiba did this quit heavily with the 1st gen of players.

    Thank goodness for the format war! Competition is grand!:)
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  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited February 2007
    Yep, what's nice is that with anything from Toshiba or Sony you have a good chance of actually getting the hardware at a point where it's being sold at a loss for either company. For instance, the first ps3s were probably giving you $200 of hardware for free to take it off their hands.

    Competition is indeed grand...;)
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,520
    edited February 2007
    The only bad thing about the PS3, no analog outs so you cannot take advantage of the uncompressed PCM tracks. I landed the Sammy BD-P1000 for $569 (total) and it's been a fantastic machine so far.
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
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  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited February 2007
    +1 on what RonP said. The other thing is that you're limited to Sony's bluetooth remote. So if you like having everything in an IR universal remote you're stuck adding an extra one. Bluetooth does work from the next room though...

    In any case, if you wait until summer, like someone said above, you might be able to get a cheaper player (around the price of the sammy) even more capable than Sony's current top of the line. I guess you can decide for yourself whether the extra features (possible hdmi 1.3) are worth the wait:

    http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9691343-1.html
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  • MikeC78
    MikeC78 Posts: 2,315
    edited February 2007
    Ron-P wrote:
    The only bad thing about the PS3, no analog outs so you cannot take advantage of the uncompressed PCM tracks. I landed the Sammy BD-P1000 for $569 (total) and it's been a fantastic machine so far.

    Why not? Use HDMI to a capable receiver.
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  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited February 2007
    Yep hdmi 1.1 and above should be able to pass the signal from the ps3. But not everyone has one of these. And if you're thinking of upgrading, you might want to wait until the hdmi 1.3 capable receivers come out later this year. Denon has some coming out and some of them even do true HD and DTS-MA decoding.
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited February 2007
    dane_peterson wrote:
    They're not. Some of the earlier HD-DVD players didn't support 1080p, and their price reflects that. Feature to feature, they are priced about the same.
    No 1080p support, doesn't matter, PQ will still be the same so that's not a reason.
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  • dholmes
    dholmes Posts: 1,136
    edited February 2007
    But there is still no pre-pros out there that decodes the new hdmi 1.1-1.3 correct?? thanks
    My HT set-up Panasonic front proj, 120 in ws screen, ATI amp,Integra 9.8 pre-pro, 2 Polk rti150, cp 1000, 4 fx 1000, Pioneer blu-ray 2 SVS sub pb 12-ultra 2, & Paragon popcorn popper. ps 3 Coaster leather HT recliners.
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,520
    edited February 2007
    No pre-pros yet but Outlaw is working on one, not sure when it will street though.

    It will be quite a long time before I upgrade to any type of HDMI so I need players with analog outs.
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
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  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited February 2007
    Well, here is denon's monster compatible with hdmi 1.3. It should be out later this year as well. But don't expect it to be cheap...

    http://www.audioholics.com/ces/CESprocessors/DenonSeparates.php

    ...but boy is it loaded with video processing capabilities. :D
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  • MikeC78
    MikeC78 Posts: 2,315
    edited March 2007
    Ron-P wrote:
    No pre-pros yet but Outlaw is working on one, not sure when it will street though.

    It will be quite a long time before I upgrade to any type of HDMI so I need players with analog outs.

    These new HDMI Pre-pros comming out are going to be interesting...

    Might just give the Anthem D2 a run for it's money!??!

    Mike
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  • PoLk FaN
    PoLk FaN Posts: 81
    edited March 2007
    I love my PS3, you get a great game system and BR!!
    HT Rig
    Receiver- Denon avr 1910
    Mains- Polk Audio Monitor 60
    Center- Polk Audio CS2 series II's
    Surrounds- Polk Audio Monitor 40 series II's
    Surround Backs Polk Audio Monitor 30
    Subs- Mirage S8 & Psw505
    T.V.- 46" Samsung lcd 120hz
    Blu-Ray- 60 GB PS3
    HD Dvd-Toshiba HD-A3
    Xbox 360- O town killer81
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