Best budget blu-ray player?

Serendipity
Serendipity Posts: 6,975
edited July 2009 in Electronics
Looking for a blu-ray player in the $249 to $299 range.

Is the Sony BDP-S360 a good deal? Or should I use my HTPC and add a blu-ray drive / buy a Playstation 3?

Thanks in advance!
polkaudio RT35 Bookshelves
polkaudio 255c-RT Inwalls
polkaudio DSWPro550WI
polkaudio XRT12 XM Tuner
polkaudio RM6750 5.1

Front projection, 2 channel, car audio... life is good!
Post edited by Serendipity on

Comments

  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited July 2009
    Is there going to be a price drop on the PS3?
    polkaudio RT35 Bookshelves
    polkaudio 255c-RT Inwalls
    polkaudio DSWPro550WI
    polkaudio XRT12 XM Tuner
    polkaudio RM6750 5.1

    Front projection, 2 channel, car audio... life is good!
  • FittyFieFo
    FittyFieFo Posts: 482
    edited July 2009
    appadv wrote: »
    Is there going to be a price drop on the PS3?

    Supposedly there's a rumor going on that there will be a price drop ($100) mid-August...when Madden '10 comes out. I really hope this is true, I'll be picking one up if it does go down $100.
    Samsung LN52A850 (52" 1080P LCD TV) | RTi A9's (Fronts) | Csi A6(Center) | FXi A6 (Rear Surrounds) | SVS PB12-NSD (Sub) | Oppo BDP-103 | Panamax M5300-PM

    Pre-Amp: Marantz AV7005 | Amp: Emotiva XPA-5 | Speaker wires: Signal Cables | Interconnects: Signal Cables
  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited July 2009
    FittyFieFo wrote: »
    Supposedly there's a rumor going on that there will be a price drop ($100) mid-August...when Madden '10 comes out. I really hope this is true, I'll be picking one up if it does go down $100.

    If that's the case then I will wait till August to pick up a PS3.
    polkaudio RT35 Bookshelves
    polkaudio 255c-RT Inwalls
    polkaudio DSWPro550WI
    polkaudio XRT12 XM Tuner
    polkaudio RM6750 5.1

    Front projection, 2 channel, car audio... life is good!
  • FittyFieFo
    FittyFieFo Posts: 482
    edited July 2009
    appadv wrote: »
    If that's the case then I will wait till August to pick up a PS3.

    I'm just hoping the rumor is true. There has been rumors alot earlier about PS3 price drop, and it didn't happen. So cross your fingers, and hope theres a price drop mid-August :)
    Samsung LN52A850 (52" 1080P LCD TV) | RTi A9's (Fronts) | Csi A6(Center) | FXi A6 (Rear Surrounds) | SVS PB12-NSD (Sub) | Oppo BDP-103 | Panamax M5300-PM

    Pre-Amp: Marantz AV7005 | Amp: Emotiva XPA-5 | Speaker wires: Signal Cables | Interconnects: Signal Cables
  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited July 2009
    I really hope there is going to be a price drop :)
    polkaudio RT35 Bookshelves
    polkaudio 255c-RT Inwalls
    polkaudio DSWPro550WI
    polkaudio XRT12 XM Tuner
    polkaudio RM6750 5.1

    Front projection, 2 channel, car audio... life is good!
  • McLoki
    McLoki Posts: 5,231
    edited July 2009
    if you have the PC ready to go with sound - this one is hard to beat for the price...

    eWiz has Lite-On 4x Serial ATA Blu-ray ROM Drive for $62 - $5 coupon SUPERSTEAL5 = $57 with free shipping.
    Mains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
    Center............Polk LSiC (Crossover upgraded)
    Surrounds.......Polk LSi7 (Gloss Black - wood sides removed and crossovers upgraded)
    Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
    Pre\Pro...........NAD T163 (Modded with LM4562 opamps)
    Amplifier.........Cinepro 3k6 (6-channel, 500wpc@4ohms)
  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited July 2009
    The PC is a HP Digital Entertainment Center z560. It does output DVD sound over HDMI, with no issues whatsoever.
    polkaudio RT35 Bookshelves
    polkaudio 255c-RT Inwalls
    polkaudio DSWPro550WI
    polkaudio XRT12 XM Tuner
    polkaudio RM6750 5.1

    Front projection, 2 channel, car audio... life is good!
  • FittyFieFo
    FittyFieFo Posts: 482
    edited July 2009
    Also, I would wait for other people to put their input about other blu-ray players. Not sure if PS3 is still the best one out there (seems like it is), but technology is only getting better.

    I'm in the same position as you. Weighing my options, I'm not really a gamer, but I do like the fact you can browse the internet and stream music wirelessly with the PS3 from your computer. (still reading on how to do that).

    I've also read that, if you don't like the browser, you can install another partition and put Ubuntu or some other program.."Yellow Dog" I think it was called? So you can do everything a normal computer does. :)
    Samsung LN52A850 (52" 1080P LCD TV) | RTi A9's (Fronts) | Csi A6(Center) | FXi A6 (Rear Surrounds) | SVS PB12-NSD (Sub) | Oppo BDP-103 | Panamax M5300-PM

    Pre-Amp: Marantz AV7005 | Amp: Emotiva XPA-5 | Speaker wires: Signal Cables | Interconnects: Signal Cables
  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited July 2009
    Another vote for the PS3, not just as a stand alone Blu-Ray player (which of course it is not) but for all the other things it does it is IMHO the best option for the price. I know not many people will agree with me on that statement, but it does have one of (if not) the fastest load times of any BD player on the market. A web browser, wireless capabilities, networking to your home PC, can be used as a media center and for storage, oh and it is a gaming console too, lol. I have had one for awhile now and while I have had no other Blu-Ray player to compare it too, I am still happy none the less. If it drops another $100, it would def. be the best option out there for Blu-Ray players, IMO. I have yet to try the Yellow Dog (Ubuntu) partition, but there are videos on You Tube on how to accomplish this. I have Ubuntu on my home PC and the only time I use my Windows partition is for my Zune.
    HT Rig
    Receiver- Onkyo TX-SR806
    Mains- Polk Audio Monitor 70
    Center- Polk Audio CS2
    Surrounds- Polk Audio TSi 500's :D
    Sub- Polk Audio PSW125
    Retired- Polk Audio Monitor 40's
    T.V.- 60" Sony SXRD KDS-60A2000 LCoS
    Blu-Ray- 80 GB PS3


    2 CH rig (in progress)
    Polk Audio Monitor 10A's :cool:

    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
  • danz1906
    danz1906 Posts: 5,144
    edited July 2009
    Panasonic dmp-bd60
    Linn AV5140 fronts
    Linn AV5120 Center
    Linn AV5140 Rears
    M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
    Odyssey Mono-Blocs
    SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D
  • ViperZ
    ViperZ Posts: 2,046
    edited July 2009
    Panasonic DMP-BD55 and Sony BDP-S550, even if you get them used.

    Both players are profile 2.0 and offer superior picture. Check the reviews: these panny and sony are much preferred to the current latest models.
    Panasonic PT-AE4000U projector for movies
    Carada 106" Precision Series (Classic Cinema White)
    Denon AVR-X3600H pre/pro
    Outlaw 770 7-channel amplifier
    B&W CDM1-SE fronts
    B&W CDM-CNT center
    B&W CDM1 rears on MoPADs
    JBL SP8CII in-ceiling height speakers
    Samsung DTB-H260F OTA HDTV tuner
    DUAL NHT SubTwo subwoofers
    Oppo BDP-93 Blu-Ray player
    Belkin PF60 Power Center
    Harmony 1100 RF remote with RF extender
    Sony XBR-X950G 55" 4K HDR Smart TV + PS3 in the living room