What we should look for in a Bluray Player

[byron]

Hi PinoyDVD,
It seems that a lot of bluray players have been coming out recently after it won the war against HD DVD.  But there are just some bluray players that are WAY too expensive (Php 60++k), but some have gone as cheap as Php 22K. 

So I would like to ask:
1.) What are the main differences of bluray players coming out (excluding PS3)?
2.) What should we look for in a Bluray Player?
3.) What is the best brand (in your opinion) for Bluray players?

Many thanks!

[steelcrazy]

so far SONY is still on top of the list followed by SAMSUNG then PANASONIC. stand alone blu ray players perhaps offer more stability than the PS3 in terms of its optical lense but due to the extremely high price of blu ray discs nowadays, its more practical getting a ps3 coz its a multi media device a blu ray player, wifi internet browser. storage plus its continuous update in its firmware makes it a better choice over stand alone blu ray players w/c arent upgradeable after it's bought.

[Mouldingo]

Player must be Profile 2.0 (BD Live), be able to output 24p, have built-in HDD space for downloads, can either bitstream or decode all the HD audio codecs (DTS HD MA and DolbyTrue HD), have external 7.1 outputs in the rear,  user can adjust picture settings (contrast, gamma, etc...) and be wi-fi ready. The best BD in terms of PQ is Panasonic BD-30. It bitstreams perfectly all the HD audio codecs, quick load and play and it is Profile 1.1. Downside is its doesn't upscale SD DVD, and no ethernet port. Sony S-300 is not even profile 1.1, cannot bitstream HD audio codes, load and play like an eternity. Worst players are Samsungs, slow and buggy, you hear more complaints than praises from their players, but can bitstream HD audio codec if you update to FW 1.6. The player everyone is lusting for will be the Panasonic BD-50...

[byron]

thanks mouldingo, steelcrazy.

whoa - lots of considerations.  how much would a pana bd-30 and bd-50 cost approximately?

I was initially torn between ps3 and a dedicated bluray player.  but after my trip to greenhills which I managed to as a technician of a ps3 store and repair shop; most cases of PS3 repairs are lens replacement costing around Php 5k. 

they discourage bluray watching as well... sigh.  still torn but now moving towards a dedicated player - hence, this thread.

more inputs are welcome for discussion and "deliberation"

thanks!

[Mouldingo]

Most of the lens failure seem to occur with the newer models. The BD-30 is somewhat in demand right now. It was around 29K but you would be lucky if you can find one. The BD-50 will be coming out around May. No price has been announced so far.

[steelcrazy]

If ur really itching for a bluray player now, go and take a chance at the ps3.Its quite reasonable at 17500 for a brand new 40gb or perhaps u can shop around for a second hand unit at a lower price probably 15k.Never mind all those negative feedbacks about the ps3 its pure luck when u get a good 1 that doesnt breakdown soon and its pure badluck if u got a lemon ps3.  Bluray movies are xpensive probably u'll just be buying 1 or 2 to test it and feel the experience after that i really dont think u'll be spending much for bluray movies. i myself dont even own a bluray movie but i intend to buy Music & Lyrics and Kingdom of Heaven if i can find them priced below 1200.Wat i do as of the moment is just download hi def movie files readable by the ps3 saved it into the ps3 hard disk n watch them. Eventually prices of bluray movies will drop and bow to the masses. I guess probably 5 to 6 yrs from now that will happen. That's the tym u buy a dedicated bluray player u want. The ps3 offers other options aside from playing bluray disc. U can display photoslideshow w/ music, play games, brows the net, upscales ur dvds, wifi , upgradeable hard disk up to 500gb, u can even install linux os on its hd. its almost complete.
By the way Tnx MOULDINGO for sharing to me wat u know about bluray players.

[DaSilva]

Wat i do as of the moment is just downloading hi def movie files readable by the ps3 saved it into the ps3 hard disk

how do you make the files readable by the ps3? any conversion needed? many of my files are in xvid format.

[darkwing]

as long as its Divx/Xvid certified complaint files, the PS3 will play them, mas cheaper talaga ang BD if you shop by Amazon and have it delivered via Johnny Air

[steelcrazy]

darkwing how can i buy bluray movies at amazon? wats the procedure? wats there offer today? any buy1 take1? as of the xvid files how can we know that its divx certified ?

[mars]

but i intend to buy Music & Lyrics and Kingdom of Heaven if i can find them priced below 1200.

Steelcrazy, there's a guy here in Davao who is selling imported brand new and sealed Music and Lyrics in BD for about 1,000 (or is it P990 but it may be a bit more expensive if he has to send it to Manila). Sold na yung Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut niya. I got about 6 movies from him already. PM me if you're interested so I can hook you up.

[byron]

Thank you for all the inputs...

11K difference is a lot (Dedicated Player vs. PS3) - at least 8 bluray discs na to. 

any more inputs from other members?

thanks!

[mars]

Sir Byron, I got my ps3 for the following reasons:

1) I want to watch hi-def movies.
2) The P17.5T price is way cheaper than the P68T - P70T prices of dedicated bluray players here.
3) If ever the lens conks out and I have it replaced at P5T, mas mura pa rin and total price ng unit (P22.5T) compared to a dedicated BD player. Kahit twice pa masira, mura pa rin.
4) Yung game capability ng ps3 gives me a lot of quality time with my kids kasi di naman lahat ng movies interesting sa kanila (or puwede nilang panoorin).

Just my 2 centavos worth...Regards.

[pchin]

I bought my PS3 second hand (used 3-mth from original buyer) last year in Nov 2007 & have been both using & abusing it ever since....I'm quite a heavy user: I play DVD, Blu-ray, games, MP3, save all my music & photo files, download lots of game video/demo, etc...until today (almost 6 mths) glad to report that not a scratch or hiccup surface.

Depending on your requirement & budget, for most ordinary folks....PS3 is a value for money investment & meet most of our requirements. It's a sure one mean of a "one-stop-entertainment machine"! I'm as happy as a bee...

[darkwing]

i agree with the above posts, everyday i play Cars BD in the PS3 for my kid, never gets old lols

[oReOsHaKe]

2) The P17.5T price is way cheaper than the P68T - P70T prices of dedicated bluray players here.

Dedicated blu-ray players don't cost that much naman.. U can buy the Panasonic BD30 for 18k to 20k.  Wait till the Pana BD50 will be released and the BD30 probably will cost around 12 to 15k na lang.  The Panasonic BD50 which will be released soon (mid May or June) will cost around $599.00.

If you are not into games, then a dedicated blu-ray player probably is the way to go.  But if u like games and movies, the PS3 is the best player available. 

[steelcrazy]

A dedicated bluray player can only play BD movies so if u run out of movies, u cant use it for other functions whereas with the ps3, u can play games via BD and downloaded games, watch BD movies, listen to music, watch photo slideshows w/ music, surf the net. The PS# is the best choice so far.

[john5479]

I will be buying a dedicated bd player soon. I had the lens of my ps3 replaced given that i use it primarily as a blu ray player (with dvds on the side) and for playing nba 2k8.

[oReOsHaKe]

A dedicated bluray player can only play BD movies so if u run out of movies, u cant use it for other functions whereas with the ps3, u can play games via BD and downloaded games, watch BD movies, listen to music, watch photo slideshows w/ music, surf the net. The PS# is the best choice so far.

I guess you can never run out of movies.. I'm sure you never watch a movie just once.. I watch certain movies over and over again..    You can also use Blu-ray players to play SD DVDs.. 

[steelcrazy]

I guess you can never run out of movies.. I'm sure you never watch a movie just once.. I watch certain movies over and over again..    You can also use Blu-ray players to play SD DVDs.. 

But that is still watching movies BD or DVD or even VCD, no other options and eventually after the break in period, u'll get bored.. In this case id rather not use the ps3 or a bluray player to play dvds or cds because there are already  dedicated players for those. I'd have my ps3 or bluray player play exclusively BDs to avoid any unnecessary damage to the lense and thats just taking precautionary measures in terms of usage.
I therefore conclude that if you intend to have just 1 BD player, choose the PS3 over a dedicated bluray player, but if if you can afford to have both, why not.

[steelcrazy]

I will be buying a dedicated bd player soon. I had the lens of my ps3 replaced given that i use it primarily as a blu ray player (with dvds on the side) and for playing nba 2k8.

helo sir john, just how long did u use ur ps3 before u got its optical lense replaced?

[Munskie]

I do have both, the PS3 in my bedroom, and the Panny BD-30 in my HT.  I used the PS3 for my gaming needs (solely nba 2k8), coz I just cant afford for me to play with the PJ as my monitor.   And with recent posts of lens trouble with the PS3, I suppose it will have a longer life span now since I dont use it as a BD player.   I hope, coz my GTA IV is coming soon, hehehe 

As for the topic, I find my needs in the BD30.   I dont need BD Live.  But the high bit-rate streaming is important as I have compatible components.   Saves my PS3 from abuse too. 

[john5479]

im eyeing the panny bd30 as well, for now the ps3 is serving its main purpose...games Playing gta4 now.

[Clondalkin]

The PS3 is simply the most versatile BD player to date even though I don't have one yet.  Don't forget, if you're really tight on budget, it can play those "compressed" downloadable 720p/1080p high def movies and contents too..and it comes in 3 colors now.   

Tanong nga pala, the issue of PS3 not being able to output 720p/1080i properly through component video/d-terminal out, has that been fixed with a firmware update already?

[steelcrazy]

The PS3 is simply the most versatile BD player to date even though I don't have one yet.  Don't forget, if you're really tight on budget, it can play those "compressed" downloadable 720p/1080p high def movies and contents too..and it comes in 3 colors now.   

Tanong nga pala, the issue of PS3 not being able to output 720p/1080i properly through component video/d-terminal out, has that been fixed with a firmware update already?

i think the best way to get the 1080 signal is thru hdmi it doesnt function thru component connectivity

[Clondalkin]

i think the best way to get the 1080 signal is thru hdmi it doesnt function thru component connectivity

So the component video output of the PS3 remains an issue then?  Still locked at 480p???

[steelcrazy]

So the component video output of the PS3 remains an issue then?  Still locked at 480p???

probably. hdmi is the next generation cable and technology is moving forward so i dont think they will invest efforts to upscale video outputs to 1080 via component cables.

[Moks007]

Dedicated blu-ray players don't cost that much naman.. U can buy the Panasonic BD30 for 18k to 20k.  Wait till the Pana BD50 will be released and the BD30 probably will cost around 12 to 15k na lang.  The Panasonic BD50 which will be released soon (mid May or June) will cost around $599.00.

If you are not into games, then a dedicated blu-ray player probably is the way to go.  But if u like games and movies, the PS3 is the best player available. 

Sir may I know where you can get panasonic bd30 for 18 to 20k, Is that just list price without shipping, brand new? I know they are around 499 usd and locally parang nobody sells that low. Pls let me know where bec Im interested thanks..

[Clondalkin]

probably. hdmi is the next generation cable and technology is moving forward so i dont think they will invest efforts to upscale video outputs to 1080 via component cables.

That is not a good point IMO. If Microsoft can readily output 1080i/720p through component video out and since many existing TVs (including Sony's) are very much capable of accepting 720p/1080i through component video input, what's the point of limiting the resolution of PS3's component video output to circa 1998???   

They can keep the lock on 1080p access through HDMI.  But 720p and 1080i?  C'mon.

[skylynx888]

So the component video output of the PS3 remains an issue then?  Still locked at 480p???

nope, my ps3 is currently using the component video connected to my monitor, feeding 1080i  , since my rptv doesnt have hdmi inputs

[oReOsHaKe]

But that is still watching movies BD or DVD or even VCD, no other options and eventually after the break in period, u'll get bored.. In this case id rather not use the ps3 or a bluray player to play dvds or cds because there are already  dedicated players for those. I'd have my ps3 or bluray player play exclusively BDs to avoid any unnecessary damage to the lense and thats just taking precautionary measures in terms of usage.
I therefore conclude that if you intend to have just 1 BD player, choose the PS3 over a dedicated bluray player, but if if you can afford to have both, why not.

I will never get bored with watching movies.. In fact, I still got so many SD DVDs that I haven't really watched till now.. That's one of my hobbies, an expensive one at that..  I don't play games and that is the reason I decided not to buy the PS3.. I'm waiting for the price of the BD30 to drop when the BD50 gets released in May or June.      Same here, I don't need the BD50 since my Onkyo 705 can decode HD audio formats bitstreamed by the BD30.  I don't also need internet capability for my BD Player since I would rather use my PC for that..