BLU RAY? Buying new DVD player. Help!?

Question

I just got a new HD TV, and the installer is bringing the HD receiver out on Monday. But tomorrow I want to buy a new DVD player/recorder. I've heard things that I now need a Blu-ray compatible DVD player to get the best HD picture. Is that true? If so, how do I know if a DVD player is Blu ray compatible or not? I looked at DVD players today and didn't see anything about Blu ray on any of them. Help! I don't want to spend the $250 - $300 for something that isn't good enough!

Answer 1

Your TV is probably 1080p. If it is, it's capable of displaying 2 million pixels. Regular DVD maxes at 300,000 pixels. Bluray outputs the same 2 million pixels that your TV displays, so the picture quality is going to be much better.

Trouble is, you say you need a recorder too. A bluray player/recorder is still quite expensive. A quick Google search showed prices in the $2000 range. If you need a recorder, you might want to get a standard DVD player/recorder and watch the prices of the Bluray machines as they fall over time.

If you don't really need a recorder, then the link from the first responder will show you a good selection of Bluray players under $400. Be sure to get one that plays HD audio also. It's uncompressed so it will sound really good through your system.

Answer 2

Use the DVR from your satellite/cable company for recording TV shows, there is no point to get a Blu-ray recorder. 300 bucks should get you a decent BD player. like the previous person said, BD is 3 times the resolution of a DVD. and get this straight, you are buying a BD player with DVD support not the other way around. but i would wait a few month since the new players will be BD Live (a interactive online thing) ready. Check on Cnet.com reviews as far as which ones to buy.

Answer 3

Blu-ray MAY be the right choice for a player, but given the price, lack of mature hardware and the premium price of the disks it's worth doing a bit of research first. Also there is no practical Blu-ray recorder ... use an HD PVR or record to DVD and upconvert to view.

You should also note that Blu-ray is, and is likely to remain, a premium priced alternative to DVD (not a replacement).

First question is can you benefit, and second is is the higher cost worth it to you?

Blu-ray is capable of giving a better picture and higher quality audio than DVD, but the difference varies from "wow" to "what's all the fuss about".

If you have a HDTV coming you CAN benefit ... although the screen size and resolution of the TV (720p vs 1080p) and where you sit to watch largely determine how big a difference you will see relative to upconverted DVDs.

Ideally you need an HDMI equipped 1080p HDTV, larger than about 40" and watch from optimum distance (generally closer than most people historically do). For example, a 40" 1080p HDTV is best viewed from 5-6 ft away (See 1st Link). A 720p TV, smaller screen or greater viewing distance all decrease the benefit.

Blu-ray players play both Blu-ray and DVD disks (A normal DVD player will not play Blu-ray disks) and typically costs $350 or more (There are some cheaper ones, but they are flawed early models being sold at fire sale prices). The ONLY player currently recommended is the PS3 game machine ... mainly because the stand alone players -- even the much more expensive ones -- are almost all obsolete (Profile 1.0 or 1.1) in that they don't support all functions being put on disks, and most can't be upgraded to support them. The PS3 can.  New players due out this fall will be complete (Profile 2.0) and some will include audio decoders to take advantage of lossless audio formats (These currently require an A/V receiver with built in decoders .. and if yours isn't less than 12 months old it doesn't have that support).

Blu-ray disks cost $5-$20 more than the same DVD.  Also, there are still less than 550 Blu-ray movies (vs 83,000 DVDs) ... so you WILL be watching DVDs for a long time to come (unless you are prepared to limit your viewing to Blu-ray only).

If you have a library of DVDs you will be able to play them with a Blu-ray player ... and they will even be upconverted to pseudo-HD quality.  Note that many people find upconverted DVD to be almost as good as Blu-ray and choose not to buy into Blu-ray at all (Upconverting DVD players are generally much cheaper than Blu-ray players).

So, there are some of the facts.

I suggest you look for a demo of Blu-ray on a TV the same as yours (or as close as possible). Compare a DVD and a Blu-ray version of the same movie (if possible) and WATCH FROM THE SAME DISTANCE as you will at home. Note DON'T be fooled by animation or HD video based demo material ... they are NOT representative of what you will see from movies.

If you find the improvement of Blu-ray compelling, and you are prepared to pay the higher prices for movies, consider buying. BUT, unless you are prepared to buy the PS3 I would recommend waiting until the fall for a Profile 2.0 player. If you decide Blu-ray ISN'T worth the premium see if you can find an HD DVD player (the loser in the "HD format war", and currently being liquidated for about $75) -- they are very good quality upconverting DVD players and a great bargain if you can find one.

You will need HDMI cables to hook things up with. DON'T buy Monster or similar premium cables. Order from Monoprice,com (they deliver in days) or other online sources ... you don't need to spend more than $10-$15 for a HDMI 1.3, Category 2 cable that will work identically to the $150+ Monster cable the stores will try to sell you (See 2nd LInk)

See the last link for comparison pictures for DVD and Blu-ray (and HD Cable and Apple SD and HD).

Happy deciding ... and enjoy the new HDTV.

Answer 4

Find More Information for your Best Dicision at http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?i...

Enjoy

Answer 5

sony will be releasing new models in the next month, I would wait.  They should be at a lower price point, about half the size and a much faster load time, it will be their 350 series and 550 series to replace the 300 and 500 respectively.