Blu-ray player??

Question

Im planning on buying a Blu-ray player since the HD-DVD empire collapsed along with my HD-DVD xbox 360 add on ( tough lesson to learn) but which is a good blu-ray out there to buy under 500?? I heard stories about long loading times, and i have seen plenty on youtube vid's, my HD-DVD player did not have that problem, and then i heard about firmware updates. I dont wanna spend half a grand on a blu-day player and find out its out dated on the firmware. Any suggestions on a safe purchase.

Answer 1

Playstation 3 is perfect for me.

Answer 2

The only other 2.0 player on the market right now is the Panasonic DMP-BD50, which can bitstream and decode all audio formats, has HDMI 1.3 and analog 5.1 outputs and an ethernet connection for BD-Live content and firmware upgrades.

However, because it's the only 2.0 standalone player on the market it's still at a premium. If you wait until Black Friday or the last few weeks leading up to Christmas you'll get a standalone player for $199-$249 and it very well may be a profile 2.0 player like the Sony BDP-S350, which is being released soon and will get 2.0 compatability via firmware upgrade.

The PlayStation 3 is an excellent option, even if you don't use it for games. You can install Linux on it, browse the web with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, download movies on it which don't have DRM, has HDMi 1.3, fastest load times, great picture and sound quality.

Good luck - the more Blu-ray's you watch the harder it gets to watch DVD, even with a great upscaler which the PS3 definitely is, scoring 120/130 on the HQV DVD test bench disc.

Answer 3

All blu-ray players are able to update the firmware through a burned CD or DVD, but it is much easier to update the PS3 directly from the internet, or if you are so inclined, a flash drive.

Also note that the PS3 does not have all 3 of the HDMI compatible audio decoders built in, so if you are a surround sound guru you might want to look at a stand alone player.  As for the ability to play PS2 and PS1 games.  The 40 GB model is not backwards compatible at all.  The 80 gb is backwards compatible due to its PS2 software emulator but the 20 and 60 GB models actually have the PS2 processor chip built in so you should have little or no problems playing games from those systems.  The reason why they stopped putting the chip in was because Sony is trying to cut cost since the PS3 with the chip was costing MORE than what they were actually selling it for.  So they were in sense losing money every time they sold a PS3.

Dont base your decision to buy a PS3 on HD size.  Buy based on what you plan on doing with it.  If you want to play PS2 or PS1 games buy a used 20 or 60GB and upgrade the Hard Drive.  It takes a 2.5" SATA-150 laptop HD.  There are many how to videos on youtube and other places.

Bottom Line:  As long as you arent an audio freak any blu-ray player should serve the purpose for you just fine.

Answer 4

The best-selling Blu-Ray player on the market is the Playstation 3. It's a very capable player, capable of playing Blu-Rays, DVDs, and digital video files. I have one, and it is a very versatile media center. Firmware updates are released periodically, so don't worry about falling behind in software.

Go to us.playstation.com to learn more about the PS3's line of features.

Answer 5

Get the PS3 unless you want to connect a 5.1 system ( with the ps3 that will require a reciever)

advantages of getting the ps3

- bluray player that upscales dvds

-plays your dvds as well

- can be used as a storage device

- firmware will keep updating it so new updates will be there for you.eg.ps3 did not have upscaling until a firmware update was released for it.

- you can use it as a gaming console as well.

-almost the same price as a decent blu-ray player.

-picture quality is the same as any blu-ray player infact you have a menu :-) which is better

good luck i am gonna stop now

Answer 6

PS3 is the best and one of the cheapest blu ray players you can buy. Unlike most other players, it is virtually future-proof as far as firmware updates. You can pick up a 40GB PS3 for $399. It supports Blu Ray Profile 2.0(the next gen blu ray firmware) and has HDMI 1.3 And it has built-in wifi so downloading firmware updates is easy.