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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: eagl on October 29, 2011, 04:36:27 PM

Title: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: eagl on October 29, 2011, 04:36:27 PM
Hello,

My old DVD player died so I'm looking for a standalone Blu-ray player for my tv.  Any recomendations for brand and must-have features?  It seems like most have features like network connection, netflix menus, etc.  I pretty much just want it to play dvd and blu-ray discs.  If it has any sort of network connection, it would have to be wireless but netflix over wireless sux so basically that's just a feature I wouldn't use...

Brands to avoid?  Brands to lean towards?  I have an old but fairly decent lcd tv so I don't want to get stuck with a model with crummy image quality, but I also don't want to spend a lot of money on this since I don't actually own any DVDs and only rarely rent.

TIA
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: Dichotomy on October 29, 2011, 05:38:59 PM
What's a Bly ray?  :P

Not much help here Eagl.  Might want to take a peek on Crutchfield.com.  They used to be a great source for high end gear but they seem a tad pricy to me lately. 
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: gyrene81 on October 29, 2011, 06:19:28 PM
you have a ps3? if you don't want to pay nearly $500 for an oppo, go with a mid-line samsung, sony or panasonic.
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: rpm on October 29, 2011, 06:39:55 PM
Eagl, I have a cheapo Vizio I bought on sale last Xmas for my RV and I'm happy with it. I use it in the house more than the RV. It has plenty of options for streaming services built in, but you have to be connected to a network. Think I paid $89 for it. :aok
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: morfiend on October 29, 2011, 06:44:43 PM
you have a ps3? if you don't want to pay nearly $500 for an oppo, go with a mid-line samsung, sony or panasonic.


  I'd agree,tho I bought an LG blueray afew months ago,got a whole surround package in the deal too!   Seems to work great but cant find any 3D movies to rent!  There just isnt any movies I want to buy and that seems to be the only way to get 3D ATM.

  The surround theater system isnt the greatest but then when it cost nothing I wont complain!   Maybe I should mention I also bought a 3D LCD and to get me to buy a blueray they tossed the theater in for free.

  Gyrene might be on to something,kill 2 birds with 1 stone,get a PS3 and watch movies or play silly games! :aok  Although you can likely get a stand alone blueray for cheaper,check the audio processing,they are not all equal.

  YMMV.


  You'll likely see more difference in the screen than you will between the different players!


   :salute
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: Masherbrum on October 29, 2011, 06:47:48 PM
Panasonic, Samsung and Oppo.   I have a Panasonic.
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: Tyrannis on October 29, 2011, 06:50:16 PM
you have a ps3? if you don't want to pay nearly $500 for an oppo, go with a mid-line samsung, sony or panasonic.
Your price estimate of the ps3 is way off. just sayin'.
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: Masherbrum on October 29, 2011, 06:53:24 PM
Your price estimate of the ps3 is way off. just sayin'.

No, yours is.    The Oppo is around $500, not the PS3.   
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: Rash on October 29, 2011, 06:56:38 PM
Hello,

My old DVD player died so I'm looking for a standalone Blu-ray player for my tv.  Any recomendations for brand and must-have features?  It seems like most have features like network connection, netflix menus, etc.  I pretty much just want it to play dvd and blu-ray discs.  If it has any sort of network connection, it would have to be wireless but netflix over wireless sux so basically that's just a feature I wouldn't use...

Brands to avoid?  Brands to lean towards?  I have an old but fairly decent lcd tv so I don't want to get stuck with a model with crummy image quality, but I also don't want to spend a lot of money on this since I don't actually own any DVDs and only rarely rent.

TIA

I bought the brand of blue ray, that was the same as my tv.  If I put a blue ray into my player, my tv knows what to do, and I don't have to push any buttons to watch it.
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: 1Boner on October 29, 2011, 07:11:54 PM
Bought an LG networking blu ray player with 5.1 surround. Dumped the speakers for some 800 cinema pro series 800 Definitive Technology speakers W/sub. Awesome!! Looks and sounds great.

But most everything I've read says that the PS3 is probably one of the best DVD/Bluray systems around. I probably would have gone that route, but we already had 2 or 3 game systems in the house.

If I had to pick another one today....PS3....all day long.
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: Tyrannis on October 29, 2011, 08:43:56 PM
No, yours is.    The Oppo is around $500, not the PS3.   
Oh, i thought he was saying the ps3 was around $500. didnt see that oppo part at the end. my bad.
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: Karnak on October 29, 2011, 09:02:01 PM
The Samsung I have works well.  No idea of the model off hand though.
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: jigsaw on October 29, 2011, 09:07:10 PM
Seems to work great but cant find any 3D movies to rent!  There just isnt any movies I want to buy and that seems to be the only way to get 3D ATM.

http://stores.3d-blurayrental.com rents 3D BR. I haven't personally dealt with them, but quite a few people on the bluray forum seem happy with them. Vudu streams a few 3D titles. Directv has 3 or 4 channels that are 3D. One movie (ppv), an ESPN, and a couple freebies. One of the freebies shows a lot of the Imax titles for free that sell in stores for ~$30. Hubble, Under the Sea, etc.
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: Jenks on October 29, 2011, 09:14:49 PM
Panasonic (DMP-BD75) and LG (BD630) are CR best buys in the standard format. The Sony (BDP-S480) and Panasonic (DMP-BDT210) were best buys in the 3D format.

Hope this helps
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: morfiend on October 29, 2011, 09:50:32 PM
http://stores.3d-blurayrental.com rents 3D BR. I haven't personally dealt with them, but quite a few people on the bluray forum seem happy with them. Vudu streams a few 3D titles. Directv has 3 or 4 channels that are 3D. One movie (ppv), an ESPN, and a couple freebies. One of the freebies shows a lot of the Imax titles for free that sell in stores for ~$30. Hubble, Under the Sea, etc.

   


   Thx for the imfo!

  Unfortunately living up in the great white north I have limited access if any,example we got netflix about 6 to 9 months ago but most films arent licensed in Canada.... :rolleyes: Most the rentals are done through the cable companies and finding a rental place is getting harder all the time. And add trying to get a 3D blueray so I can check out the TV just hasnt happened,like I said I could buy a copy...... but....  not any I would consider.


   :salute

 PS: maybe toys in 3D might be worth the $$$.... :D
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: eagl on October 29, 2011, 09:52:31 PM
Thanks for the replies.  The panasonic T210 seems like a decent mix of features without costing way too much.  It has wireless networking built in so it will stream from anywhere in the house, and supposedly they put a fast enough processor inside it that the image quality and responsiveness of the player is much better than the cheapo ones.

I think I can get it for about $175 through AAFES...  That's what I'm leaning towards right now although if the BX has a cheapo one for well under $100 I might go for that instead.  I really should wait until the thanksgiving and christmas sales, but we need a player now, not 2 months from now.

Plus if I was going to go for a console game, I'd get an xbox 360 with kinect.  The kinect system is amazing, good enough that it might be the catalyst I need to get back into programming.  A kinect plus GPS plus netbook would probably make a great basis for one heck of an augmented reality system.  So maybe I'll play around with that as a way to get back into programming.
Title: Re: standalone Bly-ray player
Post by: Masherbrum on October 29, 2011, 09:58:02 PM
Sounds like a good plan.