20 replies to this topic

[95Honda]

Well I broke down and finally bought a blu-ray.

I was primarily concerned witht he 2ch audio performance of the unit, I don't run any type of multichannel audio.

I settled on the Pioneer bdp-51fd after much consideration, I think it has the best analog audio section of any of the sub-$500 players. I picked up a NIB one on e-bay for $225 shipped. The only real negative thing I have heard about these players is the excessive load time for both blu-ray and DVD. We'll see.

I just didn't want to go buy some cheap Samsung or Sony for $200 instead and always be unhappy with the audio (I listen to music 90% of the time)

I should have it in a week or so, I'll let you guys know how it sounds.

[Deephaven]

Cool. Curious I am. Considering my PC is linked to all the TV's in my house, my plan was to just go with an optical drive in it when burners get reasonable.

Amusingly, I've had a DVD player for 8 or so years and have put about 8 DVD's in it. Good average there.

[alan monro]

95Honda, on 07 March 2010 - 04:53 AM, said:

Well I broke down and finally bought a blu-ray.

I was primarily concerned witht he 2ch audio performance of the unit, I don't run any type of multichannel audio.

I settled on the Pioneer bdp-51fd after much consideration, I think it has the best analog audio section of any of the sub-$500 players. I picked up a NIB one on e-bay for $225 shipped. The only real negative thing I have heard about these players is the excessive load time for both blu-ray and DVD. We'll see.

I just didn't want to go buy some cheap Samsung or Sony for $200 instead and always be unhappy with the audio (I listen to music 90% of the time)

I should have it in a week or so, I'll let you guys know how it sounds.

Good day , When i brought my cheap Sony blue ray I thought the sound may be terrible , but to my pleasant surprise found the DA chip in it extremely good . I listen to a lot of classics jazz and rock and i can not fault it . ....................Alan

[Aaron Clinton]

Look forward to the update. The PS3 is our BR player, just that we don't have a quality TV to watch BR on yet.

[95Honda]

We'll see how it goes.

I had borrowed a friends Samsung (one of the $299 ones from 2 years ago) and I really didn't care at all for the audio performance... It immediately sounded worse than the H/K front end I was using... Maybe the Sony's are better, but I didn't want to chance it this time. Being in Germany, I can't really return stuff to the states very easy if I am not happy with them, lol..

As for the TV, I have a 42" Samsung DLP. I am pretty sure it does 1080p, at least 1080i, I don't know, I have never cracked open the manual.

[95Honda]

Well, I hooked it up last night. Everything seems reall nice so far. Audio is quite good... I haven't watched a Blu-ray yet, but I can tell a difference in the upscaling of my DVDs. It is really apparent with my daughters CGI dvds (lol)... All of the educational ones with shapes and vivid colors are more refined and less "hashy" when moving around....

I'll try a Blu-ray this weekend, I have to go rent one...

Happy so far for the price.... Wouldn't have payed retail though....

[turdburst]

I don't have a blu-ray, but even my xbox 360 does a good job upscaling dvd picture quality. It's only a matter of time until I get a blu-ray.

Oh and very nice choice on the Blu-Ray. We carry lots of Pioneer where I work and it's all top notch stuff.

[sandt38]

I got sick last year with colon cancer, and was gifted Planet Earth on Blu-Ray by a friend as a time killer, as I was holed up in my home virtually crippled with pain. My friends, knowing what a home theater/audio geek I am assumed I had a Blu-Ray player. So I kicked around the idea of buying a player, or selling the set on E-Bay as it was fetching $100 for the BBC version I received (The BBC is in 1080p where the Discovery version is in 1080i). Right then Wallly World put a Magnavox B-R player on sale for $99 so I figured I would get it and see how it did for a goof.

Holy crap... I was amazed.

I have since upgraded and bought a Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD. I also started collecting Blu-Rays at that time, which is a challenge as I have almost 1000 DVDs and doubling up on the same film is something that goes against the grain of my frugality ... But basically, I was totally blown away with the picture quality, and the sound processing, which is even better now that I run the Elite with the Burr-Browns through my direct passthrough on my receiver. Just amazing.

I am certain you will be blown away when you get the right films. I have found some films just arn't worth the money, but action/adventure and nature based films (like Planet Earth, and Disney's Earth) are just unreal. So choose wisely (look for 1080p transfers, as they are definitely superior to their 1080i counterparts), and you will become a big fan really fast.

[Aaron Clinton]

I need the right TV to justify watching a Blue Ray.

[sandt38]

Indeed, the TV does matter. FWIW, one of my sons has a 42 inch LCD that is 720. He said the difference between standard DVD on his TV and Blu-Ray was pretty significant. So if you have a 720, give it a shot, D

[turdburst]

Recently saw "That's It, That's All" on Blu-Ray. A very rich visual experience. One of my favorites.

[sandt38]

todd.brust, on 21 April 2010 - 06:53 PM, said:

Recently saw "That's It, That's All" on Blu-Ray. A very rich visual experience. One of my favorites.

Never even heard of it. I'll check out bluray.com about it. I am always looking for a tough visual for the system. I love showing off it's capabilities... even if it is just my wife

[turdburst]

Snowboarding Documentary. They have a lot of exotic locations. Lots of color.

I enjoy It and don't even snowboard!

[Aaron Clinton]

sandt38, on 21 April 2010 - 05:11 PM, said:

Indeed, the TV does matter. FWIW, one of my sons has a 42 inch LCD that is 720. He said the difference between standard DVD on his TV and Blu-Ray was pretty significant. So if you have a 720, give it a shot, D

We are extremely outdated in terms of a TV in our house. I am too embarrassed to say on here how old our 2 sets are, there is a 3rd, but it is not hooked up, just sits in the back room for the time being.

[sandt38]

Aaron, on 22 April 2010 - 02:47 PM, said:

sandt38, on 21 April 2010 - 05:11 PM, said:

Indeed, the TV does matter. FWIW, one of my sons has a 42 inch LCD that is 720. He said the difference between standard DVD on his TV and Blu-Ray was pretty significant. So if you have a 720, give it a shot, D

We are extremely outdated in terms of a TV in our house. I am too embarrassed to say on here how old our 2 sets are, there is a 3rd, but it is not hooked up, just sits in the back room for the time being.

There ain't no shame in that. I gave away our old 34 inch RCA tube TV some 7 years back, when I bought my first big screen... I have already killed the Big Screen (Pioneer Elite RPTV) and we are on our second one (Samsung Plasma) now. That old RCA... it is still ticking...

If only they still made them like they used to...

[MKader17]

What's the quality difference (audio and visual) between a dedicated blu-ray player and PS3. I was trying to justify getting a PS3 for the blu-ray (the last game console I bought was the PS2 slim for DVD's because I still had a couple of PS2 games almost 2 years ago, and I bought that because my ~6 year old PS2 finally gave out)

It also seems like gaming consoles have stepped up as far as on demand movies

[sandt38]

I have my PS3 set up on my TV for gaming. It is best to keep contrasts and brightness a bit high, and sharpness a bit low for gaming. So visually watching Blu-Rays at night is not really enjoyable. But it is really cool for NetFlix and BD Live, as it is wireless. I would have to say though that I don't suspect there is much of a loss over a mid-level priced BR player.

BUT!!! You can get the Elite BDP-23FD for about the same price, authorized. The Burr-Brown DACs are just badass, and it's video engine is vastly superior to the PS3.

I can't say I would use my PS3 as a dedicated player, although now that I have a PS3 I don't think I would trade it for anything as it is just so damned powerful. I know some of the earlier models had issue with heat dissipation, and mine (the newer model 120GB) still gets pretty hot while playing. With Sony's well deserved POS reputation, and known high failure rates (I went through 4 or 5 PS2s) I worry about life expectancy if used as a dedicated player.

[MKader17]

Hopefully this isn't too off topic, but what makes the PS3 so powerful in your opinion?

As far as the budget is concerned I will be getting a Blu-Ray player because it is cheaper than the PS3, but from what you are saying it seems like getting a PS3 would be more beneficial than a cheaper blu-ray because it will provide similar quality with the extra features of a PS3.

[sandt38]

Well, I have never seen a dedicated device that can do so much so easily. I know that you can use a computer as a media server and the like, but these things just have everything, and it is a simple plug-n-play. It made me a believer that every Blu-Ray player needs wireless connectivity for BD Live.

Like I said, I would be afraid of heat related failures, so I wouldn't suggest it for a dedicated player. Sony has not been known to build very reliable products for the past decade+. But it would do in a pinch.

[Deephaven]

When I finally get around to it, I'll be ordering one for my pc which is connected to every tv in the house anyways. Until then, I'll stick with the DVD player I've had for 10 years and used about 10 times.