Recommend me a Blu Ray player

Grendel

Grendel

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I'm seriously considering buying a Blu Ray player but am hopelessly confused with which one to get :help:

Can anyone steer me in the direction of a good quality player please? I'm looking at spending up to £300. I don't really want a PS3 though, as I already have an Xbox 360 :)

Many thanks for any help / advice you can give :)
 
The PS3 is without a doubt the best option, it does so much more than a stand alone player
 
wack61 said:
The PS3 is without a doubt the best option, it does so much more than a stand alone player
Click to expand...

I concur
When I was looking around for a Blu ray player about a year ago, everybody recommended the PS3 to me. I was a bit reluctant to buy it as I didn't really want a "games console" and was a little dubious anyway because the BluRay v HD DVD "war" was still raging.
But I went ahead, and am throughly delighted with it.
I have got a few games for it but very rarely play them, I prefer the 360 for that.
But as a Blu Ray player it's superb. And standard DVD's are almost HD in their clarity it is that good.
Add the ability to get online if your PC goes pear shaped along with it's media streaming abilities and it's a winner....honestly!!

Rob
 
have to agree with the other 2 comments - a PS3 is not only the sensible option it is an attractive option

online/gaming/blu-ray all wrapped into one is excellent

and a Freeview PVR now with an add-on
 
As everybody has pointed out, the PS3 is probably the best option.
Sony are always upgrading the PS3 firmware to keep up compatability.
If you go for a stand alone Blu-Ray DVD option make sure it supports BD Java, which the PS3 already does.
 
Agree..Ps3 is best Option and i am actually selling or trading a few week old one.
 
The down side to the PS3 as your blu-ray player is the noise IMO:suspect: My PS3 (and a lot more) does suffer from fan noise when it gets a little warm, it's hard to say if you'll find it a problem so best bet might be to find a mate who has one and try a couple of chapters of a film.

I didn't like the noise element so have a stand alone Blu-ray player the Samsung BD-P1500, it's as quiet as your standard CD player, that said the picture quality isn't really any better than the PS3 but it is just about silent which you can't say about the PS3. :shrug:

Saying that you have a 360 so imagine watching a film when the 360 has been on an hour or so and if the noise isn't a problem your sorted.:thumbs:

If I were to buy one today I'd go for the Panasonic DMP-BD50 which is head and shoulders above many of the recent players.

There is also the multi region option available if you'd like to order the disc's from America etc...(getting them earlier and a little cheaper)

Happy watching................
 
Mr THX said:
The down side to the PS3 as your blu-ray player is the noise IMO:suspect: My PS3 (and a lot more) does suffer from fan noise when it gets a little warm, it's hard to say if you'll find it a problem so best bet might be to find a mate who has one and try a couple of chapters of a film.
Click to expand...

You knew somebody would come back and say this didn't you....:lol::lol::D

Mine isn't noisy at all
;)

The 360......now that sounds like a helicopter about to take off
:(:(:(:(
 
cant comment on the PS3 but we got the Samsung BD-P1500 its excellent
Pete
 
the panny in the link, or the panny BD50 or the new sony 550 are the players to look at, the PS3 is great, but for audio its suffers a little, only passing the LPCM, no analogue outs, and the newer panny and sony produce better picture quality(or so say my friends at HCC) I have the ps3 and really cant complain, its only my audio that isnt as good as it could be.
 
Guys, thank you so much for all the info and advice :thumbs:

atm the Panasonic DMP-BD50 (as pointed out by Mr THX & Matty) is looking like the front runner, although £200 over my initial budget :bang: I could go for the Panasonic DMP-BD35 which is spot on the £300 of my initial budget but would I regret not spending that bit extra initially? :help:

It definitely looks like Panny are the leaders in stand alone Blu Ray players right now ;)
 
I have the Samsung BD-P1500 as well - watching POTC3 as we speak. For the money (£163 at Amazon or £10 less if you price match at Richer Sounds) can't give anything but praise for it. It's not the last word in Blu Ray machinery, but unless you have a specific need for anything more, I'd highly recommend this unit.
 
I would put another vote in for the PS3 as well as being a Blue Ray it will also play any other format you can stick on USB and wack into it...

Cheers

Nigel
 
i have a ps3 and it plays blu ray sooo well i would go for that
 
markf said:
i have a ps3 and it plays blu ray sooo well i would go for that
Click to expand...

I think us PS3 fanboys have had it Mark.
Panasonic leads the way.
I'm off to sulk/kick the cat

;);):D
 
Mr THX said:
The down side to the PS3 as your blu-ray player is the noise IMO:suspect:
Click to expand...

How on earth can you hear anything while a film is playing, my PS3 is very quiet, I can honestly say without putting my ear up against it I can't hear it at all and certainly not while a film is playing, I have a HD-DVD player as well and i's no noisier than that :shrug:
 
Well having been pointed in the direction of a few units (and I think someone mentioned the PS3 lol) I've trawled tinternet this morning and found some useful reviews. Interestingly, despite it's populaity, the PS3 doesn't seem to stack up that well against a lot of stand alone players.

This isn't meant to be PS3 bashing btw, just sharing what I've discovered :)

Playstation 3

What HiFi said:
Detail levels are on a par with the Samsung BD-P1500, but they’re no match for the likes of the Panasonic DMP-BD35 or Sony’s own BDP-S350. The PS3’s picture isn’t as clear or three-dimensional and it’s noiser than we’d like. This picture noise is also apparent when playing standard DVDs: where other players go to great lengths to eradicate grain, the PS3 can’t shift it. It also has more issues with movement than the top players in this class...........
........There’s no doubt that the PS3 is multitalented and this flexibility makes it an attractive package. But if you just want a stand alone Blu-ray player, there are superior offerings around.
Click to expand...


Panasonic DMP-BD50

This Panasonic is certainly superior to the PlayStation 3 when it comes to both picture and sound quality.........
..........The DMP-BD50 not only talks the talk but also walks the walk, combining excellent specification with equally spectacular performance. If you buy a Blu-ray player this summer, make it this one.
Click to expand...


So it looks like it will be a Panasonic stand alone that I go for, now just to choose the model :eek: There's the BD30 at £300, the 35, 50 ,55 etc etc and new models being released in November :bonk: The BD50 is the one that seems to be the player of choice atm but over my budget really :shrug: hmmmm:thinking:

Watch this space ;)

Thanks again for all the advice offered :thumbs:
 
matty said:
the panny in the link, or the panny BD50 or the new sony 550 are the players to look at......and the newer panny and sony produce better picture quality
Click to expand...

Grendel said:
Well having been pointed in the direction of a few units (and I think someone mentioned the PS3 lol) I've trawled tinternet this morning and found some useful reviews. Interestingly, despite it's populaity, the PS3 doesn't seem to stack up that well against a lot of stand alone players.

This isn't meant to be PS3 bashing btw, just sharing what I've discovered :)

Playstation 3




Panasonic DMP-BD50




So it looks like it will be a Panasonic stand alone that I go for, now just to choose the model :eek: There's the BD30 at £300, the 35, 50 ,55 etc etc and new models being released in November :bonk: The BD50 is the one that seems to be the player of choice atm but over my budget really :shrug: hmmmm:thinking:

Watch this space ;)

Thanks again for all the advice offered :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Im finally right!!!! :D:p
 
matty said:
Im finally right!!!! :D:p
Click to expand...

It was bound to happen one day mate ;)

Well I finally made a decision.......

I phoned Lakes in Bracknell (top guys to deal with, very knowledgable on all things AV) to ask if they had the Panny BD50 in stock. They told me that they could get one from another branch but it has actually been discontinued and replaced with the BD55 with is even better spec'd and less expensive :D

So that's what I've gone for, the Panasonic BD55. I've had to pre ordered one, first stock expected in the next few days!
 
Hi Ian,

£398 delivered from HERE


:)
 
Might just be worth bearing in mind that the BD30 has also been discontinued and replaced with the BD35. Again, it's had incredible reviews
 
US machines are region locked at the moment though, so you would have to buy region A BD for the time being.

Panasonic are the main developer of BD i believe, Sony are the frontmen...
 
that HCC article is funny, player and disk sales are well up, infact manufacturers hadnt enough stock to meet demand. Sept 14th week was pretty crap week for releases in the US, only The Forbiddon Kingdom was released...
 
Region Free machines are starting to creep out though, check here LINKY they have some good prices for players which are Blu-ray and 'std' DVD region free.

Even on Blu-ray you find films are out a good month earlier in the US, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull for instance is out on the 14th Oct (US) and 10th Nov (UK).............that said you can sometimes get the best of both worlds even with a UK player as some Blu-ray releases are Region Free.....check out the link to MovieTyme who highlight the discs from the US which are Region Free and so playable on a UK machine.
 
**Thread revival**

I took delivery of my Panasonic BD55 yesterday and set it up last night.

I'm absolutely blown away by the quality of the picture :D

I fairly recently upgraded my Sky package to HD and I though that was good but this is in a different league! And the sound - just awsome! Unfortunately my amp can't take full advantage of Dolby Digital + or True HD Sound so I have do scale down to conventional Dolby 5.1 or DTS, but the sound is still better than anything I've heard from my DVD player :thumbs:
 
I have to agree with the 2 op a PS3 is the most sensible option.

However the new Samsung 52 inch Series 6 LCD monitor at Comet comes with a free Samsung blueray player. I found this out as one of my friends purchased one. Personally that would take up the whole room where I live

Hope that helps

S:)
 
well player Paul, I knew you wouldnt be disappointed
 
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