stand alone blu ray player

[Bman123]

Is it worth it to get a blu ray player if my tv is only 720p?
The ole lady is a big movie buff and she is willing to pay half for a blu ray player.

I found some at best buy for pretty cheap $200-$300

My tv is a 32inch samsung 720p tv.I had a xbox 360 before and downloaded hd movie pirates of the carribean and it looked great.
What should I expect of the blu ray movies compared to hd tv shows like discovery channel and food network?

We have a cheap dvd player now and some dvd's look like shit on my hdtv.The dvd player doesn't upconvert and it is old so it really is time for a new one.

I just want some input from you guys if you think it is worth it for me to get the stand alone player.

Thanks in advance and hopefully I can repay the favor of sharing some info to you guys soon.

 

[Baked]

If your TV can do 720p, it can most likely do 1080i. The BR player will output to 1080i if the TV doesn't support 1080p. That's what's going on w/ my setup right now, and I think it looks pretty damn good. But of course experts will tell you 1080i looks like crap and such.

 

[sivart]

If you liked 'Light HD' (Your pirates video), you will like Blu-ray. (Light HD = compressed further than Blu-ray)

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: sivart
If you liked 'Light HD' (Your pirates video), you will like Blu-ray. (Light HD = compressed further than Blu-ray)

What?

 

[Rio Rebel]

From a video quality perspective, you will find the best possible picture with Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD). You are getting the best that HD has to offer, noticably better than the highly compressed HD over cable.

Form a cost perspective, don't forget that despite the low cost of the players, the movies are still at a premium price for Blu-Ray. When you pay an extra 10 bucks or so per movie, it adds up quickly.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Baked

Originally posted by: sivart
If you liked 'Light HD' (Your pirates video), you will like Blu-ray. (Light HD = compressed further than Blu-ray)

What?

I think he's saying that if you liked the HD version of PotC from XBVM, you'll also like the BR-D version (which has a much better picture).

 

[Shadowknight]

If you have an HHgregg in your area, see if they have the Panasonic BD35 on sale for $200 (normally $250). I picked up one for my brother's Christmas gift on Saturday. Go to monoprice.com for an HDMI cable, and use Amazon to buy movies as they are over-priced in brick and mortar stores.

 

[olds]

They have players that can stream netflix...

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: Rio Rebel
From a video quality perspective, you will find the best possible picture with Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD). You are getting the best that HD has to offer, noticably better than the highly compressed HD over cable.

Form a cost perspective, don't forget that despite the low cost of the players, the movies are still at a premium price for Blu-Ray. When you pay an extra 10 bucks or so per movie, it adds up quickly.

rental prices are the same

 

[Bman123]

I probably wont buy many movies.We rent movies every weekend and watch em when my daughter goes to bed.

I think that the potc looked great on my 720p hd tv thru the xbox marketplace.
So blu ray movies will look even better then that?

I am just tired of watching sd movies on my hd tv.My SO loves to watch movies and she is even willing to throw $100 on a player so I figure why not,go get one.

I will be getting it around the 2nd of january.
Are there any brands I should look at or ignore? I will be getting it from my local best buy since I will have a $100 gift card for BB.If any of you can help me pick one that best buy sells it would be great.

I was looking at the samsung Blu Ray player.It is only $200 and I figure it should be around the same price when I get mine.Is the sony version better?It does cost $250

I know about the movies being expensive and I doubt I will buy any movies unless they are kids movies for my daughter.My local video store charges the same amount for a SD and Blu ray dvd rental so I might as well get the best picture possible for my money

 

[s44]

Unless you have a fancy legacy receiver or want to play PS3 games, the one to get is the Panasonic BD-35. Best Buy has repeatedly had it for $230 or so, but it's usually $250 there (like now).

The newest Samsung models (P2500 and P2550) are quite good, with probably the best upscaling (it uses the Reon processor) of regular DVDs. But they're more expensive, and the older ones including the P1500 aren't as trouble-free as you'd want.

If you get the Panasonic, don't forget to send in for your two free discs.

 

[Bman123]

What about the sony which is $249 or the samsung which is $199

 

[techwanabe]

Originally posted by: Baked
If your TV can do 720p, it can most likely do 1080i. The BR player will output to 1080i if the TV doesn't support 1080p. That's what's going on w/ my setup right now, and I think it looks pretty damn good. But of course experts will tell you 1080i looks like crap and such.

Don't LCD panels have a fixed number of pixels? So if you have a TV which is 720P, doesn't that mean it has a fix number of horizontal pixel rows = 720 rows? Therefore, wouldn't it be impossible to display 1080 lines? (interlaced or otherwise?)

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: techwanabe

Originally posted by: Baked
If your TV can do 720p, it can most likely do 1080i. The BR player will output to 1080i if the TV doesn't support 1080p. That's what's going on w/ my setup right now, and I think it looks pretty damn good. But of course experts will tell you 1080i looks like crap and such.

Don't LCD panels have a fixed number of pixels? So if you have a TV which is 720P, doesn't that mean it has a fix number of horizontal pixel rows = 720 rows? Therefore, wouldn't it be impossible to display 1080 lines? (interlaced or otherwise?)

Correct, therefore it will display in the native resolution of the TV, most likely something odd like 768p.

Technically if scaling were perfect sending it 1080i might be better, however, because its not, sending it 720 is often a better option.

 

[Bman123]

should I get a blu ray drive or not guys?I just dont want to make a bad desicion and spend $300 on something that is gonna look like crap

 

[Baked]

Blu-ray movies are not $10 more than DVD movies. It's more like $5. They usually go for $20 avg. You can find them for $17-18. Don't buy them at retail, get them when they're on sale.

Originally posted by: Bman123
should I get a blu ray drive or not guys?I just dont want to make a bad desicion and spend $300 on something that is gonna look like crap

Did you read my 1st post? Even if you have a 720p HDTV, a properly produced blu-ray movie will look jaw droppingly gorgeous compared to anything you've ever seen before. Get it~! Oh, you can get the Sony S350 for about $230 @ Costco, if you're a member.

Ps. Here's a list to give you an idea of which blu-ray movies have good picture quality, and which don't. DVDtalk.com is also a good place to check out blu-ray movie reviews.

Pps. If your blu-ray player doesn't come w/ a HDMI cable, check out monoprice for cheap but good quality cables.

 

[Bman123]

I have a hdmi cable already.

I figured the picture quality of blu ray on a 720p would still be outstanding.I just dont have the cash to buy a new tv also.

It's bad enough that when I go to get the blu ray player that I am gonna get a new monitor for my pc since my current one is giving me nothing but trouble.

I am not worried about buying the blu ray movies I can just rent them.The only time we watch movies is on the weekends.The only movies we will buy will be kids movies since my daughter loves to watch movies

 

[Baked]

Looks like you're set then. Go for it! I mean what's the worse that can happen except driving back to the store and returning the BR player.

 

[Bman123]

I guess that is a way to look at it baked.I just need to check and see what blu ray movies look the best and rent one of them and see what it looks like on my 720 hdtv.

It is just that buying this blu ray player is a big purchase for me.I also have to buy a new monitor and I also built the rig in my sig about 1 month ago so I have spent alot of money lately.Granted the choices I have made so far have been good ones I guess I just dont want to ruin my streak of goodness.

Thanks everyone if you still have stuff to say please feel free and chime in I am interested in hearing what others have to say about this.

 

[s44]

The Sony is good, but the Panasonic is slightly better, about the same price (or cheaper), and you get two free movies. No brainer.

I already mentioned the $200 Samsung. Not as good.

 

[Bman123]

What makes the panasonic better then the sony?
Sorry I donot know alot about these players,that is why I am asking for help so I donot make a stupid decision

 

[s44]

Slightly better upconversion quality for standard DVDs. Some claim it outputs a slightly better picture than the Sony, but this seems to be image enhancement (processing) that's not necessarily accurate. Also, a slightly nicer remote control.

Plus it also decodes one of the two lossless surround codecs -- DTS-MA -- which the Sony doesn't. This shouldn't affect you, since you probably don't have a surround receiver yet (and any new one you get would decode it itself), but it's important for others.

I really should write up that Blu-Ray FAQ I've been contemplating.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Bman123
I probably wont buy many movies.We rent movies every weekend and watch em when my daughter goes to bed.

I think that the potc looked great on my 720p hd tv thru the xbox marketplace.
So blu ray movies will look even better then that?

significantly.

also, You can find many great deals on BDs these days. many new releases can be had for $20-24, and some older releases for as low as $12. compare that to the typical price of a DVD release. Also, the price on BD hardware and software has dropped much, much faster than DVD products did after release.

search the tubes, there are plenty of great deals to be had.

 

[Bman123]

The main reason I am gonna get a blu ray player is due to the price being pretty low now.
For $200 you can get a name brand player so I feel it is time to upgrade