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What's a good blue-ray player these days

S

spidey07

No Lifer
Doesn't have to be super duper quality as it's not the main theater, I just don't want it to be junk. I don't keep up much with updates so I "assume" I want one with wi-fi capability since I don't have wired access at the TV? I've already got a PS3 for the HT, this is more for the living room.
 
Any current Sony will do SACD, but I don't think they have any multichannel analog ones any more.
 
spidey07 said:
SACD/DVD-A would be a big plus if it has good analog output section.
Click to expand...

Just about the only player that will fit that bill these days is the upcoming Oppo BDP-93. A bit pricey at $500 but it is likely the best player you're going to find for ever 4-5 times that price.

I would be a touch wary about spending any appreciable amount of money on LG BD players as I believe they've already end of lifed a couple of their players (i.e. no more firmware updates when the studios roll out new BD+ DRM trickery). But if you can get one for a decently cheap price, they are pretty decent devices.
 
Yeah, doing more research it considering I don't need super quality just features the panasonic line with vierastream looks interesting. But no sacd/dvda support.
 
This new Yamaha looks like it might be the ticket for you:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gadgets/yamaha-blu-ray-player-streams-netflix-blockbuster-and-youtube/

More specific info here:

http://www.letmedefine.com/yamaha-bd-a1000-blu-ray-player/

It does SACD and DVD-A. The first article says Amazon is selling it for $600, if that's within your budget (and if they have it in stock).

FWIW, I've owned a lot of Yamaha audio equipment over the years and have always had good luck with it. I think they're a cut above the Panasonics, LGs, & Samsungs of the world (not that those are bad brands).
 
Ken90630 said:
FWIW, I've owned a lot of Yamaha audio equipment over the years and have always had good luck with it. I think they're a cut above the Panasonics, LGs, & Samsungs of the world (not that those are bad brands).
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Given that LG and Samsung's idea of audio is a built-in dvd/bluray player and 2000W of surround sound, in a system that draws 1.5A from the wall, and has 3" full-range speakers and a passive 6" 'subwoofer' pretty much anything is a cut above in terms of sound!

Except Bose😉
 
3chordcharlie said:
Given that LG and Samsung's idea of audio is a built-in dvd/bluray player and 2000W of surround sound, in a system that draws 1.5A from the wall, and has 3" full-range speakers and a passive 6" 'subwoofer' pretty much anything is a cut above in terms of sound!

Except Bose😉
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Well, you're referring more to HTIBs, nearly all of which are junk anyway (including Yamaha's lower line HTIBs).

I was referring more to individual components like DVD/Blu-Ray players, receivers, CD players, cassette decks, etc. The build quality on Yamaha equipment in those categories has, in general, typically been a notch above the more ubiquitous brands like the ones I mentioned. It's rare to find a Yamaha that 'feels' cheap (fit & finish) or gets badmouthed a lot. I wish they made HDTVs & PCs.
 
Ken90630 said:
Well, you're referring more to HTIBs, nearly all of which are junk anyway (including Yamaha's lower line HTIBs).

I was referring more to individual components like DVD/Blu-Ray players, receivers, CD players, cassette decks, etc. The build quality on Yamaha equipment in those categories has, in general, typically been a notch above the more ubiquitous brands like the ones I mentioned. It's rare to find a Yamaha that 'feels' cheap (fit & finish) or gets badmouthed a lot. I wish they made HDTVs & PCs.
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I'm not aware that LG or Samsung make any proper components other than disc players, and even those are definitely 'consumer' models - lots of features, average quality. I like my LG player, but I wouldn't call it high-end!

Yamaha makes good stuff; even their budget models tend to be quality units, just with fewer features.
 
3chordcharlie said:
I'm not aware that LG or Samsung make any proper components other than disc players,
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Well, Samsung actually does, although they're not well-known for it:

http://www.onecall.com/search/Samsun...s/_/N-1159+257

But I know what you mean. I should have worded my post differently, but I was mainly referring to such components by Yamaha generally being a bit better than most mainstream gear in similar price ranges. I should have left out the words "like the ones I mentioned" and said instead, "like typical mainstream gear." Panasonic used to make cassette decks, receivers & turntables (under the Technics brand name), Sony makes receivers, cassette decks & disc players, and Onkyo makes receivers & disc players. Those were the brands I had in my head. I'd also put Yamaha above Denon due to Denon's less-than-average reliability (if Consumer Reports' annual surveys are to be trusted). I'd put Harman Kardon & Pioneer more in league with Yamaha.

As of a couple years ago, Pioneer's Elite label components were still being made in Japan. Do you happen to know if they still are?
 
Ken90630 said:
Well, Samsung actually does, although they're not well-known for it:

http://www.onecall.com/search/Samsun...s/_/N-1159+257

But I know what you mean. I should have worded my post differently, but I was mainly referring to such components by Yamaha generally being a bit better than most mainstream gear in similar price ranges. I should have left out the words "like the ones I mentioned" and said instead, "like typical mainstream gear." Panasonic used to make cassette decks, receivers & turntables (under the Technics brand name), Sony makes receivers, cassette decks & disc players, and Onkyo makes receivers & disc players. Those were the brands I had in my head. I'd also put Yamaha above Denon due to Denon's less-than-average reliability (if Consumer Reports' annual surveys are to be trusted). I'd put Harman Kardon & Pioneer more in league with Yamaha.

As of a couple years ago, Pioneer's Elite label components were still being made in Japan. Do you happen to know if they still are?
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I'm not sure about pioneer; a couple of years ago I bought a pioneer elite BD player, but sadly had to return it because of an unexpected expense (I don't even remember what it was). It was certainly a step above the cheaper player I bought instead (I think it was a panasonic).

I certainly like the quality and clean power of the denon receiver I'm using, but having a good one doesn't mean much for the brand's reliability.

Lots of companies make great $1k components, but yamaha does seems to bring the same build quality to their lower-end stuff, while most companies pack in features and ignore quality.
 
3chordcharlie said:
I certainly like the quality and clean power of the denon receiver I'm using, but having a good one doesn't mean much for the brand's reliability.

Lots of companies make great $1k components, but yamaha does seems to bring the same build quality to their lower-end stuff, while most companies pack in features and ignore quality.
Click to expand...

Bummer about your Elite BD player going down. I was in a Pioneer store about this time last year and looked at a lot of their stuff. ALL of it was awesome, and the sales rep made a point to tell me that the Elite line was all made in Japan. I paid almost $600 for an Integra (Onkyo's high-end brand) DVD changer back around 2005 or so, thinking the extra $$ would buy me better performance & reliability, but after the laser lens motor failed twice in a year, at ~ $170 a pop to fix, I tossed the whole thing out & replaced it with the cheapest Yamaha changer available at the time ($150ish IIRC). It's worked flawlessly for several years, so go figure.

Denon isn't horrible from a reliability standpoint, but they do consistently rate poorer than most other mainstream brands in CR's testing. And that's odd considering the high quality fit & finish, and prices, of their products. But I'm sure a lot of the components in their product line are probably fine. Only time will tell with your receiver, I guess. Specs & features-wise, Denon is very good.
 
Thanks fellas, keep in mind this us for the living room and not the theater. It's for my wife so under 250 would be good.
 
Get the one that has the features you want and a decent warranty. There is not a single bluray player that is one brand internally. There are only a handful of companies , less than 5 that make the optical pickup assemblies, sony is one of them. The power supplies are outsourced. The remotes are outsourced. The drive loading assembly is almost always made by asatech. The days of buying a brand and getting that brand are gone.
 
Modelworks said:
Get the one that has the features you want and a decent warranty. There is not a single bluray player that is one brand internally. There are only a handful of companies , less than 5 that make the optical pickup assemblies, sony is one of them. The power supplies are outsourced. The remotes are outsourced. The drive loading assembly is almost always made by asatech. The days of buying a brand and getting that brand are gone.
Click to expand...

So what player has quality analog outputs?
 
do you have a proper sound setup in the living room for dvd-a and sacd? If not, you can just get any brd player and they'll play dvd-v and the audio cd layer of sacd.
 
I love my panasonic, Vieracast is awesome. If you do wind up going with panasonic, and if you want wireless, you will need to spend a bit extra to purchase their wireless kit (as they are wireless "ready", but don't actually have the card by default...)

I ran cat5 to mine, since it's in my theater in the basement, and wifi is kinda weak there...
 
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