[tringo]

Hi,

I bought an ipod touch yesterday from my local comet store but found myself stood like a drooling idiot watching the blu ray version of batman for about 20 minutes - the picture quality was superb. So despite the expected backlash from the missus - i am gonna buy one

I have got a 42" Panasonic Viera TV, 2 HDMI ports, one of which is being being used by SKY HD at the moment so i am all good to go . . .except i dont have a clue about which blu ray player to buy.

Could anyone recommend a decent specced player - not looking to break the bank but if you're gonna get in trouble with the missus you might as well do it properly

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advnace

[Al_T3D]

Get a PS3. Regarded as one of the best Bluray players around, and is constantly updated with new features, whereas most standalone players are out of date due to lack of firmware updates. OK, it's a games console, but thats a good thing, the features of the PS3 are being updated regularly with all manner of home entertainment features. I've had my PS3 for nearly 18 months and I'm still in love with it, it's ace.

[tringo]

Hi thanks for the reply. I had thought about going down the PS3 route .. one question tho. I have an XBOX 360 and when this thing is spinning a disc it sounds like an aircraft taking off . . .is the PS3 as noisey?

[Deacon1972]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tringo

Hi thanks for the reply. I had thought about going down the PS3 route .. one question tho. I have an XBOX 360 and when this thing is spinning a disc it sounds like an aircraft taking off . . .is the PS3 as noisey?

My PS3 is very quiet, some owners say theirs are quite noisy though.

Other alternatives to the PS3 are the new Sony and Panasonic models, not seen them myself but they have had good reviews.

The Sony BDP-S350 for under £200 looks very good.

[Al_T3D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tringo

Hi thanks for the reply. I had thought about going down the PS3 route .. one question tho. I have an XBOX 360 and when this thing is spinning a disc it sounds like an aircraft taking off . . .is the PS3 as noisey?

Nope, all you get occasionally when the system is cooling is a gentle fan noise, it certainly doesn't disturb your enjoyment of watching films or playing games. Would you consider selling your Xbox to get a PS3? 'Cause the games on PS3 are getting better and better, and to be honest, the PS3 is far better value for what you get, all contollers are wireless, so no need to buy the extras, wireless internet is built in, it plays more and more videocodecs, and actually sections video files into handy chapters, oh, I could go on and on. Go on, you won't regret it.

[soulboy77]

The Sony BDP-S350 (£150-£180) is an excellent Blu-ray player and a tad cheaper than the Panasonic DMP BD-35.

The S350 can be easily updated from profile 1.1 to 2.0 by downloading a file from the Sony Support website.

[antfish77]

I have a PS3 and I use more as a bluray player than as a console. I stream all my music and video from my computer to it using TVersity media server.

The menu system is brilliant too. Also, I can honestly say its pretty quiet you get the fan noise on startup which last a couple of seconds and thats about it. I think that is just part of the startup tests.

[njp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by antfish77

I have a PS3 and I use more as a bluray player than as a console. I stream all my music and video from my computer to it using TVersity media server.

Same here. Assuming the files are in a format that the PS3 understands natively, you can of course choose to copy them onto its hard drive, so that you can access them without the PC being switched on. If you run out of hard drive, it's designed to be easily user-upgradeable.

And if you have a PSP, you can use it as a fancy remote control, so that you can select the music to play via your Hi-Fi without needing to switch on your TV, or you can play music or videos accessed via the PS3 on the PSP itself (either via Wi-Fi or over the Internet from a remote location).

Oh, and the SD DVD upscaling is rather good too. It's a very versatile piece of kit! I gather some people even use it to play games.

[Deacon1972]

Quote:

Originally Posted by njp

Oh, and the SD DVD upscaling is rather good too. It's a very versatile piece of kit! I gather some people even use it to play games.

I have only played two games on mine, bought it for BD mostly, but I must admit I'm tempted by the new James Bond Game - Quantum of Solace.

Just goes to show the versatility of the machine, if something takes your fancy it'll play it.

[paulr2006]

I have had Blu ray now for just short of a year & have a profile 1 Samsung BD P1400, despite what others may say about profile 1 I have had no problems whatsoever with any disc playing (even the later Java rich ones) & it has now played over 90 movies without a single hitch. And as I have no interest whatsoever in PIP or Interactive I have no plans to swop the player. The PS3 is without doubt a very good blu ray player, however I personaly dont like the look of it & it's lack of Infra red remote control is IMHO a lack of forsight.
The latest Sony players (S350 & S550) as already mentioned are very good players for not a lot of money & represent better value than the Panasonic range currently.
The Samsung BD P1500 is also worthy of consideration but between the Sony & Samsung I would perhaps go for the Sony. Of course the Picture on BD is only half the story, the HD sound formats are superb but these will only be available to you via Home Theatre sytems. The Cheaper all in one HT do not usually offer True HD & DTS HD MA however the Samsung can re-encode to Max (1.5Mb) bitrate over optical, so whilst not exactly HD it's very close!

[njp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulr2006

The PS3 is without doubt a very good blu ray player, however I personaly dont like the look of it & it's lack of Infra red remote control is IMHO a lack of forsight.

Yes, I guess those would be the "cons". The bluetooth remote control is only an issue if you like to put everything on a universal controller. Personally, I've always found those lacking in the finer grained functionality I need (for lack of a better description!), so I'm happy to use the PS3 game controller. I haven't even bothered with the PS3 BluRay remote, because I can't see any point in spending money on a cosmetically preferable solution that is harder to use - with the game controller you quickly earn where all the buttons are (spatial awareness) and can operate them in the dark without looking. This is very useful when you are using a projector - with my old DVD remote I was always struggling to find the right button!

[Rapid 17]

I have a PS3 which is only used for Blu-ray and DVD films and it's very quiet in operation.

Geoff.

[Atlantean]

What is the typical price of a PS3 these days?

[Robert__law]

I got the BUSH Blueray player from argos it was only £149 with a £10 gift voucher back , breath taking quality upscaleing DVDs , have orderd soume Blue ray discs.

[David (2)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atlantean

What is the typical price of a PS3 these days?

they have increased the capacity of the hard disc, but kept the price at £300

On the other hand, and Xbox360 Elite (black) is £250, and that doesnt have a blu ray player.

The cheapest option just for blu ray movies is a standard plaer-around £200.

Dave

[steveOooo]

u can get the ps3 40gb from sony style for £270

or £289 ps3 80gb with Batman begins or 300 or i am legend with one game, bluray remote (less obvious to the missus youve bought a game console!) hdmi cable (essential)

plus for an extra £7 you get a choice of a bluray film for extra £10 you can get an extra game

do it via nectar and you also get £2.50-£3.00 worth of nectar points