Blu-Ray Player - what to look for?

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kalongbat

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Hi guys

I am looking to purchase a Blu-ray player for my TV soon.

I just want to ask some advise on which is the best machine to look for? What recommended brand / specs must I look for on the shelves for best quality/resolution (for a 55" HD TV)? I have a budget of R2000.

Thanks!
 
Over your budget, but a PS3 has a great blu-ray player, and it gets firmware updates, so it will be 3D enabled. Its also a decent media player, and its got long life ahead of it as a games console as its gonna be a while before sony releases its next gen console. Then theres the move motion controller if you ever wanna give that a go - looks like it'll be fun with Heavy Rain. It's got wifi so you can stream to it from your pc(dunno about HD though). Also, as a blu-ray player its got really good reviews. A lot of reviews claim its picture quality is superior to some of the high end blu-ray players. So even if its a stretch to the budget, you get good value I think.
 
Neverwhere said:
Over your budget, but a PS3 has a great blu-ray player, and it gets firmware updates, so it will be 3D enabled. Its also a decent media player, and its got long life ahead of it as a games console as its gonna be a while before sony releases its next gen console. Then theres the move motion controller if you ever wanna give that a go - looks like it'll be fun with Heavy Rain. It's got wifi so you can stream to it from your pc(dunno about HD though). Also, as a blu-ray player its got really good reviews. A lot of reviews claim its picture quality is superior to some of the high end blu-ray players. So even if its a stretch to the budget, you get good value I think.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have a 47inch HDTV with PS3 and the blu-ray movies nothing less than perfect. PS3 is one of the best Blu-ray players around.
 
I bought a Sammy for about R1 800 and it works like a charm.If you are not a serious gamer then a ps3 will double you budget
 
PS3 is a cut above the rest.

Sony obviously makes the best blu-ray players coz they hold the rights to the tech... so they can price in more features in their players.
However... for a rand for Rand value, the PS3 is the best Blu-Ray player... excluding it's gaming capabilities.

PS3 comes with wifi
PS3 can use a PPPoE connection
PS3 can view a media server
PS3 has better upscaling abilities due to its ONBOARD PROCESSOR... no other blu ray player has a proper video card.
PS3 has a HUGE hard drive... can store movies
PS3 has a Hard drive... so load up times for Blu-Ray disks are the FASTEST... other players require a flash stick, and they're still slower.
PS3 fully supports BDLive... and has a internet Browser on the same console... other players have a really icky BDLIVE system... that hardly works, whereas the connectivity on a PS3 is very good.
PS3 plays Divx's and AVI's as standard... and via a media center, can play mkv's and flac. NO OTHER BLU-RAY PLAYER is as versatile when it comes to network integration.
PS3 Fully supports 24FPS playback
PS3 is the only 3D ready player
PS3 is upgradable... others claim to be... but they never release updates.

Add all this up and you're looking at a formidable Blu-Ray player... that costs less than the Equivalent SONY stand alone BD player. (R5000 odd)

And that's before you get to the gaming capabilities...
The PS3 benefits HUGELY from it's onboard processor, video processor and hard drive... something other blu-ray players JUST DON'T have. and as a result, they lag sometimes during playback...
 
You guys do know the ps3s drive can be upgraded. So basically you can buy a 40gb console and slap in a 500gb notebook harddrive (western digital is best here) and whalaa. The 750gb or 1tb notebook drives are too thick. So don't bother there.

I would go ps3 probs a second hand 40gb console or game sells some for cheap. For divx, bluray, mkvs via ure pc, etc etc you can't go wrong. I got 3 in different rooms. And order a bluetooth remote online from btgames to collect. Its under 200 bucks if I'm not mistaken. If u wana sell the controller but need to change settings or your console resets then buy a usb keyboard. Works too hehe.

And you don't need an hd tv to watch blurays. It will merely downscale the image. Only dstv is stingy to not downscale their hd image. Its to make people upgrade their decoders.
 
Not knocking the PS3 in any way ... just some info that MIGHT be a factor for someone looking to buy one for it's BluRay capabilities .... Is there a region hack available yet? As far as I know you will not be able to watch BluRay discs that are not compatible with region B (not many discs are region locked, though).

I got an Oppo BDP-83 and installed the hardware region hack ... awesome BluRay player.
 
TYR said:
Not knocking the PS3 in any way ... just some info that MIGHT be a factor for someone looking to buy one for it's BluRay capabilities .... Is there a region hack available yet? As far as I know you will not be able to watch BluRay discs that are not compatible with region B (not many discs are region locked, though).

I got an Oppo BDP-83 and installed the hardware region hack ... awesome BluRay player.
Click to expand...

No region hack... for DVD's or BD's
One of the 2 downsides to the PS3.

The other downside (minor-ish) is that: The PS3 can't bitstream HDMI audio.
Audiophiles like myself, who have top quality amplifiers with advanced and expensive DSP's are forced to use the PS3 to do the sound encoding.
Sony has been promising a update to fix this issue, but we still waiting.

What that basically means, is that the PS3 doesn't pass through the digital sound information to be decoded by the amplifier... it does all the decoding onboard and passes out the sound via multichannel PCM.
It sounds decent.. but I've got one of the world's best amplifiers with THE BEST studio quality DSP chips that now sits idle while the PS3's budget chips do the decoding.
It still sounds fantastic though... don't get me wrong... but a simple Sammy BD player for under R1000 can bitsream HDMI audio... why can't the PS3?

Between that, and the multi-region thing... those are the only gripes I have against the PS3.
Got around the multi-region thing by playing region 1 DVD's via the PC through the PS3... but c'mon... it's a silly problem to have.
We're grown ups and are allowed to specially import DVD's from Americaland if we want. Especially when alternate language DVD's aren't sold here. (I buy some old westerns in Italian for my old man) you'd be surprised how difficult it is to find SPAGHETTI westerns in Italian! And they're all region 1.
Haven't come across any Blu-rays that I've really wanted that aren't available in region B.

You might have issues with games though... STRICTLY european discs only. So no Hong Kong and American games. I have no idea why they INSIST on putting that crap in place. I strongly feel that if I can import a game myself from 10 000km away for less than the local price, something is SERIOUSLY wrong with the local pricing. I think the local distributors are marking up these games far beyond a reasonable rate.
 
iirc ps3 games are not region locked, they will play on any console
 
rodga said:
iirc ps3 games are not region locked, they will play on any console
Click to expand...

hmmmm... I see on "Big Brother Wiki" that there is regional blocking, but it isn't active on games... so my wires were crossed there.
My Baaaaaaad. I thought otherwise!
 
OverKill69 said:
No region hack... for DVD's or BD's
One of the 2 downsides to the PS3.

The other downside (minor-ish) is that: The PS3 can't bitstream HDMI audio.
Audiophiles like myself, who have top quality amplifiers with advanced and expensive DSP's are forced to use the PS3 to do the sound encoding.
Sony has been promising a update to fix this issue, but we still waiting.

What that basically means, is that the PS3 doesn't pass through the digital sound information to be decoded by the amplifier... it does all the decoding onboard and passes out the sound via multichannel PCM.
It sounds decent.. but I've got one of the world's best amplifiers with THE BEST studio quality DSP chips that now sits idle while the PS3's budget chips do the decoding.
It still sounds fantastic though... don't get me wrong... but a simple Sammy BD player for under R1000 can bitsream HDMI audio... why can't the PS3?
Click to expand...

The new PS3 slim can bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
 
If you looking for a dedicated blu-ray player with a lot of bang for the buck then try the Sony BDP-S370 which goes for approx R2300 http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Sony-BDP-S370/ or do what I did and pay R700 more and get a PS3 with all the above-mentioned benefits. In simplifying my home theatre I got rid of my Mvix media player (would not recommend it), sold my Xbox Elite and bought the PS3. Media player, gaming console, blu-ray player ...check!
 
Jab said:
The new PS3 slim can bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
Click to expand...

You sure?
I checked this out about 2-3 months ago... and people were still moaning about it. My PS3 can't bitstream TruHD and DTS-MA. It's not a slim... but there shouldn't be a difference between the 2.

EDIT

OMS... you're right.
The Slim has a new chipset while the fatty cant do the bitstreaming... That makes me a very sad panda :(
 
Last edited:
OverKill69 said:
You sure?
I checked this out about 2-3 months ago... and people were still moaning about it. My PS3 can't bitstream TruHD and DTS-MA. It's not a slim... but there shouldn't be a difference between the 2.

EDIT

OMS... you're right.
The Slim has a new chipset while the fatty cant do the bitstreaming... That makes me a very sad panda :(
Click to expand...

I'm in same sad panda boat. :(
 
What I really want is the Sony BDP-CX960, but only when I can get it region unlocked (if only for the DVD's) and with 220V power supply. (don't want to bother with transformers)
 
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