Best blu ray player for $500 or less

[Superecdor]

I have an onkyo tx-sr 605 receiver with 5.1 cambridge soundworks satellite speakers (I may buy two more speakers to take advantage of 7.1) and a samsung HL 56" 1080p dlp tv. I'm fairly new to HD and I bought and resold a toshiba HDDVD XA2 earlier this year. Now that blu-ray has won the format wars I am going to get a blu ray player for the house within the next month. I'm looking for picture and more importantly audio. My onkyo 605 decodes dolby true hd and dts hd master and since those are the best sounding I want a blu ray player that also decodes that right? I hear the panny 55 and sony 550 decode dts hd master internally but do I need that if my receiver decodes it too? What blu ray player should I get?

[HDPlasma]

I'm surprised there's no recommendation for the PS3 yet but I'm sure they're coming.

Some PS3 facts:
The PS3 does not send HD bitstream audio.
It only sends LPCM decoded audio.
This has been know to be as good as HD bitstream audio but the levels between the two have been observed to be different with HD bitstreaming being a tad louder.

When you send your receiver LPCM, it will only display "Multichannel" for all HD audio on the front panel instead of "DTS HD Master Audio" or the Dolby symbol with HD on it so you know specifically what is actually being decoded by the receiver.

*Your receiver can accept both types of audio via HDMI.

The Panasonic players are great and you get plenty of choices.
1. BD30 - discontinued but can be had for less than $300 on clearance.
This player is still supported by Panasonic and is a great player.
Provides bitstream audio
No internal decoding of audio
DVD upconverting has been vastly improved with v2.5 FW update.

2. BD35 - BD30 replacement that has ethernet port for BD Live capabilites.
Can be had for around $300
Provides bitstream audio
No internal decoding of audio

The BD55 is the BD35 with the add on of internal decoding.

[scweb13]

I'd suggest the Panny 35 or the Sony 350. They are both IR controllable and will bitstream to the 605. I'm sure that a lot of people will immediately chime in the PS3 suggestions, but the 2 standalones are less expensive.

[neos_peace]

Originally Posted by HDPlasma

I'm surprised there's no recommendation for the PS3 yet but I'm sure they're coming.

Ok I'll be the first

Go wiht the PS3 it kicks butt specaily for the fasts load times. and reliablity.

[arush5268d]

Originally Posted by HDPlasma

I'm surprised there's no recommendation for the PS3 yet but I'm sure they're coming.

Some PS3 facts:
The PS3 does not send HD bitstream audio.
It only sends LPCM decoded audio.
This has been know to be as good as HD bitstream audio but the levels between the two have been observed to be different with HD bitstreaming being a tad louder.

When you send your receiver LPCM, it will only display "Multichannel" for all HD audio on the front panel instead of "DTS HD Master Audio" or the Dolby symbol with HD on it so you know specifically what is actually being decoded by the receiver.

*Your receiver can accept both types of audio via HDMI.

The Panasonic players are great and you get plenty of choices.
1. BD30 - discontinued but can be had for less than $300 on clearance.
This player is still supported by Panasonic and is a great player.
Provides bitstream audio
No internal decoding of audio
DVD upconverting has been vastly improved with v2.5 FW update.

2. BD35 - BD30 replacement that has ethernet port for BD Live capabilites.
Can be had for around $300
Provides bitstream audio
No internal decoding of audio

The BD55 is the BD35 with the add on of internal decoding.

Great choices for players. +1

[plowmanjoe]

ps3 has wireless internet for firmware updates and never has any problems playing any new blu-rays. it also has the fastest load times.

[Chocolatejas]

and has constant updates.

[Avond]

I have the Sony 350 because I do not game and it's cheaper
than the PS3 and has BD live (I don't really use it, but I tried it out just to see, and it seems to work well for the content available). I think the load times are very reasonable and the image is fantastic! I am fairly certain it bitstreams all of the audio (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) and it sounds like your receiver can decode both formats, so you should be good to go in that respect with this player.

[krisjan]

Originally Posted by HDPlasma

The Panasonic players are great and you get plenty of choices.
1. BD30 - discontinued but can be had for less than $300 on clearance.
This player is still supported by Panasonic and is a great player.
Provides bitstream audio
No internal decoding of audio
DVD upconverting has been vastly improved with v2.5 FW update.

I've seen reports of new BD30's selling for under $200 now.

Superecdor - you may need to act quickly before they are gone. I have this same combo (BD30/Onk605) and it is excellent. I could care less about BD Live so the BD30 does everything I need.

[fatediesel]

I have 2 ps3s and a Sony S350 and if you definitely aren't going to do any gaming I'd go with the S350. It isn't quite as fast as the PS3 but it is quieter and from my experience I've just found it to be a bit better. I like that it has a display on the player so you don't have to push a button on the controller to see how far in you are in the movie and that I can use my Harmony remote with it. Also, if you want a remote other than the ps3 controller you have to buy it separately. Still, the ps3 is a nice machine so you can't go wrong with that either.

[RubberDucky]

I would go with the PS3

[MATTYBLU2]

Originally Posted by Superecdor

I have an onkyo tx-sr 605 receiver with 5.1 cambridge soundworks satellite speakers (I may buy two more speakers to take advantage of 7.1) and a samsung HL 56" 1080p dlp tv. I'm fairly new to HD and I bought and resold a toshiba HDDVD XA2 earlier this year. Now that blu-ray has won the format wars I am going to get a blu ray player for the house within the next month. I'm looking for picture and more importantly audio. My onkyo 605 decodes dolby true hd and dts hd master and since those are the best sounding I want a blu ray player that also decodes that right? I hear the panny 55 and sony 550 decode dts hd master internally but do I need that if my receiver decodes it too? What blu ray player should I get?

wow, a setup up almost like mine. what kind of cambridge speakers do you have?

[b0bby]

Originally Posted by RubberDucky

I would go with the PS3

its the best player that does what you need as long as your receiver handles LPCM. Only 250 after you get a 150 credit when applying for a credit card from sonystyle.com also so its competitively priced with those others listed.

[arush5268d]

Originally Posted by b0bby

its the best player that does what you need as long as your receiver handles LPCM. Only 250 after you get a 150 credit when applying for a credit card from sonystyle.com also so its competitively priced with those others listed.

To have that 'competitive price' someone would have to a) want the Sony card and b) be approved. A lot of hoops to jump through just to get a player.

[Stephan.klose]

You should get the Panasonic BMD-BD 55. It bitstreams the audio fine. As with the playstation it would always say "Multichannel" even if you are watching a Disc with HD Sound. You don't want that.
Or if you don't need DIVX and all that kinda stuff you can go with the Samsung BD-P 1500. It's an excellent Player. We have it in our showroom connected to an Onkyo 606. They work perfectly together.
The only advantage of the panasonic players is that they can pb DIVX content.. I myself have the Onkyo 605 and the Samsung BD-P 1400. Since that one is no longer available you should go for the Samsung BD-P 1500 or if you wanna spend more the 2500 (which can Playback regular DVD's better.. because the other thing it has, the 7.1 analogue output you don't need since you don't have an old receiver)..
But for godsakes.. Don't go with the PS3.. Really.. Believe me, you will get a kick out you receiver displaying "DTS HD MASTER" .. looks a lot better than "Multichannel"..

[Rhylliam]

I went with the Sony BDP-S350, one of their newest and now firmware upgradable to 2.0. It was under $300.

I haven't spent time with a PS3, but are ANY of the "negatives" true? That it is like an oven with the heat it produces? That it is space consuming? That it is kinda loud during playback?

[jasontkelley1746]

I only have a ps3 so I can not really comment about other players, exept that I have heard from just about everyone how slow the loading times on other players are, and that is defanately not the casefor the PS3. As for the negatives of the ps3 stated above I can say mine does get hot but it has never caused a problem it is in a pretty open area, could be a problem in an enclosed cabinet. It also is a bit bulky but doesn't bother me. as for how loud it is with any kind of normal volume of audio during a movie it cannot be heard. It is much quieter than the x-box 360 I will tell you that, that thing is so loud.

[drago3451]

I started with the Sony BDP-S300 and it was great but I wanted HD-sound. I then got a PS3 because I did not want to spend a ton of Money to get the HD sound. I just ordered the Sony S550 because of a few different reasons. 1.) I spent a lot of money on my receiver that decodes the HD audio and with the PS3 all I get to see is Multi Channel accross the front of it. 2.) I am told that the sound will be better with my $1500 receiver doing the work. 3.) I want to use 1 remote for all of my equipment and have all of the functions available. 4.) I want my current DVD's to look better and I hear the S550 will do a much better job at upconverting. (side note my S300 did a better upconvert than the PS3.). Just my 2 cents I know if I saved all that money I spent on the three other players I could have gotten a really nice one. But who wants to wait. Plus at the time the PS3 was the best bang for the buck.

[rlf3911]

I got an Onkyo 805, with a PS3 as blu-ray player. It's awesomeness. Being able to surf the internet from the PS3, as well as play games like Rock Band when we have friends/family over is bad ass.

[krisjan]

Originally Posted by Stephan.klose

You should get the Panasonic BMD-BD 55. It bitstreams the audio fine.

There's no reason for the OP to pay the extra dollars for the BD55. If he is going with one of the new Panasonic players, then the Panny BD35 would be ideal since his AVR will do the decoding. The PQ bewteen the two players is identical. The BD30 is an even better bargain while they are still available as long as BD Live is not important to him.