Which blu ray player would you recommend in this set-up?

[q5485]

Someone posed a similar question in another thread and I did not want to hijack the thread, so I thought I would start a new one.
I have the following currently in my av setup:
Sony ruby projector
Pansonic viero plasma
marantz sr 7002 (check out http://us.marantz.com/Products/2205.asp)

The one thing that is missing is a blu ray dvd player. I have not used my marantz sr 7002 to its full potential. It has 2 hdmi outs (one for the projector and one for the plasma) and I think that should do the trick for me. However, I don't know which blu ray to get.
Recently marantz came up with a blu ray player but that costs 2k. Here is the link to that:
http://us.marantz.com/Products/2393.asp
I wonder if it is necessary to spend 2k for a blu ray player with a set up like this. Do you have any recommendations for a blu-ray player, given my receiver's capabilities?
Many thanks in advance.

[crackinhedz]

well depending on how much you feel like spending and weather "BD Live" means anything to you....but here is a list of players (most not out just yet) that would be worth getting at a reasonable price that would work well with your Marantz.

Sony BDP-S350
Sony BDP-S550

Panasonic DMP-BD30
Panasonic DMP-BD50

Pioneer BDP-05FD
Pioneer BDP-51FD

[q5485]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

well depending on how much you feel like spending and weather "BD Live" means anything to you....but here is a list of players (most not out just yet) that would be worth getting at a reasonable price that would work well with your Marantz.

Sony BDP-S350
Sony BDP-S550

Panasonic DMP-BD30
Panasonic DMP-BD50

Pioneer BDP-05FD
Pioneer BDP-51FD

Thanks for the recommendations. Should I be concerned about BR profiles? Can they be easily updated with a firm-ware? My preference is to spend a big chunk of money now and not worry about it for several years. I do understand that obsolescence is very common in today's electronics, but I am willing to pay (slightly more) money to avoid being obsolete and being regretful later. It is easy to convince the wife that I need to spend a sum of money now than to make the same request every other year. I am sure some married guys are in a similar boat.
Thanks once again.

[crackinhedz]

some BD players may be capable of updates to improve Profile. If you want a BD player than will always be up to standards than consider a PS3.

But as far as stand alone the list I made are pretty good...for full profile 2.0 player look at the Panasonic BD50 which is already out or the Sony BDP-S550 which will be coming out later.

[airkitty]

Nice set up so far. I also have the 7002 receiver and have enjoyed it alot. I decided to use the Panasonic BD30. The receiver is capable of the decode for bitstream HD audio and does an excellent job at this task. The BD30 is upgradeable via downloads from Panasonic and burning a CD. While this is not as easy as plugging the PS3 from Sony into my router, I enjoy the audio bitstream of the BD30 enough to compensate for the very minor inconvenience. The BD30 has been wonderful for me for 7 months and the 7002 for longer than that. I can recommend this combo with a clear conscious. Good luck shopping and let us know what you end up buying.