please help with options - Blu-ray Forum

CD82 · 07-25-2009, 02:51 AM

ok ive been looking at blu ray players and looking to buy one. within the next week or so ive wanted one for a while. i was at best buy tonight and noticed the samsung 1500 is 199 in store. the guy told me the load times on this player are fast. he also said it does not have internal memory for blu ray live. you whould need to use a flash drive or external hard drive. im new to the blu ray picture. whats blu ray live?

also he said if you have the wireless dongle you could stream pics an movies. to the player from the computer but it whould only play blu ray or dvd format. so if you have some movies of yours on the pc in dvd format it could stream and play them correct?

so is this player ok

what about the phillips player for 199 at wally world how is it? can you conenct a hard drive to it via usb?

what about say like the sonys

im into the wireless thing so thats a plus to me

wal mart has a samsung 1590 for like 239 i think is it any good?

my phillips dvd player owns i whouldnt have anythign different

i hear best buy has a pioneere for 149 an it has really nice pciture on it

so some help here whould be thankful

crackinhedz · 07-25-2009, 03:38 AM

You can take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I have heard more horror story's from owners of Samsung players more than just about any other brand.

When it comes to good reliable entry level players I would look into Sony BDP-S350/360 or Panasonic DMP-BD35.

BD Live is a feature I NEVER use...im not into the extra stuff, I just like watching the movie only. So my opinion on this feature is bias.

As for wireless internet connection, this is also a very nice feature included with some players. I have a PS3 with wi-fi, it is extremely convenient. But I would not take a suspect player with wi-fi over a reliable player with a wired connection. My $.02

rdodolak · 07-25-2009, 03:48 AM

I don't own the 1500 so I can't speak from first hand knowledge but according to the review thread the 1500 has slow load times.

The PS3 or OPPO BDP-83 have the fastest load timea]s so if load times are your number one concern those may be your best bet. Do you have a budget you'd like to stay within? Is Netflix streaming one of your requirements?

You can find review threads for some of the different players via this link:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=84191

CD82 · 07-25-2009, 04:07 AM

yeah budget is about 250 270 or so could go a little more if needed whould just have to save. netflix ive never used it i hear good stuff the wireless isnt a nessasity. i could always unplug the xbox 360 an all that when im not using it. i thought more or less id go with a sony

so what about the sony 350 are they decent can u hook a hard drive up to them or flash drive? load times im not too worried about as long as it dont take an hour for the movie to load. and ive noticed amazon has good prices. on like the the sony 360 ive noticed they have nice prices im not scared to order from the net

crackinhedz · 07-25-2009, 04:40 AM

I have a Sony BDP-S350, and it is a great player. Has a menu navigation similar to the PS3 XMB and its almost as fast load times as my PS3. Notice I said "almost".

You can use a USB flash drive for BD Live.

Although like I said, I do not use BD Live feature, so I do not have any flash drive connected to mine.

rdodolak · 07-25-2009, 04:46 AM

The BDP-S360 replaced the S350 and while both can bitstream TrueHD and DTS-MA as far as I'm aware the S350 can only internally decode TrueHD (S360 can internally decode both audio formats). This would only be an issue if the receiver you have can't decode the newer lossless audio formats. The S350 may be harder to find and the S360 has a new Quick Start feature to reduce load time. Therefore if it were me I'd go with the S360.

The S560 which will be released next month has both WiFi and ethernet while the S360 only has an ethernet port. As far as I can tell neither of these players come with USB Flash memory (although it supports it) hence you'd have to spend a bit extra to buy a memory stick in order to use the BD-Live feature.

The Sony players are a solid choice and every Sony player I've had has been reliable. Plus, I like the Xross Media Bar that Sony is using on its newer products.

I noticed Amazon is selling the S360 for ~$217 which isn't a bad price. You can also check out the following sites:

http://www.vanns.com
http://www.abt.com
http://www.6ave.com

Each is an authorized online dealer however if you call the stores most of the time they can offer you a better price than what's listed online.

I'm sure others will chime in with their preferences.

CD82 · 07-25-2009, 05:19 AM

i can get the 350 at best buy and wallly world. but the 360 yes amazon has a nice price. they also have a nice price on the surround sound system i want. a sony one with 3 hdmi ports

rdodolak · 07-25-2009, 06:26 AM

Here's a link to Secrets' review of the S350. The benchmark is interesting as the HDMI output only scored 68%. I'd be curious if any of the later firmware releases fixed the areas that failed. It doesn't look like they have a review yet for the S360.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/blu-r...k-review-.html

djc11369 · 07-25-2009, 12:15 PM

Sony just came out with an update for the S360 that allows you to hook up a WD 320GB usb hard drive, previously it was only a flash drive. It only supports a particular drive so not sure if another would work or not. I don't really know what you would need it for at this point, BD Live is pretty lame on everything I've viewed so far.

CD82 · 07-25-2009, 03:55 PM

all the hard drives i have are bigger i got a WD 500 gig and a wd 1tb.

also another question i have can you stream stuff. off of a network an watch it over lan on the players.

djc11369 · 07-25-2009, 06:38 PM

The S360 doesn't stream, at least not at this point. Maybe that will be an addition later down the road who knows. The Samsung's stream from Netflix but I don't think they will stream from your own personal collection if that's what your thinking. I owned a Samsung, if you decide to go that route all I can say is good luck and I'll leave it at that. It sounds like you might be better served by building an HTPC but your budget would need to be increased.

rdodolak · 07-25-2009, 06:58 PM

As djc stated the S360 doesn't support streaming as of now. The S560 has the dlna capability but only supports streaming photo files at the moment.

Here's a blurb from Sony support site on the use of external hard drives:

Quote:

This firmware update enables the use of the Western Digital My Passport™ Essential™ 320GB portable hard drive (model WDME3200) for BD-Live functions.

Use of this hard drive with the Blu-ray Disc player is intended only for BD-Live functions.
Sony cannot guarantee that other external USB hard drives will support the BD-Live functions.

It's a standard response, but I wouldn't be surprised it other hard drives work with the player. However, the hard drive is only good for BD-Live functions.

CD82 · 07-25-2009, 11:55 PM

i have thought about building a HTPC or a meadia center pc. an yes the budget whould be increased some. i could buy a blu ray drive a case and a power supply an use this p4 server mb i have. but i have enough computer stuff as it is. as for streaming movies an stuff i have another way i can use the xbox 360. so i think i will buy the Sony blu ray 360

djc11369 · 07-26-2009, 01:15 AM

Quote:

so i think i will buy the Sony blu ray 360

That's an excellent choice, not that I'm biased or anything.

CD82 · 07-26-2009, 03:08 AM

has anyone used amazons free shipping meathod? it says it takes 5 to 9 days for the item to get here. does it really take that long all the other shipping methods coast. i know its 217.99 at amazon the sony 360 is

if i got it in the stores here it whould be 270$ after tax so id be saving but waiting

so im trying to decide

djc11369 · 07-26-2009, 03:18 AM

It always ships faster than they say in my experiences but you can't complain if it doesn't. For me I can wait a few days to save ~$50 and use that money toward a cable, movie or something else.

rdodolak · 07-26-2009, 03:24 AM

It depends on several factors, but yes it can take that long. It will depend on which distribution center it ships from and proximity you are from that center as well as the shipping service Amazon uses. I'm guessing it'll be shipped by either UPS or FedEx but Amazon will probably use a slower service level which will be cheaper.

Have you tried Amazon Prime yet? If not you can always sign up for the free one-month trial and select the do not renew option after signing up. Free two-day shipping or $3.99 1-day shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/subs/primec...gnup/main.html

or check out this thread on how to potentially get a free 3-month trial (you'll need to read the whole thread).

CD82 · 07-26-2009, 03:51 AM

i can get it from tigerdirect free shippin 219 3 to 7 days

CD82 · 07-26-2009, 04:17 AM

ok i orderd it from amazon free method so i cant wait till it gets here.

a funny thing what got me started on this blu ray stuff. i work at an apartment complex as mainteance an its a college property.

so one day we were walking units an came across an empty apartment. the guy had just left so we tired ot get ahold of him. and couldnt we kept his items for 30 days. we called all contact numbers we had for the guy an notta.

so we stored his stuff for 30 days as the lease policy states an law states.

well 30 days was up an i was told to "Trash It" so i was going thorugh it all.
and i found a samsung blu ray player box taped up. it had some weight to it so im like yess. i open it an there were 5 blu ray dvds in it but no player. the dvds are still wrapped up. also i mac i book laptop a dell optiplex p4 a tv an some other junk. anyways the dell and the mac ibook an the blu rays are mine lol. so yeah thats what got me started heh anyway

i want to say thanks for all who has helped and there info im sure ill post here more.

07-25-2009, 02:51 AM	#1
CD82 Member Member since:Mar 2009 Blu-ray collection:10	please help with options ok ive been looking at blu ray players and looking to buy one. within the next week or so ive wanted one for a while. i was at best buy tonight and noticed the samsung 1500 is 199 in store. the guy told me the load times on this player are fast. he also said it does not have internal memory for blu ray live. you whould need to use a flash drive or external hard drive. im new to the blu ray picture. whats blu ray live? also he said if you have the wireless dongle you could stream pics an movies. to the player from the computer but it whould only play blu ray or dvd format. so if you have some movies of yours on the pc in dvd format it could stream and play them correct? so is this player ok what about the phillips player for 199 at wally world how is it? can you conenct a hard drive to it via usb? what about say like the sonys im into the wireless thing so thats a plus to me wal mart has a samsung 1590 for like 239 i think is it any good? my phillips dvd player owns i whouldnt have anythign different i hear best buy has a pioneere for 149 an it has really nice pciture on it so some help here whould be thankful

07-25-2009, 04:46 AM	#6
rdodolak Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 4K collection:880 Blu-ray collection:3733 DVD collection:939 MA collection:338 Digital collection:1099 iTunes collection:75 Prime collection:11 Trading Score:20	The BDP-S360 replaced the S350 and while both can bitstream TrueHD and DTS-MA as far as I'm aware the S350 can only internally decode TrueHD (S360 can internally decode both audio formats). This would only be an issue if the receiver you have can't decode the newer lossless audio formats. The S350 may be harder to find and the S360 has a new Quick Start feature to reduce load time. Therefore if it were me I'd go with the S360. The S560 which will be released next month has both WiFi and ethernet while the S360 only has an ethernet port. As far as I can tell neither of these players come with USB Flash memory (although it supports it) hence you'd have to spend a bit extra to buy a memory stick in order to use the BD-Live feature. The Sony players are a solid choice and every Sony player I've had has been reliable. Plus, I like the Xross Media Bar that Sony is using on its newer products. I noticed Amazon is selling the S360 for ~$217 which isn't a bad price. You can also check out the following sites: http://www.vanns.com http://www.abt.com http://www.6ave.com Each is an authorized online dealer however if you call the stores most of the time they can offer you a better price than what's listed online. I'm sure others will chime in with their preferences. Last edited by rdodolak; 07-25-2009 at 04:53 AM.

07-25-2009, 06:26 AM	#8
rdodolak Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 4K collection:880 Blu-ray collection:3733 DVD collection:939 MA collection:338 Digital collection:1099 iTunes collection:75 Prime collection:11 Trading Score:20	Here's a link to Secrets' review of the S350. The benchmark is interesting as the HDMI output only scored 68%. I'd be curious if any of the later firmware releases fixed the areas that failed. It doesn't look like they have a review yet for the S360. http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/blu-r...k-review-.html Last edited by rdodolak; 07-25-2009 at 06:29 AM.

07-25-2009, 03:55 PM	#10
CD82 Member Member since:Mar 2009 Blu-ray collection:10	all the hard drives i have are bigger i got a WD 500 gig and a wd 1tb. also another question i have can you stream stuff. off of a network an watch it over lan on the players. Last edited by CD82; 07-25-2009 at 04:04 PM.

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07-25-2009, 03:38 AM	#2
crackinhedz Super Moderator Member since:Feb 2007 Home Theater Gallery:10 Blu-ray reviews:8 Trading Score:19	You can take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I have heard more horror story's from owners of Samsung players more than just about any other brand. When it comes to good reliable entry level players I would look into Sony BDP-S350/360 or Panasonic DMP-BD35. BD Live is a feature I NEVER use...im not into the extra stuff, I just like watching the movie only. So my opinion on this feature is bias. As for wireless internet connection, this is also a very nice feature included with some players. I have a PS3 with wi-fi, it is extremely convenient. But I would not take a suspect player with wi-fi over a reliable player with a wired connection. My $.02

07-25-2009, 03:48 AM	#3
rdodolak Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 4K collection:880 Blu-ray collection:3733 DVD collection:939 MA collection:338 Digital collection:1099 iTunes collection:75 Prime collection:11 Trading Score:20	I don't own the 1500 so I can't speak from first hand knowledge but according to the review thread the 1500 has slow load times. The PS3 or OPPO BDP-83 have the fastest load timea]s so if load times are your number one concern those may be your best bet. Do you have a budget you'd like to stay within? Is Netflix streaming one of your requirements? You can find review threads for some of the different players via this link: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=84191

07-25-2009, 04:07 AM	#4
CD82 Member Member since:Mar 2009 Blu-ray collection:10	yeah budget is about 250 270 or so could go a little more if needed whould just have to save. netflix ive never used it i hear good stuff the wireless isnt a nessasity. i could always unplug the xbox 360 an all that when im not using it. i thought more or less id go with a sony so what about the sony 350 are they decent can u hook a hard drive up to them or flash drive? load times im not too worried about as long as it dont take an hour for the movie to load. and ive noticed amazon has good prices. on like the the sony 360 ive noticed they have nice prices im not scared to order from the net

07-25-2009, 04:40 AM	#5
crackinhedz Super Moderator Member since:Feb 2007 Home Theater Gallery:10 Blu-ray reviews:8 Trading Score:19	I have a Sony BDP-S350, and it is a great player. Has a menu navigation similar to the PS3 XMB and its almost as fast load times as my PS3. Notice I said "almost". You can use a USB flash drive for BD Live. Although like I said, I do not use BD Live feature, so I do not have any flash drive connected to mine.

07-25-2009, 05:19 AM	#7
CD82 Member Member since:Mar 2009 Blu-ray collection:10	i can get the 350 at best buy and wallly world. but the 360 yes amazon has a nice price. they also have a nice price on the surround sound system i want. a sony one with 3 hdmi ports

07-25-2009, 12:15 PM	#9
djc11369 Active Member Member since:Apr 2009 Location:NY	Sony just came out with an update for the S360 that allows you to hook up a WD 320GB usb hard drive, previously it was only a flash drive. It only supports a particular drive so not sure if another would work or not. I don't really know what you would need it for at this point, BD Live is pretty lame on everything I've viewed so far.

07-25-2009, 06:38 PM	#11
djc11369 Active Member Member since:Apr 2009 Location:NY	The S360 doesn't stream, at least not at this point. Maybe that will be an addition later down the road who knows. The Samsung's stream from Netflix but I don't think they will stream from your own personal collection if that's what your thinking. I owned a Samsung, if you decide to go that route all I can say is good luck and I'll leave it at that. It sounds like you might be better served by building an HTPC but your budget would need to be increased.

07-25-2009, 11:55 PM	#13
CD82 Member Member since:Mar 2009 Blu-ray collection:10	i have thought about building a HTPC or a meadia center pc. an yes the budget whould be increased some. i could buy a blu ray drive a case and a power supply an use this p4 server mb i have. but i have enough computer stuff as it is. as for streaming movies an stuff i have another way i can use the xbox 360. so i think i will buy the Sony blu ray 360

07-26-2009, 03:08 AM	#15
CD82 Member Member since:Mar 2009 Blu-ray collection:10	has anyone used amazons free shipping meathod? it says it takes 5 to 9 days for the item to get here. does it really take that long all the other shipping methods coast. i know its 217.99 at amazon the sony 360 is if i got it in the stores here it whould be 270$ after tax so id be saving but waiting so im trying to decide

07-26-2009, 03:18 AM	#16
djc11369 Active Member Member since:Apr 2009 Location:NY	It always ships faster than they say in my experiences but you can't complain if it doesn't. For me I can wait a few days to save ~$50 and use that money toward a cable, movie or something else.

07-26-2009, 03:24 AM	#17
rdodolak Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 4K collection:880 Blu-ray collection:3733 DVD collection:939 MA collection:338 Digital collection:1099 iTunes collection:75 Prime collection:11 Trading Score:20	It depends on several factors, but yes it can take that long. It will depend on which distribution center it ships from and proximity you are from that center as well as the shipping service Amazon uses. I'm guessing it'll be shipped by either UPS or FedEx but Amazon will probably use a slower service level which will be cheaper. Have you tried Amazon Prime yet? If not you can always sign up for the free one-month trial and select the do not renew option after signing up. Free two-day shipping or $3.99 1-day shipping. http://www.amazon.com/gp/subs/primec...gnup/main.html or check out this thread on how to potentially get a free 3-month trial (you'll need to read the whole thread).

07-26-2009, 03:51 AM	#18
CD82 Member Member since:Mar 2009 Blu-ray collection:10	i can get it from tigerdirect free shippin 219 3 to 7 days

07-26-2009, 04:17 AM	#19
CD82 Member Member since:Mar 2009 Blu-ray collection:10	ok i orderd it from amazon free method so i cant wait till it gets here. a funny thing what got me started on this blu ray stuff. i work at an apartment complex as mainteance an its a college property. so one day we were walking units an came across an empty apartment. the guy had just left so we tired ot get ahold of him. and couldnt we kept his items for 30 days. we called all contact numbers we had for the guy an notta. so we stored his stuff for 30 days as the lease policy states an law states. well 30 days was up an i was told to "Trash It" so i was going thorugh it all. and i found a samsung blu ray player box taped up. it had some weight to it so im like yess. i open it an there were 5 blu ray dvds in it but no player. the dvds are still wrapped up. also i mac i book laptop a dell optiplex p4 a tv an some other junk. anyways the dell and the mac ibook an the blu rays are mine lol. so yeah thats what got me started heh anyway i want to say thanks for all who has helped and there info im sure ill post here more.

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