Repair broken player or buy a new one?

[J. J. Hunsecker]

My Sony BDP-S300 just died a few nights ago, after only two and a half years. (It was too young; the good Lord took it before its time!) If I could get it repaired cheaply then everything would be fine, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Sony says it'll cost me probably $133 to repair, not including the shipping costs, if I send it to their repair shop in Texas. Though it might be cheaper to look closer to home, I don't know if I'd trust a local electronics repair shop with a BD player, either. (Usually you have to leave a non-refundable deposit of around $70, too.) I'm thinking I might be better off just buying a new player, maybe one with newer and better upgrades?

My criteria for a new player would be: image quality, upscaling of SD DVDs, easy upgrades via internet, and possibly REGION FREE! I don't play video games or listen to SACDs. Streaming videos by Netflix would be nice, but it's not necessary.

The ones I've been thinking about are:

Sherwood BDP-5004 -- it's inexpensive and multi-region. I'd love to own some region B Blu-rays I've had my eye on. Unfortunately, I've read that the player is noisy and switching regions is a hassle.

Oppo BDP-80 -- $300 is the max that I want to spend, and this highly rated player just makes it under that amount. I've heard that this player is also region free. Anyone know if that is true?

Sony PS3 Slim (120 GB) -- Heard good things about this player, and it's fast loading time. I don't play video games, though. Also, it's not region free.

Panasonic DMP-BD60 -- This one is advertised as a region free version of the BD60.

I've also read good things about LG BD370 and BD570.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by J. J. Hunsecker

My Sony BDP-S300 just died a few nights ago, after only two and a half years. (It was too young; the good Lord took it before its time!) If I could get it repaired cheaply then everything would be fine, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Sony says it'll cost me probably $133 to repair, not including the shipping costs, if I send it to their repair shop in Texas. Though it might be cheaper to look closer to home, I don't know if I'd trust a local electronics repair shop with a BD player, either. (Usually you have to leave a non-refundable deposit of around $70, too.) I'm thinking I might be better off just buying a new player, maybe one with newer and better upgrades?

My criteria for a new player would be: image quality, upscaling of SD DVDs, easy upgrades via internet, and possibly REGION FREE! I don't play video games or listen to SACDs. Streaming videos by Netflix would be nice, but it's not necessary.

The ones I've been thinking about are:

Sherwood BDP-5004 -- it's inexpensive and multi-region. I'd love to own some region B Blu-rays I've had my eye on. Unfortunately, I've read that the player is noisy and switching regions is a hassle.

Oppo BDP-80 -- $300 is the max that I want to spend, and this highly rated player just makes it under that amount. I've heard that this player is also region free. Anyone know if that is true?

Sony PS3 Slim (120 GB) -- Heard good things about this player, and it's fast loading time. I don't play video games, though. Also, it's not region free.

Panasonic DMP-BD60 -- This one is advertised as a region free version of the BD60.

I've also read good things about LG BD370 and BD570.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I was going to recommend the Oppo BDP-80 before I finished reading your post. I'm not positive, but I believe it can be modified easily to be region free (or so I've read).

[Blu Titan]

I would not consider repairing the S300 under any circumstances. If you want a standalone player, then (from the choices given), I would go with the Oppo.

[davidp71]

I would just go and buy a new player. Sony has a new line being released next week. Samsung has a new line now available and LG's new line is also now available online and at Best Buy stores.

[JB2K]

Originally Posted by J. J. Hunsecker

Sony says it'll cost me probably $133 to repair, not including the shipping costs, if I send it to their repair shop in Texas.

For that price, I'd go for a Sony BDP-S360 -- they run about $139-$149 plus tax (and may go lower in the next month or so as stores like Target will clearance them out to make room for Sony's next gen player).

[Moefiz]

I wouldn't repair the S300, you can get the S360 right now for about 160.00 with alot more features than the S300...

[Link]

The S360 is on Amazon.com for $126.34.

I'm not sure if it's a GREAT player, but since it was mentioned here as an option, I thought i'd let you know the great price I saw on amazon.com today.

I have an S300 - have had it for two years now and I love it - but with all the new options available, and upgrades, I will be getting a BDP-S570 as soon as it's released. For the price of the repair, it's just not worth replacing when a new player isn't much more expensive than the repair itself.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Originally Posted by JB2K

For that price, I'd go for a Sony BDP-S360 -- they run about $139-$149 plus tax (and may go lower in the next month or so as stores like Target will clearance them out to make room for Sony's next gen player).

Originally Posted by Moefiz

I wouldn't repair the S300, you can get the S360 right now for about 160.00 with alot more features than the S300...

Originally Posted by Link

The S360 is on Amazon.com for $126.34.

I'm not sure if it's a GREAT player, but since it was mentioned here as an option, I thought i'd let you know the great price I saw on amazon.com today.

I have an S300 - have had it for two years now and I love it - but with all the new options available, and upgrades, I will be getting a BDP-S570 as soon as it's released. For the price of the repair, it's just not worth replacing when a new player isn't much more expensive than the repair itself.

Thanks for all your advice and help, but I'm going to skip the low end Sony products from now on. Just researching some of the user reviews on the S360, from Consumer Reports and Amazon, shows that is has the same problems my S300 had.

[Blu Jedi Master]

I would go with the Oppo, but it does not have netflix and you have to mod it to go region free, but that voids the warranty. I here people complain about the fan noise on the PS3s when watching a movie.