questions and ideas

[CD82]

ok i have some questions about blu ray players and some small home entertainment systems.

ive got about 400$ to spend on a blu ray player an surround sound setup.

ive had my eye on the Sony BDP-S350 at wally for 298$. i see they are sold out alot of the times. so it must mean they are worth the buy. im also looking at the Philips Blu-ray Player - BDP7200 at target for 229$.

im trying to decide which one i should buy im leaning more and more towards the sony. because of the cat 5 cable uplink for updating an stuff.

or ive got an option to buy a nice phillips dvd home theater set up 1000 watts. for 189$ and ive set an listned to it and ive turned it up to like lvl 10 an lelves of 35 even. the level 10 sounded loud 35 was very loud i think this set up has a wonderful sound. but the only way i can seem to find it is with a dvd. i cant seem to find the set up alone an i think it whould be kind of pointless. to buy it with a dvd player and then having a blu ray player also. if i did this i whould buy the phillips blu ray player.

ive had other dvd players in the passed. and bought a phillips 3 years ago an wore it out lol. so i bought a nother one an then turned right around and bought one more.

ive seen the Sony HT-SS2300 Blu-ray Disc™ Matching Component Home Theater System at local stores they want 500$ for it an are always sold out.

this system also sounds terrific as well an i whould love to have it. ive found it a few plces online but they are always out of it. or dont carry it anymore but i think it sounds great.

any tips and suggestions whould be great

[SammyG]

I'd wait until the new Sony BDP-S360 comes out. In the meantime you might want to shop around for a higher quality HTIB. There is a ton of online retailers that offer decent equiptment for low prices. Don't limit yourself to big name stores and there so called rollback prices, you could do better elsewhere for sure.

[CD82]

well sammy what suggestions do ya have and where to look for online. for HTIB?? the one im looking at the sony is it not any good or?

[SammyG]

HTIB= home theater in a box, I would check newegg.com they have a ton of systems that would suit your needs perfectly!

[CD82]

yeah i understood what it ment ty though. ive found the Sony HT-SS2300 on amazon an not a bad price. ive checked newegg they kind of did me shady on a video card. for this pc i built so i dont mess with them much. and tigerdirect started adding a tax. charge here in texeas because they have a store here now.


and the only HTIB at newegg that i see that might be decent is the pioneer. but im not a fan of there products at all to be honest

[SammyG]

Yeah its always better to check online first, I've made the mistake of not doing that and regretted it. Also check your local craigslist for used equiptment, you might be able to piece yourself a pretty nice system together.

[CD82]

so when is the Sony BDP-S360 expected to be here ? an whats some info on it ?

[SammyG]

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/s...-new-bd-htibs/

[CD82]

yeah that says this summer that could mean in august lol. i dont see a specific date. didnt really want to wait that long on the player but it seems nice.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

HTIB tend to give you very little in the way of quality range in speaker output. I'd put that money aside and save up about $1000 to $1500 to get your speaker money's worth. You'll be able to get 1000x better quality and a dedicated receiver unit for that price. Trust me, it would make more than a world of difference.

[SammyG]

I think I read May somewhere else? If your router is near where your tv is, the bdp-s350 will do you fine. If not you'll have to download the firmware and hook your player back up. Thats why I recommended the s360 because of the wi-fi.

[SammyG]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

HTIB tend to give you very little in the way of quality range in speaker output. I'd put that money aside and save up about $1000 to $1500 to get your speaker money's worth. You'll be able to get 1000x better quality and a dedicated receiver unit for that price. Trust me, it would make more than a world of difference.

I agree 100%, but if its not in your budget, you'll have to settle for the HTIB.

[Johnny Vinyl]

A $400 budget for what you want to get is nearly impossible. At least not for anything of even entry-level quality. I would strongly suggest NOT giong the HTiB route as you will only be disappointed within a few weeks/months. You'll want to upgrade then and trust me, you won't be able to sell the HTiB! So that's $200 thrown out the window right there.

This is what I would do! Save up another $200 for a total budget of $600. Buy a Blu-ray player, an entry-level 5.1 AVR and 2 bookshelf speakers. A good/better 2-channel system will kick the s*** out of a crappy HTiB anyday!

John

PS: Also check the Trading Forums here....One guy just sold an ONKYO 605 for $250.

[CD82]

well the router whould be like 2 feet from the player sammy. and i whouldnt mind using the usb port eaither. to do the updates but as far as surround sound goes. i kinda think id be happy with the one i had mentioned in the first post. the Sony HT-SS2300 i think it whould make me happy i have a small room. so i think the sound whould be perfect for me

[Kai Winters]

There are not many complaints or problems with any of the lower end blu-ray dvd players so the Sony 350 is great, I have no problems with mine. I got mine for $200 so imo spending over $200 for it is not a good buy...$300 is its' normal retail price.

If you plan to spend $200 or less for a htib and enjoy the sound then that is the way to go for you. However on forums such as this that sort of audio is no better than using the speakers that come with the tv...not very good for "high fidelity".

It also depends on what you want from the HT experience, etc. My wife is perfectly happy with just the tv's speakers...no complaints at all...whereas I want the best experience possible for my budget. While she loves our system it would not bother her to not have the audio portion.

The 1K to $1500 starting budget is a very good estimate and will give a very good experience. You are much better served in the long run by saving your money, starting slowly with one piece at a time, ie fronts, etc., shopping, negotiating and buying wisely. If not you may wind up with gear that does not satisfy you and wind up spending more in the long run...the voice, as many others will attest to...of experience here lol.

Good luck and keep us informed.

[primaz]

I was set on waiting for the new Panasonic BD80 that replaced the BD55 which list for about $499 but will likely be around $400 online but I've been reading up on the new OPPO player the BD83 as it has better specifications than any other player I have seen and it plays DVD's at impressive quality. http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-b...-Features.aspx I called them as they are local to my area and they guy told me it should be released towards the end of this month! he guess was around $500?

I think this player is worth the extra money to stretch your budget as it will provide the best DVD output and the best blu ray for anything near this price. To me it seems that it provides specs comprable to a much more expensive blu ray player; kind of like the Outlaw Audio for DVD and blu ray players

[Pinto]

im also looking at the Philips Blu-ray Player - BDP7200 at target for 229$.

If money is really tight you might want to check further into the Phillips 7200. I've had one for 10 months and my only gripe (some problems with TruHD) seem to be handled by their new firmware update.

Also, I agree with John72953 about starting with a couple of decent bookshelf speakers instead of HTIB. Those bookshelf speakers can end up becoming your side surrounds, then your rear surrounds as you go through the uprade process (it WILL happen ).