Please don't hurt me!

[Kayne314]

Okay. Here goes.

I know I'm not going to be popular here, but I'm hoping to appeal to your better nature before someone rips my head off.

I'm really curious about Blu-Ray, and I want to talk to someone that actually owns a stand alone player, not a PS3.(I don't want a PS3. I don't like the looks of the PS3. I want a stand alone player.)
If that's not enough reason to hate me, then you'll really flip over this one...
I already own an HD DVD player and I love it.(Toshiba A20)

The reason for my post is that I have enough love to go around. I'm tired of missing out on 50% of the titles I want. Therefore I'm looking to get myself a Blu-Ray player so I can enjoy both formats, and ride it out until there is a winner, and I can get all my titles on the superior format.( or if there is no winner at least I wont miss out on anything.)

I LOVE HD movies. In fact, I think I'm addicted. My HD DVD player merely whetted my appetite for more titles. Ratattoullie and Cars will be MUST own titles. So, now I deeply desire a Blu-Ray Player too.

My questions are as follows:

1) How are the load times? Do the load times differ from player to player? From full off, to playing the movie how long should it take?

2) Have you had ANY compatibility issues with a certain brand of player or movie title? Are there fixes?(ie. firmware updates that have helped.)

3) Price is an issue for me, so how much should I be setting aside to get the best player out there? (Meaning the best player for the dollar.)

4) If anyone else out there has both formats, how have you found navigating through the menus of each? How do the special features on the disks compare?

I would like to make the best purchase possible, and be an educated consumer when it comes time to buy my Blu-Ray player. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Please don't think of me as being in the HD DVD camp, or confuse me with HD DVD fanboys. I just LOVE High Definition movie's picture and sound quality. I don't want to miss out on what either has to offer.

P.S.
Sorry to the PS3 users out there. No offense toward your player or you. I just REALLY don't like the way it looks. I'm not a fan of any gaming console. They all look like ugly bricks to me.

[DealsR4theDevil]

well you said price is a factor for u and the PS3 is the best quality Blu-ray player our there under 1k, not to mention it is the only blu-ray player that will be able to support PIP with a firmware update. i would be more conscerned with the look of the movie than the look of the player.

[Kayne314]

Can't I have both? I just want something that looks nice in my home Theater setup, And has a great picture.
I've seen both PQ's of the HD DVD and Blu-Ray. They are the exact same PQ. If all I was concerned about was how good the image looked. I'd just stick exclusive to the HD DVD player. It looks good, and gives me a stunning picture.

I desire the Blu-Ray for it's titles, but I don't want a brick that doesn't match my home decor.

How can it be that the 1K player isn't as good as the PS3??? ( though I have to admit, the 1K player is out of my price range)

[kaliraver]

Originally Posted by Kayne314

Can't I have both? I just want something that looks nice in my home Theater setup, And has a great picture.
I've seen both PQ's of the HD DVD and Blu-Ray. They are the exact same PQ. If all I was concerned about was how good the image looked. I'd just stick exclusive to the HD DVD player. It looks good, and gives me a stunning picture.

I desire the Blu-Ray for it's titles, but I don't want a brick that doesn't match my home decor.

How can it be that the 1K player isn't as good as the PS3??? ( though I have to admit, the 1K player is out of my price range)

You could still get a solid player and that looks good. If you like the Toshiba HD-DVD players believe me that the Sony & Samsung players will look way more aesthetic than that.

Sony:


Samsung:

[gamer4eva]

welcome mate

i understand dat u don't like gaming consoles but da PS3 is da best blu-ray player out there and i don't think it looks ugly compared to other gaming consoles and with da new 40Gb PS3 dat is the cheapest bluray player yet i don't think u'll get a better deal and u can also puchase the bluray player remote so it wont feel like a gaming console

Trust me mate the PS3 is the best one out dere and u won't be dissapointed with your purchase

[kaliraver]

Originally Posted by gamer4eva

welcome mate

i understand dat u don't like gaming consoles but da PS3 is da best blu-ray player out there and i don't think it looks ugly compared to other gaming consoles and with da new 40Gb PS3 dat is the cheapest bluray player yet i don't think u'll get a better deal and u can also puchase the bluray player remote so it wont feel like a gaming console

Trust me mate the PS3 is the best one out dere and u won't be dissapointed with your purchase

True that, thats why I purchased one.

[supersix4]

search button top cat and welcome ... their are tons of threads that have been broken down by the people here so that it's an easy choice just gotta search in the us the 999.99 sony now sells for around 500

[stockstar1138]

nobody is going to hate you. were all blu-brothers and will be glad to welcome you into our family. im sorry though, i cannot help you as im a ps3 owner and really could not answer your questions as well as others on this forum. i do know that load times are between 30 seconds and a minute maybe a little longer, ps3 seriously loads in 2 seconds, but i know you don't want that, which is cool, its not for everybody. stay away from the combo players as they will give you disc playback problems for a lot of things i here. thats all i can really give you.

[kaliraver]

Welcome to the forum and believe me everyone plays nice here for the most part (this isn't AVM$). In regards to your question I can probably help you out with a couple even though I do own a PS3 as my main Blu-Ray player. As far as a stand alone player I would either look at a Sony BDP-S300 or a Samsung BD-P1400 both go for about $439 on Amazon with free shipping and I have heard nothing but good stuff on both. The advantage to the Samsung is that it can decode DTS-HDMA with the new firmware that came out for it and I think its the only Blu-Ray player that is currently capable of doing so. The Sony is very good as well and really haven't heard anything negative about it but have heard a lot of good things about it.

I do know that the LG & Samsung BD players had issues with the new Fox releases but they work with no problem now since they have released an actual firmware upgrade from LG & Samsung older BD players. I will let other people chime in here that actually own these stand alones and hope you'll be here for a long time coming.

[Kayne314]

Originally Posted by kaliraver69

As far as a stand alone player I would either look at a Sony BDP-S300 or a Samsung BD-P1400 both go for about $439 on Amazon with free shipping and I have heard nothing but good stuff on both. The advantage to the Samsung is that it can decode DTS-HDMA with the new firmware that came out for it and I think its the only Blu-Ray player that is currently capable of doing so. The Sony is very good as well and really haven't heard anything negative about it but have heard a lot of good things about it.

I do know that the LG & Samsung BD players had issues with the new Fox releases but they work with no problem now since they have released an actual firmware upgrade from LG & Samsung older BD players. I will let other people chime in here that actually own these stand alones and hope you'll be here for a long time coming.

Thank-you

I need to use quotes here. People post so quickly I can't keep up.

Anybody have any personal experience with these players?

[crackinhedz]

Samsung BDP1400 ($470)



now if that doesnt look good in your entertainment center...I dont know what would??

[Kayne314]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

Samsung BDP1400 ($470)



now if that doesnt look good in your entertainment center...I dont know what would??

Yum! That looks nice. Yes, that would look pretty with the rest of my components.

[turboLAZER]

The master list of Blu-ray players thread may help you with your research... https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=16293

[dominica]

Sharp BD-HP20U Blu-ray Disc Player $399-448

http://www.fotoconnection.com/p72399...sc-player.html

http://www.parkaveelectronics.com/pr...P20U&l=Froogle

http://www.amazon.com/Sharp-Aquos-BD...blurayforum-20

From a User on Avs:jackseth

"" The Sharp player looks and feels much higher quality. The remote is logically laid out. The Disc start times are not 10 seconds, 20 seconds is more realistic, which is great. The unit powers up from standby mode in 10 seconds. The picture quality is the best of the 3 players I have had in the last 2 months. I have the unit attached via HDMi to a new Integra 6.8. The Samsung (after firmware update) would play the DolbyHD. This Sharp does not. I expect a firmware update!? There is a USB port on the back of the unit. The manual says this is for attaching USB memory for doing firmware upgrades, they refer to the port as a Service port.

There is no Bitstream option in the setup menu, just Auto or PCM.

We watched Fantastic 4 'Rise of the Silver Surfer' last night. The disc load time about 40 seconds. Looked great and sounded great in DTS "
"

[k20king]

ps3 is the best priced blu-ray player

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by k20king

ps3 is the best priced blu-ray player

well i saw a blu-ray player that was the same price as the 60 GB Blu-Ray player but to get a Blu-Ray player and a video gaming machine all in one for the same price is more worth it and besides in the future it will be like the playstation 2 where like every gamer had at least a PS2 and then later on better games will come out and then going to end up getting one anyways. now its just a matter of buy it now or buy it when a 120 GB hard drive is available