What should I buy as my 1st Blu-ray player? PS3?

[king53214]

I have been researching (somewhat unsuccessfully) to try and find out what I should buy and have run across so much information, I'm overwhelmed. I am NOT up on technology, so please don't throw jargon at me without an explanation or I'm just going to need to ask what you mean. Here are my statistics:

I have not purchased anything yet, this is all going to happen on Black-Friday but my intention is to purchase most likely a Sharp Aquos 40" LC-40E67U (I know, it's not top of the line but this will be our first flat screen and we're on a budget with the little munchkin around) and a soundbar system. I have the HDMI cables but what I need to know now is, what blu-ray do I get?
We have at&t uverse, so I have a wireless modem I can tie it into but the more I read, the more I got confused. We won't be using any of the movie services, like netflix so all I'm really after is something that plays blu-ray and all the dvds we own, has wireless connection for software updates and has a good track record for reliability. What I have concluded and after speaking with someone at a tech store they agreed and actually said that they themselves use their PS3 as their blu-ray player.

So, here is my question:
Is there any reason not to just get a PS3 and if not, please tell me why and which blu-ray player you might suggest.

Thanks everyone and as this is my first post here, be nice and helpful.

I will not be spending more than $400 on this player, so nothing fancy please...

[Another_Dude]

Ps3.

[detector19]

yes ps3...

[f1ipmode]

You're not going to be spending more than 400$ for a PS3 Slim so I don't see what the problem is. If you're willing to discover the other features the PS3 has to offer I think you'll actually be laughing at what you spent considering the features you get.

[Hammie]

If you are not planning on doing any gaming, I think spending the $299 on the PS3 Slim is silly.

Personally, I would go for the Panasonic BD60 or maybe a Pioneer or Samsung. I'm sure others have their opinions. I also don't like that you will need to spend around $60 more in order to get your universal remote to work with the PS3.

[Another_Dude]

Originally Posted by louhamilton

If you are not planning on doing any gaming, I think spending the $299 on the PS3 Slim is silly.

Personally, I would go for the Panasonic BD60 or maybe a Pioneer or Samsung. I'm sure others have their opinions. I also don't like that you will need to spend around $60 more in order to get your universal remote to work with the PS3.

Do those units offer firmware updates via wifi?

I get the impression that the OP just wants his player to work without having to update via USB drives or using an ethernet cable.

The PS3 does this.

[kpkelley]

The only alternative to the PS3 in terms of wireless would be the Sony BDP-S560. Right now it's priced around $350, but the price will probably drop around Black Friday and may be cheaper than the PS3.

Outside of those two the only other wireless players that I'm aware of are a couple from Samsung and the Oppo, but those require an external dongle like the Sony BDP-S360.

[Chordata]

I love my Sony s550, but if I could do it over again, I'd get a PS3.

[bhampton]

I would get a PS3.

(That's what I actually do have and it's great.)


I wouldn't get a soundbar setup though. I would rather get a good pair of stereo speakers than a soundbar. You can expand to surround sound later or just enjoy stereo.

-Brian

[king53214]

thank you everyone, it appears that the PS3 is the choice here... I welcome additional responses however.

[Uniquely]

If you are into gaming.... definately get the PS3 for your player. It doesn't come with a remote control, so if you don't want to use a game pad to control your movies, you'll also have to buy the Playstation Bluetooth remote which is about $20-30 I think. If you have a universal remote, or if you get one in the future, you'd need to spend an additional $50-100 to get a bluetooth to infrared converter in order to be able to control the PS3 with a universal remote.

If you are not into gaming there are other alternatives that will provide just as much playback quality but can be cheaper. Wi-fi isn't the only way to update firmware. Some players have memory card slots and/or USB ports, so it is possible to DL the firmware from your PC and put it on a memory card or thumb drive to update the player. If you are not comfortable with that method, there are a couple of BD players that can add wi-fi capability with a USB dongle. Those would be the Sony S560, and some of the Samsung players. There is also an LG player that comes with wi-fi on board.

A standalone may also be a little more long lasting than the PS3. The current best estimate available for the PS3 failure rate is 10.6%. The two most common types of failure are the "yellow light of death" which is total system failure, and the other most common issue is laser failure where the player just stops reading blu-ray discs. The PS3 has a one year warranty, so if it should fail during that period they will fix it or send you a refurbished one for free. If it should fail after the warranty period, they will fix it or send you a refurbished one for $149.

[Ashamed Pegasus]

If you're waiting until Black Friday before buying one you'll find some killer deals on stand alone players... Name brand players last year (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Sharp) were selling for $150-$180 and most likely you'll find them even cheaper this year... If you want a player with WiFi to update the player without downloading it to a USB drive I recommend the Sony S560 or the PS3, but I would not buy a PS3 unless you plan on using it to play games on...

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by Ashamed Pegasus

If you're waiting until Black Friday before buying one you'll find some killer deals on stand alone players.

That is an awesome thought. It's smart the OP is trying to educate himself now about all of the players he might be interested in. All he has to do now is narrow the choices down to the ones he feels best suit his needs, and then wait for the black friday ads to drop and see what is cheapest.

[Freekman]

Ps3.

[kefrank]

Based on your desires, I'd go with the PS3 slim + BD/DVD remote. Even if you never play a game on it, you'll get your money's worth from Blu-ray and its additional media center capabilities (photos, music, PSN downloads, etc). Firmware updates are a breeze with the wifi connection as well.

The only reason to consider a standalone model would be lower price, but hardly any have wi-fi, so with most of them you'd need to add in the cost of a wireless bridge. Of the standalones mentioned, I would personally not recommend the Panasonic BD60 until the widespread freezing issue is resolved.

[titulin]

Panasonic Bd60

[joker552]

Unless, you JUST want a Blu-ray Player, then I suggest the upcoming Sony BDP-N460 which comes out in October.

[Ashamed Pegasus]

Originally Posted by joker552

Unless, you JUST want a Blu-ray Player, then I suggest the upcoming Sony BDP-N460 which comes out in October.

So if he just wants a Blu-ray player why are you suggesting that model?... The N460 is basically a S360 but with NexFlix streaming... He said he's not interested in NF or movie services so why pay $80 more for something he doesn't want?... Is there something else the N460 has that might benefit the OP needs?...

[Irrob]

Originally Posted by king53214

I have been researching (somewhat unsuccessfully) to try and find out what I should buy and have run across so much information, I'm overwhelmed. I am NOT up on technology, so please don't throw jargon at me without an explanation or I'm just going to need to ask what you mean. Here are my statistics:

I have not purchased anything yet, this is all going to happen on Black-Friday but my intention is to purchase most likely a Sharp Aquos 40" LC-40E67U (I know, it's not top of the line but this will be our first flat screen and we're on a budget with the little munchkin around) and a soundbar system. I have the HDMI cables but what I need to know now is, what blu-ray do I get?
We have at&t uverse, so I have a wireless modem I can tie it into but the more I read, the more I got confused. We won't be using any of the movie services, like netflix so all I'm really after is something that plays blu-ray and all the dvds we own, has wireless connection for software updates and has a good track record for reliability. What I have concluded and after speaking with someone at a tech store they agreed and actually said that they themselves use their PS3 as their blu-ray player.

So, here is my question:
Is there any reason not to just get a PS3 and if not, please tell me why and which blu-ray player you might suggest.

Thanks everyone and as this is my first post here, be nice and helpful.

I will not be spending more than $400 on this player, so nothing fancy please...

Based on your needs, the PS3 slim is your best choice. And you'll have money left over for other things.

[Kryptonic]

I would advise against the PS3. It's a power hog, noisy, and hot. Get a Sony or Panasonic standalone. If the Magnavox 500MGX was still $98, I would recommend that, but they're at $148 now and at that price, you might as well spend another $40 and get a Sony or Panasonic.