Decisions & Questions

[acomire]

Hi all -

I am going to be joining the Blu-Ray army soon as soon as I decide on a player and was hoping that the experts here can lend a hand. I may be a blu-ray noob but I am an avid home theater enthusiast with lots of time to tinker.

Here is my setup which may help with you suggestions/questions:

Currently my tv is a 51'' Toshiba (ironic huh) capable of 1080i with a HDMI 1.1 interface. I am running my DirecTV HR20 reciever over HDMI through my Onkyo 604. I think the 604 may have to be replaced for the 605 since it is HDMI 1.3a. It kinda stinks as the 604 is only 7 months old. My existing DVD player is a Sony 400 disc changer which up-converts to 1080i over HDMI.

Anywhoo...

I am contemplating the Sammy BD-P1400 and the Panasonic BD30. The Sammy is very attractive at $330 vs the $499 Panasonic. I realize the Sammy is only BD profile 1.0 as the Panny is 1.1 I believe. The SD card slot is cool but I don't know how much I would use it as the Samsung's firmware is just as easy to upgrade over my network. (There is switched gigabit behind my AV rack servicing my DirecTV equipment, PS2 and Slingbox)

Here are my Q's:

I know there has been discussion on whether or not you can tell the difference with 1080i vs 1080p but truthfully, how good with the PQ be with what I have? When I watch the demo movies on Best Buy and they look awesome but how much of that awesomeness is due to movie being played on a 1080p set?

I would assume that the blu-ray movie would have much better picture quality over watching a HD movie on DirecTV - but again, is that a safe assumption?

I know I would not achieve deep color with my tv being on HDMI 1.1 but I was thinking of swapping my Onkyo to the 605 to get the TrueHD & DTS HD. Is that a smart move?

I appreciate everyone responses and welcome suggestions. I am in camp blu-ray, I just want to make the correct decisions.

Thanks!

AJC

[quetzalcoatl]

If you are going to be doing the upgrade to your receiver the 30 is really the only way to go. Where Samsung has make some good looking players on paper they have been slow with FW. I replaced my 1200 as my main machine for that very reason as well as others. If you are not going to upgrade your receiver then the choice becomes harder. Since the 30 will not decode anything about DTS core and DD. So you loose alot on the audio front.

Good luck and welcome to the forums.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Have you considered a PS3 as a Blu-ray player?

[acomire]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Have you considered a PS3 as a Blu-ray player?

I have but I already have a Wii and a PS2 and to tell you the truth, the PS3 doesn't look all that "special" in the rack.

The kids play that Wii 10 Hrs a day and I don't think adding another game console in the mix will go over all that well....

[acomire]

Originally Posted by quetzalcoatl

If you are going to be doing the upgrade to your receiver the 30 is really the only way to go. Where Samsung has make some good looking players on paper they have been slow with FW. I replaced my 1200 as my main machine for that very reason as well as others. If you are not going to upgrade your receiver then the choice becomes harder. Since the 30 will not decode anything about DTS core and DD. So you loose alot on the audio front.

Good luck and welcome to the forums.

I think I may go with the Panny but since it is more expensive, replacing the 604 may not come so quickly. If I hook up the 30 to my existing reciever, could you please explain a little more on the issues I may have?

Thanks for the welcome.....

[quetzalcoatl]

Originally Posted by acomire

I think I may go with the Panny but since it is more expensive, replacing the 604 may not come so quickly. If I hook up the 30 to my existing reciever, could you please explain a little more on the issues I may have?

Thanks for the welcome.....

Until you get the new receiver the only lossless codec you will get is PCM. Which is still the most widely used on BD. When you have a title that only has a DTS HD MA track you will get the DTS core track which is the 1.5 Mbps track. And with TrueHD you will get DD or in some cases DD+.

[mystiksuicide]

Id say the PS3 or the Panasonic BD-30 would be two great machines to pick from.

[tru_to_blu]

If I were you I would probably get the PS3. Its a great blu-ray player and its got a decent price tag now. If you have the PS2 and the wii you should go with the PS3 because you are getting more for your money because you can then play PS3 games and watch your Blu-ray movies as well. You can do alot more with the PS3.

32" lcd VIZIO 720p/1080i
80gb PS3/ Blu-ray player
3 PS3 games
4 Blu-ray discs / soon to own 10 more
250+DVDs most horror

[Brent]

Originally Posted by acomire

I know there has been discussion on whether or not you can tell the difference with 1080i vs 1080p but truthfully, how good with the PQ be with what I have? When I watch the demo movies on Best Buy and they look awesome but how much of that awesomeness is due to movie being played on a 1080p set?

I would assume that the blu-ray movie would have much better picture quality over watching a HD movie on DirecTV - but again, is that a safe assumption?

I know I would not achieve deep color with my tv being on HDMI 1.1 but I was thinking of swapping my Onkyo to the 605 to get the TrueHD & DTS HD. Is that a smart move?
AJC

If you like what you see with your HD channels on DirecTV, then you will love blu-ray movies (even at a sub-1080p level). The quality of broadcast HD just isn't in the same ballpark as a blu-ray player decoding AVC in your living room and sending it directly to your set over an HDMI connection.

[richard lichtenfelt]

Check the paragraph under the editors note. http://reviews.cnet.com/game-accesso...tag=prod.txt.2
"Truth be told, the Sony PlayStation 3 is currently the Blu-ray player we use to test a lot of the HDTVs we get in for review here at CNET. As potentially higher performance Blu-ray players come out, that may change, but right now the PS3 is one of the best Blu-ray players on the market."

[Downhere]

I have to agree with those suggesting the PS3. Heck, get the 60 or 80 gig version and get rid of your PS2, you won't need it since you can play back PS2 games on the 60/80 gig PS3's.

[acomire]

Originally Posted by Brent

If you like what you see with your HD channels on DirecTV, then you will love blu-ray movies (even at a sub-1080p level). The quality of broadcast HD just isn't in the same ballpark as a blu-ray player decoding AVC in your living room and sending it directly to your set over an HDMI connection.

Brent - That is exactly what i wanted to hear. Thanks so much for the clarification.

[Grisle]

I'll vote for the PS3 too...I'm surprised to hear you Wii is getting so much use...mine is long gone. If you're really set against the PS3 then the 30 is going to be my next vote.

[acomire]

Originally Posted by Downhere

I have to agree with those suggesting the PS3. Heck, get the 60 or 80 gig version and get rid of your PS2, you won't need it since you can play back PS2 games on the 60/80 gig PS3's.

I hear you and completely understand. With the ages of my kids, I know the PS3 would not be used for games only for movies. I really am liking the idea of a standalone component in the rack.

I think I am gonna hunt for some deals on the Panny 30.

Thanks, everyone

[tru_to_blu]

Your welcome!!!!

32" lcd VIZIO 720p/1080i
80gb PS3 / Blu-ray player
3 PS3 games getting Uncharted or Assassins tonight
4 Blu-ray discs / soon to own 10 more

[stockstar1138]

if you don't want to go with the PS3, which is what i would strongly reccomend, than the Pannasonic BD-30 is the next player i would reccomend. i'd just like to point out, you never have to play a game on your ps3 and it is still a great value.

[Zaphod]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

if you don't want to go with the PS3, which is what i would strongly reccomend, than the Pannasonic BD-30 is the next player i would reccomend. i'd just like to point out, you never have to play a game on your ps3 and it is still a great value.

I will reiterate the common recommendation here...the PS3 is the best option out there for the money. Especially at $399 plus you set Spiderman 3 in the box, instant gratification.

I would also second stockstar's thought on a backup, the new Panasonic BD-30 would be a great second choice.

Originally Posted by acomire

I would assume that the blu-ray movie would have much better picture quality over watching a HD movie on DirecTV - but again, is that a safe assumption?

I know I would not achieve deep color with my tv being on HDMI 1.1 but I was thinking of swapping my Onkyo to the 605 to get the TrueHD & DTS HD. Is that a smart move?

I appreciate everyone responses and welcome suggestions. I am in camp blu-ray, I just want to make the correct decisions.

Thanks!

AJC

Well to answer some of your other questions. I have a 1080i set and the picture is outstanding! Also watching DirecTV, typically the transmissions are in 720p, plus the bandwidth is not there for true HD, I mean it is there but the amount of compression that is used is ridiculous. So yes Blu-ray movies are night and day better than DirecTV. The Onkyo 605 is a great entry level choice to get into lossless audio. You can find it for $399 and is well worth it.

Now for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA, using a PS3 will not make a difference in the audio being decoded by the 605. The PS3 can only output PCM for Dolby TrueHD, DTS (1.5 Mbps core), DD and DD+. If bitstreaming audio is important to you for your Onkyo to decode, then you would want to go with the Samsung (with firmware updates) or the Panasonic since these two can send out the raw bitstrems for TrueHD and DTS-MA for the player to decode.

Hope this helps.