Best Budget Blu-Ray Player

[Dsella]

I'm in the market for a new Blu-ray player aside from my PS3, so I was just curious what a good one is for $80 maximum.

I understand $80 will only give minimal features, but all I need it to do is play the disc with no problems and last me a while..

Thanks for suggestions ahead of time.

[Cortiz]

Originally Posted by Dsella

I'm in the market for a new Blu-ray player aside from my PS3, so I was just curious what a good one is for $80 maximum.

I understand $80 will only give minimal features, but all I need it to do is play the disc with no problems and last me a while..

Thanks for suggestions ahead of time.

Sony has just released the BDP-S185. Retail price is $99 but it is currently on sale at most retailers for $80. I saw it at Best Buy and Wal-Mart. It looks really nice and it appears to be a decent BD player. Check out the link below for a review I found:

http://www.whathifi.com/review/sony-bdp-s185

[Troy73]

In that price range, the best I've seen for PQ and performance are Panasonic models. Picture quality is at least equal to the PS3 and that's saying a lot. Sony has really good players but not in that price range.

[steve1971]

Had a chance to take a look at this player the other day at BB and I was shocked to see how much it resembled the PS3 slim. It's a bargin priced Blu ray player from Sony and from the reviews I have read it performs pretty well although alot of the features of their higher end models aint featured. But this would make a nice Blu ray player for the bedroom or as a gift for someone who's just getting into Blu ray.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by Troy73

In that price range, the best I've seen for PQ and performance are Panasonic models. Picture quality is at least equal to the PS3 and that's saying a lot. Sony has really good players but not in that price range.

I second the recommendation on the Panasonic players. My first choice for a sub-$80 player would be the Panasonic DMP-BD75 ($79.95 @ Amazon), followed by the SONY BDP-S380 ($79.99 @ Amazon; shipped from TigerDirect). For about $10 more, you can step up to the BDP-S480 ($89.45 @ Amazon).

[Batman1980]

I have to agree on the Sony 380, which I believe I actually paid $120 for back in March to replace my PS3. While it's obviously not as good as the PS3 it's been pretty reliable and hasn't had playback issues yet with any of my discs, aside from the Lion King which got really scratched up somehow by its IronPack case.

[susancts]

Originally Posted by Dsella

I'm in the market for a new Blu-ray player aside from my PS3, so I was just curious what a good one is for $80 maximum.

I understand $80 will only give minimal features, but all I need it to do is play the disc with no problems and last me a while..

Thanks for suggestions ahead of time.

If you are looking for a budget Blu-ray player around $80, Samsung BD-D5100 should be the best fit.

[newginafets]

Deleted

[Hellhog]

I'm back again thinking of finally dropping the ball on a blu-ray player. I'd always had been hopeful that maybe Microsoft would eventually support the format but I doubt the nextbox will and Windows 8 won't even have blu-ray movie watching video support built in. So chances are I won't put a blu-ray drive in my next computer.

I'm not really a movie watcher, at all. I do own one blu-ray (blade runner ultimate collection) but probably won't even buy any once I do get a blu-ray player, might just rent a few. But I'd still like one for when I do watch movies.

Because of this, the bottom line is features are useless to me. If I want netflix or something, I'd rather just use my computer or Xbox (but I don't use netflix so I don't care). Wi-Fi although a nice idea is unnecessary, ethernet works fine and I can just run my 50ft cable if I need to check for updates. Basically, I just want something to watch BDs and upscale DVDs. Nothing fancy, just something that works and has HDMI and TosLink outputs.

From the recomendations above it looks like the Panny DMP-DB75 is perfect for what I want at $80. But, are there any models worth looking into that are even cheaper? Or is that probably the best bang for my buck that I'm going to find?

Thanx!

[coover]

Well, I might be deprecated with my choice for a good, budget player, but I have been pleasantly surprised with the Dynex DX-WBRDVD1, which for $70 even has Wireless Wi-fi enabled. It is setup with Netflix, Pandora Radio and Cinema Now. Not being a subscriber to Netflix and Cinema Now, I havn't attempted to use them, but the free Pandora option works very well.

I've had no problems with this player, it sets up fairly easily, and places an excellent 1080p picture onto my 60 inch Sharp.

This machine is a bargain at $70. I'm not sure who else may sell this machine, but I got mine at Best Buy. I don't care much for them, but they don't have much competition in my area.

[darkpoet25]

Originally Posted by coover

Well, I might be deprecated with my choice for a good, budget player, but I have been pleasantly surprised with the Dynex DX-WBRDVD1, which for $70 even has Wireless Wi-fi enabled. It is setup with Netflix, Pandora Radio and Cinema Now. Not being a subscriber to Netflix and Cinema Now, I havn't attempted to use them, but the free Pandora option works very well.

I've had no problems with this player, it sets up fairly easily, and places an excellent 1080p picture onto my 60 inch Sharp.

This machine is a bargain at $70. I'm not sure who else may sell this machine, but I got mine at Best Buy. I don't care much for them, but they don't have much competition in my area.

Actually Best Buy is the only carrier for Dynex, it's their "House Brand". Hell if you got a good price and enjoy the player, why should you be deprecated?
Welcome to the fourm.

[ragarla007]

Are the Dynex "foolproof" for region 2, like the past dvd was?

[umich08]

Don't bother with the Dynex players. I worked for Best Buy for 3 years til this past August. The BD players that Dynex makes are pretty awful. They're very noisy and don't tend to hold a wireless connection very well. Playback is mediocre on DVD but is fine on BD. Just my 2 cents.

[coover]

Originally Posted by umich08

Don't bother with the Dynex players. I worked for Best Buy for 3 years til this past August. The BD players that Dynex makes are pretty awful. They're very noisy and don't tend to hold a wireless connection very well. Playback is mediocre on DVD but is fine on BD. Just my 2 cents.

Im not particularly worried about DVD playback as I have a Magnavox MDR515H_F7 DVR-DVD machine. It's got a 500 GB hard drive and a decent 480p digital tuner. It, unfortunately, does not record HD, but it is pretty decent in all other ways, and 480p DVDs are upgraded to 1080i. It's not Blu-Ray quality, but most folks can't tell much difference on a good TV.

[CaptainZombie]

Best Buy has the Sony S480 for $89, reading around this player is getting a lot of good reviews. Any thoughts?

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by CaptainZombie

Best Buy has the Sony S480 for $89, reading around this player is getting a lot of good reviews. Any thoughts?

As a Blu-ray player, it seems to be pretty solid. It supports a wide variety of online services, but streaming content (depending on who you ask) seems to be inconsistent.

As a Panasonic user, I would probably recommend the S480 because Panasonic does not have a model that slots between DMP-BD75 (~$80) and the DMP-BDT110 (~$120). Panasonic and SONY are the two brands that I would consider in the < $250 category.

[CaptainZombie]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

As a Blu-ray player, it seems to be pretty solid. It supports a wide variety of online services, but streaming content (depending on who you ask) seems to be inconsistent.

As a Panasonic user, I would probably recommend the S480 because Panasonic does not have a model that slots between DMP-BD75 (~$80) and the DMP-BDT110 (~$120). Panasonic and SONY are the two brands that I would consider in the < $250 category.

I just picked up the S480 so hoping it is good. I prefer Panny but like u said nothing between the 75 and 110 makes it hard to choose.

[DGates01]

Saw a Toshiba BD player on sale at Costco for $59.