A freeze-free Blu-Ray Player?

[Gains]

I've read thousands of posts about players freezing up either during the movie or when loading.
Sony, Oppo, Panasonic, Toshiba, Philips, Samsung.....they all seem to have the same freezing problem.
I myself have an old Sony BDP-S360 and I've been trouble free so far, maybe because I decided not to connect it to Internet from the start, who knows?

Anyhoo, a friend of mine are now having issues with his 1 year old player, it freezes, not all movies, but some of the new ones.

Playstation 3 seems to be the savior for people with these issues, probably because it recieves constant updates, but that's not an acceptable solution, a Blu-Ray player should work, at all times, the DVD works all the time!

Who are to be blamed, the movie companies, the disc manufacturers or the player manufacturers?
Does it matter?
NO, because it should work, at all times, that's a given.

So my question is, is there a player out there that are freeze-free?

[schan1269]

Java

If no internet...Java can't muck it up.

[ZoetMB]

I have about 200 movies and my OPPO has never, ever frozen. But my old Sony never froze either. While freezing can be a matter of needing a software update it also be something as simple as a disc being dirty.

Also, many players sell for extremely low cost and therefore have very low quality components. If you have a player with such components, eventually, for example, the laser is going to put out less light and may not read correctly, which can also cause freeze ups.

If you pay under $100 for a player, I really don't know what else you can expect. They're not made to last. And you also need to realize that these are not solely mechanical devices - they're essentially computers driven by computer software, that software changes over time and therefore most players will need updates over time as most menu functionality is Java driven.

I paid $80 for a turntable back in the early 1970s. That's $491 in today's dollars. And what's a turntable? It's a platter, tone arm and motor. No electronics unless there's a small rectifier or timing circuit to drive a quartz motor. A Blu-ray player has almost all that, plus the laser and all the electronics to play a large variety of different formats as well as numerous video and audio outputs. And people pay $60 (the price of three decent pizzas) for that and expect it to last forever. That's absurd.

We've been spoiled by cheap Chinese manufacturing, but we're not willing to also make the sacrifice of inferior quality in order to pay that price. What we do get though, is really miraculous when you think about it. I think I paid close to $1000 for my first CD component player. Now you can pay as little as $20-$30.

[floridaswamprat]

I have a Magnivox blu-ray player purchased from Wal-Mart several years ago. I did one update very early on. It has played everything that I have put in it. No problems playing any blu-ray.

[Gains]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

I have about 200 movies and my OPPO has never, ever frozen. But my old Sony never froze either. While freezing can be a matter of needing a software update it also be something as simple as a disc being dirty.

Also, many players sell for extremely low cost and therefore have very low quality components. If you have a player with such components, eventually, for example, the laser is going to put out less light and may not read correctly, which can also cause freeze ups.

If you pay under $100 for a player, I really don't know what else you can expect. They're not made to last. And you also need to realize that these are not solely mechanical devices - they're essentially computers driven by computer software, that software changes over time and therefore most players will need updates over time as most menu functionality is Java driven.

I paid $80 for a turntable back in the early 1970s. That's $491 in today's dollars. And what's a turntable? It's a platter, tone arm and motor. No electronics unless there's a small rectifier or timing circuit to drive a quartz motor. A Blu-ray player has almost all that, plus the laser and all the electronics to play a large variety of different formats as well as numerous video and audio outputs. And people pay $60 (the price of three decent pizzas) for that and expect it to last forever. That's absurd.

We've been spoiled by cheap Chinese manufacturing, but we're not willing to also make the sacrifice of inferior quality in order to pay that price. What we do get though, is really miraculous when you think about it. I think I paid close to $1000 for my first CD component player. Now you can pay as little as $20-$30.

The player in question is a Philips bought for $300, like I said before, the problems started when he bought new movies, the old ones are still playing just fine.
...and my old Sony is playing everything, even new ones, my Sony has never been firmware updated.
Reading all the posts about freezing seems to confirm that there really is a problem with the machines, maybe they're trying to take over the world Terminator style
I've spent the last couple of hours googling "freezing blu-ray players" and the problems seems to be only about the bluray playing, the machines are working just fine playing DVDs.

I hope my old Sony never breaks down as I don't want to start buying bluray players that wont play bluray discs.

Maybe I'll give the Mogwai, sorry, Magnivox a try in the future

[bigshot]

$120 Sony player - never froze in three years.
Oppo BDP103D - Just got it two months ago. Hasn't frozen yet. It did somehow get the output display format messed up once, but Oppo helped me fix it.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

And why exactly is a PS3 "not an acceptable solution?" You said yourself that it's the only one that seems to be consistently flawless. Sounds like you solved your own problem and ignored the solution all at the same time.

[halloween5309]

i have owned 3 sony,1 lg ,3 panasonics and this has never happened as long as the disc was clean and unscratched
when i first got into bluray i had a sherwood that froze often but it just needed a firmware update but none were available so i sold it
i also had an early model entry level onkyo that froze again it needed a firmware update but none were available

[Dylan34]

Originally Posted by Gains

The player in question is a Philips bought for $300, like I said before, the problems started when he bought new movies, the old ones are still playing just fine.
...and my old Sony is playing everything, even new ones, my Sony has never been firmware updated.
Reading all the posts about freezing seems to confirm that there really is a problem with the machines, maybe they're trying to take over the world Terminator style
I've spent the last couple of hours googling "freezing blu-ray players" and the problems seems to be only about the bluray playing, the machines are working just fine playing DVDs.

I hope my old Sony never breaks down as I don't want to start buying bluray players that wont play bluray discs.

Maybe I'll give the Mogwai, sorry, Magnivox a try in the future

I had a Philips too at one time and had problems with it freezing except it quit playing DVDs all together. It would freeze playing blu-ray's at times as well. My friend also had a Philips and had similar problems. IMO, Philips products suck!!!! As far as Blu-ray players go anyway.

[bhampton]

Always Sony

Never Samsung

[DCW]

Yep, very happy with my Sony.

[Gains]

Originally Posted by bigshot

$120 Sony player - never froze in three years.
Oppo BDP103D - Just got it two months ago. Hasn't frozen yet. It did somehow get the output display format messed up once, but Oppo helped me fix it.

Same here, no freeezing with my Sony.........but others have problems with Sony players.
The Oppo seems like a "safer" bet although there are the same issues, according to the posts in various forums.

[Gains]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

And why exactly is a PS3 "not an acceptable solution?" You said yourself that it's the only one that seems to be consistently flawless. Sounds like you solved your own problem and ignored the solution all at the same time.

It's not an acceptable solution because not everyone own a playstation, especially older folks.
Like I said, I have no problems with my Sony, I also have a PS3, just in case.
I bought it for playing Gran Turismo 6 but as the game was finished within a week the PS3 is now a dust collector, but a nice backup if my Sony starts having issues.

My friend with the Philips will return it and hope for a new one instead of repair...

[Canada]

Oppo BD 103 or Oppo BD 105

Note of caution about the Oppo's and most likely other companies unlike the PS3 Oppo doesn't make firmware forever. My BD 83 can't play X-Men: Days of Future Past do to the fact there hasn't been a firmware update to that player for about 2 years.

[Canada]

Originally Posted by Gains

I've read thousands of posts about players freezing up either during the movie or when loading.
Sony, Oppo, Panasonic, Toshiba, Philips, Samsung.....they all seem to have the same freezing problem.
I myself have an old Sony BDP-S360 and I've been trouble free so far, maybe because I decided not to connect it to Internet from the start, who knows?

Anyhoo, a friend of mine are now having issues with his 1 year old player, it freezes, not all movies, but some of the new ones.

Playstation 3 seems to be the savior for people with these issues, probably because it recieves constant updates, but that's not an acceptable solution, a Blu-Ray player should work, at all times, the DVD works all the time!

Who are to be blamed, the movie companies, the disc manufacturers or the player manufacturers?
Does it matter?
NO, because it should work, at all times, that's a given.

So my question is, is there a player out there that are freeze-free?

You should keep in mind Blu-ray's are not DVD's, Blu-ray's need firmware updates, period!

[Gains]

Originally Posted by halloween5309

i have owned 3 sony,1 lg ,3 panasonics and this has never happened as long as the disc was clean and unscratched
when i first got into bluray i had a sherwood that froze often but it just needed a firmware update but none were available so i sold it
i also had an early model entry level onkyo that froze again it needed a firmware update but none were available

That seems to be the common problem, the firmware updates...and also the internet connection.
I guess it's the movie companies fault for pushing more tech into the discs and thus needs constant updates to work.......but when the player is semi-old the updates stops and problems arrive.

For example, if my mother (76 years old) starts experiencing freezing I could just tell her to update the firmware and also do some adjustments in the settings area, she would throw the player out and fire up her old classic VHS
Or I could advice her to only buy DVDs, go figure
Is it too much too ask that a player should be plug and play?

[Canada]

Originally Posted by Gains

That seems to be the common problem, the firmware updates...and also the internet connection.
I guess it's the movie companies fault for pushing more tech into the discs and thus needs constant updates to work.......but when the player is semi-old the updates stops and problems arrive.

For example, if my mother (76 years old) starts experiencing freezing I could just tell her to update the firmware and also do some adjustments in the settings area, she would throw the player out and fire up her old classic VHS
Or I could advice her to only buy DVDs, go figure
Is it too much too ask that a player should be plug and play?

Apparently so! Unless that is you get a PS3.

[Gains]

Originally Posted by Canada

You should keep in mind Blu-ray's are not DVD's, Blu-ray's need firmware updates, period!

Firmware...it keeps coming up
So bluray is not finished product, it keeps evolving and that's why it needs constant updates, or new machines, strange world, my friend will not be happy when I tell him the grim reality, "your problem will continue and continue".
I actually thought the high-end Oppo would be the perfect choice, but even Oppos are having issues.
I just hope my old Sony doesn't brake down because if I buy a new player and the freezing enters my life I will shirley start a low-tech war against the bluray-world and push for VHS, a fool proof system

So to sum up, there seems to be the same issues with every machine out there, or should I say, the discs are causing the freezing problem, the newer discs that is.

Also, older folks like my mother and her friends doesn't have Internet, so how will they solve the firmware updates?
I think we are buying non-finished products that needs tweaks, all the time, strange world.

[Gains]

Originally Posted by Canada

Apparently so! Unless that is you get a PS3.

Again, it's not me, it's my friend and my older friends having freezing issues.
To solve the problem I could buy them all each a PS3, problem solved

Thanks for your time, it was nice of you all taking time out of your life!

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Gains

Again, it's not me, it's my friend and my older friends having freezing issues.
To solve the problem I could buy them all each a PS3, problem solved

Thanks for your time, it was nice of you all taking time out of your life!

Yup. You could gamble on other players, or invest in a guaranteed 100% sure thing in the PS3.

You're welcome.