The Unofficial "Help Me Pick a CHEAP Blu-Ray Player" Thread

[keylay31]

Hey guys, I've read the sticky, and its nice if you want to know which players address your need to blow way too much cash. But what about those of us who have been getting by on a cheap $40 Wal-mart DVD player and want to enter the HD world?

I have a 40" 1080p HDTV and need to buy a new player (the cheapo one crapped out after 3 years). Ideally I'd like a good entry level blu-ray player, but since most of my collection is SD and my netflix account is as well, I'm really more interested in the up-converting abilities for now, and the blu-ray ability is more something that ensures somewhat of a future for the player. The last requirement is that it should be less than $150.

I know that there are a lot of us around here that would like this very question answered. If not as a entry into the market, at least as a second or third player. I've been reading reviews and found the Magnavox nb530mgx. I bought it last night and was rather unimpressed with its up-converting abilities and also had a sound issue (which I addressed on a different thread). I realize this puts this thread in a predicament, as >$150 players are hard to come by. This might necessitate the need for deals. I'm not sure. Or perhaps I should just look into a DVD upconverter?

I was very unimpressed with the Magnavox (I think I got the same output on my $40 player honestly *I checked, it was on 1080p output*), I've looked at the Vizio, and I'm jealous I missed the Refub 350 deal on SonyStyle (I've also been tempted by the $219 40GB ps3 on there..) You guys' thoughts?

(And yes, i have in my possession a 6ft HDMI cable from Monoprice)

[keylay31]

It might be beneficial to note that I have a Samsung 530 and maybe the TV upconverts better than the player and I should just buy a regular DVD player...