DMP-BD30 v. BD-UP5000

[RanxeroxVox]

My DVD player is having trouble and I'm looking to replace it with a Blu-Ray player. I have an 1080i HDTV and a receiver that can do Dolby Digital, and that's as much as I know about my current setup. (Although I can say I'm more sensitive to picture issues than to audio issues.) I expect to upgrade both at some point, but probably not for a couple of years. I'd like my blu-ray player to keep up as well as it can when that happens, so I'm okay with paying a little extra for features that I might not need just yet.

(For various reasons, I don't want to get a PS3, even though I can see the advantages of doing so.)

I've found the Samsung BD-UP5000 available for about $100 (all things considered) more than the Panasonic DMP-BD30. Both are profile 1.1 and should do fine for playing existing DVDs or Blu-ray discs. The Samsung will also play HD-DVDs, but that's a very minor advantage. I wouldn't mind helping clear out existing HD-DVD disc inventory, but on its own it's not a good enough reason to get it.

Beyond that, the only obvious advantage I can see is that the Samsung has an ethernet port, which (as I understand it) means it can eventually become profile 2.0. There appear to be some slight differences in audio formats used but I don't think those will matter to me.

Are there other advantages of the Samsung over the Panasonic? Or disadvantages, for that matter? Assuming they were the same price or just slightly different, which is the better player?

RV