Right time to buy a Blu-ray player?

[Superecdor]

I want a REALLY good blu-ray player to sit back and watch dvds and blurays to (esp. the dark knight) but I keep hearing rumors to wait for the next line of players coming this year. I want a good deal on a player with a budget of $500 but I dont want the ps3. I almost bought a refurbished denon 2500 for $350 but held off. I dont mind buying used players as long as they work. I see some good prices on refurbished items but I'm always skeptical... What are some great used blu-ray player deals? And should I buy now or later?

[pacificvibes]

If you wait for the next best Blu-ray player, you'll always be waiting. Its best to find one that decodes all the major types of audio and has everything you need now and maybe for the future. I was going to say the PS3 but I know you dont want that. My best advice, is to keep searching and try them out in the stores...always look on the internet for the best deal. Happy hunting.

[un4gvn94538]

im looking to get a stand alone myself. i was looking at the sony 350 but also considering the new 360 when it comes out soon. i could either get the 360 or wait till the 360 is released to get a good deal on the 350, but then theres the new oppo universal player I CANT DECIDE!

[crazyBLUE]

personally I couldn't wait to get A BD player after veiwing my first Blu-ray !
you can wait & miss out day by day if you want but if you have the money I'd allready own one !!!

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by Superecdor

I want a good deal on a player with a budget of $500 but I dont want the ps3.

Why would you want to buy a used high-end? That means the player was sold because the previous owner was insolvent or s/he has upgraded to the latest and greatest, which ironically is what you are doing right now.

I would get the Oppo because it is (going to be) a universal player.


fuad

[ScarredLungs]

Originally Posted by Superecdor

I want a REALLY good blu-ray player to sit back and watch dvds and blurays to (esp. the dark knight) but I keep hearing rumors to wait for the next line of players coming this year. I want a good deal on a player with a budget of $500 but I dont want the ps3. I almost bought a refurbished denon 2500 for $350 but held off. I dont mind buying used players as long as they work. I see some good prices on refurbished items but I'm always skeptical... What are some great used blu-ray player deals? And should I buy now or later?

Is there any reason you do not want a PS3? It is a great player and has more options then many current players have.

Originally Posted by SkantDragon

I'm a software engineer in the field of video. Please allow me to inject some relevant facts into this thread.

Video is compressed using codecs. And each of these codecs is defined by a specification. For instance, AVC is defined by the MPEG group in the MPEG4 part 10 document.

There are many options when encoding video under these specifications. All AVC encoders are not created equal. Some are more intelligent than others, and it has a strong effect on the quality and bit rate produced in the encoded stream.

However, there are _no options_ on the decoding side. There is only one way to correctly decode a 1920x1080 AVC stream. And it is described in detail in the MPEG4 Part 10 document.

No other answer is correct.

This means that video quality is inherently invariant between competing Blu-ray players.

The only way any Blu-ray player will produce different output than others is if it's applying post processing algorithms such as edge enhancements, grain removal, boosting color, etc. However, these are automatic algorithms which make the resulting image look different than what the compressionist at the studio spent hours and hours carefully hand tuning on his screen.

All of that is fact, not opinion.

These facts create a situation akin to the Monster Cable scenario. Whereas in the older analog technologies, the specific quality of the product always had an impact on the resulting video quality, newer digital technologies have eliminated those deviations. The inconsistency of analog has been replaced with consistent perfection across the board. Cheap or expensive suddenly doesn't matter anymore.

This, of course, throws premium manufacturers for a loop. And it throws their customers for a loop as well. They really want their $5000 Blu-ray player to be better in every way than a pedestrian $400 Blu-ray player. Toss in a bit of post processing to overcrank the color saturation, and whala! Now there's a real difference to justify ten times the expense.

Nevermind that you can do the same thing from the controls on your TV if you like everything to look like a clown fish.

So... to answer your question about the PS3 being overrated compared to other Blu-ray players? The only real differences between players are going to be things load times, fan noise, power usage, physical styling, quality of manufacture, etc. The PS3 is very good on load times and quality of manufacture. Other players can be better on fan noise (although the PS3 isn't very noisy) and power consumption (the PS3 is a hog on that). Physical styling is a matter of personal preference (I love my PS3, but I do think it's ugly).

Today, if I was buying a player only to play Blu-rays, I would probably buy a $300 Panasonic just because it's cheaper to do the same job. If I wanted to do any gaming, the PS3 is an incredible deal as it is a top notch game system and top notch Blu-ray player for only $400.

I'm the type that would spend thousands on a Denon if it produced any better quality. But it can't, so I won't. At least not in this case. They still make other products that are entirely worthwhile, however. I'll spend the money where it actually buys me something other than an illusion of superiority.

Here are some more thoughts on players

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ght=standalone

I personally have a PS3 for my player (I do very little gaming, it is mainly for movies) and i love it!

[andyman1970]

Hold off and get one of these.

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=2455

There made by Sony and have built in WiFi.

I also have a PS3 that I use as a Blu-ray player and plan to sell it and get one of these when they're released.

[Danger Boy]

hold off till next month (April) the new players should be out then.. and they will no doubt be faster at loading up. April is right around the corner.. why buy a second or third gen player that is going to be so slow in loading up.

with each gen of players.. the load time is minimized

[sokrman14]

You can get the Marantz BD7003 which was originally $800 for $380, send me a PM, I dont want to tell everyone on a public post because the coupon code was supposed to expire, but it still works

[Danger Boy]

Originally Posted by sokrman14

You can get the Marantz BD7003 which was originally $800 for $380, send me a PM, I dont want to tell everyone on a public post because the coupon code was supposed to expire, but it still works

of course you'd never want to do that.

[sokrman14]

And its brand new from a well respected online retail site, that is an authorized retailer

[3560freak]

I'm holding off for the new Panasonic BD60. I just can't justify spending on a player now when only 1 or 2 (high end models) support Divx playback. I know its mainly a high def player but I have tons of material that I view encoded in Divx and my current DVD player that it is replacing handles the codec, so I patiently await the launch.

[sokrman14]

Originally Posted by 3560freak

I'm holding off for the new Panasonic BD60. I just can't justify spending on a player now when only 1 or 2 (high end models) support Divx playback. I know its mainly a high def player but I have tons of material that I view encoded in Divx and my current DVD player that it is replacing handles the codec, so I patiently await the launch.

This Marantz is one of those few that supports Divx

[Jwilly019]

I just got a new S550 for $200. I had considered waiting for the next line of players, but couldn't resist this deal.

[Savant Noir]

Currently, the best player on the market is the Marantz BD8002 and it is modest in price ($2,000). I bought this to upgrade from my LG dual format player, while awaiting the release of the Meridian Blu Ray player, which is expected in about 6 months. It will probably be around $10,000 and with other Meridian gear, will undoubtedly be the best on the market. (Meridian writes the code for DTS, Dolby, and TrueHD).

Non blu-ray, I still have seen nothing that beats the Esoteric, and I will keep it long into the future, I am sure.

This said, your best component is limited by your worst. No point in having a 10,000 dollar DVD player when one has a $500 receiver.

[Savant Noir]

Originally Posted by sokrman14

You can get the Marantz BD7003 which was originally $800 for $380, send me a PM, I dont want to tell everyone on a public post because the coupon code was supposed to expire, but it still works

Thats a GREAT player, even at $800!

[sokrman14]

You forgot to mention denons new $4800 unit, I forget the model #, but I would place that even above your marantz or their DVD3800BDCI, they are practically the same units.

[robertc88]

Panny BD30 is around $250. A steal IMHO.

[LOTR07]

It dpends on what your looking for but the new OPPO is coming out soon and is probably going to be one of the best players out once OPPo releases it....

[4TA23]

Originally Posted by LOTR07

It dpends on what your looking for but the new OPPO is coming out soon and is probably going to be one of the best players out once OPPo releases it....

I would agree on the oppo it is getting good reviews from the early adopter program. I just got a Pio 51FD and I can say this thing rocks, awesome PQ on BD and Upconvert SD DVD. I bit stream my sound to an Onkyo 805 so the fact that it is missing DTS MA internal decoding is no worry to me but that will be resolved in April with a firmware up date. The parts inside the 51FD are awesome including the Wolfsen DAC's which are right in line with my Burr Brown's in my Onkyo.