Help me choose a Blu-ray player

DomLando

DomLando

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My dad wants a Blu-ray player for Christmas this year. He has a 46" Sony Bravia with no sound set up. A sound set up might be something he purchases in the future though. He wants a Sony player I guess to match the TV but I am looking for the best player around for the price. I am looking to spend no more than $250. He is also interested in streaming Netflix. I use my PS3 as my player and do not know to much about the stand alone players so I figured this was the best place to ask for any help. Thanks in advance guys!
 
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Your best bet is a PS3 for streaming netflix and Blu Ray.

The PS3's media capabilities -- streaming music & photos via the home network -- may be interesting features for your father as well. Even if it never plays a game it's probably the best system for him.
 
Kick in the extra $50 and get him a PS3. There are a ton of great features with the Playstation Store (for HD movies/TV in addition to games) and streaming media from your computer, etc. If you were in the $150 range there is a decent Sony model (the S360) that you can get when it goes on sale (I just bought 2 of them for Christmas presents for $140 each 2 weeks ago at Amazon).
 
Just bought the Memorex MVBD 2520. It is awful. The Customer Service Department is worse than the player. I'm going to return it and get a Sony or Panisonic. Im Hopeing for a good amazon deal next week.
 
[quote name='javeryh']Kick in the extra $50 and get him a PS3. There are a ton of great features with the Playstation Store (for HD movies/TV in addition to games) and streaming media from your computer, etc. If you were in the $150 range there is a decent Sony model (the S360) that you can get when it goes on sale (I just bought 2 of them for Christmas presents for $140 each 2 weeks ago at Amazon).[/QUOTE]

Quality wise is there differences between the PS3 and the S360 or something like the S560? Or is the price difference just because of features?

I know he won't be buying any games so I think he would be happier with a stand alone player than a PS3. If the PS3 is the best option though I would think about getting one.
 
[quote name='DomLando']My dad wants a Blu-ray player for Christmas this year. He has a 46" Sony Bravia with no sound set up. A sound set up might be something he purchases in the future though. He wants a Sony player I guess to match the TV but I am looking for the best player around for the price. I am looking to spend no more than $250. He is also interested in streaming Netflix. I use my PS3 as my player and do not know to much about the stand alone players so I figured this was the best place to ask for any help. Thanks in advance guys![/QUOTE]

One question regarding the Netflix streaming: How will he connect the player to the internet? Wired or wireless?
 
[quote name='manthing']One question regarding the Netflix streaming: How will he connect the player to the internet? Wired or wireless?[/QUOTE]

I would want to do it wired but it might be a pain to run a wire to the room the TV is in. I haven't got that far yet haha.
 
BB has a Sony one with a free Blu-ray for 150 on BF. But the online connectivity of a ps3 is the best but more expensive route.
 
For $250 you can get the Samsung 3600 or LG390. They both have wireless included for netflix & BD Live. Both have good video quality but be warned, both have had quality issues judging by what I've seen on the net. These might be the best/cheapest option for a standalone BR player that does netflix.
 
[quote name='Steve0Matic']For $250 you can get the Samsung 3600 or LG390. They both have wireless included for netflix & BD Live. Both have good video quality but be warned, both have had quality issues judging by what I've seen on the net. These might be the best/cheapest option for a standalone BR player that does netflix.[/QUOTE]

How does the Sony N460 compare to these models?
 
GET THE PS3!! and on a side-note, get the low-end Sony SoundBar to match up with the TV and your HDMI capable BD player. It's awesome for big sound from a little setup and no need for a ton of speakers. I run my Cable box, Upscale DVD player and PS3 all into it, with one HDMI going into the TV. Add in Bravia-Sync with all that and its simply wonderful!
 
The PS3 is still one of the best blu-ray players on the market, Plus now it does Netflix and as long as you have a good router (Wireless) you can set it up wireless for streaming Netflix no problem.
 
Yet another vote for PS3. Why get a machine that only does one thing, when you can get a PS3 that does everything?
everything.jpg
 
I have a Sony XBR 40 lcd, HTSS360 surround sound, PS3 slim, and the BDP-N460. The slim PS3 has a great interface, uses Bravia sync (I can use my tv remote to turn the system on and off, navigate menus, and all internet (netflix, youtube, surfung, etc...), the BDP-N460 has a decent cross media bar (does not equal PS3), everything else worked great for me. The N460 will not disappoint, although I would suggest a slim PS3 if his TV has Bravia sync, and the N460 if not.
 
I guess I'm shouldn't be surprised to see so many people saying PS3 since it's a gaming site, but I too put my vote towards one! Plus as cory said, many Bravia TV's have a cool sync up feature with the Slim that allows you to control the PS3 with the TV's remote.
 
[quote name='DomLando']My dad wants a Blu-ray player for Christmas this year. He has a 46" Sony Bravia with no sound set up. A sound set up might be something he purchases in the future though. He wants a Sony player I guess to match the TV but I am looking for the best player around for the price. I am looking to spend no more than $250. He is also interested in streaming Netflix. I use my PS3 as my player and do not know to much about the stand alone players so I figured this was the best place to ask for any help. Thanks in advance guys![/QUOTE]

I think ps3 is a good player already.
 
[quote name='Dr.Zoidberg']If he's not going to play games, there are plenty of stand alones that will serve him well.[/QUOTE]

He will not be playing any games so I would be looking for a standalone that can utilize Netflix, would prefer it to be able to connect with a wireless router and would like the best quality possible.

I am leaning towards a PS3 but it just seems to be a waste since it will not be used at all for games. Also the disc for netflix seems a little annoying and I read something about it staying that way for a while.
 
[quote name='DomLando']He will not be playing any games so I would be looking for a standalone that can utilize Netflix, would prefer it to be able to connect with a wireless router and would like the best quality possible.

I am leaning towards a PS3 but it just seems to be a waste since it will not be used at all for games. Also the disc for netflix seems a little annoying and I read something about it staying that way for a while.[/QUOTE]

It wouldn't be a waste, lol. PS3 is one of the best players for the price, and it has pretty much any feature you would need, along with automatic updates. I'm sure you can find a new Slim for a little under retail, and depending on if it's bundled with anything, you could use that to help with the cost. You could definitely sell the Dualshock 3 to lower the cost, and use some of that to buy him the Blu-Ray remote.
 
With regards to the PS3, it will always be the most compatible and feature-filled Blu-Ray player. It has the largest install base of any other BluRay player (or line of players), so it is the least likely to have glitches. Even if it does for a title or two, it is the most likely player to be patched due to Sony's constant updates. New features have been continually added for it whereas other players often have little to no after market support. BluRay profile 2.0, DTS-HD High Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD, Netflix are just are few of the media-only related features that Sony has provided for free. They are already talking about 3D support for free as well down the road. There simply isn't another player that continues to add that much value after already purchased. I'm getting a PS3 Slim for my Dad for X-Mas (even though he doesn't care about games) primarily for Netflix, and secondarily for BluRay (which I care more about having at home than he does). He also likes the idea of looking at his pictures in HD easily.
 
[quote name='DomLando']He will not be playing any games so I would be looking for a standalone that can utilize Netflix, would prefer it to be able to connect with a wireless router and would like the best quality possible.
[/QUOTE]

If you want a quality player that has WiFi, just get the PS3. There are cheaper players that will stream Netflix, but they usually require an expensive, proprietary dongle to do so. When you add the cost of the dongle and player, you'd be approaching the price of the PS3 anyways.

Yes, you could find a cheaper player and use and bridge to connect to the network, but it's a pain to set up if you're not technically proficient.

The PS3 is the best, least hassle Netflix streaming :br: player
 
[quote name='Jodou']Amazon has the same player with three free BDs for $148. Not sure about the player itself and the options for free movies is kinda lame, though.[/QUOTE]

Oh yeah I forgot about that. Some mentioned that alternatives at Slickdeals. I think that's just as good as the Best Buy deal then (since it's no taxes for most). The selection could be better, but I actually see 3 movies I'd get, which is a rarity with these kinds of lists, lol (Rio Bravo, 2010, and The Fugitive personally)
 
The PS3 is probably the easiest, most simple solution, although you have to factor in the additional cost of the PS3 remote as well. While the disk based Netflix integration on the PS3 isn't the slickest thing on the planet, it does work and at some stage next year the disk will be eliminated and netflix will be integrated into the menu bar. The ease of updating the firmware, the built in wireless WiFi that simply works, the relatively fast startup and good navigation are all pluses if you are in the $250 ish price range, which is approachable from standard 15% off deal from Dell that pops up every other week or so. And as someone suggested, you could sell off the PS3 DS3 shock controller to lower the final cost as well.


http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240530
Likewise, for black friday, Best Buy, Walmart, Gamestop are all doing $299 bundled PS3 packages with 2 games (which varies by retailer) and you could sell off those bundled games. Similarly, Amazon has a PS3 plus one free EA sports game such as Madden 10 for $299 today only. Amazon will likely have further sales as well.

You could also look at this as upgrade opportunity for yourself....sell your current PS3 at a fair price to your dad and buy a new PS3 slim for yourself.
 
Lots of deals on standalone players. I have a Sony BDP-S350 I got for $150 on Black Friday last year and have not had any issues with it. No Netflix on that one though (use my 360 for that).

The PS3 is a damn good player, but no reason to spend the extra cash on it for your dad who won't touch the gaming or other features and just wants Blu Ray and Netflix. I went the stand alone route myself as it's much cheaper and I don't do much gaming these days anyway and don't care much about Sony's exclusives. And needing to get an adapter to use my Harmony remote with a PS3 was a turn off as well.
 
I just bought a new stand-alone after researching around for a while. I decided to go with the Pioneer BDP-320, which I feel I got a great deal on through Amazon for ~$230. The same player is still priced at $400 at Magnolia in Best Buy.

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-BDP-3...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258751648&sr=8-1

It doesn't have Netflix streaming, but I have that on my 360, and I'm am wholly unimpressed. Video quality and selection are lacking and I rarely use it (if I'm going to watch a movie, I'm going to do so in the highest quality I can... Blu-Ray!). This player has excellent audio and video quality, a great physical build and quick/simple access to firmware updates through a wired network connection.

I tried the Samsung BDP-3600 (which has Netflix/Pandora/YouTube/Blockbuster streaming), but it was very buggy, skipped incessantly, even with the latest firmware, and had a very cheap and strange-looking build.

I decided against a PS3 slim because of apparent issues bitstreaming HD audio over HDMI, lack of IR for my universal remote, and no need for another gaming system.
 
if all he wants to do is play movies, just look for one w/ internet connectivity so you can get firmware updates easy. and one that has HDMI 1.3 & outputs all the new audio formats.

if you care about upscaling DVDs, besides a HTPC a PS3 does it the best.
 
The N460 is an excellent player.

I didn't realize the PS3 used Bravia Sync. I have the opportunity to upgrade my N460 to a PS3 for $25. I've been on the fence, but ... that just might change everything.
 
Amazon DOTD is an LG player for $99. I picked one up for mom since she won't use any online features (there's no Ethernet port mind you) and it's a great player for the money.
 
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