[LABillzFan]

Fezmid, on Jan 12 2009, 05:50 PM, said:

You're seriously asking this question....? You work in the biz! :D

As was stated, there are different aspect ratios. Here's a link that may help explain it:

http://www.hometheat...home/wsfaq.html

The only movie I've seen is WALL-E. Looked very good, although I didn't like the major delays everytime I selected a menu option. :(

I've been holding off on watching other films until I get a new projector in mytheater, hopefully in the next week or so. :)

Yes, I understand aspect ratios :beer:. I just made the mistake of thinking that a Blu Ray disc would always fill the 16:9, or at the very least, have nomimal bars. And like I said, some movies, like Pirates of the Carribean do fill the entire screen, so it's a little frustrating when some don't.

We have Wall-E in the queue, but the BD does such a good job at upconverting, that the regular DVD we have still looks pretty awesome. Obviously that's the case with most of the animated flicks like Bee Movie, Cars, etc., so I'm kind of curious to see how much better the Blu Ray versions of those flicks will be. I'm really not in the mood to buy all these movies again.

[UConn James]

LABillzFan, on Jan 13 2009, 10:21 AM, said:

Yes, I understand aspect ratios :wallbash:. I just made the mistake of thinking that a Blu Ray disc would always fill the 16:9, or at the very least, have nomimal bars. And like I said, some movies, like Pirates of the Carribean do fill the entire screen, so it's a little frustrating when some don't.

We have Wall-E in the queue, but the BD does such a good job at upconverting, that the regular DVD we have still looks pretty awesome. Obviously that's the case with most of the animated flicks like Bee Movie, Cars, etc., so I'm kind of curious to see how much better the Blu Ray versions of those flicks will be. I'm really not in the mood to buy all these movies again.

I would definitely not buy movies again just to be able to say you have them on BD. The upconvert is good enough. Kids don't really give a whit anyway... and how much longer are they going to be watching those movies? For new pickups, go with BD if you want to, but replacing a library gets f---ing expensive.

[Fan in Chicago]

I am also thinking of buying a BD player. The Netflix ability is key to me - won't buy a player without it. It looks like this feature may catch on and if it does, it may prove to be a big blow to Blockbuster (who I dislike anyway).

[LABillzFan]

Finally got the Panny BD35 on the network, and put BD Live to work for the first time (with "Transformers"). Not sure how content compares given this is the first run, but the BD Live features for this flick are cool as hell. Need to put in an SD card (min 1 GB). You can definitely see the benefits of this feature. Unfortunately it was the only Blu Ray flick I have with a BD Live feature, but there's no question Fez was right. I almost got a player without BD Live, and I can tell I'd be regretting it right now.

If anyone finds some cool content on any of their flicks, let me know. I just tried the GPS Tracker for "Transformers" and it's the kind of thing my son will completely dig. Tracks the robots as well as the military guys, gives background information on characters, etc., while you're watching the movie.

Here's hoping the studios really push this technologies capabilities.

[Fezmid]

LABillzFan, on Jan 18 2009, 01:48 PM, said:

Finally got the Panny BD35 on the network, and put BD Live to work for the first time (with "Transformers"). Not sure how content compares given this is the first run, but the BD Live features for this flick are cool as hell. Need to put in an SD card (min 1 GB). You can definitely see the benefits of this feature. Unfortunately it was the only Blu Ray flick I have with a BD Live feature, but there's no question Fez was right. I almost got a player without BD Live, and I can tell I'd be regretting it right now.

If anyone finds some cool content on any of their flicks, let me know. I just tried the GPS Tracker for "Transformers" and it's the kind of thing my son will completely dig. Tracks the robots as well as the military guys, gives background information on characters, etc., while you're watching the movie.

Here's hoping the studios really push this technologies capabilities.

You seriuosly have to put an SD card in....? :thumbsup:

I have Transformers on HD DVD and it used all of the internal memory. You can even download "themes" to make your menus look different. Kinda neat.

[LABillzFan]

Fezmid, on Jan 18 2009, 03:33 PM, said:

You seriuosly have to put an SD card in....? :wallbash:

I have Transformers on HD DVD and it used all of the internal memory. You can even download "themes" to make your menus look different. Kinda neat.

That "theme" thing is an option on BD Live as well. Essentially, you're downloading the app to the SD card and running it from there instead of from the player's harddrive. The GPS Tracking feature I mentioned earlier was a blip on the card.

[Fezmid]

LABillzFan, on Jan 19 2009, 09:27 AM, said:

That "theme" thing is an option on BD Live as well. Essentially, you're downloading the app to the SD card and running it from there instead of from the player's harddrive. The GPS Tracking feature I mentioned earlier was a blip on the card.

Still lame that you need to use a card.... :wallbash:

[Mr Info]

I was looking for deals right around Christmas and ended up buying a Sony 46" XBR6 from Sears for 2,099 and they threw in the Sony BDP-S350 and a couple of BD disks (Hancock and Wall-E). I could have obtained the set cheaper through the net but not both of them - plus, I was able to get 3 years interest-free at Sears. BB had the same price but would only do 18 months and no free BD player. So far, very happy with both. I may purchase the add-on device for for the XBR6 to search/browse the web for video content.

Anybody check this out? Boxee

Boxee's CEO - "Don't assume we have lawyers. That's expensive."

[VOR]

Many have told me the best blu-ray player is a Sony Playstation 3, because it can do more than just play movies (like say, play games). There is an offer from Sony where if you apply for their (Visa) credit card and buy the PS3 (for $400 plus tax and shipping), they give you $100 off immediately. And if you charge $1,500 worth on the card over the first 3 months you get $100 back, and an additional $100 if you charge another $1500 over the next 3 months. So the player in-essence costs you $100 plus tax and shipping.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...t/index.php/0/1

[Fezmid]

VOR, on Jan 20 2009, 04:17 PM, said:

Many have told me the best blu-ray player is a Sony Playstation 3, because it can do more than just play movies (like say, play games). There is an offer from Sony where if you apply for their (Visa) credit card and buy the PS3 (for $400 plus tax and shipping), they give you $100 off immediately. And if you charge $1,500 worth on the card over the first 3 months you get $100 back, and an additional $100 if you charge another $1500 over the next 3 months. So the player in-essence costs you $100 plus tax and shipping.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...t/index.php/0/1

You're making a classic money mistake though -- yes, you can apply that money towards the PS3. But guess what? You can also apply it towards other stuff instead so you are still spending YOUR money -- the PS3 doesn't magically become $100 because those other $100 cash-backs could've been applied towards anything you wanted.

In addition, watch out for the fine print: Does not include tax or shipping and handling fees.

Dell's had some deals recently where you can get ~$50 off from them, and get free shipping. You can get an Amazon.com card and buy a PS3 there and get 3% off (plus whatever deal they have going, plus free shipping/tax in most states).

Most people will already know if they want a PS3 or a regular player. The PS3 used to be the best BD player on the market, mainly because none of the other ones were finished yet and since the PS3 can be upgraded via the network it was more future proof. That's really no longer the case when you can buy a BD player (such as the Panasonic BD35) for ~$200. A coworker bought the BD35 plus 4 movies from Amazon for around $210 right before Xmas.

One key negative to the PS3 for most people is that it does not work with a regular IR remote (unless you spend more money on an ugly IR dongle).

If you're already in the market for the PS3, then it makes a competant BD player. If not, go standalone.

[VOR]

Fezmid, on Jan 20 2009, 06:37 PM, said:

You're making a classic money mistake though -- yes, you can apply that money towards the PS3. But guess what? You can also apply it towards other stuff instead so you are still spending YOUR money -- the PS3 doesn't magically become $100 because those other $100 cash-backs could've been applied towards anything you wanted.

That's not exactly true. To get the first $100, you need to buy the PS3, which knocks it down to $300, plus tax ($24, ground shipping is free). Amazon is selling it for $400, but admittedly no tax, but I still save $76. Beyond that, getting $200 back for $3000 spent is a pretty good deal anyway you slice it, especially when you include the initial $100. Most of my other cards pay me 1% back. So in essence, I'm getting the PS3 for a lot less than I would have otherwise. Unless there are better credit card deals/cashback offers that I don't know about.

Quote

Most people will already know if they want a PS3 or a regular player. The PS3 used to be the best BD player on the market, mainly because none of the other ones were finished yet and since the PS3 can be upgraded via the network it was more future proof. That's really no longer the case when you can buy a BD player (such as the Panasonic BD35) for ~$200. A coworker bought the BD35 plus 4 movies from Amazon for around $210 right before Xmas.

I just checked Amazon and they're over $400.

Quote

One key negative to the PS3 for most people is that it does not work with a regular IR remote (unless you spend more money on an ugly IR dongle).

That's a good point.

[Fezmid]

VOR, on Jan 20 2009, 08:26 PM, said:

That's not exactly true. To get the first $100, you need to buy the PS3, which knocks it down to $300, plus tax ($24, ground shipping is free).

You could still spend the other $200 on a different player though -- therefore the PS3 isn't really only $100. :worthy: If you're in the market for one though, it's a decent deal because of the initial $100 off. Dell has recently been having deals on the PS3/Xbox 360 as well for 15-20% off (making the PS3 roughly $320-$340 with free shipping), so the Sony deal isn't that much hotter - just a little.

VOR, on Jan 20 2009, 08:26 PM, said:

I just checked Amazon and they're over $400.

That's actually not from Amazon -- they've been sold out for awhile apparently and haven't restocked for some reason... The selling price from that other retailer is over MSRP! Crazy!

I know Costco had it (BD35) locally last week for about $230 because a coworker of mine bought one. Of course that adds tax...

[Fan in Chicago]

For those interested in Netflix streaming, here is a EnGadget shootout. I know it is slightly off topic but it does have reviews of Samsung and LG BD players with Netflix capability.

[BillsNYC]

I had a chance to buy an Insignia Blu Ray player for $150 yesterday and passed. Good choice?

[Fezmid]

BillsNYC, on Feb 12 2009, 06:41 AM, said:

I had a chance to buy an Insignia Blu Ray player for $150 yesterday and passed. Good choice?

Yeah, I wouldn't buy that.

Of course like I said, the only one I'd consider at this point is the BD35.... Except it's now been discontinued. :thumbsup: They're releasing another new model soon (if they haven't already).

[Fan in Chicago]

Fezmid, on Feb 12 2009, 10:05 AM, said:

Yeah, I wouldn't buy that.

Of course like I said, the only one I'd consider at this point is the BD35.... Except it's now been discontinued. :doh: They're releasing another new model soon (if they haven't already).

I would say that the reviews for the Samsung BD-P2500/2550 are also pretty good with much anticipation for the upcoming 3600. I have never purchased a Sammy product but looks like this will be the first time. If only the prices would start going down instead of up as they have recently. When I am ready to buy, I hate these sophisticated inventory management systems which keep the prices from dropping. :)

[sweet baboo]

Fezmid, on Jan 20 2009, 07:37 PM, said:

One key negative to the PS3 for most people is that it does not work with a regular IR remote (unless you spend more money on an ugly IR dongle).

not an issue anymore (in terms of ugliness)

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/20/logitec...3-get-official/

at least for a harmony remote

[Fezmid]

sweet baboo, on Mar 22 2009, 10:01 PM, said:

at least for a harmony remote

Lots of people don't use Harmony remotes. <_<