Blu-ray Player Roundup

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 06:40 PM

As some of you know, I tried to go Blu a few months back and because the available players at that time were a bit lackluster, I decided to wait. However, I still have a stack of unopened BD movies just waiting to be spun. There’ve been a lot of announcements lately for new, more future-ready, BD players, so I thought it might be helpful for those of us looking to adopt the format to discuss the various players.

Samsung BD-UP5000
This is a hybrid BD/HD DVD player.
It has HDMI 1.3 and outputs 1080p.

Denon DVD-3800BDCI
This $2K player should be excellent, but I doubt many of us are ready to drop that kind of cash on a new format player.

Sony BDP-S300
HDM1 1.2 only.
Does not decode DTS-HD.

Pioneer Elite BDP-94HD
Decodes TrueHD
HDMI 1.?

Samsung BD-P1400
Samsung (except for a few initial bugs) have shown a strong presence in the BD player market. The player supports 1080p and HDMI 1.3, as well as TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding.

~~Samsung BD-P2400~~ Cancelled
Everything that is the 1400 plus Silicon Optix Reon processing for $100 more.

Have I missed any?

Sehnzeleid · 08-09-2007, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

Have I missed any?

Samsung BD-P2400
Everything that is the 1400 plus Silicon Optix Reon processing for $100 more.

Also Denon has a Blu-ray "transport" that's a player w/o audio processing.

ganthc · 08-09-2007, 06:47 PM

Sure, the ps3.

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ganthc

Sure, the ps3.

Does that play BDs?

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ganthc

Sure, the ps3.

I think he only wants real players, not toys.

You forgot the Sony BDP-S300 and the Panasonic DMP-BD10A. Pioneer Elite is suppose to have a new player coming out that will do sacd and dvd-a as well, but they haven't set a release date yet.

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dugpa

You forgot the Sony BDP-S300 and the Panasonic DMP-BD10A.

I left those out since they seem "limited." I passed on the Panny for that very reason, and doesn't the Sony only have HDMI 1.2?

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

I left those out since they seem "limited." I passed on the Panny for that very reason, and doesn't the Sony only have HDMI 1.2?

No, the BDP-S300 is full 1.3. And the Sony is still one of the few players to pass the native 1080p signal from the disc instead of doing the interlaced decode to deinterlacer trick that most companies (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) are still doing. I don't see what's "limited" about the sony player. Hell, I'd still take my BDP-S1 with HDMI 1.2 over most of the other players you listed, aside from the Denon (which will probably be my next player).

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dugpa

I don't see what's "limited" about the sony player.

I just had my facts wrong. Added.

P.S. Does it decode THD and DTS-HD?

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

P.S. Does it decode THD and DTS-HD?

THD but not DTS-HD other than the core.

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dugpa

THD but not DTS-HD other than the core.

According to Sony's site, it does not decode THD.

Quote:

Dolby® TrueHD Decoding
No (Dolby® Digital Stream Only)

ganthc · 08-09-2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

According to Sony's site, it does not decode THD.

I don't think it decodes it via bitstream, but it does via PCM, kind of like the ps3. Or I could be wrong.

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 09:34 PM

They just added TrueHD decoding with the last firmware release for the BDP-S1. I thought I read somewhere they had added it for the BDP-S300 as well. If they haven't yet I'm sure they will shortly, since the players are essentially the same aside from HDMI 1.2 vs 1.3.

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 09:59 PM

Looks like I stand corrected. It appears some people have opened up their BDP-S300's and despite Sony's claims, it only has a 1.2 chip inside. So change that.

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 10:09 PM

I thought there was a reason I didn't get it.

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

I thought there was a reason I didn't get it.

What exactly do the Samsung players do that require 1.3? I don't see anything. No passing of the DTS-MA or TrueHD bitstreams. No deep color (which isn't even supported by the format in the first place). So, what's the point of having 1.3 if it's not being used? Or is this another one of those this one goes to 11 types of things.

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dugpa

What exactly do the Samsung players do that require 1.3? I don't see anything. No passing of the DTS-MA or TrueHD bit streams. No deep color. So, what's the point of having 1.3 if it's not being used?

1.3 doesn't matter to me, but if I'm going to spend $500+ on a format I'm unsure of, I want the most up-to-date model I can get. I'm also hoping these newer models will be faster. And I've heard that the Sony doesn't have great DVD playback... or was that the Panny?

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

1.3 doesn't matter to me, but if I'm going to spend $500+ on a format I'm unsure of, I want the most up-to-date model I can get.

That would be the Denon that supports profile 1.1 and actually does pass all the bitstreams over HDMI, not to mention decode them internally.

Quote:

I'm also hoping these newer models will be faster.

I don't think you're going to see any major speed differences until profile 1.1 players come out that are require a bit faster processing.

Quote:

And I've heard that the Sony doesn't have great DVD playback... or was that the Panny?

The Sony's DVD playback sucks. Don't know about the Panasonic. I use my HD-DVD player for DVD playback.

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 10:33 PM

So, you're saying I either need to spend $500+ for an in the meantime player, or shell out $2K for the Denon. I at least want one that can decode THD and DTS-HD. If HD DVD can do it...

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

So, you're saying I either need to spend $500+ for an in the meantime player, or shell out $2K for the Denon.

Yep. Of course, even the Denon will be outdated once profile 2.0 gets approved, but at the rate BD moves that'll probably be a couple of years.

Quote:

I at least want one that can decode THD and DTS-HD. If HD DVD can do it...

I'm more interested in DTS-MA than DTS-HD myself. Lossless is the way to go, who cares about DTS-HD? You rarely see a disc that's just encoded with DTS-HD. It's usually MA.

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 10:40 PM

So, if you were choosing a BD player for right now, which would you go with?

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

So, if you were choosing a BD player for right now, which would you go with?

The Denon.

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dugpa

The Denon.

Okay... let's say that you still needed money to eat, then which would you go with?

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

Okay... let's say that you still needed money to eat, then which would you go with?

A Toshiba HD-DVD player.

I haven't read up on the Samsungs enough to know much about them. If they pass the native 1080p they might be the way to go, but if they are still interlacing and deinterlacing, then I'd go with the Sony maybe. Honestly, I think the BDP-S1 I have now is still the one I'd go with. Though if using this player for SD DVD playback is important to you that's not the way to go. It all depends on what display you have and what features are important to you I guess. Honestly, at this point it's still early enough that most any player you buy will be outdated a year from now. So if you're one of those who thinks buying electronics is "investing", you need to hold off, now is not the time to buy.

**Pirate** · 08-09-2007, 10:58 PM

I thought you might say that. I don't care that much about the DVD playback (I still like my Pioneer DVD player), but I do care about loading times and having some sense that I'm not throwing my money away. I still feel secure with my A1 (expect for the ugly design and slow ass loading) and I'd like something similar with a BD player. It seems BD doesn't offer that, though.

I'll wait for info on the Samsungs and then buy the cheapest one I guess.

dugpa · 08-09-2007, 11:04 PM

You could always buy the toy Blu-ray player.

"The Dude" · 08-10-2007, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratehunter

Okay... let's say that you still needed money to eat, then which would you go with?

I think right now, the Panny is still the one to go with because it's a more complete player and decodes and plays back all the next gen audio tracks, well, except DTS-HD MA. The 2nd gen sammys and sonys don't do that.

I was going to go with the panny, but I just don't like the look of the player. So my plan now is to hold off until the Sammy 1400 comes out in sept. It would also be a bonus if the 1400 was eligible for the 5 free movies, that is, if it streets in time.

I'm also getting a 60gb PS3 in the next week or so, but I think I'll just use that for gaming.

08-09-2007, 06:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
Pirate Director/Moderator Loves Yellow Subtitles Join Date: Jun 2003	Blu-ray Player Roundup As some of you know, I tried to go Blu a few months back and because the available players at that time were a bit lackluster, I decided to wait. However, I still have a stack of unopened BD movies just waiting to be spun. There’ve been a lot of announcements lately for new, more future-ready, BD players, so I thought it might be helpful for those of us looking to adopt the format to discuss the various players. Samsung BD-UP5000 This is a hybrid BD/HD DVD player. It has HDMI 1.3 and outputs 1080p. Denon DVD-3800BDCI This $2K player should be excellent, but I doubt many of us are ready to drop that kind of cash on a new format player. Sony BDP-S300 HDM1 1.2 only. Does not decode DTS-HD. Pioneer Elite BDP-94HD Decodes TrueHD HDMI 1.? Samsung BD-P1400 Samsung (except for a few initial bugs) have shown a strong presence in the BD player market. The player supports 1080p and HDMI 1.3, as well as TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding. ~~Samsung BD-P2400~~ Cancelled Everything that is the 1400 plus Silicon Optix Reon processing for $100 more. Have I missed any? __________________ Early Adopting So You Don’t Have To. Last edited by Pirate : 10-02-2007 at 07:53 PM.

08-09-2007, 06:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
ganthc Actor Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: "Vyenna", VA	Sure, the ps3. __________________ HOOK'EM!!! UT LONGHORNS - National Champs 2005-2006!!! http://ganthc.youaremighty.com

08-09-2007, 09:34 PM	#12 (permalink)
dugpa Nothing But the Best Join Date: Sep 2004	They just added TrueHD decoding with the last firmware release for the BDP-S1. I thought I read somewhere they had added it for the BDP-S300 as well. If they haven't yet I'm sure they will shortly, since the players are essentially the same aside from HDMI 1.2 vs 1.3. __________________ DVD collection LD collection Format war rules: Never let facts get in the way of dogma.

08-09-2007, 09:59 PM	#13 (permalink)
dugpa Nothing But the Best Join Date: Sep 2004	Looks like I stand corrected. It appears some people have opened up their BDP-S300's and despite Sony's claims, it only has a 1.2 chip inside. So change that. __________________ DVD collection LD collection Format war rules: Never let facts get in the way of dogma.

08-09-2007, 10:09 PM	#14 (permalink)
Pirate Director/Moderator Loves Yellow Subtitles Join Date: Jun 2003	I thought there was a reason I didn't get it. __________________ Early Adopting So You Don’t Have To.

08-09-2007, 10:33 PM	#18 (permalink)
Pirate Director/Moderator Loves Yellow Subtitles Join Date: Jun 2003	So, you're saying I either need to spend $500+ for an in the meantime player, or shell out $2K for the Denon. I at least want one that can decode THD and DTS-HD. If HD DVD can do it... __________________ Early Adopting So You Don’t Have To.

08-09-2007, 10:40 PM	#20 (permalink)
Pirate Director/Moderator Loves Yellow Subtitles Join Date: Jun 2003	So, if you were choosing a BD player for right now, which would you go with? __________________ Early Adopting So You Don’t Have To.

08-09-2007, 10:58 PM	#24 (permalink)
Pirate Director/Moderator Loves Yellow Subtitles Join Date: Jun 2003	I thought you might say that. I don't care that much about the DVD playback (I still like my Pioneer DVD player), but I do care about loading times and having some sense that I'm not throwing my money away. I still feel secure with my A1 (expect for the ugly design and slow ass loading) and I'd like something similar with a BD player. It seems BD doesn't offer that, though. I'll wait for info on the Samsungs and then buy the cheapest one I guess. __________________ Early Adopting So You Don’t Have To.

08-09-2007, 11:04 PM	#25 (permalink)
dugpa Nothing But the Best Join Date: Sep 2004	You could always buy the toy Blu-ray player. __________________ DVD collection LD collection Format war rules: Never let facts get in the way of dogma.