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Discussion starter · #41 ·
OP here. After seeing the quality of the netflix streaming, and giving that I have a 110 inch PJ screen, which just exacerbates poor quality, I am going with a stand alone, no internet BR player. Just the best picture. Period. No fancy stuff.
 
i'm confused about the suggestion around the bd60 and the roku at $230

wouldn't one be better off going with the samsung 3600 for $220 http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-BD-P3600-1080p-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B001TK3D4K for example

then you would get wifi/netflick/blu ray all in one
The 3600 doesn't have onboard wi-fi and 3 stars on Amazon. It costs a lot of cash to get the dongle.

Plus you get a hard drive in the Roku which means more space. I'm a firm believer in separates for electronics it's much easier to fix or replace one component than the entire unit.
 
The 3600 doesn't have onboard wi-fi and 3 stars on Amazon. It costs a lot of cash to get the dongle.

Plus you get a hard drive in the Roku which means more space. I'm a firm believer in separates for electronics it's much easier to fix or replace one component than the entire unit.
from the amazon page "Connect wirelessly for BD-Live content or streaming services using the included USB Wi-Fi dongle"

additionally my inlaws just received one from amazon and it came with the dongle

I get the separates concept but.
I'm not getting the advantage of a separate device for streaming netflix, that feature is pretty simple and benine. I'd be ok with it being in a player, , right now I'm leveraging xbox 360's or mce for all of our netflix streaming.
 
The 3600 doesn't have onboard wi-fi and 3 stars on Amazon. It costs a lot of cash to get the dongle.

Plus you get a hard drive in the Roku which means more space. I'm a firm believer in separates for electronics it's much easier to fix or replace one component than the entire unit.
1. The 3600 has Wi-Fi capability, and the dongle is inexpensive, or even comes with it.

2. See below, in the second quote.

No Harddrive in the Roku Netflix Streamer, but all your other points are true.
Thanks Marshall for this precision. :T

from the amazon page "Connect wirelessly for BD-Live content or streaming services using the included USB Wi-Fi dongle"

additionally my inlaws just received one from amazon and it came with the dongle

I get the separates concept but.
I'm not getting the advantage of a separate device for streaming netflix, that feature is pretty simple and benine. I'd be ok with it being in a player, , right now I'm leveraging xbox 360's or mce for all of our netflix streaming.
1. You are absolutely right (about Amazon).

2. Very true too (dongle included).

3. Also true, the blu-ray manufacturers are putting all their energy on Streaming from their players big time.
That's what people demand nowadays.

* By the way, there is also the Samsung BD-P4600 with Wi-Fi also, and much more...
And of course there is also the excellent LG BD390.
And now the PS3 for $299, with a big hard drive.
Well, there is also the Oppo BDP-83, but that one is $499.

** But to keep in line with the subject of this thread, which is an entry level blu-ray player, with superb upscaling DVD format, and for less than $200; I recommend the Panasonic DMP-BD60, for $130 now.

Pick your poison... according to your pleasure; performance, features, and budget, and of course efficiency. :bigsmile:
 
It came down to the LG 390 and the BD80 for me. The Netflix feature set is what made the LG look good. The looks of the unit is classy. But, i have a problem with the whole Netflix streaming thing. I saw a stream at BB yesterday using the Sammy. Sure didn't look all that great compared to an actual disk. I also wonder how well HD Audio comes thru on a stream too.

I sure would like to hear what Netflix streamers look and sound like from those that have used it in comparison to a actual BR disk. Maybe this could change my mind since its such a unknown to me.

The BD60/80 has been reviewed to upscale SD Dvd's and image BR disks better than the LG390. So right off the top of my head for HT guys, im thinking the Panny seems like the best choice right now. Ive been following the latest FW updates as well. Starting to look like load times are comparable and the pause on BR disks has almost been eliminated.
 
It came down to the LG 390 and the BD80 for me. The Netflix feature set is what made the LG look good. The looks of the unit is classy. But, i have a problem with the whole Netflix streaming thing. I saw a stream at BB yesterday using the Sammy. Sure didn't look all that great compared to an actual disk. I also wonder how well HD Audio comes thru on a stream too.

I sure would like to hear what Netflix streamers look and sound like from those that have used it in comparison to a actual BR disk. Maybe this could change my mind since its such a unknown to me.

The BD60/80 has been reviewed to upscale SD Dvd's and image BR disks better than the LG390. So right off the top of my head for HT guys, im thinking the Panny seems like the best choice right now. Ive been following the latest FW updates as well. Starting to look like load times are comparable and the pause on BR disks has almost been eliminated.
The LG BD390 is Wi-Fi (wireless), streams all sort of stuff, and better than the Sammy BD-P2500.
But the BD-P2500 has an advantage, picture wise, with its HQV Reon VP chip.

Now, The Panny DMP-BD80 is also an excellent player, with a slightly better picture from DVDs and Blu-rays, but not by much. But it is not Wi-Fi and does not stream as much as the LG BD390.

* There is a firmware udate just released for the Panasonic DMP-BD60/BD70V and BD80 players, version 2.2
-> Here: http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/forum/3747-post1.html

** And if your receiver is equipped with HDMI version 1.3, you don't need the multichannel analog outputs of the Panny DMP-BD80, you'd be better off with the much less expensive ($120) Panny BD60.

*** Also, all these Panasonic players do upconversion of Standard DVDs to not only 1080p/60, but ALSO to 1080p/24fps, which is not common in blu-ray players (a rare and very welcome feature), but a very nice touch indeed, as it is the standard frames per second from standard DVDs; so you'll get less artifacts in the timing, taking advantage of removing the judder that's associated with 3:2 pulldown. The Panny does a very good job at this, with smooth pannings and no frame drops.

))) Last but no least, I'm not a big supporter of Sony products, but as previously mentioned by recruit (John), the Sony BDP-S360 is another excellent performer, picture wise, with both formats, DVD & Blu-ray discs.
This player can be found for only $125, or even less. It scores a high 121 out of a perfect 130 in the HQV Benchmark for standard DVD, the highest score I've seen so far for such a low price player. On the HD portion, it scores 70 out of a perfect 100, with a very detailed picture.
Here's the review: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346416,00.asp

Cheers,
Bob
 
Hey Bob, Nice post.

All my research came up with the same thing. I may add that there has been some consumer reviews that the LG390 has a very hard time connecting using the wireless feature. These people stated that eventually the LG390 would connect, but was very slow. Regardless, its a feature rich unit.

As far as the BD60/80 comparisons, your right. I just happen to have a older Processor so I need the analog connections the BD80 offers. And I already have Cat5 behind my gear rack. I also think there is some improvement in video quality on the BD80, but probably not enough to justify the extra expense if you already have a HDMI 1.3 capable Receiver or Processor.

And thanks yet once again for reminding everyone of the new FW update for the Panny's! This one is exciting. Now its fast and should have no occasional pauses!
 
Picture wise, there is no difference between the BD60 & BD80, they both used the exact same video processor.
So if you have a Pre/Pro or Receiver with inboard decoders for the new high resolution audio codecs, then the Panny DMP-BD60 is all you really need to bitstream these codecs through HDMI 1.3 digital audio/video output, straight to the Pre/Pro or Receiver.

* And yes indeed, it is very good news about the new firmware update version 2.2 from Panasonic.
I know that a lot of people are going to rejoice. :jump:

** And I appreciate your thanks for my posting, it is encouraging indeed. :T
 
Do all of the blu-ray players have problems ? I'd like to pick up a (under $200) player for my dad for Christmas, hate to give him a gift with problems...
No not necessarily as the BD format is still quite new most of the companies offer firmware updates if any problem discs appear, but to also improve the machines performance...the majority of bargain players work just as well seeing that performance wise the native 1080p24 should ideally be the same for all BD players.
 
Make sure you pick a machine that has active FW updates with it, then actually update it when you take possession. Id still say the Panny BD60 is the best one out there in your price range and probably competes with higher priced machines SQ wise. It just doesn't have any of the other features that has been discussed earlier in the thread. The latest FW update for the Panny supposed to have fixed the occasional pause the machine was reported to have by some.

Here is an example of FW History for the B60..
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/bd/download/bd60/bd60_na.html
 
Make sure you pick a machine that has active FW updates with it, then actually update it when you take possession. Id still say the Panny BD60 is the best one out there in your price range and probably competes with higher priced machines SQ wise. It just doesn't have any of the other features that has been discussed earlier in the thread. The latest FW update for the Panny supposed to have fixed the occasional pause the machine was reported to have by some.

Here is an example of FW History for the B60..
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/bd/download/bd60/bd60_na.html
I replaced my PS3 with one(due to my anger at the firmware bomb nonsense) and have loved it. It's a little slow on opening and closing, but it's solid. I personally have no need for Netflix streaming. I use their blu-ray/dvd service instead.
 
The Panasonic BD players are certainly solid units, the BD30 I had was a great player and was my first, imported one from the US and was faultless apart from the disc loading times, which tbh has affected nearly all players when they first came out...
 
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