Low Cost Blu-Ray Player Recommendations?

[Old Quad Guy]

I want to support the Oppo Blu-ray player and get one sometime, but can only afford a low cost player for the time being. Any recommendations for a low cost Blu-Ray player?

I don’t need a player with built in codec’s (at least I don’t think so) as the Yamaha RX-V663 supposedly decodes all the latest formats. I was looking at the Panasonic DMP-BD60 at Amazon for $127.49 with free 2 day shipping. Is this a good deal or for about the same money (give or take) is there a player that has better performance / features? I was also considering a Blu-Ray player that plays video games, (don't care about game platform either way) I know those cost more. Perhaps I should save for the Oppo. Just considering some options here, I mainly want to play BR movies / Music. Thanks.

 

[timbre4]

The Panasonic DMP-BD60 has been a very popular markdown to $129 the past few weeks, I'd lean that way. Bought the BD55K myself last year (Sound & Vision Reference item) and it has played BD movies and a few AVCHD DTS MA discs I've acquired with no issues whatsoever. I use the analog outs to an older Denon receiver. If you need the analog outs that would be the BD80 this year. (not discounted so much, maybe $180)

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Thanks Tim for the info. I went with the Panasonic DMP-BD60 at Amazon for $127.49 with free 2 day shipping. I want to buy new movies, but quit buying regular DVD’s the last couple of years in favor of fire sale HD-DVD and low priced DVD-Audio / SACD titles because of their value and quality. Blu-ray titles seem to be priced at about what regular DVD was 5 or 10 years ago (or even less). With Blu-ray’s sound and picture quality it seems to be the better bargain for movies than regular DVD when one buys a new movie or a re-mastered title like “The Wizard of Oz.” I still want DVD-Audio / SACD capabilities added to these units as the years go on though, but this is what I can afford now.

Thanks again for the info.

 

[westgate]

Thanks Tim for the info. I went with the Panasonic DMP-BD60 at Amazon for $127.49 with free 2 day shipping. I want to buy new movies, but quit buying regular DVD’s the last couple of years in favor of fire sale HD-DVD and low priced DVD-Audio / SACD titles because of their value and quality. Blu-ray with its sound and picture quality seems to be the better bargain for movies than regular DVD if one buys a new movie or re-mastered title like “The Wizard of Oz” as BR titles seem to be priced at about what regular DVD was 5 or 10 years ago (or even less). I still want DVD-Audio / SACD capabilities added to these units as the years go on though, but this is what I can afford now.

Thanks again for the info.

re pan. 'bd60', random 3 to 6 second 'freezes' while playing blu ray discs have been reported from some owners. they apparently can happen at any time or never happen at all. no one including pan. seems to know what the cause is.

for more info goto avsforum.com site, do a search re said player, and read all about it.
for many of the people that have experienced said freeze, it's not a deal breaker.
ie, it's a very good player.

and good luck to you!

 

[Old Quad Guy]

re pan. 'bd60', random 'freezes' while playing blu ray discs have been reported from some owners. they apparently can happen at any time or never happen at all.

for more info goto avs.com site, do a search re said player, and read all about it.
for many of the people that have experienced said freeze, it's not a deal breaker.
ie, it's a very good player.

and good luck to you!

Thanks for the info. Supposedly a 2.2 update that just came out this week fixes this, but we'll see!
Thanks.

 

[westgate]

Thanks for the info. Supposedly a 2.2 update that just came out this week fixes this, but we'll see!
Thanks.

i went back and put a link in my last post to the specific thread over at avs if you want to read up on it.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Thanks for the info. Supposedly a 2.2 update that just came out this week fixes this, but we'll see!
Thanks.

It is my understanding that the new firmware did fix the longstanding issue of freezes and video stuttering with the DMP-BD60 but it is a recent update and months will need to pass before we can be confident the problem is history.

Chris

 

[timbre4]

I'm now able to update firmware through ethernet port on the DMP-55K; the original Dec 2008 1.7 version was updated to to 2.3 version (I believe) last week. It never had any freeze or studder issues, such an improvement over the previous Samsung BDP1400....

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I'm now able to update firmware through ethernet port on the DMP-55K; the original Dec 2008 1.7 version was updated to to 2.3 version (I believe) last week. It never had any freeze or studder issues, such an improvement over the previous Samsung BDP1400....

I never read reports of the problem with the DMP-BD55 or DMP-BD35, it was only the subsequent models, the DMP-BD60 and DMP-BD80 that have (had) the issue. It is an intermittent problem, very rare for some and fairly common for other owners. Some owners had no problems at all the first few months but ultimately had problems so it isn't a problem that will be easy for everybody to be certain that Panasonic has fixed it. Similar glitches can be seen even if it has been fixed, maybe a dust particle or smudge, could cause something similar so if a few complaints continue that isn't proof the problem still exists, only time can result in confidence it is no longer an issue.

Chris

 

[Guy Robinson]

I want to support the Oppo Blu-ray player and get one sometime, but can only afford a low cost player for the time being. Any recommendations for a low cost Blu-Ray player?

I don’t need a player with built in codec’s (at least I don’t think so) as the Yamaha RX-V663 supposedly decodes all the latest formats. I was looking at the Panasonic DMP-BD60 at Amazon for $127.49 with free 2 day shipping. Is this a good deal or for about the same money (give or take) is there a player that has better performance / features? I was also considering a Blu-Ray player that plays video games, (don't care about game platform either way) I know those cost more. Perhaps I should save for the Oppo. Just considering some options here, I mainly want to play BR movies / Music. Thanks.

I have had no problems with the Sony 360 of any kind. I have over 200 BR discs and everyone that I have watched has been flawless. I am very impressed with this player and the 350 that came before it. If you don't need the audio converters built-in then it is a great choice.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Oppo will have a new Blu-ray player out soon although it won't be low cost relative to some other players, it will be considerably less than the BDP-83.

http://hd.engadget.com/2009/12/22/oppo-to-add-a-lower-cost-blu-ray-player-to-its-lineup/

Chris

 

[Old Quad Guy]

I have had no problems with the Sony 360 of any kind. I have over 200 BR discs and everyone that I have watched has been flawless. I am very impressed with this player and the 350 that came before it. If you don't need the audio converters built-in then it is a great choice.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind if the Panasonic gives us trouble. Reading all 5 pages of the thread about the "freeze" sort of left me cold. I'll update the player and see what we get.

It should be interesting to see what the specs/price will be with the new Oppo.

 

[timbre4]

In praise of cheaper Blu Ray players, I must mention that the slim new JVC XV-BP10 (also sold as BP11 thru some outlets) turns out to be a solid performer! Last Christmas I gave my in-laws my Samsung BDP1400 and it was complicated, slow and locked up on Mama Mia BR disc as a number of players did. They bought a JVC LCD 1080P set last year so I was looking at the earlier (Mar 2009) XV-BP1 but couldn't get that good of a price. Then I found out about this one on line. But I had to touch it and turn it around and study the remote to have a real idea about it. So I went to Sam's Club and decided to give it a try for a mere $109.

I took out the Samsung and put the JVC in it's place. Unit is very basic in terms of connections; the only ones i used were HDMI & optical. The remote ran their TV which was a relief. Great looking menus, faster loading time, quick chapter changes and crisp handling overall. That Mama Mia BD looked eye-popping and played flawlessly. This player is one of the first Blu Ray units to be in the ultra-slim case not unlike those $40 Sony DVD players.