ag87

Hi,

I've been through countless searches and sites looking for a DVD player with specific features and haven't yet found something that fits exactly what I want. If anyone has a recommendation, I'd really appreciate it.

Must have:
- DVD player
- Streaming player (does at least Amazon prime and Netflix)
- Internet browser
- Allows a keyboard
- Connection that allows good resolution, HDMI or whatever
- One of my existing players plays my DVD's with better resolution, I think it's called upconverting or something like that, so I'd want the same here (my old player doesn't look as good)
- Trying to keep the price down a bit, if possible. If it's too high, it'd probably be better to just buy multiple less expensive players to get the features.
- Trying to keep the number of drawbacks down (bad interface, gets hot, slow speed up, does unnecessary interactions across the internet when just playing a disk, etc. - stuff I've experienced or seen in various reviews)

Would also like:
- Region free
- USB port for flash drive (separate from keyboard connection so both allowed at once) to allow playing file-based media (mp3 and mpg and such)

Playing blu ray would also be nice, but less important than the rest as I already own a blu ray player and want the region free mainly for some standard DVD's.

Maybe there's no player that does all these. I have a feeling I'll end up with one player for most of these features and a separate region free DVD player. But recommendations on multiple items would still be very helpful.

I am new to this forum and rarely post, so please forgive any mistakes in posting (wrong subject, already answered somewhere, etc.).

Thanks!

Spiky

I have never seen a TV device with browser that I would want to surf with for more than a minute. Put a laptop or tablet in your lap while watching TV if you want both. Or connect your computer to the TV directly, that's what I do.

ag87

Thank you. So for a browser I'll connect my laptop. That said, I've never been happy trying to use a computer to try and play DVD's, streaming, etc., vastly prefer a dedicated machine for that.

So any recommendations on a player for the rest of the features? I would still like the rest of the features, including a keyboard (for entering searches which is very cumbersome via remote).

ag87

Hi,

To clarify, I still have a question.

I now have the answer for the internet browsing (thank you, Spiky). But I am still seeking a recommendation for one or more machines with the rest of the features. To reiterate (but removing the internet browser as a requested feature):

Must have:
- DVD player
- Streaming player (does at least Amazon prime and Netflix)
- Allows a keyboard (still very useful, even without a browser)
- Connection that allows good resolution, HDMI or whatever
- One of my existing players plays my DVD's with better resolution, I think it's called upconverting or something like that, so I'd want the same here (my old player doesn't look as good)
- Trying to keep the price down a bit, if possible. If it's too high, it'd probably be better to just buy multiple less expensive players to get the features.
- Trying to keep the number of drawbacks down (bad interface, gets hot, slow speed up, does unnecessary interactions across the internet when just playing a disk, etc. - stuff I've experienced or seen in various reviews)

Would also like:
- Region free
- USB port for flash drive (separate from keyboard connection so both allowed at once) to allow playing file-based media (mp3 and mpg and such)

As recommended, I will use the computer solution for the web browsing. Yes, a computer could be used for the rest of these features also, but I have tried that before and vastly prefer dedicated players for those types of operations.

So I'd appreciate more recommendations on players for the remaining features.

Thank you

Spiky

Samsung DVD players allow for keyboards. I think they claim you have to get their keyboard, but the internet tells me that isn't true. And most players are now upconverting with HDMI output (esp BD players will upconvert DVDs), times have changed from when you bought your oldest players, so that is probably an easy item to check off.

Prime has other issues, I'm not sure how to research this, but I can tell you what I've seen. There is Amazon Video (videos you purchased), and then there is Amazon Prime free video. Not all devices do both. My Tivo, for instance, does only purchased videos, not Prime, and it doesn't really have an app, it's this weird built-in UI that I don't really like. In contrast, I love the Roku 3 for Prime. Amazon has a search page for BD players they sell that include an Amazon video app, that might be a place to start. Everything includes Netflix, no worries there.

You should look at region free issues carefully. Do you need this for DVD and BD, or just DVD? There is a difference in how players handle it. BD region free is more difficult to use than DVD.

Personally, I use an Oppo player for BD and DVD, region free for both. And Roku or PS3 for streaming apps, including Prime. I may be a poor example for most people, I require the $500 Oppo for audio and video quality and compatibility with other disc types, as well.

As for "unnecessary...internet" when playing BDs, that is a "feature" of bluray. If you want to avoid it, you may just need to change the settings in whatever player (turn off BD Live), or unplug the network cable when watching a BD. I've found most discs I have don't force much, so it hasn't been too bad. Nobody seems to have liked this content very much, so the studios have stopped including quite so much.

ag87

Thank you, I'll take a look at Samsung and the Amazon list.

To answer your questions:

For Amazon, I was looking for the "free" (meaning, yearly charge) Prime videos.

For region free, I am interested in DVD. I probably won't deal with that for blu ray. Having it could potentially be useful at some point in the future, but if it complicates the ability to find a player or increases the price much, then region free for just DVD is certainly fine. I don't even necessarily need the player to even handle blu ray at all. Any blu ray support at all is just a bonus, not necessary. All I really need is the upconverting (which I understand you are saying will always be the case now) and HDMI. The main reason I started looking at blu ray players is because I figured they'd be the most likely to meet my list of requirements, not actually for the blu ray support itself.

Yes, agreed, the $500 out of my budget for this. Two separate less-expensive players are fine, however, if that is necessary. I have been looking at several region-free players for under $100, but they all have issues (no HDMI support, or people having trouble unlocking the region-free capability, or no one sells one in good condition anymore, etc.).

I was at a retail store the other day and looked at the players they were selling - although rarely priced more than $100, most were primarily focused on advertising their 3d support (which is of no interest at all to me), none had more than 1 USB port, none listed keyboard support, none listed Amazon Prime support (which surprised me), none advertised region free support, and several didn't even do wireless support for purposes of streaming (I should probably have listed that as a requirement, but assumed all newer streaming players had wireless). It is clear I'll have to buy this/these online.

Thanks again for your help

Spiky

No retail store in the USA is going to advertise region free. You can find such comments on Amazon or other websites. There are actually quite a few BD players that can have a remote code entered to make them region free for DVD. It may not be advertised as such in most places, but you can find region free discussion on the web that will help. videohelp.com is one source for such info.

If you can't find a perfect player for all your wants, you should be able to get a BDp with region free DVD for $100 or less, and a Roku 3 for $99.

And no, built-in wifi is not a standard feature. That will reduce your options if you need wifi, and increase price a bit. Personally, I wire mine with ethernet since I can. Easier to set up and a more solid connection.

Spiky

Actually, Roku just released a new streaming device at $50 to compete with the Chromecast. Haven't looked for reviews yet, but I'm betting their experience will make it better than the Chromecast.

ag87

Thanks, I'll take a look at those

I did go ahead and purchase a dedicated region free DVD player for a very reasonable price. By dedicated, I mean that it doesn't have the rest of the features (except just the basics like HDMI and such). Playing region-specific DVD disks (or any DVD disks, of course) is its only purpose. So now I am just working on finding a separate player for the rest of the features (no longer needing to worry about the region free feature, which makes it easier). The extra USB, keyboard support, and subtitle support seem to be the most limiting factors, but I have come across a few options that look fairly reasonable.

I agree 100% about the wired connection being better, and that's an absolute requirement for me whenever I've bought a computer. But the arrangement of my place is such that wireless is my only reasonable option on the TV-related equipment.