OK I am looking at getting one of the following Blu-Ray players and need to know which one to choose:
Sony BDPS1 for $899.99
Pioneer BDFHD1 $1249.99
Panasonic DMPBD10K $1049.00
Samsung BDP1000 $899.00

I already have the HD-A1 HD-DVD player and would like to compare the different formats.

Thanks!

I'd wait it out a few weeks and see what the reviews look like the Sony player, if they do release it, "finally". If the reviews are good I'm picking it up. If they are bad I'm going to look for a heavily discounted Samsung.

If the Pioneer was around $1300 as you mention I'd buy it but the pricing model for the Elite player sounds more like $1500-$1800.

This week at tweeters they have the Pioneer Elite BDFHD1 for 1499.99 - 250.00 = 1249.99. From what I have read the Sony is a clone of the Pioneer Elite. Is this true?

I'm not sure about the internals being the same as I havn't kept up on the BR player discussions. I didn't even know the Pioneer was released yet. I don't have a Tweeter anywhere near me.

The Sony is built by Pioneer. Its not a clone - the Sony doesn't have the networking capability - but its damn close. It will also do 1080p24, which is nice. Unless things have changed in the last month or so, neither will support TrueHD or Master Audio. The Pioneer does, but doesn't support 1080p24 (yet?). The Sammy is a great entry level player you can pick up for $500.

Where can you get it for $500!

I have the Samsung and love it. Not sure where you can get it for $500, but you can get it new for a lot less than $899 at:

Newegg ($750 w/free blu-ray movie (till 11/30))
Vanns ($740)

If 7.1 analog out is important to you, then you might want to consider the Panny. The Samsung, Pioneer (and possibly the Sony - not sure though) all do only 5.1 analog out. The Samsung is the worst option IMHO because you have to use their wacky 1080p to 1080i to 1080p conversion off the disc (e.g. not 1080p output). The Panny allows you to output 1080i, so if you have an external video processor it can do the the conversion to 1080p for you. Panasonic has also claimed that it will handle the high def audio formats and 1080p24 native output via firmware upgrade in '07. Given this last point and the fact that it does the 7.1 output, the Panny player was the one for me.

Thanks Mr. Foo and the rest. As for the analog I will have to use some y-connectors on my Pioneer Elite AV Receiver due to using them for my HD-DVD player.

Pioneer has stated outright that their player does and and will not ever support TrueHD or DTS Master Audio. Panasonic is the only Blu-ray manufacturer that has pledged to add those features in a firmware update next year.

Just for the record, the Blu-ray player within the PS3 is quite nice. I've watched two movies on mine so far (Taladega Nights & X-Men 3) and was impressed by both the image quality (it matches HD-DVD) and especially the audio (which I believe may surpass HD-DVD slightly...at least using the two titles I watched as a comparison).

Bottom line here though is that the PS3 built-in player isn't glitchy like the PS2's DVD player was...the only downside is that no remote exists yet, so you'll have to make due with your controller (isn't too hard to figure out which buttons are used for what, though).

So if you can track one down at a reasonable price, the PS3 is a good pick for a first Blu-ray player - especially if you're a gamer too.

Yea, the problem is getting the PS3 though.

Prices have dropped to around 1K on Ebay for many units so most of us will have to wait until after the holidays for the PS3.

As for the Samsung the sweet price for brand new units or refurbs is around $600 on Ebay if you don't mind going that route.

I picked up the Sammy at Circuit City yesterday for $697. Put in the latest FW and it looks pretty good from the couple of movies I have watched so far. I have also had the Tosh HD DVD since May.

I was thinking I had to get a switcher to connect both my HD-DVD and DVD-A players. I didn't even know they had y-connectors for this purpose. I'd be interested if you could point me to more info.

This is what I mean:

Do I understand this correctly to mean that the Sony BDP S1 will NOT support TrueHD or DTS-MA over analog out (because it won't be able to decode it)? If true, then am I correct in assuming that the player won't be able to decode TrueHD and DTS-MA and pass it as LPCM over HDMI either? I presume that the player will, at least, be able to pass TrueHD and DTS-MA over HDMI 1.3 to be decoded by a receiver, when receivers that can handle the new codecs come out.

The reason I ask is that I have a neighbor with a new 70 inch SXRD (very nice picture!) who is a Sony fan and was thinking about buying the BDP-S1. If it can't handle the lossless codecs, save for LPCM, I need to be able to warn him to wait.

Like most of us, he doesn't plan to upgrade his receiver (also Sony, of course) for now and it does have 5.1 analog inputs. He might be ok with just using downrezzed optical or coax inputs, since he isn't an audiophile or action movie buff, but I want him to know what the situation is before he buys a BD player.

The player will extract the Dolby Digital or DTS core signal and decode that. It will not decode the TrueHD or Master Audio extensions.

I don't believe either the Sony or Pioneer standalone Blu-ray players will have HDMI 1.3. I believe the PS3 and the Toshiba HD-XA2 are the only players for either format to incorporate HDMI 1.3 this year.

Correct. PS3 and XA2 sometime later this year or early next (whenever it gets released).

If you have the money, the best BR player IMO is the Panasonic. I was able to score the player for $999.99 at a local Circuit City after the Samsung was out of stock.

Thanks for the info Josh Z and MrChaos.

If I were to pick one up, I'd wait for discounted/refurbed Pannys to drop and buy one of those (which I may eventually do).

If price wasn't a concern, the Panny would have been my choice out of all of them, but the Sammy is doing the job for me. My next BD player should be a PS3, but I won't bother looking for one until sometime next year.

Thanks. I may try going that route.

This is a nice comparison review of the PS3, Sammy, and Panny. The reviewer said he favored the PS3.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hd-...c-players.html

Also, the Sony BDP-1 is now coming into play as well.