Sears has the Samsung 2500 for $250 right now. If you are a fatwallet member, you can link through there for an additional 2% ($5) off.

not bad for a 2.0/analog/netflix streaming player.

link

The 1500 now internally decodes DTS MA!

I'm really stumped on what BLU-Ray player to get... I want the Panasonic(35) but refuse to pay $340.00 for it plus shipping. Plus I've heard it may be discontinued. When will the new model come out? My other option is to get the Sony 350. Amazon has it for $270.00 with free shipping. I hate to pay that much since its been lower.... Will I be happy with the Sony? Should I wait a couple of weeks for stocks to replenish and prices to come down?

I haven't heard any complaints about the s350 which why I went for it. My s300 was only going to drop in value so I figured I better sell it while the selling was good. I don't know how you feel about eBay for a purchase like this but there were numerous unopened s350's for $225 - $250 with the shipping. It will save a couple bucks anyway. My universal remote is all set up for the SONY player right now. So I got that going for me

I heard it didn't upconvert very well.. or at least not as good as the panasonic. Maybe I should just buy a regular DVD player that upconverts... Besides, I like DVD's and my computer likes DVD's...

Vizio is releasing a bluray profile 2.0 for $199 in April. I know what I'm buying.

You may want to wait. I wouldn't be shocked to see the S350 at that price in April.

Though this Vizio seems to have analog out (which is a huge factor for some) and if it's already profile 2.0 (especially if it includes memory) could give it a boost. Then again it's Vizio vs. Sony. If you don't care about the analog out, then the Sony may be worth looking at over Vizio, even if you have to buy memory.

Considering how much trouble I'm having getting the Panasonic BD35 I'd strongly consider this one at that price - if it were in stock!

It seems I'm a day late and a dollar short on these things.

I still want the BD35....

>>Update:
Sure enough, the sale price on the Samsung 2500 ended without any stock so I couldn't order it online again.

So now I may be able to get the Panasonic BD35 for $299.99 at my local Sears, but I'm not sure what to make of the pricing. With the new models coming soon will they likely have a lower list price (or the same)? And how much better IS the BD35 than the Samsung 2500 (if at all)?

I may go ahead and buy it today just to make sure I have one (I can always return it in the next 30 days) and make up my mind later...

(I just wish I had known 6 weeks ago that I definitely had a profit sharing check coming in February like I know now - I would have gotten better deals all around. Oh, well...)

The 35 is now (or soon) going to be discontinued. I'd either way...or just hold onto your receipt. As a reminder, it does come with 2 free BDs by mail but you have to remove the UPC from he box so make sure you are happy with the price. I saw an open box one for $199 at Best Buy yesterday so they may have dropped the price in-store.

$299.99 is retail price for the Panny. The Samsung 2500, I believe, does Netflix (or, at least, will). It also has analog outs, if you're interested in that sort of thing. It looks like the Panny BD60 will be replacing the BD35, so I would imagine the retail price would be near the same, so if you're willing to wait, I would, unless you find a good deal on the BD35. But I wouldn't pay retail price for it. Now that I purchased the BD35, it really bugs me that I saw that this BD60 does YouTube and Amazon VOD. But, oh well. I wanted a Blu-ray player, now, and I got a good deal on it. I say the BD60, even though the retail price will be close, will probably not have as good of a deal on it for a while. I'm happy with my player, though.

I found this player today for $115 at Office Depot. I was tempted, but decided against it.

According to The Digital Bits, the Panasonic BD60 will have an SRP of $299.99 and will be available sometime in the Spring (they predict March). So I probably wouldn't pay over $200 for the BD35. The great thing about the BD60 is it will have streaming capabalitiles through Amazon VOD (and I though I read somewhere Netflix and YouTube, but I may be wrong about that since I don't remember where I read it). Plus the BD60 supposedly uses 16% less power (not really sure what that will amount to, though).

Since I didn't want to wait 2 months to buy my player (my Toshiba 42XV545U was delivered yesterday), I went ahead and bought a BD35 for $229.95. I'm really happy with both the TV and blu ray player so far.

The BD35 is a solid, solid unit. Panasonic is the most reliable BD manufacturer. IMO of course.

So I'm slowly starting to look at players now and let's just so far it's been a pain. It's like, if the info isn't on the little info card next to the price tag, then most have no clue what the fuck to tell me to sell me on the product.

saw this over at slickdeals - Memorex Blu-ray Player for $99

http://www.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?ProductID=29419116

I bought the Sony 350 in a packaged deal with the Sony receiver HTSS2300 for $499. So far, I'm very impressed with the Blu-ray player...

I ended up getting a NIB s350 on eBay and sold my s300 the same day. Including all the fees it was around 90 - $100 for the upgrade. I don't honestly notice a night and day difference between the lossless sound and the downconverted DD from my previous player, however the much fatser boot times along with the PiP capability make it worth it. To be honest I have no interest in BD live content yet.

New Pioneer player pricing confirmed:

BDP-120: $249
BDP-320: $399
BDP-23FD: $599

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/01/26...u-ray-players/

All are BD Live, and can decode/bitstream all lossless audio formats. I may have to get the 120 model. They look great.

Holy crap that is low!

How do any of these CEs expect to make profit this year on BD players? By Christmas we just have numerous ones hovering at the $99 range (which is great for adoption).

While the prices don't bother me, I am not sure the average person sees $250 dollars as a low price for what is basically an upgrade luxury item. Then they need to purchase or rent discs to go with it to see the new technology.

The BD60 is, indeed, replacing the BD35 in April. This is definitely the one I'm waiting for.
Many of You will recall the big Costco promotional sale in December where they had the BD35 for $199.00. ...But YMMV was a gross understatement in describing what it was like to find one. Then the day after that sale ended, the first Costco I went to had them stacked to the ceiling.
Then in January they ran a coupon sale on it. $50 off their regular $279 price. Not as good as the $199 sale, but not bad. ...But again, not one to be found.
I did, however spot this interesting ad in my local Costco today:

I suppose the substitution of the Sony or the Samsung may be a done deal now that the coupon expired. The manager at my local Costco said he (for some reason) couldn't print a raincheck valid for more than 30 days (IE: good until the BD60 arrives in April), but assured me that if I brought the above notice along with my coupon when the BD60 arrives, he'd honor the $50 off. Sure hope so...

Sony has released the first firmware update for the BDP-S550. Version 015.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu...50&region_id=1

Select your operating system and proceed.

I haven't had a single problem yet, so I may wait for others to download it. The unit has been out since October '08 and this is the first update. That's a good thing in my opinion. No idea what this update is for.