DVD Talk Forum - Should I go Blu Ray with a 1080i set?

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I just hooked up a blu ray player to my 1080i rear projection unit via component and it looks fabulous. Just wish I could upconvert standard dvds.

So, is the general consensus that the PS3 is still the best Blu-Ray player? I'm the same boat as the OP in that I have a 1080i set.

I was tempted by all the $250 players this past weekend at Circuit City. I'm not really interested in the gaming aspect of the PS3 (along the extra cost in general as well as to buy the remote) so are any of the stand alone $300 (and under) players up to snuff? Any of them offer firmware upgrades?

I currently have four BD players, including the brand new Sony S550, a PS3 and the first gen Samsung and Panasonic players. The PS3 was never my main player due to lack of full compatibility with IR remotes and to a lesser extent heat/noise, and IMO it's a close #3 in PQ quality after my S550 and Panny. But it is a damn good full-featured piece of machinery and is still much faster when it comes to loading and Java on BD's. If you're looking at standalones in the $300 range, you will probably be very happy with the new Panny BD35 or Sony S350 (depending on your receiver's audio decoding capabilities).

Quote:

Originally Posted by RM811 (Post 9015976)

I just hooked up a blu ray player to my 1080i rear projection unit via component and it looks fabulous. Just wish I could upconvert standard dvds.

Your player should be "upconverting" anyway not unless you didn't set it up that way in the settings and/or in the settings of the RPTV.

Kenny J

Quote:

Originally Posted by K&AJones (Post 9027874)

Your player should be "upconverting" anyway not unless you didn't set it up that way in the settings and/or in the settings of the RPTV.

Kenny J

Or unless his set only has component inputs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qui Gon Jim (Post 9027959)

Or unless his set only has component inputs.

Woops...forgot about that one. Mine has the older DVI and I used a converted adapter with HDMi on one side. Mine is a older Mits Silver series that had the first DVI connection.

Kenny J

Quote:

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist (Post 9005981)

I personally like it better than the PS3. On my system the color-scheme for example is much stronger (as recently as 48 hours ago I compared both on L'aventura and hands down the 350 is the better upconverter - the blacks are much stronger when not looking at close-up shots and I also happen to share the opinion that definition through the 350 is also marginally better). I will have a 550 probably by the end of the week to test but at this point I am definitely in favor of the SA over the PS3 in terms of upconversion.

Pro-B

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenbenobi (Post 9006377)

What Sony CC offer are you referring to? I haven't heard of any $150 Sony deals, so I'm interested in hearing about this...
Not sure if CC means Circuit City, or if you are talking about a Sony Credit Card...

Well I picked up the S350 ($299-$150=$149) Sorry I meant the Sony credit card offer. Been reading reviews that the new Panny( I think the ?35) that's it's a better player all around but for $150 this is hard to beat :).
On a side note I think my A35 delivers a better picture and is better at up converting but this is a pretty good player. I wanted a stand alone that would bit stream DTS-HD/MA for under $200

Quote:

Originally Posted by kefrank (Post 9010259)

if you preferred the PS3 aside from that issue, you could have always gotten something like this: http://www.trianglecables.com/pof-830.html

So far, I prefer HTPCs for: 1. Upconverting of SDVD via component; 2. HD-DVD support (LG dual-format drive); and 3. multiple sources (HDM, OTA broadcast) sharing a single component input.