I just picked up a Samsung Blu Ray player on Ebay for $485.00. It is a refurb, but for $485, I couldn't resist. I think my first titles are going to be the Mission Impossible boxset and Monster House. Hopefully I'll have it by mid week. I know we are far and few between on this board, but who else has a Blu Ray player right now?

I believe there are 4-5 people who have a player.

Some noteworthy titles to pick up (this is assuming you don't own an HD-DVD player):

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Tears of the Sun
Syriana
Good Night, and Good Luck
Depending on your age, Eight Below is good family

$485 is actually not a bad price for it. I personally would have waited and attempted to find a PS3 first.

Congrats. Got my Samsung last month. You'll want to put the firmware upgrade on.

That was my original plan. I tried the preorder route and got shut out. I don't have any insiders at the electronics stores, so finding one is going to be pretty tough for the first three months or so. I figured for 485 I could finally stop buying standard DVDs that I am going to have to resell later. If something a ton better comes around soon, I should be able to sell it and only lose 100 to 150 bucks. I will have saved more than that by not having to double deep my DVD purchases with BD ones.

The firmware upgrade was one of the reasons I decided to take the plunge. Thanks!

I'm still waiting for Jay G. to get his.

I'll consider blu ray when I hear about the Bond discs. $485 is a good price.

Of course over on AVS forum the rumors abound that FOX and Disney are coming over to HD DVD. Its worth a look.

That forum is so active with info. More than here and HTF combined in the HD disc content sections.

There are more "insiders" and people in the industry over there than over here.

Congrats! $485 is a good price for the Samsung.

Of course the same insiders have been predicting LG going format neutral for months and it still has not happened. I'm not saying that it won't, but those guys are far from always right in their "inside" reports.

Welcome to the club. We have jackets.

Enjoy the player, it has turned into a real gem with the most recent firmware upgrade.

I just cruised over to eBay to look at prices. LOTS of units have been sold at around half the cost of retail. Looks like the Panasonic is selling for more on average. Sometimes even around a grand.

If I find I need one, I'll hit eBay.

As far as I can tell, all the firmware upgrade did is fix the DTS stuttering problem and 4:3 pillarboxing. I don't see any other difference in picture quality, such as turning off the NR. Comparing MI3 on both formats, the Blu-ray is still softer than the HD DVD.

It fixed many functioning issues which now make the player faster and more reliable. According to what I've read, the thing is now a workhorse. Its yet to be seen if the firmware addressed the NR or BD-J.

So the firmware upgrade essentially makes the $1000 most people spent on it a little more justified?

Does that mean you don't have a jacket yet?

No. He was waiting for the Sony BD player...and is still waiting. Yet he is quick to tell us how awesome BD is even though he does not own one.

I own the Panasonic.

Oooooooh, burned!

Well worth the $1000 I paid for it.

the firmware upgrade also eliminates the BD region free ability...

The player still doesn't offer any ability to calibrate its analog outputs. Nor will it decode DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1 over analog. These are both functions that should be included at a bare minimum in any $1000 player, and it's shameful that the Samsung doesn't have them.

WHAT? When did THAT happen? Its a miracle!

I know. There should be a celebratory thread!