best value Blu Ray in the sales???

[Davo2008]

Hi,

What's best value? The Denon 2500BT for £640 or the Panasonic BD55 for £300??! Looking to take advantage of the sales today! And while I'm at it, surely the Onkyo 806 is cracking value at £450?! Any advice? Thanks!!!

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

Purely in monetary terms, they both have approximately one third knocked off their price.

If you have the kit to partner it and want a transport only and have an amp to decode the sound from the disc, the Denon is 'top dog'. If it's important to you, it's not a profile 2 player.

If you don't have an amp to accept sound over HDMI then the Panasonic would be the one to have. It is profile 2.

Enjoy your choice.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Davo2008]

Thanks! I was looking at getting the Onkyo 806 as well so it would be the perfect partner for the Denon. I was just wondering whether £640 represented as good value for money for it, as £300 would be for the Panasonic....or would I ge tthe Panasonic and be disappointed, wondering how much better the Denon was?! Hopefully we can get loads of opinions (and maybe some from WHF) and take the majority vote. My credit card is begging to be let loose!

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

If you do a search on here for the Denon, there are issues with it. Some discs won't play I believe. Not saying the Panasonic is flawless but for a high end BD player and such a large £££'s outlay, you'd hope it played your current and future collection.

While both players are top notch in their price bracket, I'd try and get a home audition of both players to see which you'd prefer or at least demo both to see if you see any difference.

If you really need to spend some money, a new Yamaha 863 or Panasonic BD55 for me would be appreciated! My credit card would melt if I tried to use it. Sales or no sales.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Davo2008]

Thanks again! I also wonder if I should chuck the Sony BDPS550 into the mix at £219. I know that's got pretty good reviews also. Any other opinions out there?

P.S My credit card is also going to go into meltdown but I have plans for 2009 that involve "going out in a canoe" and not being seen for several years (wink wink)

 

[Anonymous]

I bought a Panasonic BD-35 with MR DVD at Richer Sounds. Happy with that, and if you are planning to buy a HD Audio enabled AVR, would the 35 not do nicely?

 

[Davo2008]

Is the only genuine difference between the 35 and the 55 the analogue outputs? WHF think the sound's better on the 55, but the specs are remakably similar! The 35's available for £225 which I think is pretty good. So we have....

Denon 2500BT - £640

Panasonic DB55 - £300

Panasonic DB35 - £225

Sony bdps550 - £219

As it stands at the moment, one vote for each. First to 10 wins!

 

[Anonymous]

I think WHFSV rank the cheaper players BD55 best, then 550, 35, 350, but all as excellent players. The Denon is clearly a notch or two above.

ÿ

I am waiting on a HD Audio AVR, so discounted the 55 and 550 as adding little, and opted for the 35. £219 non MR, £249 MR at Richer. I think it can be bought for less on the internet, but it was Boxing Day and Iÿwantedÿa trip out of the house ...

 

[Davo2008]

Does the HD Audio AVR sound exactly the same with both the 35 and 55 then? Do the components inside the actual player make no difference at all if plugged through an amp? That's a question that need to be answered!

I'm scared to come to work when it's quiet as I always end up buying stuff off the internet!!

 

[Garth Man]

I bought the Sony from Richersounds yesterday Multi region with 5yrs warranty (it is new technology...) with 5 free blurays (2 in the post coming) fro £269

I normally wouldn't go for a Sony product especially as I have a Panasonic 42PZ85 and wanted to partner the BD55 with it as I have a older amp (Pioneer AX3) and I couldn't be any happier!!! The bluray quality is fantastic, picture and sound is incredible crisp but the quality of the upscaler for normal DVD's is amazing!!!

 

[Davo2008]

Uh oh, that throws the cat amongst the pigeons! That's 1 vote for every player! We need one of the WHV boffins who've seen all these players in action to give an opinion now! I like your views on the upscaling, as this is a major concern of mine. I wonder what the other cheaper ones are like (presumably the Denon is amazing also)....

 

[Lost Angeles]

Davo2008:

Hi,

What's best value? The Denon 2500BT for £640 or the Panasonic BD55 for £300??! Looking to take advantage of the sales today! And while I'm at it, surely the Onkyo 806 is cracking value at £450?! Any advice? Thanks!!!

What size TV have you got, will the Denon not be wasted unless it's 46in or above.

 

[Davo2008]

46 inch Sharp Aquos. Panicked that it wouldn't take 24fps, but it does.

 

[floyd droid]

I've picked up a pana 35 for £184 !!!!. Beat that.

 

[Garth Man]

In regards to the Onkyo 806, you better check the forums regarding that model. I was looking at that model due to the ridiculous price for the spec. Apparently there are loads of problems with the upscaling. Plus I think WHF said that the technology for the upscaling wasnt that great. I found that quite a few people have returned that model to Richeersounds with other bugs. Though this isn't my expreince just what i've seen on the web and been told.

I would go for a Yamaha or Pioneer Reciever any day

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Garth Man:
I bought the Sony from Richersounds yesterday Multi region with 5yrs warranty (it is new technology...) with 5 free blurays (2 in the post coming) fro £269

I normally wouldn't go for a Sony product especially as I have a Panasonic 42PZ85 and wanted to partner the BD55 with it as I have a older amp (Pioneer AX3) and I couldn't be any happier!!! The bluray quality is fantastic, picture and sound is incredible crisp but the quality of the upscaler for normal DVD's is amazing!!!

I've had my S550 for a couple of months now and have only played about 5 dvds since then (bluray is so good) but each time I have, it's surprised me at how good the upscaling is. I had a Denon 1940 before that (which was best dvd player under £300 for two years) and it's better.

 

[Davo2008]

Just come back from Richer Sounds lugging the Onkyo 876. They convinced me it was reference class compared to the 806. Didn't want to spend that much money, but they had the dog-ugly silver one for £599 so didn't think I could pass it up! Hope it blows me away like they say it will!!!

 

[Garth Man]

Wicked, I have seen very good reviews on that Model. A better bet than the 806. Massive punchy sound with an extensive spec all HD codecs with THX Ultra 2. I hate George Lucas but I am a fan of the THX processing.

I want one!!!!

Enjoy

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Davo, Where did you see the Denon for £640 mate ?

 

[Anonymous]

how about the new pioneer blu;ray player worth a look even thinking of getting one myself, waiting to see if prices drop again. whfsv team gave it the thumbs up.

 

[Davo2008]

Hi Jed,

Denon is £649.99 at tlcbroadcast and Richer Sounds will price beat it by a tenner!

 

[Lost Angeles]

Davo with a 46in TV and an 876 I'd go for the Denon, I,ve just bought the BD55 as I've got an ONK 875 but only a 42in TV.

 

[Davo2008]

What's the BD55 like from first-hand experience? I'm still wondering whether the extra money is truly worth it. Does the BD55 look excellent with SD DVDs? And what ifference would it make if you had a 42 or 46 inch tv? Thanks!!

 

[Lost Angeles]

Davo2008:What's the BD55 like from first-hand experience? I'm still wondering whether the extra money is truly worth it. Does the BD55 look excellent with SD DVDs? And what ifference would it make if you had a 42 or 46 inch tv? Thanks!!

Only picked it up on Tuesday so not had chance to watch much yet and my old DVD player only cost me £100 in 2003 so it's not a level playing field for comparison, and I've always upscaled everything to 1080P using my Onkyo 875.

I watched a bit of Master & Commander off DVD and the picture was very good but off Blu ray the colours stood out more, especially the marines jackets.
We have got Mamma Mia to watch off DVD but that may not be till Fri or Saturday and the panoramic scenes are supposed to be V good so I'll post something when we've watched this.
We watched Ratatouille off BD and the colours were vibrant but the soundtrack was not very challenging except when the old lady was shooting at the rats which bought out the deep gunshots from my sub.
The only other BD I've watched is part 1 of Band of Brothers.
The only problem that we have so far is that when you stop a BD or DVD it does not start from the same position it goes back to the beginning so you need to pause it and my Onk only shows DTS and not DTS Master Audio but I may not have everything set up right yet.
The sound from the battle scene from Master & C was awesome though and sharper and deeper than off DVD
Hope this helps and I'll post more if we watch any DVDs, but tonight we've got Pirates or the Caribbean in HD off freesat

 

[Anonymous]

Davo2008:
Is the only genuine difference between the 35 and the 55 the analogue outputs? WHF think the sound's better on the 55, but the specs are remakably similar! The 35's available for £225 which I think is pretty good. So we have....

Denon 2500BT - £640

Panasonic DB55 - £300

Panasonic DB35 - £225

Sony bdps550 - £219

As it stands at the moment, one vote for each. First to 10 wins!

Where did you see the Panasonic DB55 for £300? £50 cheaper than I've seen it!