BUDGET DOES MATTER ..Samsung BD-P1400 OR Sony BDP-S300?

admin_exported

New member
Aug 10, 2019
2,556
4
0
Visit site
BUDGET DOES MATTER...............WHICH IS BETTER Samsung BD-P1400 OR Sony BDP-S300 BLU RAY PLAYER AS THESE REPRESENT THE BUDGET FAMILY. WHILE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE RELIABILITY AND BUILT QUALITY IN THE LONG RUN INTO ACCOUNT ALSO....FEATURE WISE SAMSUNG LOOKS BETTER, BUT OVERALL OTHER THINGS ALSO MATTER.....THANKS ......OR SETTLE FOR SONY UPSCALING DVP-NS78 FOR NOW UNTILL BETTER BUDGET BLU-RAY ALTERNATIVES ARE AVAILABLE?
 

Andrew Everard

New member
May 30, 2007
1,878
2
0
Visit site
Careful with that CapsLock, Eugene.

FWIW I wouldn't buy either, and would stick to your upscaler and see what happens in the next six months or so.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hey Mandeep,

STOP SHOUTING!!

As one of your concerns is for long term reliability, then I wholeheartedly agree with Andrew and believe you should wait until the format finalises or you will end up with a non-functional player, probably around Sept/Oct 2008. If you must have one now until then, waste the least amount of money and buy the cheapest.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
[quote user="mandeep"]BUDGET DOES MATTER...............WHICH IS BETTER Samsung BD-P1400 OR Sony BDP-S300 BLU RAY PLAYER AS THESE REPRESENT THE BUDGET FAMILY. WHILE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE RELIABILITY AND BUILT QUALITY IN THE LONG RUN INTO ACCOUNT ALSO....FEATURE WISE SAMSUNG LOOKS BETTER, BUT OVERALL OTHER THINGS ALSO MATTER.....THANKS ......OR SETTLE FOR SONY UPSCALING DVP-NS78 FOR NOW UNTILL BETTER BUDGET BLU-RAY ALTERNATIVES ARE AVAILABLE?[/quote]
How about a Hddvd player for £120 and with 7free hddvd's from Amazon UK or the HD-EP35 for £189.
You shouldn't worry about of them been dated because they can be fully upgraded to the latest spec unlike most Blu-ray players,and apparently their very good at upscaling sd-dvd's as good as Denon 1940 according to What hi-fi mag and their is about 30% of films not available on Blu-ray.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
We've had a Samsung BD-P1400 for two months now and we give it the thumbs up! The Samsung gives us a beautiful picture on our 37in Panasonic TX-37LZD70 and accompanying glorious sound. The Samung, unlike all other current Blu-ray players available in the UK, decodes ALL HiDef audio types internally and as a consequence can route DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD High Resolution / Master Audio through both HDMI (up to eight channels) or via the phono leads on the back (up to six channels).

Apart from a couple of computer monitors, we had never purchased Samsung products before. We are very impressed! Great value for money.

We too were on a budget and couldn't afford an expensive mistake, so the Samsung ticked all the boxes for us. We don't really care for connecting a player to the internet or picture in picture, just sublime picture and sound quality. We got that for only £319 at Richer Sounds. Now the Samsung can be purchased at Play.com for only £229. If you are on a budget then we heartily recommend the Samsung BD-P1400 for all the reasons stated above (and more).

The Rush Hour 3 Blu-ray disc does have picture in picture, and the Samsung decodes that faultlessly, so who needs Profile 1.1 anyway?

Go and audition the player at your local Richer Sounds and see (and hear) what you think?

On the new player front, Samsung will have the BD-P1500 out in a couple of months, which will officially be able to decode picture in picture and other gimmicks! Sorry, for us only the highest quality picture, sound, reliability and value for money matter!

The new Panasonic DMP-BD30 should be out, possibly late February. I was told by Panasonic that the price is to be confirmed, but expect an initial UK price (subject to currency stability) to be in the region of £399 or £349. The 'street' price is likely to be £299 or less! Rather disappointing, the DMP-BD30 can't decode the HiDef audio formats internally, it can only pass them to an Amplifier/Reciever (via HDMI) to said units that can decode! Only standard DD or DTS 5.1 can be output via optical/coaxial. LCPM 5.1 or converted DD/DTS 5.1 via six phonos!

The Samsung BD-P1400 (and BD-P1500) can (will) internally decode HiDef audio and route via HDMI or phonos!

Andrew, having not reviewed the Samsung BD-P1400 how did you come to the conclusion not to consider one now? If someone is on a budget and ideally only wants one machine now, then the Samsung BD-P1400 fits the bill. Buying an upscaling DVD player in these circumstances is not the best use of limited funds?

Maybe there are better dedicated upscaling DVD players out there, but they don't give you access to Blu-ray right now!

P.S. We also have a Pioneer DV-600AV for standard DVDs, SACD and DVD-Audio (LPCM) playback. It is a matter of personal opinion, that the DV-600AV just has the edge on standard DVD playback. If you've never seen DVDs upscaled to 1080p, then the even the Samsung BD-P1400 will delight, we're sure, but most of all, you have instant access to 100s of Blu-ray discs from the UK/Europe and many US/Canadian ones too that are not regionally coded.

Check this site for multi region playback of US/Canadian discs....

http://bluray.liesinc.net/
 

FuzzyinLondon

New member
Dec 5, 2007
16
0
0
Visit site
[quote user="burhan"]How about a Hddvd player for £120 and with 7free hddvd's from Amazon UK or the HD-EP35 for £189.You shouldn't worry about of them been dated because they can be fully upgraded to the latest spec unlike most Blu-ray players,and apparently their very good at upscaling sd-dvd's as good as Denon 1940 according to What hi-fi mag and their is about 30% of films not available on Blu-ray.[/quote]

I think that's an excellent suggestion. I've got the EP30 and it's an excellent bit of kit. I'm really impressed with its upscaling abilities. For anyone sitting on the 'HD format war fence', I would recommend one of these as a stopgap solution. Buy one for £120, get yourself 7 free HD DVDs and start enjoying. Then, get yourself a Lovefilm membership and rent all the HD DVDs you possibly can whilst, at the same time, breathing life into your existing DVD collection.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Only two reasons, alright maybe three reasons for buying an HD DVD player.....

1). Expensive paper weight!

2). Collectors item - maybe on Antiques Roadshow sooner than we all think!

3). If you just want to throw some money away on a dying format!

Seriously, you have to question the motives for anyone recommending HD DVD at this stage. Nothing wrong with the products that Toshiba produce, quite the opposite in fact. However, when the unit goes wrong and you can't get a replacement in however many months or years down the line, what are you going to play your HD DVDs on then? Maybe you can use them for place mats?

Continuing this Blu-ray v. HD DVD 'war' is not actually doing ANYONE any favours! We'll maybe the press (and that includes HiFi magazines) are able to fill newsprint, get more products to test etc., but for the rest of us, paying out hard earned cash, we want to know that we have a future for our investment.

It's true that LaserDisc, in two phases (analogue and digital sound) managed to last about 18 years, but with continuing consumer confusion, neither Blu-ray or HD DVD stand a chance of becoming mass market. Most people, even early adopters of either format can't possibly wish that either format just stays elitist?

Given recent events, Blu-ray has the significant advantage of higher disc sales, greater studio support, greater hardware support and the potential to develop as a format like DVD has done over the last ten years or so.

P.S. The choice of seven titles isn't exactly staggering! HD DVD Player plus seven titles for £120 is not the deal from a company confident of the future! It's basically a sell off. Those titles maybe the only seven you might own (eventually).

The moral is, investing in HD DVD is a COMPLETE waste of money. Shame on anyone suggesting otherwise!

Correction to an earlier post from FuzzyInLondon. ALL Blu-ray players can have firmware upgraded via DVD-R/RW.
 

professorhat

Well-known member
Dec 28, 2007
992
22
18,895
Visit site
By that logic, shame on anyone for recommending either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD at this stage. The truth is, it may be neither format takes off and whatever you buy becomes an expensive paperweight. MiniDisc was the natural replacement to cassette tapes, but the public were happy with CDs and it never took off (I know as I still have my MiniDisc player for nostalgia reasons!).

I can't argue with the logic of buying an HD-DVD player and getting 7 free films for £120 - that's not much more than you would have to pay to get them on DVD and you get a Hi-Def experience thrown in as well as a good DVD upscaler. Yes, there's a good chance a few years down the line you won't be able to buy HD-DVDs any more, but you can easily say the same about Blu-Ray too. I have a PS3 and I think Blu-Ray is fantastic, but that's not the reason I bought the PS3. At this stage I wouldn't be sure to buy either as a stand alone player until the future was a little more clear, but paying just £120 might sway me to take a chance (Blu-Ray manufacturers take note!).

If neither take off and DVD carries on until the next format comes out, if you have bought one, at least you know whichever player you bought can upscale DVDs well!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
[quote user="niftynigel"]
Only two reasons, alright maybe three reasons for buying an HD DVD player.....

1). Expensive paper weight!

2). Collectors item - maybe on Antiques Roadshow sooner than we all think!

3). If you just want to throw some money away on a dying format!

[/quote]

How about the fact that there are loads of really good films that are only available in high-def on HD-DVD, and not Blu-ray. And the fact that half of the films available on Blu-ray are for kiddies.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
[quote user="professorhat"]MiniDisc was the natural replacement to cassette tapes, but the public were happy with CDs and it never took off. [/quote]

Yeah but MiniDisc didn't actually have any advantages over CD, apart from the fact that it was slightly more compact... That was it. The sound quality of MiniDiscs weren't any better than CD, and there was nothing to particularly inspire or exite consumers about the format. On the other hand, people who see a decent demo of Blu-ray or HD-DVD on a decent high-def display, in most cases, are extremely impressed... and inspired to buy into this genuinely exiting new format. What was ever exiting about Minidisc? This is why I believe that the new HD disc formats can be succesful. Also, I think that although downloading will become much more popular, this will mainly replace the rental and pay-per-view side of the market. People like the feeling of actually physically being in possesion of something. And the security of owning a real thing, rather than a file on a computer that can be deleted at the press of a button by mistake.
 

FuzzyinLondon

New member
Dec 5, 2007
16
0
0
Visit site
[quote user="niftynigel"]
Only two reasons, alright maybe three reasons for buying an HD DVD player.....

1). Expensive paper weight!

2). Collectors item - maybe on Antiques Roadshow sooner than we all think!

3). If you just want to throw some money away on a dying format!

Seriously, you have to question the motives for anyone recommending HD DVD at this stage.ÿ Nothing wrong with the products that Toshiba produce, quite the opposite in fact.ÿ However, when the unit goes wrong and you can't get a replacement in however many months or years down the line, what are you going to play your HD DVDs on then?ÿ Maybe you can use them for place mats?

Continuing this Blu-ray v. HD DVD 'war' is not actually doing ANYONE any favours!ÿ We'll maybe the press (and that includes HiFi magazines) are able to fill newsprint, get more products to test etc., but for the rest of us, paying out hard earned cash, we want to know that we have a future for our investment.

It's true that LaserDisc, in two phases (analogue and digital sound) managed to last about 18 years, but with continuing consumer confusion, neither Blu-ray or HD DVD stand a chance of becoming mass market.ÿ Most people, even early adopters of either format can't possibly wish that either format just stays elitist?

Given recent events, Blu-ray has the significant advantage of higher disc sales, greater studio support, greater hardware support and the potential to develop as a format like DVD has done over the last ten years or so.

P.S. The choice of seven titles isn't exactly staggering!ÿ HD DVD Player plus seven titles for £120 is not the deal from a company confident of the future!ÿ It's basically a sell off.ÿ Those titles maybe the only seven you might own (eventually).

The moral is, investing in HD DVD is a COMPLETE waste of money.ÿ Shame on anyone suggesting otherwise!

Correction to an earlier post from FuzzyInLondon.ÿ ALL Blu-ray players can have firmware upgraded via DVD-R/RW.
[/quote]

I don't remember saying that they couldn't have their firmware upgraded. I must be going senile. Anyway, you've totally misunderstood my post and I'm offended that anyone would question my motives. I think anyone who looks at my past posts would agree that I've only tried to help people. You seem to think there's some kind of conspiracy where people like me are are trying to confuse people - maybe I work for Microsoft!! I own a PS3 and a Toshiba HD EP30. Both are excellent machines and, on separate occasions depending on peoples' requirements, I've recommended each of them and continue to do so. I'm a big fan of the PS3. I think it's the best value piece of kit out there and an excellent Blu Ray player for £300. But it does cost £300, significantly more than an EP30. Some people don't want to spend £300 right now, but they do want a taste of High Def. They've walked around the big electronics stores watching the HD demo discs and been talked by the salesmen into buying a nice shiny Full HD tv set. They're sitting at home getting a rubbish freeview picture and wanting desperate to have a picture source they can show off to their friends. At the same time though, they don't want to invest £300-400. So I support a stopgap solution. A £120 HD player with 7 free HD discs that has upscaling ability almost equal to that of £200 standalone upscaler. Yes, the selection isn't great, but you're missing the point. Most people haven't had a chance to experience either format, both of which are trying to offer the same thing. I'm not putting a gun to anyone's head and I'm flattered that you think people like me have the power to 'continue the format war'. It's just a suggestion and as long as people understand the pros and cons, why should I feel any shame? Neither format is going to replace DVD any time soon. In a year's time, BD will probably have won the war and there will be better and cheaper players on the market. I think that will be a good time to invest in a proper hi-spec player. In the mean time, why not have something to fill the void?
 

professorhat

Well-known member
Dec 28, 2007
992
22
18,895
Visit site
[quote user="BenjaminHart"]
Yeah but MiniDisc didn't actually have any advantages over CD, apart from the fact that it was slightly more compact... That was it.
[/quote]

At the time I seem to remember that the main advantage was the ability to re-record over blank media. CD-R was around but very expensive (and CD-RW even more expensive) and the blank CD-R discs themselves weren't that cheap either - this is why I got my Minidisc player in the first place.

Admittedly, it didn't take long for CD-RW to come down in price and then CD-R media became so cheap that nobody really worried about re-recording as you could just throw them away. Agreed also, Minidisc was slightly worse quality than CD, but MP3 is generally much worse and look how popular that is now! I agree in some respects, this may not be the best example, but I think the point that if the general mass public doesn't want something, there's no guarantee that it will take off is a valid one. This could well happen with HD-DVD and Blu-Ray purely because, although people like you and me see the difference and hunger for it, a lot of people can't see a big difference like the one they saw between VHS and DVD and aren't that bothered. Only the other day, one of my friends was round and I showed her Casino Royale on Blu-Ray and she said she couldn't see any difference (to my disbelief!!). It was the same with CD and SACD, DVD-Audio and all the other superior audio formats - what makes you think video will be any different?

I should point out, I'm not saying I believe that neither formats will succeed, just that there is a chance of this. Therefore arguments at this stage that buying one format over the other makes you "safe" are pointless as it just isn't true.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
[quote user="BenjaminHart"]
[quote user="niftynigel"]
Only two reasons, alright maybe three reasons for buying an HD DVD player.....

1). Expensive paper weight!

2). Collectors item - maybe on Antiques Roadshow sooner than we all think!

3). If you just want to throw some money away on a dying format!

[/quote]

How about the fact that there are loads of really good films that are only available in high-def on HD-DVD, and not Blu-ray. And the fact that half of the films available on Blu-ray are for kiddies.
[/quote]
I think it's the media that should be blamed for giving wrong information to the public because every site i,v been to for the past week it's been Paramount and Universal are going to ditch hddvd in favor of blu-ray or in the CEX website they go as far as saying Paramount is now blu-ray exclusive,or how long can Paramount and universal hold on, or Warner Bros will stop producing hddvd's from March 08.You know when things like that were been said, i started hearing things like PS3's hi-fi sound quality is as good as a £400 Arcam cd72 and it's sd-dvd playback can match something like a Denon 1940 and the most funniest, is it's sd-dvd picture can match a £2500 DENON AX1.When you listen to things like that it just makes me wonder
how silly some people can be.My point is, yes blu-ray does look more stronger now but nothing has been decided yet and we don't know which one's going to win or more of a chance both will fail but their are people out there who are willing to take a chance like my self and in my case i would rather spend less on something like the £120- £180 hddvd players and my reason is:Cheap as a normal sd-dvd player,sd-dvd playback as good as £250 Denon 1940 according to WHF mag,hddvd movies support better sound formats,i can buy hddvd's in multi region, upgradable via firmware updates,even if none win i will still have a superb sd-dvd player,7 free hddvd's,around 60% films available on hddvd on-till the end of may08,Paramount and Universal hddvd exclusive, with around 40% of the films available only on hddvd both studios combined. Lets face it, it's all about films at the end of the day with 40% and in this their most be many that you wished you had,these include :by Paramount-Godfather 1-3,Beowolf,Bee movie,Over the hedge,Stardust,Cloverfield,Saving private ryan,the Trumam show and many more and now Universal:Back to the future 1-4,Schindler's list ,Jurassic park 1-4,Gladiator,Spartacus,Carlito's way,JAWS and many more.I know their are better £300 2.0 blu-ray players coming in March 08 but Hddvd will still be at least £120 cheaper, so that makes PS3 the only blu-ray worth getting.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
[quote user="niftynigel"]
Only two reasons, alright maybe three reasons for buying an HD DVD player.....

1). Expensive paper weight!

2). Collectors item - maybe on Antiques Roadshow sooner than we all think!

3). If you just want to throw some money away on a dying format!

Seriously, you have to question the motives for anyone recommending HD DVD at this stage. Nothing wrong with the products that Toshiba produce, quite the opposite in fact. However, when the unit goes wrong and you can't get a replacement in however many months or years down the line, what are you going to play your HD DVDs on then? Maybe you can use them for place mats?

[/quote]

Before the Warner announcement I was going to get the EP35 and a BD1.1 player (or a dual player). After Warner I ditched plans for the EP35. After the price cut I have changed my mind again and am now going for the EP30 and a BD1.1 player (or a dual player).

The fact is that the EP30 is a steal at £120. It'll up-scale my pile of DVDs and it'll play all the HD-DVDs that are not available on BD to rent. The 7 discs is a bonus. I think Serenity is a great film, Troy sucks but would be impressive on my new 46" HDTV
emotion-2.gif
and Full Metal Jacket is an all time favourite too.

Profile 1.1 and dual players are a couple of months away and the EP30 will fill the gap nicely. When I get my TV, I want something to watch!
 

Clare Newsome

New member
Jun 4, 2007
1,657
0
0
Visit site
I agree - if you're after a decent DVD upscaler as a stopgap while the HD market sorts itself out (or just gets a lot more affordable/reliable/full-spec!) then the Toshiba HD DVD players are definitely worth a look.

You could enjoy the free HD DVDs, rent some more via LoveFilm or pick up a few dirt-cheap bargain on eBay and otherwise enjoy your DVD collection looking rather smart.

Yes, dedicated DVD players at the higher-end of the market (£500+) will do an even better job - and certainly so with CDs - but if it's a bargain you're after....
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I received my EP35 from Play.com yesterday - 2 days after ordering it - paying £189.99!
emotion-1.gif
Both HDDVDs in the box as expected. Out of the box with only a few configuration steps and I had a glorious image and staggering sound through my Arcam/Proac stereo system. As I mentioned before: That 189quid is a lot less than the cost of my analog interconenct from Chord alone and the boost in quality is enormous! Even if HD DVD goes belly up one day. Who cares? I have a nice DVD upscaler now! There are plenty of good films out on HD DVD. However, I would also love to own the HD versions of Spiderman and Pirates ... and that Sony offer is tempting!

On the other hand who is to say that all this HD stuff is not going to end up a niche market anyway, bit like SACD, or that disks become a thing of the past
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi Mandeep

I bet your totally confused now, all you wanted to know was which BD player to get, either the Samsung or the Sony.

I agree that if budget is a concern and you want HD now, then you can't do better than a Tosh EP30 HD player at £120. On the other hand if you really want the Blu disc option, then out of the two players you mentioned go for the BD-P1400 it's £50 cheaper than the Sony (£199 at Richer Sounds if you opt into their VIP email) plus the firmware has at least been updated to v1.5 which is available now on their website.

I believe the only BD players atm, as already mentioned, that are/will be finished profile 2.0 are the PS3 via firmware or the Panasonic DMP-BD50 (expect to pay £400-500 for this on our shores when it finally arrives and the cheapest PS3 is £279). So that Samsung does sound very tempting.

I'm not too fussed atm as I have my EP30 to experience HD and my upscaled SD, but am still looking for a good BD player, I don't mind having two boxes, my amp will receive 3 HDMI in. The only thing, like you, is price and until it becomes a reasonable price, for me under £200 and have full functionability I'm not buying.

Good luck.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I certainly didn't want to add to the confusion, we already have the consumer electronics companies to thank for that. It doesn't matter whether it's Sony, Toshiba, Microsoft or whoever's fault, we the consumer haev had to make hard choices and some, if not all of us are going to be disappointed.

As you may have read from my other posts, I have also tried to share information on Blu-ray players, after having researched all the current ones and possible new ones!

I have absolutely no problems whatsoever with Toshiba or HD DVD. Toshiba have a good reputation for inventing and manufacturing excellent products. Their HD DVD players are a testament to this.

However, most, if not all have accepted that there is only room for one HiDef format in the marketplace. For enthusiasts like us on forums like these, we may consider having two players and supporting both formats. The general public don't see it that way. At best they are confused, at worst they will never adopt Blu-ray or HD DVD. This means that we can kiss goodbye to DVD priced HiDef media and players.

Blu-ray clearly has the upper hand, even though HD DVD enjoys continued support from Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks and some other minor studios. The best estimate is that from June, when Warner Brothers goes exclusive to Blu-ray, then HD DVD will only enjoy support of approx 20% of studio output. Although both Universal and Paramount/Dreamworks have very impressive catalogues of material to present to HD DVD, 20% of all potential output will not appear that attractive for the masses!

The point I am trying to make, is that HD DVD has now missed the opportunity to become mass market. Only Blu-ray (rightly or wrongly - I'm not picking sides for the sake of it), now has the potential to become mass market.

Maybe the current deals on HD DVD players look very good, but in a wider context, continued support for HD DVD is only delaying the inevitable. For many, particularly HD DVD adoptors, this is continued expence (buying new titles) or hurt (knowing that the format will become obselete sooner rather than later).

It maybe that neither format makes the mass market and DVD continues to the the format of choice apart from the niche market.

The best chance that a 'current' HiDef format can possibly make the mass market, with all the positive benefits, is if we ALL stand united behind one format. As Blu-ray is that format, then I urge everyone to support that format, so we can all enjoy HiDef media for years to come. Before we have all be taken over by downloads that is!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
FuzzyInLondon, sorry, it was actually burham who said that most Blu-ray players who couldn't have their firmware upgraded!

I stand by all my other comments.

I hope for all our sakes that the format war is over sooner rather than later, so we can all enjoy HiDef media with a higher degree of certainty than we do now.

Irrespective of how good HD DVD is, continued consumer confusion is in no ones interests. I hope that all my neighbours, friends, work colleagues will all buy into Blu-ray. That's the surest way to bring down player and disc prices, expand choice of products, expand products types etc.

I don't think anyone should be flattered by their power to continue the Blu-ray v. HD DVD situation, but the truth is that our actions do have some influence. Buying both formats now, is indirectly stopping others from buying into either!

Don't be offended, we're all entitled to an opinion. Whether I agree with you or not, I stand up for everyone's right to an opinion.

I am also big supporter of Microsoft. Yes, I do think they have a long term objective of digital downloads. From that point of business point of view, they possibly do want both Blu-ray and HD DVD to fail. $150 million is a drop in the ocean to them. I do however support the view that if people want to download films, then hopefully that will be an option. Right here, right now, I hope that one format survives and prospers.

I think Warner Brothers were absolutely spot on with their decision and the motives behind the decision and to be fair the timing too. They gave HD DVD every chance, but (in a small market) consumers chose otherwise.

Downloading is not something that I have considered (music or film), as I prefer the 5in disc format. Also, the UK lags behind in internet speeds, certainly also for the foreseeable future to make this a realistic alternative to discs.

Just in case you wondered, I would have been campaigning equally for HD DVD if the positions were reversed.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi Mandeep.

Just buy whatever you feel comfortable with. If it wasn't for the HD DVD/Blu-ray situation, I can tell you as will many others, you wouldn't even be considering a BD player as they would still be out of a lot of peoples grasp in monetary terms.

You can thank the dispute, if you want to call it that, for the lowering of prices. You certainly would not be seeing an under £200 player this soon. At the end of the day it's down to you and what you feel comfortable spending. The best advice maybe not to buy into HD at all and wait for a year, but if like me you want to experience HD now the choice is yours.

Some people do start blathering on about "we only want one format". Get a life.

Competition is a good thing. Lets put it this way, if there was only one pair of trainers on the market, we would have to buy that pair at whatever cost they wanted us to buy at and I bet there wouldn't be a cheaper choice. There is and we can pick a pair at whatever cost we want to spend.

The choice is yours, going back to your original question, albeit a BD one.

That's all I have to say about that. Thank me or not!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Forget about the upscaler. If you are prepared to wait go for the Panasonic BD30k which will be out in the UK in the second qtr. If your not prepared to wait go for the PS3 rather than the two options you have quoted. The PS3 is due a FW upgrade to allow of DTS HD MA playback.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
buyer beware.....Any one interested in buying HD DVD player must check this out.....................http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/others/0,39037627,62036965,00.htm
 

FuzzyinLondon

New member
Dec 5, 2007
16
0
0
Visit site
No problem Nigel. I respect your opinion and agree with some, if not all, of the points that you made. Blu-Ray will win the war. Probably quite soon. I've got no problem with that. I'm neutral when it comes to the formats and both have their pro and cons. The problem is that I think it will be awhile before we see quality Blu-Ray with finalised standards. Right now the Blu-Ray camp doesn't seem to have a clue about promoting a clear vision for the format. It has great potential but there are too many buzz terms like 'Liveview' and 'BD+' along with compatibility issue with certain discs and players. Also, the region-coding system with BD is all over the place. Some discs are coded and others are not. The codes that they use are confusing too - A,B,C. Why introduce a whole new system? A lot of people took long enough getting used to the old DVD system. Even a lot of the Blu Ray reps don't seem to understand it. The region-coding system means that, as usual, European consumers will suffer the most. The studios are getting behind Blu Ray primarily because of the region coding system and the fact that it will allow them to stagger the releases of titles in different territories and charge whatever they want. In the UK this means that we will end up getting films later and being charged double. Of course this already happens with HD DVD but at least with that format we can buy them in from abroad and save some money along with getting titles almost as soon as they are released in the States. The situation is going to take a while to sort out and only then will it become a viable replacement for DVD. In the near future, I'm going to be be very selective with my purchases and will continue renting BD and HD DVD titles from Lovefilm for now.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
[quote user="mandeep"]buyer beware.....Any one interested in buying HD DVD player must check this out.....................http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/others/0,39037627,62036965,00.htm[/quote]
The truth:
http://www.hddvd.com/
http://www.tech.co.uk//blu-ray-and-hd-dvd/news/freebies-caused-blu-ray-spike-in-jan?articleid=505493568
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
stefanr - I don't think your comparison with trainers is not a very good analogy. In fact, I think it's completely irrelevant! If only it was that simple!

I do agree that Mandeep should not feel pressured into doing anything, but maybe just audition some players and see (and hear) what he thinks.

I also agree with you 100% about competition in general terms. I believe competition and profit are positive things.

I don't happen to agree with the argument that having two formats has brought player prices down any quicker than by other forces. Sure, Toshiba have priced their generally excellent HD DVD products very competitively, but the 'Blu' manufacturers have responded to their own internal competition and not to Toshiba's lower prices. If the 'Blu' manufacturers were directly competing with HD DVD in every sense, there would be sub £200 by now. It was only when Sony, Samsung and Sharp introduced their players that Blu-ray player prices started to fall, to approach nearly affordable prices. Toshiba had already pitched their prices irrespective of what the Blu-ray manufacturers were going to do. Toshiba only slashed their prices in January this year. There are certain biased theories on both sides why they did that - Only Toshiba (and possibly DVD Forum) know the real answer. I personally think they just wanted to get rid of stock and cut their losses. When the time comes, I hope they produce as good a Blu-ray players as their HD DVD players.

If you remember the early days of DVD, prices came down very quickly in the first two years. I remember tracking players by Pioneer and Samsung. They appeared to be halving in price roughly every six months. Also, what brought prices of DVD players down, was the confidence of the manufacturers to produce more than one model in their range. Apart from Toshiba, most Blu-ray manufacturers have only one current model. Sony have three, S300/S500 and S1, but even the S1 is effectively an old model stocked until supplies run dry. Manufacturers of DVD players were more confident to produce a range of products because there was only one format and they were obviously competing for the same market.

If there was only one HiDef format, call it Blu HD DVD, so as not to offend anyone (hopefully). It would be nearly two years old now. The sub £200 player would be commonplace by now.

Once people have invested in their player, then the really expensive business of building a library of discs is the next stage. Even at heavily discounted prices on the internet, I can imagine that it won't take people that long to exceed player expenditure with disc expenditure!

On the issue of regional coding, I think it's a nightmare. I totally agree with all those who are against it. It's understandable to have slighty staggered premieres for films in different countries, not least if you expect the actors/actresses to be present at major premieres! But to stagger release dates by months, with the knock on effect to the DVD/BD/HD DVD industry, is too much. The major studios stated that this was the main reason for regional coding in the first place. It would be nice to give a short summary of who codes and who doesn't but all the studios have different policies, even different ones for similar UK and US releases! Then there's the issue over films being distributed by different labels/studios in different countries! Why?
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts