Bush BD01 Blu-Ray Player £97.86 (after VAT adjust) @ Argos

[pete321]

Probably not the best quality blu-ray in the world, but maybe the cheapest!

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/catalogId/1500001151/productId/1500317761.htm?storeId=10001&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FcatalogId%2F1500001151%2FproductId%2F1500317761.htm&jspStoreDir=argos&referrer=COJUN&cmpid=COJUN

 

[Frank Harvey]

Judging by the spec, I'm assuming it doesn't support the HD codecs that Bluray offers, only a stereo output? If so, it's probably only really suitable for the bedroom or for the kids room.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

FrankHarveyHiFi:Judging by the spec, I'm assuming it doesn't support the HD codecs that Bluray offers, only a stereo output? If so, it's probably only really suitable for the bedroom or for the kids room.

If you can afford to buy Bluray discs, you should be able to afford an extra £50 to get a reputable BD player. To me that is a waste of money and not a bargain.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

FrankHarveyHiFi:Judging by the spec, I'm assuming it doesn't support the HD codecs that Bluray offers, only a stereo output? If so, it's probably only really suitable for the bedroom or for the kids room.

Wouldn't it output the audio over the HDMI?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Judging by the way it's worded, no.

 

[mattjax05]

Did anyone check out the original cost? In the words of Janice off Friends "OH...... MY....... GOD"

 

[Gerrardasnails]

mattjax05:Did anyone check out the original cost? In the words of Janice off Friends "OH...... MY....... GOD"

I did actually, Meldrew, "outrageous"!!

 

[matthewpiano]

Completely false economy and probably barely better than a good quality DVD player. I made the mistake of buying a Bush for my first LCD screen thinking I'd bagged a bargain. I kept it about a year before upgrading. Complete and utter waste of money and will probably appear under Alba Industries' other brand names as well - Goodmans, Grundig, Ministry of Sound, Alba, blah-de-blah-de-blah.

If anyone is out there thinking of buying this tat do yourself a favour. Save up a bit longer and buy a Sony or Panasonic. Worlds apart.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

matthewpiano:Completely false economy and probably barely better than a good quality DVD player. I made the mistake of buying a Bush for my first LCD screen thinking I'd bagged a bargain. I kept it about a year before upgrading. Complete and utter waste of money and will probably appear under Alba Industries' other brand names as well - Goodmans, Grundig, Ministry of Sound, Alba, blah-de-blah-de-blah.

If anyone is out there thinking of buying this tat do yourself a favour. Save up a bit longer and buy a Sony or Panasonic. Worlds apart.

Exactly. I've got a BD player so haven't looked at prices recently but on the train this morning I saw an Asda ad', the Sony S350 for £175 with 4 films included. If you didn't like the films you could make £30 selling them on ebay and the player would work out at £145! That or £99 for the Bush?? Erm, tough call, NOT!

 

[Andy Clough]

We'll reserve judgment until we've actually tested the thing - still waiting for a reply from Bush's PR people. If I get any more info, I'll let you all know.

 

[Andy Clough]

Right, done a bit more digging. Turns out Alba PLC is about to sell the Alba and Bush brands to Argos. So this player is entirely an Argos product with a Bush badge on it. We've ordered one, and are awaiting delivery.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Andy Clough:Right, done a bit more digging. Turns out Alba PLC is about to sell the Alba and Bush brands to Argos. So this player is entirely an Argos product with a Bush badge on it. We've ordered one, and are awaiting delivery.

I sense a Gotham style review coming!!

 

[Andrew Everard]

Far too many people jumping to conclusions. Has anyone actually seen the thing working?

 

[Anonymous]

No, but I know of a few people who have them. Initial reports suggest it's pretty speedy, is very similar looking to the newer Sammy players and the box claims it supports Dolby Digital Plus, TrueHD and DTS-HD HR, but not MA. It's meant to be BonusView enabled as well. The biggest concern with anything like this is firmware updates for troublesome titles.

Personally I wouldn't touch it because I require more from a player, but it can only be a good thing when major high street stoires start stocking 'cheap' players. It helped drive the cost of DVD players down.

 

[mattjax05]

I would love this to turn out to be a major contender with the current budget leading blu ray players and at a £300 rrp....it should be, but I doubt it - I would eat my hat (Laurel and Hardy style, can never remember which ones which, bit like Ant & Dec!) if the WhatHiFi team gave it more than an optimistic 3 stars.

 

[Anonymous]

Do people really put top of the range DVD players in their kids room??? Really some people need to get a grip. Not everyone is interested in HD Audio and will be happy that they can buy a cheap player that will play their movies on the 32" LCD in most peoples homes.

 

[Andy Clough]

Right, just braved the Christmas shopping rush in Kingston and have bought the Bush DS-BD01 Blu-ray player for the princely sum of £97. So will take it to the office on Monday, get it wired up in one of the test rooms and publish a review online later next week.

 

[Anonymous]

Andy when you are reviewing this player will you have your "I'm a geek and I want 5.1 HD surround sound" or "I am the average father/mother looking for a cheap player" head on. Its important for the format that cheap players are produced for the ordinary Joe.

 

[ElectroMan]

mattjax05: I would eat my hat (Laurel and Hardy style, can never remember which ones which, bit like Ant & Dec!)

I think you should be forced to eat the box as well for mentioning Ant & Dec in the same sentence as Laurel & Hardy!

 

[Anonymous]

Good call Bullseye

 

[mattjax05]

agreed Electroman, but I was in no way suggesting Ant & Decs comedy talents are on par to that of the once wonderfully comical Laurel and Hardy. The only thing going big for Ant & Dec (besides their bank balances) are their foreheads - but again I can never remember which one has the bigger forehead!

Stick some grated cheese on it and i'd consider the box - cheese just goes with anything nowadays.

 

[mattjax05]

Bullseye:Andy when you are reviewing this player will you have your "I'm a geek and I want 5.1 HD surround sound" or "I am the average father/mother looking for a cheap player" head on. Its important for the format that cheap players are produced for the ordinary Joe.

Don't forget it's only cheap by virtue of a massive discount, it should be placed in the same basket with the other budget blu ray players and judged compariably.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

mattjax05:

agreed Electroman, but I was in no way suggesting Ant & Decs comedy talents are on par to that of the once wonderfully comical Laurel and Hardy. The only thing going big for Ant & Dec (besides their bank balances) are their foreheads - but again I can never remember which one has the bigger forehead!

Stick some grated cheese on it and i'd consider the box - cheese just goes with anything nowadays.

I find the Geordies funnier than Laurel and Hardy. They are the modern day (reality show hosts rather than sketch performers) Morcambe and Wise.

Bring it on!

 

[Clare Newsome]

The Bush has got some stiff bargain Blu-ray competition - you can now buy the Sony BDP-S350 for less than £50 more...

 

[Andy Clough]

Bullseye:Andy when you are reviewing this player will you have your "I'm a geek and I want 5.1 HD surround sound" or "I am the average father/mother looking for a cheap player" head on. Its important for the format that cheap players are produced for the ordinary Joe.

Value for money, and performance-per-pound, is always at the core of how What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision reviews. However, given that superior HD surround sound (as well as HD pictures) is one of the key advantages of Blu-ray over DVD, we'll hardly be ignoring that part of the equation.

As for price, that's going to be an interesting one. I'm well aware that the Argos promo is only valid until Dec 9th, which is why I bought the player yesterday. If after the 9th the Bush goes back up to a price similar to that of the Sony BDP-S350 Clare mentions above, then that will of course have an impact on our verdict. Intriguing - we shall see!