Best Blu Ray Player: 2014-05-11

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Saturday, May 17, 2014

can you play a 3d blu ray play in a regular blu ray player?

Jim K

Answer
The standard for Blu-ray 3D video was developed to be backwards compatible with existing 2D Blu-ray players: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#Blu-ray_3D .

"the MVC (3D) stream is backward compatible with H.264/AVC (2D) stream, allowing older 2D devices and software to decode stereoscopic video streams, ignoring additional information for the second view"

Can I watch 3D blu-ray disks without a 3D blu-ray player?

Deign

I'm not concerned with watching the movie in 3D, I just want to know that if I have a 3D movie disk, and put it into a non-3d playing player, or on a non-3d display, will I be able to watch the movie as if the disk was not a 3d disk. Thank you.

Blue ray - Quicktime Converting?

I have created a movie on my macbook using imovie.I have converted it to a quicktime file and I want to play it on my blue ray using a USB stick. However, when I plugged in my USB stick its says the media is not compatible. How can I make my Imovie compatible with my blueray player? Please help- it would be greatly appreciated.
I would like to play on my USB drive - cause this movie will be updated from time to time and I do not want to rip a DVD each time that I make a change to the video. It would be easier if I could just play it from my USB.

Thank you very much for all the help!

Answer
If you used iMovie to export an .m4v file with H.264 video encoding and AAC audio compression (the default export format of iMovie), try if changing the filename extension to .mp4 helps. They are both basically the same, but your Blu Ray player might be preferring .mp4.

If that doesn't resolve the problem, check your Blu Ray player's manual. It should list which file formats and video/audio encoding standards are supported for playback from a USB storage device.

If you add this information to your question here, we could look for a specific solution (QuickTime export settings in iMovie or conversion).

on a latop.with blu-ray. what r sum of da players that format in blu-ray.example..windows media or quicktime?

mikey

The blu-ray dics some wont play on the player that im using. are there other media layers that play blu-ray dics so i can watch it on my laptop..other than the one that comes pre-installed with my dell?

Answer
The best player is k-lite Mega Codec pack and its go with Media player classic.

Is it tacky to give away old blu-ray player and keep the new one?

i just am

I have a blu-ray player that is about a year old and it plays the blu-ray disk great but when it comes to the DVDs sometimes it freezes up or jumps to the next chapter when the freezing happens. Whenever that has happened I take the dvd out and put in a blu-ray disk and the machine doesn't hick up.

With that much said, I have bought a new blu-ray player because I couldn't resist the Black Friday deals. Now I have a old player that will play the blu-ray disk very well but it iffy on DVDs. Would it be tacky if I take the old player and give it to my brother not as a Christmas gift but just as a "Here I got a better one and its just laying around and you don't have one yet."?

Answer
No, it's not tacky. I'd let him know that it plays blu ray disks extremely well but can act a little funny when playing a dvd. If he wants it, he'll accept it, if he doesn't want it, he won't. But it's all in the offer. As long as you don't give it as a gift, then it's ok.

blu-ray disc casino wont play on my samsung blu-ray player?

Eddie Viva

movie wont play in my blu-ray player

Answer
IF you never updated your blu-ray player's firmware, then you need to do that. Some time it not good enough just having the factory default firmware that comes along installed, when you buy that Blu-Ray player.

I never updated the firmware since I first got my Pioneer BDP-51FD in early 2009. It was not until last year in early June when I got the Blu-Ray of Terminator 2: Judgment Day Skynet Edition. It would stop at some point or freeze when loading the disc. So I check Blu-Ray player and disc forums for info. So that how I came to that I needed to do an update on the firmware. After that the disc played, eventhroughh that the only Blu-Ray that takes the longest to load. Well waiting it has a message saying it better to have a Blu-Ray player with a 2.0 profile.

Another thing that this year when the True Grit remake came out, it would not play on my Blu-Ray player. It keep having the messager on the HDTV screen and the player's little screen saying Can't play disc, Unknown disc. At a point I said go check online to see is there a new firmware for the player. There was and I updated the player. It still did not play or read the disc. The samemessagee showed up. Out of the 22 times I tryed, it worked like 3 different times. I tryed it on my friend's PS3 it worked right away. My uncle's room mate's Sony Blu-Ray it worked right away. After that just returned the disc and did not exchange for a new one to see if works in my player.

So do an update on your Samsung Blu-Ray player's firmware to see does that solve the problem. IF not see does it work on friends andrelativess Blu-Ray player. IF it does work, then it could be your player hates that one disc out of so may made, you might need to clean the Blu-Ray player's laser lens with a Blu-Ray player laser lens cleaner not one that say DVD laser lens. Maybe you got the player out so many made of the same kind that has a problem that why it not that disc and maybe certain other one. Last of all maybe your player hates every single one of the disc that is made for that movie (very rare it would happen). But to see if it is that way have to do an exchange from the store. Note not all models from the same company have that kind of problem.

On the movie Casino IF you are talking about the Robert De Niro, James Wood, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone one, I have no problems with it when I got it back in early April way before the release of True Grit. I still don't have any problems with now.

will blue ray players play a CD?

bob0103

i am looking at buying a blue ray player and almost picked one up at costco (sony) but the box did not indicate whether or not it would play a music CD. are they all different?

Answer
It should play a music CD. Blu-Ray players are backward compatible with DVDs and CDs. I have a Sony Blu-Ray player and a Playstation 3 and I have done this.

Is there a place out there that rents blu ray players?

sight_sent

look i don't know what it is but i just can't see any difference at all looking at blu ray.

'm in stores all the time so i walk by the T V showcase and see whatever they are playing and I just don't get it

I can notice the difference in say switching video card settings in a game or resolution difference on a monitor

I know there are different TV set ups I'm just torn over this.

Answer
I assume you want to rent so you can test whether there is an advantage to Blu-ray? You don't say where you are, but I'm sure there are stores that rent BD players.

That said, you need a minimum of an HDTV (720p or better) and preferably 37" or larger, AND to sit close enough to be able to see the difference between BD and DVD.

The only setup where Blu-ray is always going to be better is with a 1080p projector and big screen (or a 50" or larger 1080p HDTV).

While test have shown that the majority of consumers when shown two identical setups (40" 1080p HDTVs), one with a DVD and one with a BD of the same movie, can see a difference, a significant proportion either didn't see any difference or didn't think it was significant enough to justify the high cost of the player and premium price for the Blu-ray disks.

Personally, I fall in the latter category. I still buy mainly DVDs and only buy BD if the price is a bargain AND it's something where I really want the best image (and sound) available.

Finally, some stores (e.g. Best Buy, Costco, Future Shop) will allow you to return equipment for a full refund if it doesn't meet your expectations. You would have to buy the player to try it out ... but it's one way to get a chance to do testing.

Bottom line: BD is a great choice for the minority of consumers who have the necessary equipment can benefit (e.g. large screen HDTV, good HDMI equipped surround audio setup) AND are willing to pay the premium price (vs DVD). But most consumers should stick to DVD until prices come down and/or they need to buy a new player (In which case a BD player makes more sense than a new DVD player).

Why won't my blu ray player play my Breakfast at Tiffanys movie?

Rebecca

Its a brand new blu ray movie and it will not play, every time I push play it just does not do anything and stays on the menu screen. Does anyone know what to do? Please help!

Answer
Could it be that your Blu-Ray player is slowly having problems. Whatever company and model it is. I had this problem when the remake of True Grit was released back in June. I got it the second day or third day. The first time I put it in my Pioneer BDP-51FD it would not play, after it finished saying closed and went to loading. It would stay at that to a certain point(I would guess it always the same amount of time), and then a message would show up on the HDTV screen and player's little screen saying "Can't Play This Disc" and Unknown Disc. Back then I didn't know what was going on, The first seven time I have try it in the player, it did not play at all, and the same thing happen. Altogether I try the disc in the player 22 times with in a week and three days. It only worked three different times in the player. Then my guess was that either the disc hates my player or the player hates the disc. Last of all that disc has problems, but I just return it to Costco. Before doing that I did try the disc on my friend's PS3, and it work the first time in there. I also tryed it on my uncle's Sony Blu-Ray player, it also worked the first time in there. By the way don't forget to update your Blu-Ray player's firmware, IF you never done it before. When I first got Terminator 2: Judgment Day Skeynet Edition it would not load up to the menu screen or stay at the loading wait. So I looked online for info, and that got me to do my very first firmware update, and NOT leave it at the defult firmware that came along. This was back in late May or early June of 2010. After I updated the firmware to 1.65 from the company's site, the Blu-Ray played with NO problem. And that was way before the problem I have now.

Move forward to mid August certain Blu-Rays I got way before the release of True Grit(remake) had worked in the my Pioneer player with no problems. The first one I notice with that problem was Casino, I had got that back in early April of this year, and it had always worked. Ever since mid August more and more started not to play on the player, with the same problem as True Grit. What I have notice was when it would not play and with the same messages is that there is no fan like spining sound, when it does disc loading. I have also sat in front of the Blu-Ray player, with the TV sound turn down tolisten and noice no fan like spining sound. When I first had this problem I had also found two forums with sections devoted to my player. One is a section at http://www.avsforum.com, with 992 pages, and at http://www.blu-ray.com. As time went on the Blu-Rays that did not play on the Pioneer, that had worked before with no problems are The Magnificen Seven, Cop Out, Miami Vice, Plubic Enimies, Never Say Never Again(sometime works sometime don't), Spy Game, Apocalypse Now, Die Hard With A Vengeance(sometime works sometime don't), and X-Men Origins: Wolerine. I Have not try all of my Blu-Rays in the player. Sometime new ones I get will not play first time in the player like Taken, Pulp Fiction, Rounders, X-Men: First Class and The Guns Of Navarone

What the people on the two forums have said was either one of these is the problem

The laser lens is dirty (Use a Blu-ray laser lens cleaner to clen it the kind that come with a brush. IF it more stubben, open up the player and use Q-tip to clean it.)

The laser lens is starting to die

The drive could be starting to die( one person said the drive for the model I have, have known problem)

They say it has nothing to do with the firmware upadate, which I did do since I updated mine from 1.65 to 1.71 when there was problems with playing True Grit and then to 1.72 when my older Blu-Rays strted not to play that use to with no problem. And still the problem is still there for me.

One thing no one have said was how to tell is the laser lens just dirty and it not starting to die at all.

When I told my uncle about it, he told me it parts can't be dying at all. It must be like a record player when ther a little piece of bread crum on it, it will not play the record in it right way. I have yet to buy a blu-ray laser lens cleaner and try that. I know all those disc will work in another player. Right now 100% no problems with the DVD and CD side of the Blu-Ray player.

The best thing for you is to ask a home theater expert or store a worker that sell this kind of stuff like at Best Buy and Magnolia Hi-Fi or those good mom and pop kinds. Also try the disc at friend and relative's player to see does it work. Last of all look for forums devoted to your player, and post questions.

Does the PS3 Have The BEST Blu-Ray Load Times?

Kevin & Kr

20gb
60gb
40gb
80gb
160gb

Are they all the same when it comes to load times? (I have the 40gb)

And is it still the FASTEST blu-ray player?
I know it was less than a year ago, but I want to know as of now or at least 2009.

Answer
yes better than other standalone players
u will not regret buy it

hey now in dell.com its only 299$ ps3 80 gb console

3d blu ray player 2d to 3d conversion question?

Jason

I have a 3d tv that doesn't do 2d to 3d conversion....I was wondering if I got a 3d blu ray player that does if I watched netflix on it that I'll be able to watch netflix in 3d?

Answer
C-Net tried it and they say it's pretty terrible. The 2D to 3D conversion method described above won't work with streaming content like Netflix, but technically, yes, it will convert it - just not very well.

If I have a 3D LED TV, do I need a 3D blu ray player as well to play 3D Blu ray movies?

isshhee

So what I have is a Samsung 3D LED TV (Model F6100) and a bluray player that isn't 3D. Can I still buy 3D DVDs and play them on it and have my TV do the 3D conversion or whatever?

Answer
Yes, you need both a 3D capable source and 3D capable display to properly play 3D Blu-ray movies. Some TVs have the ability to upscale 3D video from a 2D source but it's just a "best guess"algorithm that will leave some video artifacts, and not be true 3D video. Here's an article on the subject:

http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-01/how-2-d-video-becomes-3-d

Friday, May 16, 2014

HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray?

C.O.O.L.

Which will win? Which has more potential?

Answer
Well first of all, I want to clear up an implication in one of the posts above mine which suggests the PS3 is a poor-quality Blu-Ray player. The fact is that the PS3 is actually considered to be one of the best Blu-Ray players at ANY price. Spend some time on avsforums.com, which is full of professional reviews and full-time audiophiles and videophiles who know their stuff, and you will see this to be the case.

Now, as far as potential... I give the nod to Blu-Ray. They not only have larger storage capacity (which essentially defines potential) but Blu-Ray is already capable of 7.1 channel sound whereas HDDVD hasn't grasped this (yet). But aside from that, it's still too early to tell who will win. Right now, and for some time, Blu-Ray has been outselling HDDVD at roughly 2 to 1. But the fact is, between BOTH formats only 3 million discs have been sold; they are selling at less than 1% of the rate that regular DVD's are selling. This means that if HDDVD gets their act together they can EASILY win this thing. Even though Blu-Ray is outselling; by no means is there a commanding share of the market.

I have the ability to play both formats; and after a few months, I have roughly 5 times the number of HDDVD movies as I do Blu-Ray movies. It seems to me that generally, the type of movies I prefer are on HDDVD. But at this point... I guess I don't really care who wins; they are both excellent formats.

Blu-ray player with Netflix and USB movie player?

Demp

I was wondering if anyone could help me out in finding me a blu-ray player that has wifi capabilities (particularly Netflix) and a USB port that can play movie files (particularly .avi).

I was looking at the LG BD570 on Amazon, but some recent reviews say that there are problems with the Netflix so I'm not sure. And I know it's not that bad at around $198, but maybe one for cheaper would be nice.
Thanks

Answer
You should go with LG BD570 Network Blu-ray Disc Player

Blu-Ray Player with 1GB memory 802.11N for Wireless networking NetCast for YouTube & CinemaNow
BD-P NetFlix HD BD live
Full HD 1080p output via HDMI with Cinema mode at 24 or 60 frames per second USB Media Host
Superior audio performance with 7.1 channels with Dolby Digital Plus & TrueHD & dts-HD
Quick boot with instant tray opening

I have an Alienware M14x and was wondering about hooking up an external blu ray player?

dellman12

Just wondering if the external blu ray player that hooks up through usb will be true 100% blu ray high definition, just like having it internally from the factory?

Answer
yes it would be if the xffer is fast enough. if its 1080 you may need a usb 3.0 but why dont you just download them in ts and watch them with gom or vlc player

Blu-ray upgrade for Dell Inspiron 1525?

Q. I just bought a Dell Inspiron 1525 Notebook from Best Buy and I realized it has an HDMI output, so I now have it hooked up to my Toshiba Regza 42" HDTV and would like the abilitiy to watch Blu-ray discs. It seems like replacing the optical drive for the laptop would be the most cost-effective way to bring me into the blu-ray era, but I can only seem to find, from dell anyway, the blu-ray burner. I don't need or want to pay the extra cash for that until I can find a price on just the player. (If you build it through Dell, they charge $150 for the player upgrade but $450 for the burner) Can anyone point me to a dell part number or the drive (e.g. the burner is a UJ-220) that dell uses in the laptops it ships when you custom make it?
Just fyi, this is my system:
160 GB Samsung Hard Drive
Intel Pentium Dual CPU T3200 @ 2.00GHz
3.0 GB Ram
32 bit OS
Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family
Intel High Definition Audio HDMI

All help is greatly appreciated (btw, i know I bought a laptop from a box, keep non-constructive criticism to yourself.)

Why not stick to the question?

Answer
why not try looking for an external blu ray player that plugs into a usb port

Thursday, May 15, 2014

What the heck is Blu ray?

Zahavah

Answer
Blu-ray is the new high definition disc that will be replacing DVDs.

The picture quality is extraordinarily better. I tested it by playing Dark Knight DVD in my dvd player and the Dark Knight BD (Blu-ray Disc) in my Blu-ray player at the same time and comparing the two. The DVD looks like it has the picture quality of a youtube video in comparison to the BD.

Blu-ray also has a number of features that are not available with DVDs and DVD players. One major one is that the Blu-ray player can connect to the internet. You may ask, why would I connect to the internet if I'm watching a movie... I could just be on my computer at the same time. That's exactly what I asked. Well, say you're watching a movie like Devil Wears Prada... and you really like one of the dresses the Anne Hathaway is wearing. You can pause, click on the dress, and be able to search for that exact dress online. Then, through your Blu-ray player, you will be able to purchase that dress. Then of course you can go back to watching your movie.

Another thing about Blu-ray is that you don't necessarily have to by BDs to use it. BDs tend to be about $10 more expensive than DVDs. Of course the BDs will have additional features that the DVDs won't have, but you can still play DVDs in your Blu-ray player. What's great is that the DVDs will look much clearer in the Blu-ray player than they do on your DVD player.

This is because the DVD player did not have the capacity to playback HD material due to a difference in the wavelength of the laser that reads the disc. DVD players use a red laser, while Blu-ray players use a blue laser (that's where the name comes from). Because the blue laser has a smaller wavelength, it can read finer details on the disc than the red laser of the DVD player could.

In short-- I totally recommend getting a Blu-ray player. It's kind of expensive right now, but in my opinion it's worth it in the long run.

What is the best Blu ray disc player?

bonbonfle

I am looking to get a blu ray disc player for my basement,Can someone tell me wich one is the best quality.Thanks

Answer
Depends what you mean by "best".

The Pioneer is arguably the best quality, but not the best performance since it's not as flexible as the PS3 --- which is widely considered the ONLY recommendable Blu-ray player right now. By the end of the year you will have more choice and prices will come down. Furthermore some of the new players will have built in support for the audio formats (e.g. DTS-HD) that you currently need to buy an new A/V receiver to support.

That said, before buying one be sure you can benefit AND are willing to pay the premium price of disks. I highly recommend a demo on a display (HDTV/HD projector) as close as possible to what you have (size, resolution) and do a comparison to a DVD of the same movie if possible AT THE SAME DISTANCE as you will use at home.

While the store demos look great (frequently animation or HD Video camera ... which look great) real life movies are not always that much of an improvement over upconverted DVDs ... and typically cost $5 - $20 more.

I'm not trying to talk you out of Blu-ray, but given the costs involved I caution you to do your homework before deciding. Many people are choosing to not buy into Blu-ray ... at least not yet. DVD isn't going anywhere soon.

See the link for examples pictures from DVD, HD Cable, SD and HD Apple TV and Blu-ray.

External Blu Ray player on windows 8 PC?

victor

So at home I have a pretty big blu ray collection and watch it a lot. But when I travel around I cant have with me a monitor and bluray player ( duuh ) so then a PC is perfect for the job, except that 95% of PC`s dont have blu ray players. Online they sell a lot of USB blu ray players with a small design perfectly for traveling. Is this a good idea, do I need some kind of software to play blu rays or is it just that your PC needs to be powerful enough.

I have a pretty good PC with a lot of RAM, good graphic card ( 1080 screen ) etc
Is it just to connect it via USB and play it or is there many cons using external blu ray players?

Answer
If you have USB 3 port, that would be fantastic, but the external USB players should also work on USB 2 ports.
To play video (like Blu-ray), you don't need a very powerful computer. Most media players support Blu-Ray (perhaps with a plugin) but I highly recommend VLC (http://www.videolan.com) or XBMC (http://xbmc.org). Both are free players that don't require additional codecs or plugins and they work on multiple platforms. XBMC even has the advantage that it can read straight out of zip and rar files, in case you ever downloaded a video file.

can i play Blu ray Movie files on VLC player ?

Manish

Iam actually new to the world of Blu ray and am downloading a Blu ray movie rit now(46 GB on whole) i was wondering if i could play Blu ray movies(movie files on my hard disk) on my VLC Player(2.0.5 da recent updated player).. i play DVD UltraHD(18 GB single movie) movies on VLC(well, thats somethin stupid to be stated, ikr).....

but to ask plane,
CAN I PLAY A BLU RAY MOVIE FILE ON MY HARD DISK in VLC PLAYER on MY DESKTOP PC?

Answer
Short answer:
= Yes vlc player should be capable of playing a blu-ray file or blu-ray disk (if the optical drive reads blu-rays).

Long answer below:

First you need a optical disk drive that can read blu-rays disks.
- The optical disk drive may be able to read dvd's and cd's as well.

Second you will need a media player that can play blu-ray and dvd and cd discs/files.
- http://www.filehippo.com/
- The best free three media players that I recommend are,
- I recommend you download k-lite codec pack for media player classic (also k-lite codec pack can be used for windows media player). (64 bit for k-lite can be found here: http://codecguide.com/download_kl.htm ).
- or download km player (don't download all that extra korean crap).
- or download vlc player.

One of the best paid media players that's very popular and good that I hear is power dvd from cyberlink.

This was one of the only system requirements I can find for being capable of playing blu-ray's, dvd's, cd's.
(These system requirements may be different depending on what media player your using).
- DVD: http://www.cyberlink.com/support/product-faq-content.do?id=8089&prodId=1&prodVerId=720
- Blu-ray: http://www.cyberlink.com/stat/bd-support/enu/system-requirement.jsp

Maybe its just my area but no one is buying PS3....?

DiMooch

they're in stock in stores (Wii is not) and no one seems to want it. Its pricey, graphics aren't that much better than 360, and no one has blu-ray discs to play on its blu-ray player

Answer
Yeah, all of our local stores walmart, kmart, target, best buy all have these in stock now. I think the main reason they arent moving as well as they were at first is b/c they are really pricey! Plus, they are new, and they still have bugs that need to be worked out of them! The true gamer will always be the first in line for these high tech systems and make the craze, but for the rest of us, I'm sure we have other things to "waste" our money on other than a new gaming system!

HDMI cables: is there really a difference between the $40 at KMart and the $300 Monster?

Justin H

I realize in side by side tests with the best of the best there might be a noticeable difference between an expensive Monster cable and a cheaper cable. But for the average home installation, is there really a need to pay that much more?

For what it's worth, I have a 32" Samsung LCD (720p, 7000:1 contrast ratio) . I don't currently have any equipment that used an HDMI cable, but I ordered a Samsung Upconvert DVD player which can use HDMI or Component.
Thanks for your answers. They pretty much tell me what I expected. I'm not sure who to pick at this point, but the first three answers were very good.

Answer
Here is what you need to know.

The need for high quality HDMI will depend largely on the application.
If you are connecting an upconverting DVD player to the TV directly the low grade cable is fine. This is likely to be a short run (HDMI looses signal strength faster that other cables) you are only transmitting a 720p image at best (this is the native resolution of the TV so no need to go higher.)

As you start adding Distance, Connections or signal you will need to get better cables. Here is what I mean.

If you are transmitting a 1080P image instead of a 720P you need greater data transfer speed because the bitrate is faster.
If you add uncompressed audio like Dolby TrueHD or dts-HD you need even more speed.
Throw in other things like X.V. Color, Bonus View on Blu-Ray, 120Hz refresh rates (yes I know that it happens in the TVs but that may change) and now you need a pretty darn good cable.
Put a receiver in the signal path (Blu-Ray to Receiver to TV) and the quality of the cables becomes more important.
Stick the cable in the wall to a flat panel TV and you had better have a good HDMI cable.
Cable over 10', 15', 25' 50'? You will need progressively better cables.
All of these things add up.
So, no you don't need a high quality cable for what you are using it for right now. But if you trade up or add components you may.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

which blu-ray player is the best for enabling internet on my TV?

The Travel

I want to browse the internet and stream movies on my TV and I understand some Blu-ray players will enable that. I am partial to Samsung or Panasonic but open to good suggestions. Thank you
I have an ethernet connection close to my TV's so it will be a wired connection to the Blu-ray and then an HDMI connection to the TV

Answer
Samsung BD-D6500 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) is super easy to install on our wifi. hookup to netflix was also simple. It's too bad that there isn't a link to regular Hulu (just Hulu plus), but otherwise the apps seem fine. Blu ray and DVD playback is excellent and the player loads quickly. Haven't tried the 3D option.

Looking for a Blu-Ray Player?

Sam Hoffma

Hi, I'm looking for a (preferably cheap) Blu Ray player that has wifi, youtube, netflix, and great picture quality. Any help would be appreciated!

Note: I do NOT need/want 3D.
Edit: I don't want a PS3. 1. I'll feel obliged to buy games and spend more money, 2. It doesn't have youtube, and 3. I have an Xbox360.
Edit again: PS3 is also way too expensive. I'm looking for like 230 and lower, preferably much lower for a non-3D (making it non-new).

Answer
I have a Samsung BDP-6300T that I got as a BD gift from my in-laws. It is awesome and the last time I saw it at Costco they had gone from 250.00 CA to 170.00CA. This unit has it all and I love it WIFI came with Lord of the Rings, all cables too but would recommend a higher grade HDMI cable like Rocketfish or Monster for instance. Has all the apps like Netflix, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube you name it you got it as well as games, art work gallery, front media reading USB port reads everything on my external HD. Samsung also has an App for support services. What can I say Samsung products are the bomb. Good luck with your shopping.
P.S. Stay away from LG
Opp's almost forgot it is also DIVX HD capable

Magnovox NB530MGX (99$ Walmart Blu Ray Player (Can i have only video though hdmi and audio though rca?)?

levi123112

Does anyone have experience with this Blu Ray player (or similar Blu Ray players) I'm wondering because my TV has a faulty or poorly made HDMI which produces fuzzy picture at 1080p so i have to use a HDMI to DVI cable (If you don't know DVI cant carry audio unless its DVI-D) and i want to use the BR players RCA audio cables but since HDMI carries audio will the BR player assume the audio is being transferred though the hdmi or is there a setting to choose where the audio comes out?

P.S. Do BR players have settings to adjust resolution I.E. run a 1080p movie at 1600x900 (or what ever the movies down scaled resolution would be) because the hdmi port i have can display good quality as long as its anything lower then 1080p.

THANKS for the help and i look forward to reading your responses.

Answer
You should get the best audio and video possible thru the hdmi cable only. Something is wrong with the cable or the blu ray player.

I would check out both and see if you can fix it. If not, I would take the blu ray or cable back, whichever one is defective.

You only get true 1080p when you play a blu ray disc.

In your blu ray menu there are settings for 3 or 4 different size videos that you can change. I have mine on wide screen and it seem the best.

Almost forgot, depending on the tv you have, you have to enable the hdmi setting on the tv's menu.

Some do it automatically when you connect the hdmi cable, but I would check, this could be your problem

will walmart let me return this blu ray player?

jlh Hook

i bought a blu ray player in march and didn't use it that much. now it is crapping out on me. i don't have a receipt but i do have the box and everything that came with it.

Answer
I agree with the other poster that you could just ask them.

However I think that there are two things that will work against you.

1 - you don't have a receipt. Most stores want you to have a receipt in order to return an item. Otherwise you can't prove that you bough the unit there.

2 - it has been 6 months since you bought it. I am not exactly sure about walmart but most stores have a 15 - 30 day return policy. If this is true at walmart then you would not be able to return it.

I would suggest that if it still has a warranty you get it fixed. However, without that receipt you may not be able to do that either

Next time keep the receipt (or a copy of the receipt) with the unit.

Can I hook up a new dvd or blu-ray player to my old home theatre system?

Q. I have a Panasonic SA-HT940 home theatre system and the HDMI port is messed up so I am looking into buying a new dvd player. I am wondering if it is possible to hook up a new dvd or blu-ray player to the old surround sound speaker system.

Answer
You can not connect the new DVD ot Blu Ray disc player directly to the old home theater system you have. But you can connect it directly to the tv and then connect an optical cable from the tv to the home theater to get the sound. You can also connect the optical cable directly to the home theater. Hope this will help you out.

Can I use a home theater Blu-Ray player for a PC?

timebaby3

Can I use a home theater Blu-Ray player for an HP Elite PC with a high def video card, TV tuner and HDMI port?

Answer
You will have to worry about whether the HD video card HDMI port is an output or an input. If -- as I suspect -- it's an output (intended to go to a monitor or TV) you can't INPUT a signal from the output of the Blu-ray player.

Frankly, I think you would be better to consider an internal or external Blu-ray drive for the computer, rather than a standalone Blu-Ray player. HOWEVER, consider whether your computer is up to handling HD (in addition to the video subsystem there are minimum CPU and RAM requirements).

Hope that helps.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Blu-ray????

Q. What is it? How do you use it? Do you need a special device to play it? Help I am so confused!

Answer
Blu-ray is one of two candidate technologies for a new design for next-generation DVD discs, for both high definition movies, as well as ultra high capacity computer data discs. Blu-ray is named because the lasers used in the drives operate in the 'blue' portion of the light spectrum. They can provide 25 GB (single layer) or 50 GB (2-layer.)

You can buy Blu-ray drives for your PC, but they are very limited (if even available) for videos. The drives are costly because the production volumes are not very large and there is not a lot of competition.

The other disc technology candidate is HD-DVD, which will also play regular DVD discs. (Blu-ray discs are not compatible with either HD-DVDs or regular DVDs.)

Blu-ray discs provide significantly higher capacity and don't need to be flipped over to play the 2nd side, like HD-DVD discs need to. (Or else the HD-DVD player needs two sets of laser heads to read both top and bottom sides.) HD-DVD supports only 15 GB per side, with a max of 30 GB.

The computer and movie industries are divided about which next-gen DVD to support. There are companies supporting one, but not the other, and the big stumbling block is the movie industry, which doesn't want to make 2 versions of every HD movie.

Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson are in the Blu-ray camp.

Toshiba leads the HD DVD consortium, which also includes consumer electronics manufacturers Sanyo and NEC. Entertainment companies on board are HBO, New Line Cinema, Paramount Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video.

How do you get HBO go on a onkyo Blu-ray player?

Scrolling

Answer
First off you must have a cable or disc network provider and also pay for the HBO service. But your blu ray disc player will only streamline movies from netflex etc. Hope this will help you out.

How should i set up my blu ray player to my 1080i HDTV?

Q. I had just recently bought a bluray home theater system. My tv has a dvi connection but not hdmi. I have the dvi to hdmi cable plugged into my blu ray player and tv. Now when i turn the tv on i get picture and can adjust the picture and sound settings on the blu ray player and it works great. But as soon as i put a blu ray in i only get sound but no picture. So i went to the hdmi settings on the player and it says the hdmi connection is invalid but my tv can only display 1080i and 480p. I think the problem is that my older tv is not hdcp compliant with my newer blu ray player. So my question is Could i hook up my player with component cables for the HD picture and just use the dvi to hdmi cable for sound which is all i could get from the movies any way?
Thanks for any help you can give me :)

Answer
It might be HDCP, but more likely the default 1080p setting on the Blu-ray player isn't supported by the 720p/1080i HDTV. Try changing the output resolution on the BD player to 720p or 1080i (whichever looks better).

As to using HDMI or component ... both will work fine at 720p or 1080i.

Given you have a 720p HDTV you get no advantage to HDMI unless you want the audio through the TV ... in which case the single cable connection is simpler. If you have an audio receiver/surround system you can send the audio to it via optical. You CAN'T use the DVI/HDMI cable for sound since DVI is video only.

Is it worth getting a Blu-Ray player if my TV only supports 1080i?

Have you s

My plasma only supports only 1080i, not 1080p. Is it worth getting a Blu-Ray player? Would there be a noticeable difference?

Answer
Blue Ray is the only format recorded for HD audio and video resolution. You TV supports 1080i however the Blue Ray player is where the rubber meets the road for audio & video quality. HD blue ray disks are recorded in 1080p format and the blue ray player decodes and transmits to your 1080i TV. I can assure you that your eye can not tell the diff between 1080i and 1080p resolutions. Have fun.

What is the differences 1080P 24fps and 30fps ?

rayboy

1/. Canon 5D, 1080P 30 fps and Nikon 7000 1080P , 24 fps . Is the picture quality the same between the 30fps and 24 fps ??
2/. What is the rate for fps in movie standard today (30 or 24) ??
Many Thanks

Answer
1-The picture quality will be indistinguishable if you know how to work the camera right. HD TV is broadcast at 29.97fps unless its a sports program in which case the frame rate is usually 60p so the action will be smooth and undistorted.

2- The frame rate of a movie is dependent on the film maker. There is no industry standard rate. Some are shot in 24, 25, 30, or 60fps. But if you have a Blu-ray player, you might have noticed that 99% of the movies are at 24fps which is the rate of the old movie film.

Whats your take HDdvd or the Blueray....whats the diffrence really?

george o

arent they both supposed to be way better than the ordinary dvd players and movies or is one supirior compared to the other?

Answer
Yes, both are supposed to be better then regular DVD players, and in similar ways. There certainly are technical differences, but the main effective difference to the consumer is that, except for Warner Bros. studios, the major studios are lined up behind one or the other. So if you get HD-DVD, you'll find stuff from WB, Paramount, and NBC/Universal out in HD, and you'll need regular DVDs for other content. If you get Blu-Ray, you'll have Sony, Fox, Disney, etc. but you can't get Paramount or NBC/Universal.

Now, as for better, the "better" is very real. Both formats support full high definition discs (technically, 720/60p, 1080/60i, or 1080/24p), which looks dramatically better on you HDTV than DVD... not that DVDs look all that bad. Both formats support the existing MPEG-2 encoding used on DVDs, but also allow videos to be encoded in two modern compressed formats, MPEG-4 AVC (same format used on the iPod and satellite TV) and VC-1 (that's the standardized version of Windows Media Video 9). The quality on either format can be technically higher than broadcast HDTV, so these are currently about the best looking thing you can view on your HDTV.

They also offer improved sound, with multichannel uncompressed audio (DVDs only offer uncompressed stereo, and even that's rarely offered on DVDs), and surround up to 7.1 channels. Not that many people have 7.1 channel audio today, but these are pretty forward-looking.

The other feature in both is "interactivity"... you can play simple games, or access web sites, or do other fancy stuff that's impossible on DVDs. Where that goes remains to be seen, but it seems to primarily be used to point users to additional content (and, along with it, the change to target ads) online.

The fact that the formats are not compatible with one another is having a negative effect on the growth of the high def disc market. It could be that "universal" players, such as those from LG and Samsung, are the final solution.. but currently, these cost more than getting two basic players.

This format war is really about greed... the company that owns the core technologies for either format will make money on those technology licenses. There may be a winner, but if that happens, the consumers backing the wrong format will likely be the losers, more than any hardware or movie company. However, if the format war lasts long enough to establish low cost universal players, there may simply be no winner, and consumers will largely get to play either format without penalty.

You can argue technical details of one format vs. the other, but these aren't really going to make much difference for regular users -- both formats do pretty much the same thing. Blu-Ray is a bit more advanced, spec-wise, and a bit more powerful. On the other hand, I think the Blu-Ray introduction has tripped up a couple of times, while the HD-DVD rollout was more slick (part of that's the fact that only Toshiba has been selling HD-DVD, and they're all powered by Microsoft's WinCE OS, so there's less variation between players than with the dozen or so companies making Blu-Ray players).

Hi, I am from India & want to buy egreat HD player. Which is official egreat site?

gizmo free

Can some one recommend me a model which can also play MKV, MOV, AVI, RMVB etc with subtitles support. It should also have the functionality to automatically record TV programs per-selected time , pause live TV etc. Also I should be able to stream contents wirelessly from my desktop PC to TV through this devise.

Please suggest a model or any other player with all such functionality.

Thanks

Answer
The official Egreat site is www.egreatworld.com and the only Authorized India seller is webster999 who is currently selling Egreat players on ebay.in with 1 year warranty.
Egreat makes 2 types of players
1) Sigma chip based (M34A, M31B, M32B, M35A)
2) Realtek chip based ( EG-R1, EG-R2A)
Now all these players will play >99% of the video formats with subtitle support at FULL HD 1080P.
I suggest you dont go for any player with recording function. Such players only give a max output of 720p and they wont even support MKV and M2TS formats.

Here are just a few of the benefits of the EGREAT Players....
*Watch movies and play music files downloaded from Internet download sites at Full HD and 5.1 Surround Sound.

*Download movies, videos and music directly via BITTORRENT & USENET onto the Hard Disk of the player . (No need of keeping the PC running all the while)

*Rip all your DVD's, CD's, and Blu-Ray Disks and store and play them ON YOUR TV

*Store all your HD and SD home movies and digital photos to view them anytime.

*Stream media to or from your PC's, NAS devices, cameras or external storage (HDD, flash, etc.), via Wi-Fi or wired LAN, USB 2.0 or eSATA

*Connect it with your other AV gear compliant with DLNA

*And much more in full High-Definition TRUE 1080P!

Currently webster999 is selling the Latest EG-R2A at a huge discount and with Free 300Mbps Wi-Fi Adapter and Free Toslink Optical Cable. Check out this link...
http://cgi.ebay.in/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110471227018#ht_11998wt_1195

I think you should grab on to this fabulous deal which will suffice all your needs (except the recording function)
I just bought R2A a few days back and i"d also previously bought a M31B from webster999 and I love them both.

Cheers

Blu-ray won! What will you do with your now obsolete HD DVD?

What will you do with your HD DVD machine?

And, do you think should be a law to avoid "format wars" that leave thousands of consumers with useless machines (and you can be sure they will get no refund).?

Answer
well i tried to play it smart and waited for the war to settle. You should check ebay and see HD-DVD players going as low as $50!!!!! As for laws, I just don't think a law could work in this situation, because there would be intense disputes between companies who make the formats like Sony and Toshiba. But hey, those with an HD-DVD player, put the player in its box, and sell it as a "like-new" antique on ebay in 30 years.

Monday, May 12, 2014

How to connect a Blu-Ray Player to a laptop.......if possible?

michael

I have a pavilion g60 hp laptop with a bright-view hd screen. The laptop has an HDMI input. Would I be able to connect a blu-ray player to the laptop and watch movies using the laptop hd screen?

Answer
The laptop's HDMI port is for output - not input. It's for connecting to a HDTV.

There is currently no device for a laptop that would allow you connect your blu-ray drive to the laptop with a HDMI cable. Your best bet would be to see about swapping the DVD drive in your laptop for a blu-ray drive, if they make one for your laptop.

Should i add a Blu-ray player to my Laptop (HP DV6T QUAD EDITION)?

Zane Bloun

i am about to purchase my customized HP Laptop through their website. one of the customization options is to add a blu-ray optical drive. should I? is it worth the $75?

Answer
If you are in the USA, first read about owner surveys of their laptops and ignore the overpriced macbook:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/244419/laptop_reliability_and_satisfaction_macbooks_rule.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/244419/laptop_reliability_and_satisfaction_macbooks_rule.html

Then go to Lenovo.com and compare the DV6T to a Lenovo Y580 IdeaPad - 59345717 - Dawn Gray: $999.00
I don't see a DV6T Quad addition offered at their web site, but when I have tried configuring up options to match the Y580, I could not get the the graphics level and the overall price was $300 higher and quality no better.
Getting a blu ray is a choice. Do you watch many blu ray movies on your laptop, or connect to a TV without a bluray player?
The $1000 Lenovo is:
3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM (Faster than 3632)
15.6" 1080p display
GTX 660M 2GB graphics:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html
8 GB 1600 speed ram, 1TB HDD, backlit keyboard, bluetooth, bluray, 6 cell polymer battery.
There are cheaper models around.

Is the New Samsung Blu Ray Player 3D compatible to a Mitsubishi 3D Ready TV?

CESAR G

Hello,
Is the Samsung BD-C6900 able to connect to a Mitsubishi WD-82737 3d
ready? I have read a few reviews from previous buyers on amazon.com
regarding these two products for some reason they do not respond correctly. Please advise if this is
compatible...or even true I tried calling Samsung but they said they no issues have been reported...

Answer
Edit: I have reviewed the manual for the 82737, and it is as I thought.

>> "To display 3D images, Mitsubishi Home Theater DLP TVs require that source devices support checkerboard display formats for 3D gaming or 3D cinema content. A 3D standard format does not currently exist for Blu-ray or DVD prepackaged media. Future 3D standards may be incompatible with Mitsubishi Home Theater DLP TVs. Please visit mitsubishi-tv.com for updates and information."

Basically the TV was made before the BDA 3D standard, so unless the 3D video output is in the old DLP checkerboard format, it will not be compatible.

- - -

The issue here is that the WD-82737 TV is not actually "3D Ready".

What do I mean by this?
This TV was designed and manufactured before there was a well defined 3D standard, it was called "3D Ready" because it was capable of displaying 3D content and used the 3D video format that was commonly accepted at the time.

While the TV was designed to display 3D content, the format for the 3D video it was designed for is completely different to the video format that the Blu-Ray Disc Association has designed for new 3D compatible TVs, Blu-Ray disc players and other hardware.

So to get to the point here... this TV is not at all designed to work with the new 3D standard, so it is effectively not 3D Ready.

I have heard from unconfirmed sources that Mitsubishi might be developing an adapter of sorts that will connect between the Blu-Ray player and the TV to convert the 3D video format to one which the TV can interpret and display, but I don't know if this is really the case.

It's also possible the Blu-Ray player has an additional option to output 3D video in a format which the Mitsubishi TV can understand, but I have no idea if it does or not and that would be outside the scope of the Blu-Ray Disc association specification requirements for manufacturers (i.e. it would be entirely optional and up to the manufacturer).

Recommendations for high-end Blu-ray players?

Hi, looking for reviews, comparisons, recommendations for high-end blu ray players. I have a Denon 791 AV receiver with Energy Take Classic speaker system. My budget is $500 to $1000

Requirements for the player.

- First requirement: upcoversion from standard definition regular DVDs is a critical requirement since I have a number of such DVDs
- First requirement: excellent audio
- Second requirement: Netflix streaming and 3D
- Third requirement: wi-fi

Is Oppo BDP-93 the best given these requirements (I understand it does not have wi-fi, however, since that requirement is third on my list I can live without it)?

Thanks

Answer
The Oppo has wireless, it is a fantastic universal player, can't go wrong with it.

From the BDP-93 spec page:
"Wireless & Ethernet â Using the included wireless-N adapter or the built-in RJ45 Ethernet port, users will be able to interact with BD-Live content, watch instant streaming programs from provides such as Netflix, Blockbuster etc., playback contents stored on their home network, and keep the BDP-93 up-to-date with firmware releases to ensure maximum Blu-ray compatibility."

How do I connect my blu ray player to my 5.1 surround sound?

Kal-El

I recently purchased a 5.1 home theater system I use to just connect my blu ray player to my tv through an hdmi cable but now i cant do that or it will just be connected to either the tv or surround sound I want to connect it to the surround sound but what eles do I need or what am I doing wrong?

Answer
Either an opitcal cable or a coaxial cable--depending on what type of output your home theater reciever and Blu-ray player have.

Surround sound for PS3 Blu-Ray player?

Istvan K

If I use the AV cable that came with the PS3 (one end is RCA component and the other is the flat AV that goes into the PS3), and plug it into the composite in (red & white) in my Panasonic SA-PT950 5.1 surround sound system, and set it to AUX, will I get the surround sound from the Blu Ray disc?

I realize I cannot get the BluRay 7.1 DTS that way.... but will I get any acceptable surround sound out of it, at least better than just having the audio come through the TV?

-My TV has no Audio Out and the Panasonic does not have an Optic port, so I'm thinking this is my last and final option for surround sound when playing BluRay off the PS3.

any answers?

Answer
No, you can't get surround from anything but the built in DVD player. The only audio inputs you have are the analog RCA inputs (red/white) you mentioned, and that is a stereo input. There is no surround decoding from a stereo analog input, just the left and right channels. It will still be better sound than you get from your TV speakers though.

The one thing you can do with your Panasonic surround system is fake surround, using the Dolby Pro Logic II setting. While not true surround sound, using the discrete audio channels encoded on the blu-ray disc, it will create a quasi surround mix, using phase variations withing the stereo mix, and making its best guess which channel the audio should go to. It's a far from ideal solution, and may not be to your liking, but give it a try.

The only way you can get a true surround signal from your blu-ray player would be to get a receiver or home theater system with an HDMI or optical/coaxial digital input.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Blu-ray player - questions?

Thirzty

The box says "requires broadband connection, fees may apply, requires external storage"

what fees would apply? are they just talking bout the fees i pay for comcast?

what is the external storage, and why would i need that?

and can someone explain wat BDLive is?
wat kind of external storage.....

Answer
Broadband connection is required because the Blu-ray is a java. It needs to be update, Like a game.
However updating it will need the "external storage" to store the updates.

It has nothing to do with you cable provider.

BD Live is nothing.. Just something cool to browse around. BDLive is like Xbox Live..
A online version for blu ray..

Should I Get A Blu-Ray Player?

Nathaniel

I've been wanting a blu-ray player for awhile but I'm really wanting to get the transformers signature edition (which I'm pretty sure is only blu-ray). Is a blu-ray player really worth it or should I just get the regular collectors edition? Also is the signature edition the same as just haven all 3 transformers speicial edition? Thanks for the help!!
ADD ON: I already have a 360 and A LOT of games (around 20) and I really don't want to get rid of it.

Answer
Well DVD's contain 70 year old standard def video so a BluRay player with a BluRay disk is a MAJOR improvement in video quality.

People have predicted that 'streaming' will replace disk-based use in the future so spending a bit more on a BluRay player that includes Netflix, Hulu, . streaming services might be a good investment.

Try www.bestbluraydeals.com for good prices from Amazon vendors.

"Anyone who says that PS3 is the best choice for a blu ray player is an idiot."

Lance - with respect the PS3 used to be the Gold Standard of BluRay players. There are several reasons for this:

* BluRay disks are really software programs written in BD-Java and processing the video takes some CPU horsepower. With the 3 cell-processors in the PS3 it has a massive engine to use which is why for several years it was one of the best BluRay players available.

* BluRay is backed by Sony and they make it a high-priority to keep the PS3 updated with all the latest firmware to fix problems. They have a major investment in the format so the PS3 firmware fix's and updates are fast and well-tested before they hit the consumer.

(Do not get me wrong - I am not a Sony Fan-Boy and I do not own a PS3. But I do have to respect the hardware.)

We are now in about the 4th generation of chipsets used in BluRay players and for HDMI connections so a $99 name-brand BluRay player can now rival the image quality of the PS3. You no longer have to spend $299 (or $499 for the Oppo player) to get a great HD image from this format.

Hope this helps.

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