• Blu Ray Player
    12 replies, posted
I want to buy my mother a blu ray player for her birthday as she loves movies and we do have an HDTV. Around $200 is fine since I want it have plenty of features. I'd like it to support: USB drives, SD cards with JPG/PNG + WMV, MP4, MKV support Netflix streaming + amazon on demand streaming WiFi since it's not in a very Ethernet friendly position I'd like for it to be able to access files on the network to play, but not a priority. Not asking you all to do the work for me, but if you know of some to recommend that'd be great. If you're simply taking a decently rated one and posting it, then nevermind. I'm already doing my shopping and research, I don't need someone to throw down a link they found in 10 seconds. This is currently what I'm considering getting: [url]http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-BDT310-Integrated-Wi-Fi-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B004LNOSQO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1319091413&sr=1-1[/url] Thanks. EDIT: Like I said, it's not for me. it's for my mother. I want her to be able to use it easily.
You should consider a media pc.
The best choice is a Blu-ray drive for a PC. That way you can connect the PC to the TV and use programs to bypass all restrictions present on a player.
And if I bought a media center PC with a blu ray drive it would be very easy to use? This is for her use. I don't want to be showing her how to use it or fixing problem on it.
Buy a bluetooth remote a 2 $ dongle and put XBMC on it. Easy to use.
[QUOTE=Rusty100;32871333]The best choice is a Blu-ray drive for a PC. That way you can connect the PC to the TV and use programs to bypass all restrictions present on a player.[/QUOTE] You have to buy proprietary and expensive players to play BD movies, and since the DRM on BD-ROMs is constantly changing, you have to keep spending more money upgrading the player constantly. If you want to rip a BD movie, you again have to buy another expensive and proprietary piece of software, which also locks you into the forever upgrade payments due to the ever-changing DRM. I'd not recommend a BD drive for a PC, unless you're willing to get in bed with the devil himself, as they're a monumental pain in the ass (I've had one for several years now and it's been nothing but trouble.)
[QUOTE=bohb;32883779]You have to buy proprietary and expensive players to play BD movies, and since the DRM on BD-ROMs is constantly changing, you have to keep spending more money upgrading the player constantly. If you want to rip a BD movie, you again have to buy another expensive and proprietary piece of software, which also locks you into the forever upgrade payments due to the ever-changing DRM. I'd not recommend a BD drive for a PC, unless you're willing to get in bed with the devil himself, as they're a monumental pain in the ass (I've had one for several years now and it's been nothing but trouble.)[/QUOTE] I bet my mother would love to deal with that.
I would say that the Blu Ray Player that you linked is probably your best bet, unless if you want to do something like get a refurbished 60GB PS3.
[QUOTE=bohb;32883779]You have to buy proprietary and expensive players to play BD movies, and since the DRM on BD-ROMs is constantly changing, you have to keep spending more money upgrading the player constantly. If you want to rip a BD movie, you again have to buy another expensive and proprietary piece of software, which also locks you into the forever upgrade payments due to the ever-changing DRM. I'd not recommend a BD drive for a PC, unless you're willing to get in bed with the devil himself, as they're a monumental pain in the ass (I've had one for several years now and it's been nothing but trouble.)[/QUOTE]I have had almost zero problems with mine, except for the whole DRM thing, which is a pain in the ass, but I find ways to deal with it. Not exactly something as seamless as someone would like to think. Might as well stick with a set top player.
The LG BD550 is cheaper than a PC and it does what you need. [url]http://www.lg.com/au/tv-audio-video/video/LG-blu-ray-player-BD550.jsp[/url] There is also the LG BD560 [url]http://www.lg.com/au/tv-audio-video/video/LG-blu-ray-player-BD560.jsp[/url]
A used PS3 will give you all the functionality of any blu ray player, and it supports a lot of other media.
What-Hifi are a very well respected A/V magazine in the uk and they have released their list of award winnners for this year, just today. [url]http://www.whathifi.com/awards/2011/blu-ray-players[/url] I haven't read it but i hope it helps.
Not sure what the difference is between the 310 and 210. They are 32 bucks different, but they seemed to love the 210 and it looks to be just as good from what I see. That link is very helpful, thank you for posting it.
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