DVD/Blu Ray Players

Posted by: James E. Avison on 17 October 2009

Can anyone recommended any DVD/Blu Ray Players?
Posted on: 17 October 2009 by Don Atkinson
I bought the Pioneer LX08 simply because it matches the box that drives the Kuro screen.

The LX08 has an excellent picture and the sound is good.

The LX91 apparantlty has excellent sound as well as the picture.

Panasonic have now produced a couple of recordable blu-ray machines at about £700 and £1k - both Which? best buys. Means you can capture HD programmes and burn to HD DVD for posterity.

Cheers

Don
Posted on: 17 October 2009 by patrik0631
What about the soon to come out Arcam Blu-Ray? At least something nicely made in England.
Posted on: 17 October 2009 by tonym
Oppo.
Posted on: 17 October 2009 by Nick Riley
Oppo.
Posted on: 18 October 2009 by BigH47
Anything worthwhile around £100?
Posted on: 18 October 2009 by Willy
PS3. Blu Ray, Games and Internet all in one.


Willy.
Posted on: 18 October 2009 by BigH47
Willy is that really a good option?
I haven't had a games machine since Mario World on the SNES.
I was not envisioning getting too many BR films, maybe renting from the library initially.

Coincidently I was looking at the second hand PS3s in the game shops yesterday.
What spec should I be looking at?
Posted on: 18 October 2009 by {OdS}
quote:
Originally posted by James E. Avison:
Can anyone recommended any DVD/Blu Ray Players?


James, I've been using Pioneer video products for years now and I can say you can't go wrong with them. Pioneer blu-ray players might be a bit more expansive than other similar Japanese products in the entry range though. To me, a major advantage in using Pioneer dvd/blu-ray players is the possibility to deactivate all post-processing stuff if you like it this way. Menus are full of clever options and I think this is a major feature of this manufacturer.
Posted on: 18 October 2009 by TomK
quote:
Originally posted by Willy:
PS3. Blu Ray, Games and Internet all in one.


Willy.


The PS3 is still the fastest and least picky player available but it can run very noisy and hot. Sound quality is limited and picture quality has been overtaken by more recent, less expensive machines.
Posted on: 18 October 2009 by andrea
quote:
Originally posted by TomK:
The PS3 is still the fastest and least picky player available but it can run very noisy and hot. Sound quality is limited and picture quality has been overtaken by more recent, less expensive machines

Could you please mention some?
Thanks
Andrea
Posted on: 19 October 2009 by TomK
To be honest Andrea I'm not up to date at the moment. Since I bought my Pioneer LX71 last year I've stopped reading the magazines. Panasonic have generally been market leaders, particularly at the budget end, and their BD60 looks like another winner.
Posted on: 19 October 2009 by Simon Matthews
I love my panasonic bd60. It had an edge over the similarly priced sony competition and is clearly a jump up from the ps3.

Great value for money and with the right projector/tv it offers up a stunning picture quality. why anybody would buy a dvd player these days is beyond me.

As regards to the Arcam - correct me if I am wrong but isn't most of their electronics manufactured in China these days?
Posted on: 19 October 2009 by Occean
I have been considering an Oppo to replace my PS3 - but to be honest I think I will stick with the PS3 until the Bluraystandard settles down.

The PS3 has the advantage that it can be updated as the Bluray standards evolve, I believe it is the only player released in 2006 that is 2.0 compatible!

I admit I would like a multichannel feed into my AV2 for some HD sound, but the 1.5mbps DTS that is usually output on the PS3 is quite good indeed. I am 100% happy with the picture too.
Posted on: 19 October 2009 by Bananahead
quote:
Originally posted by Simon Matthews:

As regards to the Arcam - correct me if I am wrong but isn't most of their electronics manufactured in China these days?


( Ah ... just thought about it and removed the picture of the Arcam that was here. )

This is the back of the new AV500. Designed and made in the UK.

The Bluray player is due in January apparently. Probably going to be proper expensive though. £2000 ish I think.
Posted on: 19 October 2009 by Peter Dinh
quote:
Originally posted by James E. Avison:
Can anyone recommended any DVD/Blu Ray Players?

I would get a multi-media PC with internal DVD and Blue Ray drives. Additionally, you can use your PC for lots of other things, for example photo storage, music server, internet radio, TV, etc.
Posted on: 19 October 2009 by TomK
Peter,
That might be appropriate for some people but the vast majority want a slim black box that'll slip in where the DVD (or VCR) used to be.
Posted on: 19 October 2009 by Peter Dinh
Ah, I see what you mean, but time changes, technology changes, and we, as consumers, should move on and take advatanges of the new things.

However, having said that, you decide what you want by the end of day, I just would like to mention that there are better alternatives out there.
Posted on: 20 October 2009 by Occean
quote:
Originally posted by TomK:
Peter,
That might be appropriate for some people but the vast majority want a slim black box that'll slip in where the DVD (or VCR) used to be.


Something like this?
Posted on: 20 October 2009 by Jaseamondo
Another vote for the oppo player here, uk version due to be released very soon and it has the added bonus of being able to be multi region for blu-ray. It has had very good reviews state side and is not ridiculously expensive at £450 ish .Has multi outputs for av2 or other processor as well. Also quick ,pretty much the same as ps3. Defo looks a good buy.
Posted on: 22 October 2009 by karyboue
extracted from What HiFi Review of the Oppo : http://whathifi.com/Review/Oppo-BDP-831/

"Sony player does it better
And yet, if you just want the very best audio and video performance for your money, the Oppo is edged out by the Sony BDP-S760 for sheer visual punch, and even as a CD player is bettered by the Sony, which has a livelier, more attention-grabbing presentation."
Posted on: 22 October 2009 by mikeeschman
The Pioneer Elite BluRay players deserve a listen. Far superior to the Sony on cd replay and at least their equal for video.
Posted on: 22 October 2009 by tonym
quote:
Originally posted by karyboue:
extracted from What HiFi Review of the Oppo : http://whathifi.com/Review/Oppo-BDP-831/

"Sony player does it better
And yet, if you just want the very best audio and video performance for your money, the Oppo is edged out by the Sony BDP-S760 for sheer visual punch, and even as a CD player is bettered by the Sony, which has a livelier, more attention-grabbing presentation."


Mmm. A "What Hi-Fi" review...And who in their right mind would use a BluRay player for CDs anyway? Surely the sound should be about its multichannel performance?

There's a very good reason I stopped reading this magazine a while ago! Try before you buy.
Posted on: 23 October 2009 by mikeeschman
quote:
Originally posted by tonym:
And who in their right mind would use a BluRay player for CDs anyway?


In a word, me. I won't have 2 seperate boxes to play the little silver disks, and don't want the extra remote.

I'm happy with the results, and I guess that's all that matters.

Others opinions may vary.
Posted on: 23 October 2009 by James E. Avison
quote:
Originally posted by tonym:
Oppo.


Hi Tony,

Any particular model of Oppo?

Regards

James
Posted on: 23 October 2009 by James E. Avison
quote:
Originally posted by {OdS}:
quote:
Originally posted by James E. Avison:
Can anyone recommended any DVD/Blu Ray Players?


James, I've been using Pioneer video products for years now and I can say you can't go wrong with them. Pioneer blu-ray players might be a bit more expansive than other similar Japanese products in the entry range though. To me, a major advantage in using Pioneer dvd/blu-ray players is the possibility to deactivate all post-processing stuff if you like it this way. Menus are full of clever options and I think this is a major feature of this manufacturer.


Hi {OdS},

Interesting information about the Pioneer BD Players, really interested in being able to swtich off all the crap that I possibly would not use with their players.

Best regards

James