Bluray or Upscaling Player??

[Rabbi of Caerbannog]

I'm looking to replace / upgrade my current dvd player and am pondering on whether a Bluray is a better option over an Upscaling one. Was in Asda the other lunchtime and they had a selection of Upscaling players form various companies all for a reasonable price. Trouble is I doubt if they are multi region which would be a must for me.

We do not own any bluray discs and I’m not overly sure if we are likely to be buying any in the near future unless a price drop happens as it’s been quite a while sine we did actually buy a new dvd of any sort.

So I’m stuck and having done a bit of browsing have found this Sony multi region Upscaling player at Multiregion magic (http://www.mrmdvd.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_33&products_id=1174). Has any one used them?

Do HMV still do the Limit Multiregion Bluray player or is it now This Maidston player (http://forums.thedigitalfix.co.uk/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=10&url=http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=4731;16;-1;-1;-1&sku=368498&_tag.WT.ac=TECH_BLURAYPLAYERS-PBODY-MA_BLURAYPLAYERS_TITLES-368498)

Thanks

[JonL]

I'm looking to replace / upgrade my current dvd player and am pondering on whether a Bluray is a better option over an Upscaling one. Was in Asda the other lunchtime and they had a selection of Upscaling players form various companies all for a reasonable price. Trouble is I doubt if they are multi region which would be a must for me.

We do not own any bluray discs and I’m not overly sure if we are likely to be buying any in the near future unless a price drop happens as it’s been quite a while sine we did actually buy a new dvd of any sort.

So I’m stuck and having done a bit of browsing have found this Sony multi region Upscaling player at Multiregion magic (http://www.mrmdvd.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_33&products_id=1174). Has any one used them?

Do HMV still do the Limit Multiregion Bluray player or is it now This Maidston player (http://forums.thedigitalfix.co.uk/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=10&url=http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=4731;16;-1;-1;-1&sku=368498&_tag.WT.ac=TECH_BLURAYPLAYERS-PBODY-MA_BLURAYPLAYERS_TITLES-368498)

Thanks

I've read (probably on these pages) that a BD player will do a better job of upscaling than a SD player, I may be wrong though.
As for multi region, check out the net, it's east to find the hack codes for most players now.

[LouBarlow]

Don't get obsessed by the term 'upscaled' - your television will be doing this anyway, no matter what DVD player you use. I'd go for a Blu Ray player personally, as you future-proof yourself and get the benefit of both worlds.

I'd buy one of the proper makes rather than the HMV one too.

[KRW]

Don't forget to check out the classifieds here, you might come accross a nice Bluray player with multiregion for DVD at a nice, affordable price which you might be able to knock down a few quid, making it not that much more than a new budget DVD player. The Sony models are very respected :thumbs:

Lou is right, upscaling isn't something to concern yourself with too much, you're TV will do a better job than a cheap DVD player.

[KRW]

Stupid double post.

[LouBarlow]

Stupid double post.

Your first one was so good we can forgive you :p

[KRW]

i'm all thumbs today :(

[LouBarlow]

To be fair, the site has been playing up for me last 30 mins.

[Rabbi of Caerbannog]

Thanks all for the input.

The Sony models are very respected :thumbs:

Lou is right, upscaling isn't something to concern yourself with too much, you're TV will do a better job than a cheap DVD player.

I had seen a Sony one which has taken my fancy along with a Samsung to match the TV which is a Samusung LE40A856S1M

[LightStorm]

You certainly could go the cheapie bluray player route if you so desired. But just a word of warning re...

The Maidston player from HMV (http://forums.thedigitalfix.co.uk/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=10&url=http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=4731;16;-1;-1;-1&sku=368498&_tag.WT.ac=TECH_BLURAYPLAYERS-PBODY-MA_BLURAYPLAYERS_TITLES-368498)

If you do buy that one, be sure that your outer box has the words "FREE GOLD PLATED HDMI CABLE INSIDE" as the ones that do not have this (newer ones) have a very recent firmware update that has removed the Bluray multi-region capability from the machine, thought it does still come DVD M/R from the box.

We were lucky enough to not get caught out by this and have a Blu and DVD multi region machine. It is nice and quite and puts out a very nice picture indeed. The cheaper option is not for everyone though.

Lou, I thought you had one of these when they were out as the LIMIT version, and had pronounced yourself very pleased...or am I thinking of someone else? :?:

[stephen]

I'd definitely go for a full Blu Ray player, Argos have got a Samsung one and a Philips one for £80. If you hunt around you can often find ways to make them multi region for DVD.

[LouBarlow]

Lou, I thought you had one of these when they were out as the LIMIT version, and had pronounced yourself very pleased...or am I thinking of someone else? :?:

I do indeed have a Limit, but would never recommend it as a primary player, now you can get a proper make for only a few quid more. Especially now it's tougher to get a BD region-free version, which is pretty much the only real reason for having one!

[jester]

As posted "upscaling" is used as a marketing term, by definition(sic) if you are watching any lower resolution source on a higher defintion display then it must be getting upscaled somewhere in the chain, usually by the display.

I would go as far to say that its snake oil on the part of the manufacturers.

[Rabbi of Caerbannog]

Thanks again all.

Have gone for a Sony BDP-S370 multiregion. I completly read the detail wrong though and it's only DVD multiregion. For Blu-Ray it was another ~£200 :eek:

May go for one of the Limit's / Maidston one from HMV at a later date if Bluray multi region rears it's ugly head.

[KRW]

It will rear its head once you see the Criterion Catalogue :(

Apart from them, it's never been an issue for me, as pretty much everything I've wanted is region free or B only.