The 'I don't know where to start with Blu Ray, and do I really need it?' thread

[Mr Flibble]

Hello!

I've come into a bit of extra cash thanks to a couple of bonuses at work (sadly not the same sort city bankers get!) and have been thinking about getting a blu-ray player.

The problem is, I don't know where to start with them - I'm completely out of touch when it comes to what's a decent make/model and the sort of money I should be looking at spending

We've got a Samsung 32" LCD at the moment, but no seperate amp/speaker set up, so any sound would be coming through the TV. The one thing I would like to be able to do is stream DivX from the PC direct to the telly, via a blu ray player - which I think you can do with some models.

We have a wireless router that sits behind the TV, and a PC in the spare room, which is running Vista Home Edition, so in theory I think you can share video files from the PC, and send them to the blu ray player.

The other thing is DVD playback - whilst I'm not bothered about multi-region blu ray discs, we do have a number of R1 DVDs.

Budget wise, I don't know - you see some players for around £180, is that the going rate for a decent player?

The other concern is that I dont' NEED a blu ray player, I just want one, because it's a cool toy

[Bigsby]

How about a PS3, they will stream your divx files no problem.

Not sure if they can be made multiregion though, someone else will hopefully chip in.

[JonL]

Originally Posted by Mr Flibble

Hello!

I've come into a bit of extra cash thanks to a couple of bonuses at work (sadly not the same sort city bankers get!) and have been thinking about getting a blu-ray player.

The problem is, I don't know where to start with them - I'm completely out of touch when it comes to what's a decent make/model and the sort of money I should be looking at spending

We've got a Samsung 32" LCD at the moment, but no seperate amp/speaker set up, so any sound would be coming through the TV. The one thing I would like to be able to do is stream DivX from the PC direct to the telly, via a blu ray player - which I think you can do with some models.

We have a wireless router that sits behind the TV, and a PC in the spare room, which is running Vista Home Edition, so in theory I think you can share video files from the PC, and send them to the blu ray player.

The other thing is DVD playback - whilst I'm not bothered about multi-region blu ray discs, we do have a number of R1 DVDs.

Budget wise, I don't know - you see some players for around £180, is that the going rate for a decent player?

The other concern is that I dont' NEED a blu ray player, I just want one, because it's a cool toy

I have a Samsung 1600 BD player that will fit your budget. The Blu Ray output is superb, but it does pause during the layer change on SD discs, but I think this is quite common on BD players, though some do not have this issue.
BTW, BD still looks superb on a 32" screen, I have one.

[Mr Flibble]

Hi JonL - the samsung one looks good, but it sounds like you need to buy a seperate dongle in order to connect it to a home router/enable wi-fi.


I am tempted mind!

[KRW]

I'd be tempted to go for a PS3 - it does more than stream media, I couldnt do without Iplayer on the 'big telly' now. Does games too and is a very, very good bluray player with loads of online support.

It doesnt do R1 DVD's though, which might be a big downside by the sound of it.

[Mr Flibble]

That plus it's hard enough to persuade Mrs Flibble to get a blu ray player - if I had a games console like the PS3 (much as I'd love it!) it would never get used as a games machine, having two kids puts pay to that!

It turns out that we need blinds for the house more than we need a blu ray player as well, unbeleivable!!

[JonL]

Originally Posted by Mr Flibble

Hi JonL - the samsung one looks good, but it sounds like you need to buy a seperate dongle in order to connect it to a home router/enable wi-fi.


I am tempted mind!

Ah, yes you do.
It's not something I use, so I overlooked that part of your message.

[KRW]

Blinds? What's the point of blinds? I think Wilkinsons do blinds

[thescrounger]

The thread title asks do you really want it, do you really need it?

I suppose if you want to start buying Blu-rays then yes, although I'd be hesitant to give it a ringing endorsement when you only have a 32" screen and the wife doesn't seem too keen.

[Mr Flibble]

So will you only see the real benefits of high definition if it's on a larger screen? That's a pity

[sideshowbob]

The sony BDP-360 can be made MR for dvd easy enough. I don't rate them for dvd playback. If you've got a decent DVD player, I'd be inclined to keep it.

I've not seen blu ray on a smaller screen than a 40", but I think you'd definitely notice the difference over a DVD. Plus of course there's no layer change and better audio (which might bring additional expense if you want to make use of it).

I was incredibly resistant to blu-ray, but a combinaton of buying a full HD screen, the sub-£100 prices on players and cheaper media, it seemed to be a good time to try. Since then, I've bought a second player (plus a Region A) deck, a new projector, new processor and two new power amps ... perhaps in retrospect, I would have been better off n resistant mode

[Cockeye]

Only a 32" inch TV and no seperate sound system? You have absolutely NO need for Blu ray and will see NO difference.

[Barny79]

To be fair he probably doesn't have chicken wire for windows though.

[jroadley]

You need bigger TV first.
HD sound setup.
THEN the blu ray player - hell you can get one for £99 these days!

[LouBarlow]

I'd buy a network streamer before a bluray player personally.

[DM]

Yep, get a streamer or get a cheaper WD media player. Much more useful

[statto]

Originally Posted by *******

Only a 32" inch TV and no seperate sound system? You have absolutely NO need for Blu ray and will see NO difference.

Maybe if he's blind or sitting 20 feet from the screen.

PS3 is the best option for media streaming and bluray.

The Limit £50 player from HMV has proved that multi-region players can be had on a budget, and while it won't stream media, it will play AVIs and MKVs via USB. There are bound to be more players like this as time goes by.

I'd recommend holding fire for now.

[Mr Majestik]

Originally Posted by *******

Only a 32" inch TV and no seperate sound system? You have absolutely NO need for Blu ray and will see NO difference.

I can certainly see a big diffrence in picture quality on my 32" via ps3.

[Sheepking]

Originally Posted by *******

Only a 32" inch TV and no seperate sound system? You have absolutely NO need for Blu ray and will see NO difference.

Visit to the optician for you . The difference is more noticeable the bigger the screen, but you can see a difference.

[Cockeye]

Originally Posted by Barny79

To be fair he probably doesn't have chicken wire for windows though.

Usual dickhead comment from you - contributing nothing to the thread as usual

Originally Posted by Mr Majestik

I can certainly see a big diffrence in picture quality on my 32" via ps3.

Well, in that case fair do's. I have to say that when I was looking around for a TV everyone was telling me that a 32" really wouldn't show off HD to any great effect. The only 32" I have ever seen running HD stuff on, I was sitting right virtually with my nose to the screen due to the size of the room. That did look good, but I have no idea how it would look at normal distance.

As for sound - one of the great advantages of Blu is the high resolution sound formats. It may not be as big an upgrade as the picture but the OP would be missing out on a lot. I just think that with his setup he would be better upgrading other stuff first. For example, an amp and a surround sound set up with his existing DVD may be a better upgrade than a Blu-ray player possibly?