So if you're checking out some base level Blu-ray players, here are some basic comparisons between three of the major brands out there; Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung. Each of these brands have a player in the $299 and $399 range. So where to go? They all will play blu-ray, upconvert, have HDMI 1.3, and output 1080p. The differences are small, but may save you some time.
The Panasonic's and Sony's have a 1 year warranty, while the Samsung's only come with a 90 day (must have been too much to spring for a whole year of labor coverage). The Panasonic $299 model, BD35, is all set for BD live, while the Sony(BDPS350) and Samsung (BDP-1500) are BD-live ready, meaning a firmware upgrade will be needed before this feature will work.
The big difference between the $299 and $399 levels for all brands is audio decoding for Dolby true HD and DTS HD. All brands offer a 7.1ch analog out, which will work with most receivers purchased in the last 10 years or so. Here the only standout seems to be the Panasonic DMPBD55 because of its 192/24 D/A converters. Sony and Samsung aren't sharing what D/A's they're using, which leads me to believe they skimped here. My vote goes to the Panasonic 35 and 55 models, with Sony following up in the second spot with the 350 and 550, and Samsung takes the rear with the 1500 and 2500.
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1 comment:
Sure don't have much interest in Blu-ray players right now, but what I do like is all of the useful information you are offering here. Keep it up!
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