Any blu ray recommendations

[magnatom]

Our DVD/CD player has just died. It might have had something to do with the kids . Hey ho.

We have a normal widescreen CRT TV (Loewe Vitros which was a nice TV at the time), but no money to upgrade that at the moment. However, I think it would be daft not to upgrade the player to a Blu-ray just now, so that when we do eventually go HD that we have the player.

So does anyone have any recommendations? I'm looking to spend £250 or less. It will need to be able to work with the CRT (Scart RGB) and play DVDs and CDs. Obviously it should be good for when we do upgrade as well. I like listening to my music, and the player will be connected to our home cinema receiver (also a good few years old now but working well).

 

[Mr Pig]

If you're not upgrading your TV I wouldn't bother. If the Blue Ray Player costs £250 today you can be sure that the same quality of player will be sitting in Tesco for £30 in two-years time!

I'd just buy a £30 DVD player. It'll do the job just fine.

 

[Downward]

If you're not upgrading your TV I wouldn't bother. If the Blue Ray Player costs £250 today you can be sure that the same quality of player will be sitting in Tesco for £30 in two-years time!

I'd just buy a £30 DVD player. It'll do the job just fine.

Ditto
DVD players nowadays are turning into throwaway goods - They are so cheap I would just buy one cheap for now.

When you get a new HD TV go for one that is doing an offer with a blu ray player.

To be fair I can't justify buying Blu-Ray over DVD

 

[magnatom]

Hmm. Maybe you guys are right. I don't like buying things that I will then dispose of later when still functional, but I suppose I could find another use for it when I replace it.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Out of interest, can you play normal DVDs on a blue ray machine?

 

[Downward]

Or buy a PS3 and use this as your Media centre (+ Games console) - They are excellent for storing and playing back music, videos and photo's

 

[Mr Pig]

To be fair I can't justify buying Blu-Ray over DVD

I've looked at Hi-Def on LCD televisions and to be honest I'm not impressed. I think that unless you're going to be using a very large, very high-quality display there is little point.

I don't like buying things that I will then dispose of later when still functional

Well just keep using it then. Has your life been so empty up until now without Hi-Definition TV? It's just more crap that they want us to buy because they want to sell it. Its effect of your quality of life is exactly f*** all.

Or drop hundreds of pounds on fancy toys if you like, it's your life. In the past I've talked myself into spending thousands on Hi-Fi so I know how the game works. Some of this stuff is worth having, most of it isn't, but you'll only be happy when you've done what you've already decided to do anyway so who are we ;0)

Besides, if you buy a Blu-Ray player now it might well be obsolete or dead by the time you buy a new TV!

 

[oscarplu]

Save your money magnatom. I really dont know what all th HD hype is about, if the programme or film you are watching is worth watching you really wont be concerned about the slight difference in quality i.e watching Eastenders in HD doesnt stop it being a shite programme!!!

 

[magnatom]

Folks, I'm just replacing a broken DVD player, not investing in a new home entertainment system!

 

[Mr Pig]

Folks, I'm just replacing a broken DVD player

£30 out of Tesco then.

A few years ago I bought a surround amp and speakers and wanted a DVD player to go with it. I asked in the shops what the difference was between the £30 DVD players and the ones costing £200. The reply I got was 'Nothing'. Basically they do exactly the same thing. The more expensive ones might have a few more features and a better analog output but other than that.

 

[marinyork]

Stop listening to the moaners magnatom. For a start they don't know what they are talking about. Blu-ray player prices have been weird the last year, they nosedived last summer and then stayed static for much of the last year. It'd be nice if the £30 stories were true but I'm not sure I see it happening for a long while.

I have two recommendations
Sony BDPS350
Samsung BD-P1500.

For what you want though in your OP it sounds like you really want a PS3. The vast majority of blu-ray players don't have SCART at all for obvious reasons. There is S-video and composite (so S video --> scart etc.). As for DVD players all being the same, this is manure, some people are quite shocked when they see later generation DVD players/blu-ray players and how well they upscale even on prehistoric DVDs.

 

[marinyork]

Because he asked for a recommendation. I don't think it particularly is that crazy as long as he's not upgrading the tv many years from now. Depends how much he wants to spend on a DVD player, with some of the better ones by the amounts we're talking you might as well get a blu-ray player. Or some other people would regard £100+ as a lot of money. It doesn't really make a big difference either way - I don't think blu-ray players are going to be £30 anytime soon, nor are blu-ray players sold attractively with tvs (despite comments above). This means he'll be paying that sort of money sooner or later.

From his OP it really sounds like he wants a PS3 but that really is a lot of money.

 

[dudi]

I'd go for the PS3 myself... and did do when our DVD player packed up.

It's not really any more expensive than a decent Blu-Ray player and it has oodles of storage space - much more versatile.

Plus you can play 'Fallout 3' - absolutely brilliant game.

 

[dudi]

Agreed. But there won't be any point in upscaling for Magntom's TV, as it won't understand the upscaled signal. It's not a 720 or 1080 screen is it? (although I'm not familiar with that model). I don't see why you're recommending a blu-ray player to someone with an older generation TV either to be honest, for the same reason.

it's all to do with being 'future proof'.

there is an argument that it is worthwhile updating your technology when items break, because in the long run the TV will also break and will need replacing - then you have the technology available to make the most of the new TV...

Depends how flush you are when you come to buy it.
If you can easilly afford the £300 for a blu-ray/PS3 package - then why not? it works just as well as a DVD player, if not better.

If it's a stretch to buy the better technology, given that there's only limited gain, and you won't experience it's full greatness, then perhaps there's no point spending £300, oyu might as well spend £100 on standard DVD player.

As for the £30 DVD players from Tesco/Asda et al. - utter crap, all of them. it's like buying a Tata Nano and calling it 'a good alternative to a Lotus Exige and at a fraction of the price'

As with almmost everything in life - you get what you pay for

 

[magnatom]

In the end I plonked for a DVD player, a Toshiba SD290 (about £40). The one I am replacing was a Tosh sd210, which at the time I bought it was a reasonable player.
For anyone who is interested, my full set up is a Loewe Vitros 32", Marantz SR5200 receiver, Kef eggs (first version) with the sub replaced with a Velodyne VX10. All a bit dated now, but going strong and good enough for me.

The TV will be replaced when it needs to be. Money is generally tight at the moment so no unecessary upgrades. However, I will say that I have been impressed with the HD TV that my father-in-law has. There is no doubt that the picture is significantly better than what we have, as was exemplified by watching some of David Attenborough's latest work. Absolutely stunning!

I don't watch Eastenders or other such tosh, I do watch movies, quality sci-fi, drama etc, the sort of material that would benefit from HD. However, as I said, I won't be getting that any time soon.