8mm Forum: Blu-Ray-What Player is recommended

8mm Forum

my profile | my password | search | faq | register | forum home

next oldest topic

next newest topic

»	8mm Forum » General Yak » Blu-Ray-What Player is recommended

UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!

Author

Topic: Blu-Ray-What Player is recommended

Tony Milman
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1336
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 05, 2010 12:18 PM

Author's Homepage

Email Tony Milman

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

So I pose the question, can I live without getting a Blu-Ray player? If I can't then what brand should I consider? There seems to be a huge range of different ones at differenet price tags.

If I were planning to buy a new VP to hook it up to would I get "blown away" by the sheer quality of it all or would I be best to save my money and buy some more 16mm

Any views/.?

--------------------
Tony

| IP: Logged

Barry Johnson
Master Film Handler

Posts: 358
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Jul 2003

posted January 05, 2010 01:09 PM

Author's Homepage

Email Barry Johnson

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

Well Tony,you wont get 'blown away'but hooking up to a VP will certainly give you awesome screen entertainment.I have just done this and can confirm the outlay was worth every penny.Good detail,great sound-especially if hooked up to a 5.1 set up.
It took me months of soul searching but finally made the move.Well worth it.
Sitting alongside my set up is of course 16mm,Standard8 sound and of course S8.Depending on what I want to watch depends on wether I lace a film up or drop in a BR disc.!
There are so many players about and varying prices to suit individual pockets and tastes.
Go 0n! You know you want to!!! [Wink]

[Wink]

--------------------
Standard8 rules!!

| IP: Logged

Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 05, 2010 02:23 PM

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

Hi Tony,
Yes it will blow you away if you hook up a BD player to a good VP! We are talking near 35mm quality here with the very best quality Blue Discs. Just like film prints, BD quality varies quite a bit and frankly some don't look a whole lot different from DVD'S. But the good ones will definately get you jaw dropping picture quality. Some of the best titles:
Sleeping Beauty, Pinnochio, Snow White, Wizard of Oz, North by Northwest, Gone withe Wind

My BD player is a Panasonic BD60, which has had very good reviews. My advice Tony - jump in!

--------------------
The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj

| IP: Logged

Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 05, 2010 02:56 PM

Email Steve Klare

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

A few weeks ago, a very good friend of ours asked us if we'd like his 32" Sony CRT TV (all 165 Pounds of it!) since he was getting something even huger (and I presume heavier...)

We said "Yes, we would like that". The timing was good...the set we had was plainly on the way to the big TV stand in the sky.

For Christmas, our two Nephews chipped in and bought us a BR player.

The guy that gave us the TV said "Oh no!: Now you need a new TV too!"

Thus the cycle of premature obsolescence has gone around once more.

(The difference is this time we're not jumping on! If only to preserve my back, the one we have will stay where it is!)

--------------------
All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

| IP: Logged

Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 05, 2010 03:14 PM

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

Steve,
I have a 36 ins Sony XBR CRT and it weighs about 300 lbs! Yes, a real monster. Great picture though. I have yet to see a flat panel display that has a picture that good.

--------------------
The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj

| IP: Logged

Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 05, 2010 04:04 PM

Email Steve Klare

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

I was absolutely astounded by the weight of this thing! I half expect to find a sheet metal chassis full of vacuum tubes if I crack it open.

A couple of days before our new arrival my wife decided to buy a new TV stand for it (Moral: there is NO "Free TV"!). Only after we finished assembling it did we discover it was rated for a 120 pound TV (...of course!). a little quick analysis lead to some 2 by 4s being added between the cabinet bottom and the floor in just the right spots to reinforce it. All is well. Despite my Electrical Engineering degree, I'd say the Mechanical Engineeering courses they made me take were the most useful of all.

Oh well, back to the Elmos!

--------------------
All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

| IP: Logged

Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 05, 2010 08:19 PM

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

Steve, I could go on for hours about the poor, and often dangerous, design of some TV cabinets. I'm not talking appearance and finish here, just the ability of the thing to actually safely support a TV! Clearly the people who design some of these stands don't have a clue about elementary structural design. I was over my daughters house a couple of years ago and she wanted to sit a 32 ins TV on a TV stand that previously had a 27 ins sitting on it. I knew the 32 ins was heavy so I decided to take a close look at the stand to see if it would take the load. Believe it or not the top wooden panel, which supported the whole weight of the TV, was only supported by 4 little wood screws to the side panels - in other words the top panel did not rest on the side panels, and the whole load of the TV was carried as a shear load across those four little screws! Just like you, I did a reinforcement of the whole cabinet before sitting that TV on it.

--------------------
The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj

| IP: Logged

Damien Taylor
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 111
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Oct 2008

posted January 05, 2010 10:57 PM

Email Damien Taylor

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

If you are buying a BR player, may I suggest a Playstation 3. They are not much more expensive than a good quality standalone unit. For added value they are also and excellent games console, are software upgradable and perform some of the best DVD upscaling I have ever seen.

| IP: Logged

John Clancy
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1954
From: Cornwall
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 06, 2010 03:32 AM

Author's Homepage

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

Tony, keep an eye on Richer Sounds as they're hoping to get some more Sony Blu-Ray players in stock around the middle of the month. £79.95 or £99.95 with multi-region DVD capability. Amazing.

Paul, I agree with what you say about CRT televisions compared to LCD's and plasma's. My Philips was the first sub-£1000 widescreen set and it still presents image quality superior to any high definition flat screen. And that is one of the reasons higher definition imagery has finally come about, because the poor quality offered by LCD and plasma. Funny to think that all those years ago when I worked for the IBA the engineers developed 1200 line widescreen high definition; superior to today.

--------------------
British Film Collectors Convention home page www.bfcc.biz. The site is for the whole of the film collecting hobby and not just the BFCC.

| IP: Logged

Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted January 06, 2010 05:40 PM

Author's Homepage

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

Which Blu-ray player should you get?

One that works.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I'm no help to anyone!

--------------------
"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

| IP: Logged

Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

posted January 06, 2010 06:14 PM

Email Graham Ritchie

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

Like Paul we bought a Panasonic DMP-BD60 it was cheap to buy and when connected HDMI to our 42inch Panasonic Plasma TV looks great, for many years our TV was a Philips 32inch CRT it was indeed a very heavy unit, when we sold it both myself and my son were strugging to hold the dam thing "awkward to grip" and came close to dropping it a couple of times [Eek!]

[Eek!]

I was glad to get rid of it [Smile]

[Smile]

watching Blu-ray or even normal DVDs on the Plasma is really good, watched the Blu-ray of "Logans Run 1975" the other night... excellent.

Regarding the question "can I live without getting a Blu-ray player".... is no you cant [Wink]

[Wink]

Graham.

| IP: Logged

Thomas Murin, Jr.
Master Film Handler

Posts: 260
From: Lanoka Harbor, NJ, USA
Registered: Sep 2009

posted January 06, 2010 11:21 PM

Author's Homepage

Email Thomas Murin, Jr.

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

I've had 4 Blu-Ray players since the intro in 2006 (yes, I was an early adopter!). They have all been pretty good with their plusses and minuses.

I am currently using the Pioneer 51FD in my bedroom where it was recently moved from the home theater. It's a very good player even if it does look like a small receiver! Man, this thing is huge! Video and audio performance are both excellent.

For the home theater, I'm using the Magnavox 500MG1F, one of several players Wal-Mart sells. I got it for $78 last month. I intended it for the bedroom but the thing is so small that I was afraid the TV, which would rest on top of it, would crush it.

Anyway, the Magnavox is a great basic player. Audio and Video are actually a bit better than the Pioneer as are the load times so I'm glad things worked out they way they did.

Yes, the PS3 is still considered the benchmark for a BR player, but there are many very good players that are cheaper and will suit your needs. Look around, do some research and you should be happy with what you get.

As for the quality of BR software, like ALL home formats, including Super 8, how good (or bad) the quality is depends on the condition of the source materials, the mastering, and finally the authoring (does not apply to Super 8 of course!)

I can honestly say I haven't been disappointed with any BR and I have a couple hundred of them! Any questions, please ask!

HEY! Just noticed this is my 105th post! YAY!

--------------------
My crummy Deviant Art account. Read my poetic tribute to the internet comic strip Ozy & Millie and view my crappy attempts at art.

http://cougartiger.deviantart.com/

| IP: Logged

Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 525
From: Dallas, TX, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 07, 2010 01:41 AM

Author's Homepage

Email Brad Miller

Edit/Delete Post

Beware of the Panasonic BDP30. It is a good player, but the six RCA line level audio outputs is not outputting the sound through quality electronics. Direct comparisons with this unit hooked up into a professional Dolby CP650 processor showed a HUGE difference in audio quality loss on those connections.

If you are going to use the coaxial digital audio out connection though, you're safe.

I only post this for people considering a blu-ray player...if you are planning on using the line level audio outputs, you might not know what you are missing until you do a comparison. The Panasonic BDP30 failed miserably in that one department. I have not yet had the chance to check out their current model.

| IP: Logged

Martin Jones
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1269
From: Thetford , Norfolk,England
Registered: May 2008

posted January 07, 2010 07:45 AM

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

To clarify what Brad is saying...it's not the form of connection that is at fault (wired RCA audio outputs are not inferior signal-wise to optical outputs) but it's the decoding circuits within the Panasonic that are of poor quality (producing poor results to feed the RCA sockets) compared with an external high quality decoder.
Just a case of producing as much facility as possible for the consumer while keeping the price down (you get what you pay for!).
Martin

--------------------
Retired TV Service Engineer
Ongoing interest in Telecine....

| IP: Logged

Tony Milman
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1336
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 08, 2010 03:26 AM

Author's Homepage

Email Tony Milman

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

Thanks Guys- very useful and much appreciated

--------------------
Tony

| IP: Logged

Christian Bjorgen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 996
From: Kvinnherad, Norway
Registered: Oct 2009

posted January 08, 2010 03:34 AM

Author's Homepage

Send New Private Message

Edit/Delete Post

I would go for a Samsung, you can't go wrong with Samsung.

Especially if you have a good TV (40" or bigger) with Full HD and a surround system (5.1 or 7.1).

--------------------
Well who’s on first? Yeah. Go ahead and tell me. Who. The guy on first. Who. The guy playin’ first base. Who. The guy on first. Who is on first! What are you askin’ me for? I’m askin’ you!

| IP: Logged

Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 525
From: Dallas, TX, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted January 08, 2010 02:14 PM

Author's Homepage

Email Brad Miller

Edit/Delete Post

Martin said it better than I did. Thanks for clarifying Martin. [Smile]

[Smile]

Beware of some Samsung blu-ray players. Some of them won't play burned blu-ray discs (which given enough time WILL be as popular as burned DVDs), and "so far" those that I have seen have excessive load times. That of course doesn't mean they don't have an awesome player on the market now...I just haven't used it yet personally.

| IP: Logged

All times are Central

Move Topic

Delete Topic

next oldest topic

next newest topic

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Visit www.film-tech.com for free equipment manual downloads. Copyright 2003-2019 Film-Tech Cinema Systems LLC

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2