Attention home theater-a-philes--Blue-ray players

[Monsterlover]

We just finished shopping for a plasma (see the LCD/Plasma thread) and all the material we test watched was played through a Denon DBP-1610 and we're thinking of getting one.  The picture quality was outstanding when watching Blue Ray, and even with regular DVD the picture was way way better than anything ive seen before.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GG809E

I have always been a Denon fanboy but never used any of their home audio stuff.

All we want is a player that plays movies.  I don't care about streaming netflix or if it can make coffee.  Just movies

Am I on the right track with the Denon?

What do you all think?

[il d00d]

$299 - the price dropped today
http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-3-120-GB/dp/B002I0J4VQ

It can also play a format called "Playstation3 Games" 

[Monsterlover]

I had read a little about that, but I don't think it could be as good as a stand alone player.

Am I wrong?

We have a 360 for gaming. . .

[cyrus buelton]

holy shite that thing is expensive 

[Monsterlover]

The PS3 or the Denon?

[cyrus buelton]

The Denon.

[herm]

im not buying a blue ray player or discs until
a) they stop making movies i want to see in dvd format, and
b) they stop making dvd players

i would be willing to bet that some newer, better whatever comes along before that occurs.


edit: to qualify the above, i dont care enough about picture quality to pay a premium for it.

[cyrus buelton]

edit: to qualify the above, i dont care enough about picture quality to pay a premium for it.

I was just about to say that; either do I.

My 25$ DVD player works just fine for me; probably also why I bought a 720 instead of a 1080 plasma.

[il d00d]

I had read a little about that, but I don't think it could be as good as a stand alone player.

I don't see why not?  Blu-ray is a Sony technology, after all, and the PS3 was really the first consumer player out there.  I like it because it can also stream all of my content from my PC or play it from an external USB drive.  It has a pretty powerful graphics engine - if there are differences between the PS3 and standalone players, I think they would be ones only a video geek would notice.

It may come down to the controller for you, though - if you want an actual remote you may need to do some research to find one that works best for you.  I just use the PS3 controller.  But, there is a bluetooth one Sony makes.

[CairnsDuc]

Quite a few Home Theater magazines still use the Playstation 3 as there Reference BluRay player,
Mainly because the picture processor on board is very powerful, In a recent review here in Australia, Sound and Image Magazine compared a number for big brand Bluray players, some big names in the review, NAD, Yamaha, Panasonic Etc, The Playstation was the cheapest of the all the unit's reviewed, and after all the viewing and comparisons they could not pick the difference between them on Bluray playback!

Some handled DVD a little better, meaning they could do the upscaling and deinterlacing better then the others. but for the vast majority, it will be a Revelation to see there DVD's looking so good!

It's a very common comment thing seen in the industry at this stage, most reviewers (at this current point in time) have said they can not justify the price difference between the cheaper Bluray players and the top end players, playback quality is no different from the top end of the market to the bottom end of the market.

It was the same when DVD first came onto the market, it took a few years before you could really see the difference between a bottom of the line unit and high end unit.
But the industry agrees, with the amount of processing power available in most TV's and Bluray players, it really is getting harder and harder to see the differences in quality between the unit's.

[acalles]

I use a PS3.

Video quality is great, sound is increadible (7.1 threw my Onkyo 7.1 system). my only complaint is the remote.

great for playing games, but kinda sucks for watching movies. I disslike that it has no IR sensors.

I use a Logitec Harmony 700 remote to control all my crap, but I have to buy an adaptor (there like $50) to use it on my ps3.

Its not the end of the world, just a minor inconvienece, especially since I got it mainly for gaming, a task that it does perfectly.

also, it makes a great space heater.

[NAKID]

I use the PS3. Sure, it's a little expensive for just a BR player, but if you play video games, that's the route I'd go...

I also have the Harmony Adapter and the Harmony One remote so I don't have to use their bluetooth remote or the game controller...

[acalles]

dude, is that adaptor worth the $50?

does it power on/off the unit, or do you have to use the regular controller to do that?

[numbskull]

I have both a PS3 and a stand-alone player (two different rooms). If you want a quiet running unit, I wouldn't use the PS3 to vie movies. It's much louder than many of the stand-alone players out there. Then again, if you play your movies with the volume up, it won't make any difference at all. 

[caperix]

A good alternative no one has mentioned yet is your PC.  If your graphics card is up to it Blu-ray drives are only about $100.  That is how I run my setup, plus you have a full function computer hooked to your tv.  Did someone say big screen HD porn