DaDude Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 I think Blu-ray is a great format and I really love it. But I had a very bad experience when I bought my first player, which was the Samsung BD-P1600. I heard that Samsung is notorious for having several compatibility issues with several BD titles. So, I replaced it with a Sony BDP-S360 and it's been working great for me for about 4 months now with no problems. But after doing some researching, it looks like many other players (besides Samsung) have problems. LG has some issues, I heard. My friend even owns a Sharp BD player and has freezing problems on a few movies. Even many players (mainly the Pioneer ones) had issues with playing "Avatar" and they needed firmware updates to fix this. I know with good, hard research, you can find a great Blu-ray player with absolutely no issues such as the Sony ones, PS3, Panasonic, and Oppo players. But why do we have to research hard for one? Many of my friends bought extremely cheap DVD players in the past without doing any research and never had issues with them. Yet, if you're cheap with Blu-ray players, you're in for headaches down the road. Why is this so? Why do many brands release such buggy Blu-ray players? What makes them so sensitive to bugs, unlike DVDs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzdawg Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 I think it has to do with the crazy amount of changes to the Bluray format altogether. Just look at the different things like profile - 1.0, 1.1, 2.0... etc. These cheap companies are getting out as many players as possible to turn a profit. With bd-live changes + the profile changes (which all require a firmware update to play the latest movies). Anyone who ever asks me about picking up a player, I tell them the same thing - you get what you pay for. I have a PS3 as my player and I am just holding off picking up a stand alone until all the kinks are worked out because I refuse to deal with a player that wont player certain movies until an update gets releassed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BeLGaRaTh Subscriber¹ Posted May 19, 2010 Subscriber¹ Share Posted May 19, 2010 We should have stuck with HD-DVD all of the "new" features of blu-ray were already available on the HD-DVD platform and all of their playing devices just worked. Blu-ray have been playing catchup since it "won" the battle but is still inferior. Most players are still sold as 1.1 machines when they are currently onto revision 3.0 (which I agree is mostly about 3D) but they are still introducing features in that revision/profile that were readily available in all HD-DVD machines/format :( Just my tuppence worth on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaDude Posted May 19, 2010 Author Share Posted May 19, 2010 I was going to get a PS3 but since I?m not a gamer, I couldn?t see myself spending $300 on it just to play BDs. But since I had problems with the Samsung player, I kind of regretting not going the PS3 route. But I was happy I was able to get most of my money back by selling the Samsung player. And my Sony standalone was a very cheap player too so I still saved a lot of money even though my Blu-ray experience has been kind of crazy for the past year. It?s an excellent player for something that only cost me $120. I guess it?s because it was a clearance price since the 2010 models are out now. Until this format matures more, I think the PS3 or the Sony standalones are the best way to go when purchasing a player. Since the PS3 is the most stable player out there, that means Sony has the best skill and knowledge when it comes to manufacturing problem-free Blu-ray players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
still1 Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 @Op Its because Bluray is still at its early stage of it development and there are many feature change. I was going to get a PS3 but since I?m not a gamer, I couldn?t see myself spending $300 on it just to play BDs. But since I had problems with the Samsung player, I kind of regretting not going the PS3 route. But I was happy I was able to get most of my money back by selling the Samsung player. And my Sony standalone was a very cheap player too so I still saved a lot of money even though my Blu-ray experience has been kind of crazy for the past year. It?s an excellent player for something that only cost me $120. I guess it?s because it was a clearance price since the 2010 models are out now. Until this format matures more, I think the PS3 or the Sony standalones are the best way to go when purchasing a player. Since the PS3 is the most stable player out there, that means Sony has the best skill and knowledge when it comes to manufacturing problem-free Blu-ray players. The best way to get a bluray is get a PS3. it is expensive considering if you use it only for playback but the bluray capabilities will be updated online by sony and will be matured and bug free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrrgh Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Most current problems are caused by the constantly changing copy protection schemes, which is pretty much a gigantic waste of time since you can download a new AnyDVD version that deals with the updated protection a week or two later at the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaDude Posted May 23, 2010 Author Share Posted May 23, 2010 Most current problems are caused by the constantly changing copy protection schemes, which is pretty much a gigantic waste of time since you can download a new AnyDVD version that deals with the updated protection a week or two later at the most. That's supposedly the reason why AVATAR had trouble playing on some players. But what's funny is that my Sony BDP-S360's latest update was issued on Oct 2009 and it had absolutely no trouble playing that movie. So this "copy protection" thingy is just an excuse. I just feel that many brands find the Blu-ray format too complex and therefore, they have trouble manufacturing a stable unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Warwagon MVC Posted May 23, 2010 MVC Share Posted May 23, 2010 Yep and with having a PS3 you know they won't "Forget about you" and never release another firmware update. You will have firmware updates for a long time to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoLiMiT06 Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 I figured a PS3 was the cheapest and safest way to go IMO, having the ability to play games is just a plus ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+John Teacake MVC Posted May 23, 2010 MVC Share Posted May 23, 2010 Ive got a relatively cheap Philips one and it plays all the movies (That I have had) fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjoswald Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Probably because it's still a new standard and companies are rushing to cash in on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I figured a PS3 was the cheapest and safest way to go IMO, having the ability to play games is just a plus ;) Not anymore its not. I picked up a Panasonic BR player for about $150. So they have come down in price. I was thinking a year or so to go I would get a PS3 since the standalone players cost as much. I ended up not getting one and a year or so later, its 1/2 the price. Anyway, I have played several BR movies....including Avatar....with no problems. I have not even updated the thing yet. I always had really good luck with Panasonic DVD players and they always played every backup movie I made. Tried Sony and LG and had lots of issues playing my backups. Anyway, I stuck with Panasonic with my BR and so far it is working great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notuptome2004 Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 i have a Panasonic BD player myself all updated to the latest FW and have no issues with any BD movies i have played. when you get a BD player make sure it is profile 2.0 and that you have it connected to the internet so you can do updates to the player as well as be able to run special internet based interactive movies features on some new movies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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