Best Blu-Ray Player Review & Deals 2012

Sony BDP-S390 Blu-ray Disc Player with Wi-Fi (Black) Reviews & Coupon Code

May 20, 2012

Best Deals For Sony BDP-S390 Blu-ray Disc Player with Wi-Fi (Black)

Reviews

This review is for people are thinking about getting this, but might be assuaged by negative reviews. From a simple blu-ray player with nothing special at all, and an outdated app interface. Some people just can’t be pleased.

I was interested in being able to use Pandora, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Netflix, and the option to use Hulu Plus should I ever decide to take on more bills. I was surprised to find even more content, and a lot of it for free.

The Home menu has icons for Setup, Photo, Music, Video, Network, Sony Entertainment Network, and Recommendations. I’ll go over some sub-menus so you can see what kind of content it has to offer.

Music – Music Search, Music Unlimited, Slacker, National Public Radio, Pandora Internet Radio, Berliner, Philharmoniker, Lollapalooza Radio, Moshcam.

Video – Video Unlimited, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, Vudu, Hulu Plus, NHL Vault, YouTube, Crackle, AOL HD, SnagFilms, Break.com, Billabong, The Wiggles, euronews, Dr. Oz, Tara Stiles (yoga), XOS College Sports, Wired, Epicurious, Concierge.com, CinemaNow, Style.com, Digital Cinema Concert Series, Michael Jackson (music videos), Inside Sony Pictures, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, SGNL, Dailymotion, NewsLook, uStudio, Golflink, Livestrong.com, eHow, Flixster, Singing …

I purchased this DVD player for it’s wireless connectivity to my home network. It works great connecting to both Netflix and Amazon Prime. Setup is very easy; was up and running in just a few minutes. I did play both a regular and a Blu-Ray DVD to see if the machine was working correctly. They both played fine; Blu-Ray playback was super. If I were to note one problem with this player it would be start-up time. I also own a Panasonic Blu-Ray player which begins playing DVDs quite a bit quicker than this Sony. All things considered, this model is a good choice. Another plus is its size …very compact! If this is an important consideration, it will be a great buy!

When I ordered this player, I didn’t see that it does not have any front display at all. It shows when the power is on only. The buttons on top:(play,stop,tray-open/close and power only)are also very loose fitting and wiggle like they would break off after a very short time. The size is that of a game console box; so it has to be the top piece of electronics if you have other equipment. The remote is tiny, but has all the important buttons on it. I don’t think you can program your TV remote code to it if you do not own a Sony TV.

The set up was easy and it connected to my Wi-Fi quickly and easily. The app interface is very out dated looking and nothing like what Samsung, LG, and others have. This makes this new player look old.

Conclusion: I have my return authorization and it is going back ASAP!

I’m not a picky person. I can watch TV without surround sound, I don’t have to have every movie in BluRay. I have a 32″ Philips in my bedroom and wanted something that would allow me to watch DVDs and stream Netflix and Amazon. I had it hooked up, registered, and streaming videos in less than 10 minutes. Replaced a 5 year old DVD player and it takes up only half the space. For me, the smaller size is a big plus. I have nothing to compare this to as I’ve never had a streaming player before in the house. All I know is I am happy with it and I would buy it again.

Streams movies well. Adding more apps is a no. What Sony gives you is what you get. In my opinion this is more of a simple everyday blue ray player. There is nothing special about this unit at all. Well maybe Wifi but thats about it. In all honesty my PC wireless hooked to my HDTV handles the job much better. Sony makes great products, but I don’t think this is one of them.

We bought this player in mid-March and loved the idea that it would work with our Belkin(N) wireless router. Everything did work as promised except for Netflix. After hours on the phone with tech support for Sony, and exchanging the unit for a new one per the recommendation of tech support, it was discovered that the Belkin wireless router does not provide a “stable enough” signal for the BD player to connect to Netflix.

We kept it because we like the other features and I ran a wired port to the BD player for when we do want to watch Netflix. Overall, a good product but would be better if they fix that issue.

Panasonic DMP-BD55K Blu-ray Disc Player Review & Coupon Code

May 19, 2012

Best Deals For Panasonic DMP-BD55K Blu-ray Disc Player

Reviews

I felt compelled posting a review of the BMP-BD55 after receiving the unit today. I’d been holding off buying a standalone Blu-Ray player given the dearth of Profile 2.0 machines and along with their crazy prices. For those who aren’t familiar with the Blu-Ray format, there are many different versions of Blu-Ray players that have varying functionalities lingering in the market today. They are: Profile 1.0, Profile 1.1 (this seems to have become the standard for the new low-end models), and Profile 2.0 (finalized standard). I will keep this review/opinion piece as free of tech-babble as much as possible.

You ay want to avoid most Profile 1.0 players. The reason why I say this is for the following reasons: 1. A large number of them are very slow at booting up. 2. They often have problems playing new Blu-Ray movies, some early models won’t play some recent BD movies at all. Many of these machines do not come with HDMI 1.3, meaning you may not be able to get take advantage of the newer HD audio formats.

Profile 1.1 machines have been released in the last year and can play the vast majority of new discs but cannot …

The picture the BD55 player puts out along with the sound quality will blow you away. There is no downside to this player. I never knew my Sony HDTV could look so good.

In general I’m quite pleased with the quality of this unit and the video playback quality.
I don’t regret buying this player, but there are a few areas where things could be improved:

1) Does not play SACD disks and lacks the 6 channel analog out on players that read SACD disks. So I have to keep my old pioneer DVD player hooked into the system to play my half dozen SACD disks. Makes my setup a bit more cluttered than I’d like.

2) As far as I can tell, it doesn’t play any of my PAL encoded 50hz DVDs from other regions. Again, another reason I have to keep the old pioneer DVD player hooked up to play a small collection of foreign disks that my old pioneer played well.

3) The user manual isn’t horrible, but it suffers from the same myopic attitude as many assembly/operation manuals. It tells how to do some things without a clue for why you would do that or which setting will prove advantageous. For example, I have an older 5.1 Teac receiver that has no HDMI connection nor any decoding for the newer audio formats on blu ray. The …

When I first read the many early glowing reviews of the Panasonic BD55 Blu ray disc player I was a bit suspicious. So I read reviews of multiple players from other manufacturers. None of them seemed to match the impression made by this particular Panasonic device. So I decided to aquire my own machine…even after the company had made the decision to discontinue this model and replace it with a similiar model with different numbers behind the Panasonic name.
I am not sorry that I made the decision to buy this unit. It performs just as the reviewers had said. Once you make the correct connections (my receiver has 7.1 analog audio input but no HDMI connection) and understand the players internal set-up process you are rewarded with the real pay off. That pay off is a significant augmentation of picture quality (via the HDMI connection to the HD TV) and true lossless audio. The newest High Def audio formats are truely awesome. Even regular DVDs look noticibly better… but still not as good as the blu ray discs.

The investment has been worth it for me so far. My already good A/V home theater system has been ‘juiced’ …

I purchased this deck from Amazon at $325.00 new, along with the Onkyo 706 receiver. The deck performs without any issues right out of the box. Startup and disk loading times are reasonable…a bit longer than a normal DVD player, but much faster than my original Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player. I downloaded a firmware update and burned it to disk, then installed it without problems. The on-screen menus are intuitive and well laid-out. At the price I paid – I can recommend it without reservation. At the new price – I would do a bit more research, but after the first couple of months of use with 18 or so different Blu-Ray disks, there have been no problems, and Panasonic products are typically reliable and long lasting.

Yamaha BD-S671BL Blu-Ray Disc Player Review & Coupon Code

May 18, 2012

Best Deals For Yamaha BD-S671BL Blu-Ray Disc Player

Reviews

The Yamaha BD-S671BL Blu-Ray Disc Player is a pretty solid Blu-Ray disc player. The Blu-Ray and DVD playback is very clean and the sound is excellent (mine is paired with a Yamaha receiver). I am not a fan of the remote control or the on-screen menus, however, which are nowhere near as intuitive as my Sony Blu-Ray player’s remote and menu system. Overall, I like the Yamaha player’s video and sound quality, but it just doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that my Sony Blu-Ray player has (which is what I expected based on my research). The Yamaha player does provide Netflix and networking access, which is what I wanted, so I’m happy with my purchase. I think it’s a solid value.

poor playback on newest blu-ray – chattered/stopped often. When attempting to correct problem lost video (hdmi/component) completely even hooked straight to tv.

This is much better than the BD-667 BD unit from Yamaha. I had purchased the BD-S667 and had two units fail on me in back to back shipments. The first lasted 38 days, the second about 5 minutes. Yamaha took great care of me, and suprised me as well buy sending me a newer model. At first I thought they just made a mistake. However no mistake as they read several e-mails I sent about getting a unit from a newer line run. Instead they just sent me a brand new player in this model with a full warrenty to boot. This unit has worked flawlessly since Iv’e had it. It plays everything I throw at it perfect. CD’s- DVD’s- Blu-rays, and u.s.b.2 sound via the usb port plays MP3′s perfect. Also this unit supports 3-D if you need it. You can also disable the 3-D in setup. The software set of Netflix and You-Tube, as well as blockbuster are good. Netflix is improved over the older BD-S667 that only pulled in you instant que, with no search features. The new one is way more intuative. This unit also has a noise filter built into it, auto settings for HDTV’s …

does everything i expected it to do, been using it for two months now and no issues. plays back my older dvds with noticable higher quality video and sound than my old dvd player did. its works great for streaming movies from the internet. i am happy with its performance. thanks to amazon i can own high end stuff like this.

After hemming and hawing for 3 years I finally pulled the trigger on the bd-s671 hoping it would be at least a little bit better quality than some of the awful, chintzy junk sold for $200 or so. It is a tiny step above a bottom of the barrel LG or Samsung but not by much. The chassis is for the most part empty, the drive is completly encased in black ABS plastic which produces an audible humm while playing blu-rays, the audio section is nothing to write home about either as the DAC in use is a single CS4354, a new chip but low rent and it has no built in digital volume attenuation. The remote is a shamefuly cheap bit of plastic and the back panel has very few outputs.

Video performance on blu-ray discs is very good though enexceptional, has no problem reading any disc thrown at it but upconversion so far has been a distinct step down from my trusty old Oppo 981 which is dissapointing considering the age and cost of the Oppo (~$190 4 years ago). Audio performance in fairness is not bad, at first I was pleased with the detail, air …

Sony BDP-S780 3D Blu-ray Disc Player Review & Coupon Code

May 16, 2012

Best Deals For Sony BDP-S780 3D Blu-ray Disc Player

Reviews

Bought this last week because we were tired of excessively long BluRay load times on our old Panasonic BR and were also anxious to see what the latest BR player could do for our new 46″ Sony Bravia 3D TV. Spent the weekend comparing the Sony 780 to old BR and to a new Panasonic DMP-BDT210 Blu Ray. No Contest in every respect….picture quality, load time, number of adjustment functions, and 1st rate internet connectivity, including some stunning streaming 3D (I’m not exactly sure, but I think you’ll need broadband > 6+ mps for this function to work), Netflix, Amazon, and VUDU (check out VUDU quality, content and pricing options for sure). Internet software/remote control integration is very slick, especially as a Sony 3D TV companion, and IMHO, way, way better than Panasonic BDT210. Options for 3D picture adjustment and 2D->3D conversion work very well and are also better than on BDT210. Easy Setup.

It took about an hour to set everything up and test all the functions. Overall, I am very satisfied with this player.

Some reviews about Sony Blu-ray players (not sure what model) that I had seen before I bought the unit said that there were problems with streaming HD Netflix movies. This was NOT true. I had no problems whatsoever with streaming HD Netflix movies. (Note: My Internet speed guaranteed by the provider is 12 mbps, I used a wired Internet connection to the Blu-ray player, and I have a 1.4 HDMI cable. I also have the setting for video quality on the Netflix site set to “Best”. I think to successfully stream HD movies you probably have to set that to “best”. And you need at least 10 mbps of Internet to be able to watch HD.)

Before I bought this, I had also seen reviews about Sony Blu-ray players (could have been other models) that said that the load time was slow. This was NOT true either. I don’t notice any difference in time compared to a Sony DVD player.

Pros:

This product successfully achieves all the functions I expected it to fulfill. Namely: …

This Blu-ray has all the things I needed from it, I got it to replace PS3 because it is too noisy. However Sony still has to learn a bit about user experience. I had to register and login at four different sony’s own websites: Sony Registration (site was down the first day), Sony Essentials, Sony Store & Sony Entertainment. Taking a star off.

Then of course each service needed its own activation.

Great Blu-ray player from the top of Sony’s line. I purchased because of the Skype function and my wife’s family living too far away to visit and wanted to share family memories with them. When I first started it up the Skype function would not connect. After calling Sony, 3.5 hours and 4 representatives later (eventually ended up speaking with an engineer who helped me synchronize IP and DNS settings), I finally got Skype to work. It is cool having Skype on our BD player, but like any new technology it is a little rough around the edges, pretty blurry. This is better than the Panasonic device I first purchased and took back because they do not have any information published that tells what kind of cam can be used and it turns out the only one is a Panasonic cam that costs $279.00 … EPIC FAIL for Panasonic.

Beyond that, the blu-ray player is very high quality, great pictures from both the streaming and blu-ray, easy to use interface. It is a little annoying that you have to go to your computer and “sign up” for each service, but you’ll find that on any blu-ray. My only other …

I have owned the BDP-S70 for about 8 months and have used it over a dozen times to watch movies (3D and Blu-ray) as well as well as watch Netflix through a wireless connection from my wireless router. Overall, the BDP-S70 plays Blue-ray and Blue-ray 3D DVDs effortlessly. Controls are fairly simple and the on screen programing is easy to navigate through. As well, Netflix streams well nicely through my wireless connection without freezing up though that has more to do with the wireless connection than it does the BDP-S70. The only problem that I have with this unit is starting up and opening the DVD tray. Haven’t timed it, but it seems to take 8 to 10 seconds just to open the dvd tray. Not sure what goes on between the time “Eject” is pressed and the time the tray slides out.

So there. If you want a really nice wireless 3D Blu-ray player this one performs rather well if your not in too much of a hurry.

This player has everything that I need and is very easy to set up and operate. Great disk load time and has performed flawlessly. If one needs a great blu ray player, I would highly recommend this player.

Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review & Discount

May 15, 2012

Best Deals For Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

Reviews

This unit has two design problems that I’m aware of. I’m surprised that Samsung hasn’t already fixed these issues.

For reference, my unit has the latest 1.3 firmware as of 9/10/2008.

#1: The BD-P1500 has inherent audio drop problems on the HDMI interface. I’m not sure if the optical interface has the same issue(s); however, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does. The audio bitstream will drop (silent) occasionally on most blu-ray discs that I’ve played. I believe there is a timing and/or bandwidth issue with either the firmware or hardware. This problem has been reported by many other BD-P1500 owners on various AV forums.

#2: The front display is extremely dim. When this unit is placed next to the Samsung HT-AS720 receiver which has the same display type, the BD-P1500′s display looks terrible. The BD-P1500 has an option to adjust the brightness of the front display; however it doesn’t work. The display is always too dim. This problem has also been reported by many other BD-P1500 owners on various AV forums.

Unfortunately, Samsung has not been able to resolve the audio drop issue as of 09/10/2008 so I’m concerned that they may never. If high …

The blue ray DVD player worked absolutely great with blue ray movies. However, it would not play any other typeof DVD or CD except blue ray even though it was hooked up properly. I contacted Samsung and they finally decided it need a “firmware update”. Since I have dial-up, I did not want to try to download the update, so they sent it to me on a CD – which took nearly two weeks to arrive. Guess what, it would not read their update CD either. In frustration, I sent it back to Amazon for a refund.

If i had read bad reviews on this site before purchasing this product, i wouldn’t bought it. The problems occurring with this player are probably why this one was in sale a couple of years back. It plays fine until i couldn’t read a blu-ray disk, then i made the mistake to upgrade on samsung web site. Since then i can’t played some regular dvd’s. Glad i have kept my old dvd. Don’t buy this!

To pay so much for a product I expect to have something that lasts and that works the way it is supposed to. I updated the firmware it worked fine for a week and now its back to its bad ways. It will play a dvd fine and then out of nowhere “disc cannot be played” pops up on my screen; I am unable to get it to load after this has happened. I don’t understand how it can work one minute and then stop the next. I called customer service and they told me to try to clean my unit. Has anyone tried this? After reading all these posts it seems there is a bigger problem here. I love my Samsung TV but I will never buy a product from them again if they won’t stand behind their customers and fix this blu-ray problem.

great Item, although I havent been able to use it because Im still waiting for remote. when I get it I will defiantly give better ratings lol

Samsung BD-C6500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Reviews & Discount

May 14, 2012

Best Deals For Samsung BD-C6500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

Reviews

I plan on keeping this review up to date, so as things change I will keep adding to it. I will also try to answer any questions in comments.

April 2, 2010
I received this player from Amazon today. Within the first hour I had it hooked up to my home theater system, connected to my wi-fi network, updated the firmware over the web, connected to Netflix, and connected to Pandora. At that point I was ready to log in to Amazon and post a 5 star review. I am glad that I held off because there have been a few problems, but not enough to make me want to return the player.

Even though I have the latest firmware, 1009.1, Vudu does not work for me. I get an error message when I try to start it (I will post the error here tomorrow; right now I am watching a movie!). I was able to set my location in Accuweather and change it from Celsius to Fahrenheit. However, when I went back into Accuweather the location was correct but it reverted back to Celsius. I went in and out of it several times and set it back …

I received this item a few days ago and immediately began setup. I never even opened the manual, connected my HDMI and turned the power on. Wireless setup was easy, took about 4 minutes and I was connected to the internet. The player prompted me for an update which I did and that took another 5 minutes or so (I have no idea what the update did however). I first played with the apps like Netflix and Pandora, both worked flawlessly after activating them through my laptop. Netflix pulled up my instant queue (does not display anything other than your instant queue) and I selected The Stoning Soraya M. To my pleasant surprise within a few minutes I was streaming the movie in HD. Picture quality was beautiful and without any glitches. I did notice the movie did not stream HD audio but I assume that is Netflix and not some issue with the player. Pandora worked great, Youtube worked great, no complaints at all with those basic apps. Vudu (free HD streaming movie app) still is not working as others reported. I then moved to popping in a Blu-ray of Zombieland. Load times for me seemed a little slow, …

wow had this for a year…first the wired internet stopped working then won’t play half the blue-rays then did updates (via Wi=Fi) now none of the blue rays work… Samsung should refund !! If this was a car the feds would fine samsung. got a Sony Blue ray and it worked on the same cable I had for the internet and played the same DVD that the Samsung would not play

The negative reviews below are correct. This player stopped working after 1 year. It will no longer load blu-rays. Buy a Sony or Panasonic!

This product worked great for the first 18 months or so, then all of a sudden decided that it could not load Blu-Ray discs.

At this point, normal DVDs and music CDs still play fine, but it refuses to even try to load any Blu-Ray movies, and won’t even bring up the menu. It just sits there making unhealthy sounding clicking noises over a black screen. Searching for a solution was in vain because it seems the universal answer is that the software/firmware is not updated. However, it explicitly states on the menu screen that my player has the most up to date upgrades. Thanks a lot Samsung, your players suck.

DO NOT BUY THIS OR ANY OTHER BLU RAY PRODUCT FROM SAMSUNG. EVER.

Samsung BD-C5900 1080p 3D Blu-ray Disc Player Review & Coupon Code

May 13, 2012

Best Deals For Samsung BD-C5900 1080p 3D Blu-ray Disc Player

Reviews

I got this Blu-ray player free as part of the 3D package with my new Samsung UN46C7000 46-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D LED HDTV (Black). It’s the only Blu-ray player I’ve ever owned and it is a nice compact unit that’s easy to use, but it’s been a little buggy at times.

Several times now it hasn’t sent a signal through the HDMI cable and once the picture was pixelated, but a simple power cycle fixes the problem. It’s not enough to make me send it in for repairs, but it is a little annoying.

Upgrading the firmware via USB is very simple and I’ve already done it once as it was 3 updates behind right out of the box.

Overall I’m happy with it and wouldn’t hesitate to buy one for the small price it’s going for.

The Samung C5900 makes a great option for a certain type of person… someone who already owns a Samsung 3D television. If that is not you – this may be an ok Blu-Ray player for you, but there may be better options. However, if you own a Samsung 3D television such as Samsung UN55C7000 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D LED HDTV (Black) or Samsung UN55C8000 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D LED HDTV the Samsung C5900 is an excellent choice. Why? most of the features that people complain that the C5900 is missing is already incorporated into your television. However, the Samsung C5900 is a very affordable option to bring 3D Blu-Rays to your television.

A few notes

- Remember – you will need high speed HDMI cables if you want to play 3D Blu-Rays – consider AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters)[Supports 3D + Audio Return Channel] since they are MUCH cheaper than any of the cables you will find at the box stores.

- Great picture quality on Blu-Ray video (as you would expect)

- Does a great upconverting DVDs to near HD quality

- Super fast loading time

This item boasts Netflix, internet tv, and WiFi ready features. I bought this player (2 of them actually) as gifts for my father and grandfather. They are both retired and we thought Netflix would be great for them to stay busy and entertained. Although this item declares it is “WiFi ready”, it is NOT ACTUALLY WiFi ready. You have to purchase the WiFi adapter separately, for what I believe costs somewhere around $50-80!!!! I got these for $85 each as a Black Friday Amazon special, but the added $50-80 for the stupid wireless internet plug-ins makes each player DOUBLE the cost.

Had I been aware of this BEFORE I ordered it, I would not have bought them. It is too late to return them now because the one was already gifted and the other is already wrapped and delivered.

Came free with my 52” Samsung 3D plasma. Otherwise, I wouldn’t pay $1 for it. Why is it so bad? It constantly crashes while I’m using the netflix app. The user interface is extremely slow. That means, after every crash (happens once or twice in the evening), it takes 3-4 minutes to turn it off and on. Extremely annoying. The culprit might be the netflix app, but the user experience is horrible regardless of who’s to blame. Even without crashes, both Samsung TV and blueray user interfaces are very slow.

Another annoyance? Remote control. Samsung TV remote can control 80% of [basic] blue-ray functionality, but not everything (notably, menu button operates differently between two remotes). This results in annoying situations where I can start and stop a blueray disc with TV remote, but have to use the blueray player’s remote to go to internet. Because I use internet a lot, I constantly have to keep both handy. My previous Sony TV remote had the full DVD player/home theater functionality that I had to purchase separately. Samsung has a lot to learn from Sony when it comes to improving the user experience.

Amazon just has the best deals for my purchases! When I bought my samsung 55inch led 3d tv this dvd player came with it in the bundle… Although I did not need on since my ps3 could play blue ray, I still hooked it up and the picture is great! The remote control that came with this player works also for my TV too. I think you can also buy the samsung internet stick for wifi. I put mine in my tv. The slot for the dvd has a protective cover to avoid dust getting in the player. This came very well packed when it was shipped. Glad to have this product!

Sony BDP-BX57 Blu-ray Disc Player, 3D-ready with built-in WI-FI Review & Coupon Code

May 12, 2012

Best Deals For Sony BDP-BX57 Blu-ray Disc Player, 3D-ready with built-in WI-FI

Reviews

Opening up the box was a rather simple process. There was not a lot of real thick tape to have to cut through, there was no special way of opening up the box. One thing that I did notice was a note left by Sony letting me know that there will be an update to the player so it can read the new and upcoming 3D.

The set up was fairly quick and easy, except when I tried to use the systems WEP. I could not get the Sony to accept my “key”. I do have a hub sitting right next to my television, so this was not really a problem. I did not spend much time trying to trouble shoot this problem. I have read in many places that the wireless set up is easy, so perhaps it was user error. After connecting the unit to the hub, I instantly went over and down loaded a system update and activated some network enhance features which I think gave me some extra on line content. I went to the Sony web site to register my product to receive the enhanced feature and my model number was not listed. …

This player is the same player as the Sony S570 except it is sold primarily at Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club. The unit can be purchased at those place for $199. The unit plays Blu-Rays very well, loads fast and the picture quality is excellent. The same can be said for DVD’s. The BDP-BX57 is hooked up using a Sharp Aquos 1080P LCD HD TV via HDMI. The internet streaming content is the reason I purchased this player. I have connected it with a wired connection and a wireless connection both without any problems. I have a solid and fast cable modem connection and was really looking forward to streaming Netflix like I can on our PS3 that is in the Family room. Even with the latest firmware, Netflix can be a bit choppy or buffer often. The PS3 unit never buffers despite the same wired connection. I had the Video setting from the Sony player on “Auto” which defaults to 1080P. Apparently, there must be a firmware issue with the Netflix and the unit possibly trying to upconvert the video? Interestingly, when I changed my Video setting on the Sony to 1080i, the Netflix buffering went away …

I bought one of each model – these Sony BDP-BX57 / BDP-S570 models are exactly the same but one marketed through Costco stores and the other through regular retailer. All I can say is find a different player! I was attracted by the Sony name and the built-in wi-fi (which was more rare on Blu-ray players a year ago when I bought these ~ Dec 2010).

First, the wi-fi was a pain to set up. I don’t think they could have made it any more difficult if they tried. Once I had it set up I thought everything would be fine. Now, and keep in mind I have had both players a year, they are EXTREMELY finicky! They often do not start up or load properly. There have been a number of times I have had to pull the plug and force a hard reboot. Sometimes it can take 10-15 minutes to get them started and playing ~ and when your trying to get the movie going for impatient kids that is forever!

I had high hopes for the premium brand Blu-Ray player and I am really disappointed. They have been so trouble prone I am unlikely to …

I decided to move to this blu-ray player for its wireless networking and Internet streaming capabilities when my Western Digital TV Live box stopped producing sound. I didn’t even want to waste time messing with that anymore, as it was useful but flaky from the start.

BLU RAY PLAYER:
First, the basics: This player does a great job with Blu rays and DVDs. My first Blu ray player would not play the Starship Troopers Blu ray until I stick in an 8Gb SD card, but that player is a few years old now. This player handled the java menus on the DVD fine, and more recent ones as well. Of course, sound comes through great too. Neither of these successes is much of a surprise, since if a digital device can’t accurately deliver the data it reads from digital media, it would be a very great surprise. LOL

If a DVD or Blu ray is in the player, it automatically reads the disc and goes straight to the disc’s menu. Otherwise, it displays the broader device menu.

WIRELESS NETWORK and STREAMING MEDIA:
I found the process of setting it up to see my wireless network to be …

I bought this Blu-ray player specifically for networking so that I can view Netflix on my TV. The hook-up was painless and the Sony player was faultless playing Blu-Ray and DVD. The network was equally painless to set up and the menu showed up with choices I wasn’t interested in. However Netflix was right there. Unfortunately, when I tried to view any Netflix movie, I got a “not available just yet” sort of message. I got onto the Sony website and followed instructions. It wasn’t until I phoned the Sony Canada number that I got the reason. It was because this player wasn’t yet activated by them until the end of that month. Since then, I have been able to view all of my Netflix movies faultessly. It is better than viewing on my PC, as there is no delay on the Sony Blu-ray, yet on my PC there is often long pauses while loading during the movie. This doesn’t happen with the Blu-ray player. I am completely satisfied with my purchase.

I got this from another store (not Amazon) late last year.

I liked that it was:
- easy to setup for wireless
- offers lots of Internet content, including Youtube, Netflix etc.
- haven’t tried out any Blu ray discs yet, but haven’t had any issues with the 50+ DVDs

I haven’t tried out DLNA

Deducting a single star since I had an issue when I tried to access Pandora – I didn’t know my registration code. I really think Sony needs to ease this process and save a ton of customer support $$ by enabling this over the web. In any case, the CSR was pretty good and I got it resolved in under 10 min.

Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray Disc Player Review & Coupon Code

May 11, 2012

Best Deals For Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray Disc Player

Reviews

The Samsung BD-P1200 is a Blu-ray disc player. Blu-ray discs display a high definition video picture which you will need a high definition TV to take advantage of. I use a Toshiba 62″ DLP which is a few years old and will display HD but not up to 1080p, I set the BD-P1200 to output 1080i. Depending on what you read, some professionals say there isn’t much noticeable difference between the 1080i and 1080p. The BD-P1200 is capable of outputting 1080p, the highest resolution available at this point. It will also do 1080i & 720p HD. You choose the output in the set up menu. The BD-P1200 not only will play your existing DVD collection but it will upconvert it to one of the higher video outputs to make them look better than ever. Samsung uses one of the best upconverting chips on the market for this job. My BD-P1200 replaced my Denon 1600 DVD player. With the Denon I used Progressive Scan 480p output via component connections. I used the HDMI connection from the BD-P1200. It should be noted that using HDMI is the only way you can take advantage of the upconverting feature of the BD-P1200, and this …

First of all CONGRATULATIONS to all of you that received working units!!!!Ordered this player Aug 19,2007. I’ve yet to view a movie on it! Didn’t work properly out of the box. At first I thought it was the remote that was bad. Did what was recommended in the trouble shooting section. Remote still didn’t work. I called & asked for a new remote. They said it would be about 2 weeks (why in this day & age it takes that long puzzles me)After 3 weeks I still didn’t have a new remote. In the mean time I try playing discs using the buttons on the unit – still wouldn’t work properly. Hard time getting it to play, when it did play it wouldn’t skip scenes, if I paused or stopped play, I couldn’t get it to restart. I contacted Samstung (yes I meant stung)& I was instructed to return it for repairs (at my expense, which is b.s. since it didn’t work out of the box) but I paid the $17.00 to send it for repairs. I got the unit back about 1 1/2 weeks later – and guess what? It still had the same problems!!! So, I contact Samstung …

This player is almost as much of a piece of crap as the first gen Samsung player. It has disc compatibility issues, won’t play certain discs. It is slow, shoddy HDMI connection, overpriced and just sucks.

I can only complain so much, because I paid all of $130 for this on a Best Buy closeout. However, despite firmware updates, the machine will not play Blu-rays by 20th Century Fox; nor would it play “Zohan,” from Sony. Also, lip-syncing problems are common on other Blu-ray discs. On the upside, the picture on the Blu-ray discs that do play is very good, as is upconversion of standard DVD’s.

this is the worst experience that i have ever had with any piece of electronic equipment. Samsung is incompetent and doesn’t care about service either. this player won’t play a BUNCH of the new DVD’s and the LAST time i went through this i had to spend HOURS TRYING to download a ‘firmware’ fix? that finally they had to send me a fix that STILL won’t play 1/2 of the new Blu Ray DVD’s i buy, I HATE THIS AND FEEL RIPPED OFF, DON’T BUY THIS OR FROM SAMSUNG, SAVE YOURSELF THE AGGREVATION.

LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player Reviews & Discount

May 9, 2012

Best Deals For LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player

Reviews

I first learned about this product through a netflix advertisement in the mail. I rushed out to the store to buy it because it offered the capability of streaming netflix movies. (I have netflix, and netflix has ‘instant watch’ for PC users only, and I use Apple computers, so this was my way of watching instant watch netflix movies over the internet) Once I bought the DVD player, I learned that it did not come with Wi-Fi and I would have to plug the DVD player into an ethernet socket in the wall, and since I did not have one downstairs for the living room, I had to buy a wireless ethernet adapter in order to use the netflix feature.

Once using the netflix ‘instant watch’ on my blu-ray player, I was somewhat tied about how I felt about the machine.

As the video gets ready to steam, it will give a quality range (from 1 to 4). the very first instant watch movie I watched was horrible quality. It was more bit-mappey then a bootleg movie. But as I watched a few more movies, the quality was better.

What I didn’t like was:
1)in the middle …

I bought the LG BD-300 about a month ago from Circuit City for $349. I can’t say enough about the machine. I LOVE IT! Let me tell you about the features.

First, the blue-ray player is first class. It has a very short start-up time. I have heard that other “cheaper” players can take several minutes to startup. I use a HDMI cable to connect to my 42″ LCD HDTV. The picture is ultra- clear. To me it seems better than the HD picture from DirecTV (and that is saying a lot). The blue-ray discs play flawlessly and easily. I used the BD-Live feature once and it was fun. Not all movies have this feature.

Then I tried my old DVDs to see how they look and I was very impressed. They seem to be almost HD in clarity. The manual says that the DVD clarity is only enhanced using the HDMI cable, so be aware of that. I bought a $25 HDMI switch on Amazon to go between my DirecTV and the BD-300. It works fine. Another option is to buy a newer surround sound receiver that has a HDMI switch built in so you switch audio …

Bought this player in 12/08. Within 12-months it completed a software download on its own, which eliminated the ability to watch regular DVD’s. Since I rarely watch blue-ray DVDs and primarily bought the unit for Netflix streaming capability, this was not a helpful software update. The player is advertised as playing DVDs – seems logical that it would. The only way to get this fixed is to mail the unit back to LG for a “complimentary-servicing” since I am out of warranty. This apparently will take 3-4 weeks, but they won’t charge me for it.

Although the player works as expected when watching videos and streaming Netflix, it is disappointing that LG would provide a software update that eliminates such a basic function, like “watching DVDs”!? Go figure.

I started out with a cheap Insignia bluray player, and it broke, so I converted the warranty replacement into an upgrade, getting this for a little extra money. The Netflix capability has ended up getting more use than the disc player itself. There have been several firmware updates, some of them bringing real improvements. Two drawbacks: it can’t access any other subscription services besides Netflix, and there’s no wifi. My girlfriend dislikes having an etherhose running down the hallway, but it works. If shopping now I’d look for more, but at the time I bought it, it was a solid deal, and I have no regrets.

Just chiming in with the other reviewers: my BD300 used to read normal DVDs. Now, after the latest firmware update, it no longer does. After an hour on the phone with LG, they agreed to take it back at no charge and “fix” it. I will never do an update again, and am also scared of buying from LG again. Note: the tech support guy handling my case was helpful, and said his supervisor told him the non-DVD reading issue and the firmware update were unrelated. I told him to tell his supervisor to go to Amazon, find the player, and click on the 1-star reviews, to find 30 examples of how they were _completely_ related.

I divide my appointment 50% LG’s fault and 50% Amazon’s fault on this on.

The unit stopped playing disks after about 4 months,…about 30 days after the return policy expired. For that reason alone I’d suggest looking elsewhere.

So now I have a very expensive Netflix player….which I originally believed to be wi-fi enabled, but only found out after receiving it that I needed to run a data line across my house to get it to work,…or invest almost the same in a wi-fi receiver just for this unit.