CES 2010 Wrapup – The Top Five Blu-ray Players

[Attebery]

CES 2010 Wrapup – The Top Five Blu-ray Players:

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...y_Players/4062

[45rpm]

Hhhmmm.... New 3D BD players. That would mean new 3D HDTV to support them.
Hi-def entertainment is going to be expensive again.

It might be hard to convince my wife to get 3D HDTV though. She gets dizzy watching "Honey I Shrunk The Audience" in Disneyland.

[davechevalier]

Perhaps I'm just naive, but I have a serious question to ask.

I consider myself a consumer of "decent" quality audio and video, within my price range. I had a Pioneer DV-563A DVD-Audio/SACD player hooked up via 6 channel analog to ensure pristine audio quality when DVD-A and SACD were new and shiny. I have an HDMI-only based AV system at this time, and I use a PS3 to playback my Bluray collection to a decent PCM-compatible Sony receiver passing video through to a Toshiba LCD.

But I want to know something about the McIntosh Bluray player that was mentioned in this article. $8,000. Enough to buy every component in my system and have enough left over to get a significant number of Bluray to add to my collection. It reads a 1 or a 0 off a plastic disc and converts it into an electrical signal that is passed along an HDMI cable where it eventually makes to the television or projector and that 1 or 0 is pieced together with all of the other 1's and 0's to make the picture, 23.976 times per second.

It's still just a 1 or a 0. It's never 0.99 or 1.01, right? So how does $8,000 make that 1 or 0 better than the 1's and 0's coming through other digitally connected systems?

Can anyone answer that for me?

I'm not trying to troll, and I'm not looking to argue...I just want a rational explanation for an $8,000 player, if possible.

Thanks!

[Lee Stewart]

Perhaps I'm just naive, but I have a serious question to ask.

I consider myself a consumer of "decent" quality audio and video, within my price range. I had a Pioneer DV-563A DVD-Audio/SACD player hooked up via 6 channel analog to ensure pristine audio quality when DVD-A and SACD were new and shiny. I have an HDMI-only based AV system at this time, and I use a PS3 to playback my Bluray collection to a decent PCM-compatible Sony receiver passing video through to a Toshiba LCD.

But I want to know something about the McIntosh Bluray player that was mentioned in this article. $8,000. Enough to buy every component in my system and have enough left over to get a significant number of Bluray to add to my collection. It reads a 1 or a 0 off a plastic disc and converts it into an electrical signal that is passed along an HDMI cable where it eventually makes to the television or projector and that 1 or 0 is pieced together with all of the other 1's and 0's to make the picture, 23.976 times per second.

It's still just a 1 or a 0. It's never 0.99 or 1.01, right? So how does $8,000 make that 1 or 0 better than the 1's and 0's coming through other digitally connected systems?

Can anyone answer that for me?

I'm not trying to troll, and I'm not looking to argue...I just want a rational explanation for an $8,000 player, if possible.

Thanks!

Here you go:

http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messag...81/611966.html

Top of the line everything.

[metalhead4]

To me, I really don't see a need to have any other player than the PS3...it's head and shoulders above anything that's out. Faster, better wireless connectivity, games, internet access, 120/250 HD, Netflix...why bother with anything else?

Is it just me, or wasn't the PS3 able to do pretty much everything all these players are JUST STARTING to do with the exception of worthless online services?

And yes, $8,000 for a Blu-ray player is a joke.

[Favelle]

Here you go:

http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messag...81/611966.html

Top of the line everything.

Somewhere along the line, something, anything is going to bottleneck that quality. Display, interconnects, power....something. WASTE of MONEY for no appreciable difference.

[GizmoDVD]

Gonna grab the 590 and replace the 250GB with a 1TB if it fits. That'll be an excellent Media center like the 390 is right now.

[vinnie97]

To me, I really don't see a need to have any other player than the PS3...it's head and shoulders above anything that's out. Faster, better wireless connectivity, games, internet access, 120/250 HD, Netflix...why bother with anything else?

Is it just me, or wasn't the PS3 able to do pretty much everything all these players are JUST STARTING to do with the exception of worthless online services?

And yes, $8,000 for a Blu-ray player is a joke.

Say you want a regular form factor and infrared as opposed to oblong and Bluetooth. Also, those who like high resolution audio (SACD and DVD-A) can do better than a PS3 currently as well. One other thing, the Oppo now has DLNA capability and can play mkvs over the network (without any conversion). Wireless online connectivity would probably result in stuttering in this instance (I use PowerLine products), so it's not all that important, nor is browsing the internet. Also, what you describe as "worthless" (like Pandora Radio) might be someone's favorite feature. PS3 ain't for everybody.

[Lee Stewart]

Somewhere along the line, something, anything is going to bottleneck that quality. Display, interconnects, power....something. WASTE of MONEY for no appreciable difference.

Macintosh owners are VERY loyal to the name. You are talking about very high quality equipment.

They don't want a $200 BD player to go with their $15,000 power amps or their $10,000 Preamp.

The equipment holds it's value. You won't believe what 30 year old Mac equipment sells for.

Some people just want (and can afford) the very best) and that would be Macintosh - who BTW is celebrating 60 years in business.

[metalhead4]

"PS3 ain't for everybody."

Neither is an $8,000 Blu-ray player haha. At that point, you'd be better off buying a regular SACD player for $200 if it were that important. The Bluetooth adapter for the player is wonderful and does everything needed to be controlled by a universal IR. And I've been able to access Pandora on any computer connected to the internet since the early-mid 2000's. The PS3 could do this when it launched in 2006 as well.

But your points are well taken

[bluskiessmingatme]

For $8,000, it better come with a Playboy bunny who changes the discs and brings me drinks.

[45rpm]

For $8,000, it better come with a Playboy bunny who changes the discs and brings me drinks.

I would expect a lot more than that for $8K.

[jazzcat]

To me, I really don't see a need to have any other player than the PS3...it's head and shoulders above anything that's out.

The PS3 is surpassed by several units in significant ways.

Lets have a look:

1) My friend has a PS3. We watched Amadeus in a large living room which was around 23 degrees Celsius--basically cool. The fan in the PS3 drove me batty turning on and off. Sitting 15 ft away it sounding like a hair dryer. It would interfere with nearly every dramatic film that I can think of. The PS3 is known for running hot. The fan issue disqualifies it for me right of the bat. My other friend has a recent PS3 and that one is loud as well.

2) The oppo BDP-83 is considerably better at upconversion than the PS3. Many of us have TONS of DVD that we will never give up. Many films won't make it to blu-ray for a long time if ever. Nevertheless true film buffs watch the film not the FORMAT. I could care less whether a film is DVD or blu-ray most of the time because I am so engrossed in the film (Once upon a time in America on DVD moves me more than any Blu-ray has).

4) The PS3 is overpriced for those who don't care about games (non-geeks).

5) PS3 - no SACD or DVD-A (how would I play all my jazz and classical recordings?) Second, the analog section of the PS3 is abysmal. The Oppo? Much better DACs, capacitors etc.

6) Many of the current PS3's still are not full featured when it comes to audio codecs- I think the new ones may be.

7) Did I mention that the PS3 is insanely loud and not appropriate for serious home theaters???

8) The PS3 is made by the evil empire SONY with crappy customer service not like OPPO which is very customer service centered--read the reviews and you will see. SONY does not reply to most emails, and when they do, unqualified reps cannot help. OPPO's reps get into the technical aspect as far as you need to go.

9) The PS3 is not an OPPO.

10) Sell your PS3, stop playing games, watch more real films (Once upon a time in america, kubrick, lynch), read more literature (in place of video games), and get a real dedicated player, and all will be well.

That is my top ten list of why one should avoid PS3.

[kayoss]

The PS3 is surpassed by several units in significant ways.

Lets have a look:

1) My friend has a PS3. We watched Amadeus in a large living room which was around 23 degrees Celsius--basically cool. The fan in the PS3 drove me batty turning on and off. Sitting 15 ft away it sounding like a hair dryer. It would interfere with nearly every dramatic film that I can think of. The PS3 is known for running hot. The fan issue disqualifies it for me right of the bat. My other friend has a recent PS3 and that one is loud as well.

Sounds like a PS3 either clogged with dirt or grime or with a defective fan. My PS3, a launch-day model, is nearly silent. And even with the fan going full speed, barely audible even in a silent soundproof room.

2) The oppo BDP-83 is considerably better at upconversion than the PS3. Many of us have TONS of DVD that we will never give up. Many films won't make it to blu-ray for a long time if ever. Nevertheless true film buffs watch the film not the FORMAT. I could care less whether a film is DVD or blu-ray most of the time because I am so engrossed in the film (Once upon a time in America on DVD moves me more than any Blu-ray has).

Don't have an oppo, so I can't compare myself, but the PS3's multiple settings for upconversion are far more powerful and customizable then any stand alone player I've seen. Different upconversion settings look different for different sources. Have you even tried playing with them? Most players only have an 'on' or 'off' for upconversion. PS3s let you tweak and customize to your heart's content.

4) The PS3 is overpriced for those who don't care about games (non-geeks).

$299 is overpriced for a top of the line blu-ray player/HD media server/HD photo viewer/music server/Netflix streamer/TV web browser/Hulu & YouTube (with PlayOn software) server/CD player/DVD upconverter? For what it does, the system is an absolute steal.

5) PS3 - no SACD or DVD-A (how would I play all my jazz and classical recordings?) Second, the analog section of the PS3 is abysmal. The Oppo? Much better DACs, capacitors etc.

The launch PS3s indeed played SACD (including multichannel SACD through HDMI) discs absolutely perfectly. In fact, having a stand alone top of the line Sony SACD player myself, I can say the PS3 is even faster at disc indexing and playback with my SACDs.

Do some research before stating lies.

[CaptainCanuck]

"PS3 ain't for everybody."

Neither is an $8,000 Blu-ray player haha. At that point, you'd be better off buying a regular SACD player for $200 if it were that important. The Bluetooth adapter for the player is wonderful and does everything needed to be controlled by a universal IR. And I've been able to access Pandora on any computer connected to the internet since the early-mid 2000's. The PS3 could do this when it launched in 2006 as well.

But your points are well taken

People who like the oppo over the ps3 like it because it has a normal form factor so that its stackable .
It has a lighted information screen on the front and a tray ldisc loader .
It destroys the ps3 at upconversion without having to use any adjustments.
The upconversion factor is enough by itself for many people to get them to buy it.