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Looking for BluRay Player Recommendations for "The Hobbit" and LotR

Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Mar 28 2015, 3:21pm

Post #1 of 14 (1549 views)
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Looking for BluRay Player Recommendations for "The Hobbit" and LotR Can't Post

Hi! I have been "talking" with several people hear in another thread about the quality of BotFA on DVD vs. BluRay. My family has been Middle Earth crazy since LotR. We own the Extended DVDs of LotR, and we still watch all three of them back-to-back on New Year's Day every year. :) After some very constructive discussion in the other thread, we've decided to purchase a BluRay player and the LotR EE and the Hobbit EE BluRay discs.

That said, it is a HUGE thing to sift through reviews for BluRay players, trying to figure out which is the best choice. We have a good television and surround sound system, so we're set up there. We can't afford an Oppo BluRay player, which seem to be the best. We would like to stay under $250.00 for a player, and we don't want shop at Wal-Mart or Sam's Club, so we'd like to buy something either online or from an electronics store. We own hundreds of DVDs, but we don't watch television --- just disks. We don't have WIFI, either, so we don't need a player with a lot of bells and whistles. We are really getting this to watch LotR and The Hobbit movies. There are four of us in the family, and we're all artists of one sort of another. We're used to working in Photoshop, web design, painting, graphic design, etc. This means that we are all really crazy about colors and details, so we want something that is going to show these six films at the very BEST that they can be seen. :)

So, I would appreciate any recommendations about which BluRay player would be a good choice for us. Mom read something a year or two ago about the PS3. Apparently, there were good reviews for that. Is that still a good one?

Thanks in advance!
Sarah


Eruonen
Half-elven


Mar 28 2015, 3:48pm

Post #2 of 14 (1485 views)
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Well, there are plenty or reviews [In reply to] Can't Post

http://www.cnet.com/...est-blu-ray-players/

However, I don't think it really makes all that much difference with the top brands today. Find one at a good price (most have wi fi standard etc). and buy it. The prices have come down quite a bit compared to 5 years ago.


Estel78
Tol Eressea

Mar 28 2015, 3:54pm

Post #3 of 14 (1480 views)
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Any cheap brand player for around $100 will do [In reply to] Can't Post

If you are not looking for bells and whistles and all you want is a good picture. Something from Panasonic or Pioneer. Other manufacturers, too.

A PS3 is also an option but slightly pricier.


Kristin Thompson
Rohan


Mar 28 2015, 4:21pm

Post #4 of 14 (1468 views)
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For those who can afford the OppO [In reply to] Can't Post

it makes the images looks great. It's the player theaters use when they show films on Blu-ray rather than DCP.

Kristin


Avandel
Half-elven


Mar 28 2015, 5:17pm

Post #5 of 14 (1443 views)
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Suggest mid-range Samsung [In reply to] Can't Post

Greetings Barrel Rider - the post about going from DVD to BR floated across my mind last night, as I popped my BOFA Blu-Ray into my player and the menu screen came up and I nearly gasped at the detail and sharpness and lushness.

I am no tecchie but did do a lot of reading before I got the TV - and a nice guy at BB sold me the TV + a Samsung "smart" BR player which cost around $100 at the time.

And I am totally, completely, happy w. my set-up and the player, which happily plays DVDs and BRs. There's a sound bar attached to the BR player as I only want "enriched sound" when playing films. I did buy a bit better (and longer) optical cable for the soundbar and new HDMI? cables - the mid-grade, not the very high end.

The "smart" BR player can be set up, I guess, to stream from a wireless and access Netflix, but I just ignore all that for now. Basically I have a "dumb" TV w. a great picture and a "smart" player w. features I may use someday.

Since I am no tecchie and made the BB guy go over and over which cord went to which thing, all I can tell you is I'd buy the Samsung player again tomorrow - had an easy setup and I don't know if it is my TV or what, but I was thinking last night that this BR picture is even better than the theater movies in clarity. There's nothing wrong w. DVDs but seeing the Hobbit films as BR is just IMO - better. It's just BETTER - there's a lushness there. I felt like I could reach out and touch the stones of Erebor. I don't know how even the 3D version could get better visually. Since you mention your family does graphics work, I think you will appreciate a BR picture.

Not all customer service at BB in my experience has been great, but if you get the right person my experiences have been good to great at BB (as well as questionable!)

But you know when you get the right person, and re my player and TV the folks were very good with me, as I had done some reading and was quite clear my needs were quality, but I did NOT want every flashy feature. Samsung has fit the bill in that regard - Sony might have, but seems to be a bit higher in the price range.


QuackingTroll
Valinor


Mar 28 2015, 5:18pm

Post #6 of 14 (1437 views)
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Cheap will be fine... [In reply to] Can't Post

A cheap Blu-ray player can give you the same picture quality as any expensive player.

More expensive players will get you better sound (especially if you want surround sound) and slightly faster disc loading times. But most importantly, the more expensive the player the better DVDs will look (but Blu-rays will pretty much be visually the same across the board).

PS3 is a good option for its extra functions, like Netflix, video games, music etc. It's expensive, but considering the functions it's great for the price and still holds up as strong competition against even the high-end players. It up-scales DVDs into HD really beautifully.


balbo biggins
Rohan


Mar 28 2015, 6:21pm

Post #7 of 14 (1428 views)
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TV [In reply to] Can't Post

make sure you have a HD tv first!

might aswell get the same make for bluray player as your tv, just go for the second cheapest (my very scietific reasoning) one and you should be more than fine


Dwarewien
Rohan


Mar 28 2015, 11:04pm

Post #8 of 14 (1391 views)
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There's a Panasonic 3D Blu-ray player that I'm thinking of getting... [In reply to] Can't Post

especially since it upscales to 4K, so that I won't have to upgrade again when the 4K ones come out. I'm just wondering if I should buy it now or wait until I can afford the HDTV to go with it (which is the only reason I haven't upgraded yet, since I'm one of the first people in my family to do so). My current DVD player is from Samsung (which I bought at Walmart, so I have no problem buying any kind of new technology from cheap department stores like Walmart. It's also where I bought my copy of BoFA. Why pay a fortune when you can get them for half price at Walmart). Since I have an older TV, I had to buy an RF modulator in order to hook it up to my DVD player (which gives you an idea how old my TV is, which is one of my parents' older ones. Since they're out of extra TVs, when this one goes, I'll have to upgrade).Smile


"Will you follow me... one last time?"

(This post was edited by Queen of Erebor on Mar 28 2015, 11:09pm)


Elizabeth
Half-elven


Mar 29 2015, 1:59am

Post #9 of 14 (1368 views)
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I got a good Sony last year for <$100. [In reply to] Can't Post

Since then it's gotten even cheaper. If you get wifi (which you should!) you can watch a zillion movies & TV series on Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. via even a low-end Blu-Ray player.








Elizabeth
Half-elven


Mar 29 2015, 2:09am

Post #10 of 14 (1369 views)
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If you don't have HDTV, skip Blu-Ray. [In reply to] Can't Post

Particularly the 4K resolution won't do a thing for you unless you have the right kind of set, and they are extremely expensive. These high-end devices drop in price very, very quickly as soon as the rest of technology catches up.

Right now the standard consumer-level HDTV equipment is 1080p for TV, and Blu-Ray is compatible with that, with good-quality units available for $50-100. It won't show you anything more than standard DVDs for a TV that's not HD. The next step will be 4K, but we're years away from that being consumer market rather than high-end connoisseurs. By the time 4K is within financial reach of normal consumers, both the players and the TVs will be different, so you can't win by getting one now.








Goldeneye
Lorien


Mar 31 2015, 1:14pm

Post #11 of 14 (1214 views)
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Blurays [In reply to] Can't Post

Any decent Bluray player can be found for under $100. I bought a Sony for $70 a few years ago and it has worked great for me. Also, don't buy into the marketing ploy about getting ridiculously expensive HDMI cables. Just order a normal cable from Amazon!

Some people like to get 3D Bluray players, but I personally think 3D looks terrible on home TVs.


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Mar 31 2015, 1:31pm

Post #12 of 14 (1211 views)
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Just Ordered a BluRay Player [In reply to] Can't Post

Hello, everyone! Thanks for all of the replies that you've all been posting to this thread. My Mom and Sister have been going through tons of options and player reviews over the weekend. We have, finally, ordered a BluRay player from Amazon. We got a Sony for about $100.00. My sister wanted one that will work with her sound system and all that, so she thinks this one will fit the bill. We've got the BluRay discs for the first two Hobbit films, so I'll be sure to post about the results --- as soon as the player arrives!

Thanks again!
Sarah


priell3
Lorien


Mar 31 2015, 5:27pm

Post #13 of 14 (1199 views)
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My player is from Amazon [In reply to] Can't Post

I picked up this Samsung Blu-ray player last year along with an Amazon Basics HDMI cable.

It's plugged into my 7 year old Samsung HDTV and that feeds a soundbar. Playback of DVD and Blu-ray discs is perfect. My wife uses primarily to watch Netflix.

It is my first Blu-ray player purchase, an upgrade from a VHS/DVD combo unit.

MikeP


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Apr 14 2015, 3:53pm

Post #14 of 14 (981 views)
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Blu-Ray Player Arrived and is GREAT! [In reply to] Can't Post

Hi! I wanted to come back and let everybody know that all the advice was really appreciated.

We went on Amazon and bought a Panasonic DMP-BDT230 Blu-Ray player. It corresponds with our TV, so my sister was really happy. The player arrived last week and was pretty easy to set up. My sister had it hooked up and adjusted (color, sound and everything) in about two hours. We returned our "The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies" DVD and got the Blu-Ray, so we spent the weekend and watched all three Hobbit films on Blu-Ray. It is fabulous!!

We are so thrilled with the results, and I would really recommend a switch to Blu-Ray to anyone thinking about it for "The Hobbit" movies. The colors were so much more vivid, the detail clearer and the motion more fluid. None of those panning shots that make you sort of dizzy. Also, the digital effects look more realistic, which was a nice surprise!

Thanks to everybody who responded to this!
Sarah

 
 

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