blueray players

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Johnk

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#29024 19-Dec-2008 19:27

sorry for this, im sure this may sound dumb but thought i should check,
am looking at getting a bluray player but tv does not suport 1080p, do thet only output this or can u scale it down to match my lcd resolution? will i actuly notice an improvement over dvds on my panel?

Wills1

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#185214 19-Dec-2008 20:17

Ps3 for sure,

It will upscale your dvds

Nety

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#185230 20-Dec-2008 00:03

Can you tell us what your TV is? Is it 720p? What size screen is it?

If it is a standard def TV you would still see an inprovement in picture quality but not really enough to spend the extra on a blu ray player.

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Johnk

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#185252 20-Dec-2008 07:59

tv is samsung la40s71bx, maximum resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, yet in the manual it says: "this lcd tv displays optimum picture resolution in 720p mode; this lcd tv displays its maxinum picture resolution in 1080i mode"
im presuming if you send a 1080i signal to the tv, it simpley rescales to fit in 1366 x 768?

marmel

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#185255 20-Dec-2008 08:18

Not sure about other blu-ray players but a PS3 will output 720p, 1080i or 1080p, just depends on what settings you choose. With your TV as long as you have an HDCP compliant HDMI input you should be fine.

Using the upscale feature of the PS3 does make a big difference playing normal DVD's for me. How much of a difference will probably depend on the disc being played and the TV.

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#185268 20-Dec-2008 09:54

Your assumption is correct. Your most likely best going with 720p but give both 720p and 1080i a go and see which one looks best to you. Anyway getting ahead of ourself's now.

In short yes you will get some very good benefit from blu ray. Dont worry about it not being 1080p. You most likely would not see any more of a difference even if your TV was 1080p. A good chart to see what difference you will see at what distances.

http://www.carltonbale.com/wp-content/uploads/resolution_chart.png

As has already been suggested PS3 are a good option as a blu ray player. They cost around the same as a standalone but can do a lot more. They also seem to be very good players as well.

If you do want a standalone player then any model will output 720p or 1080i.

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#185281 20-Dec-2008 11:33

Most blu-ray players will handshake with your display device and set what it believes is the optimum display resolution. If the device can't display 1080p then the player should move down to 1080i. You can manually set the output resolution on most blu-ray players. I have a 1080i capable projector (720p native) and there is a noticeable improvement in picture quality when a blu-ray movie is played through it over the equivalent DVD. I have compared Transformers and The Dark Knight recently and both were noticeably better from blu-ray disc on a blu-ray player even tho'the projector is not full HD.

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lchiu7

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#185426 21-Dec-2008 09:02

As has already been suggested PS3 are a good option as a blu ray player. They cost around the same as a standalone but can do a lot more. They also seem to be very good players as well.

If you do want a standalone player then any model will output 720p or 1080i.

Actually while it was true that PS3 were about the same a standalone BluRay players, that equation has changed. The cheapest PS3 is about $740 (40G model) while you can now get a BluRay player for $500. So if you want to save money the standalone is the way to go. Of course with the PS3 you also get a superb gaming platform, upscaling DVD player with regular firmware updates and a pretty capable media player. You make your choice based on your needs and budget.

The only thing the PS3 can't do over some of the other BluRay players is output the high resolution audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD Master) as bitstream. The PS3 decodes them internally and outputs the lossless audio as LCPM. The only "issue" with that I feel is, if you have a higher end AVR that supports those codecs, the codec lights will not illuminate on your AVR since the decoding has already been done in the player.

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marmel

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#185427 21-Dec-2008 09:26

lchiu7:

As has already been suggested PS3 are a good option as a blu ray player. They cost around the same as a standalone but can do a lot more. They also seem to be very good players as well.

If you do want a standalone player then any model will output 720p or 1080i.

Actually while it was true that PS3 were about the same a standalone BluRay players, that equation has changed. The cheapest PS3 is about $740 (40G model) while you can now get a BluRay player for $500. So if you want to save money the standalone is the way to go. Of course with the PS3 you also get a superb gaming platform, upscaling DVD player with regular firmware updates and a pretty capable media player. You make your choice based on your needs and budget.

The only thing the PS3 can't do over some of the other BluRay players is output the high resolution audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD Master) as bitstream. The PS3 decodes them internally and outputs the lossless audio as LCPM. The only "issue" with that I feel is, if you have a higher end AVR that supports those codecs, the codec lights will not illuminate on your AVR since the decoding has already been done in the player.

The Warehouse has the 80gb PS3 at $699 with a free game at the moment. With regards to the sound output I would much rather listen to less compressed audio than see some lights come up on my amp.

One thing that may have not been mentioned is that the firmware on the PS3 is very easily upgraded which will be reasonably important as the technology develops with blu-ray and interactive content etc. I haven't actually seen stand alone blu-ray players so not sure how easily the firmware is upgraded in those.

Johnk

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#185520 21-Dec-2008 18:28

cheers for the replys,

prob going to go ahead with the ps3 . . .just got to convince the other half we really need it haha.

cshwone

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#185548 21-Dec-2008 21:36

Marmel,

I have a Region B PS3 and Region A Panasonic BD-30. Whilst the instantly downloadable PS3 updates are smooth, equally, the support for the BD-30 has been outstanding from Panny even although this player has been superceded by the BD-35 and 55. Procedure is to download and write to CD then place in the player. Generally takes about 30 mins from initial dowload to upgraded player.

Jaxson

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#186085 25-Dec-2008 18:54

Hi all,

Does anyone know of a bluray player available at the moment with analogue outputs?
I have an older receiver with no hdmi support and it's like $1000 for a new receiver with the full hd sound support.
I'm figuring analogue output of the full range audio tracks is still going to be substantially better than the basic dd/dts outputs.

Just not sure if there is such a player available currently, and it's probably a feature that's not likely to arrive on anything newer. Just thought I'd check.

Merry Christmas to all too!

Cheers,
Jackson.

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old3eyes

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#186117 26-Dec-2008 07:47

Jaxson: Hi all,

Does anyone know of a bluray player available at the moment with analogue outputs?
I have an older receiver with no hdmi support and it's like $1000 for a new receiver with the full hd sound support.
I'm figuring analogue output of the full range audio tracks is still going to be substantially better than the basic dd/dts outputs.

Just not sure if there is such a player available currently, and it's probably a feature that's not likely to arrive on anything newer. Just thought I'd check.

Merry Christmas to all too!

Cheers,
Jackson.

If your talking 5.1 analog out then I seem to remember a Sony or Panasonic with them the other day at JB HiFi..

Regards,

Old3eyes

lchiu7

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#186124 26-Dec-2008 09:45

I saw the Onkyo TX-576 at HN for $699 which is a great deal. 7.1 and LPCM over HDMI would be perfect for any BD (or HD-DVD) player that output TrueHD or DTS Master HD as LPCM (as the PS3 does). Also good for that content you get that is in AAC format that the PS3 and possibly some HTPC's can output as PCM

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Jaxson

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#186164 26-Dec-2008 15:19

Hi lchiu7
Could you explain the LPCM thing? I have a PS3 and am I right in thinking that this does all the decoding internally and can not pass the raw data only to a receiver? Therefore there's no real need to get a full decoding cable receiver for use with the PS3, as all the receiver needs to do play the sound it receives from the PS3, not decode the signal as such?

Man that sounds rough, sorry in a rush!
I need to know what receiver I should update to, and it will only ever be used with the PS3.
CHEERS heaps in advance!