Blu Ray Player questions

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skip73

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Wannabe Geek

Topic # 85883 27-Jun-2011 20:32

Hi, I am about to buy a blu ray player and I'm confused about a few things. so heres a few questions:

I am wondering if there are any blu ray players that have the PIP mode?.I have the PIP mode on my TV but are unable to use it as running through the HDMI signal and the PIP comes up blank.

Wanting to get a Samsung Blu Ray player to go with my samsung tv with the best possible picture to go with my full HD TV and one that will also definitly play AVI files through the flashdrive.

DVD upscaling to to 1080p for the dvd movies through the flashdrive
Is there a need for a blu ray player that upscales if my tv is full hd anyway, will my tv do it automatically?

What is the deal with HDMI cables? are some better than others? why are there a million prices for them?

What would be the best Blu Ray player/model/brand (preferably samsung) to get - i live in new zealand.

Lastly I have a 46' Samsung LCD Full HD TV and referring to the above questions what would peoples opinions be in terms of best compatible Blu Ray player/s and in the future a fantastic/suitable Surround Sound System?

Thanks

timmmay

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Reply # 486589 27-Jun-2011 20:57

Consumer says buy the cheapest HDMI cable, they're all the same. They either work or don't. Salesmen are professional liars, don't believe a thing most of them say.

If you have a receiver and high def TV the blu ray player makes little difference i'd have thought, the smart bits are elsewhere, decoding in the receiver or TV. I got an Onkyo receiver for $650 and Wharfdale Vardus speakers for $1200 less 20% on sale, I love 'em.

No idea about the PIP. Just get another TV ;)

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ChrisNZL

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Reply # 486610 27-Jun-2011 21:54

PIP is usually handled by your TV, so you're probably out of luck if it doesn't do PIP with HDMI.

Assuming your Full HD TV supports 1080p, it will be able to handle all resolutions less than 1080p too, so DVD upscaling won't matter. Enlarging images/movies doesn't magically increase their quality, anyway.

As timmmay said, just find the cheapest HDMI cable that's long enough for your needs.

Check out http://pricespy.co.nz/category.php?k=606 for a list of Blu-ray players in NZ; you can filter by your desired requirements. Also check on Amazon.com for models you're interested in; their customer reviews might give further insight :)

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Dunnersfella

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Reply # 486652 27-Jun-2011 23:20

Step 1 - don't restrict yourself Samsung BluRay players only...
You won't get a better picture by sticking 'in brand'. Play the AVI via the TV's USB port, not the BluRay player and you'll be fine.

Re: Improving picture...
Some BluRay pictures offer anti-jitter processing - Panasonic DMP-BD85GN comes to mind, as do the pricier Denon's etc. Often you'll also see better digital noise reduction (a lot of live concert BluRay's / DVD's struggle from this due to low light conditions / poor rendering).
However, when it comes to a great image, you can often choose one of the 3 parts of the video chain to do the upscaling...

1: BluRay player
2: Home theatre receiver
3: TV.

If you have a cheap BluRay player, then get the amplifier to do the upscaling, then turn off the amps upscaling, and compare it to the results from the TV's upscaling.
If your amp isn't capable of video upscaling, then you're stuck with the BluRay or TV's upscaling capabilities.
You get the idea...

Note - not all amps can upscale video, some just pass it through. So if you get a cheap player, a cheap amp... then it's all about the TV! Only you will know if you're happy with the picture - but typically, whenever I've turned on the extra video enhancement features on Samsung TV's, the picture has only become less acceptable :-(

Jaxson

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Reply # 486793 28-Jun-2011 11:29

There can be some benefits with staying with the same brand, but it depends on how you'll use it though. Sometimes you get the inter component control ability, but often this works between brands anyway. If you're connecting via hdmi then sometimes turning on the bluray player will set the TV to the bluray input, and turn on the surround sound etc. It's a bit hit and miss but maybe it's something you're into.

Apart from that there are no huge benefits to sticking with one brand. You'd want to hope all the parts would be compatible etc but really most modern gear will work with most TV's.

As above, PIP is a TV thing, nothing to do with the Bluray player. You'll need to check your TV's capabilities to make PIP work. You will get some bluray movies with options to display another small window but I don't think this is what you are meaning.

dolsen

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Reply # 486807 28-Jun-2011 11:52

I take it you are talking about the blu ray pip mode where 2 pictures are encoded on the disk so that you can have, say, the main feature in the main display and perhaps the director talking about the feature on a second screen overlayed with the first. BD profile 1.1. Nothing to do with the tv pip.

I would expect most if not all current blu ray players to have pip mode, but, I haven't really looked (don't have and are not currently looking at getting a blu ray player).

B1GGLZ

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Reply # 487084 28-Jun-2011 19:39

skip73:I have the PIP mode on my TV but are unable to use it as running through the HDMI signal and the PIP comes up blank.

Your TV's PIP mode will only work if you have a second signal source available e.g. Input from a DVD player.
Then you should see TV full screen with DVD in the box or vice versa. It depends though on how the TV implements it. Can vary from brand to brand.

skip73

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Wannabe Geek

Reply # 487171 28-Jun-2011 22:04

thanks for the help, that pricespy website is brilliant!. If i purchase a 3D Blu Ray Player but my TV isn't 3D, does that mean I cant watch anything in 3D?. Thinking of getting one of :
Samsung BD-D5500 3D Compatible ($303.00 @ Noel Leeming)
Samsung BD-D5300 ($259.00 @ Noel Leeming)
Sony BDP - S570 3D Player ($203 @ JB-Hifi)

The last one looks ridiculously cheap for all the great stuff it seems to have, am i missing something or is it a really good deal?

Thanks

Dunnersfella

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Reply # 487181 28-Jun-2011 22:14

The biggest issue is that it isn't currently available for sale at JB Hifi...
Check out JB's website.
The other side, is that it's last years player - check out what they've changed for 2011 and see if it's going to matter to you.

B1GGLZ

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Reply # 487249 29-Jun-2011 08:52

skip73:If i purchase a 3D Blu Ray Player but my TV isn't 3D, does that mean I cant watch anything in 3D?.

Yes.
The TV must be 3d capable.
The Player may be capable of outputting 3d video but the TV must be able to process and display it as well and send the IR signals to the shutter glasses.