blu-ray players
 

Over the years, I've heard about and seen blu-ray players in various advertisements; but, they were fairly expensive and I never felt the need to get one.

Last week, someone I know bought several blu-ray players for Christmas presents and he wanted me to connect the one he'd bought for himself to his regular CRT TV and one to his father's flatscreen.

What he had were Panasonic models and he bought them from Sears for around $70. These had both an HDMI output, as well as the standard red, white, and yellow output jacks and there was also a setting in the menu to select between 16:9 and 4:3.

Since these players are coming down in price and will play standard DVD's, I suspect that, in the near future, regular DVD players will be phased out in favor of blu-ray players that will play everything.

I realize that names don't mean much anymore; but, Panasonic seems to be one of the few brands that makes decent stuff and those $70 players seem to be a good deal, if they'll hold up.

...

I didn't think of all that when I purchased my LG BP-220 Blu-ray player last year. I know mine has composite outputs (red and blue for audio, yellow for video) and an HDMI output, but no analog outputs (or S-video) to be found anywhere. I wouldn't want another cheap DVD player (such as are sold in drug stores and the like) after my first one, a CyberHome CH-DVD300 cheapie (got it as a Christmas present in 2005), went bad after just three years. It just quit reading discs one day with no warning whatsoever. :no:

I have an extended warranty on the Blu-ray, though, but I hope I don't have to use it. The player has been working well since the day I installed it with a composite cable, adding an HDMI cable a few months later -- but I cannot notice the difference in the picture when connecting the player to the TV with the latter. Maybe it's because my flat screen TV is just 19 inches and I sit some ten feet away when I watch it, thereby negating the HD effect? :scratch2:

The reason the newer Blu-ray players do not have analog outputs is to prevent illegal copying of DVDs. Using a standard DVD player with video/audio outputs and a DVD recorder, it is all too easy to run off as many copies of a commercial DVD as one wants, unless the discs are copy-guarded as most commercial DVDs are these days. However, any technically-savvy user of this type of equipment can find ways to get around the copy protection (I believe there are even computer programs available to allow just that), so even copy protection isn't 100-percent foolproof. I remember years ago, when NBC (when that company still had its radio network) aired, over the NBC radio network, its 60th anniversary celebration program in 1986. There was a warning at the end of the program: "This program may not be reproduced, duplicated, or recorded, in any manner whatsoever." Two or three short audio tones followed the warning; I believe these tones were used to trigger a crude (by 21st century standards) copy-protection scheme.

However, I doubt if it actually worked as intended, as I am sure many people (myself included) recorded that broadcast on audio tape for posterity. I lost my own audio copy of the show years ago in a move, but I'm still going to try to find it online so I can download it to my computer and thence to a CD-R disk. I already have NBC's 75th anniversary broadcast on VHS, but there were certain parts of the 60th anniversary show I'd like to hear again (such as the old radio commercials for now long-defunct companies like Allis-Chalmers, which manufactured farm machinery in, I believe, the '50s through the seventies -- I still remember the jingle: "The world needs more...of what Allis-Chalmers makes!") Who knows? Maybe that jingle is on the NBC 75th anniversary broadcast as well.

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I might have to invest in one of those HDMI to composite converters. Too bad they usually suck, either not keeping the aspect correct, or not having a zoom function (if the player is pillar boxing on a 16:9 video output, then the converter going to a 4:3 TV, giving you boxes around the entire picture).

Another reason for the elimination of analog outputs is to try and force people into buying new TV's.

I wanted to buy a Blu-Ray player solely to be able to watch Blu-Ray DVD's borrowed from friends. I currently use a standard DVD player and rent DVD's from Netflix. My DVD player is connected to my 24" CRT TV through the component inputs for the best picture my TV is capable of delivering. Of course, no component outputs on any Blu-Ray player made after 2010. So I'm considering buying a NOS or refurbished Blu-Ray player made in 2010 or earlier, or else just forgetting about borrowing my friend's Blu-Rays. But I foresee the time when standard DVD's will be extinct and everything will be offered on Blu-Ray (or it's successor) exclusively. :sigh:

I picked up both of my Panasonic BD players from the Thrift Store, one was in their auction, it was only a year old at the time and I got it for $30.

The second was on the electronics shelf for $15.00 untested, a couple years old and it was also network capable, neither had a remote but the remote for my TV works with them so it's OK.

They are both just old enough to have Component outputs on them.

Don't understand the pricing system at this store since they are now asking $35 for a low end Sony DVD player (and not getting it) :thumbsdn:

I don't think eliminating analog outputs has as much to do with copying as it does with cost savings, as Andy pointed out it's much easier to make a bit perfect copy in on a PC than to make an imperfect copy through the outputs.

A Sony DVD player that likely cost $29 when new. My friend, who sells second hand stuff, gets $10-$20 for DVD players.

I use a Sony BR player that has all sorts of analog outputs. Component, S-Video, and composite.

I use it on my TV.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...n/_IGP7061.jpg

A friend of mine has a LG blu-ray player and the macrovision has not been activated. He made a copy of "Avatar" with no problems from it.

Indeed, almost all new BluRay players have eliminated the "component" 3-cable video outputs necessary to hook up to HD capable first generation High Definition CRT TV's and projectors. I bought a couple of used units for this.

What did he use to record with?
The Macrovision would affect the recorder so possibly he used something with no Macro or with it disabled.

I'm not sure Bluray uses Macrovision at all, I know they are encrypted but that's been broken for a long time.

My TV is 480i analog, but I was under the impression you'd still get a better picture using the component inputs rather than the composite inputs. If there would be no difference (or visable difference on my 24" TV) then maybe I'm worrying about nothing. I assume they put the component inputs on there for some discernable difference, though.

There is a big difference between Composite and Component, it was easily noticeable even on a little 13" Sony I have, not just the sharpness but the color is better as well.

Panasonic Blu-Ray players are now outsourced...
 

Watch out for Panasonic. All non-3D Panasonic Blu-Ray players are outsourced and made by an unknown Chinese manufacturer (don't know who, but I'm guessing Hi-Sonic Corp.). Get LG instead. Even Sony still assembles all their Blu-Ray player right now. Toshiba Blu-Rays are made by Venturer in China that also produce RCA.

Eric H!

My friend used a standard DVD recorder hooked up to the blu-ray player. That's it!

At my last job (which I worked at for 4 1/2 years), we stocked both LG and Panasonic blu-ray players. Let me state up front that I'm partial to LG. My 55" LED TV is made by LG. Out of the box the Panasonic players looked like absolute junk and nothing in comparison to the LG's. We consistently sent the Panasonic players to our service department and they even said the things were a thorn in the side. LG's did go to service here and there but considering it was rent-to-own store, there's no telling how much abuse they suffered either. You couldn't pay me enough to have a Panasonic. :thumbsdn:

Jeff,

At the risk of hijacking this thread, I wanted to respond to your memories of the NBC broadcasts you mentioned. Are you sure you are not referring to NBC's 50th Anniversary series of broadcasts from 1976? I'm very familiar with these shows, listening to them when I was a kid when they were first broadcast and many, many times over in the intervening years. This was a series of five, fifty-minute programs each covering a decade in the history of NBC. One of the sponsors was Allis-Chalmers as you recalled, with the commercials voiced by Joe Garagiola. Also, at the end of each program was the warning "This program may not be recorded, duplicated, or re-broadcast, in any manner, whatsoever." I don't recall the tones you mentioned though.

By 1986, NBC radio was in deep decline, RCA-NBC having been purchased by GE, and the next year GE would sell off NBC radio to Westwood One. So I kind of doubt they would have even bothered to produce a 60th anniversary radio special if they were going to dump the radio network. As a collector of programs such as this, I have never heard of one being produced for the 60th anniversary on radio, although there was a 60th anniversary TV show with a little bit on radio history. Anyway, just some thoughts since I have never seen those programs referenced here before. Recordings of the shows are available on-line, although often the commercials have been cut out. Thanks!

Gilbert

I am not fond of Samsungs modern TV's for a similar reason here. They make the TV itself, but the panels, usually not more than half the time.

Samsung has at least 3 different panel suppliers, themselves being one of them. I can't remember the two others, but the codes to look for a S, A, and C. S is the Samsung panel, the best you can get from them, A is the 2nd best panel, and C is a cheap Chinese panel. My 40" Samsung uses the C panel, and at first it looks fine. Then after 2 years, it develops a nasty image persistence, and a non-uniform spreading of the backlight. I've never seen the A or S panel though so I'm only going on what other people have said about them.

Sadly though, every Samsung I have run into so far, are C panels.

A = AU Optronics.
C = Chi Mei.

I own a 2010 Samsung 46" set with a "C" LCD panel, and it does have a relatively narrow angle for the best black-level performance, but dead-on straight its black performance is fantastic. My other Samsung is a 32" set with (if I remember right) a Samsung panel. That set also has nice cut-off black level when viewed straight on, and nearly as good over reasonably wide angles as well.

By comparison, one LG set I briefly owned (a 32" set with the "good" IPS panel, 32LD450 if I remember right) had really mediocre black-level performance (only dark gray rather than true black when viewed straight on), but, yes, that mediocre black stayed the same at most angles.