Blu-Ray player questions

[kramden66]

any recommended brands and models?

any brands that should be avoided ?

is a refurbished one a good idea ? i was thinking maybe whatever was to go wrong did and was repaired.

i was looking into lg players since my brother got one and is happy with it , i did find a couple lg players that also have 1080i component outputs which would come in handy if needed , my brothers is only 480 on component.

thanks
mike

[Eric H]

I would stick to names like Sony, Panasonic and Samsung, avoid the usual suspects like Memorex, Cyberhome, Polaroid, Westinghouse etc...
I think the 1080 Component is going away, or gone away so those might be older models, not a bad idea to get one while you can though.

Reliability doesn't seem to be much of an issue, both of my BD players came from the Thrift Store believe it or not, both are Panasonic and both were less than two years old when I got them and the cost was $15 for one and $30 for the other, didn't get remotes for that price but since my TV is a Panasonic the remote works with them.

You probably should get one with Streaming capabilities, not only for streaming movies and shows but the Internet capability makes it much easier to update the firmware of the player.

[kx250rider]

I got a Toshiba Blu Ray at Costco for <$50, and it's fine... That was about a year ago, but I think I see similar ones now, for even less. Mine has HDMI and component outputs, plus standard RCA video & audio.

Charles

[kramden66]

Well the component outputs on some blu-ray players believe it or not are only 480 , so having one with 1080 would come in handy , yeah i looked at a magnavox today and thought maybe not

mike

[ChrisW6ATV]

Mike-

I sent you a note... Component outputs on Blu-ray players will switch to 480i/480p when playing a DVD, even if they are set for 1080i/1080p/720p for actual Blu-ray discs.

I agree with Eric, stick with name brands because Blu-ray players need periodic "firmware" updates that are done typically with a network connection to the player or a download onto a blank DVD or USB memory device. Off-brands will abandon their players sooner than Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, etc.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by kx250rider

I got a Toshiba Blu Ray at Costco for <$50, and it's fine... That was about a year ago, but I think I see similar ones now, for even less. Mine has HDMI and component outputs, plus standard RCA video & audio.

Charles

Just for your reference, all Toshiba Blu-Ray players are made by Venturer Electronics that also make Craig, RCA, Venturer, and all the junk.