Blu Ray Player

Hi Manta -

you are getting solid info from our most knowledgeable poster - let me try and clarify a bit by taking it from a newbie perspective

Usually people look for a BluRay player that can decode the new formats because they want to run a set of analog ICs to a non-HDMI capable AVR - in other words they want to add BluRay to their existing installation

IMHO, with an HDMI capable receiver like the one you have purchased, you will be very happy to when you realize that you only need one cable for both audio and video instead of a witches brew of audio and video cables between a BD and an AVR

Net this means that you can buy a BluRay player that doesn't decode locally so long as it is HDMI 1.3 which is required to carry that type of signal. In fact just don't buy anything but a HDMI 1.3 standard unit

I have an "older" Panasonic BD-30 which I am very pleased with. Newer BD players support the BluRay 2.0 standard which means they can be connected to the Internet and used for interactive content that the studios are expected to provide. I am not aware of anything compelling at the moment. If you have kids or are a devote added content person you might.

A couple of other considerations. One significant difference between various models and brands of players is how quickly they load the menus on each disc. The difference is measure in (a few) minutes not nano-seconds. Bugs some folks and not others.

Second many BD players have a bad reputation for the way that they handle DVDs. Based on this, and the fact that all this gear is very inexpensive, I purchased a dedicated Oppo to go with the Panasonic.

If I were doing it today I would purchase the Oppo BDP-83 and use it for everything. And too, as Kal points out it is a universal player if you are into the high end audio formats.

Here's a rave for the Oppp

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0609/aachapter116.htm

For perspective: the entire movie studio system is dependent on DVD sales to turn a profit on most movies. And since 2007 the trend on DVD sales has been straight down... while rental sales have remained flat.

So it is no particular wonder that BluRay sales are taking off slowly, especially in this time of great prosperity.

I have seen figures indicating that there are some 10 million BD players already out there in the US - this is impressive market penetration when you remember how expensive the first units were, and that it was only two years ago that most consumers sat on the sideline trying to figure out whether HD or BD would be the new format.

Beyond consumer priced machines, the thing that is driving BD sales is that flat panel sales remain strong through June - one of the few CE retail bright spots.

I would assume (because I don't know for a fact) that the majority of these displays are 1080p - which IMHO is the only real reason to buy BluRay.

The forecast for 2009 is 100 million BD discs in North America, Europe and Japan combined. The same analyst projects that "...by 2012, around 50 per cent of US and 35 per cent of Western European video disc retail sale volumes will be Blu-ray."

IMHO one of the bigger barriers to adoption is that the studios are strapped so they are not spending the extra money to do the remastering, remixing and incorporate the advanced technologies (think BD2, deep color etc) that will really differentiate BD from DVD for the consumer.

In the same vein, most of the BD releases are of new films, while the DVD catalog offers wonderful diversity.

For me, the superior quality of BD makes it my choice but with my Oppo handling the upscaling, the quality of DVDs is generally very good. Where DVD will never be able to compete with BD is in the new audio formats which are dazzling.

Like Ozzy, I rent most of my BD discs. Netflix offers an ever increasing number of BD titles. In fact they recently added a $2/month premium if you want BD instead of DVD. We have a "one at a time" subscription and find that we can watch about 8 Netflix BDs a month which brings the rental price down to about $1.25 each - pretty competitive for an evenings entertainment.

Generally prices will decrease as volume increases so we may all start buying more discs in a year or two, especially if the catalog broadens to include more kinds of material, more remastered materials come out like the Coppola Godfather project etc.

you want to be out in front you got to pay your money and take your chances - its called being an early adopter

laserdisc went on for years before it finally died