Looking for a Blu Ray Player that plays Hulu its my first Blu Ray Player

[marionr26]

Im getting my first Blu Ray player Im looking for it to play Hulu,Netflix,Pandora,Blockbuster,Youtube and whatever cool things it may have. So list me some makes and models. I have alot of burned DVDs so it needs to be Burned dvd friendly too. If there are any under 200.00 thats is a plus. I will like to hear any thoughts and likes and dislikes.

[marionr26]

Is this a good player with good apps on it???? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+3D%26%2342/Internet+Connectable/Wi-Fi+Built-In+Blu-...ustomerreviews

[marionr26]

Then there is this one http://www.walmart.com/ip/Samsung-BD...emory/13905647

[Seeker47]

Then there is this one http://www.walmart.com/ip/Samsung-BD...emory/13905647

I have this model -- probably one of the best available near its price point at the time that I bought it. That was around last April, and I paid $250. for it. After major price drops, this Walmart price might not even be the lowest price you could find it for. At this price, it's not much of a decision.
The Oppo Blu-Ray player cost twice as much at the time.

What follows is my review of the Samsung 6500.

It has its own networking built-in, and has Netflix streaming, Blockbuster, YouTube, Vudu, Samsung Apps, and some others -- but no Hulu, so far. The firmware changes periodically via a "push" from the Net, or you can download and apply it manually. Of those services, I think only YT is free. They just added MLB.Net (in the off-season, so that may not be of much interest for awhile), and their UI for Netflix and YT was improved with added controls.

Picture and sound from discs are very good, the unit's controls reasonably good. Doing anything with Blu-Ray discs on this is soooooo slow, and the handling of regular DVDs is slower than on my Oppo 980 . . . but this may be a common complaint with other Blu-Ray players as well. (?)

The unit's network setup is rather a pain, particularly if you have a strong WPA-2 password with many characters. Entering it is a tedious process, there are no apparent shortcuts (like loading it in from a USB stick), and it is very easy to make a mistake and have to start over from scratch. The setup won't remember what you entered previously in other fields. I've been around and around on this a few times, during some home networking difficulties, now hopefully resolved. The Netflix streaming seems to have gone fairly well, but I haven't done enough of it to comment with real confidence.

A couple other memory issues: There has been a known bug whereby the player would keep "losing" your Netfix streaming registration info, so you'd have to redo it. This seemed to happen when there was a firmware update, or a significant network glitch. Supposedly, this issue has been fixed by the last firmware update, but we shall see. The player has a Gig of memory, which allows local storage of YT videos that you so designate. According to what I've read online, Samsung Tech Support has not had very good reviews, but I have to say I found them quick to reach and very responsive, when I called them about the Netflix "bug." They also told me there was a way to download the player's stored videos to a USB stick, via the USB port, but I still have not discovered how to do this. (I've misplaced the printed manual, and the .PDF version of it that I found online refers only to transferring material from a BD-Live connection -- not from what is already in the player's storage.)

Absent a clearly better alternative at a comparable price, I would still buy this player if I was in the market for one today. But if Hulu is a must-have for you, you'll have to look elsewhere for now. (Isn't that service one of the ones currently supported by WD Live / Live Plus ? But that would still leave the OP out of the loop for discs.)

[I have tons of burned DVDs also, but tend to play them on the Oppo, which is in a different location. Now that I think of it, I haven't really tried out the Samsung for those, so I'd have to get back to you on that score.]

[marionr26]

Dont mean to sound dumb but what is Oppo ???? Not sure if Hulu in a WD thing or not I know I have it installed on my PC and watch it. I read on one of these sites that said a model that worked and played Hulu.

[Seeker47]

Dont mean to sound dumb but what is Oppo ???? Not sure if Hulu in a WD thing or not I know I have it installed on my PC and watch it. I read on one of these sites that said a model that worked and played Hulu.

Oppo is a competing brand of player, which has had some of the best regarded models for DVD. I haven't really followed the press or user reviews of their Blu-Ray models -- the debut prices on them were just out of line. (And theirs might not have even offered the built-in networking. Panasonic and Samsung were the early entries with that feature.) All kinds of prices have been tumbling lately, and new models come out regularly, so I'm not sure what's on the market right now.

Consult your WD Live manual for which services it supports. If they don't have Hulu, I bet some of their competitors do.

[marionr26]

My WD manual ??? Where do I do this at sorry lost me. So If I cant get the Oppo is the Sony S570 or the Samsung a better one??? Those two are at walmart which where my girlfriend will prob go there or either Bestbuy.... So there is no way the like download Hulu to these Blu ray players???? I never even turn one on dont know anything about them. So is there alot of difference using it wireless compared to wired,I just got a 100ft ethernet cable incase I need to go wired.

[marionr26]

You talking about this WD Live http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330#tab30 I have one of these but mine is like 3 or 4 yrs old it might be upgrade time. I dont see Hulu on there though

[marionr26]

I found this with Hulu Plus so the Samsung C6900 comes with Hulu ????? http://cgi.ebay.com/Samsung-BD-C6900-3D-Blu-ray-player-w-Hulu-Plus-apps-/180595696260?...item2a0c57a284

[Seeker47]

My WD manual ??? Where do I do this at sorry lost me. . . .
So is there alot of difference using it wireless compared to wired,I just got a 100ft ethernet cable incase I need to go wired.

The manual for your WD Live. I have a bad habit of misplacing manuals, and have had to download PDF versions for several devices from their company websites, to use until I might find the hardcopy ones again. They are good to have anyway, for keyword searches, etc.

The wireless option is just tremendously more convenient . . . unless you happen to have a house that's pre-wired all over (inside the walls) for ethernet. (That would probably be a smaller percentage of the houses built within the last 10 years, and you'd be seeing ethernet jacks in most rooms.) Otherwise, a long cable strung wherever -- except on a very temporary basis -- is going to look like hell, be a tripping hazard, and so on.

You talking about this WD Live http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330#tab30 I have one of these but mine is like 3 or 4 yrs old it might be upgrade time. I dont see Hulu on there though

That product line went from the original WD portable media player, to the WD Live, current WD Live Plus and Live Mini. (Unless I'm missing one.) The later models had the streaming, but I'm not familiar with exactly which streaming services they support. You'd have to check around online -- visit mfr. websites, read reviews and the product boxes. But WD has a few competitors that also offer such devices. I've seen them on the shelves at Fry's. (Asus might have made one of these.) But I'm not familiar with their feature lineups either. I usually read a bunch of different reviews before making any buying decisions.

I found this with Hulu Plus so the Samsung C6900 comes with Hulu ????? http://cgi.ebay.com/Samsung-BD-C6900...item2a0c57a284

News to me, but not surprising. That seems to be the immediate successor to mine. As far as I know, the main difference is the support for 3-D format discs, which are of no interest to me. If they had increased the memory storage significantly, that might have been more of a justification for the extra cost. But, if this one does HULU, I'm not at all sure why my previous model could not also, via some future firmware update. One Panasonic tv I have that has built-in streaming has already added / dropped / changed the services it offers, as has the Samsung 6500. On the other hand, a one year earlier Panasonic tv model I also have is "locked" for its VieraCast lineup. Panasonic has announced that it will not change. So, either the chipset (?) is lacking something, vs. the one year later models, or it's just a company unwillingness to accommodate their 2009 model customers with Netflix streaming. (There might also be licensing deals involved, and maybe they are just not willing to pull the trigger on that for models -- even if compatible -- that don't happen to be their latest, "greatest", and of course most expensive. In the case of the 2010 Panasonic TVs, there were features they had been promising all along, but were very late in delivering.)