any ideas of what the US black Friday deals for bluray players will be?

[yoda313]

Ok I'm looking to get a bare bones stripped down extra bluray player for another tv.

I already have a playstation 3 and pc bdrom so i don't need it to be feature rich. I just need it to be able to play bluray straight up - bd live not even necessary though I guess thats standard now isn't it?

Are there any general theories on what the US black Friday after Thanksgiving sales will have for bluray deals?

Could there be 50.00 bluray players or cheaper? Like I said I don't care if it doesn't do netflix or doesn't do this or that.

Are we at the point now with bluray players that dvd players hit a few years ago once saturation hit and prices dropped like a rock?

I don't need this right away but I'm looking ahead to next month unless I stumble on a really good price in store the next couple of weeks. I don't think I want to buy online because of potential shipping costs.

Thanks.

[PuzZLeR]

Are we at the point now with bluray players that dvd players hit a few years ago once saturation hit and prices dropped like a rock?

I wouldn't say quite yet. Blu-ray players are still, on average, more expensive than DvD players were at that time, but the gap is closing, and DvD players are now even cheaper as a result of this (maybe-not-so-linear) price shift.

As for the deal you're looking for, I can't say how much. But, using my personal crystal ball, I really do like your chances to obtain an inexpensive base-model blu-ray player at bargain-basement costs. I'm actually looking for one myself, so I'll be at watch for it as well.

[edDV]

Last year the LG and Magnavox basic models dropped below $75. This year $50-60 is a possibility.

We have yet to see "noname" cheap Blu-Ray players driving the entry price. Maybe next year.

While not expected, I find the greatest use of my Blu-Ray player is Netflix streaming but also nice to play rented Blu-Ray/DVD discs or files off the NAS. I'd be uninterested in a player that lacks streaming.

[Noahtuck]

http://www.blackfriday.info/sales/

http://www.theblackfriday.com/

http://www.blackfridayads.com/

[jman98]

In August I thought my Momitsu BluRay player might have bought the farm and I did a little research for a replacement. It turns out that my player was OK (for now at least) so I did NOT buy this player. But I was thinking seriously about Philips BDP3406. It lists for about $100 and it plays the usual formats people here would be interested in - VCD, SVCD, Divx, DVD, BD. If I remember correctly there is supposed to be a hack that makes it region free for DVD playback. I know it's a little more than you're interested yoda313, but you might keep an eye on it if you think something like this might meet your needs.

My prediction is that the industry will push 3D more so you might see a decrease somewhat in BD 3D player prices by Thanksgiving.

[yoda313]

But, using my personal crystal ball, I really do like your chances to obtain an inexpensive base-model blu-ray player at bargain-basement costs. I'm actually looking for one myself, so I'll be at watch for it as well.

Well thats what I'm hoping for. I think it should do well for the sales push to get people in the doors.

Last year the LG and Magnavox basic models dropped below $75. This year $50-60 is a possibility.

That would be right where I'm looking at.

I'd be uninterested in a player that lacks streaming.

This is more for an extra hd player sans internet. I have one area for all my hd internet needs. I have it in the room where my router is so its the shortest distance for a physical connection. I don't have netflix anymore and I don't really stream from my pc anyway so that feature isn't a need for this purpose.

I do have a gen 1 wdtv media player that I think I'll press into service for this interim need. But I would like the simplicity of a disc based player so I don't need to take up the time or space that the wdtv requires (yes I know ripping isn't a big time waster and the gen 1 has a small footprint but its all the extra stuff with a harddrive that would make it impractical as a long term solution - hence the desire for a single unit that plays discs).

But I was thinking seriously about Philips BDP3406. It lists for about $100 and it plays the usual formats people here would be interested in -

That is a bit higher than I was thinking for this purpose. But it sounds like a nice player. And perhaps it could be on the price chopping block for door buster deals if its already that low - one could hope.

My prediction is that the industry will push 3D more so you might see a decrease somewhat in BD 3D player prices by Thanksgiving.

One would hope that that would create lower pressure on the non 3d models to push them out the door quicker. Saying hey - look at me I"m 3d and premium while basic 2d would be the cheap entry models. That would help saturate the lower end of the spectrum and really give bluray players a push into a commodity instead of something of a luxury item.

Edit - thanks noahtuck - I'll take a look at the links. However I would think its too early for anything to be reliable yet.

[yoda313]

Well I did see this weekend that Bestbuy is having the dynex bluray player at 50.00.

HOwever I have since decided that I really don't need an extra bluray player. For my needs I can unplug and move my ps3. Not practical I know but considering I really wouldn't be using the extra bluray player its not something I want to waste money on right now nor waste the frustration of the black friday insanity - unless something else is worthwhile.

[Ai Haibara]

Not sure how much I'd trust the Dynex player, at any rate. I haven't had much luck with anything from Dynex in the past. Just for the sake of argument, I'm staying away from Samsung BD players, too - ours decided to conveniently brick itself during a firmware update.