Are all BR players created equal?

[pianoman1976]

I was told that the cheaper Blu-Ray players don't actually process video the same and while they may be advertised as 1080, they really are not. Is this true?

I am tempted to buy one of the many models available that are cheap ($100-300) yet if the picture quality is noticably and considerably better (Im not referring to DVD upscaling - just BR playback) then maybe I should look into the players that cost $500+ like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030URE92?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

[jagabo]

What are you going to watch on? Older players may not support 1080p output but that's usually of little consequence. A progressive HD TV will convert 1080i output from the BD player back to 1080p for display. Quality varies but decent HDTVs will do a good job.

[pianoman1976]

My 66" Sony does 1080i not 1080p.

[fritzi93]

No reply yet? [EDIT] You guys are quicker than me.

Dunno what you mean by not processing the same. The Blu-Ray spec includes MPEG2, AVC, and VC-1 at 720 and 1080 p/i, plus a VC-1 only 1440x1080 p/i, not to mention SD resolution. Either a player can decode them or it can't.

Now, quality is another story, but I don't feel I can comment. But a prime example of a "cheap" player is the Funai in its various permutations (Magnavox, Insignia). Maybe an owner will comment. I have a couple Sony BDP-S360s and am well satisfied with them.

[jagabo]

My 66" Sony does 1080i not 1080p.

I doubt you'll see any difference. The cheaper players may not be able to handle some of the advanced features -- like commentary in a PIP window. The better players support extended color depth but your TV probably can't handle it. They also have better upscalers for SD material. One other issue is disc handling speed. Between the time you put a disc in the drive and the time you see the menu on the screen can be as long as two minutes with slower players, much faster with faster players.

[pianoman1976]

This is great news to hear. Thanks for taking the time to help.

[jagabo]

One other issue: are you using HDMI or component? Cheap players may not have as good output over component. HDMI should be the same unless the HDMI port is defective.

[budz]

newer model bluray players from Sony and Panasonic load times are much faster then the models before.

[creamyhorror]

I am tempted to buy one of the many models available that are cheap ($100-300) yet if the picture quality is noticably and considerably better (Im not referring to DVD upscaling - just BR playback)

Sounds like marketing nonsense to me. Video decoders produce the same video output, so the image should be identical whether the player is cheap or not. Your TV takes 1080i so the player doesn't even do deinterlacing or scaling, so there really should be no difference.

More important are features like Netflix and Hulu streaming, I think.

maybe I should look into the players that cost $500+ like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ce-full-site=1

It's pretty telling that the reviews on the page are all about "audio quality". If you're not an audiophile, don't bother with that model.

[handyguy]

You could get a PS3.....

[EddyH]

There has been some change in the standard at some point, but I don't personally know what it is. This is just from idly looking at the lower-end Blu-Ray players in the local supermarket and seeing that there's a certain price point below which you get a "v1.3" (?)-standard player, and above it a "v2.0"...

[jagabo]

Blu-ray player profiles: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/01/new-nlu-ray-2-0-spec-makes-ps3-the-most-fut...oof-player.ars

1.3 is the HDMI spec: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI