New technology requires new updates, especially when the old threads are 18 months old.

I've got a PS3 upstairs on my 32" LCD for my gaming purposes. Before our move, it was attached to our 42" LCD.

Now the 42" is downstairs, and our DVD player is on the fritz.

So, I'm looking for a stand-alone blu-ray player that doesn't need Wifi or anything crazy.

I've heard the Sonys are great because, well, they developed the tech.

Any suggestions? Anybody work in a store that uses multiple systems and can compare?

Thanks.

7/19/2011 8:43:23 AM

If you don't want wifi or internet just go get the cheapest one you can buy. I'm assuming everything is going to be sent over HDMI so there's no worries about getting one with cheap components - it's all digital. You just need a compliant box to read the disc and send data to your home theater or TV. Anything you find at best buy or walmart is going to be compliant so the only real measure I can see is price.

7/19/2011 9:33:52 AM

Just got the sony s570 player for $126 from sears.

7/21/2011 12:50:25 PM

I actually have gone through a lot of different Blu-ray players and like Sony's the best, fastest load time and typically the best picture quality and added apps if you went that way, but I know you said you didn't care about the Wifi-enabled content.

7/21/2011 12:58:39 PM

My DVD player is close to death and I've also thought about replacing it with a Blu-ray player. I don't know anything about them - think annoying grandparent asking you to fix the VCR clock that's blinking 12:00 for the 30th time level of knowledge.

1) I assume all players will be able to play DVDs. Do they all upscale?
2) Why would you need wifi/internet on a media player? What's it do for you. Just curious.

Also, thanks for staying off the lawn.

7/21/2011 3:05:49 PM

1. yes
2. internet connection mainly for firmware updates and blu-ray live. a lot now come with internet widgets (hulu, youtube, netflix, etc) and you can use those if you have an older TV that does not have them.

7/21/2011 3:18:33 PM

I did a quick check at Wal-mart. It looks like the difference between the wifi ($198) and non-wifi ($106) sony players was close to $100, which is steep. They're either over charging for the wifi functionality or they've got a good deal going on the other player. Gut feeling is the wifi option adds a bit too much to the price no matter where I'd go. It's not like I shopped around, I can start doing that once I have a little more info.

I think I've seen several players that have USB ports for firmware upgrades. Last question... would having wifi allow me to play avi / wmv files off a local file server?

I guess I'd still prefer a player that could just play avi files off a USB port if it would save me money. I don't think I need my movie player on the net.

I'm also considering a ps3. I don't have a x-box or ps3 already because so far there's only been one game that I want to play on a console; NCAA Football. That game isn't worth me sinking the cost of a console just for the ability to play one game, so moving in when it's time to replace a dead dvd player may be the time. The only concern is how good of a player the ps3 is, and how it would hold up as being primarily a media player with a secondary function of playing a game occasionally.

It's still probably not worth spending an extra $150 above and beyond the cost of a Blu-ray player for just one game. Heck, I could probably buy a Blu-ray player and a 360 ($100 + $200) for about the same as a ps3 ($300).

[Edited on July 22, 2011 at 7:36 AM. Reason : -]

7/22/2011 7:26:02 AM

Quote :

"I think I've seen several players that have USB ports for firmware upgrades. Last question... would having wifi allow me to play avi / wmv files off a local file server? I guess I'd still prefer a player that could just play avi files off a USB port if it would save me money. I don't think I need my movie player on the net. I'm also considering a ps3. I don't have a x-box or ps3 already because so far there's only been one game that I want to play on a console; NCAA Football. That game isn't worth me sinking the cost of a console just for the ability to play one game, so moving in when it's time to replace a dead dvd player may be the time. The only concern is how good of a player the ps3 is, and how it would hold up as being primarily a media player with a secondary function of playing a game occasionally. "

For the first question, i'm not sure if the Player does that kind of stuff or not. It may be on an individual model basis. I know my Bravia TV syncs up with my Windows Media Player for file streaming, just not sure if a BRP would do the same.

To be honest, I have the lowest possible U-Verse internet connection which streams hulu just fine but if i'm going to watch .avi movies that i've downloaded it's quicker for me just to put them on my 100GB travel drive and plug that directly into my PS3. The PS3 plays almost all of the popular media files without hesitation.

As for the PS3 being a good player. It was once the best, though the stand alones are slowly catching on. But the PS3 is usually the first hardware to get firmware updates for new Blu-Ray technology. It's definitely the backbone of my entertainment system. I've read concerns people have about burning out the PS3's blu-ray drive, but I don't understand how that's any more of a problem than with a stand-alone player. Especially if the user does not game much.

7/22/2011 7:58:52 AM

Wow, thanks for the info. I've been reading a few customer reviews on amazon and I think it's either down to a PS3 or a Sony s570/580.

From what I've read it looks like the s570 only supports FAT partitioned USB drives while the s580 supports NTF, but the s580 has no built in memory??? and the s570 has 1GB.

Right now I only have DVDs so I guess I'm looking for the player that supports the most video formats over USB (or wireless).


Edit: Heck, at this stage I may just build a media computer out of all the parts I have laying around and just support all video formats and be done with it.

[Edited on July 22, 2011 at 8:22 AM. Reason : -]

7/22/2011 8:11:04 AM

Quote :

"I'm assuming everything is going to be sent over HDMI so there's no worries about getting one with cheap components - it's all digital. "

Better hope he has a receiver that can decode DTS-MA and Dolby Master.

7/22/2011 8:15:25 AM

Any thoughts on the sony bdp-s3100?

1/3/2014 9:25:22 PM

i just bought one of the bdp-s3100. So far I am having some issues with it. It does not play well with my HDMI switcher. The HDMI switcher auto changes signals and there is something about this players signal that the auto changer does not like.

The HDMI switcher that I am trying to use is the best seller on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Portta-PET0301S-HDMI-Switcher-Support/dp/B00B46XUQU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388990115&sr=8-1&keywords=hdmi+switch

anyone else try using one of these?

1/6/2014 1:37:08 AM