Blu is the colour

[Darren]

Ever on the lookout for a gadget to buy just "because", I'm in the market for a bluray player.
Are they popular amongst PSers? Considerable research shows that the players are increasingly being touted as media players, with USB, SD slots and wifi or ethernet capabilities. The prospect of watching Youtube, iPlayer HD and possibly streaming from Love Film is quite enticing. But boy are there a lot to choose from.
I thought a Panasonic model would be a given, to match the rest of my set up but all but the highest model expects you to splash the cash on a wifi adapter. I've looked at the LG BD570, Panasonic BD65, andSony BDs370. All rated highly.
What do you have?

[Perry Vale]

Hi Darren

I've just ordered and am awaiting delivery of a Sony BDP-S370 from Amazon (for £134) to replace my PS3's Bluray duties. The reviews for it seem very favourable, and until June 3rd, Amazon are offering it on a deal with a free HDMI lead, and free Bluray of your choice. There are hundreds of titles to choose from, and include many boxsets, so I went for Smallville S6 which sells for £29! It has most of the features you mention, although you do have to buy an official Sony wireless dongle which sells for the over-inflated price of £79.99. You can network it wirelessly though (which I plan to do).

There's an 11 page thread on the AV forums here that might help you answer some of your questions....

http://www.avforums.com/forums/blu-r...-now-sacd.html

I don't know anything about the Panasonic or LG models, I'm afraid. I went for the Sony due to the good reviews, extensive features, and the fact it also plays SACDs (which I own quite a few of), and is apparently future-proof for 3DTV Bluray (via a future Firmware update).

[Darren]

Cheers Perry. How do you network it wirelessly without the ripoff Sony Dongle? And er what's SACD?

[Perry Vale]

I'll network it via a wired connection, using an Ethernet cable (which you can pick up very cheaply). In other words, my video files are on my laptop, and the laptop connects to my broadband router (via wireless in this case), then the Bluray connects to the router by wire. My broadband router is quite close to my tv, so it's not a problem for me, but depending on your set up/distance needed, I don't know if this is an option for you?

SACD stand for Super Audio cd, a high resolution audio format that never really took off (the discs were too expensive). They don't play on standard cd players. You can read about them here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacd

By the way, if you own an iPhone, the BDP-S370 can be controlled by a free iPhone app, another thing that tempted me!

[Darren]

Ah thanks for that. The router is in a different room to the tv though.