[Mark Techer]

Can I change my response to I now own one?

Mark

[Mark Techer]

UPDATE!!! 1080P @ 24 frames is something you need to see to believe. Hey Phil, what FW does your BenQ run? I recently had it updated to 1.21 (not the latest version, but it fixed 1:1 mapping and allows 24 frame playback) and I must say, wow what difference...

Mark

[Logic 7]

Mark Techer said:

Can I change my response to I now own one?

Mark

What player did you get?

[Phil A]

Mark Techer said:

UPDATE!!! 1080P @ 24 frames is something you need to see to believe. Hey Phil, what FW does your BenQ run? I recently had it updated to 1.21 (not the latest version, but it fixed 1:1 mapping and allows 24 frame playback) and I must say, wow what difference...

Mark

Mark - believe mine came with 1.12. I don't have a Blu-Ray player for the main system yet. The PS3 is in the basement system hooked to the Sony VPL-AW15. I probably won't have Blu-Ray in the main system until the Oppo comes out perhaps in Feb. I was planning to contact BenQ after XMAS (and the rush of the mail delivery is over with) and arrange to ship it back for a firmware update. My next purchase will be some sort of laptop to run my Spyder3 Pro colorimeter I've had sitting around for a couple of mos. I'm going to be look around for Black Friday deals on Nov. 28. Probably around the same time the Oppo Blu-Ray player gets released, Bryston will have a new pre/pro. Then I can complete the main system and get a new Bedroom rec'r as it sits on the other side of the wall and I'll be done for a bit. Depending on whether Bryston offers DSD decoding and the new Oppo will pass it over HDMI, I may get my Marantz DV9600 modded and use it mainly for SACD and DVD-A.

[Mark Techer]

I'm not into deferred gartification if I can help it. All I can say is try this out - I am still grinning :)

Mark

[Mark Techer]

I'm not into deferred gratification if I can help it. All I can say is try this out - I am still grinning :)

Mark

[Phil A]

Mark Techer said:

I'm not into deferred gratification if I can help it. All I can say is try this out - I am still grinning :)

Mark

I'll be trying it. Just don't want the package lost in shipping to get a firmware upgrade during the XMAS rush and I'll be getting that Oppo player when it comes out. I like making upgrades I keep for a while.

[Fr8mvr]

Panasonic 55k

[BigDaddyRaymond]

tgregory said:

Love my PS3, glad to drag you into the group Phil!!! You will love your PS3 too!

I heard the PS3 was the best way to go because of the processor in it. Is it true that the PS3 is the best BR player out?

[Fr8mvr]

BigDaddyRaymond said:

I heard the PS3 was the best way to go because of the processor in it. Is it true that the PS3 is the best BR player out?

Depends. Do you game? The PS3 was always considered the best because it was Profile 2 and the least expensive. Today there are a lot of stand alone players that are profile 2 and cost less.
The best player of 08 was the Panasonic DMP 55k according to Sound & Vision. The sister to it was the DMP 35k cheaper but identical in performance and the first BD player ever to get a Cnet Editors Choice award.. They have been discontinued and replaced with newer models with VOD ability. The internals are the same though.

Quote

Panasonic also introduced the successors to last years' DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55 players, as well as presenting the first Blu-ray-VHS dual player. All three of the new Blu-ray players ? DMP-BD60, DMP-BD80, DMP-BD70V - combine high quality images with enhanced networking functions, including VIERA Cast?s improved internet functionality that provides access to Amazon VOD?s huge selection of titles. The 2009 line of Blu-ray Disc players continue to incorporate VIERA Link, allowing the consumer to operate their audio/video components, via HDMI, with one remote. In addition, the new Blu-ray players have been designed to reduce power consumption.

Each of the three models employs the PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus. Developed in collaboration with Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory, this high image processing technology reproduces clear, vivid colors that are faithful to the original film. Panasonic?s three 2009 Blu-ray Disc players feature a high definition audio decoder (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio Essential) to take advantage of the high quality 7.1 channel surround sound now integrated in Blu-ray Discs. The DMP-BD70V distinguishes itself as the world?s first dual deck VHS-Blu-ray player, providing the consumer with a video product that features multi-format playback allowing the user to play VHS, CD, DVD and 1080p high definition Blu-ray Discs. The BD70V allows for premium 1080p up-conversion for all video formats.

VIERA CAST technology, introduced in Panasonic's PZ850 2008 VIERA Plasma, is now available in Panasonic?s 2009 Blu-ray players. The internet enabled technology lets the consumer access the internet without the need of either an external box or a PC and enjoy the entertainment value provided by such targeted sites as Amazon VOD, with an extensive library of streamed titles, YouTube, Google's Picasa Web Album , Bloomberg and a weather channel. The DMP-BD60, DMP-BD80 and DMP-BD70V include an SD Memory card slot and USB slot, making it easy for the consumer to view and share both digital still images and HD video recorded with an HD camcorder in the AVCHD format.

Panasonic?s Blu-ray players employ high precision 4:4:4 signal technology, which working in tandem with PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus processes each pixel of the Blu-ray Disc video signal in the horizontal direction, to compliment vertical direction processing. P4HD (Pixel Precision Progressive Processing for HD) is another technology that contributes to the superior picture quality of the Blu-ray players. P4HD processes more than 15 billion pixels per second and applies the optimal processing to every pixel. Panasonic's Blu-ray players further utilize 16-level motion detection to categorize the image motion of each pixel into one of 16 levels; diagonal processing to detect diagonals and correct the pixels accordingly; 1080p up-conversion to up-convert content recorded in the 480i/p or 720p format to 1080p. The Blu-ray players also provide 1080/24p output, thereby reproducing cinema images from a Blu-ray Disc and DVD in their original 24p form with no need for conversion. This allows the user to enjoy cinema images in the same format used in cinema with a 1080/24p compatible TV.

Complimenting the HD audio codecs the three Blu-ray players feature 96kHz surround re-master, a function that enhances the sound quality of CDs and other sources, and even improves the quality of the multi-channel audio data on Blu-ray Discs and DVDs. The DMP-BD80 further enhances the audio experience with 7.1 channel analog out to produce 7.1 surround sound. The BD80 also includes a playback information window that can be used to display detailed image information while a movie is playing.

In order to obtain a reduction in power consumption the 2009 Blu-ray players use Auto Power Stand-By, a function that automatically turns off the player when you return to TV operation using the VIERA Link menu. In addition, the Stand-by Power Save automatically turns off the players' Quick Start function. When VIERA is turned on, Quick Start also turns on. In addition, the development of the UniPhier single chip LSI makes it possible to pack an entire video signal processing circuit onto a single chip. This helps lower power consumption, reduces the number of parts needed and allows for a more compact design. The BD60 consumes 16% less power in standby mode than last years' model, the DMP-BD35.

So if I was buying and not a gamer I'd wait till March for the release of one of these.

[BigDaddyRaymond]

Fr8mvr said:

Depends. Do you game? The PS3 was always considered the best because it was Profile 2 and the least expensive. Today there are a lot of stand alone players that are profile 2 and cost less.
The best player of 08 was the Panasonic DMP 55k according to Sound & Vision. The sister to it was the DMP 35k cheaper but identical in performance and the first BD player ever to get a Cnet Editors Choice award.. They have been discontinued and replaced with newer models with VOD ability. The internals are the same though.

So if I was buying and not a gamer I'd wait till March for the release of one of these.

Thanks for the info. I am an Xbox guy anyway. I would have only gotten a PS3 for the BR. Great graphics but crappy games.... I will wait untill march now.. Thanks:beer:

[Fr8mvr]

BigDaddyRaymond said:

Thanks for the info. I am an Xbox guy anyway. I would have only gotten a PS3 for the BR. Great graphics but crappy games.... I will wait untill march now.. Thanks:beer:

Glad to help, 360 guy myself:ohyeah:

[BigDaddyRaymond]

Fr8mvr said:

Glad to help, 360 guy myself:ohyeah:

I think i wasted half my life playing Halo2... Now im onto COD WaW...

[Fr8mvr]

Just started playing Cod% this week. A lot of cheater crawling under map. Still fun if teams are balanced.

[Mark Techer]

So Gamers, I heard X-Box was relasing a BD player to replace the previous HD DVD drives they had. Is this still happening?

Mark

[Fr8mvr]

Mark Techer said:

So Gamers, I heard X-Box was relasing a BD player to replace the previous HD DVD drives they had. Is this still happening?

Mark

That's an unsubstantiated rumor. Not likely that MS will pay licensing fees to Sony. Besides most 360 gamers, would rather have a stand alone BD player. Our 360s get enough usage with out doubling as a DVD player.
Blu-ray Still Not Coming to the Xbox 360 - Although regular rumors say otherwise - Softpedia

[tgregory]

Mark Techer said:

So Gamers, I heard X-Box was relasing a BD player to replace the previous HD DVD drives they had. Is this still happening?

Mark

Rumors and hope but nothing you can run out and buy now....

From news.cnet.com

Quote

X-bit Labs is not only reporting that Microsoft is still planning on releasing an external Blu-ray drive, but also that the company already has the device ready to go.

According to the article, Toshiba (yes, you read that correctly) and Samsung have been asked to come up with the external Blu-ray solution for the Xbox 360. Rumors are also floating around claiming a $100-to-$150 price point.

With Blu-ray playback remaining as one of the few advantages the PlayStation 3 has over the Xbox 360, one would imagine Microsoft would want to release this immediately to level the Blu-ray bragging rights issue.

If this information is accurate, we're left wondering how Microsoft will play this. Do they try and get this out in time for the holidays? Or do they wait to debut it at a show (like CES) where we're likely to see standalone Blu-ray players fall in price anyway?

[tgregory]

Fr8mvr said:

That's an unsubstantiated rumor. Not likely that MS will pay licensing fees to Sony. Besides most 360 gamers, would rather have a stand alone BD player. Our 360s get enough usage with out doubling as a DVD player.
Blu-ray Still Not Coming to the Xbox 360 - Although regular rumors say otherwise - Softpedia

There have been soooo many rumors in both directions you almost have to be an insider to know which are true.

I for one hope they are releasing one...I will be one of the buyers even though I have a PS3 too. I use my XBOX 10 times more than my PS3! COD4 have not jumped into COD WaW yet....

[Fr8mvr]

If they did release one it would have to be an addon.

Quote

Robbie Bach, who is the president of the Entertainment & Devices division at Microsoft, has stated that “It's not a feature we get a ton of requests for. When you ask people the list of things they want to see us spending time creating in Xbox, Blu-ray is way, way down on the list. The second thing is, from a technical perspective, it doesn't help us in the core of what Xbox does, which is in gaming. We can't have publishers produce games on Blu-ray disc. Because then they won't play on the 28 million Xboxes we've already shipped. So it doesn't help us in the core gaming space.”

[BigDaddyRaymond]

I doubt that they would do it. And not for nothing but me being on my 5th xbox I dont want to use it for anything more then i have to. If it does come out it will most likely be in the next generation xbox just so they can make games larger.