Poll: Will you be buying a sub-$100 Blu-ray player for Black Friday?
By Richard Lawler 
posted November 26th 2009 12:15PM
posted November 26th 2009 12:15PM
posted November 26th 2009 12:15PM
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Where's the option for:
1) I already own a PS3
2) I have enough already
3) I'm too broke to buy anything this holiday season
???
@Jeff Kibuule - You're in the minority. Most people don't have HDTVs, watch HD content or have blu-ray players. It's great that you have a PS3 though.
As far as everyone else goes, cheap Blu-ray players and cheap movies means that more and more people will actually start buying these. The deal I've seen is for a $69 Blu-ray player at onSale.com: http://www.tvlampsnbulbs.com/2009/11/onsale-win-black-friday-contest-for-best-hdtv-deals/
@Jeff Kibuule: Agreed. PS3 makes for an excellent, upgradable BD player. The problem with any normal one is that since vendors drop support for standalones all the time (yearly, I expect) you'll eventually lose the ability to use any new features when they come out. Since the PS3 will continue to be upgraded (since it's more than just a BD-player, and has gaming in mind) I'll never recommend a cheaper device with limited life... and that's why I, too, have a PS3.
@Jeff Kibuule
1
I already have a blueray player. Nice thing about having a blueray player is that not many people have them (as many as DVD players) so when you go to the movie store all the new releases are still there because there is not one to take them out!
I like a good deal as much as the next guy, but this $99 Blu-Ray Player is probably a piece of junk! Besides, I just bought a Sony BDP-S360.
@LonnieDVD
The Insignia uses Samsung parts including an older Samsung remote. And it will include a free Superman Returns or Beetlejuice with it. Stop being a snob, your 360 is $150 without Netflix. Its a nice peice for a second room. Otherwise get the BDP1600 for $150.
@(Unverified) Calm down friend. I'm not being a snob, I just think there will be major problems with a Blu-Ray Player that cheap. If it looks too good to be true, it usually is.
I've got a PS3 and will continue to use that until it dies (or somehow becomes obsolete). I only need the one cause I only own one HDTV.
I am most excited this season for the blu-ray sales on Amazon. I just picked up the Matrix, the Departed, and Goodfellas for $26 total. I've probably bought a dozen movies because their prices are so low- as low as $8 new with 'Black Friday' deals.
I already have three players. No need for a 4th one at this time.
The Insignia uses Samsung parts including an older Samsung remote. And it will include a free Superman Returns or Beetlejuice with it. Its a nice peice for a second room. Otherwise get the BDP1600 for $150, no movie included.
Wow, the other guy wasn't kidding about the Blu-Ray sales on Amazon. I got Braveheart, Gladiator and Wanted for $30, that is 75% off the regular price! I hate to say it, but the retail stores are screwed when it comes to Blu-Ray movies. There is no way they can match Amazon's prices, especially during Black Friday Sale.
I just bought the Insignia for $129, didn't want to fight the Black Friday crowds for it. It's perfect for the bedroom with the wifi for streaming Netflix. And quality seems ok, it's older Samsung parts. I recommend it, especially if you can get it for $99.
I love high quality products. I purchased the very first Samsung BD-P1000 player. This player gave me so much problems and one to many RMA(s) back to Samsung to fix it. I cut my losses as an early adopter and stuck with the PS3 as my Blu-ray player until another player would come out that was worth owning. That player is now the Oppp BDP-83. I love this player. I also have a Sony S350 it the bedroom. As you can see I have spend about $2300 on Blu-ray players over the years. Would I buy a sub-$100 player? Probably not. For a gift or the kids room, yes. It's a Blu-ray player after all and It's a good way to get someone you know into world of Blu-ray.
I want a Samsung 1590 or 1600 player because of the extras but I really want one with Wifi. Alas, that's closer to $200, not $100. (the insignia for $130 this week would've been a good pick too).
Until BD's are so widespread that DVD's are out of production, I really don't see why there should be a market for poor quality ones.
If you're into tech, you want a really decent one.
If you're into tech, but hard on ca$h, you should be looking at BD drives for your PC.
If you're not, then why aren't you either forking out hard cash or waiting for wider spread adoption?
@FORDY Most of these cheap players are using the same parts and firmware as the phillips branded models. They would be fine for a second TV and as long as they are profile 1.1, I do not think you are missing out on much.
@(Unverified)
For a second TV?
Then that comes under the "into tech" bracket, at this stage average consumers do not have 2 TV's with BD hooked up.
Most people I know like that have just the one 1080i TV, a few with blu ray mostly DVD's.
Amazon had the Sony S360 for $110 earlier in the day (now up to $120 from J&R) so I'd call that a win over the sub-$100 units.
@mburstin Indeed, the S360 is better than this $99 unit. Too bad I didn't check online first, I could have saved $70 on mine. Sony really is best option for Blu-Ray Players, they do the best job of updating their firmware.
How about quality and a good price. I picked up my first Blu-ray player on black Friday. LG BD370 for $77 at Fry's. Can't beat that!
I bought an LG BD390 for $130 open box, complete in the box with a free movie
I bought one of the $78 magnavoxes... they are still available by the pallet load at walmart, today. Seems to work ok. It's a great replacement for my cheapo dvd player I had in my bedroom. It doesn't have a lot of the features of the better ones, such as ethernet connectivity for software updates, capability for viewing pictures or videos off usb storage, or any bd-live what so ever. I have a better one in my living room which has those features.
Eh already got the samsung bd p1600 earlier dis yr for $180 an its a really great bluray player just wish the wireless dongle wasn't too pricey $80 for a wifi coneftion when i can get one for my pc as low as $20 cmon samsung... anyways if you have the money to buy the samsung bd p1600 i recommend you get it... even the toshiba for the same price is a good deal you dont have to get those top notch blu ray plaers one of these would do a great job in getting you the best quality
Picked up 2 Panasonic BD-60's from PC Richard, one for Dad and an extra one for my bedroom.
@The Fuzz 53
Oh, they were only $99 each.
The LG BD270 is now $79.99 at NewEgg. But reviews are mixed.
The remote is reportedly cheap-feeling, many BD titles don't play (no new firmware is available), and support is sparse. It also doesn't have optical audio out, and that's important to me.
I got a Panasonic DMP-BD60K from Best Buy on Friday online for $149.99 (with free shipping) after reading professional reviews that it upconverts DVDs better than a PS3. You also get a free movie (also with free shipping); when I got mine, you could pick either Watchmen (Director's Cut) or Transformers: RotF, and I got Watchmen since TF:RotF was sold out (and still is). (The Walmart exclusive TF:RotF Big Screen Edition, with IMAX-exclusive footage, comes more highly recommended anyway, both for the bonus footage and better transfer, and it's only $18.86; while I was at it, I also got the 3-disc Star Trek for $19.96.)
It's good for the standard that prices are getting cheap, but even now the PS3's bargain preposition hasn't ended.
$300 for Blu-Ray playback + media streamer + mediocre web browser + gaming (even casual gaming)
No longer the only game in town, but still potent.
Aww how cute - people still handle physical media.
Seriously, its all about Bluray -> Harddisk -> x264.