Cheapest way to get a Blu-Ray Player? Part 1 (And no, stealing one doesn’t count)
Okay, it’s been a long while since I lasted posted an article, so here goes…
This article is based on something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. With more and more movies coming out on Blu-Ray, it is getting really tempting to pick up a Blu-Ray player (it’s a battle that’s still raging with me, but that’s another story). But since most of my hard-earned cash is going towards bills and such, that got me thinking…
Let’s say you’ve spent your hard-earned cash on a beautiful big screen LCD HDTV, and you don’t have much left for a Blu-Ray player… What is the cheapest way to get a Blu-Ray Player?
That is what this multi-part article is going to investigate. Provided that the only thing you want is to have a machine dedicated to playing Blu-Ray media. To level out the playing field, all solutions discussed will be new and not used or re-furbished.
PART 1
BLU-RAY PLAYERS
The first (and obvious) place to start is with Blu-Ray players. Last year about this time, if you wanted a Blu-Ray player, chances are you had to spend anywhere from $500 – $1000. But time marches on, and prices fall. Currently, if you quickly scan through the websites for stores such as Best Buy and The Source, you will find a number of cheap players. (Please note, since RGBfilter is proudly Canadian, all prices shown are in Canadian Dollars)
Best Buy has:
– Insignia Blu-ray Disc Player (NS-BRDVD) for $199.95
– Insignia Blu-ray Disc Player (NS-BDLIVE01) for $219.99
– LG Blu-ray Disc Player (BD300) for $244.99
– Samsung Blu-ray Disc Player (BD-P1600) for $249.99
– Samsung Blu-ray Disc Player (BDP1500) for $249.95
The Source has:
– SONY® BDPS300 Blu-ray Player for $189.96
So now we have an idea on how low Blu-Ray players are these days; roughly $190 – $250.
PLAYSTATION 3
It used to be that a good alternative to buying a Blu-Ray player was to get a Playstation 3 (PS3) game console because you would also have a kick-ass gaming console in addition to a Blu-Ray player as an added bonus. Not anymore if all you want to do is watch Blu-Ray movies.
With Blu-ray player prices this low, it rules out the PS3 mainly because the cheapest new PS3 you can get is $399.99. Don’t forget, Sony discontinued the 40 & 60Gb models, so only the 80 & 160 Gb models can be bought new.
An interesting side note to those of you who are music lovers – if you can find an original (but probably used) 20, 60 and the first generation 80 Gb PS3’s, snatch it up because they make awesome home theatre CD players. Why? Because those were the ones that supported the SACD (Super Audio CD) disc format. Music on SACD discs will give you a higher fidelity than normal CDs. How can you tell if your PS3 can play SACDs? You will see a logo with the name “Super Audio CD” on the side of the PS3 in between the official DVD and CD logos.
Another note – currently the PS3 will only play HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) discs as regular CD audio. It cannot decode the HDCD signal. But it can pass the entire signal to an HDCD compatible AV (Audio/Video) Receiver to enjoy all the HDCD goodness. Just make sure your PS3 is outputting a 44.1 kHz audio signal.
To be continued in PART 2
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you have to keep in mind though that the cheap players have sloooow loading times and only recently have the lower end players begun to catch up to the ps3 in regards to playback
I feel like this is only sctratching the surface. If your dilemma is simply that you have $200 to spend and that’s it, then a standalone BD player isn’t so much a choice as it is a lack of options. A standalone BD player also assumes you won’t be buying a gaming console or have any interest in doing anything with your player other than just plain watching movies and nothing else.
From a cost:value perspective, a PS3 is absolutely worth the extra cost, and would be a much smarter move. If you’re not so much a console gamer but still want something that offers greater functionality than a Standalone PDP (and are a bit of a techhead), a homebrew HTPC is easily the best solution.
It’s also worth pointing out that PS3 owners will have to shell out an extra $20 (or, in the case of Harmony owners, $80) to get a remote.
I’d say that it ISN’T absolutely worth the cost if you have no interest in playin PS3 games. If you don’t care about PS3 gaming, you’re better off spending the price difference in either a better BR player, or on some BR movies.
Thanks Jonathan, that aspect slipped my mind. I am aware of the slower loading times on the cheap Blu-Ray players, but some people may be able to live with that for the sake of saving money. I’ll have to update this article to add that fact.
RebelScum, that IS the point of the article. To find the cheapest solution for getting something that’ll play Blu-Ray. That’s it. I’ll be focusing on that for the sake of keeping this article clean and to the point.
Of course, since there are other better options out there, I’ll definitely be looking into those for a later followup article.
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