Bam Baby! $199.00 Blu-ray player

[Mr Peabody]

A friend sent me a link showing Circuit City selling the Samsung BD-P1500 for $199.00

http://bfads.net/Samsung-BDP1500-BDLive-Ready-Bluray-Disc-Player-at-Circuit-City

It could be a Blu Blu Blu Christmas

[Mr Peabody]

HOLD THE PRESS!! could it be??

http://www.tvsnob.com/archives/022212.php

[Feanor]

HOLD THE PRESS!! could it be??

http://www.tvsnob.com/archives/022212.php

That is a hellofa bargain :9:

Yoh! Canadians: here's another remarkable bargain. BestBuy.ca is selling this Sharp 52" 1080p LCD (http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?langid=EN&logon=&sku_id=0926HDS0010092830&CMP=ILC-BBY_hmpage_slide1) for C$1500. And we don't even get Black Friday up here.

[Feanor]

...
Yoh! Canadians: here's another remarkable bargain. BestBuy.ca is selling this Sharp 52" 1080p LCD (http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?langid=EN&logon=&sku_id=0926HDS0010092830&CMP=ILC-BBY_hmpage_slide1) for C$1500. And we don't even get Black Friday up here.

Sam's Club Canada is selling Sony Bravia 46" 1080p LCDs for $998. The downward price trend has resumed.

[Mr Peabody]

It should be noted that the BD-P1500 does not internally decode HD audio formats, it will bitstream them though. So this unit is best suited for some one just using a TV with no surround or has a receiver with the HD decoding built in. I guess some one could get by with the 1500 until they upgrade their receiver but I think those who already have BR can all agree the improvement in sound is as enjoyable as the picture improvement. It is a good deal for anyone interested in BD Live though.

[kexodusc]

It should be noted that the BD-P1500 does not internally decode HD audio formats, it will bitstream them though. So this unit is best suited for some one just using a TV with no surround or has a receiver with the HD decoding built in. I guess some one could get by with the 1500 until they upgrade their receiver but I think those who already have BR can all agree the improvement in sound is as enjoyable as the picture improvement. It is a good deal for anyone interested in BD Live though.
I'll repeat it again - the improvement in even the stock Dolby Digital tracks is nothing to scoff at, going from 448 kbps to 640 kpbs is a 43% improvement. I notice much better dynamics, and a much more spacious sound field. The difference is immediately noticeable. It's darn near as impressive as DTS, maybe better in some areas.

At $200 or less I'm tempted to buy a few for Christmas presents - to me and maybe my inlaws and parents. They've never been bleeding edge technology for anything.

[RoadRunner6]

Circuit City selling the Samsung BD-P1500 for $199.00

That and the lower price are a great bargain for a very cool looking BD player. However, If I can't wait for the new OPPO next year, I will probably pay $50 or so more for the superior performing Panny DMP-BD35/55, at least according to the latest reviews including Home Theater Magazine.

RR6

[Mr Peabody]

RR6, I haven't read the reviews since I'm not really looking for a BR player, I'm curious as to what aspects the dmp-35 are better in.

[pixelthis]

TARGET has a 179$ BLU player(forget the brand).
They also have a 46" olevia tv for 898$.
BIGGEST thing is, its 1080p.
This is the cheapest 1080p of this size that I have seen of any quality,
poor or good.
The Sony mentiond above would be the biggest value of course.
ALL of this is good for the consumer, of course, but underlies a much bigger story, mainly teh almost complete collapse of
retail sales, not just in the USA and CANADA but
EVERYWHERE.
China has lost over a 100,000 jobs is teh past week or so, factories
over there are shutting down, sometimes managers disapear.
Anf its getting harder and harder to sell anything in this climate.
IF YOU THINK THESE PRICES ARE GOOD, JUST WAIT,
we are loking at a total collapse in the price structure of
"nonessential" items.:1:

[pixelthis]

I'll repeat it again - the improvement in even the stock Dolby Digital tracks is nothing to scoff at, going from 448 kbps to 640 kpbs is a 43% improvement. I notice much better dynamics, and a much more spacious sound field. The difference is immediately noticeable. It's darn near as impressive as DTS, maybe better in some areas.

At $200 or less I'm tempted to buy a few for Christmas presents - to me and maybe my inlaws and parents. They've never been bleeding edge technology for anything.

I remember when DD was the leading edge, but now its been surpassed.
In order to lessen "joe sixpack" confusion they need to sort all of these codecs out, pick one or two that are the best and run with it.
LPCM is my choice, good for both two and seven channrls, and doesnt obsolete current receivers.:1:

[RoadRunner6]

RR6, I haven't read the reviews since I'm not really looking for a BR player, I'm curious as to what aspects the dmp-35 are better in.

Mr. P, The new issue of Home Theater Magazine is on the newsstands but not online yet. When it hits the HT Mag site I'll post a link to the complete review. Meantime here is a link to the thread I started on the Panny 35 and 55 models and also S & V's review.

http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?p=261068#post261068

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/bluray/2991/panasonic-dmp-bd55-blu-ray-disc-player.html

RR6

[L.J.]

Rumor is that Walmart is supposed to be selling a Magnavox player for $128 on BF.

[jamison]

As an owner of a BDP-1500 I say save your money and get a better player... the unit looks stylish but its crap as far as im concerned.. comparing it to my PS3 the pic quality is nowhere near as good, the load times are slower and the remote is godawful. dvd playback is retched on it too.

[Woochifer]

A lot of options have now gone down to the $199 price point. At Costco alone, I saw the Philips BDP-7200 and the Panasonic DMP-BD30 also selling for $199. Just last month, those same players were selling at Costco for $240. They also have the newer Panasonic DMP-BD35 for $230.

Costco has a $5 off coupon for several Blu-ray titles in their current flier (including Iron Man and Batman Begins), and I saw at least a couple of shopping carts over the weekend with those Blu-ray titles ... along with a new Blu-ray player to play them.

This doesn't even include all of the rebadged Funai players like the Insignia, Magnavox, Sylvania, and Memorex models that regularly sell for $150 to $170.

[Woochifer]

Aside from WalMart's $128 Magnavox, not a lot of other steep Black Friday discounts other than the price reductions that have already occurred.

KMart and Sears have put the Sony BDP-S350 on their Black Friday specials for $180.

Also HHGregg has a Sharp AQUOS Blu-ray player for $150.