In the market for a BLU Ray Disc player [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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mmartins44
02-12-2010, 11:01 AM
Its been a while since I've purchased a Home Theatre product. I've always been a real fan of Harman Kardon products but I've been out of the loop for quite sometime. I currently own Harman Kardon AVR 510, it still works great in my opinion. I also own the HK DVD 50 which just sh** the bed. I'm in the market for a Blu Ray player that also can upconvert all my regular DVD's. I don't want to spend more than $300. I currently have the Sharp Aquos 46 in. 1080p LCD.
Is HK still considered a great product? Do they have a qaulity DVD player?

Any suggestions on other products?

nightflier
02-12-2010, 11:25 AM
Buy the Oppo BDP-80 for $289 straight from the company. It will work just fine with the HK and Sharp gear. Upconversion is very good and the company is very highly regarded.

Mr Peabody
02-13-2010, 12:28 AM
Your 510 does not have HDMI and the Oppo does not have multichannel outputs at the $289.00 point, so you'd have to use coaxial or optical for audio which would not pass the HD audio formats. The sound is still slightly better than DVD due to less compression.

Wal-Mart was selling a Pioneer on their website for $108.00 but you'd have to check features.

Panasonic & sony both offer feature rich models at the $199.00 point.

If HK has a BD player I haven't heard anything about it.

RoadRunner6
02-13-2010, 02:34 AM
The current panasonic model you need is the DMP-BD80. It decodes and passes (analog outs) the HD audio. I'm not sure about its bass management capabilities.

If you sign up for rebates at Bing.com you will get a 6.25% rebate and a net price of $188.02 shipped free, from Electronics Expo.com. (they have a very high rating, see below)

http://www.bing.com/shopping/Panasonic-DMP-BD80-Blu-Ray-disc-player/search?q=panasonic%20dmp-bd80&p1=[CommerceService%20scenario%3d"o"%20docid%3d"A91134E

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Electronics_Expo

http://www.electronics-expo.com/index.php?page=item&id=PANDMPBD80&source=CashBackShopping

I tested out its brother the BD60 (doesn't have the outs) against my Oppo 83 and it is very close in video quality. The Panny 60/80 series are felt by many to be the best of the below $300-$500 players (except Oppo).

LMB
02-13-2010, 12:34 PM
Check out the Oppo 80