Blu Ray player?

[blackraven]

I am in the market for a new BRP that does streaming. Any recommendations?

I was thinking of just getting a PS3 with the 160gb HD. I don't want to spend more than $250 and I want easy set up and controls with fast loading. My first generation Sony 300 BRP is painfully slow and it does not stream. I was hoping to go with the top of the line Oppo with the analog upgrade but money is tight with college tuition for my kids coming due.

Thanks,

Larry

[dingus]

cant go wrong with the Oppo. its also a universal player so it will add SACD and DVD-A playback to your system as well. if money is tight and all you want with blu-ray is streaming then get whatever is available locally in the $100 range.

i would recommend the offerings from Sony, but i recently got the BDP-S185 and it works great, except for a very annoying auto-dimming "feature" that is overly quick to engage and painfully slow to dis-engage... there is no setting to turn the auto-dimming off, very annoying! i dont know if the other lower priced models have this "feature", but i would steer clear of anything that behaves in this manner.

[Woochifer]

The first question in which streaming services do you intend to use with your BD player? Netflix is on just about every BD player that has streaming capability. At that point, you will need to see whether other services like Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, CinemaNow, Vudu, Pandora, etc. are included with the player you want to buy. The PS3 includes all of those options, as do Sony's BD players.

The other major consideration is whether you need integrated wi-fi. The PS3 has wi-fi built in, but a lot of the cheaper BD players still only have wired Ethernet.

With my PS3, I also use it as a media center, connecting to the music and video files on my computer. The wireless performance on my four-year old PS3 is lousy (could've also been my router), so I upgraded my entire wi-fi setup and connected both my PS3 and Directv receiver to a wireless Ethernet bridge. Now, everything is fast and stable.

Some BD players also have DLNA media center capability, but I've never used any of them, so I can't comment on whether it's any good.

The load times and compatibility on the newer BD players have improved. The PS3 has been a long-time favorite because of its versatility and performance.

[Hyfi]

And be careful of all the Sony units that tout Wireless only to charge you another $90 for the adapter, which comes with the OPPOs. They also do HDCD along with all the streaming.

[markw]

Here's the blurb, straight from the horse's mouth.

Around $120 almost anywhere, including BB. Wireless built in (no extra cost), lots of Internet apps. They send updates to the apps periodically. And, it's amazingly tiny.

I've had one since they first.came out and love it.

Dunno what you consider "fast loading" but I've had no complaints.

Of course, it's not a universal player like the Oppo but it's not $500 either.

If you DO want 3D, check out their 590 for a few $$ more.

[blackraven]

Thanks for the suggestions. I need a player that is simple to use for the wife, that is wireless and faster loading than my current Sony S-300 that takes a long time to turn on and 90 seconds to load. No need for SACD as I have a Yamaha DVDP that plays SACD and DVD-A, although SACD would be a bonus. 3D is not needed.

I am considering these Panasonics-
Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

Panasonic DMP-BDT310 review - Blu-ray Player - Trusted Reviews

[BadAssJazz]

Thanks for the suggestions. I need a player that is simple to use for the wife, that is wireless and faster loading than my current Sony S-300 that takes a long time to turn on and 90 seconds to load. No need for SACD as I have a Yamaha DVDP that plays SACD and DVD-A, although SACD would be a bonus. 3D is not needed.

I am considering these Panasonics-
Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

Panasonic DMP-BDT310 review - Blu-ray Player - Trusted Reviews

I have the Panny 310 in the bedroom. It's simply to use, loads quickly and streams without any hiccups (so far). The Netflix interface is easily navigated, even with hundreds of movies in your queue. The remote isn't backlit, but the buttons are sufficiently large and well-spaced that you can negotiate the remote in the dark.