[JohnWB]

I am looking to replace my Philips DVD player dvp5980 with a BR DVD player up to around £400. I would like one that would also gives a good SD DVD quality. I will be pluging it into a new Amp (around the £500 cost).
I have looked at the Panasonic BD35 and BD55, Pioneer 51FD, Sony S350 and S550, and it sounds as though there is not a great deal of difference between them in the Blue Ray picture quality, is this correct.
Which player would people recommend that i should get please.

[kingfats]

Originally Posted by JohnWB

I am looking to replace my Philips DVD player dvp5980 with a BR DVD player up to around £400. I would like one that would also gives a good SD DVD quality(and CD if possable). I will be pluging it into a new Amp (around the £500 cost).
I have looked at the Panasonic BD35 and BD55, Pioneer 51FD, Sony S350 and S550, and it sounds as though there is not a great deal of difference between them in the Blue Ray picture quality, is this correct.
Which player would people recommend that i should get please.

Hi John.
Not a great deal of difference with BD PQ no,all the players are quite different in features,looks etc and all have decent enough DVD now as well.
Only heard the 35/350 with CD and that was acceptable at best.
Cheers.

[Nic Rhodes]

why not spend less on a player and more on a better receiver with better DACs and scaling abilities?

[JohnWB]

Originally Posted by kingfats

Hi John.
Not a great deal of difference with BD PQ no,all the players are quite different in features,looks etc and all have decent enough DVD now as well.
Only heard the 35/350 with CD and that was acceptable at best.
Cheers.

CD playback is not very important ,so apart from that, what would you recommend.

[JohnWB]

Originally Posted by Nic Rhodes

why not spend less on a player and more on a better receiver with better DACs and scaling abilities?

How much difference would that make, compared to spending the money on the player, plus what would you recommend i went for.

[Bald Monkey]

Originally Posted by Nic Rhodes

why not spend less on a player and more on a better receiver with better DACs and scaling abilities?

I agree a £200 BR player and a £700 AV Receiver would probably give better overall results than a more 50/50 split. IMHO

The cheaper players ie. the S350 v's the S550, the BD35 v's the BD55 are better suited to modern AV recievers and HDMI connections.. So the cheaper players will work as well with a new HD audio decoding AV receiever as their more expensive brothers with analogue outputs etc.. which are really better for those with older partner equipment IMHO.

Only if you are going to another price bracket all together such as the Denons or the Flagship sony's and Pioneers will you possibly notice any massive difference in quality IMHO. The price differential amongst the 'basic' players seems to be features such as analogue outputs, basically features you probably will not need or use

So a £200 BR player will probably give you all you want, as you are getting a new AV receiver. Which will then leave you more for the AV reciever. And IMHO there's a big difference between the Sub £500 receivers and the £700+ units. And I also expect it to outlast any other part of your system.

An Onkyo 875 second hand or an 876 with a S350 would be my choice... but then I am biased!

Have a look here for some great BR player reviews and feedback

User Feedback & AVForums Blu-ray Hardware Reviews

[kingfats]

Originally Posted by JohnWB

CD playback is not very important ,so apart from that, what would you recommend.

Pricewise toss up between the 35/350.

[thenicklouse]

My 2 1/2p worth BD35 and a suitable amp at 5-600 and the rest on the damn round sliver spinny things.

I was looking to spend 400 on a BD player ended up spending 200 on the BD35 and the rest went on discs.
that was just before Xmas. and if i can count right i went a bit over my 200 spend on discs. but i still have one or 2 still to watch.

[Scott_Mac]

My personal preference is for the BD35 also but the S350 is cheaper.... however for SD quality the Samsung BD-P2500 is hard to argue with too!

Panasonic DMP-BD35EB-K Profile 2 Blu-ray Disc Player: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Sony BDPS350 Blu-ray Disc Player 1080p Full HD: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Plasma and LCD TVs Glasgow Scotland - Robert Whyte Ltd

[JohnWB]

Originally Posted by Bald Monkey

I agree a £200 BR player and a £700 AV Receiver would probably give better overall results than a more 50/50 split. IMHO

The cheaper players ie. the S350 v's the S550, the BD35 v's the BD55 are better suited to modern AV recievers and HDMI connections.. So the cheaper players will work as well with a new HD audio decoding AV receiever as their more expensive brothers with analogue outputs etc.. which are really better for those with older partner equipment IMHO.

Only if you are going to another price bracket all together such as the Denons or the Flagship sony's and Pioneers will you possibly notice any massive difference in quality IMHO. The price differential amongst the 'basic' players seems to be features such as analogue outputs, basically features you probably will not need or use

So a £200 BR player will probably give you all you want, as you are getting a new AV receiver. Which will then leave you more for the AV reciever. And IMHO there's a big difference between the Sub £500 receivers and the £700+ units. And I also expect it to outlast any other part of your system.

An Onkyo 875 second hand or an 876 with a S350 would be my choice... but then I am biased!

Have a look here for some great BR player reviews and feedback

User Feedback & AVForums Blu-ray Hardware Reviews

So basicaly, the DVD transport system does not change very much from the £200 to £500 players, but the analogue side does. As you say, If I am sticking with digital connections then that would be wasted, so spend the money on the Amp. It is becoming more clear now. I will look into the Onkyos now. What about the more expensive Sony or Yamaha amps etc.

[kingfats]

Originally Posted by JohnWB

I will look into the Onkyos now.

Very popular choice on the forum.

[Scott_Mac]

I'm personally a big Yamaha fan.. the Onkyo's are certainly good though.

If i were you, i'd look second hand, some absolute bargains in the Classifieds on here....

But a Yamaha 763, 863SE or even the 1900 series are all cracking amps! However as above, the Onkyo 875 is certainly a monster!

[Bald Monkey]

Yeah as has been said the Onkyo's are popular on here, but that's not to say you shouldn't look at / audition the other makes. It would be silly to just walk into an AV shop and buy an expensive receiver based on forum reviews alone..

But whichever brand suits you best I think you'll be getting far more value for money with the additional spend on the receiver rather than on the BR player.

[Nic Rhodes]

I think you will much better performance across all sources with a simple transport (say 350) and a good receiver equipped with a Reon. Look to run at 1080P / bitstream for Blu rays through receiver. For DVD use 480i / 576i to receiver. For CD use SPDIF to receiver. Onkyo 876 and Sony 350 are a good place to start.

[Bald Monkey]

Originally Posted by Nic Rhodes

For DVD use 480i / 576i to receiver.

I was thinking about this... A second hand SD-DVD player with source direct may be a better option than using a S350 for SD-DVD.. What 'budget' BR players have source direct???

[kingfats]

Originally Posted by Bald Monkey

I was thinking about this... A second hand SD-DVD player with source direct may be a better option than using a S350 for SD-DVD.. What 'budget' BR players have source direct???

Some DVD players don't do a proper job with the 576i output so it comes out "bodged" so to speak.