Tesco Technika Blu-ray player GBP150

I think it's fair to say that every player and every manufacturer have had problems with some discs.

Perhaps the biggest difference we'll see is in the speed of response from the manufacturers with firmware updates.

Steve W

Not for my Sony S350 (and I assume the S550). I am still running on the original firmware and it has played every old and new released BD I have put in it.

I will never get these cheap branded players because of this problem. I don't want to have a new BD and left waiting for the manufacturer to sort out a new firmware.
 
Not for my Sony S350 (and I assume the S550). I am still running on the original firmware and it has played every old and new released BD I have put in it.

I will never get these cheap branded players because of this problem. I don't want to have a new BD and left waiting for the manufacturer to sort out a new firmware.

It's not just the cheap branded players that have problems that require/d FW updates to play certain discs correctly. mentioning no names Pioneer :devil:
 
It's not just the cheap branded players that have problems that require/d FW updates to play certain discs correctly. mentioning no names Pioneer :devil:

I know, but that relates to older players rather than new models. My point is buy a decent branded player rather than these no name players that sometimes only save a few pounds over the brand names if someone wants disc compatibility.

I wouldn't buy Pioneer anyway. Never liked their DVD players.
 
Probably due to naivety, I bought a Technika Blu-Ray player from Tesco yesterday - didn't give it too much thought really.

It didn't work for the first two Blu-ray discs I tried ('Quantum of Solace' and 'Taken'). In each case, selecting 'play' and pressing 'enter' from the main disc menu just ends up reloading the menu, with a message "Loading the title" and a circulating dots image on the screen, which then takes you back to the disc menu. I have been able to play a couple of other Blu-ray discs (eg. BBC Planet Earth) and some DVDs without this problem.

So I took it back, and Tesco replaced it with no questions asked. But these discs don't work on the replacement either. Trying to find out what the problem might be, I read on another forum that Quantum of Solace has not been working on several leading brand players due to firmware compatibility issues. Perhaps that is the problem here? But I have no idea where to get firmware updates for this player or how to install them.

Nor do I think I should have to. It should go without saying that users of well-designed consumer electronics products should NEVER be exposed to problems to do with firmware. I don't want a product (either the player or the discs), where compatibility is not immediately apparent and simple to understand.

When it works, it is fine - good sound and picture - and I would not be able to tell it apart from the Sony player I have at my other house. It does seem to take a long time to get started.

The Bush also struggles with QOS. Coincidence?????? :D
http://www.avforums.com/forums/blu-...1-bush-bd01-owners-thread-29.html#post9149204
 
Was going to watch QOS tonight as the kids are away, hope it plays OK! Firmware up-dates are a menace of the 21st century, we managed without them when laserdiscs and dvd's were around..LOL
 
You know, it's a funny thing.

Every time a decent 'cheap' player comes along (it used to be the Sammy BD-P1500, now it's the Technika and the Bush) someone pops up saying how much trouble they've had...and regularly it's someone who's popped out of nowhere and has 1 or 2 posts to their name, whilst most 'seasoned vetrans' at these forums appear to have no trouble with them.

Pure coincidence, of course.

Steve W
 
You know, it's a funny thing.

Every time a decent 'cheap' player comes along (it used to be the Sammy BD-P1500, now it's the Technika and the Bush) someone pops up saying how much trouble they've had...and regularly it's someone who's popped out of nowhere and has 1 or 2 posts to their name, whilst most 'seasoned vetrans' at these forums appear to have no trouble with them.

Pure coincidence, of course.

Steve W

I still have the Sammy 1500 on original firmware and have had no problems playing discs.
 
You know, it's a funny thing.

Every time a decent 'cheap' player comes along (it used to be the Sammy BD-P1500, now it's the Technika and the Bush) someone pops up saying how much trouble they've had...and regularly it's someone who's popped out of nowhere and has 1 or 2 posts to their name, whilst most 'seasoned vetrans' at these forums appear to have no trouble with them.

Pure coincidence, of course.

Steve W
I don't think the Bush's problems were imaginary, and it wouldn't surprise me if this player was built on the same Broadcom reference platform, as the Bond movie menu thing is very similar to the problem the Bush had.
 
I don't think the Bush's problems were imaginary, and it wouldn't surprise me if this player was built on the same Broadcom reference platform, as the Bond movie menu thing is very similar to the problem the Bush had.

Didn't say they were imaginary on the Bush...though time has been unkind to those who claimed the Sammy was going to be rubbish.

Steve W
 
just looked on amazon reviews.interestingly there a few owners of new sony players with the lastest firmware not being able to play starship troopers 3.the technika i own plays this no problem,.in fact every film ive put in it as played no problem.
 
It's not just the cheap branded players that have problems that require/d FW updates to play certain discs correctly. mentioning no names Pioneer :devil:

I've played Quantum of Solace a couple of times on my BD350. On both occasions, subtitles were on by default.
 
a friend of mine has the technika bluray player, bought from tesco. at first most discs would play but recently some of the newer titles wouldnt play.
i noticed that the discs which wouldnt play were BD-50 dual-layer format and the ones which played never had this info on the back.
im assuming that bd-50 dual layer is a new format for recent BD's and maybe not compatible with the technika?

as for updating firmware on the technika... is it simply a matter of sticking an ethernet cable in and choosing to update?
 
as for updating firmware on the technika... is it simply a matter of sticking an ethernet cable in and choosing to update?

I'm unfamiliar with the Technika :( sorry,but yes that's one method of updating a player.
Usually you proceed from the menu which lets you update if available.
 
a friend of mine has the technika bluray player, bought from tesco. at first most discs would play but recently some of the newer titles wouldnt play.
i noticed that the discs which wouldnt play were BD-50 dual-layer format and the ones which played never had this info on the back.
im assuming that bd-50 dual layer is a new format for recent BD's and maybe not compatible with the technika?

as for updating firmware on the technika... is it simply a matter of sticking an ethernet cable in and choosing to update?

3.10 to yuma is bd-50 dual layer,and my technika plays this no problem,so dont think this is an issue.
 
...It didn't work for the first two Blu-ray discs I tried ('Quantum of Solace' and 'Taken'). In each case, selecting 'play' and pressing 'enter' from the main disc menu just ends up reloading the menu, with a message "Loading the title" and a circulating dots image on the screen, which then takes you back to the disc menu. I have been able to play a couple of other Blu-ray discs (eg. BBC Planet Earth) and some DVDs without this problem.

Damn, should've read this thread before taking the plunge yesterday. Got home tonight with Taken and Slumdog which I'd rented from Blockbuster and neither get past the main menu.

Oh well, back for a refund tomorrow.

Anything else towards this price bracket worth considering ?
 
Well, since it's not £69.99 anymore, I think I'll save my pennies and go for the sony BD350 at richer sounds at £139.95. Way too much high recommendation here not to buy the sony and from the mixed reviews on the technika, I think that product could well turn out to be false economy. Having bought a logik lcd tv recently, returned it and bought a samsung for £35 more but which is infinitely superior picture quality, it made me realise the advantage of respected brand name AV products. The sony is probably too good for my modest 19" samsung 720p but should still look amazing.
 
This is my first post.

This Technika Blu-ray player is now available from Tesco Direct for an amazing £69.97 - so anyone can get it. They charge £5 to have it delivered to your house or nothing to deliver it to a local store:

Unexpected error occurred - Tesco.Direct

I have ordered one - with an additional ten pounds of discount that Tesco kindly gave me because they had run out of Sony S350s - which I saw in my local Tesco (on one day only on the 30th June for £95 - what a fool not to buy one then). Anyway, this will mean that I get a brand new blu ray player for £59.97! Incredible.

Anway, I would like to be able to upgrade the firmware.

Reading around other forums, if this is similar to the Bush and/or the American Insignia model, then does that make it a Funai... Not at all sure about any of this...

Possibly Similar to this American Insignia Model:
Insignia™ Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Output : Insignia

Possibly Funai OEM?:
Funai BD Player - Owner's Thread (Magnavox. Sylvania, Insignia, etc.) - Blu-ray Forum

Could somebody let me know if you can update the firmware from the Ethernet port and/or comment on the above?

Cheers,

confusednerd
 
Be careful of this machine, I bought one last weekend and of the first two films I tried with it, neither would play (Taken & Slumdog) so there is a good chance others won't (I would be concerned about new/upcoming films especially).

You're better off shelling out for a branded machine.
 
You are probably right - but if it play most disks I'll be happy. I'll probably buy a better player at some point and relegate this to the bedroom. However, at the moment I am just experimenting with HD and this is a pretty small outlay.

It may well be similar to the Bush and the American Insignia NS-2BRDVD. For the curious take a look at these links:

Bush Owners Thread - They Seem to be Achieving Some Success with Tinkering
http://www.avforums.com/forums/blu-ray-players/858581-bush-bd01-owners-thread-31.html

A Review of the Insignia NS-2BRDVD
Insignia NS-2BRDVD DVD Player reviews - CNET Reviews
 
Final post until I get the player - the bush guys seem to have firmware for Blue Ray Profile 2.0 Region A from June 2009 - via the US Insignia model - I wonder if this would work with the Technika... this sounds more interesting now doesn't it?

Bush Owners Thread - They Seem to be Achieving Some Success with Tinkering
Bush BD01 Owners Thread

Re: Bush BD01 Owners Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by ds-2009
has anyone installed the latest firmware yet. insignias website has new firmware from june.


Yes, I have.

It updates the player to profile 2.0. I haven't noticed any other changes though.
 
im very shocked no one has tried to install the insigna firmware on this this player yet
 

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