Posted on 03/14/2010 9:12:46 PM PDT by Cedar
Of course one of the big dogs at Sony said he couldn’t tell the difference between a good upconverter of regular DVD and Blu-Ray until the TV got bigger than 50 inches. Even non-upconverted doesn’t show much difference at under about 35.
The Panasonic Blu-Ray someone gave us for Christmas died by the first week of February. Just died. I missed the Pandora music stations the most and the Netflix streaming. We sent it back fot repair or replacement, and in the waiting time diccovered Roku. We like it better. The only downside is no youtube, but most youtubes are not of great quality anyway. We don’t have a HD TV yet because our old 55” rear Projector is still working fine, so the HD quality for us is not a factor right now.
My jaw is still on the floor.
Of course some movies are better than others, UP, Star Trek, Iron Man were all visually stunning, almost 3D like at some points.
Black Hawk Down not nearly as much.
I'll be looking at 2012 this weekend, should be a treat.
LOL. Blu-ray movies are too expensive, don’t plan on buying them.
Just wanted a Blu-ray player for getting Netflix in HD resolution (1080)...and also Youtube content.
Get a PS3. It’s great for Blu-Ray and connects to wireless internet very easy.
Costs a little less than high end players but unless you have the $6,000 TV, you won’t know the difference.
And you can read FreeRepublic on your TV with it!
You’ll be popular with the kids too....
I considered the Xbox and PS3. Since I don’t do games, thought maybe the extra cost would not be worth it for me??
Trying to keep this all at a reasonable price range. I don’t even watch a lot of movies...prefer real life! But for the maybe 2 or 3 movies a week I watch, Netflix seemed like a good idea for getting ones I’m interested in.
I have watched NetFlix streaming via an Xbox, Roku and a PS3... the Xbox provides the best viewing experience, by far...
but Roku is a fine choice if you have absolutely not intention of ever playing games.
The Roku HD is nice. With a 32” TV, I would not sweat the difference between 720P and 1080I/P. Unless you sit closer than 3 or 4 feet from the TV, you won’t see the difference. If you sit farther than 7 or 8 feet from a 32”, you won’t benefit from HD at all compared to a good DVD player. HD over the Roku looks great on my 54” plasma, somewhere between DVD and broadcast HD, both of which look pretty darn good.
For sound, if your Bose has Optical In, you can connect the sound from the Roku HD to the Bose via a TOSlink cable.
Others here mentioned their Roku but I’m still wondering about the HD picture quality. Does your Roku stream in HD quality? Seems I’ve read at online forums either Roku or Netflix put a limit on streaming resolution.
Had posted before I read your comments.
That’s encouraging to hear about being able to use the Bose...and also about the Roku picture quality.
First off, only a select number of films are available in HD...
Second, make sure you have a super fast internet connection or you won’t be able to watch in HD anyway...
Third, I believe NetFlix HD is at 720 - if you have a 32 inch TV, you won’t be able to tell the difference.
I will say that even on a small 32” the difference between using component cables or just RCA cables is huge! Of course, that’s also because of the HD channels on Comcast. My picture is crystal clear with the component. Not so when I just used the RCA.
If there would be no noticeable difference, then maybe the Roku HD would be the best choice after all. I would miss the Youtube option. But price-wise, the Roku can’t be beat.
I’ve got the predecessor to the Panasonic you mention, it has a good picture and works reasonably well with Youtube. It does have one flaw with Youtube — you can’t fast forward within videos.
Netflix seems to work better on a dedicated device. I use my Xbox360 but a Blu Ray player should work fine. One advantage of the Roku is that it supports a wide range of other internet streaming options, including MLB.TV and a bunch of internet TV services.
There is no reason why you can’t hook up a Blu Ray by HDMI to your TV and run a digital out to your Bose. I’ve done that for years and it works just fine. They will all allow the audio to run through a separate digital audio out.
One unsolicited testimonial. Check out monoprice.com for cheap HD cables and stuff like HMDI switches.
I should have mentioned that I have a Netflix account, with a PS3 and a Sony Bravia, and its great!
I’m thinking Roku will be adding additional content in the near future too. If not for football games, I would cancel Comcast.
A friend at work loves his PS3. But he plays lots of games.
The PS3 does everything, dont forget. It will hold your music, pictures, videos, you name it. DVDs are at maximum quality through a PS3, and that quality is fantastic! Also, you can choose BluRays through your mail order Netflix account and you definately should. With the PS3, should you change your mind about your technological preferences, you wont have to for some time. And even if you are not an avid gamer, there is something for you out there. Batman: Arkham Asylum, totally awesome...JFK
Ah, decisions, decisions...
Though I have to say, just went over to the breaking news health care bill thread, and my problem seems so unimportant. :)
Our country needs lots of prayer.
Watching some of those really old movies, like Robin Hood or the Wizard of Oz - Well, it’s like I’ve never seen them before. They are magnificent on Blu-ray.
I have a PS3. I highly recommend it. Not only is it a great blu-ray player, it does such a great job of interpreting movies that even regular DVDs look so much better than they ever did.
It costs a touch of cash, but we got ours used from someone, haven’t regretted it. Not a day goes by we don’t use it. It’s been worth every cent.
Plus, netflix gives you a free disc - put it in the PS3 and it streams netflix.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.