Blu-Ray

X · Nov 27, 2010

I just bought a Blu-Ray player at the Black Friday sale @ Walmart. It cost somewhere in the $60 range. Anybody else have one? Can anyone tell me whether or not it's "worth it"? Or did I just pick up a nice Christmas gift for someone else?

waldo7239117 · Nov 27, 2010

I was going to get that, but second guess myself. However, I might still get one if it goes on sale again. I think it's worth it, definitely for $60. The DVD's cost more than regular, but their HD and the picture is WAY better. Also, you can use older DVD's on it. So, you can get blue ray DVD's that are better in screen, but also you can still get regular DVD's to use. So, it's just a DVD player with better advantages.

IronMike · Nov 27, 2010

I think the lack of wifi should be something you need to consider. Adding wifi will run you more than a player that has it built in that are also on sale now. Blu-ray players need to have their firmware updated quite a bit in order for them to be capable of playing all the latest movies. Updating them any other way is a pretty big hassle. Not to mention BD Live features are getting better now so if you don't have the ability to go online with it you're going to be missing out on some cool content.

I was an early adopter of both HD-DVD and Blu-ray. It was a no brainer since I own an XBox 360 and a PS3. I stopped buying DVD's a few years ago. The audio and video quality of Blu-rays is amazing and these days most Blu-rays contain special features that the DVD's do not. This is the tipping point for the format. The studios are going to be digging deep into their catalogs now and the phasing out of DVD is well underway. The studios do not want to support as many formats as they are right now. Not to mention Blu-rays are dirt cheap for the most part these days. Sometimes even cheaper than DVD's on release day.

That said it's a nice price if you want to put your toes in the water but I'd say if you want to make a total transition you'd be better off spending a little more.

I wouldn't say not to keep it just giving thoughts on why you might want to think about the other options.

X · Nov 27, 2010

IronMike said:
I think the lack of wifi should be something you need to consider. Adding wifi will run you more than a player that has it built in that are also on sale now. Blu-ray players need to have their firmware updated quite a bit in order for them to be capable of playing all the latest movies. Updating them any other way is a pretty big hassle. Not to mention BD Live features are getting better now so if you don't have the ability to go online with it you're going to be missing out on some cool content.

I was an early adopter of both HD-DVD and Blu-ray. It was a no brainer since I own an XBox 360 and a PS3. I stopped buying DVD's a few years ago. The audio and video quality of Blu-rays is amazing and these days most Blu-rays contain special features that the DVD's do not. This is the tipping point for the format. The studios are going to be digging deep into their catalogs now and the phasing out of DVD is well underway. The studios do not want to support as many formats as they are right now. Not to mention Blu-rays are dirt cheap for the most part these days. Sometimes even cheaper than DVD's on release day.

That said it's a nice price if you want to put your toes in the water but I'd say if you want to make a total transition you'd be better off spending a little more.

I wouldn't say not to keep it just giving thoughts on why you might want to think about the other options.

The one I got from Walmart is a magnavox that has a wi-fi chip in it. I'm connected to the interwebs already on it...