If I Were To Ask Right Now, At This Very Moment, Straight Up...

Peter Marlowe

...what the absolute best Blu-ray player currently is, what would you recommend or say, regardless of price?

I'm talking awesome, judder/dithering-free BD performance, excellent DVD upscaling and trouble-free bitstreaming of TrueHD and Master Audio...

What would be the recommendation for overall best player right now?

sopranocaponyc

the bd35 or sony s550 i think are the 2 best.they both decode all hd formats.

Peter Marlowe

Thanx Soprano,

I won't be using the player to decode INTERNALLY, but rather send out the RAW BITSTREAMS for TrueHD and Master Audio, so that's why I asked about the trouble-free bitstreaming performance...

As for the BD35, is it "better" than the uptier 55? And is this Panasonic and Sony recommendation somewhat "better" than, say, the "esoteric" choices from the likes of Denon or Marantz, which sell decks for $2K?

Nikopol

I'd still wait for the Oppo.

okdude123

I have the Sony 350 BD player and an Oppo dvd upconverting dvd player. I'd wait for the Oppo. They seem to do things right and better.

Stew

IMHO, when you say "right now", the 35 is probably better than anything out there. The big difference between the 35 and 55 is that the 55 has analog out. If it's not needed, I wouldn't spend the extra bucks for it.

If you're looking for something around mid March, the Oppo would be your best bet. It looks like it's going to be the "Swiss knife" of the Blu-ray set.

HD Goofnut

Not to sure. I would wait for some professional reviews of that new Vizio player and the new Oppo player.

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Loves2Watch

The DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55 did a spectacular job in our video tests. These are the first Panasonic players that pass all of our video processing tests for deinterlacing. The UniPhier also did a great job with our resolution tests. It passed information to the very limits of what’s available from the Blu-ray format in pristine fashion. You would truly be hard-pressed to find better video performance with Blu-ray and DVD playback at any price.

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PFC5

You might want to add the link to this review so they know it comes from one of the best sites that tests the SD DVD & BD players out there.

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Denon AVR-887
Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs)
All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr)
Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35
For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841
Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS
RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+
SA 3250HD
47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom)
Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support)
Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers
The_Cable_Game
Take the high ground and be happier
PSN: PFC5

Loves2Watch

Good idea - http://www.hometheatermag.com/discpl...u-ray_players/

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Live everyday as if it was your last and plan on living forever...

wrj

It would be nice if I could find a Panasonic BD35. Seems like everyone is sold out. I can't believe Panasonic let the supply chain dry up before the replacement units are on suppliers shelves.
Well anyway, I'll be looking at the new BD60 which I think is the BD35replacement. Hopefully, it performs as well and Panasonic didn't "value engineer" it to the point it impacts quality/performance.

I've read on CNET where one negative on the new BD60 is it is not "Netflix" capable. Now I'm not sure that is important to me or not now or in the future. I subsribe to Netflix but do not download. I just get the discs delievered.

PFC5

Panasonic seems to do this every year with their products and they must think it is better to not sell anything for a month or two rather than to have to reduce prices to clear them out. They did the same thing with the upscaling S97 when they came out with the S77 which was a slightly lesser player from reviews from what I remember. i remember trying to buy an S97 and none of the local stores had one well before the replacement model got to the stores.

To complain about a feature that was never in the prior model being replaced seems ridiculous to me, but some like to complain about anything it seems.

__________________
Denon AVR-887
Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs)
All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr)
Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35
For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841
Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS
RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+
SA 3250HD
47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom)
Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support)
Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers
The_Cable_Game
Take the high ground and be happier
PSN: PFC5

Mr645

Some of your higher end BD players include

http://us.marantz.com/Products/2393.asp

This unit from Goldmund, although I have yet to see a review
http://www.goldmund.com/products/eidos20bd/

This new Denon also plays SACD and DVD-A
http://www.blu-ray.com/players/players.php?p=1&id=120

Sony offers the BDP-S5000ES

Peter Marlowe

Hey Nik,

Thanks for your thoughts...can I ask why you would recommend going with the Oppo over what's out now -- is it because it promises excellent DVD performance?

Peter Marlowe

Thanx for your thoughts; are you having trouble with your Sony deck for DVD playback?

I didn't really want to go down the two-decks-in-a-rack route again (I owned an Oppo 983 that I returned) so I wanted to get the "all in one" solution which is leading me toward those really expensive Denons and Marantzes (same decks I believe)...