BluRay apparently here to stay.

Timelord · **Posted:** Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:24 am

I'll admit to being in the annoying posistion of being a geek on a tight budget. Much of the best and coolest tech in entertainment, flat screen TV's, 3D, hi-def, smart-phones, have been passed on by me due to the fact that I simply can't afford them, and to be perfectly honest there is a practical side to my brain that has an issue with throwing out a TV even if it is standard def and old.

So knowing this, it will come to no surprise to you that I have not previously jumped on the BluRay bandwagon. Standard definition TV and DVD player I love has kept me firmly in the 20th century. My thoughts were that in the end I would skip the latest disc format and jump all in to a hi-def all digital streaming "something" on my wall.

Problem is, the movie industry has apparently made a decision as to where that want their content. I've noticed that the special features and bonus content have been quickly moving from the DVD option to the BluRay. Just recently I had a movie to review and it was the big combo pack. The DVD had the movie, two short featurettes and a commentary. While this isn't a bad selection for a DVD, it is short of being filled to capacity. The BluRay however had all that plus even more featurettes plus a cool set up that would allow you to sync up your PC or mobile device with a website that would pop up details and behind the scene notes as you watch the movie. Sort of a remote "pop-up video". How cool is that?! (Sorry,.. you can keep the out-takes and deleted scenes, but I'm a sucker for the nuts and bolts of what goes into a movie)

So, in the end, content has made me order a BluRay player. I will still not benefit on any quality front as I will still be jamming the signal down A/V cables to a big tube, but at least I will get all the bells and whistles that I have been quietly lamenting over like a kid outside a 5¢ candy store with only 4 pennies in his palm.

(But I'm still not paying what they want a month to own a damned smart-phone!)

Scorpiuscat · **Posted:** Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:43 pm

I hope you did some research and got a player with WiFi and a USB port.

I dont play many blu-ray disks, but i do find myself streaming content from my computer to my TV via the Blu-Ray player and the USB port has become invaluable when it comes to playing downloaded Blu-Ray content.

mikeymike · **Joined:** Mon Mar 24, 2008 12:05 pm **Posts:** 2032

Does Blu-ray still have the stupid region setup that DVDs have?

I'd like to get the complete collection of Daria episodes, but it's region 1 only. I was pretty-much given a Sony Blu-ray player when my DVD player died, so I wasn't in a position to argue really, but I know what Sony is like when it comes to providing the customer with flexibility or choice. I could change the region on my second DVD drive but that would mean that I could only watch it on my computer.

Timelord · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:23 am

The player is WiFi ready and does have USB. The later was a BIG feature that was a must have once I discovered that it existed. I don't use Netflix, but I too would take advantage of trying to stream from content already on my computer if I can. IF not, simply copying to a flash drive and plugging it in is no big deal.
I'm buying a Sony and they of course want you to spend 70-80 bucks on THEIR WiFi adapter, but I'll try the wireless dongle I already own before I'll plop that kind of money down.

I'm assuming the BluRay's are region coded like the DVDs. That is disappointing and I wish they would do away with that all together. I imagine with the difference in price between overseas currency and the US dollar, they don't want to lose out with UK, etc. purchasing in the US. With the outrageous shipping costs, I don't see much, if any, advantage to the consumer to do so. When it comes to content not available in a particular region you'd think they would just be happy that someone was buying it and not ripping it off the internet.

Cybermonk · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 9:02 pm **Posts:** 1853

There are less regions now with BluRay than there were with DVD. Three vs the former six.
And now Mexico, USA and Canada and Japan are all in the same region so the anime folks will be somewhat appeased.

Europe is grouped with Africa so we in North America will still have to wait for BBC stuff.

The interesting thing, tho, is that many studios don't even bother with region coding on BluRay. From what I've been told Warner Bros, Paramount and Universal movies rarely are region locked. Disney locks some titles (No Song of the South for you!) and MGM locks nearly everything.

I'm curious, TL, did you have to string up a chain of converters or did your BluRay player come with an NTSC compatible connection that you could send directly to the TV?

Timelord · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:26 pm

I haven't actually got it yet. Not sure why I would need a string of converters? I will be plugging in the A/C cables to a switcher much like I have been doing with my various players.

Scorpiuscat · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 7:41 pm

Good job, looks like you got a good player.

Blu-ray files dont stream well or not at all in my experiance, so the USB port for a flash drive to play those files is a must.

You should be able to do slide shows from picture folder on your computer to your TV as well.

Timelord · **Posted:** Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:26 pm

Well its allset up and seems pretty nice, but i think I'll have to ship it back. The front USB isn't working. I'm going to see how much trouble the return policy is from the site we bought it from and decide if it is worth the trouble.

The USB on the rear works fine, though the player is pretty picky about which flash drive I use. It doesn't even see my 8gig Corsair drive but has no issues with my cheap MicroCenter 4gig.

The file formats are very particular as well apparently. It will play a variety of files including AVI, but they must be a particular variet. I have some AVI's that work and some that don't. It will take some experimenting to discover what codecs and settings work best.

Oh, and my cheap wireless USB adapter doesn't work with it so if I ever want to network it I'll have to spring for the $75 Sony adapter. Since that will effectively double the price of this little exercise, I think that can wait.

Scorpiuscat · **Posted:** Mon Feb 06, 2012 9:27 pm

Make sure the damn thing is updated, the manufacture may have fixed some issues with software updates.

Timelord · **Posted:** Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:06 am

Can't update it without it being on the network. Nice catch22 there.

Cybermonk · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 9:02 pm **Posts:** 1853

You may be able to update by burning a disc with the new software. That's how my DVD player worked back in the day before everything had a network jack... I dunno.

If the front jacks don't work tho I'd just send it back.

Timelord · **Posted:** Wed Feb 22, 2012 9:06 am

Well, sent the broken one back and got a refund. It is apparently a discontinued model and the outlet purchased from had no more, but I found the exact model for the exact price at Sears.
Hooked it in and everything works great. USBs and otherwise.

Now I just have to experiment and figure out the proper settings for the formats that play from the flash drives. Seems to be pretty picky about codecs or something.
There is a long list of formats that it will play, just have to figure out the best and easiest.

BluRay apparently here to stay.

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