Blue Ray seems to finally have hit prime time. What in everyones opinion is the best blue ray player (in terms of picture/sound quality as well as seemless interoperability with the BV7 Mark III/BS 3).

From what I understand it needs to be able to output the new HD audio formats via PCM as well as have a good PUC.

I am looking at Pioneer, Sony, and Panasonic but can't for the life of me figure out which one would be best

Many people believe the Sony PS3 is the best. A few adaptations to make it work with the BeoVision 7, but probably a pretty good recommendation.

No adaptions is needed to work with BV7 mkIII, just plug the HDMI in :-)

The PS3 is fast between the menues on BD and have proberly a better picture quiality on dvd than the dvdplayer in BV7, but i won`t say that it is the best BD player on the marked.

Oppo is comming whit a BD player in few monthe (in Europe) you shut take a look at that, many have high expatations to that player and i thing that in price/ quaility it`s gonna be the best.

Maybe the Panasonic DMR-BW500.  It has a lot more features than just playing blue ray. I'd say better picture quality and sound though it is expensive. The PUC config is being written and will be available shortly.

Beoaus.

Looking for the "best" blu ray player might not be an easy task. I ask myself the same question a month ago. The challenge at least from my point of view is that the picture quality outputting a blu ray from the most current models is very close together.

I could not see any difference between Panasonic, Samsung and Denon. 

So next step for me was to understand if there is any noticable difference with playing back standard DVD's. Samsungs player with the build in Reon chip was in theory much better than the Panasonic, but I have to say, with the BS3 in between, it was hard to see the difference even on my 2,24m screen.

Finally, picture performance was much closer together than the reviews I have seen in most of the magazins so my purchasing decission was based on how easy the system could be operate, noise level and price. And not to forget how the PUC is performing.

Long story short, I ordered a Panasonic BD35. It is not perfect (e.g. slow operation) but a lot bang for the buck

I can't fault my PS3. I wasn't a game player before I bought it, but realised it would serve various purposes (ie. I wasn't spending £300 to simply play better quality DVDs). It's ultra-quiet and performs well. I do now play the odd game, too.

You can buy the Goldmund blu-ray player if you want the best, but it's not cheap  (12000,-) .

I should look at a Panasonic BD55 in the range 300,-. Very good player with the latest technologies.

Well guys had my BV7 Mk 3 40 inch with software 5.04 installed yesterday including the ability to control the PS3 from the Beo 5 and the picture quality is simply staggering.  This is accomplished using the Nyco USB stick that simply goes into a USB port.  Watched Apocalypto and the colors are simply amazing.  

The PS3 plays games, upscales DVDs, acts as a media server. What other BR player on the market can boast that amount of flexibility.  I also have control of my Apple Tv and Virgin box.  

The PS3 is also increadibly easy to update the firmware on it over the internet, whereas other players are not set up to do this. So you will always be taking full advantage of your Blu Ray movies because of this.

beodude:

The PS3 is also increadibly easy to update the firmware on it over the internet, whereas other players are not set up to do this. So you will always be taking full advantage of your Blu Ray movies because of this.

BDP-S350 (and I would expect the more expensive models also) does this as well.

Go for the latest Denon universal disc player offering out this month. It has already gotten rave reviews for its previous incarnation. 

FWIW, the Nyco stick is quite difficult to get hold of in the UK. The Panasonic BD35 seems to do the job well although it's not exactly the fastest player I've used.

I actually purchased the Nyco stick from amazon and it arrived only 4 days after the order was placed. However the usability of the stick once in place is very good and i have had no problems since its installation.

Are the PS 3's front loading, like a normal DVD player ?

The PS3 has a slot loading drive. It is loaded by sliding the disc through a slot at the front of the player, so like a normal dvd player:

This can also be done when the PS3 is standing up vertically

Excellent - thank you Beodude. I have limited space available in my unit and just wanted to make sure before ordering one.

I don't have a PlayStation but from reading reviews it seems that while it is an excellent blue ray player (in terms of responsiveness perhaps the best) it is not that great when it comes to DVD playback. 

Also my understanding was that you cannot use the Beo4 remote to turn the playstation on and off (though perhaps this is not that big a problem) even if you have the USB stick. 

Regarding the new Panasonic and Denon players does anyone know if the PUC lists have been updated for them yet.

Pioneer BD 80 and Denon´s new BD transport are the best.

Then Sony S350 and S550 are placed at second.

And the new Oppo BD with the Anchor Bay chip i think will be a hard one to beat!

The Sony PS3 can be turned off with the addition of the latest PS3 software due to a turn system off facility on the menu bar.  The PS3 can only be turned on with the controller. 

So with the Nyco stick you can turn it off but not on initially.

Beolab:

Pioneer BD 80 and Denon´s new BD transport are the best.

Then Sony S350 and S550 are placed at second.

And the new Oppo BD with the Anchor Bay chip i think will be a hard one to beat!

How can one place the Sony S350/550 ahead of their flagship BDP-S5000ES?

It is a superb player,which is rated in some quarters as the equal of the much more expensive Denon 3800.

TerryM:

Beolab:

Pioneer BD 80 and Denon´s new BD transport are the best.

Then Sony S350 and S550 are placed at second.

And the new Oppo BD with the Anchor Bay chip i think will be a hard one to beat!

 

How can one place the Sony S350/550 ahead of their flagship BDP-S5000ES?

It is a superb player,which is rated in some quarters as the equal of the much more expensive Denon 3800.

 

The PQ are the same in the S550 and S5000ES! It´s just the soundprocessing, dual lasers and built quality who it´s better in the ES series...

But the picture on BD are the same! Tacke a look if you come by a Sony Concept Center...

Regards

Beolab:

TerryM:

Beolab:

Pioneer BD 80 and Denon´s new BD transport are the best.

Then Sony S350 and S550 are placed at second.

And the new Oppo BD with the Anchor Bay chip i think will be a hard one to beat!

 

How can one place the Sony S350/550 ahead of their flagship BDP-S5000ES?

It is a superb player,which is rated in some quarters as the equal of the much more expensive Denon 3800.

 

 

 

The PQ are the same in the S550 and S5000ES! It´s just the soundprocessing, dual lasers and built quality who it´s better in the ES series...

But the picture on BD are the same! Tacke a look if you come by a Sony Concept Center...

 

Regards

Hi,

   this may be true with all of the S5000ES's additional PQ options switched off.

However,with it's SBM,and the Reality Enhancer,option engaged the BD PQ is taken to a far higher level than that of the S350/550 series.

I do own a S5000ES,but there are enough user reports on the relevent avsforum,and avforum,threads to indicate how it compares to other high end players.

Regards.

One question that has not been answered in any of these posts is do the PUC codes work equally well. 

The Dennon is clearly a fantastic machine but has anyone actually used one with the B&O PUC codes? The same for the Panasonic and Sony machines.

Finally, is anyone having issues with decoding the new HD formats?

Just replaced our Sony BDP-S300 with the BDP-S550. So far I am very impressed and very happy with the 550.

i've had 3 ps3's in the last 18 months and have to say not terribly impressed with their reliability , my last one had to go back to sony with the game disc still in it , lost all my game saves , the lot

also the pic is very grainy , i've read that there are better players pq wise 

pros : wifi sw update , games

cons : unreliable , grainy pq

i'd buy one for gaming and occasional movie watching , but for a superb tv like a bv7 i'd probably go for the top of the range denon , now that looks a real beauty !

why spend £8k on a tv then skimp on the source ??