Blu ray Buyer's Guide

HD DVD is dead. Its time to buy a Blu-ray player

By Heath McKnight

With the massive support and exclusivity of major studios, manufacturers, and stores (both brick-and-mortar, and online), Blu-ray is the clear choice for high definition DVD. With capacities averaging 25GB and 50GB, and bigger discs on the way, plus full 1080p playback, Blu-ray belongs in your home entertainment center, or even in your computer.

Toshiba officially announced the end of the HD DVD format on February 19, 2008. With Warner Bros., Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Netflix and others going exclusively with Blu-ray, HD DVD just couldn`t survive. However, many of us fence sitters were waiting for the shoe to drop, because we didn`t want to be left holding onto the losing format. This is the moment we`ve been anticipating since the battle began in 2006, and now is the time to buy a Blu-ray disc player.

Tips
Make sure you get a player with multiple ports. Keep in mind that HDMI (uncompressed digital video and audio signal) and Component (uncompressed video signal) are the only ports that support HD, though you can watch the content through Composite (A/V, RCA) or S-Video (video only). You`ll want to make sure you have the digital audio output option, for the best possible audio experience.

When you choose an HDTV, HDMI and digital audio ports are a must! If you`re looking for a great HDTV to go along with your new Blu-ray player purchase, check out my HDTV buyers guide

Prices
Prices are finally dropping on Blu-ray disc players, but they haven`t quite bottomed out yet. But the pricing is similar to what happened a decade ago with DVD. The cheapest price came in late 1998, one year after DVD players debuted. Toshiba offered a DVD player for $250. Within a couple of years, the prices had dropped to around $100 to $150, and continued dropping from there.

I predict the same will happen with Blu-ray disc players, especially as more and more consumers jump onboard. The average price right now is $399. In terms of sizes, Some companies are testing 120GB capacities. Right now, discs are 25GB or 50GB each, so there`s no need for two discs anymore, unless it`s a compilation. I also believe disc prices will start to drop as more people gravitate to Blu-ray. Plus, you get full HD, 1080p resolution; 7.1 surround sound; and more! Currently Blu Ray movies are still fairly expensive at around $30 per title, but you should expect that to drop as more people get into the Blu Ray game. Movie viewers are accustomed to paying about $15 per title, not $30.

Blu-ray Disc Players
Okay, so let`s take a look at the growing number of companies who support Blu-ray players, and which is the best deal for you.

Sony
Sony Playstation 3: It was once so expensive and scarce, Sony allowed XBOX 360 and especially the Nintendo Wii to dominate. Over a year later, things have changed. Prices have dropped, more games are being produced and there`s a great selection of movies to choose from. The starting price of a PS3 is around $399, which gets you a Blu-ray player and an excellent gaming system. Blu-ray disc (BD) and DVD playback is excellent, plus you can download all sorts of video content from a high-speed broadband connection. This is my Blu-ray disc player best buy option. Check out www.playstation.com for more information.

Sony's PlayStation 3 plays Blu ray discs

The chief company behind the format, Sony offers many great players that range in prices from $399 for the BDP-S300 to $1,299 for the BDP-S2000ES, which offers some incredible features to give you a better viewing experience.
An affordable option is the Sony BD-ROM drive for $199, the BDU-X10S, which can be installed directly into your computer. Many DVD fans did just this a decade ago, and enjoyed their films on their computer screens. Sony also offers a rewritable drive, the BWU200S, which costs $599. Plus, there are new options to plug the computer/BD-ROM drive into your television. Find out more at www.sonystyle.com.

Panasonic's DMP-BD30K.

Panasonic
Panasonic really took the Blu-ray ball and ran with it. At CES 2008, I was very impressed with its Blu-ray disc player offerings. It didn`t hurt to see them playing BD movies on some excellent Panasonic HDTVs, including the jaw-dropping 103" plasma. Blu-ray disc players include the DMP-BD30K, which at $499, is a great offering. I`ve had some experience with this player, and I`m very impressed with it. Visit www.panasonic.com/blu-ray.

Other Manufacturers
Pioneer Electronics was one of the first with Blu-ray disc players out on the market, and its two Elite offerings, the BDP-94HD and BDP-95FD, both listed at $999, are two excellent Blu-ray players. Pioneer also offers a few BD-ROMS and rewritable drives, including the BDC-2202 for $199. Find out more at www.pioneerelectronics.com.

Still have a bunch of HD DVDs sitting around, but you don`t want two players? Check out the LG Super Blu Player, which also supports HD DVD playback. It costs $999, but I wouldn`t be surprised if prices started dropping. Some stores are offering rebates. If you`re looking for a computer option, LG has several drives that start at $299, including the GGC-H20L, which also supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD playback. www.lge.com 

LG SuperBlu

Like LG, Samsung`s BD-UP5000 offers a dual-format player, which supports HD DVD and Blu-ray. I found prices as low at $800 on reputable websites. Samsung`s $399 player is the BD-P1400. Visit www.samsung.com for more information.

Sharp Blu ray player

Sharp`s $399 player is the Aquos BD-HP20, and works very well with the Sharp Aquos HDTVs. Those are some of the best HDTVs I`ve seen, along with the Sony Bravia line. www.sharp.com

Computers
Sony (www.sony.com), HP (www.hp.com), Dell and Alienware (both www.dell.com) are among the manufacturers who support Blu-ray disc players and burners, built into the computers. Apple, which sits on the official Blu-ray board, has yet to provide players/burners in its systems, or special software to create, encode and burn Bds.

Blu-ray Camcorders
Hitachi offers the world`s first Blu-ray HD camcorder, the DZ-BD70A, which records full HD (1920 x 1080p/i resolution). You shoot and then hit the Finalize Button to write to BD disc, up to an hour of full HD video. That`s pretty slick! There`s also a 30GB hard disc drive (HDD)/Blu-ray disc option, the DZ-BD7HA.

Both are very similar in design, and feature a 5.3 megapixel (mp) CMOS sensor, again, full HD. You can also record in 1440 x 1080 (the same size as HDV), which will store up to 8 hours on the HDD, 4 hours in full HD. For DVD recording, you can use either the HDD or a regular DVD-r disc. Both feature HDMI-ports, along with USB, Component, Composite, and S-Video, plus stereo-out. I`ve seen prices range from $1000 at some sites, all the way up to $1,500. Find out more at http://av.hitachi.com/camcorder/.

Conclusion
Blu-ray support is growing, and I wouldn`t be surprised if Toshiba starts making players soon, too. One thing I`d like to see more of is content. I`m sure Universal and Paramount/DreamWorks (the last studios supporting only HD DVD) will come back to Blu-ray, but I`d love to see classic movies released on BD.

Also, Criterion (www.criterion.com), the wonderful company that masters important, classic, and modern films, along with great special features, easily moved from laser disc to DVD, so I expect it`ll be making some Blu-ray announcements in the near future. For more information on Blu-ray, check out www.bluraydisc.com, which has links to BD players from other manufacturers.