simple_person_india
Member
Firstly, I have been reviewing all existing forum posts for the past few months while I procrastinated about which Blu Ray Disc Player to buy. So please bear with me as I have exercised due diligence before making this post as I still need help and inputs from you all.
Here are my requirements... I have a Samsung 40" LCD (NOT 3D) along with an Onkyo Home Theatre System. I now wish to buy a Blu Ray Disc Player (BDP) that can play the following:
(1) American Blu Ray Discs and DVDs if I rent from a local library. I also own USA's DVDs.
(2) India Blu Ray Disc and DVDs.
(3) VCDs of Gujarati Plays and Hindi Movies.
(4) Ethernet connection port (don't need Wi-Fi) that should play at least YouTube.com videos (and TED.com videos if possible).
(5) USB related media including JPEGs, MP3, etc. But I do NOT download too much stuff from the Internet so I don't know about different formats required and I am not too keen on that kind of stuff except legal YouTube.com and TED.com videos.
(6) Audio CDs.
(7) Sony Handycam recorded DVDs.
(8) Multi-channel HDMI output to give a true Home Theatre effect for my 5 channel Onkyo HT unit.
(9) I am definitely NOT looking for an expensive hi-fi piece and do NOT require 3D. My budget is under 10K.
Samsung BD-D5100 plays VCDs as stated on Samsung India website -
BD-D5100 - OVERVIEW | SAMSUNG India
But all India based brands being sold with bill and warranty are 'Region C' and so they will not play USA Blu Ray or DVDs.
Philips and Onida are Indian brands that may play multiple regions (I read somewhere that even LG has a model that plays other regions) but I am not sure about their quality and if they will compare / last for at least 4-5 years. I will appreciate your inputs / guidance about these above brands for my given requirements.
Apart from reading / researching online, I also went to a local store 'Alfa' in Irla area in Mumbai. The Alfa guy told me that any imported brand (Panasonic, Sony, etc.) will play both American Blu Rays and DVDs as well as Indian Blu Rays and DVDs. He was recommending imported Panasonic DMP-BD75GA-K that comes without a bill and warranty but he was confident that it will play all region (at least USA and India) Blu Rays and DVDs. The Outer BOX clearly stated Region A but he insisted that when it says "Region A" it plays Regions A & C. Same for the DVDs. I asked him if it will play my VCDs (I have Gujarati Plays VCDs) and he said it will play but I could notice that he was shaky. I am sure he will NOT take back the player if it does not play any of my above stuff.
I came home and searched on the Internet and realized that Panasonic was selling many variations of the same model number in different countries including in India. So there is a Region C India Panasonic DMP-BD75 and then there are different variations in USA and UK website apart from the imported Panasonic DMP-BD75GA-K in Alfa.
Does anyone have any experience with imported Panasonic DMP-BD75GA-K here in India and if it plays VCDs?
It will be great if you can share your experience and provide me guidance in making a decision. Thanks for your time in advance!
Here are my requirements... I have a Samsung 40" LCD (NOT 3D) along with an Onkyo Home Theatre System. I now wish to buy a Blu Ray Disc Player (BDP) that can play the following:
(1) American Blu Ray Discs and DVDs if I rent from a local library. I also own USA's DVDs.
(2) India Blu Ray Disc and DVDs.
(3) VCDs of Gujarati Plays and Hindi Movies.
(4) Ethernet connection port (don't need Wi-Fi) that should play at least YouTube.com videos (and TED.com videos if possible).
(5) USB related media including JPEGs, MP3, etc. But I do NOT download too much stuff from the Internet so I don't know about different formats required and I am not too keen on that kind of stuff except legal YouTube.com and TED.com videos.
(6) Audio CDs.
(7) Sony Handycam recorded DVDs.
(8) Multi-channel HDMI output to give a true Home Theatre effect for my 5 channel Onkyo HT unit.
(9) I am definitely NOT looking for an expensive hi-fi piece and do NOT require 3D. My budget is under 10K.
Samsung BD-D5100 plays VCDs as stated on Samsung India website -
BD-D5100 - OVERVIEW | SAMSUNG India
But all India based brands being sold with bill and warranty are 'Region C' and so they will not play USA Blu Ray or DVDs.
Philips and Onida are Indian brands that may play multiple regions (I read somewhere that even LG has a model that plays other regions) but I am not sure about their quality and if they will compare / last for at least 4-5 years. I will appreciate your inputs / guidance about these above brands for my given requirements.
Apart from reading / researching online, I also went to a local store 'Alfa' in Irla area in Mumbai. The Alfa guy told me that any imported brand (Panasonic, Sony, etc.) will play both American Blu Rays and DVDs as well as Indian Blu Rays and DVDs. He was recommending imported Panasonic DMP-BD75GA-K that comes without a bill and warranty but he was confident that it will play all region (at least USA and India) Blu Rays and DVDs. The Outer BOX clearly stated Region A but he insisted that when it says "Region A" it plays Regions A & C. Same for the DVDs. I asked him if it will play my VCDs (I have Gujarati Plays VCDs) and he said it will play but I could notice that he was shaky. I am sure he will NOT take back the player if it does not play any of my above stuff.
I came home and searched on the Internet and realized that Panasonic was selling many variations of the same model number in different countries including in India. So there is a Region C India Panasonic DMP-BD75 and then there are different variations in USA and UK website apart from the imported Panasonic DMP-BD75GA-K in Alfa.
Does anyone have any experience with imported Panasonic DMP-BD75GA-K here in India and if it plays VCDs?
It will be great if you can share your experience and provide me guidance in making a decision. Thanks for your time in advance!