suggestion for entry level blue ray player

[puneet_mnit]

Hi,

I want to get a blu ray player in India. I won't be watching much blu-ray, but definately some VCD, DVD (hindi movies, rhymes, audio, etc.) and downloaded movies via external HDD. Not much eager for net connectivity too (unless i won't have to spend much extra).
Also, most important is to get composite video output, as currently i only have a basic TV (and not an HD tv)
I thought of buying a media-player and a simple dvd player seperately, but after much thought finalized on blu-ray only, such that i don't have to maintain two devices (plus blu-ray will be somewhat future proof)
Any suggestions?
Philips is the cheapest one. How would be these in comparison to sony/LG/samsung?

Thanks,
Puneet.

 

[technobhatt]

Glad to see an MNITian here

As you have already decided not to go for Media Player; you can go for any cheap Bluray player available in India which will be able to play Region Free & Region C discs.
But the biggest problem with Bluray players is they might not support all the formats, hence causing problem in playing HD Rips. For more information, you can try reading same section with similar threads. Blu-ray/DVD players & DVD/hard-disk recorders

New models of Sony BDP available in India support most of the formats including MKV and FLAC, so you can look for Sony BDP.

 

[puneet_mnit]

Thanks technobhatt. (you too from MNIT !! )

for sony s190 is suiting my needs. (around 6.2 K)
how about panasonic bd220 (in grey market around 8.5K)
and philips 3380/12 (6.2K) ?

thanks,
puneet

 

[prosenjit]

go for pana 220 it is very very future proof as can be made zone free..by firmware hack

 

[manzb]

I agree. BDT220 is a better choice. Otherwise S190 (cheapest) or S4100 from Sony (with 5 free 3D BDs ) though will cost around 9.5k.

 

[puneet_mnit]

thanks.
But, would buying BDT220 from grey market be good. I am only getting 6 months warranty from the seller.

 

[Nikhil]

I would not recommend limiting yourself for the sake of the component inputs.
Go for the best you can get in your budget and use a HDMI - RCA converter instead

 

[mitware]

Whats the Best Place for buying panasonic bd220? Croma?

 

[just4kix]

Please note that I have two blu-ray players as can be seen my signature. Both of them do not play VCDs. I expected this out of the US purchased Sony BDP but I expected the India purchased Panasonic to play VCD. Unfortunately, it does not. So before buying a BDP, check/demo it in showroom whether VCD is playable.

Otherwise, you cannot go wrong with a BDP.

 

[john_k_antony]

Please note that I have two blu-ray players as can be seen my signature. Both of them do not play VCDs. I expected this out of the US purchased Sony BDP but I expected the India purchased Panasonic to play VCD. Unfortunately, it does not. So before buying a BDP, check/demo it in showroom whether VCD is playable.

Otherwise, you cannot go wrong with a BDP.

This is a very important point to note if you still have some old VCD collection. One more point to note is that most of the kid stuff, like nursery rhymes and animation stories still come in VCDs.

One other option is to have 2 payers, one cheap one that plays VCD/DVD and another BD player.

Most of the new BD players have stopped supporting VCDs. I have Oppo and it plays VCD beautifully .

-John.

 

[manzb]

I think, Sony Indian BDPs supports VCD playback. My S490 plays VCDs without any issue.

John- You are right all kiddies stuff like rhymes etc are normally available in VCDs. I have few of them. Also sometime their school function etc, which are recorded, given in VCDs.