Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners A Blu-ray player or an Oppo 980??

Well guys I need some help steering my dad in the right direction. He has a Sony 42in. LCD and mentioned to me that he wants to get a Blu-ray player but I suggested the Oppo 980. There are a couple reasons for this, the Oppo would cost about $240 and I don't know if he could get a really decent Blu-ray player for that price, also my dad has absolutely no patience and I'm under the impression that Blu-ray players have slow load times and and sometimes freeze? This would lead him to want to chuck the thing out the window in no time. He has a Sony HTIB setup but he doesn't have it set up at all.

Long story short, could you guys please give me some input as to what player you think would be better taking price into consideration because I can't see him spending any more than $250.

Thanks everyone for your help

What does he find lacking in his current DVD player? Or does he not have one?

He does have one, it came in the HTIB. He just mention that he wanted to get a Blu-ray player for Christmas but that's out of the question so I suggested the Oppo. I think he just wants better video quality. I was just giving him what I thought was a better alternative for the price etc.

As far as a standard DVD player with upconverting capabilities thru HDMI plus all the other bells and whistles, he couldn't do really any better than the Oppo 980. I have one along with a Panasonic BD-55 Blu-Ray player. One thing about Blu-Ray players that I have had to come to grips with and perhaps others have as well, is that they are as much like a computer booting up when you put a disc in them as opposed to just placing a disc in the machine to play a movie, hence, the increased loading times and the amount of info that has to be loaded compared to a standard DVD. It is just something one has to get used to because I really can't see it changing that much in the foreseeable future. Perhaps after Christmas when the stores are starving for business and he is still interested, he may get a Blu-Ray player within range of his spending limit.

Thanks for your suggestion Casey, it's very much appreciated.

Cam:
I'm unsure of Canadian pricing, but I'm loving my Panasonic dmp-bd 35 Blu-Ray player for both Blu-Ray discs and it's up conversion capabilities for standard DVDs. I find it's load times very reasonable (maybe because I'm comparing it to my Toshiba HD-DVD player) and find the remote and setup easy. I paid $225 several weeks ago (around Black Friday) and I haven't seen it quite that aggressive again...more like $240~$250 on sale.

You also get Ratatouille and Nightmare Before Christmas Blu-Ray discs with a send-in offer...

Before a new player, I would make sure the TV's settings have been tweaked for better picture quality. If that doesn't do enough, then I would look at a new player. You have good reasons for hesitating on recommending a Blu-ray player. Still, $240 isn't insignificant for a DVD player, so I would be torn on that one.

Thanks for the Blu-ray suggestion Mark, I'll look for pricing on that unit when the Boxing Day sales come out. CV or Charles is it? I never thought about tweaking the TV for a better picture quality which I should have, it's one of those fundamental things. In all honesty I am pretty sure that it's more of a new toy thing and he's going to get a new player regardless. Again, patience and my dad don't go hand in hand, and I can't get to the basement where his TV is located so I doubt any settings will be adjusted. Don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate your advice but he's just a boy looking for a new toy LOL.

Well I have the Samsung 1500 and it's great. I was worried about load times as well but it loads quite fast, as for freezing, I have not had any disc skip or freeze.

Hi Cam:

As far as Blu-Ray goes I've seen the new Sony 350 model for as low as $199 Cdn recently usually around $229.

As for the OPPO 980 I got mine from Only Best Rated.comh is in Ontario. Fast shipping and good service. Listed at $203 Cdn plus shipping at the moment. You do get Divx functionality,a USB input and DVD Audio/SACD as well with the OPPO so that may be a consideration.