Blu Ray Players: is it (now) worth getting one?

[Conchis]

I'm a bit confused as to which model you thought you were getting, but anyway I hope you are pleased with it. I'm not sure about the relative pricing of the models you mention. For the 5200 - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/3097467.htm should have been a £30 reduction on a price close to £100 (£99.99) so actually £69.99.

The 5200 model should have screen mirroring, but looking at the manual for the 5500 which is the one I think you have bought, there is no mention of this feature that I can see - http://download.sony-europe.com/pub/...4549800112.pdf

So it's an open question as to whether the 5200 model is compatible with Apple products. The manual for that model doesn't specifiy which phones, tablets etc. it will work with.

I've just remembered why our Blu Ray isn't permanently left on Standby. It has a nasty (to us) habit of powering up whenever we switch to EXT 6 on our TV and then relabels EXT 6 as BD xxx (can't remember what - maybe BD SYSTEM). As one of our other receivers is also connected to that input via an HDMI switch it manages to override the other device, which we use much more frequently. If you've only got a few devices connected to your TV via HDMI you probably won't get that issue. I've never found a way of turning that feature off - though for some people without extra devices and HDMI switches it could be helpful.

The model I have is the BDPS 5500: advertised in the Argos brochure for £99.99 but sold to me for only £69.99

I've noticed a few problems: the sound seems to cut out at odd moments (not at the beginning of chapters), which is very annoying considering I watch a lot of opera discs.

Also, it doesn't seem to be recognising my wifi connection. Screen-mirroring appears as an icon on the home screen but without wifi recognition, there's no hope of that, even if it is compatible with Apple products (a moot point, apparently).

Returned the player to Argos and got a replacement today but the same problems seem to be present. Any ideas?

[Anastasius]

.....
I've noticed a few problems: the sound seems to cut out at odd moments (not at the beginning of chapters), which is very annoying considering I watch a lot of opera discs.

Just a lousy design, I'm afraid. Either that or poor laser-optics not reading the discs properly which pushes the error-correction circuitry and forward buffering into overload. Eventually the buffer runs out of spare capacity and you get your sound being cut. Not to be confused with the lousy boxes from Philips that have a CD player inside them but with NO gapless playback.

.....
Also, it doesn't seem to be recognising my wifi connection. Screen-mirroring appears as an icon on the home screen but without wifi recognition, there's no hope of that, even if it is compatible with Apple products (a moot point, apparently).

Probably never tested or, if tested, never kept up-to-date with any wifi system changes.

I have zero confidence in any consumer electronic device actually doing what it purports to. Their production life-cycles are so short that any sort of comprehensive testing across all the gizmos and other useless add-ons that they stuff these things with is pie-in-the-sky. Which is why, when our plasma TV gives up the ghost, I will buy the simplest high-quality screen that I can and without anything remotely labelled 'SMART' - a misnomer, if ever there was one.

.....
Returned the player to Argos and got a replacement today but the same problems seem to be present. Any ideas?

I would return it for a full refund and keep on looking for a better player.

[Stanfordian]

I couldn't do without my Blu-ray player connected to my HD Television and it was only a budget price model. The Blu-ray picture and sound quality is quite superb.

[Conchis]

I couldn't do without my Blu-ray player connected to my HD Television and it was only a budget price model. The Blu-ray picture and sound quality is quite superb.

What player have you got?

[richardfinegold]

That's to bad, conchis. I haven't had any problems with my cheapo Sony players but I don't have your model number.
Can you do a wired ethernet connection? Just curious to see if that would eliminate the issues.
If you want to go upmarket I can strongly recommend the Oppo Players, which will also output any digital format imaginable in greatly improved sound.

[Stanfordian]

What player have you got?

Hiya Conchis,

I have a Sony Blu-ray/DVD player model BDP-S3100 connected to the HD TV. I do get a reasonable wi-fi signal but as it is three rooms and several walls away from my router I have run an ethernet cable under the floor from the router to the player.

[Dave2002]

The model I have is the BDPS 5500: advertised in the Argos brochure for £99.99 but sold to me for only £69.99

I've noticed a few problems: the sound seems to cut out at odd moments (not at the beginning of chapters), which is very annoying considering I watch a lot of opera discs.

Also, it doesn't seem to be recognising my wifi connection. Screen-mirroring appears as an icon on the home screen but without wifi recognition, there's no hope of that, even if it is compatible with Apple products (a moot point, apparently).

Returned the player to Argos and got a replacement today but the same problems seem to be present. Any ideas?

You were sold the wrong model in the first place, as you clearly stated you wanted a BDPS 5200 which has or had good reviews. At the time you bought that was on offer, for the same price that you actually paid - the fact that the 5500 model seemed to have a higher price at the time simple appears to represent pricing policy at the time, as I think the manufacturer's prices are such that the 5200 is the more expensive - arguably better - model.

You have an added complication in that you used Nectar points, but basically if what you've got doesn't work properly, take it back - maybe try the 5200 if they actually have any - or negotiate some other form of refund.

The 5200 model is now over £!20 at Amazon - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-BDPS520...layer+BDPS5200


I found this page - http://www.techradar.com/news/video/...ld-2013-947894 which might help a bit, though you may be getting fed up of all this by now.

[Anastasius]

I'm afraid that he has no right of redress unless he specifically ordered one model and Argos supplied another one. If Argos said 'we've got this one ins tock. Would you like it?' and Conchis said 'Yes' then there is no right of redress down the route you are suggesting.

[richardfinegold]

I couldn't do without my Blu-ray player connected to my HD Television and it was only a budget price model. The Blu-ray picture and sound quality is quite superb.

That's interesting that Stan uses Ethernet connection, as I do as well for my Sonys. I suspect Conchis issues may be due to the wifi.

[Dave2002]

I'm afraid that he has no right of redress unless he specifically ordered one model and Argos supplied another one. If Argos said 'we've got this one ins tock. Would you like it?' and Conchis said 'Yes' then there is no right of redress down the route you are suggesting.

I agree, but the goods as supplied have to be fit for purpose. The Sales of Goods Act surely should still give some form of redress if the item is not satisfactory. The use of Nectar points might confuse the issue. If paid for in one of the normal ways, then there should certainly be some form of protection.

[Conchis]

Thanks, all, for you input to this ongoing and somewhat tedious saga.

I returned the second brp today: Artgos gave me a cash refund of seventy quid, so I can now spread the net a bit wider.

From what I've gathered, Apple devices are pretty much incompatible with all blu ray players, so screen-mirroring is not such a big deal for me.

Thanks to Dave for the list of 'top blu ray players', which might be of some use to me. :)

[Conchis]

Here's the latest:

I decided it was probably worthwhile casting the net a bit wider and doing a bit more research (thanks to Dave for the link provided above). With the cashback I got from Argos, I figured it was probably worthwhile widening my options and maybe spending a bit more money.

So, I plumped for the Panasonic BTD370: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/aud...1299125/review

I had no problems setting it up: thus far (and we're talking less than twenty-four hours, here), I've had impressive connection to the internet and it's still quite a novelty for me to watch stuff from youtube on the big screen.

Only problem is, if I watch a DVD of a television programme (most of my TV DVDs are from British TV in the 60s/70s), it crops the picture on either side, so there is no 'full screen'. I think this may be something to do with the settings I selected at the beginning, or it may just be the way the blu ray player treats this material. Anyone any ideas?

Thanks for all your continued support on this subject, which I really appreciate: I live in a world of technophobes or people who don't give a stuff about picture/sound quality, so I'm very reliant on 'online friends' for advice. :)

[johnb]

Only problem is, if I watch a DVD of a television programme (most of my TV DVDs are from British TV in the 60s/70s), it crops the picture on either side, so there is no 'full screen'. I think this may be something to do with the settings I selected at the beginning, or it may just be the way the blu ray player treats this material. Anyone any ideas?

Does it actually crop the picture or is what you are seeing the actual "as is" 4:3 aspect ratio of the broadcasts? Are you playing the 1960s/70s DVDs on a widescreen TV? If so you would expect to have black bars on either side of the picture as 1960s/70s broadcasts had a 4:3 (horizontal to vertical) aspect ratio whereas widescreen TVs have a 16:9 aspect ratio (i.e. the screens are wider).

If you really want to fill the screen a bit more you can experiment with the settings on your DVD player and/or your TV, trying the 14:9 aspect ratio and various zoom options, but you will lose part of the top and bottom of the picture (14:9 will also slightly widen the picture but many people find it acceptable).