**Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

[aholbert32]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

The Sammy BDP-UP5000 is down to $450 bucks on Amazon and I feel its soon going to cross the $400 threshold and be cheaper than some Blu-Ray standalones. That's nuts- those standalones need to get their prices down.

I think I'm just going to wait for the standalone prices to finally see a price drop. I won't bite on a standalone though until its below $200 though which seems like it will take an eternity. I've picked up roughly 20 HD-DVDs over the last two months so I'm just thinking about what to do.

Aaron, have you had any issues with the Sammy? I really want to get it, but I'm reading some performance issues on the web. I've heard the upconversion is so-so and I love the upconversion of the A3. I still have a free HDMI slot so I might just use it for a standalone.

I just read that LG released new firmware for the BH200 that fixed most of the issues with it (audio dropouts, green line in SD upconversion. Coupled with LG's commitment to maintain support for the dual-format market, that's looking mighty nice.

The upconversion for the Sammy is great imo. It looks better than the upconversion the Ps3 and 360 addon gave me. Also, everything Ive read says it looks much better than the LG when it comes to SD up.

There are 3 issues with the Sammy. First there are audio dropouts with SD-DVDs. For me they are very infrequent (about 4-5 times a movie) and are only about a half a second. Also they only occur for me with movies that use THX (Star Wars, Indiana Jones) For example, I watched Rounders (no THX) on Saturday and had no dropouts. I watched the 25th Hour (THX) after that and there were infrequent dropouts. This can be a problem if you are an audiophile but I'm not so I dont mind. Plus I expect it will be fixed with an upcoming firmware fix.

Second, TrueHD only coems out of two channels. This is a problem for both the LG and Sammy. This will also be fixed with a firmware update but it is annoying. I watched We Own the Night and since it only comes with a True HD track, the entire movie was only on two channels. Again, most Bluray and all HD-DVDs have regular Dolby or DTS tracks so this isnt a problem with the majority of movies. But if you are an audiophile, it could be a problem.

Finally, the player isnt bluray profile 1.1 compliant yet but neither is the LG. Both will be soon with firmware updates. As for LG updating and still agreeing to support dual format players dont take that as evidence that Samsung wont support the 5000. Sammy currently advertises this as their top of the line bluray player. Since HD will cease to exist in a few months you dont have to worry about Sammy updating the 5000 for HD and they will continue to update it for Bluray titles.

[Spectre]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

The upconversion for the Sammy is great imo. It looks better than the upconversion the Ps3 and 360 addon gave me. Also, everything Ive read says it looks much better than the LG when it comes to SD up.

There are 3 issues with the Sammy. First there are audio dropouts with SD-DVDs. For me they are very infrequent (about 4-5 times a movie) and are only about a half a second. Also they only occur for me with movies that use THX (Star Wars, Indiana Jones) For example, I watched Rounders (no THX) on Saturday and had no dropouts. I watched the 25th Hour (THX) after that and there were infrequent dropouts. This can be a problem if you are an audiophile but I'm not so I dont mind. Plus I expect it will be fixed with an upcoming firmware fix.

Second, TrueHD only coems out of two channels. This is a problem for both the LG and Sammy. This will also be fixed with a firmware update but it is annoying. I watched We Own the Night and since it only comes with a True HD track, the entire movie was only on two channels. Again, most Bluray and all HD-DVDs have regular Dolby or DTS tracks so this isnt a problem with the majority of movies. But if you are an audiophile, it could be a problem.

Finally, the player isnt bluray profile 1.1 compliant yet but neither is the LG. Both will be soon with firmware updates. As for LG updating and still agreeing to support dual format players dont take that as evidence that Samsung wont support the 5000. Sammy currently advertises this as their top of the line bluray player. Since HD will cease to exist in a few months you dont have to worry about Sammy updating the 5000 for HD and they will continue to update it for Bluray titles.

Thanks for the info bro- I had no idea that Sammy marketed this as their #1 BR player. That's reassuring!

[DTX3]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

I got I, Robot last night based on the highdefdigest review. Not a huge fan of the movie, but HOLY S! Best picture I've seen to date. Just incredible.

Yeah, Blu-ray.com hyped it up as the best picture on BR. Picked up my copy along with Live Free or Die Hard, and I Am Legend at Costco(blows Sams Club out the water with the BRs) for about $25 a pop, cant wait to check them out. They also had a couple of movies at $18.99.

[The Chef]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

HDD.com gave the PQ/SQ high remarks on the Blu-ray. Are you more interested in how the movie was or the PQ/SQ?

Both really, its pretty cheap on Amazon but I have heard so many mixed things about this movie that Im a little hesitant to buy it now, and of course I dont want to spend the money if the quality isnt much better then SD. Have you heard if there is any difference in whats on the disc itself, between SD and BR? As an example, the Die Hard 4 on SD is unrated and includes his famous line at the end, on BR its the theatrical release and cuts it off before he says it all, to many this may not mean much but to me it pushed me towards the SD version.

[aholbert32]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

Thanks for the info bro- I had no idea that Sammy marketed this as their #1 BR player. That's reassuring!

Yeah, I'm happy with it. Like I said every issue Ive had with the player I expect to be fixed before the summer.

[AuburnAlumni]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

The Sammy BDP-UP5000 is down to $450 bucks on Amazon and I feel its soon going to cross the $400 threshold and be cheaper than some Blu-Ray standalones. That's nuts- those standalones need to get their prices down. I think I'm just going to wait for the standalone prices to finally see a price drop. I won't bite on a standalone though until its below $200 though which seems like it will take an eternity. I've picked up roughly 20 HD-DVDs over the last two months so I'm just thinking about what to do.

I just read that LG released new firmware for the BH200 that fixed most of the issues with it (audio dropouts, green line in SD upconversion. Coupled with LG's commitment to maintain support for the dual-format market, that's looking mighty nice. That's still $550 bucks on Amazon, so I need to wait for prices to drop. Can't wait to read more reviews of the product- people are loving it as a Blu-Ray player too. Hell, it still costs less than a good chunk of Blu-Ray players on the market.

LMAO..at last count I've picked up 81 HD DVD titles since last month. At 8-15 bucks a pop...I couldn't resist.

I'm thinking of getting a combo player...but I'll probably pick up a new A-30 HD DVD player and a PS3. The two combined would be about the same price...plus I get a game machine with the PS3.

[Spectre]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

LMAO..at last count I've picked up 81 HD DVD titles since last month. At 8-15 bucks a pop...I couldn't resist.

I'm thinking of getting a combo player...but I'll probably pick up a new A-30 HD DVD player and a PS3. The two combined would be about the same price...plus I get a game machine with the PS3.

DAMN

LOL, I thought I was bad. I was pacing myself too

[CaptainZombie]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

Rambo: First Blood Part 2 ($13.95), Rambo 3 ($13.95) & Rambo ($27.95) The Trilogy (34.95) @ amazon.com.

Here are the links:

First Blood Part 2
http://www.amazon.com/Rambo-First-Bl...5866633&sr=1-4

Rambo 3
http://www.amazon.com/Rambo-III-Blu-...5866633&sr=1-5

Rambo
http://www.amazon.com/Rambo-Blu-ray-...5866633&sr=1-2

Rambo 1-3 Boxset
http://www.amazon.com/Rambo-Boxset-B...5866923&sr=1-3

[RockyTop1]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

for as good as I am Legend looks, it sounds about 10 times better. TrueHD track is killer.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

for as good as I am Legend looks, it sounds about 10 times better. TrueHD track is killer.

When did you get a TrueHD capable receiver?

[Behindshadows]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

for as good as I am Legend looks, it sounds about 10 times better. TrueHD track is killer.

I saw it was on HD-DVD too! I'll be picking it up on that. I think Best Buy and Amazon got it.

[AuburnAlumni]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

for as good as I am Legend looks, it sounds about 10 times better. TrueHD track is killer.

That movie blows.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

That movie blows.

I wouldn't go that far, but I didn't think it was better than say...Enemy of the State, ID4, or I Robot. The last 3rd of the movie just didn't gel with the rest of it.

They went crazy with the CGI too...

[DTX3]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

Rambo 1-3 Boxset
http://www.amazon.com/Rambo-Boxset-B...5866923&sr=1-3

Wow, thats awesome. Thanks for posting.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: **Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread Part II**

Wow, thats awesome. Thanks for posting.

No problem, that boxset is $34.99 which is an excellent deal. If I didn't have the first one already, I would go with the box set....I bought 2 and 3 individually at the $14 each price at Amazon as a pre-order.