Sony Samsung Offer Best Value in BluRay Players Grace Aquino
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Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Now that Toshiba Corp. has conceded
the battle over next generation DVD technology to Sony Corp.s
Blu-ray, its time to evaluate high-definition players.
Unlike current DVDs, Blu-ray can store a full-length, high-
definition movie on a single disc. When viewed on an HD
television, a Blu-ray movie should look amazingly sharp and rich
in color. The selection of movies should improve, too, as
Hollywood focuses on one standard.
I tested Blu-ray players from four companies: Sony,
Panasonic, which is owned by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.,
Tokyo-based Pioneer Corp., and Samsung Electronics Co., based in
Suwon, South Korea. I also played Blu-ray movies on my Sony
PlayStation 3 game console to see how it stacks up against the
standalone players.
The image quality on all five devices was impressive,
ranging from very good to excellent. I connected each player,
one at a time, to my plasma TV and watched the Blu-ray versions
of “Planet Earth and “Spider-Man 3, as well as the
standard DVD versions of “Lord of the Rings and the animated
film “Tarzan.
Samsungs BD-P1400 and Sonys BDP-S500 showed a slight edge
over the other devices. Images looked extra sharp on my plasma
and colors were truly vivid. Even standard DVDs looked better
because the Blu-ray devices I evaluated can perform a technique
called upconversion which takes standard definition content and
converts it to high definition by adding pixels on the screen.
Both of my DVD flicks looked great on the HDTV, although movies
on Blu-ray discs appeared even richer.
Start Speed
Startup speed — the time between pressing the power button
on the remote and the player showing the movie on screen — was
where I noticed a difference. The PlayStation 3 and Panasonics
DMP-BD30 were the fastest at 31 and 32 seconds, respectively.
The Samsung came in next at 55 seconds, followed by Sonys BDP-
S500, clocking in at 1 minute and 1 second. The Pioneer Elite
BDP-95FD was the slowest at 1 minute and 11 seconds.
In general, Blu-ray players cost between $400 and about
$1,000. Based on my tests and online research, the higher priced
models dont provide noticeably better performance or features
than their lower priced counterparts. For most users, I dont
see a significant advantage to buying a more expensive player.
The $999 Pioneer BDP-95FD was slower than the others and has
features almost identical to Samsungs $400 BD-P1400.
The key difference is the additional infrared port on the
Pioneer, which allows you to connect an external infrared box
for a specialized remote control designed to access the Blu-ray
player even through cabinet walls. This would be useful for
someone who wants to hide their equipment. Pioneer said you can
also access movies and photos from your computer with the BDP-
95FD player using an Ethernet cable.
Play Music
The four Blu-ray players can be plugged in to high-end,
surround-sound speakers and they all support high-definition
audio. They all play music CDs, although to play MP3s on the
$600 Sony BDP-S500, you must have the content saved on a DVD.
The BD30 from Osaka-based Panasonic is the only player I
looked at thats designed with a SecureDigital memory card slot,
which can let you view videos from a camcorder or photos from a
digital camera. Convenient, but you can also just plug your
camera or camcorder directly to a TV with a standard audio/video
cable.
The Samsung and Pioneer Blu-ray players, as well as the
Sony PlayStation PS3 game console, have an Internet connection,
allowing software upgrades. They all come with remote controls,
though only Samsungs and Pioneers are designed with handy,
glow-in-the-dark buttons.
Good Looks
Sonys BDP-S500 is the most aesthetically pleasing for my
taste, thanks in part to the glossy blue, auto-sliding front
cover. Pioneers 95FD looks classy and would fit right in with
an audiophiles home theater setup. The $500 Panasonic BD30 is
the lightest and smallest — ideal for tight spaces.
All companies plan upgrades this summer or fall. Sony said
this week that it will introduce two models, the $400 BDP-S350
and the $500 BDP-S550. Enhancements will include an Internet
connection for software updates and the ability to access
interactive content, a feature that the industry calls BD-Live.
Sonys new players will also have a feature called Bonus
View or Picture-in-Picture. Typically, this is used for extra
material on a movie disc, such as a directors commentary while
the movie is playing. Panasonic, Pioneer and Samsung also
promise to add Bonus View to new Blu-ray models. None of the
Blu-ray players I reviewed have Bonus View and BD-Live. The
PlayStation 3, though, can be upgraded for those features
through its online connection.
Samsungs BD-P1400 and the Sony PlayStation 3 have the most
bang for the buck, although I read several reports on Amazon.com
from people complaining that the Samsung machine wouldnt play
new releases in Blu-ray format. Samsung said it will provide
software updates that users can download via the Internet. To
possibly avoid such hassles, consider the pricier Sony DBP-S500
or Panasonic BD30.
One advantage of the PlayStation 3: You can also play video
games on it.
Blu-ray Players Scorecard
Panasonic DMP-BD30 $500 7/10
Tags: amazon, game, hollywood, images, internet, internet connection
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