Blue Ray

A Magnavox NB500MG9 is probably your best bet if you are looking for cheap and cheerful. You can pick one up new from the US or on Ebay for ~ €80

Alternatively, you could splash out on a Sony PS3 if you don't have one already and kill two birds with one stone.
 
I hear the problem is more with the price of the discs rather than the players.


Even though they cost almost exactly the same ot make.
 
It also might be worth noting that nobody is getting the full impact of HDTV yet. Blu Ray is pretty amazing if you view it on an OLED screen. Unfortunately, they wont be available in anything bigger than a 16" until the end of the year.

By then, the discs will be cheaper, the players will be cheaper but the TVs wont be.
 
It also might be worth noting that nobody is getting the full impact of HDTV yet. Blu Ray is pretty amazing if you view it on an OLED screen. Unfortunately, they wont be available in anything bigger than a 16" until the end of the year.

It is equally impressive on most Full HDTV (1920 x 1080) sets that can accept 24fps.
 
There seems to be a general view around that the Playstation3 is the best buy at the moment.

Although there are higher spec players around, the winner for the PS3 is that it updates firmware automatically, making it "future proof". For example, if you bought a BR Player in the summer, it may not have the capability to use the new BDLive function (access additional material on DVDs through internet connection).

As it seems that BR is developing all the time, unlike DVD, it seems that there may well be a limited life for stand alone players against the PS3.

Mind you, that depends on if you're a big enough film buff to view each and every special feature on a disc that you want to view the bonus material on Live.

I also think down the line there'll be more developments. New BR systems are in production that will be able to read even more layers of information than currently the case, which will mean even the PS3 will be outdated.

The other aspect is the development of online (legal) downloading of high definition films. I know this is slow to progress because of piracy fears, but I think ultimately within the next 5 years or so, this will be the norm as HDD storage becomes even greater.

The PS3 also does a decent job of upscailing your dvds to a higher quality too, which isn't a feature of all the lower end BR Players.
 
Can you connect a blue ray player to a non hd tv by scart and would you see an improvement in picture over dvd.
 
I got a Panasonic DMP35 from Harvey Norman , rated as best buy blu ray on many sites (eg - [broken link removed]). Was on special for about 170 yoyos.I dont have a HD TV yet, but my DVD player broke so I had to get some form of replacement.
 
Can you connect a blue ray player to a non hd tv by scart and would you see an improvement in picture over dvd.
You probably can (assuming the player has a SCART output). But, the quality would be almost identical to DVD. Fast-motion would look better, but the resolution would be DVD quality, not 1080p.
 
I got a Panasonic DMP35 from Harvey Norman , rated as best buy blu ray on many sites (eg - [broken link removed]). Was on special for about 170 yoyos.I dont have a HD TV yet, but my DVD player broke so I had to get some form of replacement.

When did you get that?
 
During christmas some time, mabe on 27th. It may have been on of their one day only promos. Richer sounds in Belfast should be able to give an equally competitive price.
 
During christmas some time, mabe on 27th. It may have been on of their one day only promos. Richer sounds in Belfast should be able to give an equally competitive price.

Went in last night and it was on sale for €229. I mentioned that i knew someone that got it around Christmas time for below €200 (couldn't actually remember the corect price that you had mentioned). The guy went off to check and came back to say that they were on special on the 27th @€197. I said well if you give me at that price you have a deal and he did!! So although i didn't get it for the price that you did, i certainly still got a bargain so thank you!!
 

Why an OLED screen for blueray.
 
Just got the PS3 from Zavvi on special offer, has the Blue Ray. Turned it on and it performed an immediate software update. Quite impressed, so much so, decided to invest in a Full HD TV
 
Just got the PS3 from Zavvi on special offer, has the Blue Ray. Turned it on and it performed an immediate software update.
What size and how much. Is the ps3 connected to the net to update? Do you need a sepearte internet connection or connect to computer? Are there extra charges for having the ps3 download updates?