Funai to release Final Standard BD under $300

[BluBronco]

No internal decoding of All of the HD audio codec's. Big problem for 99% of the population!! Butt other then that who cares right. If you call a player that can only play a good BD picture, average upconvert, and no HD audio a decent player I have to disagree strongly. We'll talk about it not being 2.0 or better yet (get this)BD-live ready next time.

Average upconvert? You've seen it then I assume? It should upconvert as good as most BD players. As stated it uses the SAME chipset to upconvert as the Panasonic BD-30. Also, 99% of the population out there has no idea that Hi res audio even exists. (especially most in the market for this particular player) They will just hook it up with a coaxial cable. For those who actually care about DTS HD MA and Dolby True HD, they probably have a capable audio reciever or will pick one up soon. Heck you can get an Onkyo 605 for $299 online. Besides, NONE of the $399 and below upcoming STANDALONE BD players will internally decode DTS HD MA. (Not the Samsung 1500, the Sony S350 or the Philips BSP7200...they all will bitstream it) As far as BD live goes, it is purely a marketing buzzword. In the real world many could care less. HD DVD owners were polled and 4-5% of them actually downloaded content off of the internet. Not sure why you are so hellbent on bashing these players that use Sony and Panasonic components. You better hope these inexpensive players get out in the wild or otherwise BD will have a hard time surviving. Inexpensive players + Walmart = mass adoption. That is the truth whether you like it or not. This player is not for everyone, but it will fulfill it's purpose in the marketplace. Not everyone, in fact most cannot afford $999 Denon or even a $699 Panny BD player. If you can, then congrats to you. The cheaper players are exceeding people's expectations and are here to stay.......................The major shareholders in the BDA (Sony, Panasonic/ Mastushita) have made sure of it. They knew without them, Blu- ray cannot achieve mass adoption status.

 

[BluBronco]

We'll talk about it not being 2.0 or better yet (get this)BD-live ready next time.

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement. A profile 2.0 player and a BD-live player are the same thing. Profile 2.0 means having an ethernet port and persistant storage for download of internet content. There is no "2.0 or better yet a BD live player"

 

[SatinKzo]

No internal decoding of All of the HD audio codec's. Big problem for 99% of the population!! Butt other then that who cares right. If you call a player that can only play a good BD picture, average upconvert, and no HD audio a decent player I have to disagree strongly. We'll talk about it not being 2.0 or better yet (get this)BD-live ready next time.

So, by this statement you are saying the following players are not good and not worth the effort for you correct?

Obivously anything made by Funai or anything sold by walmart
Denon DVD2500BTCI
LG BH-200
LG BH-100
Panasonic BD10
Panasonic BD30
Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1
Pioneer Elite BDP-94HD
Pioneer Elite BDP-95FD
Pioneer BDP-7200
Sony BDP-S1
Sony BDP-S300
Sony BDP-S500
Sony ES BDP-S2000ES
Sony BDP-S350
Samsung 1400
Samsung 1200
Samsung 1000
Samsung Bd-UP5000
Samsung Bd-1500
Sharp BD HP20U
Sharp BD HP50U

None of these can claim full internal decoding. Only the Samsung 1200 has a strong upconvert thanks to the Reon. All the rest I have seen nothing special from to make them stand out in review or in person.

Or to put it another way, the only players worth your time are the following
PS3
Denon DVD-3800DBDCI
Marantz BD8002
Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD
Panasonic BD50
Sony BDP-S550

All of these claim full internal decoding, oh but wait...

Only the
PS3
Panny BD50
Sony S550


are 2.0 compliant. So of those 3 players, how many people who buy them will have an ethernet connection at their home theater? Just an estimate cause I really have no idea how many people are out there who have this? Well, of course the PS3 has wireless so that's easier. PS3 is a good upconvertor, but not great. Panny is gonna use the same chipset as the BD30 for upconversion (last I knew) and it is ok,but not stellar. Don't know enough about the Sony, but if it's similar to the 500, then it'll be ok in my book, but nothing to call the wife for.

So by your standards, there will never be a perfect player... is that how I am reading your statements? Oh wait, the PS3 conflicts as it meets the majority of your requirements, but is sold by walmart, so there is only potentially 2 players that you would consider.

Also how many people that have those players have an AVR that can take advantage of the lossless audio? Most people I know have no way of using the lossless audio due to their AVR's. So your problem for 99% of the population doesn't seem right to me given what I see first hand on the penetration of AVR's that can either take PCM over HDMI or have analog inputs for audio. Don't get me wrong, it's getting better, but most people don't like to upgrade the AVR's. Most people being those outside the web forums that discuss this stuff.

How about another requirement? A perfect player should also, in addition to what you said, have full 7.1 support, both over HDMI and analog outputs. So if we throw that in, so far from everything I have read only the Sony BDP-S550 will fit the bill; if it does come out at the $499 price, it'll be a great deal if the uponversion is perfect.

nonrev, I'm not posting to challenge, I'm posting to see where you are coming from with your argument. I don't read along on every thread in this area of satguys, so I don't know exactly where you are coming from.

*if I have a player incorrect, someone please correct me as I honstly am going from memory on most of the features of the older players and off what I have read on the newer ones in regards to audio decoding and profile status. Also, I know I left some players out, but I am only going off stuff that has been documented or stuff that is not worth even adding.

 

[jayn_j]

No internal decoding of All of the HD audio codec's. Big problem for 99% of the population!! Butt other then that who cares right. If you call a player that can only play a good BD picture, average upconvert, and no HD audio a decent player I have to disagree strongly. We'll talk about it not being 2.0 or better yet (get this)BD-live ready next time.

OH COME ON NOW GUYS!
This is a Wal-Mart player.

This thing is aimed at mass market where nobody knows or cares about all of this. They are going to connect via HDMI to the TV set and use the built in crappy stereo amp and internal speakers.

Don't like it, go buy something better.

 

[gadgtfreek]

If it was a 2.0 player that internally decoded hd audio, upconverted with the best and had a price tag of $199, he'd complain about it not being $169.

 

[JoeSp]

If it was a 2.0 player that internally decoded hd audio, upconverted with the best and had a price tag of $199, he'd complain about it not being $169.

:up

 

[Chucky Cheese]

:up

:up:up

 

[BlackHitachi]

If it was a 2.0 player that internally decoded hd audio, upconverted with the best and had a price tag of $199, he'd complain about it not being $169.

Don't forget 6 free movies!

 

[SatinKzo]

Here's another c/p of what I posted over at AVS in the Funai thread

Just to update my experiences with this player:

Summary: Not a single playback problem to speak of.

In addition to what I mentioned earlier movie wise, I or my family have now watched the following movies with absolutely no issues. Also, I now have my 606 and am enjoying the bitstreaming of this player tremendously.

Enchanted (no audio skips)
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Water Horse
Narnia
POTC Worlds end
Underdog
Gattaca
FF and FFROSS
DAT
Sunshine

Pros:
All discs loaded fairly quickly, FFROSS took the longest at 38 seconds from tray closing.
Player is quiet and panel is dim, not overwhelming in a dark room. No fan noise at all, but the fan is running. I can hear it when I change discs and the room is quiet, but I can't hear it more than 1-2 feet from the player. Unit gets warm, but not hot my any measure.
Cons:
No remote response improvement with my harmony. It's still very narrow and slow to respond to menu commands. Stop/Play/FF/RW are fine, but navigating menus sucks.
Unit has a large footprint that doesn't really affect me, but others might not like it if they have a shallow shelf for it.

I only have my PS3 and my short lived experience with the Samsung 1400 to compare this unit against and so far, it's a very capable player. That being said, I did manage to get a decent deal on a BD30 from a member here and come Thursday, I'll be able to compare the mag against it. Now that I have my 606 up and running, it'll be a nice apples to apples comparison for everything.

*edit:
My kids watched a few of their SD movies, wife said they looked good, but not as good as she remembers them playing in our A35. No playback issues though.

 

[nonrev]

OH COME ON NOW GUYS!

This is a Wal-Mart player.

This thing is aimed at mass market where nobody knows or cares about all of this. They are going to connect via HDMI to the TV set and use the built in crappy stereo amp and internal speakers.

Don't like it, go buy something better.

The problem is that the vast majority of the mass market doesn't have equipment that can decode HD audio. So if all you blubloods wants to ignore that HUGE fact then so be it. The usual suspects continue to make excuses. The same suspects that had so many negative comments when it was first announced that HD DVD was coming out with cheap Chinese players(Funai). Its funny how fast your tune has changed. Really props up your cred. Considering I got a full featured player for $150 then yes why wouldn’t I complain about paying $300 or even $169 for a”piece of Chinese crap” (pervious quote from a blublood) that:

1. Doesn’t internally decode Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution, or DTS-HD Master Audio.
2. Requires J6P to make another expensive purchase(new AVR).
3. Mired in this profile crap, will soon be obsolete.
4. No 2.0 capabilities or as some now say BD-live (ready) ha.
5. Uses the same crappy chipset for upconversion that’s notorious for disappointing PQ. (ex BD30)

Years into this format its no excuse for any player to come out so incomplete. This is the time some bleeding heart BD fanboy to fire off another predictable sympathetic post sweeping these flaws under the rug. The floor is yours.

 

[SatinKzo]

Nonrev,

Point 2 you make is synonymous with most BD and HD-DVD players that people bought. Most people I know did not have an AVR with HDMI nor analog inputs, so they had to upgrade either way. It didn't matter if the decoding was done internal or not.

I'm no blublood by any means, heck I was hd-dvd long before I bought my PS3. As for upconversion, I guess it's just me but that feature is just a fringe benefit, not a selling point for me. If I was buying soley on upconversion, I'd by an oppo or similar.

I'm not trying to make an excuse because I do agree it is taking BD too long to get stuff straightened out, but that is not gonna keep me from enjoying my movies no matter what player I have cause I just don't get into anything on the discs other than the movie.

You points on incomplete players rings true with most players that are not even released yet. Most of the newer models coming out are still incomplete by BD profile standards and yours.

 

[BluBronco]

1. Doesn’t internally decode Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution, or DTS-HD Master Audio.
2. Requires J6P to make another expensive purchase(new AVR).
3. Mired in this profile crap, will soon be obsolete.
4. No 2.0 capabilities or as some now say BD-live (ready) ha.
5. Uses the same crappy chipset for upconversion that’s notorious for disappointing PQ. (ex BD30)

Years into this format its no excuse for any player to come out so incomplete. This is the time some bleeding heart BD fanboy to fire off another predictable sympathetic post sweeping these flaws under the rug. The floor is yours.

Again, J6P who will be buying this player has NO idea what his res audio is. DD+ and DTS at 1.5 Mbps will sound amazing to them. Also, this player will not be obsolete. Who gives a crap if it can't download a trailer or a deleted scene off the internet............people just don't care. What it will do is load quickly and flawlessly, navigate BD-J menus and play all of the movies including the PIP (bonus view titles). Yea, that crappy chipset is going into the Panasonic BD 50. You say it's crappy, but the industry disagrees with you as it is the featured chipset for MANY players. I should have known that this WAS NOT about the merits this Funai player to you. It was all format war fanboyism that you have pointlessly brought up. Before you go calling people blubloods maybe you ought to know some background. I like many owned 2 HD DVD players (bought my HD -A1 in May of 06) and loved every minute of use. But, you know what? THE FORMAT WAR IS OVER. Time to move on. This lower featured player has a place in the market. People will buy it and it will further the cause of HD media.

 

[diogen]

...J6P who will be buying this player has NO idea what his res audio is. DD+ and DTS at 1.5 Mbps will sound amazing to them.

Just out of curiousity - how will the DD+ soundtrack be played back?
Not that I've seen many (any?) BD movies that use DD+...

...Who gives a crap if it can't download a trailer or a deleted scene off the internet............people just don't care.

This always puzzled me: people are dumb to the point of not caring about anything the new formats have new (internet, hires sound, etc.)
but - surprise! surprise! - smart enough to see the difference between DVD and BD as day and night...
Amazing!

 

[gadgtfreek]

Don't forget 6 free movies!

 

[BluBronco]

Just out of curiousity - how will the DD+ soundtrack be played back?
Not that I've seen many (any?) BD movies that use DD+...
This always puzzled me: people are dumb to the point of not caring about anything the new formats have new (internet, hires sound, etc.)
but - surprise! surprise! - smart enough to see the difference between DVD and BD as day and night...
Amazing!

Yes your right, with this player DD+ over HDMI only. Also if anyone with a 42" display and up can't tell the difference between BD and SD, they need to have their eyes checked. (assuming it is a decent encode) As far as internet content goes, in reality it is just a very small, niche group of folks who utilize it. Very very few HD DVD owners bothered to even check it out. Maybe one of the movie companies need to release some compelling internet material to tempt those like me with a PS3 to check it out. I have 4 HDM players and 3 of them are capable of connecting to the internet, but I haven't done it one time to download content. ( I have downloaded firmware from time to time though)

 

[diogen]

...if anyone with a 42" display and up can't tell the difference between BD and SD, they need to have their eyes checked.

FYI, it ain't the size only that matters. It's the field of view.
If you watch a 42" screen, 720p, from something like 12' or more - you are wasting your money on BD, players and discs.
DVDs using a nice upconverting player will look just as good.

For the record, I use one universal HD/BD drive in my HTPC and about a dozen discs. HDs twice as many as BDs...

Diogen.

 

[gadgtfreek]

PQ has, and always will be more important to most which causes features and SQ to not be as big a deal. People have a $69 dvd player and a $150 HTIB, then they go out and drop $450 on a BD player. The PQ increase is astounding to them and they enjoy it. One day down the road they realize that the BD's have higher end audio tracks on them and then people begin saving for better speaker compnents.

I dont know anyone that bought a high end stereo before upgrading video. I think the natural order is:

HDTV
DVD/BD
Rcvr and speakers(far third)

 

[BluBronco]

FYI, it ain't the size only that matters. It's the field of view.
If you watch a 42" screen, 720p, from something like 12' or more - you are wasting your money on BD, players and discs.
DVDs using a nice upconverting player will look just as good.

For the record, I use one universal HD/BD drive in my HTPC and about a dozen discs. HDs twice as many as BDs...

Diogen.

A 42 inch at 12 feet away? No argument there. This topic has already been discussed a million times. I don't think this thread should be about the merits of BD, it is about the merits (or lack therof) of the Funai player. Yes, it's not a full featured player, but it has it's place in the market.

 

[nonrev]

Again, J6P who will be buying this player has NO idea what his res audio is. DD+ and DTS at 1.5 Mbps will sound amazing to them. Also, this player will not be obsolete. Who gives a crap if it can't download a trailer or a deleted scene off the internet............people just don't care. What it will do is load quickly and flawlessly, navigate BD-J menus and play all of the movies including the PIP (bonus view titles). Yea, that crappy chipset is going into the Panasonic BD 50. You say it's crappy, but the industry disagrees with you as it is the featured chipset for MANY players. I should have known that this WAS NOT about the merits this Funai player to you. It was all format war fanboyism that you have pointlessly brought up. Before you go calling people blubloods maybe you ought to know some background. I like many owned 2 HD DVD players (bought my HD -A1 in May of 06) and loved every minute of use. But, you know what? THE FORMAT WAR IS OVER. Time to move on. This lower featured player has a place in the market. People will buy it and it will further the cause of HD media.

Are you that naïve, the industry doesn’t disagree with me they just don’t give a damm about up convert. Thus putting little resources into it. Any fool would know BD doesn't want people to re-watch their old DVD's they want people to buy BD. Those who I called blubloods know who they are, if not you then don’t open your mouth and expose yourself.

Spell check
Grammar check
FACT CHECK!!!

 

[BluBronco]

Are you that naïve, the industry doesn’t disagree with me they just don’t give a damm about up convert. Thus putting little resources into it. Any fool would know BD doesn't want people to re-watch their old DVD's they want people to buy BD. Those who I called blubloods know who they are, if not you then don’t open your mouth and expose yourself.

Spell check
Grammar check
FACT CHECK!!!

Yes, your right, Denon doesn't care about upconvert......THAT is why they use the UniPhier chipset. How long have you owned the BD-30 or the Denon BD player? You keep saying how bad it is.....you've tested it? Oh the irony of the "spell check, grammar check and Fact check." Look back at your posts......you not only misspell words, but your sentences are grammatically incorrect and nothing you have posted resembles fact. Instead, it's merely biased, anti Blu-ray diatribe. Interesting. Now, can we get back to the Funai player?