Blu-ray player....

[CrysG]

I'm just wondering who here has made the switch to Blu-Ray. Of those who have, what brand do you have? Pro-Cons?

Of those who haven't, any reason why you haven't?

[The Compound]

I just haven't seen any need for one for myself. I'm not real obsessed with HD and all that, but my DVD player only gets used once or twice a month.

[Jason]

I haven't made the switch yet but likely will in the next year or so.  Right now I have a Bose system with a separate upscaling unit that takes my entire DVD collection up to near true HD.  If it wasn't for the Bose being limited, because its a DVD player and 5.1 surround system all in one, I would have already bought a new BluRay player to go with whatever soundsystem I had.

[urbanlibertarian]

If you want a BluRay player and you would also like to view photos and video from your PC on your TV and listen to music from your PC on your surround sound look at the Sony PlayStation 3.  I've got one and love it.

[CrysG]

I was thinking about the PlayStation 3. The only draw back is that I can't use it with Netflix.

[thekillingwax]

I pretty much only deal in blu ray now, unless something's not coming to it. I guess it all depends on your setup but I'm blown away by it sometimes. I cancelled all my hd premium channels on comcast because they're so over-compressed. But watching movies that have a great transfer (Baraka and Kung Fu Panda are my "this is why you need blu ray" showoff titles) is quite an experience. But not every title is a huge upgrade, do your research online before dropping the bucks on a title. www.dvdbeaver.com has some awesome comparisons- so check them out.

I rent mostly from Blockbuster, netflix kinda sucks for blu ray. Red Box at Walmart has them too but it's kinda hard to find any new titles in stock. Amazon usually has some really fantastic deals, if you're patient you can usually get stuff close to the same price as their dvd counterparts. I think I paid $18 for Wall E.

As for the player itself, I haven't looked at the current generation of standalone units but the PS3 is pretty much flawless. Get the optional remote and you never even have to use the controller except for system updates. From what I've read, the current players still aren't as fast as the PS3 for booting discs, especially for titles with the BD Live content. PS3 is also pretty cool because they have a movie store and a web browser built in, it's not netflix but if the 360 is typical, their on-demand movies look pretty crappy.

[stjr]

I pretty much only deal in blu ray now, unless something's not coming to it. I guess it all depends on your setup but I'm blown away by it sometimes. I cancelled all my hd premium channels on comcast because they're so over-compressed.....

....As for the player itself, I haven't looked at the current generation of standalone units but the PS3 is pretty much flawless. Get the optional remote and you never even have to use the controller except for system updates. From what I've read, the current players still aren't as fast as the PS3 for booting discs, especially for titles with the BD Live content. PS3 is also pretty cool because they have a movie store and a web browser built in, it's not netflix but if the 360 is typical, their on-demand movies look pretty crappy.

No need to worry about HD compression with rabbit ears for broadcast stations.  And, its free!  Now getting all local stations relatively easy with just an indoor antenna.  The Ms. begged for cable or satellite with analog, but no more.  Pictures from HD shows (all networks, Ch. 4 news, WJCT) are stunning and perfect on an HDTV.  And, lots of new channels - over 20 or 25 by last count.  All are digital - primary ones are 1080i or 720p HD.  Secondaries are 480i.

After much research, I, too, got the Play Station 3.  I didn't need the gaming feature (but my teenage son sure took to it so that was an added bonus as he would have bought it sooner or later anyway) - but its advantages were too great to not get it.  It's unique ability to connect to the internet and download updated video processing software was another plus.  With other players, you would have to repurchase to upgrade.  HHGregg has it bundled with a remote, cable, and extra controllers for a competitive price.  Since Sony developed Blu-Ray, not surprised their flagship player would stand above the crowd.

[thekillingwax]

I actually do like watching hd OTA when I get a chance but since I work nights, 95% of my viewing is done over the comcast dvr and OnDemand. Even though I don't use the movie channels, I do like some of the other cable offerings like the Discovery and Science stuff. They're finally starting to produce a lot of content in hd now, rather than most of their content coming from crappy upconverts. But yeah, the reception is really good now, I have a small powered antenna and every station comes in crystal clear, if I ever got sick enough of cable or didn't need it for internet anymore, I'd be pretty happy with a standalone dvr.