Philips BDP3100/05 Blu-ray Player

Product description for the Philips BDP3100/05 Blu-ray Player:

“The Philips BDP3100 Blu-ray player offers the complete cutting edge viewing experience, with full Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround to complement the pin-sharp Full HD picture, as well as handy features such as subtitle shift and DivX Ultra.

Offering 24 frames per second video playback as well as Full HD 1080p, the Philips BDP3100 Blu-ray player brings the full cinematic experience into your front room. Meanwhile the integrated Dolby TrueHD 7.1 creates sound virtually indistinguishable form the studio master, guaranteeing that what you hear through your speakers is exactly as the film makers intended.”

Philips BDP3100/05 Blu-ray Player Product Features and Technical Details

Philips BDP3100/05 Blu-Ray Player for sharp images in full HD 1080p
1080p at 24 fps for cinema-like images
DivX Ultra Certified for enhanced playback of DivX videos
Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA for HD 7.1 surround sound
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Link plays video/music from USB flash drives

Main Specifications

Product Description: Philips BDP3100 – Blu-ray disc player
Product Type: Blu-ray disc player
Network Connection: Ethernet
Dimensions (WxDxH): 43.5 cm x 22.7 cm x 6 cm
Weight: 3 kg
Media Type: CD-R, CD-RW, DivX, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD, CD, BD-R, BD-RE, BD-ROM
Upscaling: ( up to 1080p )
Remote Control: Remote control – infrared
Sound Output Mode: Stereo
Power: AC 230V ( 50 Hz )
Form Factor: Tabletop

General

Width: 43.5 cm
Depth: 22.7 cm
Height: 6 cm
Weight: 3 kg
Product Type: Blu-ray disc player

Miscellaneous

Cables Included: Audio cable ¦ Video cable

Power

Power Device: Power supply – internal
Power Consumption Operational: 25 Watt
Power Consumption Stand by / Sleep: 0.5 Watt

Connections

Connector Type: 1 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) – rear ¦ 1 x audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) – rear ¦ 1 x composite video output ( RCA phono ) – rear ¦ 1 x component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ) – rear ¦ 1 x network ( RJ-45 ) – rear ¦ 1 x digital audio output (coaxial) ( RCA phono ) – rear ¦ 1 x USB 2.0 ( 4 PIN USB Type A ) – side

Audio System

Sound Output Mode: Stereo

Sony BDP-S760 Blu-Ray DVD Player

Both Techradar and What HiFi gave the Sony BDP-S760 Blu-ray DVD player 5 out of 5 stars in their reviews.

Techradar Sony BDP-S760 Blu-ray DVD player review said:

“I don’t think there’s any player currently available at this price point that compares for Blu-ray playback. I’m still a massive fan of LG’s BD390 for its media-streaming abilities, but maybe I’ll have to find a place in my rack for the BDP-S760 as well. It is a reference machine for the budget conscious.”

The What HiFi Sony BDP-S760 Blu-ray DVD player review said:

“Spin the Blu-ray of Fast & Furious, and the BDP-S760 produces an impeccable image, majoring on detail, edge definition and clarity. The welcome lack of on-screen noise gives the action a sense of realism that eludes rival machines.Switch to the Fast & Furious DVD and while the drop down from HD to standard-definition is apparent, the Sony still produces a punchy, accurately drawn image.”

I’m impressed already and will be puting the Sony BDP-s760 bluray dvd player on my cheap TV Christmas list .If you have recently brought on of these BDP 760 Blu-ray players from Sony please let me know what you think of it in the cheap televisions comments section below.

Cheap LG BD350 Blu-ray DVD Player Tesco

The LG BD350 Blu-ray DVD player looks a nice enough looking product for a cheap Blu-ray DVD player but its hard to find any reviews for it apart from a really rubbish review on Tesco (Reevoo )where someone said “The blu ray player does not come with connections to link it to a television, so to use the player, you have to buy a special lead separately.” Well no of course the LG BD350 Blu-Ray DVD Player doesn’t come with a HDMI lead! No Blu-ray DVD players do. Stupid!

A better review of the LG BD350 Blu-ray DVD player is on amazon but it seems to praise it far to much so I’d like to know what they thought the bad points are. The review says “Finally LG got it. This 5th generation blu-ray player of LG has got it al. You can play all kind of discs on this player without any delay or problems. Superb blu-ray playback, excellent dvd and cd playback. Good design. Very slim model. Easy remote control. Great player for the true film and music lover!”

LG no longer list this Bluray player on their UK website so I assume its a end of line model hence Tesco and Richersounds offer it as a special deal. The BD350 Blu-Ray player specifications are below. If you buy one please let us know what you think of this cheap Blu-Ray DVD player in the comments.

*  Black.
* Dolby sound system.
* Supports region 2.
* Playback compatibility BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE, DVD(NTSC), DVD(PAL), DVD-R, DVD-RW (video/VR mode), DVD+R, DVD+RW (video mode), DTS CD, audio CD, CD-R/CD-RW.
* DivX playback.
* JPEG photo playback.
* HDMI output socket.
* Upscales to 1080p.
* PAL progressive.
* Remote control.
* Size (H)3.6, (W)43, (D)20cm.
* Weight 1.62kg.
* Remote requires 1 x AAA battery.

Cheap Sony BDP-S360 Blu-Ray DVD Player

In the whathifi review of the Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray DVD player it describes the good parts as “Smooth operator thanks in part to Xross Media Bar; solid spec; silky smooth motion and bold colours with DVD and Blu-ray; fast, exciting sound”

Probably more useful for those of you looking for a cheap Blu-ray DVD player is one of the reviews by a consumer on the Play site which says: “The unit itself is surprisingly small it’s the normal width and height for a DVD/Blu Ray player/home cinema unit but it’s only about half the depth. It looks great too, the front panel is finished in a piano black, which you can’t see so well on the product images online, so it will compliment the majority of current TVs. A nice blu’ or white light runs in the middle of the fascia when in use which is a nice touch.”

I won’t go into all the technical specifications on the Sony BDP-S360 but leave you with this overview of this Blu-ray player from Sony: “Take your movie experience in High Definition to the next level with the new Blu-ray Disc™ player BDP-S360 from Sony. The S360 combines sophisticated design with high-class performance: excellent High Definition picture and sound quality, ease of use and great internet connectivity for BD-Live.”

Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-Ray DVD Player

In-fact I can’t think of any other Blu-Ray DVD player that can match if for looks? A number of shops and online retailers have also been having some special deals on the Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-Ray DVD player making it significantly cheaper than when it was originally released. There’s actually a lot of good Blu-Ray DVD player deals around at the moment and they will likely be one of this Christmas’s biggest sellers.

The reviews for the Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-Ray DVD disc player have also been very good from what I’ve found around the internet. Here’s some user reviews from around the net.

Play.com 5 out of 5 Stars from 4 Reviewers one of which said:

“This is a brilliant machine – I bought this and the new LED samsung. Both hung on my wall and looks stunning. The quality of the blu ray is exceptional, miles better than the ps3 which i have as well. I cannot say a bad word about it and when connected to my sound system it is amazing!! The DVD playback is upscaled but I am not a fan of any upscaled DVDs and most of mine are now redundant as I wont watch them. It is good, but once you made the ‘switch’ it never looks as good.”

On Amazon the users there have given the Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-Ray DVD player on average 4 out of 5 stars from 18 customer reviews, the best of which I think is:

“I swore that after some bad experiences with Samsung DVD/BD players I would never buy another one, however, whilst perusing the net for one my eyes were hooked by this sweet looking product. When I saw that it was Samsung I hesitated only slightly before my penchant for the aesthetic won the day! If you have a Samsung LCD or LED then this is a must buy for you – instant recognition when you turn the player on – can use either remote for TV/DVD – and it completes the look and makes an unbeatable eye-catching focus for any lounge.”

Now on to the industry reviews for the Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-Ray DVD player starting with trustedreviews which don’t give a review score but a verdict part of which says:

“With the BD-P4600, Samsung has created the most distinctive-looking Blu-ray player to date, with a gorgeous wall-mountable design that will please those who like their players to look as good as the pictures they provide. There’s much to admire on the inside too, such as WiFi support and built-in memory, which makes it easier than ever to experience Blu-ray’s interactive extras, while the swift disc loading times and wide-ranging format support are added bonuses (although video-on-demand would have been the icing on the cake).”

Cnet UK has another pretty in-depth review of the Samsung BD-p4600 Blu-Ray player but it is worth remembering they reviewed it when it was £100 more expensive than it is now. They gave it a review score of 8.7 and said:

“Ultimately, the Samsung BD-P4600 may be sunk by its price. Sony and Panasonic both have excellent models on the market that cost less and have a more traditional form factor. But that’s not to say the BD-P4600 isn’t a great player, because it is. We love the speed with which it operates, and we also like the picture and sound quality. Overall, it’s a good package and certainly a great choice for Samsung TV owners who have their set mounted on a wall”

Techradar also have a good review of this Bluray DVD player again giving it a good score of 4 out of 5 stars (review scores seem pretty consistent). Part of the summary says:

“For its few faults, this is a neat piece of BD technology from Samsung. It looks like the kind of lifestyle proposition non-techies might go for, and presents an interesting solution for anyone with a wall-mounted flatscreen, particularly if you go for the wireless dongle option.”

Right away from how the Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-Ray DVD player looks astetically and the online reviews and on to how all the bits inside the pretty looking box work and perform. The technical specifications are as follows:

Brand      SAMSUNG
Dimensions     19.5×46.1×42.0(H/W/D)cm
HD Playback format     Blu-Ray
HD Playback resolution     N/A
DVD-R playback     Yes
DVD-RW playback     Yes
DVD+R playback     Yes
DVD+RW playback     Yes
DVD-RAM playback     No
CD playback     Yes
SACD playback     No
VCD playback     No
MP3 playback     Yes
JPEG image playback     Yes
DivX playback     No
HDMI connections     1
Component video connection     Yes
Optical connection     Yes
Ethernet connection     Yes
S-Video connection     No
I-link connection for digital camcorders     No
Scart sockets     No
RGB enabled scart sockets     No
Progressive scan     Yes
HDMI upscaling     No
Digital Freeview tuner     No
Dolby Digital Plus     Yes
Dolby True HD     Yes
DTS HD     Yes
5.1 channel audio outputs     No
HDMI cable included     No
Remote control included     Yes
Other features
16/1.0watts :in use/powered-down power consumption
DVD-ROM playback
CD-R playback
CD-RW playback
Playback discs in 1080p screen resolution
2.0 Blu-ray profile

Cheap BDP3000 Philips Blu-Ray Player

The Philips BDP3000 is currently retailing in the shops at a very good price of around £130 from Argos.com and Pixmania.com which is seriously good for a well branded cheap Blu-Ray DVD player which seems to tick all the features boxes. Its also had some pretty good reviews from the likes of Whathifi getting 4 out of 5 stars and saying “A Solid performer at a tantalisingly affordable price”.

The Philips BDP3000 Blu-Ray DVD player specifications and features list cheap televisions was given says:

*  Blu-ray Disc playback for sharp images in full HD 1080p
* 1080p at 24 fps for cinema-like images
* DVD video upscaling to 1080p via HDMI for near-HD images
* DivX Ultra for enhanced playback of DivX media files
* x.v.Colour brings more natural colours to HD camcorder videos
* BD-Live* (Profile 2.0) to enjoy online Blu-ray bonus content
* Enjoy all your movies and music from CDs and DVDs
* EasyLink controls all EasyLink products with a single remote
* Dolby TrueHD for high fidelity 7.1 surround sound

Plenty of Blu-Ray DVD player jargon to look at but what really matters is how the Philips BDP3000 performs on your television screen at home. Looking at the user reviews at Amazon UK they seem to back up the editorial reviews from the BDP3000 Philips Blu-Ray DVD player with 4 and a half stars out of 5!

Philips BDP3000 Blu-Ray DVD Player Reviews

One of the reviews of the Philips BDP3000 Blu-Ray DVD player reads:

“Let’s not get too technical about this. What you want to know about any blu ray/dvd player is the picture quality. The picture quality is superb. You really can’t go wrong at this price and I honestly can’t see how much better the more expensive models can be. I have seen the Sony blu ray entry player, the Philips is a bit cheaper, the picture quality is the same. The Sony machine may look a little better. This one is bog standard black and no flashy bits. I was very impressed by the upscale of old ordinary dvd’s. Less impressed by the huge writing that appears on the screen when you skip chapters! If you are looking for some fancy machine to remember your name, make your tea, then this is not it. If you simply want a machine that shows off the best of blu ray then this does it. It might not be the quickest to get going, it may not always remember where you left off (it does sometimes) but it does the thing it is supposed to, the reason you want it, it displays your film in breath taking quality.”.

So if your in the hunt for a Blu-Ray DVD player this Christmas it seems this would be a seriously good contender for your hard earned money. Just one thing to keep in mind the BDP3000 is a lot chunkier than the new slim line models being made which do look cool, but they don’t come anywhere near in terms of value.