Blu-Ray Player

rembrat

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May 26, 2006
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I'd like to purchase a fairly high end Blu-Ray Player with streaming capabilities and my budget is $150-200. I know nothing about the market so I ask you SoSH to point me in the right direction. My TV has 1080p capabilities.
 

uncannymanny

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Jan 12, 2007
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Buy a $50 Blu-ray player and a streaming box. Any player you get is going to have comparatively crappy software.
 

Boggs26

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Buy a $50 Blu-ray player and a streaming box. Any player you get is going to have comparatively crappy software.
This has been my plan, but I can't seem to identify the best choice of streaming box. It seems that they all have mixed reviews in one way or another. Any recommendations? I've come to trust SoSH for tech recommendations more than anyone else.
 

uncannymanny

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Not a hard and fast rule, but I'd say if you're an apple device family get an apple TV, Android get a Roku. Mostly though decide what apps you want it to have and compare.
 

B H Kim

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The biggest difference is that the Apple TV has iTunes, but not Amazon video, and Roku has Amazon video, but not iTunes, although there have been rumors for a while that Amazon has been working on an Apple TV app. They both have Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, HBO go, mlb.tv, etc. I have both, but almost never use the Roku.
 

Scott Cooper's Grand Slam

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Sony makes the best Blu Ray players. This one is great. It's $78, and it's essentially the same software as in the PlayStation 3. It has Netflix, Youtube, MLB, Sunday Ticket, HBO, and Amazon. Honestly, though, my recommendation would be to get a PS3. It's still the best Blu Ray player money can buy, and you can find them easily for ~$80. I haven't used mine for gaming in ages, but I use it often for Blu Rays/streaming. You'll want the remote, which you can get for $13 new or cheaper used.

While uncannymanny's point stands, the PS3 streaming software is decidedly not crappy. Plex is pretty great.
 

uncannymanny

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Hadn't even thought of the ps3, good call. And the software on that device was not an afterthought like the standalone players. The last time we house sat we tried using the Blu-ray player for Netflix and I ended up going back to our place to grab the ATV.
 

rembrat

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Thanks guys. I agree that the PS3 route seems to make the most sense. Though I hardly game these days it's always nice to have the option.
 

GreenMonster49

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The one real drawback to using a PS3 is that it uses a lot more wattage than the other options when not on standby.
 

B H Kim

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If you decide on a streaming device, go Roku. The interface is leaps and bounds beyond an Apple TV.
What do you think is so much better with the Roku? I find the interface itself to be roughly comparable between the two (a grid of rectangular app icons), but the Apple TV voice control is the big differentiating factor. Being able to fast forward or rewind by specific units of time or to turn on captions by voice control is incredibly useful. (But I should note that I'm comparing the latest Apple TV with the Roku 3. The Roku 4 may have better voice control features.)
 

uncannymanny

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Plex is available for AppleTV fwiw. I also don't find Roku to have any better or worse of an interface. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. The ATV 3 is definitely far superior to its predecessors.
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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Watch out on the PS3 & 4, there are restrictions on the HBO Go app, i.e. if you get your HBO through Comcast, you won't be able to use the HBO Go app to access content on Playstation.

I second the idea of getting a solid Blu Ray player like Sony, then supplementing it with a streaming box. I would go with the Amazon fire tv box because it has good hardware, supports 4k if and when you need it, and you can sideload apps like Kodi and can expand the storage via sd card. It has several native cable apps like HBO Go, Showtime, Starz, and no restrictions with cable providers that I know of, but it doesn't have streaming apps for all cable channels (i.e. Cinemax). I think in that respect Roku has the best selection. But with Amazon fire tv you can sideload just about any Android app and get it to work. But if you want the absolute easiest interface, then Roku or Apple TV (with the caveat that Apple has better control via voice command but has the smallest selection of cable streaming apps...I think only HBO and Showtime).
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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Not even close. I don't know of any channel apps that aren't available on ATV now. The only notable missing app is Amazon Prime.
That's news to me! I currently have ATV 3 and only see the HBO and Showtime apps, and when I checked out the ATV 4 around Christmas time I didn't see anything new. Seems strange that the other cable apps like (Cine)Max Go would only be available on the ATV 4. Glad to hear it, I was beginning to think Apple was way, way behind everyone else.
 

uncannymanny

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Once they made the SDK for it and opened an app store it solved that problem. I have HBO, Starz, Showtime, FX, Fox, etc etc. Plex is probably the best addition though.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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What do you think is so much better with the Roku? I find the interface itself to be roughly comparable between the two (a grid of rectangular app icons), but the Apple TV voice control is the big differentiating factor. Being able to fast forward or rewind by specific units of time or to turn on captions by voice control is incredibly useful. (But I should note that I'm comparing the latest Apple TV with the Roku 3. The Roku 4 may have better voice control features.)
Maybe things got better with ATV4, but I find my 3 to be sluggish, constantly in need of being rebooted and the lack of searching all apps for something is huge, IMO. I had an ATV3 in the living room and when we dumped the cable box in the bedroom, I got a Roku 3 and haven't looked back, even adding a Roku stick to the living room. My ATV collects dust and I basically only use it when I want to watch one of a dozen movies I bought through iTunes. I will grant you FF/REW isn't as smooth, but voice control means bupkis to me and the ability to plug headphones into the remote far outweighs that for me. I find the apps such as Netflix to be better quality, faster and more pleasing to the eye when comparing the two platforms and the lack of Amazon is a big detriment (albeit one that doesn't tie into my comment about interface). To each their own of course (and I say all this as an unabashed Apple fanboy) but unless they've made serious upgrades on ATV4, I don't think there's a comparison to even be made.
 

uncannymanny

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Massive upgrade between 3 and 4. Wrt sluggishness, they upgraded from a single core A5 to dual A8. Voice search across all apps, app store. Not trying to come across as a fanboy, but it's really barely the same product.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Well good to hear and I'll keep that in mind when it comes time for an upgrade or replacement. I'd much prefer to be completely in the apple ecosystem but it was just too aggravating. Glad to hear they've made some big improvements because there was reason for it to begin with.
 

djbayko

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One thing to consider with Apple TV. If you have other Apple devices, like iPhone or iPad, it's super easy and sometimes convenient to project whatever is on your mobile screen to your TV through your home's wireless network. You simply select a different source on your mobile device and it's done...in like 2 clicks. Perhaps other devices make this just as easy. I don't know.
 

BigJimEd

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Yeah, I never use my ATV preferring the Roku as well.
You can mirror from ios too. One Android phone, two iPhones and 2 iPads on house.

I may take a look at ATV 4 at some point but really waiting for something major to make upgrade.
 

BigJimEd

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I'm having trouble parsing your post. Are you saying I can use a Roku to show the contents of my iPad on my big TV.
Yes. At least videos and movies. Not sure if you can do full mirroring of everything. Been a while since I've used that feature but I have watched videos shot from iphone through Roku onto TV.
 

rembrat

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May 26, 2006
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People still use physical media?
Absolutely. I don't trust the cloud and I still enjoy touching and turning a page.

Anyways, I went and got a PS4 because screw it if you're gonna do something, do it right. This fixed my MLB.tv issue by the way plus opened up a whole bunch of features that I couldn't access on my smart tv.
 

MuzzyField

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Absolutely. I don't trust the cloud and I still enjoy touching and turning a page.

Anyways, I went and got a PS4 because screw it if you're gonna do something, do it right. This fixed my MLB.tv issue by the way plus opened up a whole bunch of features that I couldn't access on my smart tv.
Did gaming play a part in the decision for you or just the media hub, apps, and blu-ray functions? Was the PS4 a slam dunk or did you also consider the Xbox One?
 

rembrat

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Did gaming play a part in the decision for you or just the media hub, apps, and blu-ray functions? Was the PS4 a slam dunk or did you also consider the Xbox One?
Gaming did play a part. I had been gaming on a PC but after working my web dev job for the last couple of years I slowly lost the desire to game because it meant sitting at another desk in front of another computer. There's just something so awesome about relaxing on your couch in front of your huge TV gaming, ya know?

I briefly considered the XBONE because it also has a Blu-ray player but my friend (who owns both consoles) talked me out of it.