Funai to release Final Standard BD under $300

[nonrev]

Thanks. I already belong to the IEEE - Standards Association, the VXIplug&play Alliance, the ISA SP100 working group, and the SCPI Consortium. Enough fun for me.

The IEEE has single handedly made my life hell studying for the CCNA lol.

 

[jayn_j]

Sorry about hijacking the thread. I was just trying to reinforce the point that all this "latest standard" stuff is a red herring, and if done right, any player should be able to play any disc at the standards level it supports.

 

[nonrev]

Problem with that is that they are selling mostly 1.0 & 1.1 players at the same time increasingly advertising disks that require a 2.0 player. So simlpy being able to play the disk at a certian level will leave plenty of disk buyers mislead.

 

[mike123abc]

Problem with that is that they are selling mostly 1.0 & 1.1 players at the same time increasingly advertising disks that require a 2.0 player. So simlpy being able to play the disk at a certian level will leave plenty of disk buyers mislead.

The 2.0 discs still play in the 1.0 players. As long as they clearly identify on the box features that need the "enhanced" players, and an internet connection they are not different than a lot of other products. The main purpose of most discs is to display a movie, this even a 1.0 player can do. When the main purpose of a disc is to play a game on the internet, then the 1.0/1.1 players are useless...

 

[JoeSp]

I think multiple formats will kill BD. They need to let go of 1.0 players entirely. Early adopters are used to buying something that gets replaced in a year or two. The average consumer does not expect to buy something obsolete 6 months after they buy it. It is time for the BDA to step up to the plate and lead -- no more 1.0 players and they need a very simple definition of the differance between 1.1 and 2.0 out there now. But 1.0 needs to be burried now. I am not sure that 1.1 needs to be shunted -- those who will never use BD-Live do not need the feature and should not have to pay for it. Either way, by XMAS maybe there should be just one on the market for the growth of BD to continue.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I think they should work at getting 1.1 cheap and leave the "2.0" badging to make them a little more porfit margin. The features 2.0 offers are useless to me, and Im betting the majority once its adopted by avg joe.

 

[allargon]

1.0 is buried. No 1.0 players can be introduced unless they were announced last year. IMHO, 1.1 players have no business coming onto market, either. Their time was a six month window. It's passed.

 

[nonrev]

If and that's a big if BD survives say 10 years and replaces DVD I can't imagine there being 1.1 and 2.0 then. So if a complete final format is the ultimate goal why not announce it and erase the confusion. It's only a $.50 Ethernet jack. What a joke. Once again the customer suffers while the usual suspects continue to write sympathetic post after nauseating sympathetic post.

 

[diogen]

It's only a $.50 Ethernet jack.

And it has to work, i.e. you need software.
BD is dominated by CE companies. Those not only don't do much software, they don't trust it. This creates side effects...
Have you ever seen a bigger piece of sh!t software than what used to come with Sony MicroMV? In my 35+ years working with computers I haven't.
Whatever Sony software that works - Vegas, Audition - was developed not by them and they haven't f*cked it up yet...

From the BD gang I believe only Apple could make all this work the way it suppose to.
But since it can't be taken over and made propriatory, Apple doesn't give a sh!t about BD...

Diogen.

 

[SatinKzo]

hey, guys, I got one of these to try out and see how it works. Here is a C/P of what I posted over at AVS

I borrowed my friends 605 for testing (my 606 is coming tomorrow) the bitstreaming.

I tested the following movies out over the evening
AVP 1 & 2
Golden Compass
POTC Pearl
Ratatoulle

Barbie Island Princess (you can assume it's my daughters ) testd SD upconversion on cartoons

Anyways, PQ is very good, about average on the upconversion (seems to support the claim it is using the same chipset as the BD30). PS3 I think is better. Also, I think my A35 is a tad better.
No problem with any bitstream, no popping on the 605.

I used to own a Samsung 1400 and returned it. However I did own POTC and Rat. at the time and that player (the 1400) had a few issues with each one and took FOREVER it seems to load and start playing

Happily, I can say the magnavox is loading discs in around 30 seconds, takes about 20 seconds from power on to be ready. Absolutely no issues playing any of the movies mentioned above or any of the special features.

Also, when I first saw this player a friend was playing with it. We watchind FF ROSS and it took 35-40 seconds to load the disc IIRC, but had no issues playing.

Oh yeah, I also tried the RE:Extinction bonus view, it works like it should, but I really don't use that stuff much.

One thing so far that I am annoyed by is the remote response. very narrow angle on the sensor. I have problem sitting off on the side with it responding. I would say I'm at maybe a 60degree angle off to the side. Seems like 40-45 is about the limit for reliable response. Maybe it's the remote also, I have not programmed my harmony for it yet.

The player in general is kind of big IMO. Takes up some room, but doesn't seem to generate much heat and almost no noise. I finally did hear the fan running, but that was when I was changing a disc and was next to the player. It's pretty silent so I cannot believe anyone would hear it while watching a movie.

This all being said, I still like my PS3 more, but that is used on my older AVR that cannot decode the audio. This magnavox might be a nice fill-in until the 2.0 players are reasonable in price or I score a good deal on a BD30 somewhere.

I love reading the comments by people saying how this is a cheap Walmart POS, they'll never touch it etc... However this player so far is handling discs and features and running faster than the $1000+ players can't do or take forever to do and from what I can tell, no discernable loss in PQ. Reliability may be an issue down the road and I don't even know if I'll keep this thing long tern, but I felt since I had the opportunity to try one and I need something for our other HT setup, this player might be worth a shot and hopefully info can help others decided.

 

[jgantert]

Thanks for the review. I wonder if the response on the Harmony remote will be better? Sounds like what is expected of a budget player. Seems strange to connect a budget player up to a higher end audio reciever capable of decoding advanced audio, but that just my opinion.

Bottom line, would you recommend it over the PS3?

-John

 

[SatinKzo]

No, I wouldn't recommend it over a PS3. *edit but I would recommend it over a majority of the players out there based on what I have seen so far and based on the fairly speedy performance of it and my disc playback experiences so far *end edit

What do you mean by strange to hook up to a higher end receiver capable of decoding advanced audio? The Magnavox only bitstreams the THD and DTSMA, so the AVR decoding is the only option.

Like I said, I saw it, figured I'd at least try it out and let others know. It's really not a bad little player and performs amicably against the high-dollar stuff out there. I'm honestly working on trying to get a BD30 for a decent price, but I won't be disappointed if I end up keeping this magnavox until some reasonably priced 2.0 players come out that work well. Sorry I just don't think the Samsung 1500 will be bug free or updated quickly given the Samsung track record.

 

[BluBronco]

. Seems strange to connect a budget player up to a higher end audio reciever capable of decoding advanced audio, but that just my opinion.


-John

Why wouldn't he..........this player bitstreams DTS HD MA and Dolby True HD.

 

[BluBronco]

I have lurked in this forum and site for a few years now and have never had a desire to post...............but after reading this entire thread, I feel like I need to chime in. Many on this thread have looked down on these Funai built players. But after reading on several forums what they can do.............many need to stop assuming that they are junk and read what other users have found out. They have a good build quality, they bitstream hi res audio, load quicker than most all BD standalones and do a pretty good job of upconverting. Not only that they use the same chipset (UniPhier) as the Panasonic players and use the same optical head as Sony BD players.........yes you heard me right, they use Panasonic and Sony components. Here is the link that states such.Funai Blu-ray Player to have Sony and Panasonic Internals | Blu-ray Stats News Log Also, so far no one has reported audio/video glitches and the PIP titles work flawlessly. So it looks like Funai has made a winner. It's still early and we will have to wait to find out long term reliability.

 

[SatinKzo]

that's exactly what I am seeing BluBronco. The player is not bad at all, especially at the price point. Sure it's lacking analog outs, sure it's missing internal decoding of all the audio (oh wait, so are players cost 2 times to 3 times a much.

yep, no popping, no drop outs, no weird video anomolies of any sort. No HDMI handshake issues have been reported yet. YET may be the key word, but so far, it's off to a good start.

I plan to watch a couple more movies tonight to try to test this magnavox out (maybe Sunshine to start) and see if I can get anything weird or odd to happen.

 

[teamerickson]

I have lurked in this forum and site for a few years now and have never had a desire to post...............but after reading this entire thread, I feel like I need to chime in. Many on this thread have looked down on these Funai built players. But after reading on several forums what they can do.............many need to stop assuming that they are junk and read what other users have found out. They have a good build quality, they bitstream hi res audio, load quicker than most all BD standalones and do a pretty good job of upconverting. Not only that they use the same chipset (UniPhier) as the Panasonic players and use the same optical head as Sony BD players.........yes you heard me right, they use Panasonic and Sony components. Here is the link that states such.Funai Blu-ray Player to have Sony and Panasonic Internals | Blu-ray Stats News Log Also, so far no one has reported audio/video glitches and the PIP titles work flawlessly. So it looks like Funai has made a winner. It's still early and we will have to wait to find out long term reliability.

Thanks for posting. Welcome.

 

[BluBronco]

Thanks teamerickson! It will be fun to see all of these new players roll out.

 

[charper1]

To bad the Magnavox is not on their website. Must not be doing to well.

Electronics - Wal-mart.

That leap of faith assumption is somewhat laughable. There can be many reasons why a product is not on a website.

Anyway....


http://www.techradar.com/news/home-cinema/walmart-stocks-cheap-blu-ray-players-369375?poll=result

"WalMart, the largest retailer in the world has announced it has began stocking the Magnavox NB500MG9" (Posted just this past Friday the 16th) so I would think you should give it some time. They likely are not "due" to some specific date, and we would not see any advertising until that time.

 

[charper1]

More: (as I said above!)

Both Home Media Magazine and Video Business News are reporting that Funai players under the Magnavox brand will be in widespread distribution at Walmart by Memorial day. In addition, the same palyer under the Insigna brand will be available at Best Buy.


Wal-Mart sells Blu-ray player for $298
Same unit also will be available at Best Buy for $349
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 5/14/2008
MAY 14 | Come Memorial Day weekend, Wal-Mart will start selling Blu-ray Disc set-top players for $298, the cheapest starting price point yet for players in the format.

The retailer did not immediately comment, but sources indicate the hardware will be manufactured by Japan-based Funai and will be sold under the Magnavox brand. Dubbed Magnavox NB500MG9, the player will be Profile 1.1 with picture-in-picture functionality.

AVS Forum bloggers report seeing the player on shelves at various Wal-Mart outlets now, but the model should be more widely spread throughout the chain by May 24-26, according to sources.

This same player also will be sold at Best Buy under the chain's in-house Insignia brand beginning mid- to late-July, priced at $347.99. Typically, Insignia products are among the more inexpensively priced at Best Buy.

Funai first announced its intentions to bow a Profile 1.1 Blu-ray set-top player during January's Consumer Electronics Show. Sub $300 pricing was anticipated, but street dates and retailer partners weren't provided. (FUNAI USA | FUNAI CORPORATION, INC.)

http://funai-corp.com/6pdf/om/NB500MG9.pdf

AVS Forum - View Single Post - Funai (Magnavox, Sylvania, Insignia, Etc.) Discussion Thread

AVS Forum - View Single Post - Funai (Magnavox, Sylvania, Insignia, Etc.) Discussion Thread

AVS Forum - View Single Post - Funai (Magnavox, Sylvania, Insignia, Etc.) Discussion Thread

 

[nonrev]

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.