Are all recent blu-ray players pretty much on par when it comes to picture quality (HD viewing)?
From reading lots of reviews I can't tell which players are better than others when it comes to picture quality. It's easy to see the differing features between players, but not so easy to ascertain the differences in PQ. I currently have a Panasonic BD 110 and I cant se whether upgrading to a more expensive player is going to make much of a difference on the PQ front for blu-ray. What is the general consensus on this?
I've just changed my PS3 for a standalone BD110. Other than the front of my AVR now displaying the sound format rather than "mutli in" there's no real difference.
Well, I do have a Playstation room now, which is a big win!
Assuming the data is getting through the HDMI cable correctly, the only possible difference in PQ is how the lossy compressed picture data (YCbCr 4:2:0) is uncompressed apparently. The sound quality (through HDMI) should be identical.
I guess it's in a similar way to which an MP3 can vary a tiny bit depending on the decoding.
In my expereince - no difference. so pick on features that you need and lowest price.
My PS3 used to play the opening sequence of Monsters v Aliens (3d) smoother than my Sammy BD player - the picture on the Sammy used to judder - but that was fixed by a later FW update to the Sammy.
Sound over HDMI will not differ (despite what a certain mag might suggest).
From reading lots of reviews I can't tell which players are better than others when it comes to picture quality. It's easy to see the differing features between players, but not so easy to ascertain the differences in PQ. I currently have a Panasonic BD 110 and I cant se whether upgrading to a more expensive player is going to make much of a difference on the PQ front for blu-ray. What is the general consensus on this?
As with everything, the best bet is to make your own decision. Ring a few dealers and get some demos set up for some players you might be thinking about. Then take your BD 110 along with you and they should be able to run a comparison against your current player.
Just FYI, when I did the above, I was able to clearly differentiate differences in picture and sound between my old Sony BDP-S550 and the players I demoed (all using Blu-rays I'd taken along with me) and ended up purchasing the Marantz BD7004 after a second demo. If you do the same, whether these differences are worth the extra outlay in price is then up to you.
Whilst the sound is still in digital format (ie before it reaches the dac) the sound will be identical on any blu-ray when playing a lossless codec.
Even converting the HD codec into LPCM is a trivial task.
Whilst that theory is often quoted, I can only report my own personal experience of noticing the differences during a demo between two Blu-ray players, both outputting HD video to the same TV and outputting HD audio to the same AV amplifier (and yes, it was set to bitstream the HD audio on both).
I note that others have tried the above and reported zero differences - I've no idea why this is and in no way am I suggesting that I am right and they are wrong (and I'd hope said people would return me the same respect). It is the reason however that I advocate anyone interested should try this for themselves, rather than relying on someone else's reports (including my own).
I saw a noticeable improvement in motion handling between my PS3 and my Panasonic BDT-310. BigBoss, could it be your Kuro sprinkling magic on everything that you didn't notice a diference? On my ancient (relatively) Panasonic TV the differences were pretty clear.
Possibly. I haven't compared them with any other TVs. Even the mega test by the other member of blu ray players at different price brackets was tested with a Pioneer KRP 600M plasma. But then, in that case, if you can see a difference, is it not due to a limitation of the TV rather than the blu ray players? Anyway, I'm not complaining 
Do a Google search on "player HDMI benchmark".... I found it interesting and relates to this topic.
While i agree most BDP players will deliver a great veiwing experience i myself have noticed differneces usually subtle and not always immediately obvious. A perfect examle of this would be my recent purchace of an LX 55 didn't think at first it was an improvement over my old FD51 but i can now say it definitely is though specific examples and scences i have observed whilst reviewing my collection of discs.
Largely in the interests of rebalancing opinion, I'd echo the prof's views regarding differences between Blu-ray players. Likewise I respect others' opinions and would ask for the same courteousy, not that this thread has degenerated into anything approaching a flame war, at least not yet...
Having owned a Denon DVD2500BT for seven months and compared its Blu-ray performance with my PS3 on numerous occasions, I'd state emphatically that there is a difference, in terms of both sound and picture performance.
It may or may not lend credence to my views, but I've compared the above over a long period of time, with an array of Blu-ray titles. In my opinion, the difference in Blu-ray performance isn't just subtle, it's striking.
Of course we can debate why this may (in my opinion) or may not (in the opinion of others) be the case, but I'm most concerned with the fact that I can clearly notice a difference (as have family members and friends). This is all routed through my Yamaha RXV-1065 receiver and viewed on my Panasonic V20 plasma (alright, it's not a Kuro, and may not compensate for deficiencies elsewhere in my system to the same degree, but it's still a very good display)
As suggested above, don't simply accept accounts of uniform Blu-ray performance across buget and high-end models, rather audition some BDPs yourself to decide if it's worth the extra outlay.
Largely in the interests of rebalancing opinion, I'd echo the prof's views regarding differences between Blu-ray players. Likewise I respect others' opinions and would ask for the same courteousy, not that this thread has degenerated into anything approaching a flame war, at least not yet...
Having owned a Denon DVD2500BT for seven months and compared its Blu-ray performance with my PS3 on numerous occasions, I'd state emphatically that there is a difference, in terms of both sound and picture performance.
It may or may not lend credence to my views, but I've compared the above over a long period of time, with an array of Blu-ray titles. In my opinion, the difference in Blu-ray performance isn't just subtle, it's striking.
Of course we can debate why this may (in my opinion) or may not (in the opinion of others) be the case, but I'm most concerned with the fact that I can clearly notice a difference (as have family members and friends). This is all routed through my Yamaha RXV-1065 receiver and viewed on my Panasonic V20 plasma (alright, it's not a Kuro, and may not compensate for deficiencies elsewhere in my system to the same degree, but it's still a very good display)
As suggested above, don't simply accept accounts of uniform Blu-ray performance across buget and high-end models, rather audition some BDPs yourself to decide if it's worth the extra outlay.
Agree 
I have done many tests with a Panasonic BD35/ 80 to The Pioneer LX71 / LX08 there is a big difference in PQ
I have doen simlar tests between the Pioner LX71 and LX 54 and there was a big difference.
All done on a Kuro LX5090 - there is no way all Blu Players are created equal.
The Panasonics (this is with earlier firmware) both had soft, washed out pictures compared to the Pioneer Models
Then the newer Pioneer LX54 has a much sharper pic than the LX71 - with better movement / you can see more of whats going on.
Avatar great test for this as is Transformers 2 or 3
Maybe with your 600 KRA the external media box thing is having an impact on the pq. glad I didnt buy the 500 now
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I personally found no difference when I compared 1080p/24Hz blu ray picture performance between PS3, Panasonic BD60 & Denon 2500BT. To me, that's the beauty of blu ray technology.
The was a member who used to frequent this forum a couple of years ago. He & few others compared blu ray players at different price brackets in a controlled set up & found no difference between players for blu ray picture performance.
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