Blu-Ray Player Question

[Princess Leia]

Back when all the hype about Blu-Ray started, my parents said that we would never be getting a Blu-Ray player since we had DVD. For a long time I was of the same mind: that Blu-Ray was unecessary.

However, I have lately come to realize that someday there may be no option but to get a Blu-Ray player. DVDs appear to be fading somewhat; its getting harder and harder to get them. I may have to swallow my reservations and invest in Blu-Ray, so my question is:

I have an old style (bulky, not flatscreen) TV with a built in DVD player that I got for Christmas four years ago. It is a Toshiba model, and there are four ports on the right side front to plug cords in. Will any model Blu-Ray player work with a Toshiba TV, or would I have to get a Toshiba Blu-Ray player? I've read some reviews on Toshiba Blu-Ray players on Amazon, and most reviews are less than stellar. If I could I would prefer to get a reliable Blu-Ray player rather than being stuck with a possibly u nreliable one simply because its the same model as my TV.

[SpringHeelJack]

You can use any Blu-ray player with any TV, but it's not going to matter much on yours. What you need is a TV with an HDMI port. You would need a converter to plug the Blu-ray player into a TV such as yours, which would pretty much negate any perks in picture quality, just so you know.

[DarthPrime]

Any Blu-ray player will work, you don't have to buy a Toshiba one. Also Blu-ray players come with standard composite outputs (yellow/red/white), so you should have no problems hooking it up to your TV. Although you probably want see much improvement with a standard definition TV compared to DVD.

Personally I like Sony players, and Panasonic ones are also good. I would avoid Samsung players. I've heard a lot of people having problems with them.

[ajmrowland]

You can use any Blu-ray player with any TV, but it's not going to matter much on yours. What you need is a TV with an HDMI port. You would need a converter to plug the Blu-ray player into a TV such as yours, which would pretty much negate any perks in picture quality, just so you know.

no converter needed. bds can be downscaled with the chords that come with the player.

[milojthatch]

However, I have lately come to realize that someday there may be no option but to get a Blu-Ray player. DVDs appear to be fading somewhat; its getting harder and harder to get them.

Really? What titles can you only get on Blu-ray? Yes, the various studios are sabotaging the new DVD releases by putting all of the extras on Blu-ray. I think the 2 disc DVD is basically dead. But DVD is far from it. Plus, when you think about how big DVD-on-Demand is getting, I think it is safe to say that your DVD player has not lost it's usefulness yet.

In this decade, there is the good possibility that DVD may be dropped from retail stores, and that standerd DVD's may stop being made. But you know what? That fate may hit Blu-ray as well in favor of digital streaming options.

Take my advice, if you really feel the need to get a Blu-ray player, go after an inexpensive one. Unless you feel you can afford a new tv (a lot of the other posters here are right on this point) the HD quality would be lost on your current tv. So it really comes down to being able to play that movie or tv show you want to watch. If extra features are really a big deal to you, then get that Blu-ray player. I'd also say in the case of Disney Animated films, don't get rid of your original DVD's either for the sake of extras. Anyway, if extras don't matter to you, do yourself a favor and save some cash and don't buy a Blu-ray player...yet. Good luck. Hopefully you'll make the best decision for yourself and your pocket book.

[jpanimation]

Well my Panasonic Blu-ray player came with analog, composite and HDMI outputs. One of those, most likely analog (red, yellow, white), should be compatible with your TV. These plugs are universal and matching the brand of your TV to your player is unnecessary.

That said, I’d just buy a cheap Blu-ray player from Wallmart or whatever (you know, for under $100), since your TV isn’t HD, and you’re not going to be getting anything out of a Blu-ray player. You don’t want to buy an expensive one that will crap out on you by the time you get an HDTV. That or you should wait. As of now, many companies are including DVDs with their Blu-rays, so you can future proof your collection without needing to go out and buy a Blu-ray player. So wait or buy a cheap one, that’s my advice.

[ajmrowland]

jp, composite is the r/w/y. you're thinking component(rbg). both are analog.

[jpanimation]

No, I wasn't thinking component. The OP said their TV was old and the standard definition composite output is much more universal, which is why I was mentioning it. If their TV has component, then it may very well be an early HDTV, since they used component cables to display up to 1080i and probably not as old as I was assuming.

Either way, compatibility is a non-issue here.

[ajmrowland]

oh, you meant the....yeah forgot that one.

component was being used on tube sdtvs in the very early days of hd. i was just pointing out that composite is the r/w/y cable

[jpanimation]

Ohhh...now I see where the confusion was coming from. I was improperly calling composite 'analog' and you assumed that I accidentally put a comma and was really calling component analog. Sorry about that.

[ajmrowland]

Well, i'm technical to a fault with that stuff. my mistake.