Anyone bought the Blu Ray software?

[Joe Bob]

I am getting my wallmounted flat screen back from the wicked witch along with custom bedroom furniture.....was wondering if the Sony software is a good fit?

Plan on hooking up my laptop to the flat screen.....I see Blu Ray films are pushing out old style DVDs.

[stomachmonkey]

You can get a Sony Blu-Ray player with WIFI for $80 all day long.

Cheaper if you use a wired connection.

Both will get you Netflix, Hulu, and all the other standard stuff.

Keep it simple

[5String43]

+1 on getting a Blu Ray player. Most of them will upscale your DVDs so that they look almost as good as a Blu Ray disc. And many of them will connect to the Web, allowing you to stream programs on your TV.

[sketchers356]

Originally Posted by 5String43

Most of them will upscale your DVDs so that they look almost as good as a Blu Ray disc.

Didnt know that. I use a PS3 to play DVD/Blurays. Do you know if that upscales. DVDs do look very good.

[JavaBrewer]

The blue ray players (cheap Sony and mid range LG) we had were terrible. Constantly freezing during movie play, very slow, horrible user interface. Our son has a PS3 that we now use for movies and online media streaming. Works very well.

[biosurfer1]

maybe I'm alone here but I can't stand Blu-Ray movies. Ya they are crisp but it makes the movies almost seem cartoon-ish. EVERYTHING is too perfect and makes for an odd viewing experience to me

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

The blue ray players (cheap Sony and mid range LG) we had were terrible. Constantly freezing during movie play, very slow, horrible user interface. Our son has a PS3 that we now use for movies and online media streaming. Works very well.

Interesting, the UI on the Sony Blu-Rays I have is identical to the PS3's.

They are essentially dumbed down PS3's

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

maybe I'm alone here but I can't stand Blu-Ray movies. Ya they are crisp but it makes the movies almost seem cartoon-ish. EVERYTHING is too perfect and makes for an odd viewing experience to me

you're really going to hate what is coming next (4K).

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

maybe I'm alone here but I can't stand Blu-Ray movies. Ya they are crisp but it makes the movies almost seem cartoon-ish. EVERYTHING is too perfect and makes for an odd viewing experience to me

Same here. Has something to do with the frame rate and frame interpolation, I suspect. Plus I have no interest in seeing high-resolution images of the excessive makeup and/or bad teeth the actors are sporting.

The horrible BR player interfaces are just icing on the cake.

Nowadays many Blu-Ray packages come with a DVD. For every DVD we buy I just rip it and stick it in iTunes...then the DVD/BR goes into storage.

My wife typically watches the BR version only once, because she loves to watch all of the extras (commentary, etc.).

[Joe Bob]

OK, next question....gal pal has a load of CDs that she wants to rip down as MP3s to load onto a iPod and transfer to a storage on an external hard drive.

Does the current iTunes perform that function?

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

OK, next question....gal pal has a load of CDs that she wants to rip down as MP3s to load onto a iPod and transfer to a storage on an external hard drive.

Does the current iTunes perform that function?

Yes. Damned near seamlessly. Just be sure to configure for MP3 conversion and not whatever the goofy Apple format is. I'm not on my Mac right now, otherwise I'd tell you exactly how to do that. It's not difficult.

[JAR0023]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

OK, next question....gal pal has a load of CDs that she wants to rip down as MP3s to load onto a iPod and transfer to a storage on an external hard drive.

Does the current iTunes perform that function?

If you are an iTunes hater or even just ambivalent take a look at Media Monkey. Free download. Lets you rip/save/customize etc in multiple formats. I've got large thumb drives in a couple of cars plus the home stereo plus a Zune . MM helps keep them organized.

I had an earlier Samsung Blu-Ray player that was kind of flaky. Currently have two BD-F5900 (Wi-Fi/Netflix/AmazonPrime). These have been rock solid. Can be had from $125. The newer 'H' model is less than a $100 from Amazon.

[JAR0023]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

maybe I'm alone here but I can't stand Blu-Ray movies. Ya they are crisp but it makes the movies almost seem cartoon-ish. EVERYTHING is too perfect and makes for an odd viewing experience to me

You need to dive into your TV or BR player settings. Most of them (at least Samsung products) have settings that create that look you are describing and call it a "feature". I can't stand it either. Once I figured out how to get it turned off I get BR video that looks great and normal. Soap Opera Effect is one term for it. -J