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Wal-Mart Blu-ray Player Promos a Net Cost Under $200 for Father's Day!
Blu-ray Disc
Next week, and just in time for Father's Day (Sunday, June 15th), Wal-Mart is making it much easier to afford a high-definition Blu-ray player!
The original standard DVD format went on sale in the United States back in 1997, and consumers quickly shifted over to the new format from VHS. But in 1998, HDTVs went on sale, and every year since then the high definition sets have gained in popularity. But something was missing...hi-def on home video!
While DVD was noticeably better than VHS, it was noticeably not-as-good as the hi-def broadcasts of TV shows and films that people could get from cable, satellite and over-the-air HD. Folks clamored for an HD home video format, and by February 2008 the Sony-developed Blu-ray Disc ("BD") format had just won a bitter hi-def format war. But at the time, prices of a BD player started at $400, and typically ran quite a bit higher.
Beginning this coming Sunday, June 8th, Wal-Mart is kicking off their newly remodeled electronics departments in their stores by offering a $100 Wal-Mart gift card with the purchase of any Blu-ray player in its stores. That offer applies to any BD player that Wal-mart sells, including Sony's PlayStation 3 system.
More to the point, it also applies to the Magnavox NB500MG9 Blu-ray player, which Wal-Mart has begun selling in the past few weeks for just $298.00! Technically, this is a good (but not perfect) BD system, offering full 1080p resolution output and most of the expected bells and whistles. However, the noticeable thing is that this particular player is at the next-highest "profile 1.1" level (which allows Picture-in-Picture), rather than the highest-level "profile 2.0". This isn't a big issue for many consumers, though, as the 2.0 "BD Live" functionality basically involves hooking a network cable into the player so you can pull internet content into the film while you watch it. That's neat, but hardly necessary. And this $100 gift card offer, in effect, brings the total net cost down to under $200, making it well worth it...I'm considering getting one as a spare player to use in the bedroom! The gift card offer runs through Saturday, June 14th.
That gift card is quite a deal, since it can be used to buy groceries, or clothes, or even gas at Sam's Club gas pumps. But Wal-Mart is probably betting you'll want to use it to buy an HDMI cable (which is not included with most players). If you're not in-the-know, an HDMI cable is required in order to get the best possible hi-def picture transmitted from the Blu-ray Player to your HDTV display (and to get the best possible upconversion of your existing DVD collection, when you play them in the Blu-ray system).
You'll probably also want to spend some of that gift card credit on some Blu-ray Disc titles, too. Wal-Mart is going to egg you on by putting select Blu-ray movies on sale for $15 each, also starting on June 8th. That offer also runs through June 14th, or while supplies last. Titles on sale include such hits as 300, The Fifth Element, War, Shooter and 3:10 to Yuma...nice!
So, what "TV-on-BD" titles are in store for you, if you pick up a player? Well, you can already enjoy Blu-ray editions of season sets from such shows as Lost, The Sopranos, Prison Break, Smallville, Weeds, Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me. Plus there's an even larger assortment on the way, including programs like Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Grey's Anatomy, Stargate: Continuum, Mad Men, Torchwood, Robin Hood and even the animated Justice League series. Of the upcoming titles, not all of them have release dates yet, but most of the ones which do could be pre-ordered from Amazon right now, at a great discount in many cases.
And, if you haven't heard yet, Disney has announced an early October Blu-ray Disc release of Sleeping Beauty: 2-Disc Platinum Edition, the first high-definition home video release of one of their "Masterpiece" animated classics.
It sounds like Blu-ray has definitely arrived! — David Lambert
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Jun 4, 2008 10:42 AM
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I think I'll wait for now. I don't NEED a blu-ray player.
Is the PS3 BD Live or 1.1?
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Jun 4, 2008 12:06 PM
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Well, by that logic we don't "need" DVD players, either. We just want 'em. 
Playstation 3 systems, when updated to the latest firmware version (which can be done via wireless - or wired, if you prefer - internet connection) end up at the Profile 2.0 "BD Live" level.
Plus, they play a few cool videogames when you're not watching Blu-ray Discs! It's what I use as my main player. — David Lambert
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Jun 4, 2008 12:15 PM
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I don't play videos games anymore (I had a sega back in the day). But if I ever did want to play some games, I should get a PS3, just seems logical to me. I mean, there's nothing stand alone BD players can do that a PS3 can't, is there?
Is there really that much of a difference between upconverted dvds and the blu-ray video?
And something totally off-topic:
I downloaded DVDProfiler (that Gord recommended) and I love it. According to that, have over 300 movies/season sets. (some weren't there and I'm gonna have to add them manually)
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/Leah/Organize-Dvd-Collections/800040832?forumID=800003359&
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Jun 4, 2008 12:54 PM
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re: "I mean, there's nothing stand alone BD players can do that a PS3 can't, is there?"
Nope, nothing.
re: "Is there really that much of a difference between upconverted dvds and the blu-ray video?"
Upconversion of DVDs takes a standard 480p picture and using on-the-fly software to "guess" what the picture would look like in high-def 1080p. It's a false hi-def.
Look at it this way: when data is recorded from a high-def master onto high-def media like Blu-ray, it takes any 4 pixels (pulling a number out of the air here, for an example) worth of data and records exactly what the pixel should look like at all 4 points. A standard-def DVD only has 1 pixel's worth of data for the same 4 points, so the upconversion process has to *guess* at what those other four points should look like.
The software goes like this: "hmmm...this pixel is white, and the pixel next to it is black, so for the upconversion process I will put a grey pixel in between". But it's "filling in the blanks" on the data that it just does not have. What if it's supposed to be another black pixel there, to make a stark contrast between a black and white region in the picture? What if that pixel should be purple, or yellow, or blue, or something else?
That's an oversimplification, but you get the idea. Upconverted DVDs are a neat improvement over standard def, but because there is vital data missing from the DVD disc, it can never hold a candle to true hi-def info, such as what you find on a Blu-ray Disc.
That, of course, doesn't mean that people will be discerning enough to notice a difference. It used to be that I wasn't able to see the diff, but once you get used to the change you don't want to go back. Compare a freeze-frame of a typical beach scene on Lost Season 3 on DVD without upconversion, then with upconversion, then on the Blu-ray format release, and you'll see what I mean!
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Jun 4, 2008 1:27 PM
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ah. I see. that makes sense. so, isn't the whole upconverting thing then misleading to customers? Kinda lying, really, saying it gives you hi-def video.
The only thing about blu-ray is I've invested so much money in dvds there's no way I'm gonna rebuy every thing in hi-def and for me, there's still too much of a difference in the price to make it worth it for me.
Maybe I'll try to find a PS3 for cheap on ebay and go that route.
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Jun 4, 2008 1:43 PM
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re: "so, isn't the whole upconverting thing then misleading to customers? Kinda lying, really, saying it gives you hi-def video."
A bit misleading, yes, but upconverting IS an improvement over regular standard-def viewing...just not as good as REAL hi-def.
And it really does output at a hi-def resolution (1080p), even if it takes the above-described route to get there.
re: "I've invested so much money in dvds there's no way I'm gonna rebuy every thing in hi-def and for me, there's still too much of a difference in the price to make it worth it for me."
I haven't re-bought everything. For movies that I absolutely love and will watch again and again, and a great BD release comes out, I will of course re-buy so I can enjoy it the best way possible.
If I don't rewatch the movie all that often (maybe I just have it in my library on the off chance I get in the mood to see it), then I stick with the DVD. If the BD version isn't all that great (honestly, the Blu-ray version of Total Recall didn't look like it made much use of the format's technology!), then no reason to upgrade of course.
Some movies are worth upgrading, but only if the price is right for you. I'm a huge fan of The Fifth Element and already own Sony's recent release of it on BD. But I have a friend who likes it, not loves it, but for just $15 will cheerfully pick it up at Wal-Mart this Sunday.
Then, there are some movies that just aren't the type that "need" hi-def to be enjoyed. I keep hearing 27 Dresses as the oft-repeated example of this ("What eye candy is there in the film that makes it worth it to pay any extra for the BD version? None!").
You wanna know which one was the best surprise for me? Rio Bravo on Blu. Old cowboy flick with John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson and Ricky Nelson. I love that film, and was given the BD for Christmas. WHOA! What an incredibly pleasing hi-def experience. I saw stuff in the film I never really had noticed before, not even on the excellent DVD release. Mind-blowing.
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Jun 4, 2008 2:05 PM
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I know Rio Bravo. I grew up on John Wayne. I also watched a lot of Martin and Lewis movies. I actually like El Dorado a little better, with Robert Mitchum and James Caan (I still always think of him has Mississippi).
One of these days, I'll get a BD player. But that's probably a couple years down the road for me. My main priority right now is getting a new car.
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Jun 4, 2008 3:20 PM
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The DVD Team wrote:
"re: "I mean, there's nothing stand alone BD players can do that a PS3 can't, is there?"
Nope, nothing."
Technically, that is not true.
The PS3 cannot bitstream the new high-def audio codecs over HDMI to a receiver for decoding. This includes DD+ & DTS-HD for lossy, and TrueHD & DTS-MA for lossless. It can, however, now internally decode all of these formats to PCM and will output that uncompressed signal, which will give you the same result of what your receiver would be doing anyway. Some people are hung up on seeing those "TrueHD" or "DTS-MA" symbols light up on their new receivers though!
Also, the PS3 does not have any 5.1/6.1/7.1 analog audio outputs, so you will not be able to get any high-def audio from your Blu-ray Discs if you are still using an older receiver that does not have an HDMI input.
Finally, the PS3 is only able to use its own Bluetooth remote, so it cannot be programmed to work with a universal remote. Again, not a big deal, but some people do not like having multiple remotes and try and have one "master commander" for their whole home theater setup. Stand-alone machines will probably be compatible and programmable with existing learning devices.
Don't take this post to be down on the PS3 though. I'd still recommend it above any other player. It is rock-solid, loads discs faster than any standalone, outputs an exceptional picture, and oh yeah, it plays a bunch of great games as a bonus!
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Jun 4, 2008 7:59 PM
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Much of that I recognize from a post making the rounds at various online forums that is usually titled something along the lines of "top five reasons not to use a PS3 as your Blu-ray player". I don't mean to offend you for posting the parts of it here which you feel are valid. However, I feel compelled to point out that the response to that post in the forums I visit has mostly been out-and-out derision.
re: "Finally, the PS3 is only able to use its own Bluetooth remote, so it cannot be programmed to work with a universal remote. Again, not a big deal, but some people do not like having multiple remotes and try and have one "master commander" for their whole home theater setup. Stand-alone machines will probably be compatible and programmable with existing learning devices."
I got around that a long time ago with this little gizmo, the Nyko Blu Wave remote (which I've recently starting seeing at Best Buy stores now). It's an IR remote for the PS3!
The dongle from that package, inserted into any of the USB ports on the front of the PS3, makes my Logitech Harmony 880 remote work perfectly with the PS3 for all basic functions.
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Jun 4, 2008 8:09 PM
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The list of $15 Blu-ray Movies on sale this week, pictured in Wal-Mart's weekly printed ad flyer:
Flags of Our Fathers 2-Disc Special Edition
3:10 to Yuma (recent remake)
War
300
Blood Diamond
Shooter
The Fifth Element
Training Day
The Last Samurai
A Knight's Tale
The Patriot
Syriana
"While Supplies Last...$15 Each on these titles and more".
Huh..."And more", eh? Wonder what else they are including? My guess is that it varies by store.
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Jun 8, 2008 6:51 AM
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By the time I got to my local Wal-Mart around 9AM, they were already sold out of all but two of the $15 movie titles (of those two, I already own one and didn't want the other).
I did get the player, though, as a second unit for the bedroom. Hooked it up in 5 minutes; it's very nice. Can't complain a bit for the 10 minutes I've used it. Yes, I got the $298 unit.
I've had a couple of e-mails this morning with reports from people who tried to buy that unit, saying the electronics dept. manager told them the offer was only good on the two units pictured in the weekly ad flyer. Well, the flyer specifically says "all Blu-ray players", as does the Wal-Mart press release. You can find both of those online at the Walmart.com website.
When they rung up the $298 unit, it came right up in the employee's face on the register display that he needed to issue us a $100 gift card. We turned around and immediately spent that gift card on groceries, no problem: there's no restriction on what you can use it for. We got a basket full of groceries for $18 out-of-pocket.
Hope that answers some questions today!
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Jun 8, 2008 12:13 PM
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Still too expensive! When a player sans rebate is going for under $100 give me a call and I'll *think* about it for a few... I figure by then the "next great format to gouge the consumer" will be available and we'll all be encouraged to upgrade *again*...
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Jun 9, 2008 11:29 AM
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