Random Gaming Thoughts

[RCBH928]

@Ziggy
Those $1K BD players... do they do anything more than regular players or just brand name for the rich to show off?

It has always been like that - new technology makes old technoogy obsolete and dictates the price. Sony has, since the PS2 was launched, been trying to make their consoles be an all-in-one entertainment center instead of only a game console. This apeals to many demographics, not just kids or hardcore gamers - the prime targets of Nintendo and Microsoft for the marketing of their devices(imo). I know a lot of families, relatives and friends that use Sony's consoles for all forms of entertainment - they have only the Playstation hooked up to the largest and newest TV and they use it for everything, tho mostly streaming video and playing discs rather than games. The smaller and older TVs are used for gaming and music.

Have to agree, my ps3 is a very nice all media player with the remote. I thought Xbox was aiming for this too with their implementation of cable tv. Albeit now if you have a newer tv its just easier to use that built in app for streaming. 1 remote+1 device, better than using 2 remotes+turning on 2 devices+switching HDMI input.

I've actully gifted most of my extended family various hand-me-down HD consoles and streaming devices just so they could watch Netflix in HD because they had already gotten rid of all of their SD displays and were still only using their Wii for Netflix through composite. Most said thanks but admitted they couldn't see much difference between 480i through composite and 1080p through HDMI except maybe brighter colors.

Its hard to notice on things shot on SD originally if thats their thing, like 90s sitcom. There is definitely a difference with something like Avengers End Game. They are probably not looking for it. HD is somehow weird, on some videos on youtube I am like "Let me turn this to 720P" and it was already in HD. Other videos just as they start playing I am like "Wow, this is so clear and high def". idk whats going on.

Ironically, now streaming apps are so prevalent on every device, I haven't used a console to stream media in years. People bemoan that the Switch doesn't have a Netflix app, and I always just forget that's even true because I feel like I have so many cheap devices that can stream Netflix and every other media app.

This is surprising. Switch install base is 80M. I will only guess that Netflix think those 80M are kids with no credit cards to sign up to their service.

[Ziggy]

Those $1K BD players... do they do anything more than regular players or just brand name for the rich to show off?

No, they actually have more/better features. $1k is the most expensive BD player on Crutchfield, but there's only one in that price range. They have a couple of players for $400-500, and even more in the $150-250 range. The higher end players do boast better video and audio quality, but if you're only plugging it directly into a TV (especially a Wal Mart special) then it would just be a waste of money. A sub $100 would have a single HDMI outputs, but the higher end players have multiple outputs. Like two HDMI outputs, one for AV and one just with audio (useful when you have an older AVR). You also tend to see 7.1 line level outputs. You can see digital audio outputs on them, but that's not uncommon on sub $100 players. The $1k player has balanced L and R XLR outputs, which is something you only see on high end stuff or pro audio gear. Then there's the build quality. A sub $100 player is built like complete shit. Very light so when you press the power button the whole player slides away. LOUD disc drives, which cause it to vibrate because of how light it is. No display screen. Cheap remote. Higher end players don't have these problems.

In 2021, you can still buy a DVD player. But there aren't any good ones being manufactured. I like to have a dedicated DVD player on my main setup for a few reasons. When my DVD player died a few years ago, I went looking for a replacement. Cheap garbage is all they make now. I went on eBay and got an older mid-range DVD player, much better than the garbage that is being made today. Sure, DVD player prices are incredible cheap today, but it's because they're all made to be cheap. Luckily all BD players can play DVDs, and at least a few companies are still making high end players. I'd really like to get one some day (probably not the $1k model lol) but it's not in the budget right now. My current BD player works OK, but it does have some of the drawbacks I mentioned.

[marurun]

My Wii was my first Netflix player. We had a disc plan but once we could stream on the Wii, we largely stopped getting discs.

[RCBH928]

Then there's the build quality. A sub $100 player is built like complete shit. Very light so when you press the power button the whole player slides away. LOUD disc drives, which cause it to vibrate because of how light it is. No display screen. Cheap remote. Higher end players don't have these problems.
.

sounds like something I can live with over paying $900!! PS5 and Xbox SX sounds like something that solves such issues.

[Ziggy]

Well again, that $1K player is totally excessive and has things the ordinary person would never use like XLR audio outputs. But there are players in the $300-500 range that still have much better build quality than the sub $100 models. That's in the range of what a game console would cost, but a dedicated BD player would still outperform the console.

[isiolia]

Well again, that $1K player is totally excessive and has things the ordinary person would never use like XLR audio outputs. But there are players in the $300-500 range that still have much better build quality than the sub $100 models. That's in the range of what a game console would cost, but a dedicated BD player would still outperform the console.

Yeah. A $300-500 range dedicated player will have a better feature set than the consoles do. This guy has a rundown on the PS5 compared to a $400ish player and previously did one for the Series X. For a lot of people the difference still isn't worth buying a dedicated player, but the more comprehensive support for HDR formats, image processing options, and so on would make one worth buying for some folks.

[marurun]

I picked up a sub-$100 Sony and it's actually been pretty good. Does shake or twitch at all. I don't trust it to be very reliable in the long-haul, but I wouldn't trust any Sony for that.

[Note]

I was really lucky, in the late 90's (I think it was 1999), my father gifted me a Sony VAIO laptop which had a CD/DVD drive included, which was my first DVD player. I think my first DVDs were Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie and the anime movie Venus Wars, which I had seen a few times on the Sci-Fi channel and really enjoyed. My father also picked up a DVD copy of The Matrix around that time.

I got the PS2 a bit late, maybe two years after launch but I ended up purchasing the remote control accessory. However, something weird happened with the DVD capability. My PS2 would play games fine but it started to terribly skip on DVDs, I couldn't watch movies on it anymore.

Did anyone else experience this problem with the PS2 DVD player? Just curious, as I thought it was weird that it would run games fine but not DVD movies.

[RCBH928]

Yeah. A $300-500 range dedicated player will have a better feature set than the consoles do. This guy has a rundown on the PS5 compared to a $400ish player and previously did one for the Series X. For a lot of people the difference still isn't worth buying a dedicated player, but the more comprehensive support for HDR formats, image processing options, and so on would make one worth buying for some folks.

Cool video I like stuff like this

I picked up a sub-$100 Sony and it's actually been pretty good. Does shake or twitch at all. I don't trust it to be very reliable in the long-haul, but I wouldn't trust any Sony for that.

Thats a weird thing to say, I thought Sony brand sold on being the most reliable.

[Melek-Ric]

I was really lucky, in the late 90's (I think it was 1999), my father gifted me a Sony VAIO laptop which had a CD/DVD drive included, which was my first DVD player. I think my first DVDs were Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie and the anime movie Venus Wars, which I had seen a few times on the Sci-Fi channel and really enjoyed. My father also picked up a DVD copy of The Matrix around that time.

I got the PS2 a bit late, maybe two years after launch but I ended up purchasing the remote control accessory. However, something weird happened with the DVD capability. My PS2 would play games fine but it started to terribly skip on DVDs, I couldn't watch movies on it anymore.

Did anyone else experience this problem with the PS2 DVD player? Just curious, as I thought it was weird that it would run games fine but not DVD movies.

In my experience, while the PS2 was an affordable unit in 2000, it was also the worst DVD player I've owned. I had a number of retail discs that either displayed "disc read error" while playing, had some scenes blur together, or just have noticeable pauses between frames and sometimes chapters. The DVD remote came with a firmware update for the DVD player, and it helped a little, but once I had other devices to play DVD's, I stopped using the PS2. I never bothered to try playing DVD's on the Slim because by then it was 2007 and everything could play them. The Slim may have handled playback better.