Speakers & Blu-Ray Suggestions

[isiolia]

That Bose thing is pretty much just a soundbar, and there are cheaper ones of those. That's about as far as my input on that would go, since I wouldn't buy one either way. I would say to buy a receiver and even just a stereo pair of speakers instead. but that will take more room.


IMO, a PS3 is better to get for Blu-ray if cost isn't an issue. The slims/super slims aren't that bulky, and it does give you the option to play PS3 games - or just PS1 over HDMI, PSN titles if you get them for a PSP or Vita, and so on. The PS3 has the best Netflix client available - HD and 5.1 audio on content that supports it. I think some Blu-ray players (Sony at least) do use the same one though.

Blu-ray video doesn't tend to have a lot of variation in quality. The bigger thing to look for in a player is how well it does upscaling DVDs. Or how well it does playing media from USB or over the network. What can be important with Blu-ray is frequent firmware updates, and the PS3 does well in that regard. I've also found the PS3's XMB to be a lot smoother and more responsive an interface compared to stand-alone players.

[fastbilly1]

2) If you have no interest in PS3 games, you'd probably be better off with a Blu-Ray player. I can't imagine there would be a difference in quality and most players can stream Netflix, both a player and PS3 should give an edge in Netflix quality over the Wii.

Seconded. I bought a refurbished Panasonic player last year since it was sub $40 with shipping. My only regret is that I did not get one that has wifi built in. Just find a player that meets your needs for the lowest price. Personally, if I was doing it now, Id find one thats about $100 on Amazon and go with it from there.

Examples:


Even though I am not a big Sony fan, that is a solid little box.

Edit:
Since the OUYA will have XBMC, could it handle bluray playback off an external drive?

[sonic2041]

Are you looking to get surround sound, or just getting better sound from your TV, with a stereo set up?

You said space was an issue, so keep in mind surround sound takes up a lot of space.

If you just wand better sound, I would lean toward a soundbar. I have no experience with these, so i can't really tell you how they work. If you decide to go this route, see if the manufacturer of your TV makes a sound bar, and see how it communicates with the TV. If an HDMI link is used properly, the soundbar can communicate with the TV, and do things like turn on when the TV is powered on, adjust volume when the volume buttons on the TV or TV remote are used. The last point is convenient because when you use any external audio system you want your TV audio set to fixed output. That way you arn't using the amplifier in your TV.

If you go the individual speaker route, whether its stereo or surround, get a reciever with HDMI. Most new recievers today should have this, but if you go the cheap second hand route they most likely won't. I would also look for models that offer auto calibration via a microphone. After I got my new reciever and calibrated this way, it was like hearing surround sound for the first time. A surround sound set-up that isn't properly calibrated is a waste of time. The HDMI on the reciever also allows you to get the best sound quality out of blu-ray players and game consoles.

As for using an external Blu-Ray drive with the ouya, this isn't a bad idea depending on the price of a quality external blu-ray drive. Since the whole thing is open, and you can use XBMC, I'm sure there will be options. I know on PC (not using XBMC) you have to buy software to get blu-ray playback.

[o.pwuaioc]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

Are you looking to get surround sound, or just getting better sound from your TV, with a stereo set up?

Both, but I'd preferably get small speakers which can be mounted on the wall.

As for using an external Blu-Ray drive with the ouya, this isn't a bad idea depending on the price of a quality external blu-ray drive. Since the whole thing is open, and you can use XBMC, I'm sure there will be options. I know on PC (not using XBMC) you have to buy software to get blu-ray playback.

Anyone have any more information on this? I need the wedding registry up before I get my Ouya in the mail.

[fastbilly1]

As for using an external Blu-Ray drive with the ouya, this isn't a bad idea depending on the price of a quality external blu-ray drive. Since the whole thing is open, and you can use XBMC, I'm sure there will be options. I know on PC (not using XBMC) you have to buy software to get blu-ray playback.

Anyone have any more information on this? I need the wedding registry up before I get my Ouya in the mail.

I actually looked at this alot today after it popped in my head. Alot of people have tried with various dvd and bluray drives and it is REALLY spotty on if it works. Id actually forget I mentioned it. XBMC might fix these issues, but it is not worth betting on.

[sonic2041]

I actually looked at this alot today after it popped in my head. Alot of people have tried with various dvd and bluray drives and it is REALLY spotty on if it works. Id actually forget I mentioned it. XBMC might fix these issues, but it is not worth betting on.

Thats what I was afraid of. Blu-ray on PC has always been a hastle, and you usually don't get the benefits of Blu-ray like DolbyTrueHD, and DTSHD, at least from what I am aware of.

If you want surround sound with small speakers I would just look for a good home theater in a box set up that includes Blu-ray. If you buy an individual bu-ray player and reciever and quality small speakers you are likely going way outside your budget.

I'm also making this suggestion based on how you were concerned that a blu-ray player would take up too much space. I reciever is much larger and more combersome than any bluray player.

I just looked at a few home theater set ups, and sony does offer one for $300. I can't say anything for the quality of the set up. The sound were certainly be better than what you get from your tv alone, but it surely wont be great. I'm also not sure on what kind of inputs it has, or how you would get the sound from your tv to it. I would guess you would run optical out from your tv, into the box and it would work, but i would download the manual and plan out how you would set this up. You will have to keep in mind the connections you need for your retro stuff.

For my set up, I have a HDMI reciever, that I connect all my HDMI components to (Blu-ray, XBOX360, and cable box), I connect all my retro consoles to my my TV and switch boxes which connect to the tv, then i output the sound from my TV to the reciever through optical. This works for me because none of my retro consoles support digital audio, so i don't bother with surround sound on them. This is something to note, because I am not aware of any TVs that will output anything other than stereo sound through the optical from any source other than the TV tuner. So anything that you want surround sound from will have to have the audio connected directly to the reciever.

On a personal note, I am not a fan of small speakers, and cheap ones are not worth the effort. I would find it more worthwhile to get a stereo set up with a decent pair of speakers.