Should I buy a LG BH200 Dual Player???

Hello all,

I'm looking at purchasing a LG BH200 with my tax refund in the next couple of weeks, and was wondering if any of you have any advice for me. I currently own 97 HD DVD's and plan on purchasing more, however with Sony bribing the studios (Warner and Fox), and forcing my beloved Toshiba's hand in this war, I still want to enjoy my HD DVD's and also (hate to do it, but have to, damm Sony, Cheaters!!!) purchase HD movies on Blu Ray in the near future. I don't want a crappy PS3 (Xbox 360 kicks its butt) as my Blu Ray player or one the current stand alone Blu Ray Players on the market. I want the best of both worlds in one box. Please Help!!!

Also, How can I use my XBox360 HD DVD Add on for my PC?

Thanks for your advice.

Ok, I'll try and answer your questions. First the LH200 has a reputation for being a very buggy machine. I don't own one but most of what I read hasn't been good. Yes you can use a 360 HD-DVD drive on a PC. I have one plugged into my PC right now. It isn't that difficult you need to install the drivers and you need a program that can playback HD-DVD like PowerDVD Ultra. There are also some issues if you have a non-HDCP compliant video card but I found you can get around that by using VGA instead of a digital input like DVI.

The cost of an LG BH200 is about $600, and according to everything I've read at the owners' threads at AVS, the player has its fair share of problems. If you already have an HD DVD player (which I assume you do if you have 97 HD DVDs), for less than $400 you can buy a Panasonic BD30 Blu-ray player and have the best of both worlds. I know you say you don't want two stand-alone players, but I've yet to run into a problem with my Panny. And it does everything except connect to the Internet (it's Profile 1.1 compliant, not 2.0), but I've never connected my HD DVD player to the Internet, either.

Now, if it's a problem of hooking up two separte players to your receiver or TV, that may be another issue. But if you can do it, consider it. In my opinion, two stand-alone players that do everything they're supposed to do is a better proposition than one do-it-all player that doesn't do everything it should.

John

I know this info is not related to a 'dual-format' player, but I thought you might want to consider this forthcoming DENON Blu-ray player too (sorry, I don't know the price). The specs look amazing!

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)

Love,

The forthcoming (and already available) Denon 3800 is supposed to sell for $1995.00. Two grand. Must be some player. Profile 1.1 compliant, not 2.0. I still think the Panasonic BD30 is a better stand-alone deal, though. I've not had a speck of trouble with mine, and it bitstreams out every audio codec known to man.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13258157

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=879817

John

[Post edited by John J. Puccio on Mar 6, 2008]

Oh! - It's -that- $2000 Denon player!

Sorry, my bad, I thought the $2000 player was yet another one, but now I see differently (your post above). Yeah, I don't think the price is reasonable for most Msg Bd members here, and would recommend the Panasonic BD30 too, or the forthcoming BD50 2.0 model (which will cost more of course). (or, the versatile PS3)

Or... just wait for the cheaper players to come this summer, from Funai, Sony, Oppo Digital (and others).

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)

i just got the bh200 & i love it !!! everyone thinks that the ps3 is the only futureproof bluray player but this badboy is 2 ... i havent had any probs with mine yet & it plays all the movies w/out havn 2 update the firmware everytime you get a new movie . it says rite in the owners manual that itll support profile 2.0 ... i figured it was a win win thing 4 me kuz i have around 115 hd dvds & needed a backup!! ps3 is lame... ps2 disc read errors any1 remember them ?? tick tick tick tick disc read error ... that was awesum ... NOT !!! i personally wont ever buy a sony ps3 or bluray player just kuz theyr rape monsters on ur wallet ... & they used the ps3 2 win the 4mat war & thats lame !! im a gamer 2 & sonys really lost touch with alotta gamers . i got a 360 & had a wii . but sold the wii for $400. kuz always play online with my friends . but really the bh200 isnt nearly as bad as people have been sayn !! ide give a 9.5 all the way

Awesome,

Thanks everyone for your advice. I saw on Amazon I could get a refurbished BH200 for around $565 plus S&H of $10. Its shipped from Denver where I live close to so I hope my wife will allow me this purchase.

Cheers,

Any recommendations on Blu Ray movies??

It's pretty cartoonish (purposely cartoonish), but the remastered BD of "The Fifth Element" has a picture quality as good as anything you'll see. "Casino Royale" looks and sounds good. The upcoming "ID4" ought to look and sound good. We'll see. Of course, the Pixar films--"Cars" and "Ratatouille"--are near perfect. And I haven't seen it yet, but I hear "3:10 to Yuma" is pretty good all the way around.

Pretty much anything in high def is going to look and sound better than its standard-def counterpart, so pick a movie available in HD you really like and start there.

John

Quote:
The upcoming "ID4" ought to look and sound good. We'll see.

That's yet another "guilty pleasure" that has been on my Amazon preorder for over a month now. I've got I Robot and Gattaca on that order too. Unfortunately, since I also have "Enchanted" on that list, it's only going to be shipped the week after next. I can't wait!