dvd player finally died so its on to blu ray, but i know nothing about them. also thinking about one of the home theater in a box deals that comes with the surround sound. are those any good?
heres one a found
http://www.modia.com/productdetails....letno=8855435#
seems to be a damn good deal. ideas?

 

I know this seems stupid, but a PS3 would be your best bet. You will always be getting firmware upgrades with it to allow the newest BluRays to play. You will run into issues if you buy a set top box eventually.

 

I'm sure you'll get all kinds of responses but considering it's a Sony, I wouldn't waste the time to install it if it was for free. I've had Sony DVD players and stereo components and the warranty sucks. I went without a DVD player for about 4 months because the "new" Sony that I bought was at the warranty shop. When I got it back it still didn't work. Sony's attitude was- oh well. Other than it claims a 1000 watts of audio which is a typical Sony false claim, the speakers will be EXTREMELY tender and should somebody accidentally or intentionally raise the volume too high, the speakers are toast. You only get one time to over power the Sony speakers. Personally, I'd rather have a no name component than a Sony.

On the other side of things. I have a videophile friend that uses nothing but Toshiba. His Blu Ray is fabulous and so is the amp. You'll need to step up to 7.1 surround sound to get the full effect out of the Blu Ray. His is a wireless speaker system and if I were doing something like that in my home, it'd be wireless speakers. Just givin' ya an option to look at.

Next-

 

^^^ I'm personally anti-sony too. Had some terrible experiences with them.

 

Most new blueray players are internet connectible to allow for updates.



I bought a LG blueray with surround sound about a year ago and have had no problems with it.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+110...&skuId=9785701

 

PS3 is still your best bet...

It's already capable for 3d also, unlike most blu-rays.

 

Even though I'm not a huge fan of Sony, PS3 is the best bet. I have one and love it. The price is reasonable too considering you're getting a gaming console + blu-ray player. Just wish my Xbox 360 was blu-ray, then I wouldn't have even considered the PS3.

 

My first DVD player was a Sony and it is still working in our bedroom many years later. We use a PS3 for blu ray and I have a Samsung DVD player that has been made region free and also plays PAL discs I get in the UK.

 

+3 for the PS3
It has the optical out, hdmi, and comes w/ standard def av cables giving you a wide range of ways to hook up to old and new tech. IMO the optical cable is the way to go for sound unless you buy a mid priced home entertainment system that allows for you to run audio/video threw HDMI(i have a cheap $320 Yamaha 5.1 system that requires a seperate cable for audio when using HDMI).
LG is a great company as well(i used them for my blu-ray and dvd-rom drives in my computer build)

Newegg is a good website to check with also Crutchfield(they are expensive)carries quality products. Sorry I would send you links but the internet here in Madagascar is dial-up slow today.

 

ok so the ps3 is an option, but hows this one look
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0BD-C6500#spec
has built in wifi for updates/netflix/etc, and has good ratings on all the sites ive checked.

 

I bought my sister a LG set top Bluray player for Christmas last year. Works very well. It's not Ethernet or wireless enabled, but to update the firmware you download it from the LG website, burn it on a CD, put the CD in the player, and reboot it. Obviously, you can't stream Netflix with it.

 

Ya mean the $2500 Sony Nav system doesn't play blu-rays? (Hehehehehe)

I just bought a Vizio which connects to the internet automatically via wi-fy for updates. Streams Net-Flix and does a whole lot more for $140. Plays all media files including WMP. Up-converts all non Blu-ray dvd's. It's not 3-D but they are available.

 

I love my Blue ray player, it was not a expensive one but the difference of blue ray and other dvd players is amazing.