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From The New York Times

richsilver

By richsilver
in Audio Visual AV

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Benjie Silver Member

Benjie

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I've just bought one for the kids bedroom because they've come down so much. I also like that there are only 3 regions.

Nordlys Gold Member

Nordlys

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It is the price of the disks that worries me................... :)

I thought they cost about the same as imported DVD (non-region 3 DVDs) and I think that makes BRs better worth of money than DVDs. Problem is, not all BR titles are better in picture or sound quality than DVD of the same title just because it's BR, and not all BR players play DVD as good as DVD-only players (and some are reported to freeze for a few seconds as it scans from one layer to another on double layers DVD). I'm in the market for it and about to buy my first player as soon as this weekend, but as usual with anything in Thailand most of what's available here are entry-level players costing around 10,000 - 20,000 baht and high end costing 180,000 - 200,000 baht, not much in between. Most Japanese/Korean majors are marketing only entry-level players except Pioneer. With so little choice for mid level players in Thailand I've narrowed my choices down to Denon DBP-2010 (35,900 baht) and Pioneer LX-52 (29,900 baht) and now inclined for the latter (literally nothing else in the same price range to choose from). Might spend another 10,000 baht for HDMI cable.

Benjie Silver Member

Benjie

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Huh?!?!

Sony, Samsung and Philips all have pretty good DVD players for under 10k baht... I'd forget about the two you mention over any of these, they really won't be worth the premium, also 10,000 Baht on a HDMI cable is OK if its 10-15m long, else it's a complete waste of money. HDMI is a digital signal, it either works or it doesn't.

Amazon is great for Blu Rays, if you buy in a fair amount (say 10+) then they end up costing like 500-600 baht all in if you buy them at a decent price.

Nordlys Gold Member

Nordlys

Posted
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Huh?!?!

Sony, Samsung and Philips all have pretty good DVD players for under 10k baht... I'd forget about the two you mention over any of these, they really won't be worth the premium, also 10,000 Baht on a HDMI cable is OK if its 10-15m long, else it's a complete waste of money. HDMI is a digital signal, it either works or it doesn't.

Amazon is great for Blu Rays, if you buy in a fair amount (say 10+) then they end up costing like 500-600 baht all in if you buy them at a decent price.

I thought the thread is about BR players and that's what I was talking about.

I already tried different HDMI cable and can tell you first hand it does make a clear difference. It's well documented digital cables for audio equipment (e.g. cable connecting CD transport and D/A converter) does make difference and audiophiles aren't fooled into paying premium for expensive cables.

Benjie Silver Member

Benjie

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Sorry I mis-wrote, Samsung, Sony and Phillips ALL have Blu Ray players at under 10k baht.

I think it is impossible that the HDMI cable made a difference, it either works or it doesn't for the bandwidth/specification. I will happily set up a blind test and guarantee you won't be able to see any difference between any cables that work (as long as they are all designed to the same HDMI specification, i.e 1.3a etc...).

For Sp/Dif (Coaxial or TosLink) In over 200+ home cinema installations I have never heard a difference from a cable, even when switching from expensive cables to the very cheapest. These are OTHER peoples systems though, so I don't have 10,000 baht invested in that cable sounding better.

The last part of your post I'm assuming is a joke.

Nordlys Gold Member

Nordlys

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I'm sure all those BR players under 10K baht performs just fine but they are classified as entry level players and I'm willing to pay more for difference (they tend to improve more on sound than picture quality from what I gather).

I already wrote I bought and tried different cables (I HAVE an HDMI cable costing 8,000 baht) and saw the difference first hand on my OWN system.

And I have spent well 150,000 baht on various cables for my audio set up (though all analogue signal cables and AC cables, none digital) and I DID home audition most of them before deciding to spend that much on cables.

Benjie Silver Member

Benjie

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I'd love to have 1.5 million+ baht or so to spend on a sound system, so am a little jealous. I'd agree that Analogue cables are a different kettle of fish.

However, digital has changed everything, Your 8,000 baht HDMI cable looks no better than the one I get free with the DVD player.

Trust me, I have sat there with Avia and DVE on Blu Ray and DVD and cycled through cables, blind, on numerous projectors and televisions at all resolutions. I've installed at peoples insistance Monster cables and other brand name cables that look identical, and then have had clients telling me how great the picture and/or sound is with their new cables (sometimes before I have even had a chance to plug in their 'new' cable).

Personally I'd forget the Pioneer and Denon players and see if you can get a hold of an Oppo player, IMO the 24k baht Samsung Blu Ray is probably the best player currently widely available here.

Benjie Silver Member

Benjie

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HDMI 1.4 is more for 3D displays and 4k+ resolutions, Blu Ray can't provide anything that 1.3a can't deal with so no problems there. Thats a good price (here) for the panasonic player, I wouldn't worry about whether it's entry level or not, the picture and sound quality difference between that and the most expensive player is likely less than 10-20%.

Nordlys Gold Member

Nordlys

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Trust me, I have sat there with Avia and DVE on Blu Ray and DVD and cycled through cables, blind, on numerous projectors and televisions at all resolutions. I've installed at peoples insistance Monster cables and other brand name cables that look identical, and then have had clients telling me how great the picture and/or sound is with their new cables (sometimes before I have even had a chance to plug in their 'new' cable).

Personally I'd forget the Pioneer and Denon players and see if you can get a hold of an Oppo player, IMO the 24k baht Samsung Blu Ray is probably the best player currently widely available here.

Where can I find Oppo BR player in Thailand and what models are available here (and at what price?)?

BTW, I've a read and heard people claim and regard Monster Cable to be some premium cable brand. I'm not sure how they're accepted in the home theater market but they're hardly ever mentioned amongst audiophiles and hardly ever regarded as premium cable brand. The 10,000 baht HDMI cable that I intend to home audition is from a brand called Nordost, a premium brand cable manufacturer. I've read a positive reviews of that model and I take it that the fact there exists reviews suggests to me they aren't all that same (why review them if they all yield same result?). The fact there are different grade of HDMI cables available at difference price from a same brand/manufacturer suggests to me they do make difference in quality.

Benjie Silver Member

Benjie

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I think you would have to special order the Oppo from their website, they do international sales and delivery. It would probably cost you under 20k baht all-in. The Oppo is generally regarded as the best bang for your buck Blu Ray player, Secrets have a very in-depth review. I don't know what you would do about DVD regionality though, Blu Ray is the same region as here.

The fact that there are several grades of HDMI from the same supplier doesn't mean they give different picture/sound quality, it means there is a market for people who wish to believe that is the case. They may be of higher quality in that they are better built and may last longer etc...

Benjie Silver Member

Benjie

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I like the audioholics take on it (as referenced in the first post on the above avforums link).

"At lengths less than 4 meters you can just about use silly string (OK, not really) and get HDMI to pass at any current resolution. At less than 3 meters you'll even extend that to 12-bit color and possibly the next crazy idea HDMI Licensing decides to throw at consumers. Don't spend a lot on these cables and if you want to save money you won't let anyone at a big box store talk you into buying from them."

Seems they didn't start to see any difference between cables until very long runs introduced sparkles, Which I've also seen on some of the very first 10m long HDMI cables in 1080p.

Some of the active repeater technology would seem to be a much better place to spend money on long runs.

Benjie Silver Member

Benjie

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For some laughs, check out these tongue-in-cheek Denon cable reviews on Amazon

Reviews

lol, that $500 cable is just a Cat-5 patch cable. Some funny reviews, especially regarding the directionality of the cable.

Nordlys Gold Member

Nordlys

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I bought Pioneer LX-52 BR player.

Spectacular picture quality but I was more surprised that it plays DVD much better than my old DVD player (without HDMI). Do all BR players upscale DVD picture when viewed via HDMI?

Benjie Silver Member

Benjie

Posted
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I bought Pioneer LX-52 BR player.

Spectacular picture quality but I was more surprised that it plays DVD much better than my old DVD player (without HDMI). Do all BR players upscale DVD picture when viewed via HDMI?

Yes, but also DVD players in general seem to evolve in terms of PQ etc... at a quick pace nowadays.

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