Blu-ray Rentals

[st11x]

G'day,

I have heard that there is a video store near Wat Phra-singha that lets out Blu-ray movies for 100 THB but I have never found it. By chance today, I came across a store just before Lotus Hang Dong that does have them. You can rent them for 80 THB a day (500 THB deposit). The selection is average, but it's a start.

Hurray, it's finally time to ditch the DVD player.

The guy was telling me that there are other stores inside the moat but he can't tell me exactly. Do you know others?

Thanks

Matt

[kennkate]

Why ditch your DVD Player Now? your Blue Ray Player should play Reg DVD's

[Gigabyte]

Why ditch your DVD Player Now? your Blue Ray Player should play Reg DVD's

Why keep both a DVD player and a BluRay player when the BluRay player can play all your DVD discs (and maybe more if your DVD player is old)? I think that was what st11x meant. OR maybe he meant "ditch the DVD discs" in which case I agree that it's maybe not a good idea unless you have so much faith in the speed of BlueRay implementation and a very deep pocket.

I did ditch my DVD player once I got a BluRay player; I can play all the DVDs that I have, and CDs, and other formats, and it is using a HDMA connection. Not to mention that some dodgy DVDs that didn't play well before are now playing well! So it was good that I kept all my old DVD discs all those years...

Edited February 10, 2010 by Gigabyte

[Donnyboy]

whats the price for a blu ray player these days, bought in Thailand?

[st11x]

I meant it as a figure of speech ;-) I can finally move on to newer technology! Buying them here is very expensive, but renting is still okay.

The cheapest player I saw was a Samsung player at 6900. They were selling it at the new Siam TV. It's quite big and bulky though. Those players selling for 9900 (or sometimes 8800) here, I saw them for sale at around 5000 THB in Singapore ... and they are probably made in Thailand! What irony.

Thought about buying the player in Singapore, but the customs officer always open the bags here at CNX.

So anyone knows where else to rent those disc?

Matt

[thaimiller]

One of the best spec Blu ray players is in the Playstation 3, so buy one of them and get a games console as well.

Edited February 11, 2010 by thaimiller

[tigerbeer]

just wondering if they are the genuine blue-ray discs or just dvd's upscaled like the ones some people sell around town.

[Donnyboy]

Thought about buying the player in Singapore, but the customs officer always open the bags here at CNX.

they didnt get me when i went thru a couple of weeks ago, luckily i waited till they got a few others and i sailed past, then again i didnt have anything contra

[ChiangMaiFun]

On the subject of BluRay don't buy the 'supposed' BluRay discs in the nightmarket etc. as they are more expensive and crap - I bought one which they swore was an original but it was awful despite coming in the blue box and appearing to look 100% original.

By the way I did import an original from USA which now won't work on my Sony BluRay player!

[Donnyboy]

theres loads of "originals" up in mae sai as well, theyre actually just dvd in a BR box

[ChiangMaiFun]

theres loads of "originals" up in mae sai as well, theyre actually just dvd in a BR box

yea same same

But I actually had a conversation with the owner who swore blind that they had been copied from a BluRay disc - so they MUST be BluRay right? doh...

[Ulysses G.]

Some people are always buying the hype and going out and getting the next new toy - even if it is not any better than what came before - so I really wonder how "superior" the Blueray actually is.

I had a Laserdisc player 25 years ago that was better than any DVD player, but the powers that be decided to switch formats and laserdiscs became passé'.

How many times are we going to trade our old stuff in and pay over again for the new version? How many times are we going to fall for this trick?

[ChiangMaiFun]

Some people are always buying the hype and going out and getting the next new toy - even if it is not any better than what came before - so I really wonder how "superior" the Blueray actually is.

I had a Laserdisc player 25 years ago that was better than any DVD player, but the powers that be decided to switch formats and laserdiscs became passé'.

How many times are we going to trade our old stuff in and pay over again for the new version? How many times are we going to fall for this trick?

UG they are fantastic - really - cannot compare to ordinary discs when you have the right player etc. - I only have one or two but it is mind-blowing - you just cant get the discs here (so prob not worth buying) - so all that investment I made in Sony X-Series was largely wasted (a fool and his money etc.) but you can't beat the picture quality just that we are a wee bit behind here

[Ulysses G.]

I am not against change that actually improves things. I just know that I've been disappointed many times in the past. Actually, I was quite happy when TVs switched from black and white to color and music systems introduced stereo sound.

I look forward to trying Blueray out.

Edited February 12, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[Donnyboy]

I will wait till the players come down more in price before making the jump,they might have more added features in future models too like HD recorder built in

ive seen a few demos in the stores back in NZ and they do look impressive

its the usual story, expensive when the new technology comes out but wait a few years and every corner store has them

Plasma tvs were about 10x the price of what they are now about 10 years ago, and the ones they have now have more features and look nicer

Edited February 12, 2010 by Donnyboy

[anonymouse]

I will wait till the players come down more in price before making the jump,they might have more added features in future models too like HD recorder built in

ive seen a few demos in the stores back in NZ and they do look impressive

its the usual story, expensive when the new technology comes out but wait a few years and every corner store has them

Plasma tvs were about 10x the price of what they are now about 10 years ago, and the ones they have now have more features and look nicer

I remember the days when you'd only upgrade your TV when it stopped working, that was after it had been repaired a couple of times. I remember my old Gran's black and white, that she'd had for about twelve years taking about five minutes to warm up before the picture would appear.

I'm still with the same mentality I've had my TV and DVD player four years next month and I'm expecting at least another couple of years use out of them before replacing.

[Chicog]

How many times are we going to trade our old stuff in and pay over again for the new version? How many times are we going to fall for this trick?

DVD=4.7Gb

Bluray=<25Gb

That should tell you the amount of extra detail in the picture.

Bluray on an LCD TV is a massive improvement over standard DVD on the same TV.

And remember that Bluray is now the HD standard because it won the battle with the competing HDDVD format.

[Benjie]

Some people are always buying the hype and going out and getting the next new toy - even if it is not any better than what came before - so I really wonder how "superior" the Blueray actually is.

I had a Laserdisc player 25 years ago that was better than any DVD player, but the powers that be decided to switch formats and laserdiscs became passé'.

How many times are we going to trade our old stuff in and pay over again for the new version? How many times are we going to fall for this trick?

Yes, much better we stick with our 8" Black and white TV's.

Blu Ray is around 5 times the resolution as normal DVD's, It's a far superior picture. Not sure how your laserdisc player was better than a DVD player, the discs were like huge silver pizzas.

Amazon will deliver blurays here.

[Donnyboy]

I will wait till the players come down more in price before making the jump,they might have more added features in future models too like HD recorder built in

ive seen a few demos in the stores back in NZ and they do look impressive

its the usual story, expensive when the new technology comes out but wait a few years and every corner store has them

Plasma tvs were about 10x the price of what they are now about 10 years ago, and the ones they have now have more features and look nicer

I remember the days when you'd only upgrade your TV when it stopped working, that was after it had been repaired a couple of times. I remember my old Gran's black and white, that she'd had for about twelve years taking about five minutes to warm up before the picture would appear.

I'm still with the same mentality I've had my TV and DVD player four years next month and I'm expecting at least another couple of years use out of them before replacing.

i remember those old B&W tvs, if the picture didnt come on, you gave it a smack on the side of the woodgrain cabinet to give it a hurry up

dad traded it in for a combo tv and radio with turntable, it was pretty special back then, and then in '72 (i think) we got a colour telly....woot woot

[Donnyboy]

How many times are we going to trade our old stuff in and pay over again for the new version? How many times are we going to fall for this trick?

DVD=4.7Gb

Bluray=<25Gb

That should tell you the amount of extra detail in the picture.

Bluray on an LCD TV is a massive improvement over standard DVD on the same TV.

And remember that Bluray is now the HD standard because it won the battle with the competing HDDVD format.

HD isnt evrything, just returned from NZ where the main tv stations are in HD, i tell ya, those tv presenters arent as goodlooking as they were when it was standard def.

[Ulysses G.]

Not sure how your laserdisc player was better than a DVD player.

The picture was just as good, but much easier to search for specific scenes when you lost your place.

[elektrified]

...but the customs officer always open the bags here at CNX.

Matt

Really??? That's news to me. The last couple of times I've come through CNX I've arrived with 3 X huge Samsonite hard-shell cases packed to the brim. Never a problem...just walked on through. Never been stopped...

[healthcaretaker]

Not sure how your laserdisc player was better than a DVD player.

The picture was just as good, but much easier to search for specific scenes when you lost your place.

I am with UG. When laserdisc first came out, I bought few hundred movies and they are all left in my store not. Buy back all those movies in pirated dvds to cut-loss now.

Unless it's a special movie that i wish to splurge on, I am contended with normal or copied dvds.

BTW, I am told Blu-ray discs cannot be copied to give the same resolutioin results, which is one of the reason why they came out, so pirated dvds will not have blu-ray quality. Is this correct ?

[Donnyboy]

Not sure how your laserdisc player was better than a DVD player.

The picture was just as good, but much easier to search for specific scenes when you lost your place.

I am with UG. When laserdisc first came out, I bought few hundred movies and they are all left in my store not. Buy back all those movies in pirated dvds to cut-loss now.

Unless it's a special movie that i wish to splurge on, I am contended with normal or copied dvds.

BTW, I am told Blu-ray discs cannot be copied to give the same resolutioin results, which is one of the reason why they came out, so pirated dvds will not have blu-ray quality. Is this correct ?

not sure about copying BR discs but i know they can be ripped and d/l to hard drive and viewed from there, the torrent hosts are full of them (BR movies)

[JimGant]

Bluray on an LCD TV is a massive improvement over standard DVD on the same TV.

Yep. And you need a 1080p TV to see best results.

[Donnyboy]

Bluray on an LCD TV is a massive improvement over standard DVD on the same TV.

Yep. And you need a 1080p TV to see best results.

its too bad True doesnt broadcast in HD yet

sport in high def is brilliant

[bhatmasterson]

whats the price for a blu ray player these days, bought in Thailand?

Central Kad Suan Kaew has a Phillips player on sale right now for about 3,900 BT

I almost bought one but got a brand new one at a moving sale for a lot less.

Wonderful luck that was.

[PETDCAT]

I just got a LG blue-ray player at Siam TV for 3000baht. Cheaper then USA prices for this unit.And True has 2 HD broadcasts.HBO and a sports channel

[zippydedodah]

i have a couple dozen original bluray disks i brought from USA and i have downloaded mts files, which are bluray rips, about 4 gigs in size and i tell ya... it is VERY VERY hard to tell the difference.

I use a PS3 for playback and mts files load up on ps3 just like a bluray and other than minor sound quality diffs and lack of special features, i find those 4 gig versions very nice, very handy and very cheap.

I have been told (but not confirmed) that some of these "bluray" or HD disks in stores (saw some in Central Airport plaza last week) are actually these same mts files, downloaded from the net and

then burned boxed and sold as special HD disks (they have a funny boxing and distinctive notices on the outside).

[pjclark1]

they have them for sale in Tesco Lotus.

The 2 HD channels on True/UBC are not that good quality.

Edited February 12, 2011 by pjclark1