lots of good reviews on the BDP-S185 over at amazon


http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDP-S185-Blu-Ray-Disc-Player/dp/B005NEZDUA

Amazon:

Sony BDP-S185 Blu-Ray Disc Player:
4 out of 5 stars

Samsung BD-E5400 Wi-Fi Bu-ray Player:
3.5 out of 5 stars

VIZIO VBR133 3D Blu-ray player with Internet Applications:
3 out of 5 stars

Region hacks for unlocking the Sony's region code are available on videohelp, but none for the Vizio or Samsung.

Would inserting a USB wireless adapter into the USB port connect the player to the internet, or is the ethernet the only connection possible?

lots of good reviews(4.4 out of 5.0)on the samsung BD-E5400

http://reviews.us.samsung.com/7463/BD-E5400_ZA/samsung-blu-ray-disc-player-with-built-in-wi-fi-bd-e5400-reviews/reviews.htm

I own the Sony. It is pretty awesome, and I thought the wired factor was useful because
a: My switch is right next to the TV
b: My wifi is a bit unreliable due to 12 billion networks and other sources of interference.

It is however, wired only. As far as I can tell there are no ways around that (you cannot use a dongle). That's why it is only $50.

Also, the sony does do Amazon, at least with the latest software update. Dunno why that isn't listed.

Does anyone know if the any of these would have a browser? The only reason I would need it is because my buildings wi-fi requires log-in to access.

Do any of these NOT have Cinavia?

emeister wrote:Would inserting a USB wireless adapter into the USB port connect the player to the internet, or is the ethernet the only connection possible?

Only if the player explicitly supports it, since it has to have drivers.

If you can find a cheap wireless router/AP that supports working as a wireless bridge you could use that.

Can you play regular dvd's on these?

I use the Sony for NHL center-Ice and I LOVE it!

I have the Sony, so do my in-laws. My local Costco just dropped the price (in store) a couple weeks ago so it's the same price there but it comes with an HDMI cable and it's new.

Can't say a lot about it other than It plays movies so... it works.

I have the Sony and LOVE IT. I would recommend this player until the cows come home.

Its only real drawback is the lack of wireless (no you cant install a wifi USB...Sony says no, but I tried it anyway, doesnt work). If you can get around the wired only, its a fantastic player.

It supports way more streaming services than listed here. I cant recall them all, but off the top of my head there's, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, YouTube, Vudu, Pandora, Slacker and at least 15 other services of various flavors.

I was going to try and find a cheap Apple TV but the Sony does what I want. I have a Samsung bought in 2008 that just seems to stutter a bit sometimes. I can't seem to update the software either (that too is lan connection only). For $55 shipped I may as well do this. I don't need to stream my movies because I have a Mac Mini for all movies that aren't on BR.

I have a Sony BDP-S185 that I got on black friday 2012, for about the same price. I'm pretty happy with it.

The internet content is good, it all works well - and I haven't even tried any of the pay services. There are a bunch of free streaming video and audio feeds, you should be able to find something you like.

what is the packaging like? I'm thinking of this for a gift, but a plain brown box (while totally functional) would probably send the wrong message.

erikjblair wrote:what is the packaging like? I'm thinking of this for a gift, but a plain brown box (while totally functional) would probably send the wrong message.

I thought it's what's inside that counts?! Or is that people. I can't tell the difference sometimes...

Does anybody know if I can download torrents and play via USB on Samsung?

I'm thinking about the Sony player. However, connecting it via the Ethernet port isn't an option for me since I don't have a TV near my router. I don't need this for streaming (I have a Roku), but I would like to have the ability to update the firmware. Does anyone know if the firmware can be updated via the USB port?

I just bought the Samsung for Christmas. We are liking it a lot. We use it only for Netflix and BluRay, and the Netflix interface is different than "normal" and took some getting used to. But, I bought it instead of the Sony because of the built in WiFi, and it has worked GREAT.

Also - I really like the minimalist design. This is in our bedroom, and there is NOTHING on the front of it to tell us it is on - and that is a plus. (the indicators are actually on top of the device.) No random lights flashing, etc ... and the thing is TINY.

Again - we really like it.

hobartlane wrote:Does anybody know if I can download torrents and play via USB on Samsung?

The Samsung supports playback from a USB.

I have been looking at the Samsung mostly as a streaming player for my basement tv as it would need to be Wifi. I'm a little hesitant on the lack of Hulu... though I've never used it, I may want to in the future as the tv model shifts to all streaming.

cdebro wrote:Do any of these NOT have Cinavia?

probably not. My understanding is that Cinavia is required on all blu-ray players as of 2012 and was implemented quite a bit prior to that. Sony especially is tight with DRM schemes. I would doubt any of these are Cinavia free.

craigthom wrote:Only if the player explicitly supports it, since it has to have drivers.

If you can find a cheap wireless router/AP that supports working as a wireless bridge you could use that.

I got a Netgear adapter here on Woot a few weeks ago. It plugs into the ethernet port, not the USB. It works fine with the wired-only Sony I have in the living room. You just need to connect it to a computer via wired connection for initial setup. Wired is required - can't set it up via WiFi.

Polishemt wrote:I use the Sony for NHL center-Ice and I LOVE it!

We have the Sony also. No complaints. Our modem is set up near our TV so an ethernet connection was no big deal for us.

Though what is this NHL Center Ice you speak of? We have a NHL GameCenter Live subscription allowing us to watch non-blackout games live, but the app isn't available for this player. Instead, it's the GameCenter Vault which has clips and full length videos of older games (like from the 70s - early 00s).

What is the disk load time for the Sony?

The SONY BR players are great, and the connection to various streaming providers is excellent. HOWEVER... there was a recent-ish firmware update that makes the uPNP/DLNA client incompatible with the vast majority of DLNA/uPNP servers... like the typical HDD NAS or FreeNAS. Some of the servers required tweaking to work, others have reported that no amount of reconfigurations would help at all.
I bought my Sony BR player to primarily be the DLNA client, but I was dismayed to find out that it was unable play my files. However, my XBox360 has no problems playing them whatsoever... along with my android phones with a DLNA video client app.

dilyth wrote:Can you play regular dvd's on these?

Yes. See details under "Specs" column.

Does anybody know if the Netflix player on the Sony is comparable to the one on the PS3?

Mainly, does it have the auto-play of the next episode when watching television shows?

Samsung BD WiFi review shows
"WiFi
You cannot connect this to a wireless network that has WEP/ WPA/ WPA2 security. It can only connect to WPS. I have an older router that works perfectly fine for my needs, but now I have to change the security (basically remove security and use MAC filtering)."

Amazon reviewer lists that as a comment. Is that normal? or just a bug with the samsung Bluray player.

Retrevo:
VIZIO VBR133 - 3D Blu-ray disc player - upscaling - VIZIO Internet Apps

"Average price: $249.07.
"The price on this DVD player has held steady in the past 14 days, and it sells above its average price."

More reviews (walmart, tigerdirect), both good and bad, though since it's considered an average buy at the $249.07 price point, it's an amazing deal at this price, especially with its feature set.

Lack of wifi, short warranty, and a number of reviews agreeing about its slowness and inconsistency make me hesitate, unfortunately, though there are quite a few highly satisfied owners.

The Sony is good. I got an open box one for Christmas and it has been fine. It's very small and unobtrusive Haven't tried the internet features since it's Ethernet, but I've heard they aren't that hot. If that's what you need then maybe you should look elsewhere, but if you jut want to spin the Blu-rays then it will do the job.

dilyth wrote:Can you play regular dvd's on these?

The blu-ray format supports dvd. All will work.

haha Blu-Ray, so 2011 haha

As a hard medium, it was obsolete when it came out.

dilyth wrote:Can you play regular dvd's on these?

I've had the sony one before this, so yeah you can, at least on the sony.

pleitch wrote:Does anybody know if the Netflix player on the Sony is comparable to the one on the PS3?

Mainly, does it have the auto-play of the next episode when watching television shows?

It is not as smooth as the ps3 netflix, and sadly there is no autoplay, which i am ok with cause you have a remote :P

Ordered the Sony one on the 26 and got it today! It's pretty easy to use just make sure that if you bought this blu ray player too, the remote does not come with batteries or with an hdmi cable. You have to register the blu ray player before you can use the apps like Netflix for instance. Other than that, it's flawless!

Got my Samsung yesterday. Teeny, tiny. Works beautifully. Updated software automatically. Netflix is nicely displayed...

And ND is going down to Marquette, for joy!