Finally Starting to Break Down...

[Rev. Rye]

Blu-Ray has been around for seven years and I have steadfastly avoided buying a BR player for all that time, but, BR-exclusive special features be damned, it is only now that I have started to realise that the time is coming that DVD is becoming extinct. I just looked at the Criterion Collection website and saw this:


There were four new titles announced for November 12, and every single one was available only on DVD-BR combo pack. And, apparently, they're giving up on releasing films on DVD and Blu-Ray separately.

So, it looks like the writing's on the wall; DVDs are becoming obsolete, and the time is coming where a Blu-Ray player is becoming more and more necessary.

So, with this in mind, I have to ask recommendations on which player I should get, with three things in mind:
1) I want something inexpensive.
2) The two TVs that I use the most are fairly old (at least 10 years; 15 for the one in my room), CRT televisions (I could never get used to the Commodore 64-level loading it takes just to turn on the television on a flatscreen.) I understand that I won't get the same BR quality picture on those models. But I've heard that there are some BR players that won't work at all with older, non-HDTVs. I want something that will work, because I don't want to replace my televisions.
3) REGION A. I live near Chicago, and, so, stuff only available in another region will be useless to me.

[Foxaèr]

I honestly cannot see a discerning difference between DVD and Blu-Ray.

[Anomalocaris]

I honestly cannot see a discerning difference between DVD and Blu-Ray.

What TV are you using.

[Rev. Rye]

I honestly cannot see a discerning difference between DVD and Blu-Ray.

What TV are you using.

A 13" White-Westinghouse in my room and a 33" Quasar in my basement.

[ITChick]

I feel like I've entered a time machine. Is it 1990 again?

[Rev. Rye]

I feel like I've entered a time machine. Is it 1990 again?

Well, the Television in my room has been going strong since 1998.

[popeyespappy]

I feel like I've entered a time machine. Is it 1990 again?

Apparently yes...

1) I want something inexpensive.

2)I could never get used to the Commodore 64-level loading it takes just to turn on the television on a flatscreen.

Number 1 is going to give you problems with this part of number 2 unless you really pay attention to what you are getting. All of the inexpensive Blu-ray players I have tried take a while to load a disk.

[frankiej]

I honestly cannot see a discerning difference between DVD and Blu-Ray.

You need yer eyes tested, dude.

[pocaracas]

Rev, check the back of your tv's.
Blu Ray players like to use the hdmi port, because it's the only one that can withstand the HD content.
Your old tv's may have a scart port or A/V. When buying the Blu Ray player, check that out has the same connectivity that your tv's do...
Hmm not sure if you guys have scart in the U.S.

[Rev. Rye]

All right. I went to Costco and I bought a Samsung Blu-Ray player and installed it in the basement. As it turns out, it has no connectivity with the TV there, so, we got a 39" SmartTV as well. In addition, I started building up a Blu-Ray collection: Pulp Fiction, Spinal Tap, and Reservoir Dogs.