# BluRay Help



## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

I found this Samsung BluRay Player at BestBuy and CompUsa. The problem is that I only need to player portion not the whole system. My current speakers work perfect but the player needs to be replaced. I want to replace it with this.

Samsung HT-BD1250. This is the upgrade version to what I have but again I dont want all the system just the player part and have been looking all day and cant find it. Any help would be appreciated.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

The problem with those systems is that many parts of them are proprietary, so if a piece goes bad, you're screwed. Take the opportunity to get a bd player and a receiver and just use your current speakers with them (assuming they don't have proprietary connectors).

Get THIS OR THIS, and THIS OR THIS


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

+1. Although I'd definitely opt for the Panasonic player over the Sony. The Onkyo receivers are quite nice, as are Yamaha's RX-V series.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

As spartenstew says, those "Home Theater In A Box" (HTIB) units are NOT designed to be modular, so you can't just mix and match parts. Yes, separate components cost more, but there is a lot of additional value there. A receiver may be good for 10+ years, while playback equipment (DVD, Blu-Ray) may have a much shorter lifespan, either due to mechanical failure or due to technology obsolecence. Having them built together almost assures that you'll have a hardware failure on one component that effectively makes the other components useless.

Separate components are the answer.


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

My reason for going Samsung was (1) almost everything in my home is Samsung and I like their products and (2) the speaker connections match the speakers I have now. I didnt want to get a receiver and then need to speakers when by current speakers work perfect. I was also trying to not add more STB's. I made changes to my Directv (watching much less tv over the next few months) but the HT-BD1250 has streaming Netflix, Blockbuster, and Pandora which I would use a lot more so having it all in one was convinient. I know that I could always get a STB for those services but my tv only has 2 HDMI inputs and they are used up between the surround sound and the Hr2x.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Movieman said:


> (2) the speaker connections match the speakers I have now.


They're proprietary?



Movieman said:


> but the HT-BD1250 has streaming Netflix, Blockbuster, and Pandora which I would use a lot more so having it all in one was convinient.


So does the Sony that I lined to (which is now sold out).


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

Not propriety they just have connectors that are colors that I havent found on any other type of receiver/player. If you do a search for the model I posted and take a look at a pictures of the back you will get an idea of what im referring to. The guy in BestBuy said i could strip the ends but Im worried about attempting something like that.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

The colors mean absolutely nothing except to help someone that has no idea what they're doing to possibly get it connected correctly. It does look like they used some special plugs instead of real speaker terminations on the back of the HTiB, another reason to avoid buying all in one units, the build quality on those units is pure crap....it does look the like the speakers have regular push down terminal wiring so you could use the speakers with any system, just buy some new speaker wire. Unless you go to Samsung, you arent likely to find just a replacement for the main unit with the failed BD player in it.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

CCarncross said:


> .it does look the like the speakers have regular push down terminal wiring so you could use the speakers with any system, just buy some new speaker wire.


Yes, looks that way to me too. Except for the sub. It looks like the sub also takes speaker wire instead of a sub cable. What kind of bass does it output? You're best bet is still to get a receiver and blu ray player. Buy some speaker wire and connect all the speakers to the receiver. You may have to buy a new sub though (which will be a good thing, trust me).


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

I really dont use the dvd player at all. I use Tversity for all my movies through my PC. If I can take the color contacts off and then take them straight to lets say a new dvd player that will stream the content (netflix, blockbuster, pandora, etc. )that would work. My tv isnt 1080P so the Bluray really wasnt that important it just happened to be part of that setup and compatible with my current speaker connections. I changed my package with Directv and found that im watching even less over the next few months due to work but I do maybe what to spend a few minutes every night (besides coming here  ) catching up with BattleStar Galatica (that I never saw). My DVR is already filling up with OTA that I have to try and catch up on during the weekend.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Movieman said:


> I really dont use the dvd player at all.


Then just buy a decent receiver and hook the speakers (and your D* receiver) up to it (will need to buy speaker cable and possibly a new sub).

Later, if you want, you can buy a Blu Ray player to connect to the receiver and you'll be good to go.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

spartanstew said:


> Then just buy a decent receiver and hook the speakers (and your D* receiver) up to it (will need to buy speaker cable and possibly a new sub).
> 
> Later, if you want, you can buy a Blu Ray player to connect to the receiver and you'll be good to go.


+1.
At the price you'd have to pay for this unit, you can get a really fine receiver (think Yamaha, Onkyo or Sony) with multiple optical and coaxial audio inputs, component and HDMI video inputs and outputs and a universal or learning remote control. Such a receiver would be the basis for a very good home theater system in the future.
Not knowing what you have for existing speakers, you might have to add a subwoofer, as suggested above.

In my opinion, if you buy the Samsung, you'll be throwing money away for features you'll never use just in order to avoid cutting or stripping speaker wire.


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

What receivers you would recommend that will do the same streaming of Netflix and other content? Honestly, I have never owned anything that is not Samsung. :sure:


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Here you have a bit of a problem.  Receivers don't stream video. Only PC's, DVR's and DVD players stream video. That being said, you have to decide where your priorities lie. To be able to stream moviies from Netflix, you must pay a monthly fee. With Amazon, you pay a rental fee for each video you stream. There are a few free sites, but typically, for movies you are looking at either a subscription fee or a per movie fee. Players that work with Netflix include models by Samsung (of course), Sony and LG. Not all models can do streaming. Check the listings at Amazon.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

You can also get a Roku player (among others) for $100 that will stream things.


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

Cholly said:


> Here you have a bit of a problem.  Receivers don't stream video. Only PC's, DVR's and DVD players stream video. That being said, you have to decide where your priorities lie. To be able to stream moviies from Netflix, you must pay a monthly fee. With Amazon, you pay a rental fee for each video you stream. There are a few free sites, but typically, for movies you are looking at either a subscription fee or a per movie fee. Players that work with Netflix include models by Samsung (of course), Sony and LG. Not all models can do streaming. Check the listings at Amazon.


I took off all my premiums and with Netflix its still cheaper for the level of movies I am watching. This is why I wanted to just replace the head unit rather than a receiver.



spartanstew said:


> You can also get a Roku player (among others) for $100 that will stream things.


I thought about it but I dont have the additional HDMI input in my tv. If I remove the Samsung dvd player then I loose surround sound.


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

Movieman said:


> I thought about it but I dont have the additional HDMI input in my tv. If I remove the Samsung dvd player then I loose surround sound.


You can get an HDMI switch from monoprice.com for about $30.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Movieman said:


> I took off all my premiums and with Netflix its still cheaper for the level of movies I am watching. This is why I wanted to just replace the head unit rather than a receiver.
> 
> I thought about it but I dont have the additional HDMI input in my tv. If I remove the Samsung dvd player then I loose surround sound.


A home theater receiver will solve your problem nicely. Most receivers have 3 or 4 HDMI inputs. You'd feed the HDMI output of the receiver to the HDMI input on your TV. Your options depend in part as to whether you want to go with a 5.1 or 7.1 system over the long term.

You'll find some good receivers at Amazon at good prices: The Sony SDR-DH800 is a nice 7.1 receiver for $269. The Onkyo TX-SR507 is a 5.1 receiver for $329. The Yamaha RX-V465BL is a 5.1 receiver sells for $329.95. All three receivers have 4 HDMI inputs and are Dolby TrueHD capable. Of the three, I'd be inclined to go with the Yamaha as first choice, the Onkyo as second and the Sony third.

Couple the receiver with one of the following: Roku HD player ($100), LG BD 370 Network Blu-ray Disc Player ($160) Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray Disc Player ($194), Samsung BD-P1600 ($150 or thereabout) or BD-P3600Blu-ray Disc Player ($219). You'll be very happy with any of the combinations and pay less than the price of the Samsung HTIB you've been considering. I'd be inclined to go with one of the Blu-Ray players (preferably the LG) rather than the Roku, simply because it would give you the ability to play DVD's and CD's (even though you say you don't rent or buy DVD's, since you apparently have a Netflix subscription, you might just as well take advantage of it).


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

Cholly I like that idea. What im going to try to do this weekend is make sure that I can strip the ends of the speaker wire to use them with the receivers you have listed. I also will probably go with the dvd player (streaming one) because not all the shows that I will be watching from Netflix can be streamed and will require the dvd's.


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