Blu ray player and wireless sound

by Samantha
(uk, scotland)

I would like to buy my parents a fairly decent blu ray player (around £200), but my dad is very tech savvy and I've heard him say he is going to replace the sound system for wireless. What I'd like to know is:

1) would I be able to buy a blu ray player + sound system for that money?

2) Or would I be able to get a decent player that he can buy the sound system for at a later date without too much hassle?

PS if you have any tips on best points to look for I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks

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Hi

In my opinion, I would leave the wireless speakers until later.

Firstly you will struggle to get anything within your budget, and secondly it is a relatively new technology with plenty of issues. It would be better to take your time over getting a wireless system and so it may be something your Dad would need to think about.

To be honest, you still can't beat the reliability of a good old cable. With wireless there can be issues with interference and sound quality - and most people don't realise that the only 'wireless' part is running a cable from the amplifier to the back of the room. Every other part of the chain still has a wire!

Having said that, if you want to take a closer look you could get something like the Samsung HT-C5500 Blu-Ray 5.1 ch Home Theatre System. This system has speakers, amplifier and a Blu-ray player - however you also need to buy the Samsung SWA-5000 Wireless Rear Speaker Adaptor to get the rear speakers working without wires.

This would end up well over your budget. There are other systems similar to this one.

If you stick with a good quality Blu-ray player, then you may even pay less than your budget - won't that be great!

There are plenty to choose from, and what you pay will partly come down to the features you want. For example, do you want it to connect to the internet? Or do you need 3D playback?

If you don't need 3D then you will save yourself some money. Don't pay for extra for features that you don't need.

I would start looking at the:

Sony BDPS760 - for high quality video and audio playback

Sony BDPS370 - if you want YouTube and BBC iPlayer access

The Panasonic Blu-ray players are also good - Panasonic DMP-BD65 and Panasonic DMP-BD85.

Hope that helps.

Paul (Site Editor)

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