Unless you specifically want to be able to play Blu-Ray discs, you might check on flat-screen TV’s with built-in WiFi. My Panasonic plasma has built-in Wi-Fi AND built-in Netflix, which it accesses through my internet connection.
Playstation 3. Latest firmware also allows for 3D Blu-Ray.
I have a Samsung BD-6500.
Highs: Good overall performance, good Netflix picture
Lows: Does not support Hulu Plus, which I thought it did; Loud sound at power on, which I finally found the control to turn off, but cannot be turned down.
Overall I am happy with it, I just wish had a better TV to connect it to. (32in Panasonic 720p).
Have an old $100 Emachine with a Pentium 4, 2 gig ram and a 512 MB vid card hooked with my wifi and connected to my 47 inch LCD with a HDMI cable. Works great.
Get a PS3.
With it, you’ll have a Blu-Ray Player, Wireless net access, Netflix, a great gaming console. It’s a one stop shop for all media in the house. It’s also a fully functional computer. The Wii and Xboxes are for kids.
I have a ROKU in the living room and a PS3 in our media room. I actually prefer the cheaper ROKU.
That’s a PS3, and it does Hulu as well.
Oh yeah, it apparently plays games too.
I like the PS3. You get blu ray/dvd player, wifi link, usb ports, hdmi and other connects. Plus, you can play games with it. Amazingly easy to set up/use. Wirelessly connect to computers/printers on the network, do slideshows, etc.
I use an older Mac Mini. I connect it to my TV using a DVI to HDMI cable, to my stereo using a digital/optical cable, and to my network via ethernet. I’ve installed the Plex media server, which I can control with my Logitech remote and my iPhone/iPad. We can access iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, NBC, ABC, Fox News, CBS, PBS, PBS Kids, MTV, and so on using freely available plugins.
We have a Magnovox at WalMart, Blu Ray and Wireless ready for $68.00. You can’t beat that price.
I’m pretty happy with a Sony with integrated WiFi (built in is important, if it’s not it will cost you money and annoyance) for BluRay and Hulu+ and Amazon Video, and an Apple TV for Netflix and podcasts. $250 total.
The Sony will do Netflix, but sucks compared to the Apple TV.
We got a Best Buy open box for under $100. Blu-Ray 2.0, built-in Wireless-G card, and Netflix app. Works pretty well. It likes to hang sometimes and requires the occasional restart, but it’s for the kids mainly (I use my PS3 in the main room).
Best Buy Insignia. About $88 bucks. I just bought two, one for my parents, one for my children. I now have two Insignia products and love them. It’s the Sonys that I have problems with.
Oh, if you just want to stream video, Roku can’t be beat.
Since your FR homepage says you are retired Navy, I can assume you are over the age of 30, LOL.
And if you are over the age of 30 and have no interest in video games, do not....I repeat..._DO NOT_... get talked into getting a PlayStation3 (PS3)!!!
I do home theater installations and I can’t tell you how many times the kids have talked mom & dad into a PS3 when all they wanted was to play movies and they regret it deeply.
The problem?
Besides being overpriced for what you intend to do, they operate on the Bluetooth standard (instead of Infra-Red) for the remote control which means that you cannot operate your system using a standard remote control (not even ‘Universal’ remotes) but are stuck using the unfathomable (for oldies like us) game controller with all the joysticks and fifty million buttons when all you want to do is press ‘Play’ and ‘Stop’.
If you are unable to physically run an Ethernet cable from your router to your Blu Ray, let me echo what others have said....get the WiFi built-in. Do NOT get one that is WiFi ‘READY’.
Now I am no real fan of Sony per se (I hate their audio equipment) but their video division has historically been unsurpassed and they are the inventors of the Blu Ray format.
Like they use to say about IBM....you’ll never get fired buying Sony.
In my more recent experience with electronics you cannot expect better reliability with more expensive name brands any more. I have the cheapest WIFI Blu-Ray player I could find, in my bedroom and a more expensive midrange player in the living room. Both are connected to 1080p displays via HDMI. They both are effectively the same, the more expensive player boots about 30 seconds faster and has more options to rent movies over the internet but for BD movies and Netflix, the function is virtually identical.
Unless you want some more options to rent expensive streaming movies or the ability to run internet widgets you may want to start with a $100 basic unit with WIFI built in. As said before, don’t get WIFI ready, in the end, it will cost significantly more.
Good luck.
I use a PS3 and it works great. It’s going to be updated far longer and faster than most of the stand alone Blue Ray Players. It’s also wireless or wired. Finally you can play games. Netflix also is available on the WII and I think the current XBox. On a Blue Ray if you’re going wireless most of them require a USB wireless dongle which is proprietary to that machine. If it doesn’t come with the Blue Ray you have to purchase it separately and they tend to be pricy. When I went to buy one the best price for the features was a Sony but when you added the dongle it added something like $70 to total price. I went with the PS3.
You don’t have to spend $$$ at the PlayStation store or give PlayStation a credit card if you don’t want to. Separate password for the PlayStation Network and for Netflix. I assume it’s the same for the WII and XBox.
You’ve got to get a region free player if you want to watch videos from Qatar, Mongolia, and Slovakia, PAL!
i’ve got two netflix enabled devices ... a sony blu-ray dvd player and a 32” vizio hdtv with built in internet apps. both are good ... sony’s interface is prettier ... vizio’s is more convenient to use