Forum - View topicWal-Marts $78 Blu-ray Player, my review
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TakishidoKamen
 Posts: 55 |
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Wal-Marts $78 Blu-ray Player, my review
For the past six months or better now this little Magnavox Blu-ray player has been flying off Wal-Mart shelves as fast as they can stack them, in fact I had to go to three different Wal-Marts to actually find one in stock. In my opinion its never ending sales are no doubt helping install Blu-ray players in the homes of low income families, kids bedrooms, and possibly even to the old, however how does it stack up? This is my review. Opening the box: When I opened the box I found a rather small player probably no bigger or heavier than you're average Dvd player, with all the packing stuffed around it it almost looked to small for the box. It came with a manual, a cheap remote with batteries and a/v cables. You definitely don't want to use a/v cables, while the player does have an HDMI output, it doesn't come with one, I would recommend picking one up at amazon for $3. (your going to pay $20 or more at Wal-mart or any other store) The good If you have an HDMI cable this little player is just plug and play, the manual isn't even really needed, however if your using component cables you will need to go into settings and change output to 1080i, as it defaults to 480i. While it has an RCA jack I wouldn't recommend using it unless your still sporting a 90's CRT TV. I don't have that many Blu-ray titles but the ones that I tested all played fine, the picture looks really good. Honestly for $78 I wasn't expecting miracles, but Blu-ray playaback and DVD upscaling is pretty good. This player is no frills, but it does what its suppose to, plays Blu-ray's and DVDs and it does it well. Load times are pretty good, often beating or tieing with most of the more expensive players I've used, it also supports bonusview and has a SD card slot for uploading pictures to your TV. The bad This player isn't going to satisfy a home threatre buff with a $5000 setup, its not intended to. It has no optical audio output and no Internet connectivity. This means it lacks a hard drive and some of the fancy advanced features you find on the $400-$500 players like BD live, Netflix Streaming and Pandora. Videophilies often complain its picture quality falls a little behind the $400-$500 units. But did you honestly expect any of that on a $78 player? Firmware updates have to be downloaded from the Magnavox website and burned on to a CD. Overall If I used three words to describe this player they would be “Cheap, Reliable, and Basic” and thats is what you get when you buy this player. Honestly this unit costs less than most DVD players on the market now, so run to the store and get one now. TakishidoKamen rates this product 85/100 |
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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Ooohhhh, I've been wanting to get a TV and then a blu-ray player for a little while now but I hadn't heard of this one. Honestly all I need is a basic player so that sounds like it works just fine, need to remember this.
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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Funny thing about HDMI cables, I just bought a new Samsung SyncMaster P2370HD, and it comes with a free one. And then you open up the Sunday newspaper, and the Best Buy booklet advertises the 4 foot cables for $70. Hilarious. While we're recommending stuff to make your viewing experiences greater, I'd have to pitch this TV at the Costco price of $250. 23 inches at 1080p for that price is quite rare, combine it with that Magnavox BluRay player, and you have a perfect set-up for your own personal viewing.
Last edited by walw6pK4Alo on Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:56 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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TakishidoKamen
Posts: 55 |
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This is what I have, and yeah you can get an HD setup cheap these days. |
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lkplkplkp3
Posts: 89 |
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Usually Magnavox remotes suck though... I've had 3 (or more) of their top dvd players & I've always had to move close and aim precisely to get a response. I personally would rather just buy a PS3... You could probably get a used 80gb 2 usb one that can't play PS2 games for as little as $100 more than what you're paying for a Magnavox. But now you have a good Blu-Ray player and a useful system.
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TakishidoKamen
Posts: 55 |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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Dang, my review was easier to write than yours. 
Nice write-up, but I wouldn't buy this POS if it were $0.01. Hell, even free wouldn't have me owning one. Magnavox is one of those products where once customer trust is destroyed, it's difficult to get it back. Maybe this is their way to start, but your review just confirmed we get what we pay for. Trust established: Failed again. Downloading LOLCats.... |
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TakishidoKamen
Posts: 55 |
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You obviously don't have any love for Magnavox, I've had my Magnavox dvd recorder for almost 4 years now and it still works great.
Also who could not love the company that made the worlds first videogame console? 
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dragonrider_cody
Posts: 2541 |
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This is not a real Magnavox. Phillips/Magnavox exited the US market over a year ago. They licensed their brand to Funai, the maker of the quality brand Sylvania. Your 4 year old Magnavox and this one are made by two entirely different companies. |
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