The BluRay Maze

Last year it became apparent that the BluRay video format would emerge victoriously over the HD-DVD format. Being something of an A/V geek, I naturally wanted to get a BluRay player. When I began my research I turned to the respected technology resource site, CNET. In past experience I found the site to be helpful guide, with well informed advice and insightful reviews. In my preliminary research on other technology websites, I learned that beyond the much touted picture quality of BluRay, it also features new, superior sound formats from Dolby and DTS. These new sound formats require much more bandwidth than previous connections, and require new methods to transmit the signal to the receiver. On option is to transmit a digital signal through an HDMI cable. In this case the receiver must convert the in-coming digital signal to analog output to the speakers. However, only receivers built in the last 12 to 18 months are compatible with HDMI technology. If your receiver isn’t compatible with HDMI, the BluRay player itself must perform the digital/analog conversion internally. The analog signal is then passed to the receiver via standard RCA cables. While all BluRay players have the HDMI port, not all have the analog outputs. Confused yet? Well you are not alone, and CNET does little to clear this up.

After navigating through the CNET website, I came across their list of the top 10 BluRay disc players. I knew something was amiss when I saw the Sony PlayStation in the top spot. Nothing against the PlayStation, but after researching the player on other sites I knew that it only had the HDMI option and lacked the analog outputs. Something my two year old Marantz receiver needed. Only recently has CNET begun to point out this drawback, and even then only as a footnote. It generally falls somewhere after the flapping flag video stress test and the firmware upgrades.

As an audio enthusiast with an older receiver I found this oversight disturbing and foolish. Nuances like this are often missed by the majority of consumers, CNET failed to properly stress this point. This by the knowledgeable reviewers at CNET surprised me, and highlighted the importance of providing informed journalism. If given the chance at CNET I would advise consumers on this important difference, and not operate on the false assumption that the majority of people have newer receivers. What would my number one be? After all of my own research, I would recommend the Panasonic DMP-BD35. It offers good picture quality, decodes all of the available sound formats, is cheaper than the PlayStation, and most importantly, comes with surround analog outputs.