<p>I don’t have time to keep up with the newest technology. I need something to play DVDs, and I’ve learned that it is possible to buy blue ray players that (1) play DVDs, (2) stream Netflix movies and (3) stream media from other computers on a home network. This sounds good to me. I’m wondering whether anyone has any recommendations? I’ve been reading reviews on Amazon and cnet, but opinions seem to be mixed.</p>
<p>I also have a question that I can’t find the answer to: we have a regular TV (flat screen, liquid crystal, Sharp), with no plans to upgrade to HDTV. Will these new players work with it?</p>
<p>It’s very likely that your TV is an HDTV. You won’t need to upgrade anything. In any case, it would be pointless to get a Blu-Ray player if you don’t have an HDTV.</p>
<p>Any player will work with (almost) any TV - it’s just a matter of having the correct cable. You’ll just need to get an HDMI cable (or if your TV is old enough that it doesn’t have HDMI inputs, composite cables.)</p>
<p>Thank you, tetrahedr0n. The reason that I would like to get a Blu-Ray player is that I want to stream Netflix on our TV. I don’t think this can be done with a DVD player.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure that our TV is not HD. Some of the cable channels no longer work since they’ve gone to HD.</p>
<p>NYMomof2, May I make a suggestion? Since you don’t have an HDTV to get the most ouf of Blu Ray, I would suggest a Roku box. You can keep using your regular DVD player, and then just hook it up separate. I have one on my TV in my bedroom and it’s wonderful. The Netflix interface on it is great as well - I much prefer it to my Blu Ray player w/ Netflix built in. It’s extremely easy to use and you can add movies to your queue, rate them, find similar movies, delete them, etc, right with the remote rather then having to go on the computer.</p>
<p>I have all kinds of channels on it - Pandora streaming music, Music Videos, etc. I even have an exercise channel. I think you probably can set it up to stream music from your computer, but I’m not sure how… I haven’t attempted to do that yet.</p>
<p>edit, i see jasmom already suggested this. :)</p>
<p>Are you sure your TV isn’t HD? You can check the user’s guide or google the model number to find out.</p>
<p>Check what input jacks you have on your TV and what the player has as output jacks to be sure you have a way to hook them up. If you have an HDMI jack on your TV it’s probably HD. Note that there are different types of HDTV - 720P, 1080i, 1080P with all of them being superior to regular TV.</p>
<p>If it ends up that you don’t have HDTV I suggest getting one. It’s way better than old low-res TV.</p>
<p>Consumer Reports is not the ideal source for electronics reviews. H was just playing with our recent purchase inexpensive Samsung bluray player- a worthwhile purchase. You don’t need a top of the line player. Go with a major brand. CNET.com is good for reviews.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the advice. I don’t have a DVD player, so I have two needs; playing DVDs and streaming Netflix (wireless). The Roku is intriguing; I’ll have to look into it. I would still need to get a DVD or Blu-Ray player.</p>
<p>Our TV is a Sharp LC-32D43U (32"). I’ve googled it but can’t tell whether it is HD or not. I will look at the connections on the back - great suggestion.</p>
<p>Another vote for a Roku.
Ours is connected wirelessly and works great.
AND they just keep adding more and more channels, much of it free.
My husband is hooked on some of the photography channels where he studies other people’s work and posts his own also.</p>
<p>That’s the blu ray player that I bought earlier in the year. It’s a nice blu ray player. I had one of their early blu ray models, a s300, and that one took FOREVER to load my discs! (i think that’s how all the first gen players were)… the n460 loads very fast! I decided not to get a wireless one as it is located right near my router and wired connections are much faster. Sony Blu ray players have a nice friendly interface… Mine has an interface kind of like a ps3 if you’ve ever used or seen one of them. It has a lot of nice internet channels and the netflix is one of them. I still prefer my roku for netflixing though. i moved my roku to my 32 inch hdtv in the bedroom when I got the new blu ray for my 47 inch hdtv in the living room. seeing both on the big tv, I think the roku has a much nicer picture quality. i actually prefer to watch netflix things on my smaller tv because i like its interface so much more. But if you just want one device, I would read what actual customers are saying in the reviews. Here is a list of netflix capable players found at best buy.</p>
<p>Would also just point out that the PlayStation 3 would also meet all these requirements. In addition to the gaming system it is also a BlueRay player and can connect to Netflix, among other things. </p>
<p>When you consider what companies charge for those functionality on a standalone device then you can end up getting a top line gaming system too for very little.</p>
<p>If you have one of these things, do you still need cable TV? We hardly ever watch it. I like MSNBC and S2 likes the Golf Channel, neither of which are available in our lineup.</p>
<p>Do you have a cable box? If the cable box does not support HD, then that would be a reason. Even if the cable box supports HD, it needs to be connected to the TV via a HD compatible cable (component, DVI, or HDMI). </p>
<p>If you do not have a cable box, it is possible that you may need one to receive HD channels. You would have to ask your cable company what is needed to get HD (and of course they probably want more $ per month )</p>
<p>Googling says your TV has two “HDMI” ports on the back, this is the best quality interface to use (you will want to connect one HDMI port to your cable box, and one HDMI port to your Blu-ray or Roku)</p>
<p>If HDMI cables didn’t come with your devices you might have to buy one. Don’t overpay for HDMI cables - there are a lot of overpriced ones and it is not worth it. HDMI is an all digital interface and it either works or not and a higher priced cable will not give higher quality.</p>
<p>Netflix has been very actively adding TV shows to their streaming service. They are mostly serials like sitcoms or dramas from network channels and not MSNBC or golf channel. They do have a lot of shows from premium channels like Showtime. Netflix can stream many shows in HD so it is worth streaming it to a blu-ray/Roku/PS3 type device that supports HDMI.</p>
<p>I just ordered one! After doing lots of research, I decided that to stream movies and internet material (I want to get rid of cable) that I needed a blue ray with built in Wi-Fi since the internet ready ones require an adapter (about 80 dollars) or cables. I bought a Samsung for $136 but just saw a Insigna (rated well by CR) at Best Buy for $119. Internet ready ones cost about $100. But I also need to upgrade my DSL to a higher speed. It needs to be done anyway.</p>
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