Costco - HP Stand Alone BluRay Player (HP-BD2000) $149.99-->$129.99 Now

[alwaysbuylow]

This is good price point for a stand alone BluRay player manufactured by a brand name company, this one is from HP, for $149.99 at Costco store.

Costco Store is selling for $149.99, includes HDMI cable. It is not available online now.

Edit: 10 Dec, 2009, Costco has lowered the price to $129.99.

Features:

Full 1080p Blu-ray player
Compatible media: BD, DVD, CD-R/RW, JPEG
BD profile: BD 2.0 (BD-Live, Bonusview)
DVD playback with 1080p upconversion
Video codec: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVC (H.264), VCD (1.1, 2.0), SVCD, SMPTE VC-1
USB 2.0 inputs enable playback of multimedia files, as well as downloading firmware updates
BD-Live ready: Enables direct downloads for movie special features found on BD-Live discs
Ethernet networking
JPEG photo playback

Audio:
CD digital audio decoder
Dolby® Digital
DTS 2.0 + digital out
LPCM
Dolby® Digital Plus decoder
Dolby® TrueHD decoder

Inputs:
1 x USB 2.0
1 x Ethernet

Outputs:
1 x HDMI™
1 x composite video
1 x component video (Y/Pb/Pr)
1 x coaxial audio
1 x optical digital audio
1 x analog audio (2 channels)

[yhap2003]

I've been seeing these players on sale a lot now. Looks like i'll be going down in price for the holiday season and onwards. That's a good thing :) It's now affordable.

[Wizard1]

Awesome price, but yeah waiting for sub $100 before getting one of these, esp considering my screen isnt 1080p.

Anyone know if there are increased system requirements when compared to say a regular DVD +-R Drive?

[Tornado F2]

Wonder who actually makes these? I assume they are like HP's line of digital cameras - manufactured by somebody else, but with the HP label on them.

I think this is the first HP product I've heard of that isn't designed to connect in some way to a PC, or a PC itself.

[EastCoastMetro]

Nice price, might hold off on this one a bit until reviews come out (didn't turn up anything reliable through search). Not the prettiest player by any means, kinda cheap looking lol.

[Jon Lai]

HP BluRay? Eh... HDTV had the Sony S360 for the same price last weekend.

[strangelove9]

Anyone know if there are increased system requirements when compared to say a regular DVD +-R Drive?

For a computer drive? definitely. The very first requirement is enough processing power to decode 720p and 1080i/p without frame loss, stuttering etc... Then you have a lot of unpleasantness with DRM, HDCP and so on...

[mlc2000]

For an extra $20 (in-store) you can get an LG with DIVx support
Reg $199, - manufacturers coupon $30, = $169

Here's a review

For an inexpensive player, you get a lot ! The BD360 plays Blu-ray, DVD, AVCHD files (a popular HD camcorder format) burned to DVD-R or on a USB key.

It even plays Divx and .mkv files from the internet !

You can even look at Youtube videos when the player is hooked up to your home network, but the quality won't be much better than what you get from a home computer.

Overall, you get lots of features and incredible picture and sound quality in an inexpensive, and good looking, player.

Highly recommended !"

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10324861&whse=BCCA&Ne=4000000&eCat=BCCA|79|81|125&N=4008760&Mo=3&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&cat=125&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-CA&Sp=C&hierPath=79*81*125*&topnav=

Features:

*
Full 1080p Blu-ray Disc™ player
*
BD profile: 2.0
*
HDMI™ output with 1080p DVD upconversion
*
Compatible media: BD, DVD, CD, VC-1, MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, HD JPEG, MP3, PNG, GIF
*
BD Live ready: Enables you to download additional content and interactive features directly to your Blu-ray player
*
via Internet connection with BD Live supported discs
*
BonusView for a picture-in-picture experience
*
Direct YouTube™ access
*
Progressive scan output
*
Ethernet networking
*
Up to 7.1 channels of surround sound with Dolby® Digital Plus™, Dolby TrueHD™ and dts-HD Advanced Digital Out technologies

Video out:

*
1 x HDMI™ v1.3
*
1 x composite v2.0
*
1 x component

Audio out:

*
1 x HDMI™ v1.3
*
1 x audio L/R
*
1 x coaxial
*
1 x optical

Included accessories:

*
Remote control with batteries
*
A/V cable
*
User manual

Specifications:

*
Dimensions (W x D x H):
42.9 cm x 24.4 cm x 5.3 cm
(16.9 in. x 9.6 in. x 2.1 in.)
*
Weight: 4.3 kg (9.5 lb.)

Warranty:

*
1 year

[opilion]

What is Costco's Return period? How about Pricematch period? I suspect there will be even better deals closer to Christmas, but need to replace my dying DVD player now.

[fitbrit]

For an extra $20 (in-store) you can get an LG with DIVx support
Reg $199, - manufacturers coupon $30, = $169

For $20 less than the LG, you can do some research on the OP's posted item and find out that it has most of the same features, including DivX and mkv support.

[ovexi]

MKV playback is useless on both players mentioned here due to the FAT32, 4Gb limitation for the attached storage. Most of the MKV files are bigger than 4Gb. A firmware could fix that.

[fitbrit]

MKV playback is useless on both players mentioned here due to the FAT32, 4Gb limitation for the attached storage. Most of the MKV files are bigger than 4Gb. A firmware could fix that.

That's terrible. Still, it can be used for TV episodes, I suppose. Guess, I will wait before committing to a stand alone BD player for a little while longer. Perhaps they'll get it right with a player that can read user shares on a local network eventually.

[opilion]

Anyone picked one of these up yet? Reviews?

My upscaling DVD player is on the fritz and I am considering picking one of these up.

op

[LonesomeDove]

Should be able to get any brand for this price on Boxing Day.

[wranglery]

Found this link to the user manual and it shows it does support AVI, MK4, etc.
http://www.qvc.com/el/pdf/BD2000_User_Manual.pdf

We didn't see the unit at the Vancouver downtown Costco location and I told my friend to get the LG unit instead. If it does show up, he can easily bring it back to get the HP. But I think for such a small difference, it's not worth the hassle lining up for a long time for the customer service counter.

Some people did write a few notes about this unit:
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=2522544

[thegradas]

What is Costco's Return period? How about Pricematch period? I suspect there will be even better deals closer to Christmas, but need to replace my dying DVD player now.


Return period: 1 year!

[GYR8]

We didn't see the unit at the Vancouver downtown Costco location and I told my friend to get the LG unit instead.

It should still be on the endcap of aisle 100 ;)

GYR8

[Ed Zeppeli]

The HP player is manufactured by Lite-on, apparently.

[arm2000]

For $20 less than the LG, you can do some research on the OP's posted item and find out that it has most of the same features, including DivX and mkv support.
Where did u see DivX support?

[moose3833]

Return period: 1 year!

Electronics I believe is now 90 days...too many abusing the 1 year return privilage

[thegradas]

Electronics I believe is now 90 days...too many abusing the 1 year return privilage

I confirmed (the 1 yr.) with customer service at the time of purchase... have you?

[chdude3]

Electronics I believe is now 90 days...too many abusing the 1 year return privilage


I confirmed (the 1 yr.) with customer service at the time of purchase... have you?

Indeed, the short list of what was reduced to 90 days return policy apparently does not include DVD/BD players:
http://www.costco.ca/Service/FeaturePageLeftNav.aspx?ProductNo=10045100

We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. The following must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund: televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones.

[moose3833]

I confirmed (the 1 yr.) with customer service at the time of purchase... have you?

Good to know

[HiEveryone]

If this could stream from shared folders it would truely be HOT (samsung 3600)...
Playing .MKV's at this price point is pretty good..

[pipolchap]

Just bought it today for $129.99.

It had me at "free HDMI cables".

[opilion]

I was seriously considering this one until I read on another forum:


I bought "Band of Brothers" blu ray DVD and this machine will not play it. I talked with HP and they said they would issue a firmware update within 2 weeks. They have had other calls he said. Its been 3 and no results on their website. Most of their people I've been channeled through don't even know that they make blu ray players. So I must say that company support is very shakey on this one.

I guess this could be said of any manufacturer, but I believe that since Samsung is heavier into blu-ray, they are in a better position to provide support/timely firmware updates. I ended up goiung for the Samsung BD-P1600T for $128.88 from Bad Boy Furniture.

op

[ovexi]

Got this player form Costco. It played divx w/o sound and when I tried a few mkv movies it only played the sound. No picture. It played perfectly though the mts files from my Canon HF10.

[_PK_]

I bought the HP Blu-ray from Costco about 4 weeks ago to go along with my first HDTV. While I can't say I've used it extensively, I have had no problems so far. Band of Brothers is one of only two blu-rays I've tried (purchased from Amazon UK) and it worked fine. My normal DVDs also have looked good.

Thanks to the OP for the pricing update.

[Electone]

My friend picked this unit up at Costco yesterday. We brought it home and gave it a workout. It played every disc we tried and it bitstreams all the high-resolution audio codecs. It is nicely built (has nice weight to it), but the remote is a little cheap looking. Looking around the net for reviews, but not many found. The unit is produced by Liteon.

[loonieryan]

My friend picked this unit up at Costco yesterday. We brought it home and gave it a workout. It played every disc we tried and it bitstreams all the high-resolution audio codecs. It is nicely built (has nice weight to it), but the remote is a little cheap looking. Looking around the net for reviews, but not many found. The unit is produced by Liteon.

How did you get it to bitstream the HD audio formats? I only have the option to choose PCM in the audio options.

Is there a firmware update for this player?

[loonieryan]

Update

I picked this player up at Costco Pointe-Claire, and here is my quick review:
- The menus are nice-looking but the navigation/selection of choices is not very intuitive.
- Boot-up time and disc loading is blazing fast. Well under 30 seconds.
- There does not seem to be any firmware update out there. It also only allows firmware updates by disc and by USB, not via internet which is just silly. In my opinion, any connected device should be equipped to update itself over the internet.
- Bitstreaming of the HD codecs over HDMI 1.3 works great. I was able to get both DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD sent to my Yamaha receiver. Sounds great, but I haven't had time to compare to Linear PCM from the PS3.
- Picture quality is wonderful, and I would recommend leaving the picture controls of the player at default values. Picture should be adjusted on your display, not on your playback device. My display (a 58" Panasonic PZ800U) is calibrated and BluRays played by the HP look gorgeous, just as nice as they do on the PS3.

I haven't tried any MKVs or AVIs, but all in all this is a pretty good BluRay player for the price. I do expect Costco will drop the price even further because it seems like they have a crap load of units to move.

[thegradas]

How did you get it to bitstream the HD audio formats? I only have the option to choose PCM in the audio options.


should be in the settings... audio

[loonieryan]

should be in the settings... audio

Yup, found it. Like I mentioned in my updated review above your post, the menu selection isn't very intuitive at first and I couldn't figure out what the heck I was selecting for HDMI audio :D

[johnboy]

A Blu-Ray player that does not play MP3 music or Mp3 encoded divx movies is absurd.

I don't understand. :(

[SoKool]

Can someone please list the in store Costco item number? Thanks.