Philips BDP3000 Blu-ray Player
Posted by Notcot on Mar 31, 2010 in Home Cinema & Video |
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Ordering and speed of delivery were A1 – as has been everything else purchsed from Amazon.
Anyone wanting an excellent Bluray player should look no further than this Philips model. The picture quality and sound are up there with the best and, a great added advantage, is this player`s ability to play just about any type of disc thrown at it, including VCD SVCD! Additionally it is very easy to hack enabling it to play any regions DVD – note it is not possible to hack the Bluray side at present, so only Region 2 Bluray discs are playable.
Anyone interested in hacking the DVD side proceed as follows………..
1. Make sure there is no disc in the tray when you switch on.
2. Press “home” key on remote control.
3. Enter number “1389310”.
4. Switch off. Wait a few seconds and then switch on…now region free.
Congratulations to Philips on producing such a great player at this price.
Rating: 5 / 5
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*** Note Amazon have this player listed several times ! Search on ‘BDP3000′ in the ‘Electronics’ department to see them all. It’s worth checking each listing as prices differ….!
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[I’ve added photos to the item page to help explain myself regarding my comments about the LCD, on-screen display and remote AND a picture showing the specific information in ‘Step 3′ of the firmware update guide, as of Nov 09, which I believe is the bit reviewer ‘complainants’ have missed, hence not been able to get the firmware update process to perform properly… If the process proves a problem for you please also see my ‘help’ comments in the latter part of my review.]
What a fantastic disc player this is. I got mine just a few days ago and am very pleased with it.
It is certainly ‘Budget’ in terms of price (I managed to grab mine for less than £90 – Nov 09), but is not so in terms of finish or features. It has all the latest capabilities including things referred to as ‘BD-Live’/”Profile 2′, neither of which I know too much about but at least they are catered for !
*** The real bonus of this unit (unlike many other players) is that it is easily modified to be multi-region for DVDs and, as opposed to my other multi-region player, it can also can cope with the few additional so-called ‘RCE’ Region 1 DVDs and other non-UK DVDs it had problems with ! I did the multi-region ‘modification’ BEFORE updating the firmware (in case that update prevented the ‘modification’) and can confirm that the firmware update DID remove the multi-region capability BUT I was able to then ‘re-apply’ it (only enter the numbers, DON’T first press the HOME key)….
Regarding those firmware updates, please see my comments later about their importance and some help as a result of various other Amazon reviewers who have stated they had problems applying the updates. The very straightforward process, if done correctly, takes about 2 minutes ! As of Nov 09 that specific information was in ‘Step 3′ of the downloadable ‘Firmware Upgrade Readme File'; I’ve added a picture to the Amazon main page showing it, but the whole reason for reading the guide as a whole before performing the update is because things might change over time….
The other important features are :
HDMI output.
Enhancement: High Def (720p, 1080i, 1080p), Progressive Scan, Video up scaling.
Playback control for Standard Play, Pause, Search forward/reverse, Slow Forward, Resume Playback from Stop, Skip, Disc Menu, Repeat, A-B Repeat, Zoom, Angle.
Plays BD Video, BD-R/RE 2.0, DVD, DVD-Video, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, Video CD, DivX, CD-R/CD-RW, CD.
If you read reviews or peruse the specification you will see it has a few apparent ‘shortcomings’, which for most (including me) I think are either irrelevant or readily acceptable and are also in-keeping with other lower-priced Blu-ray players, so this unit isn’t really ‘special’ in that regard. I have identified what I think the most important issues are and covered the importance and/or available alternatives in the unit at the end of my review with my opinions.
The unit is only 6cm or so high and has a pleasant glossy black finish; it appears to be well constructed, solid and makes no intrusive noises when in use (some players are apparently quite noisy).
I have just played my first Blu-ray disc ever and can confirm it works extremely well. I compared an up scaled playback of the ‘Dark Knight’ DVD with the Blu-ray version and even with such a recent DVD-issue the Blu-ray picture AND audio were reproduced very well and were noticeably better than the DVD. I have heard that disc-loading times can sometimes be lengthy with players; I can’t say if the ‘Dark Knight’ Blu-ray presents problems in general, but for information on my Philips BDP3000 it loaded in 12 seconds…
There are a number of other very handy features on this player, such as incremented picture zoom (not always available; it seems to be available with DVDs but not Blu-ray) and search by time. Notably, the remote has an ‘Eject/Close’ button, which is very useful (but see below for some gripes !).
I have 2 very minor gripes with the BDP3000. Firstly, either through cost-saving or intentional design (I’ve added photos to the item page to help explain myself !) :
1. The LCD does not display much information and only uses characters (ie no graphics), so you really have to rely on information displayed on-screen and it is not always readily shown. For example, when a disc is playing the elapsed time is on the LCD as ‘normal’, but if playback is paused the LCD instead displays ”PAUSED’ and a ‘II’ logo is temporarily displayed on-screen; you have to select the ‘Info’ button to see what elapsed time playback has been paused at…
2. The remote is a useful size and offers a lot of functionality, however, some of the buttons are likely to be totally redundant as, for example, the ‘Volume’ and ‘Channel’ buttons can ONLY be used with Philips TVs; even more annoying is the fact that they are in the prominent central position on the remote whereas the universal (and often used) ‘OK’ and navigation-ring are at the upmost part of the facia; I have lost count how many times I have incorrectly been trying to use the remote upside-down ! In addition, several of the playback buttons are in my opinion the ‘wrong way round': I think the position of the FF/REW and ‘SKIP’ buttons should be transposed and the STOP button is too-close to those often used buttons and is easily pressed (and with my Blu-ray discs seems ‘terminal’, forcing you have to completely restart the disc load !).
Leaving those issues aside (and the specification matters I cover below), this is an excellent Blu-ray/DVD player which performs well, has just about all the features you could want and is an affordable price.
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If you read reviews or peruse the specification you will see the BDP3000 has a few apparent ‘shortcomings’, which for most (and me) I think are either irrelevant or readily acceptable. I have identified what I think the most important issues and will cover their importance and/or alternatives :
1. Without a firmware update certain DVDs such as those, for example, from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy or ‘Planet Earth’ might be unplayable – the latest firmware update resolves this.
My player out of the box (firmware version 919.2) had such a problem, but after downloading and installing the most recent firmware version (941.4) from the Philips website I can confirm that problem disappeared.
Firmware updates seem to be a common factor for Blu-ray as the latest discs seem to have an increasing number of ‘features’ embedded into them; that is clearly why the firmware update is so readily incorporated into players and available for downloading. I see that the revision has now been updated again, to 948.4, to cater for problems playing the ‘Terminator Salvation’ Blu-ray disc, so it’s good to see Philips seem to sort things out quickly…
*** As someone else has mentioned, I would respectfully suggest the problems some people are experiencing performing the firmware update are because they did not follow the (straightforward) ‘Firmware Upgrade Readme File’ which comes in Acrobat/pdf format and is ‘posted’ as a link below the link for downloading the firmware update ‘zip’ file. Yes, the printed User Guide which comes with the unit does (obviously) cover the process, but only in general and it just states ‘copy the software’ which is actually correct but unspecific; you are expected to read the guide mentioned earlier that is available to read on the firmware update page. Specifically, you must ensure that you ‘unzip’ or ‘Extract’ the files (rather than for example look in the ‘zip’ file and copy over the files in it) then copy to your intended update media the specified folder that is created by that process (which is mentioned in those instructions). Otherwise, funny old thing, the unit won’t be able to ‘find’ the firmware update files when you try to perform the update as it isn’t ‘located’ where it expects to find it ….
[As of Nov 09 that specific information was in ‘Step 3′ and I’ve added a picture to the Amazon main page showing it, and the folder to copy over is called ‘UPG’ – but the whole reason for reading the guide is because things might change over time….]
2. There is no internal memory to store downloaded ‘BD-Live’ data – if you want to achieve that you need add some form of flash memory (1Gb minimum is recommended) via the USB port.
I can confirm, having done the firmware update this way, that you can even add this capability by plugging-in a USB card-reader loaded with an SD card (from my camera); this means that should I want to use this feature it is easily achieved – and for no additional cost !
3. The unit has no WiFi capability for downloading firmware updates or accessing ‘BD-Live’ Internet data – you can still access ‘BD-Live’ via the Internet as the unit has an Ethernet port.
A subnote: I would NEVER use the Internet connection facility to update the firmware anyway, as the process is not only out of your hands but adds an extra ‘link’ which could be broken during the process, inviting problems. I prefer to download the update and install it via USB; as mentioned earlier….
4. Digital media cannot be played or viewed from any storage devices via USB.
This omission is not a big deal for me as my DVD recorder can do that if required….
5. There is no digital optical out socket, BUT there is a Digital coaxial out socket.
This omission may be a snag for some, for me it was ideal as I was already using all the optical inputs on my amplifier but had a coaxial input free !
A subnote: The player also has component video, composite video and audio output sockets.
6. The player cannot decode DTS HD Master Audio, BUT as it can output that signal in ‘bitstream’ form via HDMI or the digital output socket your amplifier can still access the DTS signal ! The player CAN decode Dolby True HD.
I’m not sure why this ‘omission’ is important, since a high-end A/V amplifier able to fully reproduce DTS HD Master Audio is surely going to have the required decoders built-in anyway !
Since these ‘premium’ audio formats have the ‘lower-grade’ versions of the related signal ‘family’ encoded into them, any amplifier can use the signal eg DTS HD Master Audio can be decoded to reproduce ‘standard’ DTS audio…
In addition and as another example, my amplifier has a DTS decoder but not a DTS HD Master Audio decoder, but since it doesn’t have the number of audio channels required to reproduce DTS HD Master Audio this makes the ‘problem irrelevant !
Rating: 5 / 5
At Amazon’s price [] the Philips BDP3000 Blu ray disc player is one of the cheapest of the current range of players on the market today. It is a good entry level player with some useful features found on more expensive models.
I have used a Sony BDPS350 player for around a year and it just has the edge on the Philips for picture quality when used with my Samsung full HD 1080p TV – but the Philips has a higher audio output. The Philips has three ways to connect to your TV depending on whether you are using an HD or SD model. HDMI is available to connect to an HD set – but no HDMI interconnect cable is provided; component video is also available and composite video is provided to connect to a standard TV. There is a three phono to three phono lead provided for this.
The player is very light and can move when the buttons are pressed, but it seems to be fairly well made however. There are minimal controls on the player itself, which looks quite stylish, with most functions on the remote. Unfortunately the TV function buttons on the remote only work with Philips TVs and cannot be programmed for other brands. The player features BD Live Profile 2 which is accessed via the Internet – unfortunately this player is not wireless enabled and has to be cabled to you router to achieve this, no Ethernet cable is provided.
The BDP3000 gives very good results for a player at this price, whether used with a standard or HD TV. The upscaling function when playing standard DVDs to an HD TV is quite impressive – not as good as the Sony however. It does load discs much quicker than the Sony though. It also sounds good when playing CDs through a HiFi – as it should from the inventor of the CD!
The BDP3000 is very easy to set up and from box to playing the first disc took less than five minutes. The menu system is straightforward and I have left the defaults active for now. To update the firmware the player needs to be connected to your router but, as all is working well, I have not attempted this as yet. If budget is an issue, or if you have a Philips TV, then the Philips BDP3000 could be a good choice as your first Blu ray disc player.
03/01/10: Had some Blu ray discs for Christmas one of which initially played poorly on this player. Did a firmware update and all was well after that – however even after updating the firmware the player detected another update was available. This turned out to be the same version as already loaded and just loaded the same update again!! Check your players version before and after updating to see if you have anything new downloaded – the current firmware version number can be found on the Philips website. When I did mine it was at version 948.4
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a great player, however the first Blu-Ray disc we tried (Terminator: Salvation) would not play, even with the latest firmware update. Researching this on the Internet reveals this to be a common issue with that disc. Whilst not playing one or two discs might not be a problem for some, I’m not happy this will not continue in the future and have decided to return it.
Plays DVDs flawlessly with excellent upscaling and is easily multi-region convertable. If you can live with the risk of it not playing all blu-ray discs, then you can’t go wrong with this device for the price.
Rating: 3 / 5
If you’re not particularly fussed about needing USB stick for BD Live or not having built-in WiFi for it, then this player is incredible value for money.
It has simple, effective, straightforward user interface incl. the remote, image and sound quality that beats many other players in this category, very fast disc loading times.
After much reading and comparing, finally chose this player, because it just does extremely well everything I was looking for, at a price point that is really remarkable: DVD upscaling is brilliant, I tried it with image-wise demanding material (e.g. The Mission, Baraka on DVD, Jean Michel Jarre concert footage) and it doesn’t show any overblown enhancements, so quality is great without an artificial look.
BD playback is just amazing, tested it with Baraka.
Media playback is also seamless, with simple menus and handles many media and codecs. I can’t (yet) comment on BD Live at all, as it was really outside my sphere of interest when buying the BD player.
Music CD playback on a variety of materials (from acoustic jazz to electronic music) is surprisingly pleasing, and even MP3 playback is perfectly adequate.
Rating: 5 / 5