[Jason Dunn]

Your eyes do not deceive you: that's a Blu-ray player and my first three Blu-ray movies (don't judge my taste in movies yet though, keep reading). The amplifier that I purchased a few years back is on the fritz - it keeps cutting out - so I decided to replace it with a new one that I purchased a couple of months ago. Installing a new amp is a pain though, since and I've been focusing on trying to finish my digital wall project (more on that later - it's finally done!), I haven't gotten around to installing it. Since I needed to rip apart my home theatre setup and re-position things to make space for the amp, which is much bigger than my previous one, I figured I might as well make the jump to Blu-ray. Re-programming my Harmony remote is also part of the equation, so I thought now was the time.

I didn't do much research before picking the Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player; I read a couple of reviews to make sure there weren't any show-stopper problems with it, but I didn't look at any other players. Chalk that up for my preference for Samsung, or the fact that the player was $249 after a $50 discount and came with three Blu-ray movies. It was supposed to come with Kingdom of Heaven, The Devil Wears Prada and iRobot, but they were out of stock on this three-pack, so the salesman let us pick any two movies we wanted - and since we already had two of the three freebie movies (guess which two), I figured we'd select two new movies that we didn't yet own. The problem? I buy new movies quite regularly, so there weren't many movies available that I didn't already own - and I didn't want to pick movies I already had on regular DVD. So that's how I ended up with Speed Racer and Get Smart - Independence Day was an add-on purchase. I think I'll probably pick up Iron Man on Blu-ray though, simply because it's so extremely awesome!

[Jason Dunn]

Your eyes do not deceive you: that's a Blu-ray player and my first three Blu-ray movies (don't judge my taste in movies yet though, keep reading). The amplifier that I purchased a few years back is on the fritz - it keeps cutting out - so I decided to replace it with a new one that I purchased a couple of months ago. Installing a new amp is a pain though, since and I've been focusing on trying to finish my digital wall project (more on that later - it's finally done!), I haven't gotten around to installing it. Since I needed to rip apart my home theatre setup and re-position things to make space for the amp, which is much bigger than my previous one, I figured I might as well make the jump to Blu-ray. Re-programming my Harmony remote is also part of the equation, so I thought now was the time.

I didn't do much research before picking the Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player; I read a couple of reviews to make sure there weren't any show-stopper problems with it, but I didn't look at any other players. Chalk that up for my preference for Samsung, or the fact that the player was $249 after a $50 discount and came with three Blu-ray movies. It was supposed to come with Kingdom of Heaven, The Devil Wears Prada and iRobot, but they were out of stock on this three-pack, so the salesman let us pick any two movies we wanted - and since we already had two of the three freebie movies (guess which two), I figured we'd select two new movies that we didn't yet own. The problem? I buy new movies quite regularly, so there weren't many movies available that I didn't already own - and I didn't want to pick movies I already had on regular DVD. So that's how I ended up with Speed Racer and Get Smart - Independence Day was an add-on purchase. I think I'll probably pick up Iron Man on Blu-ray though, simply because it's so extremely awesome!

[Macguy59]

That looks like the same one Blockbuster has been selling for the last few months. I'll be waiting to see if you think it was worth it as I keep waffling on buying one. Speaking of Samsung I recently purchased their CLP-315 color laser printer. Great little color laser for under $200

[rudedog71]

I also recently took the BluRay plunge...except with a PS3, Madden in HiDef is amazing.

My 1st BluRay movie was Iron Man...and I took advantage of the amazon b2g1 free offer...but man it was also tough for me choosing movies I didnt already have on DVD.(That was the deal I made with Mama for her green light to go Blu.) I chose Close Encounters, Monster House and The 5th element.

I have a feeling (despite the doom and gloom of the economy) that this holiday season will be HUGE for blu ray.

[bcre8v2]

Jason,

Can you let us know the 'start up' time and overall performance of your player?

Are there any other really cool features that you've discovered?

Thanks!

[ntractv]

I also took the Blu-Ray plunge via PS3 as well and like Jason I am a little reluctant replace movies I already own on DVD with the BR version with one exception - The Godfather collection was a no brainer and I gave the regular version to my girlfriend.

[Doug Raeburn]

I also decided to take the plunge on a new Blu-ray player. I went with the Panasonic DMP-BD55... it has just about all of the latest bells and whistles and it seems to be getting unanimous rave reviews on the net. Amazon had a "buy 4 Blu-ray movies and get $100 off a player" offer that I decided to go with. The movie selection was a bit limited, but I think it was a pretty good deal. It's supposed to be delivered tomorrow.

[Jason Dunn]

Watch the front page for my "first Blu-ray experience post". It's...amusing.