Ever heard that phrase "you get what you pay for?" Yeah, it applies here. Insignia's low-cost
NS-2BRDVD has been effectively panned by reviewers over at
CNET, with the only bright spots coming in the form of a relatively low price, a USB port for accessing digital media and "solid Blu-ray image quality with most movies." The bad? That Profile 2.0 compatibility we reckoned it had actually isn't there (currently, at least), and it lacks full onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. In truth, that's not totally awful, but what affluent individual with a decoding AV receiver (psst... those aren't cheap) would go out and grab this? At any rate, the deck is also slow to load some flicks, and it doesn't support firmware updates via Ethernet or USB. If you really needed a bottom line, here goes: "The NS-2BRDVD is an under-featured and slow-loading Blu-ray player, but it provides basic BD playback at a bargain."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ken @ Feb 22nd 2009 4:53PM
It might be a hit if it was $150, but it is currently $230, and you can have the Samsung BD-P1500 for a mere $20 more (this was in-store Best Buy prices as of yesterday).
Bozster @ Feb 22nd 2009 9:34PM
Actually I just got another BD1500 at Best Buy 2 days ago and I got it with price matching at $178 and it's by far better then this player. DTS-MA and full set of audio decoding, bitstream passthrough and beautiful picture that easily bests PS3 not to mention BD-Live.
This player is definitely not a good buy.
David Susilo @ Feb 22nd 2009 5:36PM
it's the same price as Sony S350. Why would anybody but Insignia as opposed to the Sony?
TRT @ Feb 22nd 2009 6:54PM
...cause people buy value, not quality. There's always a market for garbage. The moment they drip the price of this unit to $198, they'll fly off the shelf. I wouldn't buy this player for a gift. If this was the best I could do, I'd do without.
David Susilo @ Feb 22nd 2009 8:58PM
I understand, but the Sony S350 have also dripped, on ocassions, to as low as $199. There is still no point in buying an Insignia (even at their soon-to-be $198 price).
Marshall @ Feb 22nd 2009 7:41PM
True HD decoding AVR can be had for $300-400...that's not much more than the cost of this player. I wouldn't lament the lack of internal decoding too much.
adamd @ Feb 22nd 2009 9:23PM
I have this player.
Bought it for $200.
I fully understand it's not the best player and that's fine with me. I have a 50" 720p tv and this player works fine and looks good!
I just updated the FW and it now plays all the movies I throw at it without problem. I am happy with this player.
If I ever get a huge 1080p tv I will likely upgrade the blu-ray player and by then the prices will be down under $200 for a great one!
adamd @ Feb 22nd 2009 9:26PM
Also I do not care that it dose not have profile 2.0. I never watched special features on DVD and don't plan to do it on blu-ray.
All I want this player to do is play the movie and give me good DTS or DD out of optical and I will be happy. So far it's going a great job!
TRT @ Feb 22nd 2009 9:41PM
See what I mean..................
Pip @ Feb 23rd 2009 12:19PM
Even the lowest end of Sony receivers decode DTS-MA and DD True HD these days, along with most other brands. It's plenty cheap and standard at this point....
Vic @ Feb 24th 2009 3:38PM
No, the Sony STR-DG520 ($199.99) and STR-DG720 ($299.99) do not decode the high-def audio formats...the STR-DG820 ($399.99) is the lowest of the Sony line to offer this.
Mumford @ Apr 5th 2009 8:41PM
Bought this player last night and returned it today. Would not play Goldfinger or South Pacific. It did play Stargate. Regular DVD's did not upscale that much to my eyes. I have a Philips and Sylvania blu ray players that blow the doors off this junk. $199.00 at Best Buy, the others were cheaper at a Radio Shack sale. You get what you pay for. I also tried out a Dynex tv from Best Buy, took that loser back also and got a Vizio. Far superior set. Also the Insignia took forever to load the discs it did manage to play. Beware of store brands.