Like Blu-ray but hate spending lots of money? The guys at
FormatWarCentral spotted the Magnavox
NB530MGX Blu-ray player cold lampin' on the shelf of a local
Wal-mart now permanently rolled back from $168 to a mere $98. as usual, you'll pass up the newest, fastest, internet-connected-est features of high end Blu-ray players, but for less than a hundred it's hard to complain. We know many probably missed out on the
Meijer deal last month, anyone planning on picking this one up for a second -- or first -- Blu-ray player? We'll see how long Sony avoids the "
battle to the bottom" now.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
aaron @ Jul 9th 2009 4:28PM
Does the magnavox produce regular updates for their players.... that would be my big concern with these cheaper players because bluray still has big problems with newer releases not working across all players and I would guess these cheap ones would be the first ones to have issues.
L3 @ Jul 10th 2009 1:05PM
I love good electronics, but I took a leap of faith on the Magnavox last year when Sam's had it as a display unit clearance for $99.
I haven't even looked for firmware upgrades as I have never had any issues.
We rent about six BD movies a week through Netflix and this has played all of them flawlessly for about nine months!
Best gadget bang for the buck EVER!
Andrew @ Aug 4th 2009 1:52PM
Walmart is pretty good, I have bought some movies there, most the time I just order them for cheap from 3rd party vendors. My favorite site to buy blue-ray is probably http://blue-ray-deals.com . Saved lots of money there. Dont know how they do it but I love it :)
Enjoy.
Heavytoka @ Jul 9th 2009 4:32PM
If I was going to buy a new Blu-ray player, the last brand I would buy is Magnavox lol I'd pick up the new Oppo, but I guess this is good for those who don't or can't spend 500 bucks.
Shenanigans @ Jul 9th 2009 4:35PM
Walmart is evil. No need for a second blu-ray player. Pass!
mntwister @ Jul 9th 2009 5:24PM
I highly doubt any readers of a website like this, probably very electronically inclined audio/video buffs are going to buy this player, but the mainstream family with little to spend who wants a Blu-ray player? This is HUGE for the format, because when Walmart went $99 with DVD players, the format went into millions more homes. That doesn't mean it is going to happen again, but I would imagine they are going to sell their share of these. By the way I've had the chance to use this player since my friend owns one. Not sure what all of the complaining is about, the picture is prestine and it loads rather quickly and he hasn't had a disc he can't play. For those who only have $100 to spend and want a player, this is still a heck of a deal.
Sean U @ Jul 9th 2009 5:31PM
I disagree... I refuse to pay $500, $400, $300 or even $200 for a blu-ray player. I picked up a $99 Insignia at Best buy. I'll buy another one from Samsung or Sony in a year or 2 when they sell players that are better than todays $300 ones for $129.
I'm a geek... and I'm cheap!
Nate @ Jul 9th 2009 5:52PM
You obviously haven't heard the months of whining about how expensive blu-ray anything is. Pretty soon, Ben will have to rename the site to engadgetSD.
andy @ Jul 9th 2009 5:26PM
I have an HDA2 for HDDVD and upscaling DVD's. This is perfect for doing nothing other than transporting a bluray bitstream to my receiver (which repeats it to my projector).
This is big for blu-ray. I'm still not sold on the idea of buying beta products at retail (i.e., bluray in general), but I'm in with this.
Abouna @ Jul 9th 2009 5:41PM
Cheap is all well and good but not all BDs play the same quality. It's like saying all DVD players are the same. This is not a good "transport" on any way, it's simply cheap.
The output of the LG 370 compared to the Panasonic BD60 is quite different.
Cheap Blu players are for those who don't understand or appreciate Blu-ray. That is, until the decent players drop into the cheap realm, which will NEVER be $100.
NorthCranky @ Jul 9th 2009 5:49PM
"until the decent players drop into the cheap realm, which will NEVER be $100."
Depends on how you look at it. High priced player tech. trickles down into low priced players making way for better high priced players and better low priced players.
So eventually a low priced will be as good as a high priced player used to be therefore technically high priced players do reach low low prices.
Its just any two new ones between both are never the same.
EatingPie @ Jul 10th 2009 11:15AM
Wait, you still invested in a format that had a shorter product life than Blu-ray prior to it's official launch (Blu-ray existed two years in Japan as a cartridge-based recordable). And you refuse to invest in a "beta" product (Profile 2.0 is almost 2 years old now, also longer than HD-DVD's product life)? And how much was your A2 again?
Sheesh.
-Pie
squiggleslash @ Jul 10th 2009 5:31PM
Abouna - there comes a point where Blu-ray players SHOULD all play the discs the same way, from the cheapest to the highest end. At the very least, if the TV supports 24p, the connections are HDMI, and the receiver is HDMI and supports the Blu-ray audio formats there's no good reason for a movie playing on a $25 BD player to look or sound any different to the same disc playing on a $2,500 player.
The player should actually be the most predictable part of the chain. All it's doing is decoding the video (which it sends digitally to the TV) and bitstreaming the audio. All players should do that decoding in exactly the same way, if they don't, if they screw with the picture to "enhance it" or whatever, then they're undermining the entire point of having a digital connection.
DVD is a different case because it started in a different era and as a result some post-processing is necessary. DVD content is often interlaced when the source is progressive. That needs post-processing if you're going to stick it on an LCD. DVD content is 480 or 540 lines deep, and often a sizable amount of those lines are actually black bars, and there are multiple ways to scale that to look awesome on a 720, 768, or 1080 line screen. Again, that needs post processing.
So, yeah, no two DVD players are exactly alike. On the other hand, if you see a difference between two DVD players when hooked up to an NTSC screen via the S-Video port, there's a bug in one of those players.
As far as this player goes, the issues aren't going to be with display or audio quality. The issues will be with firmware updates and the lack of Internet connectivity (and thus lack of Profile 2.0.) Some people see the latter as unnecessary, I disagree, but even if we take it as read it is, the fact the user will have to go through a number of hoops to update the firmware (knowing it's available, obtaining the disc, etc) and the fact Blu-ray pretty much requires regular firmware updates at this stage in its life thanks to BD+, means this isn't the player I'd buy for my mother in law.
Indeed, until Hollywood ends its obsession with BD+, I doubt there's ever be a player suitable for my MiL...
Bill @ Jul 9th 2009 5:50PM
buying a cheap player is one thing, but having the proper display to display the content at 1080p is an entirely different thing. How many households will have the correct HDTV to display blu ray if they are buying this as their 1st blu ray player. There are still plenty of households that have good 'ol CRTs in their households, that may be in the 27"-32" variant. How can they take advantage of blu ray?
not to mantion the fact, that blu ray media, on average, is 1/4 of the cost of this Magnavox player.
houston, we have a big problem.......
Evan @ Jul 9th 2009 6:37PM
A lot of people have HDTVs but no Blu-Ray or HD cable. Many people bought them because they were big and flat. Or because most TVs on store shelves are HDTVs.
The trouble isn't people having the correct displays, it's convincing people who are happy watching SD cable, stretched from 4:3 to 16:9 so everyone looks fat, that they should care enough about picture quality to buy a new player and new media.
But you are right about media prices.
Nate @ Jul 9th 2009 5:54PM
That was maybe the most unnecessary post of all time considering the company.
TRT @ Jul 9th 2009 6:35PM
I agree with Abouna and aaron. Can this player be firmware upgraded? If I made a BD player that was highly rated and had performance equal to the Oppo BDP-83, there is no way in HELL I would sell it for $100. Period. The general public always chooses value over quality. That's why they make cheap stuff. A small minority of consumers value quality. That's why they make the good stuff. This is why the system works. There is something for everyone. Some folks buy a $19.95 toaster every six months. I choose to buy a $100.00 toaster every fifteen years. See! The system works! I bought a $500.00 VCR in 1982 that works flawlessly even to this day. Some people bought $100.00 VCR's that ate up tapes, showed blurred pictures, broke tapes during rewinds and and ended up in the garbage a year later. They just went out and bought another $100.00 VCR. It's about choices and people make them. As the saying goes: Some folks know that you can't take the money with you when you die. Others can squeeze a nickel so hard the buffalo will fart!
DaveZatz @ Jul 9th 2009 7:40PM
"Some folks know that you can't take the money with you when you die"
And others have a spouse with children. I'm not partaking, but $100 is a great deal and good for the format.
LonnieDvD @ Jul 9th 2009 7:55PM
This is tempting, but I will resist.
Michael @ Jul 9th 2009 8:41PM
I may have to get this for my grandparent's HDTV
mntwister @ Jul 9th 2009 11:34PM
This is exactly what I am talking about. The market for a player like this will be for HDTV households that probably don't have thousand dollar stereo systems and subwoofers, but for people who want to watch a movie in high def on their high def televisions and feel that a $100 player will do just fine. There are alot of people out there in this position. They don't care if it decodes DTS MA or connects to BD Live. I may join you Michael in getting one of these for my grandparent as well.
butch @ Jul 10th 2009 12:19AM
I have the panasonic Dmp Bd55 for my main home, but I think I will pick up a couple of these for my two vacation homes
Rig @ Jul 10th 2009 1:18AM
Is there a point when the players will be cheaper that the media? I remember paying $30 for dvds back in the day but I don't remember it taking this long for the prices to go down. I think I am going to grab one of these players just so I can rent some BR disc from Netflix. I will continue to nab Dead Red's disc off Amazon for $3 bucks until BR get reasonable.
wack @ Jul 10th 2009 7:59AM
my thoughts exactly. the number of movies on bluray has gone up to a worthwhile amount by this point, but I'm hesitent to cross the line when 4 movies exceede the cost of the player. Digital downloads and streaming are satisfying me for now.
EatingPie @ Jul 10th 2009 11:20AM
The trend is actually very, very similar to DVD.
DVD's actually did take a few years to drop in price. The reason the BD prices are still high is because it hasn't reached mass-market yet, but it's following the same cycle as DVD/VHS.
I remember going into supermarkets like Vons and seeing VHS tapes everywhere, and wondering if they'd ever have DVD. Now they have DVD everywhere, and I wonder when I'll start seeing BDs.
I also remember buying Unforgiven DVD for $9.99 on an Internet sale and being ecstatic. I've done similarly with Blu-rays. Just keep an eye on Amazon/DeepDiscountDVD sales. I got The Searchers Blu-ray for $7.99 shipped. Total Recall, similar.
-Pie
Bozster @ Jul 10th 2009 2:23PM
The problem with then and now is that DVD was alone in the home entertainment dept. VHS was much more inferior, it had serious functionality issues that DVD solved and DVD had no competition in other technologies and VOD and digital downloads and streaming and iTunes and who knows what else.
By the time Blu-ray gets mainstream (and this is mostly because Sony holds monopoly on Blu-ray replication) and a regular replication company that produces DVDs now has to invest a million or two just to be able to replicate BDs for 10% (by end of this year) there's very little incentive. That and the fact that internet speeds, content and everything else has grown at an incredible pace since 1990s and 2000 just makes the old way of looking at things obsolete.
Blu-ray will never become a new DVD. You can be sure of that.
TK101 @ Jul 10th 2009 9:08AM
This is perfect for my 2nd player. My mother in law lives with us, and she has only DVD. She hates it when the Netflix discs come and they are BD - she can't watch them in her room. She'd jump at this.
TK
Travis Taylor @ Jul 10th 2009 9:25AM
This is good news for the format. I also noticed that my local Wal*Mart finally dropped its new release (Knowing, to be exact) BD Price to $24.95. I know that online the price has always been $24.95, but my local Wal*Mart has never dropped a new release below $29.99. This is good news! Of course all Wal*Marts are a bit different (depending on manager decision) when it comes to media prices, but I thought it was good to see mine drop down 5 bucks.
I will probably pick one of these players up on Black Friday and hope that it drops to $79.99 or something of that sort. I currently use a Sony BDP-S350 that I picked up for $149.99 when it was on sale on SonyStyle.com. I would love this unit as a backup BD Player to use in another room that doesn't contain my main equipment. I really don't care about perfect quality, I just need something that can read all of my media that I own in another room. That's the worst part about BluRay... I have no where else to watch my movies unless it's in my main entertainment room.
stevedee4 @ Jul 10th 2009 11:34AM
If this price was anywhere else I might have bought it. However, I refuse to buy from Wal-Mart and am proud to say I have never stepped foot it one.
Andrew @ Jul 10th 2009 3:01PM
You're proud to pay higher prices at other stores that buy their goods from the same place that Wal-Mart does? I'm proud to say you're an idiot for making the comment.
stevedee4 @ Jul 10th 2009 3:34PM
Yes, I'm proud to not support the store. It has nothing to do with the prices... it's how the company is run. I'm an idiot for not supporting a store whose policies I don't agree with?
Izzy @ Jul 10th 2009 11:55AM
I got my HDA2 when they were on clearance at Wally world. It's the noisiest, clunkiest, slowest thing I've ever used for digital media. A complete piece of junk. Even the interface was out of a 1980's TV.
$98 had me thinking, but I'll keep my Sony for my first one, and wait until Sammy comes out with a $100 one for my third (second is a BD drive in my HTPC).
Bozster @ Jul 10th 2009 2:17PM
Not a bad deal for mainstream. Hardware will undoubtably go lower with brand names too. The issue that Blu-ray is facing these days and going forward is not going to be hardware. The competition in that dept. is pretty big and prices are naturally going to go down. The problem is software.
In order for Blu-ray to become truly mainstream they need to get those movie prices within 20% of DVD versions. That way we can really see a spike in sales and adoption which is not going to be a bad thing. Until then, people renting will definitely not make things as they should be.
Maybe it's not even about buying discs anymore. This is why streaming and subscription services are booming. If that's the case, then we might just not see any rapid progress with Blu-ray because optical media mostly relies on purchases not rentals.
One thing I dislike about these cheap players is that they are not the fully BD spec-ed players. This is the biggest problem and something I have issues with Blu-ray. They need to GET RID of all non profile 2.0/BD-Live/Managed Copy players and start selling fully spec-ed out players for cheap. At least as a consumer I want to see that. $100 player is a good start but get me a $100 player even if it's Magnavox with fully featured Blu-ray capabilities then we can say we are looking at the next standard.
owen chadmire @ Jul 10th 2009 11:17PM
Are you sure about that Bozster, Streaming services are booming?? Really?? not if you read here:
Digital Media sales Stall in Q1
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6668382.html
Analysts Sour on Streaming
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/streaming/show-me-money-analysts-sour-streaming-16134
Looks like Digital Downloads and Streaming are the bag of hurt.
Bozster @ Jul 10th 2009 7:33PM
Do you even read news about streamin/digital/VOD on pretty much every single tech site including Engadget?
There's more companies and content providers supplying content today to it that it's insane.
"Demand for high bandwidth broadband will drive the number of worldwide households with the high-speed technology to more than 640 million by 2013, according to a report released Tuesday by Parks Associates.
Bandwidth will continue to be a focus as the operators re-architect their networks to deliver multiple services over the same infrastructure," said Parks Associates VP Kurt Scherf in a statement. "However, in such a competitive field, bandwidth alone is not enough to win subscribers. Blended applications, combining services such as online video and customer support, offer operators an opportunity to increase average revenue per user. In addition, innovative new services will help differentiate service providers, which can then compete on factors beyond pricing or raw bandwidth."
http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/3G/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218400829&subSection=News
- Disney Invokes Vudu For HD Movies
- Baker & Taylor is expanding its digital distribution capabilities by partnering with technology provider OverDrive.
- Sony adds Netflix to Bravia
- Tons of providers add streaming and video services to their hardware
- Blu-ray players more nad more support streaming video and digital downloads like Amazon and Netflix
- Instant 1080p HD coming to Xbox 360
and so many more.
The market is growing at an incredible pace. Is it challenging existing optical market? Not yet to an extent where some companies and associations should worry but in a few years it will be. The good thing about about streaming and digital downloads along with VOD is once it works that's it. Everyone will switch and it will be super easy because by that time they'll have devices that will be able to utilize it without any additional costs except service subscription or similar. The great thing about it is that all you would need would be online access through your device and thankfully these are coming out faster and faster with every model be it Blu-ray player, or a game console or a TV.
It's coming and optical media is on it's way out, proven by the decline that's happening year in and out.
Bozster @ Jul 10th 2009 7:39PM
and btw.. those 2 articles are really no measure at all.. one is already known optical media supporter that is harvesting money from the people who pay him. Home Media Magazine has been constantly trying to put spin on anything but they are being told to say.
Hulu is one service. Nobody cares. We all know that these services are not making money. That's not a measure of their popularity or success. The number of people using streaming/video downloads/VOD is growing and CE manufacturers and companies are supporting it more and more.
Every single studio pretty much now has content on all of these services not just Hulu.
besi @ Jul 10th 2009 3:48PM
i just dont give a f... whos selling the good stuff. 100$ not bad ,we are getting there .
wonder when the discs prices will get under 15$.
for a 100$ i would buy another 1tb hdd instead
Mike @ Jul 10th 2009 7:03PM
HD's can crash and loose everything... as i can relate too having recently lost my tivo hd.
Look online and easy to get movies under $15...watch the deal sites (fatwallet etc) and get info on great sales.
besi @ Jul 11th 2009 12:44AM
i know u can get bluray discs for under 10$,mostly used.amazon is a great place for that.
i was talking about ,the new releases on tuesdays.i would like to go to the store and pick up a new bluray for 15$ or under.i know by the time this happens ,probably 3D bluray will be out with 3D LCDs and new hdmi's.
Multi-format-mayhem @ Jul 11th 2009 3:00PM
@ Mike
You just need to make sure you replace a hard drive in a DVR after about 3yrs use, they get pretty hard use in those things.
I've not had a PC HDD go down in the last 7 years.
My own view about these no-name brands is that they are a worry.
I highly doubt they will get the firmware support they will need.
I'd steer well clear.
kevon27 @ Jul 10th 2009 4:10PM
I was in best buy at my job and they had the insignia bluray on closeout of $99. You can get 47in insignia LCD for $750. They aren't the greatest for products but for under a $1000, you can get into HD and bluray.
Carl H @ Jul 10th 2009 9:00PM
I am proud to say that the first store I go to every time I visit the US is Wal-Mart. It's my favorite store, period - in any country. For all you Wal-Mart haters out there, move to another country for a while and start paying 5 times as much for everything, due to lack of competition. America is wasted on the Americans.
Tommy @ Jul 31st 2009 5:27PM
Interesting perspective Carl.
Lots of Americans like to complain about WalMart and fail to realize that WalMart does improve the quality of your lifestyle by curbing inflation.
owen Chadmire @ Jul 10th 2009 11:27PM
Bozster says "and btw.. those 2 articles are really no measure at all.. one is already known optical media supporter that is harvesting money from the people who pay him. Home Media Magazine has been constantly trying to put spin on anything but they are being told to say."
HA! A conspiracy quick call Oliver Stone! When It doesn't fit your agenda of course. Reminds me of "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"- Wizard of Oz
Bozster your a hoot!
Andy @ Jul 11th 2009 10:18PM
I went to my local Walmart here in Michigan and this player was still $168. Is anyone else seeing this $98 price? Is it a local thing?
joepaiii @ Jul 12th 2009 1:47AM
Just picked one up tonight for 98 in Plano, TX
Bill Taub @ Jul 12th 2009 12:29PM
I called the Centereach, NY Walmart- they had the unit, but it was $168. I called the South Setauket, NY store (5 min away) and they had it, $98. I tried the Islandia, NY store- no answer (no surprise- that store is a disaster). I didn't call the Middle Island, NY store, but suspect that it would have been priced like Centereach... for sinister reasons and conspiracy theories. It makes little sense as these stores are within ~5 miles/~15 min of each other...
Bill Taub @ Jul 12th 2009 12:31PM
One more thing... the box says NB500MGX... which is not on the Magnavox site. The manufacture date on the unit I got was April. The unit is identical to the model listed as the NB530MGX (cosmetically, at least). No firmware seems to be available for this unit and the firmware up there doesn't work- not that I have a problem that needs fixing (only tried Bolt).
Techno Beaver @ Jul 13th 2009 6:29AM
A $99 Blu-ray player!? This is perfect for my cheap-o ProScan 1080p LCD television set I bought for $450 last month.:)
DVD4ME @ Jul 13th 2009 8:26AM
As long as it takes the standard 3.5 days to load a disc, has to be continually upgraded for it's buggy behavior and has no FKN Resume Play function, I couldn't give a flying f**k if it was free!