Product of the Day, Day 31: Insignia NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray Player for $119.00
Insignia NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray Player- get one while you can for only $119.00!
Want to get into Blu-ray for only $119.99 and get a player with a full one year parts and labor warranty? Now you can, with the Insignia NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray player! Best Buy recently introduced a new model in the Insignia line and the NS-2BRDVD is now on clearance, greatly reduced from its regular $199 price.Despite the $199 price on Best Buy’s website, I have seen the NS-2BRDVD in stores for $159.00 and $119.00, factory-fresh and new in unopened box. I bought a few for friends at the $119 price. One store had it for $119 and another at $159, so call around.
No HDMI cable is included. Get one for $5 from monoprice.com or amazon.com.
The Insignia NS-2BRDVD is a profile 1.1 (Bonus View) player. When it was introduced in October of 2008 a firmware update to upgrade the NS-2BRDVD to Profile 2.0 (also called BD-Live) was promised. (BD-Live adds an Internet connection to provide additional content.) The Profile 2.0 firmware update has yet to be seen, but the new model, the Insignia NS-BDLIVE01, looks exactly identical to the NS-2BRDVD except for a “BD-Live” logo on top.
The NS-2BRDVD has USB and Ethernet ports for a promised BD-Live upgrade.
Store staff told me the NS-BDLIVE01 is BD-Live out of the box, without a firmware update. My guess is they are the same player but the NS-BDLIVE01 has the updated firmware installed and the NS-2BRDVD does not. There is a strong possibility that Insignia will eventually make the update available for the NS-2BRDVD as well since the player has ports and the company has gone on record as saying it will eventually be updated to full BD-Live functionality. It even says so on the player itself, see image above! I’m not so sure BD-Live is a big deal for most people, but if you want to be safe just consider this a Profile 1.1 player and do not plan on connecting it to the web.
What is the NS-2BRDVD and why does it deserve your consideration? In a nutshell it is a nice, basic Blu-ray player that will get you into Blu-ray and let you see movies the way they were meant to be seen, in true high definition glory with over 5 times the picture detail of DVD and sound quality that matches studio master tapes. It is quite addicting, in a way DVD and VHS never was!
The NS-2BRDVD bears a very strong resemblance to the Samsung BDP-1500, and the remote is exactly the same design. It is almost identical to the remote used with Samsung TVs, as well. It won’t work Samsung products though so the codes are obviously different.
I like the illuminated Blu-ray Disc logo you see when it is turned on.
Picture quality with Blu-ray Discs is outstanding, and DVD upscaling is decent, if not stellar. Given my positive experience with the first Insignia Blu-ray player, the NS-BRDVD, I got an NS-2BRDVD for testing when they first came out and updated the firmware as soon as I could, and in subsequent use it did an admirable job playing back anything I fed it. The setup menus are simple yet appealing, and very easy to navigate. The only nitpick I had was it is kind of noisy when it first spins up a disc. If you are across the room you will not notice it, and you certainly won’t notice it from across the room.
The NS-2BRDVD works best with a receiver that decodes high-def audio.
My NS-2BRDVD it is now being used by one of my Blu-ray reviewers, Jerry Rutledge. I checked with him today and he reports trouble-free operation and complete reliability, with excellent picture quality. So nothing has really changed since I used it.Please note that if you buy one you MUST install the firmware update before using the NS-2BRDVD. It does not provide BD-Live capability, but certain discs had compatibility problems with the NS-2BRDVD (fault of the studio, not the player) and the update is necessary to ensure reliable operation. You can find the update at the following link, under the support tab:http://insigniaproducts.com/products/dvd-players-recorders/NS-2BRDVD.html Be sure to download both the installation instructions and the firmware update. If you can’t burn a disc, you can call Insignia at 1-877-467-4289 and they will send you a free update CD. It’s a bit tricky burning the disc and you need a special application to burn it properly (see the instructions) so it may be easiest to just call and get one.
A sticker on the box says $100 worth of coupons is included.
They have all expired, so don’t get too excited! Get excited over the $119 price though.
At $119.00 this is really a no-brainer, and when players can be found regularly at this price you can kiss DVD goodbye. You will get dual enjoyment from the NS-2BRDVD: enjoyment from viewing movies with the best picture and sound quality available, and satisfaction from the knowledge you got a nice player for so very little!See you tomorrow for The Product of the Day! I took a vacation hiatus from the feature, but will be caught up on back dates soon as lots of product came in. There is some neat stuff in store for you!
