{"id":892,"date":"2008-05-22T20:47:55","date_gmt":"2008-05-23T01:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=892"},"modified":"2008-05-23T15:50:19","modified_gmt":"2008-05-23T20:50:19","slug":"philips-bdp-7200-blu-ray-player-pictures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=892","title":{"rendered":"Philips BDP-7200 Blu-ray player pictures"},"content":{"rendered":"

My column regarding the Philips BDP-7200 Blu-ray player started hitting newspapers today. If it hasn’t hit your local paper yet you can read it on the Modesto Bee website<\/a>. The Philips BDP-7200 is a Profile 1.1 (Bonus View) Blu-ray player with an MSRP of $399. Street prices are $369 at Circuit City<\/a> and $348 at Sam’s Club<\/a>. The BDP-7200 is a solid player, much better than the Profile 1.0 players out there and a good choice if you don’t want to get a PlayStation 3.<\/p>\n

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Player in the box. It came to me this way from the PR firm and was not double-boxed… the ones on the shelves should look a lot less beat-up than this.<\/p>\n

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Unboxed with accessories. You will need an HDMI cable… as always, I suggest www.monoprice.com<\/a> where you can get a good-quality HDMI cable for under $5.00. Don’t get ripped off at big-box stores!<\/p>\n

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Front view of BDP-7200.<\/p>\n

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Close-up of disc door. It movies slowly and silently, which gives the player a quality feel.<\/p>\n

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Options on the front panel are limited. You will use the remote to access all but the most very basic functions.<\/p>\n

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The player supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, but only through bitstreaming. The BDP-7200 is a great match with receivers like the Onkyo TX-SR605 line (and models above it) as they can decode these advanced audio formats.<\/p>\n

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Left side view with ventilation vents. The player is very solidly constructed, much better than a typical DVD player… it does not feel cheap at all. (Granted, at $399 MSRP it ISN’T cheap, but it is one of the lowest priced a Blu-ray standalone players.)<\/p>\n

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Rear view with ventilation fan. I didn’t notice distracting fan noise when watching movies.<\/p>\n

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Video outputs.<\/p>\n

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Multichannel analog outputs do not support lossless formats, only uncompressed PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS. Coax and optical digital audio are also provided… a very comprehensive set of connections here.<\/p>\n

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Right side view.<\/p>\n

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Front 3\/4 view with remote.<\/p>\n

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Remote close-up view. The piano black glossy finish on the back was a nice touch.<\/p>\n

Magnavox version at Wal-mart for $298?
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There is a very similar looking player being sold at Wal-mart under the Magnavox brand. Selling for $298, it appears nearly identical to the BDP-7200 but lacks the multichannel analog outputs. Erin Hill, my contact at Philips’ PR firm, confirmed that the Magnavox NB500MG9 does come from under the same Philips corporate umbrella.<\/p>\n

It is somewhat ironic that the less expensive, lower-tier brand Magnavox version may make more sense to most buyers. The lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA audio is a big reason for buying Blu-ray, and it is only available from the HDMI output. This makes the multichannel analog outputs\u00a0 somewhat superfluous because they won’t give you the best audio available from a lot of the Blu-ray movies out there. I’m going to go buy one at Wal-Mart and test it out with a TrueHD\/DTS-HD MA receiver, report my findings and post some pictures.<\/p>\n