Hands-on with Marantz's first Blu-ray player, the BD8002

Just as promised, we got a hold of the Marantz BD8002, the company's first Blu-ray player. It was hard to let it go once we did, but the $2100 price tag made it a little easier. Silicon Optix Realta, HDMI 1.3, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA support. We want it all, and we want it now; but even the well-heeled among you will have to wait until Q2 2008 for this rig. And if you're looking for a pic of the remote, trust us -- we asked, too. Sorry, it's not final yet.

Gallery: Hands-on with the Marantz's first Blu-ray player, the BD8002

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[nerdtalker @ Jan 9th 2008 12:17PM]

And... no ethernet on the back. That's unfortunate, really.

[Jeebus @ Jan 9th 2008 12:52PM]

It's wireless.

[Teetdogs @ Jan 9th 2008 12:20PM]

I guess I dont really see the big deal about this player, can anyone tell me?

[Ty @ Jan 9th 2008 12:20PM]

What is the ps3 lacking as far as BD goes? I just don't understand what about these stand alone players makes them cost so much when the ps3 is sitting out there for 399. What features does this player have that the ps3 doesn't?

[silverblackvoid @ Jan 9th 2008 12:26PM]

first of all its made by marantz.

secondly its got: Silicon Optix Realta, HDMI 1.3, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA support.

ps3 excels at what it does; i.e. games.
on the other hand this is a standalone blu-ray player. a monster of a blu-ray player!

[Jimmy @ Jan 9th 2008 12:27PM]

Internal decoding for advanced audio codecs is probably the biggest weakness of the PS3.

[Ty @ Jan 9th 2008 12:29PM]

Yes but does it play movies $1600 better than my PS3? Maybe there is something I'm not versed in but I just don't see it.

[Nick Stark @ Jan 9th 2008 12:53PM]

Thats kinda like asking what does the $100 700watt sony reciever from radioshack do different than a marantz, denon, harmon kardon, b&k, rotel, reciever.

Sound, and Video quality is the difference. :-)
And some audio codecs like silverblackvoid mentioned.

[andy @ Jan 9th 2008 12:53PM]

an IR sensor.

[andy @ Jan 9th 2008 12:57PM]

Nick,

I'm with you on sound quality.


However, if my radioshack receiver repeats HDMI through to my TV, as does my Marantz, and even my Rotel........

How exactly does the marantz or rotel have better video quality?


Answer: It's all digital and it's exactly the same data getting to my TV.



That's like saying that an MP3 on my player is better quality because it's recorded on solid state whereas the copy of the MP3 on my computer is lesser quality because it's recorded magnetically.

[Evan @ Jan 9th 2008 1:22PM]

The Silicon Optix Realta upscales standard-definition DVDs better than the PS3.

[Mike @ Jan 9th 2008 2:20PM]

Simple answer.

The standalone players aren't subsidized like the PS3. Remember Sony loses money every time a PS3 is sold for now.

[Jeremy @ Jan 13th 2008 2:12AM]

@silverblackvoid
Actually at this point the PS3 does NOT excel at games just yet.. I use it as a blu-ray player and media hub and thats actually what it excels at right now.

As a blu-ray player its one of the best. You don't have one apparently.

[DrXym @ Jan 9th 2008 12:33PM]

Who the hell plays $2100 for a blu ray player?

[Sy @ Jan 9th 2008 1:23PM]

People who could afford, need, and want the best things in life.

[Evan @ Jan 9th 2008 1:24PM]

People who spend $15,000 on a 1080p projector to go into a custom-built home-theater room. To them, the extra picture and audio quality squeezed out of the Marantz may be worth it. To the rest of us, the PS3 is good enough.

[DrXym @ Jan 13th 2008 4:36AM]

It certainly looks like it means business, but I reckon you'd have to have a pretty over the top system to even remotely justify a player costing that much.

[KWinOB @ Jan 9th 2008 1:25PM]

I think the only relevance here is that yet another company is about to begin selling Blue Ray players. While I wish they had included an ethernet port as well, it is otherwise an extremely high end system made with top of the line components.
Even if it does not lower the prices of Blue Ray machines immediatly, this and other new BD systems on the way to keep pressure on already lowered prices from a year ago. It should also put to restthe fanboy theory that Sony is some ghoulish
evil entity with a god complex. I keep hearing that from the four ultra paranoid HD DVD fanboys, who are still eating mouthfulls of sour grapes. It shows that Sony is no more evil than Toshiba, Apple or Microsft and that more BD players from other makers are on the way, and that they will be marketed at difference price points with different feature sets, while now providing backward compatability. This is all a good thing for everyone. No cheapskate ought to be angry that his low end BD player, is unable to do the cartwheels of newer higher end machines, as long as they can still enjoy all of the features listed on the box. We had no frills VCR's, DVD players, cheapo home theatre systems in a box, and no one expected them to perform miracle upgrade functions other than those listed on the box. Some BD players will have upgradeable firmware, but nobody ought to complain about a BD or any other components that does what it claimed it could do and nothing more.

[TrentD @ Jan 9th 2008 2:20PM]

Denon and Marantz are owned by the same company - this is the Denon player with a Marantz logo on it.

[Russ @ Jan 9th 2008 4:12PM]

Denon and Marantz are indeed both part of D&M but they are definitely different. Denon comes out with stuff a lot quicker and usually has the most bells and whistles. Marantz builds stuff a lot more like tanks, are slower (somtimes painfully so) to implement new technology but when they do it is rock solid and usually improved over the Denon line. (e.g toroidal power supplies)

[Nick @ Jan 9th 2008 1:58PM]

Of course, as soon as I spring for the cheap HD-DVD player from Toshiba, all the studio s jump to Bluray.

[Xyzzy @ Jan 9th 2008 2:21PM]

If by "all," you mean "one," then you'd be correct.

[Reggie @ Jan 9th 2008 2:29PM]

and no SACD capability right? Skip - I'll stay with my PS3

[Patrick @ Jan 9th 2008 2:53PM]

I think I'll hook it up via composite video -- no need to spring for an expensive S-video cable -- and 2.1 ch audio. What do you think?

[JeffDM @ Jan 12th 2008 8:36PM]

It looks like it's on the big side, by a lot.

If you want multichannel analog out, then I guess this is one thing to try, the same goes for serial control. I think Realta is offered on a cheaper player though.

[Jim @ Mar 19th 2008 8:32PM]

The Denon 3800BDCI is identical to the Marantz in funtionality, features, and chipset.