Best Buy unleashes Insignia NS-BRDVD Blu-ray player for $349, PS3 yawns

What's this? Best Buy finally released the Insignia NS-BRDVD blu-ray player for an affordable $349.99. The design, like other in-house Insignia-branded products, is questionable, but if you were looking into the PS3 as a player, this could be a $50 cheaper option if games aren't your thing. The unit outputs at 1080P, decodes Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD, and decodes 2-channel Dolby TrueHD. Outputs include stereo audio, composite video, component video, optical Toslink, digital coax, and HDMI. No word on image quality just yet, but based on previous Insignia products, we're not holding our breath.

[Thanks, Jordan]

[Samboini @ May 24th 2008 2:08PM]

Personally i'm waiting out for a 'slim-line' version of the PS3 or similar, this way I can get a nice little package that doesn't offend my clean looking set-up!

[David Susilo @ May 24th 2008 2:09PM]

This thing is made by Funai, the Japanese company that OEMs for Denon and Magnavox. The quality can't be that bad. However, is it at least profile 1.1?

[LiqwidZero @ May 24th 2008 2:38PM]

Yes, it is.

[Wayne @ May 24th 2008 5:52PM]

Insignia is total garbage.

My surround sound system changes the volume in the direction last pressed (up or down) with every press of a button on a different remote. Sort of negates having a DVR.

*FF* *FF* *FF* *Play* *10-s rewind* *10-s rewind* = blowout the speakers

[King Mustard @ May 25th 2008 1:24AM]

They sell Funai stuff in Argos in the UK. Budget crap.

[Anton @ May 24th 2008 2:25PM]

The sad part is, if the "Format War" was still going, this would be only $200 or so...

[dj-kenpo @ May 24th 2008 6:15PM]

possibly.
but more probable is if the format wars were still going, companies like insignia would still be standing on the side lines rather than investing money in a possible loser.

the war being over means everything gets cheaper as smaller companies start to produce players.

[sinai @ May 24th 2008 6:49PM]

^ wrong.

competing formats = more people courting smaller companies to produce their hardware.

last time i checked, prices of BR players were going UP, not down.

[Ridgecity @ May 25th 2008 3:56AM]

the format wars are still happening... Sony has to beat the dvd before claiming victory... and they ares still selling 80 to 1 over bluray...

[Barion @ May 25th 2008 9:26AM]

"competing formats = more people courting smaller companies to produce their hardware."

Because we remember how DVD never got cheaper since it had no competing format.

Oh wait, it did. Three years after DVD was introduced in 1997. I expect BD players will drop in price significantly beginning in December of this year and all throughout 2009.

[Charlie @ May 24th 2008 2:25PM]

Surely the PS3 at only $50 more has to be the only option. I mean for that $50 you get a games console and Sony branded product which must have a better build quality.

[shawnmos @ May 24th 2008 2:33PM]

Yea, but you have to spend an extra $50 to get an adapter to that it'll work with a Harmony IR remote.

[sonyfan @ May 24th 2008 4:00PM]

Not only better quality, but a cheap Internet browser, HDD and media server. And with a PSP, access your PS3 from any Internet connection. And watch movies, listen to music and look at pictures either on your PS3 or thru your media server.
Come on, no comparison here.

[sn1per @ May 24th 2008 5:56PM]

As a game console, the PS3 also has the capability to do AA when upconverting DVD's and DivX movies. So if you've got an extensive DVD collection, sure any bluray player can upconvert it, but the ps3 does a much better job of it than any standalone player could.

[John @ May 24th 2008 2:34PM]

Dolby TrueHD in 2 channels only ? Good luck with that...

[LiqwidZero @ May 24th 2008 2:38PM]

It's $298 at Wal-Mart, branded as Magnavox.

[superklye @ May 24th 2008 2:43PM]

Homer: [gasps] Look at these low, low prices on famous brand-name electronics!
Bart: Don't be a sap, Dad. These are just crappy knock-offs.
Homer: Pfft. I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there's Magnetbox and Sorny.
Salesman: [walking up] Listen, I'm not going to lie to you. Those are all superior machines. But if you like to watch your TV, and I mean _really_ watch it, you want the Carnivale'.
[shows Homer and Bart a TV very similar to their old one]
It features two-pronged wall plug, pre-molded hand grip well, durable outer casing to prevent fallapart...
Homer: Sold. You wrap it up, I'll start bringing in the pennies.

[Paperboy @ May 24th 2008 2:44PM]

Buy the 40 GB PS3 @ walmart for $399, get a $100 gift card. June 1-7

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/7045/95843413yh5.jpg

[Mike @ May 24th 2008 2:54PM]

but the question is...what the hell is a Blu Ray Gift Card?

is it a walmart giftcard? is it a sony giftcard? is it some sort of nonsense you can only use to buy blu-ray products?

[Ignatius @ May 24th 2008 3:49PM]

Probably means you can only buy Sony-approved, Sony-printed, Sony-produced, Walmart-retailed Blu-ray disks.

[scott @ May 24th 2008 3:50PM]

if you look at the card, it says walmart in the upper left corner, so it's just a walmart card with a bluray theme. ( like christmas =D)

[tekdemon @ May 24th 2008 8:09PM]

I think that still comes with the regular sixaxis controller so anybody who wants rumble is going to have to spend that giftcard on new dualshock3 controllers.
Sony should update all their PS3 bundles to have the new dualshock though.

[Colin Potter @ May 24th 2008 11:16PM]

tekdemon

they likely already have, but the walmart warehouses are probably chock-full of outdated bundles they're trying to push out of the way for the MGS4 bundles

[Pingmeister @ May 24th 2008 3:08PM]

Despite the PS3's shortcomings I still believe it's the best bet for a Blu-Ray player with any kind of long-term support (firmware) from the company.

I think the one downside is the off-chance that Sony may declare a future Blu-Ray feature "impossible" on the PS3 to drive up standalone Blu-Ray player purchases.

[Colin Potter @ May 24th 2008 11:18PM]

what "future" blu ray features? im pretty sure 2.0 is the final spec?

[Paperboy @ May 24th 2008 3:18PM]

@ Mike

I heard its just a regular walmart gift card

[Tom Jones @ May 24th 2008 3:30PM]

Looks cheap just like all other Insignia products...

[bigd7387 @ May 24th 2008 3:44PM]

Not to be mean but I owned the PS3 for 4 months and "What games"? There is always talk about games coming out but games to actually play now are kind of slim.

I'll get a Blu-ray player again but I don't need a game system with it and the way it's going I'll wait a couple of years considering DVD is still going strong and with upconverting players which I have and prices like $14.99 vs $30 for Blu-ray disk, I'll stay old school.

[Colin Potter @ May 24th 2008 11:28PM]

Haze, MGS4, GTA IV, Madden, NHL, Orange Box, NBA, Conflict Denied Ops, COD4, GT5P, DMC4, Burnout Paradise, DBZ Burst Limit (when it comes out), Singstar, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars, Bourne Conspiracy, Battlefield, Rock Band, GH3, Alone in the Dark, Ninja Gaiden II, Rainbow Six Vegas 1 & 2, Assassin's Creed, Timeshift, FF XIII, Saints Row 2, GoW 3, Dead Space, FEAR, Dynasty Warriors Gundam, Condemned 2, Mercenaries 2, Jericho, Afro Samurai (if it ever comes), The Club


to name a few

[warrrennnnn @ May 24th 2008 3:54PM]

What this?

[Joe @ May 24th 2008 4:00PM]

@ bigd7387:

Honestly, if you buy intelligently, you can find a bunch of Blu Ray discs on Amazon for $20. I preordered Batman Begins from Amazon for - you guessed it - $20. And I also got 300 and Hellboy for $20. Granted, I bought my PS3 primarily as a gaming device, so I won't be one to buy a movie the millisecond it comes out, unless I can get it for a reasonable price.

Don't harp on the PS3's lack of games, because I sold my Wii to GET a PS3 for the same reason. At least Sony has slight 3rd party support. If anyone out there is on the fence about a PS3, there are enough good games that have come out in the past year and a half to tide you over until the heavy hitters come out, starting with Metal Gear Solid 4. Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet and Clank, Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, and not to mention the fact that Sony has some truly great niche games on the PSN, like PixelJunk Monsters and Echochrome. Make sure that you will play the games that are on the PS3, but if they strike your fancy, now is not a bad time to buy a PS3.

[sinai @ May 24th 2008 8:42PM]

and you can download those movies on the internet in DVD resolution for - you guessed it - FREE. is the extra lines of resolution really worth the $20-40?

[xValentine @ May 24th 2008 11:45PM]

Of course it's worth $20.

If the extra resolution isn't worth it, then why Sony, Samsung, etc are making 42''+ LCD TVs more and more ? Why do BluRay movies are still selling ?

From your crappy comments, it looks like you haven't own or seen a bluray movie side-by-side with a dvd movie on a 42'' LCD.

[phinnvr6 @ May 24th 2008 4:30PM]

I'll keep my adorned PS3, thank you. Not only is it the best Blu-ray player, but it plays the best games, streams movies (divx/xvid,etc), photos, music from my computer, runs Linux, runs all MAME, Snes, etc emulators, and so on.

[Jonny @ May 24th 2008 4:58PM]

The only people who will really pick this up is BB employees, because it'll be dirt cheap with their at-cost + 5% discount.

I remember when I worked there I got an Insignia DVD player that was 80 retail for 19 with my discount. :3

[sinai @ May 24th 2008 6:51PM]

wow, that should be criminal.

selling insignia crap at a 4x markup, that is. who do they think they are, apple?

[Jonny @ May 25th 2008 3:43AM]

Lulz.

You havent seen the cable markups! USB Geeksquad cables.

They're 2.17 or so for the employees, 46.99 for everyone else.

lulz.lulz.lulz.

Best Buy, raping you in accessories since god-knows-when.

[eddib @ May 24th 2008 5:30PM]

"this could be a $50 cheaper option if games aren't your thing"

you might want to mention the USB support, DivX support, Hard drive, Internet browsingand even design

if games aren't you thing and you want blue ray ...
jep, PS3 still is yr best shot

[Alex @ May 24th 2008 5:35PM]

lol

"Insignia"

phhffttt...

[joe @ May 24th 2008 5:58PM]

To me, the PS3 is even uglier then this Insignia player. Not to mention there are disturbing reports of drive failures on the PS3. I'm staying pat till I know which of the new players is reliable. Let's see how they perform after 5-6 months...

[Kspraydad @ May 24th 2008 7:18PM]

Yep...those 'disturbing' reports are likely the 3-5% failure rate that most electronics have (except for a certain other rushed through engineering console).

PS3 is a solid piece of kit and the best BD player for the buck going...and will be for quite awhile.

[Hellios @ May 24th 2008 7:01PM]

Even if I was buying a bluray player and hated Sony, I'd still go after the PS3 because of it's infinite upgradeability. And everybody else should too.

[David Susilo @ May 24th 2008 7:20PM]

infinite upgradibility? can it be upgraded so it'll output 7.1 analog?

[ctrlfreq @ May 25th 2008 1:38AM]

About as much as your receiver can be upgraded to accept HDMI.

[David Susilo @ May 25th 2008 7:38AM]

but all receivers can take at least 5.1 analog in, yet PS3 doesn't have any analog out.

[Pentium @ May 24th 2008 7:20PM]

I prefer paying 50$ more and get a blueray player that can play some games!

[Bassir @ May 24th 2008 7:31PM]

So, the PS3's image quality is good?

[Evan @ May 24th 2008 8:29PM]

Yes, the PS3's image quality is very good, although some of the stand-alone Blu-Ray players beat it in upconverting DVDs.

[Evan @ May 24th 2008 8:27PM]

This is news? I saw this at my local BestBuy over a week ago.

[Travis (stupid blog free) @ May 24th 2008 9:32PM]

$349.99 is affordable?!!! I wanna make what you people are making! Call me when they hit $99!