NS-2BRDVD
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Insignia's NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray player gets reviewed
Ever heard that phrase "you get what you pay for?" Yeah, it applies here. Insignia's low-cost NS-2BRDVD has been effectively panned by reviewers over at CNET, with the only bright spots coming in the form of a relatively low price, a USB port for accessing digital media and "solid Blu-ray image quality with most movies." The bad? That Profile 2.0 compatibility we reckoned it had actually isn't there (currently, at least), and it lacks full onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. In truth, that's not totally awful, but what affluent individual with a decoding AV receiver (psst... those aren't cheap) would go out and grab this? At any rate, the deck is also slow to load some flicks, and it doesn't support firmware updates via Ethernet or USB. If you really needed a bottom line, here goes: "The NS-2BRDVD is an under-featured and slow-loading Blu-ray player, but it provides basic BD playback at a bargain."
Insignia's $250 Profile 2.0 NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray player emerges at Best Buy
Ah, ha! So that's why the Insignia NS-BRDVD recently stooped below $200. Out of absolutely nowhere comes the successor to the previously mentioned unit, the Profile 2.0 NS-2BRDVD. According to Blu-ray, the newest unit actually does have an Ethernet jack, although you wouldn't know it simply by looking at the specifications on Best Buy's website. At any rate, the new deck checks in a few inches smaller and a few pounds lighter than the old, while still supporting 1080p playback and boasting optical / coaxial audio outputs, a single HDMI socket and a bundled remote. Unfortunately, the NS-2BRDVD trashes the Media Card slot and Energy Star qualification that the previous model possessed, so not everything is actually a step up. Those too impatient to see what Black Friday will bring can expect delivery in one to two weeks (unless you drive to a store) if you plunk down $249.99 right now.[Via Blu-ray, thanks Anthony]
