Where does the money go in a Blu Ray player?

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If a Blu Ray player plays a Blu Ray movie at 1080p, how much better can a Blu Ray image in a $4,000 player be in say a $500 player like the Opppo 93?. Or even in $150 Blu Ray player?
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How much better can a $10,000 amp be than a $4000 amp, or even a $1000 amp, if they are all rated at 200wpc? On a system like you have Mitch, why would you even consider a cheap player?

Many of the 'Uberexpensive' brands are rebadged models from Mfgr's like Pioneer, Oppo, Denon, Sony. There was a thread on here a few years ago where a $3500 Gamut player was really a $300 Pioneer Player. Everything was exactly the same except for the exterior, even the venting holes were made to match up with the existing pioneer model. Look it up.

I would not "over-pay" whatever that may be, based upon your ability to distinguish a quality picture from good enough. Look at construction, weight, reputation and warranty. This segment of the video world changes every six months. Don't get stuck with an outdated paper weight.

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Zydo, ouch! Zydo, I would never buy a cheap player. Inexpensive maybe, but never cheap. Anything I own would have to perform.

I bought my current player four years ago for $2k. It was worth every dime. It is on its last leg. However, in the digital age, four years is an eternity. Prices have plummeted for Blu Ray since then. I was just wondering if the cost of the technology has come down for a superior screen image. My player has the Realta processor from Silicon Optix. I would think after four years I could get a comparable image for a lot less. Marantz no longer makes a player with the Realta chip. Denon, its sister company makes a player with a Realta processor. That player is $4500. I don't think I should have to spend $4500 to get four year old digital technology. I don't mind spending good money for a quality product...I just don't want to spend gratuitously. I own a SqueezeBox and a Roku player. At $300 and $100 respectively, both of them would be considered 'cheap' compared to some of the items in my system. Price be damned, they hold their own performancewise.
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There must be a few review sites that give good in-depth comparisons of video performance between the likes of Sony, Oppo and more pricer ones.