Get a Sharp Blu-ray player for $169.99
Update at 8:35 a.m. PDT: Alas, the player is no longer available at that price, and the sideline deal on the Samsung BDP-1500 Blu-ray player (posted earlier) appears to have disappeared from RadioShack's site.
Online clearinghouse Second Act has refurbished Sharp BD-HP20U Blu-ray players for $169.99. Ground shipping will run you about $15. According to the product page, this deal ended Sunday, so I don't know how much longer it'll be available.
Because it's a refurb, it comes with only a 30-day warranty (but at least it's from the manufacturer). Plus, CNET had a fairly lengthy list of complaints about the player, though I don't consider any of them deal-breakers. (You can read my own review of the BD-HP20U over at Wired's Gadget Lab.) This is by far the lowest price I've seen on a Blu-ray player, so if you're in the market, act fast.
Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog. 
Media streaming to your t.v., web browser, gaming machine, low end linux PC, dvd player, Blu-Ray player, 80GB HDD for movie and audio storage, web chat, video chat with eye toy camera, upgradeable firmware in order to stay up to date with all the newest features, a printing station, etc...
Sure before tax it's 230 dollars more than that player before any sort of shipping. Honestly though... you get what you pay for. Don't forget you get a 1 year warranty and the fail rate of these things is like less than 1 percent.
I just don't understand skimping money on a Blu-Ray player honestly. Let's look at it rationally.
You spend a lot of money on a t.v.
You spend a lot of money on your sound system.
You spend a lot of money on your DVD collection
You spend a lot of money on your Blu-Ray preparation/collection...
Yet... you want to skimp on the only device that's actually necessary for all of these things? That doesn't make the slightest bit of sense to me. I say you spent all this money, better off to buy quality than to skimp now and only buy more expensive items at a later date.
I agree that a PS3 is perhaps the best Blu-ray player money can buy, but as you note, it costs more than double.
- by rickbroida September 22, 2008 8:32 AM PDT
- Looks like both deals are gone already... sorry, folks!
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