Blu Ray or Oppo?


It so happens that my VCR and DVD player are nearing their end together, in a coordinated sort of way. To replace them I am thinking of two componets:

(1) A DVD recorder + VCR combo. Considering Panasonic DMR EZ47VK, because it seems to get good reviews, but other recommendations are welcome (should have built in tuner).

(2) A better dvd player. This is where I am confused.

The best regarded dvd player seems to be Oppo. But they don't make Blu Ray.

If I get Oppo, it would be great quality and I can live with it until they or somebody else comes out with a well-built Blu Ray. Downside: I have to keep buying standard resolution dvd's, and I won't be happy with those when I do get my Blu Ray player.

If I get Blu Ray, my fear it will be a cheaply made machine which might start flaking on me (Amazon reviews). Upside: I can start building up my Blu Ray collection right now.

What would (or did!) you do?

All comments and advice appreciated.
aktchi
I equate the Blu ray format to Plasma TV. Less than 10 years ago, a 42 inch would run you 10 grand. I'm sure there are many that thought this will never catch on. Low and behold ..what has happened?

Why on earth would I buy an older DVD 480i movie, when the same movie will most likely be broadcasting over the air for free at a higher resolution? Prime time TV is already broadcasting at a higher resolution than a standard DVD.

Why would you buy the movie to begin with? Rent it.. dub a copy for your collection and send it back. Hard drives are plentiful and cheap. It is no different than using a old dual head VCR to make copies. Except you can have hundreds if not thousands of movies on your hard drives. The quality is no different than dropping a disc in a player. You can stream the movie to any TV on your home network. Or watch several movies simultaneously in different parts of your home.

DVR receivers or cable boxes are setup to do this already to some degree. Except you pay some one else to store the movie for you.

I'll put money on it, some of you that are negative towards the Blu ray format still have walls of CDs that will become obsolete as well.

I'm not buying the argument that the Blu rays are over priced to own. Who buys movies anymore? Rent a copy ..rip it to HD and you can watch it any time you want too. The software to do this is already on the net for purchase.I think you guys fail to see the younger generation does things a little different than yesteryears....think Ipod!

You're thinking old school guys. Time to step in to the 21st century now. Great discussion by the way. ;-)
Aktchi,
I was ready to buy ... the prices had fallen considerably and I wanted one that was as up to spec as possible. Earlier models will not play the latest DVDs without an update . I wanted to spend as little as possible before I bought a statement piece for my system . At 399 its clearly worth the money.
I agree with Gmood1. I was about to buy a BluRay player when I got an AppleTV as they upgraded the firmware. Although it's not 1080p, the new HD movies look and sound great, and I fully expect the next update, or a future one to get resolution to 1080p. I already own a ton of classic movies on DVD, so why buy Casablanca, Citizen Kane, or Pulp Fiction again on BluRay? From now on I will just rent movies from iTunes or the like when I want to watch them. I think BluRay was doomed from the day iPod/iTunes went commericial
Once I saw movies on my HD-D2, I decided I'd never buy another std def DVD again. After watching several HD cable movies followed by another HD DVD from Netflix (KIng of California), I'm going to get a PS3 and start ordering Blu-ray rentals from Netflix. I only have a native 720p 55" RP display, but the difference is too obvious. Optical disc hi-rez REWLZ!