Futureshop Insignia Blu-ray player $149.99 plus 3 free movies (YMMV)

[PrimeBane]

I was browsing through the Beacon Hill FS in Calgary when I stumbled across a big pile of Insignia BD players... all were marked at $149.99 AND they qualify for the 3 free movies (Devil Wears Prada, I Robot, Kingdom of Heaven). These were not open box items.

The web price is still $199.99 so this may be a store only or YMMV deal.
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10100059&catid=

Yeah, it's not a profile 2 player, it's a pretty sweet price to enjoy the PQ of Blu-ray :)

[Cjohnson202]

sounds like a good deal, anyone else find anything similar more locally (ontario?)

[moguy]

I picked one up at the Dundas & 403 FutureShop in Oakville.

Great deal.

[Aske001]

...3 free movies (... I Am Robot...

I must have missed that one. Sequel to I Robot?

[PrimeBane]

oops... perhaps I am haz too many grey cup beerz :o

[MidnightWatcher]

Good price... how does it do with DVD upscaling compared to the PS3?

[lhsonic]

Good price... how does it do with DVD upscaling compared to the PS3?

It's not that "great" according to PCmag... but the BR picture quality is supposed to be very good.

[audit13]

The Insignia was being cleared out in some GTA stores for $99.97 a few weeks ago and, luckily, I was able to get two. The bd pq is great and the unit outputs 1080p/24 video and bistream audio to my Onkyo receiver.

The upconverted picture looks okay but my old Samsung 1200 does a better job.

[DepotDeserter]

Same basic guts inside NS-BRDVD purchased at wally mart for $300. Profile 1.1 well worth getting. Just lacks the internet hookup that I did not want [Profile 2.0].

[audit13]

The unit looks just like the Magnavox at Walmart except the Insignia has an optical output.

[climacus]

This is an excellent player, no complain at all. They're going to keep blowing this out at the $99 price range, so no need to rush.

[audit13]

This is an excellent player, no complain at all. They're going to keep blowing this out at the $99 price range, so no need to rush.
+1. My unit has played every disk I have tried including dvd-r, dvd+r, and dl dvd+r.

Edit: There was a RFD thread about the players being cleared out from certain GTA stores for $99.97 but I can't seem to find the thread. Seems to have been completely deleted.

[sam100]

This is an excellent player, no complain at all. They're going to keep blowing this out at the $99 price range, so no need to rush.

may be boxing day door crasher $99 this or sony

[mahjongmaniac]

may be boxing day door crasher $99 this or sony

i'm having some serious doubts that BD/W FS/BB would have a brand-name BD player for $99... maybe a no-name one like Insignia...

[Wuwuwu]

I can vouch for the quality of this player (lucky enough to grab one at that $99 price). The only negative of this player is the long load time but you can always grab your chips while the disc is loading which of course, gets you into this habit leading to many foreseeable extra calories.

At $149, it's a really sweet way to enter into BD and get your collection started. This player will be a great second machine when hopefully the Samsung/LG/Sony/Panasonic boys come down to the $150-75 range (hopefully soon!).

[kleptodathief]

dam, good price for a br player...but id rather go with a ps3 or a puter br drive

[Viper98]

dam, good price for a br player...but id rather go with a ps3 or a puter br drive

I don't think PCs are viable BD players just for the fact it would cost an assload of money to build one

just the drive + xonar HDAV1.3 sound card(needed to get HD audio) = more than the cost of most standalone players

[audit13]

Anyone know why this thread about the Insignia player being sold for $99.97 was deleted? Was it because it's limited to certain stores?

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:klfNy8OpPusJ:www.redflagdeals.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-655332.html+insignia+blu-ray+%2499.97&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ca

[lindmar]

Is it actually $99 bucks anywhere?

[moguy]

I don't think PCs are viable BD players just for the fact it would cost an assload of money to build one

just the drive + xonar HDAV1.3 sound card(needed to get HD audio) = more than the cost of most standalone players

Yeah, I actually went the HTPC route first, but BR support on PC's is spotty at best.

Pricey third party software is required and it needs to be updated regularly to play newer disks. You also need to continuosly update your video card drivers.

Normally, once you've got a functioning HTPC, the last thing you want to do is update it. Every update brings the risk of breaking something that previously worked.

I ended up returning my LG BR PC drive and getting this instead. When you consider the software cost, it's actually siginifigantly cheaper.

Also, the 3 included movies will get you $10 each from BBV. So your end cost can be as low as $120.

[andicus]

Yeah, I actually went the HTPC route first, but BR support on PC's is spotty at best.

Pricey third party software is required and it needs to be updated regularly to play newer disks. You also need to continuosly update your video card drivers.

Normally, once you've got a functioning HTPC, the last thing you want to do is update it. Every update brings the risk of breaking something that previously worked.

I ended up returning my LG BR PC drive and getting this instead. When you consider the software cost, it's actually siginifigantly cheaper.

Also, the 3 included movies will get you $10 each from BBV. So your end cost can be as low as $120.

:confused: I bought the LG drive, and updated it once. Since then I've been able to play any BD or HD DVD. I haven't had to update any video drivers. My drive came with a version of PowerDVD bundled, which already supported HD.

I'm not sure why our experiences were so different...