New DVD/Blu-ray players... No analogue out!!

I'm certain that they did fully think through the technical ramifications/limitations of the products. The problem is that they don't care about the effect that those limitations have on us.

 

Your argument is only valid for the video signal. Those decisions do not affect the audio output from Blu-ray players.

Hollywood doesn't care if the sound of movies can be copied through the analogue route. That's not a threat to their market.

 

Assuming the OP does not want a new receiver, or an HDMI converter, why not take the TV audio output and run it into the receiver he now has?

Even if that means literally taking it from the speakers (wiring something in the TV) or earphone jack and running it back into the receiver he has?

Honestly I still say, a new receiver is the easiest and long term the most convenient way to do it.

 

It really should be considered illegal for them to be allowed to 'steer' consumers in this way & the forced obsolescence that comes with it.
What is also pretty lame is that the analog outs on the TV's have vanished too. Not everyone cares about a muti speaker surround array ect. I'm quite happy with quality 2ch sound & a nice picture. If my 4 yr old TV takes a dump, then I'd have no way to connect the stuff I have. Try explaining this to those "knowledgeable blue shirts" at the Big Buy store & they treat you like you have the plague, then tell you you really need to upgrade everything & stop living in the past. Then switch the topic the vinyl & why the analog sound is better. As they happily agree, their house of crap cards collapses right there.

What's interesting is that my Pioneer BR stopped reading BR (even after inside cleaning), so I bought one those cheap LG streaming players. While it works decent enough. However, when reading files from a flash drive it cannot read files that my TV's usb input can w/no issue.

 

I don't believe this "forced obsolescence" theory at all, when it comes to analogue audio outputs.

Remember the times in the 1980's when almost every seperate hifi component (except turntables) had a headphone output? Then in the 90's, the interest in headphone listening at home faded and the headphone outputs were limited to amplifiers (if present at all). Phono inputs also disappeared in the 90's.

Now with the increasing headphone and vinyl popularity, phono inputs and headphone outputs are back. Because they are a selling argument. It was never about forcing people to change their habits, but just a reaction to the diminishing demand for these features.

 

But is the demand really being reduced or it is being forced? Eliminate the choices and surprise, "nobody buys that anymore (techie engineer pretending to be a marketing guy)"!

 

The OP (me) did eventually find a pioneer player through eBay that did the trick (in future your rewiring tricks may HAVE to work)!

I only have a stereo (Cyrus pre and Arcam Power amp) in the bedroom and really really would not want to have downgraded (sound wise) to a receiver or home theatre system!

The whole point is that it isn't a home theatre, it's a simple stereo. Stereos do not have HDMI or other digital inputs so what is Sony (who don't seem to make a single player with analogue out) or any other manufacturer thinking when making all their players incompatible with a traditional stereo set up?

In my opinion it's poor business, however it would appear that people like me are irrelevant in their business plan.

 

I doubt that anyone is irrelevant to their business plan. The personal entertainment electronics industry is struggling, I very much doubt any company in that industry is going to intentionally avoid making a product that will turn a profit.

 

I needed a good sounding Blu-Ray player for any Blu-Ray Audio discs I may have to review, so two channel audio outs was a priority. BUT, I also wanted HDMI to connect to my Onkyo receiver for multichannel playback of movies. Ended up on eBay and a Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD player. So far, not problems with either video or audio.

 

And does not do analog 5.1 output!

 

Not sure what you mean? What I mean is that if they can make some profit on a player, and get you to buy a new receiver and make profit on that as well, they will do it. One way to to kick 5.1 analog output to the curve. I won't buy that player but someone will. I really want analog outputs, as I said I want to do digital drops from the player. So I must have analog outs.

 

My point is simple; if there were enough potential customers who "demand" analog outs on a BD player, someone would make one. Actually several companies do, just not (apparently) in your price range.

 

But the number of people who actually even use 5.1 "Analog" would be extremely small.
HDMI has been the main sound and video carrier for many years.

It just seems hard to even imagine many really caring about it today.

Back in 2000 or so, yes MAYBE!

Things change, and it is so not cost effective to have that many connectors, and the assembly of it etc, and have virtually no one use it.

HDMI made it virtually obsolete, far less worries about cables, and connectors etc.

 

I used to sale video and also audio stuff for a handful of years.

Customers dictate what is popular by voting with their wallet.

Manufacturers will only make things that do well. They see what is selling and not selling and make more things like those that are doing well.

When HDMI came out, it was a bit slow to catch on. After a while, everyone wanted it.

You could not sale anything unless it was HDMI, unless it was an 80 year old woman.

 

I was at BB the other day and looked and several of the lower end BD players indeed had analog outs. Think you may have to go one step up from the cheapest models

 

I really can't believe it! Bought my first Blu-ray disc (Mary Poppins) for my new player (The Pioneer I mentioned earlier in this thread).... The player can't read the disc (the disc is in perfect condition). WTF?

Bought 5 disc's but don't think I'll even unwrap the others, just take them back and I'm done with Blu-ray. Why make it so complex you can't just stick a disc in and press play?

Great new technology man and......... vive le DVD

 

It's not simply analog out that I am after, I want the 5.1 to be analog out. Was the the case of these players you saw at BB?

 

5.1 analogue outputs have disappeared from low and mid range players a long time ago.

 

That's what I thought. I can imagine them disappearing from all BD players.

 

Look for a used OPPO.

 

When did the disc come out? You player may need a firmware update right outta the box.

 

I have one of these that I use at our house. It is a great unit for the money!

 

I'm sure you're right and thank you for your advice, I think it is a fairly new release. The thought of having to try (to work out how to) and update the firmware before I even get started is just.... well.... I can't be bothered with a disc format that is too complex for it's own good.

I have never had to update firmware on a CD player and only once with a DVD/SACD/DVD Audio player. They play anything you throw at them, no matter how recent the release.

 

Well, that's because the CD format has no copy protection, and hasn't changed in 30+ years

 

Blu-ray players are a vastly more complex beast than a CD player. They're small computers. And like most computers, they need to be updated occasionally. Often that's done to add workarounds for authoring bugs (flaws) in new Blu-ray movie releases.