The BDX2700 is one of Toshiba latest Blu-ray Players. Having giving up the HD-DVD format, Toshiba has started to manufacture Blu-ray Players. The BDX2700 is it one of its 2010 models. It has built-in Wi-Fi and 7.1-ch analog outputs. Find out more details on the Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Player.
Released early this year,
the Toshiba BDX 2700 Blu-ray Player is an improvement on the BDX2000 (It's first attempt in the Blu-ray Market). It is more or less a basic Blu-ray Player, but it still has tons of great features. It is a Profile 2.0 player that supports BD-Live and Bonus View playback. Offers 1080p images and supports High-Resolution audio formats. There is Online Streaming Media Services, as well as a wireless option to connect to the internet.
Unlike most of today designs for Blu-ray Players, the BDX2700 has a large, stocky look. At 16.9 inches wide by 2.5 inches high by 8.3 inches depth, it is just the opposite of the slimmer Blu-ray Players found in today's marketplace. But being a throw back to the past has helped it avoid any of the newer designs failures. Such as flip down panels or hard to use touch sensitive buttons. There are basic push control buttons found on the front right of the player. The SD Card slot is just below these buttons. The disc load tray is on the left. The conservative design of the BDX2700 Blu-ray Player is not as high tech or attractive as some of the other Blu-ray Players. So it will not be a stand out device in your Home Entertainment Center. But it should not feel out of place either.
VIDEO QUALITY: The BDX2700 Blu-ray Player has a HDMI Output, Component Video Outputs and Composite Video Outputs for video connection. There is no S-Video option. With the HDMI connection you get support for 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 output resolution. This will provide you with the best video quality when playing back Blu-ray Discs and DVD Discs. DVDs when connected via HDMI will be upscaled to near HD levels. Unfortunately there are no options for picture adjustments such as noise reduction and preset picture mode. Most experts, when testing the BDX2700 video, give it a passing grade. It easily handled test patterns on both the HD HQV Benchmark Blu-ray disc (Silicon Optix) and HQV Benchmark DVD (Silicon Optix). Therefore it will provide excellent picture quality on almost every Blu-ray discs.
AUDIO QUALITY: The audio connections for the BDX2700 are the HDMI Output, the Digital Optical Output and Analog Outputs - both 2.0 and 7.1 channel. It has onboard audio decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. It can also transmit these high-resolution audio formats in their native bitstream form over a HDMI cable, in case you want your Audio/Video receiver to decode the formats. Having 7.1-channel analog outputs will allow older A/V receivers, without a HDMI Input, to take advantage of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA soundtracks at their full resolution.
Other key features of the BDX2700 is the built-in 802.11N Wi-Fi. This will allow you to easily connect to the internet to access BD-Live content or Streaming Media Services. BD-Live content, which is downloadable material found on certain Blu-ray Discs, requires an external storage device, like a SB Card or USB Flash Drive. The BDX2700 has no internal storage memory. The SD Card and USB also supports media playback. File formats supports by the BDX2700 are BD, DVD-Video, CD audio, AVCHD, WMA, MP3 and JPEG formats.
The Online Streaming Media Services include Netflix, Vudu and Pandora. Vudu Apps services should in turn give you access to Picasa, Flickr, Twitter and Facebook. The only major web service that is missing is YouTube. Also missing is any DLNA capability to stream music, movies and photos from your networked PC.
Although the Toshiba BDX2700 has a Price List of $249.99, most authorized dealers are selling them for under $200.00. This is a very competitive price for a Blu-ray Player with built-in Wi-Fi, Online Streaming Services and 7.1-channel Analog Outputs. However, the user interface can be difficult to navigate through. And it's operation speed is in the middle of the pack compared with other Blu-ray Players. But it does have good quality playback on both Blu-rays and DVD. Given this fact and its set of nice features, the Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Player may suit your Blu-ray needs.
THE PROS: The Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Player has 1080p/24 playback on Blu-ray discs. Has up-scaling of standard DVDs. Is a Profile 2.0 player so it can support BD-Live content. Has built-in Wi-Fi giving you east access to Online Streaming Media Services such as Netflix®, VUDU™, and Pandora®. Can playback MP3, HD-Jpeg, WMA and AVCHD. Has internal audio decoding for Dolby® True HD and DTS HD Master Audio through the analog 7.1-ch outputs or you can pass the signal through with the HDMI® Output for external decoding.
THE CONS: The user interface, while basic, can be a little difficult to navigate. No internal storage memory, so a USB device or SD Card is needed for downloading BD-Live content. Does not support any DLNA media streaming. YouTube is not included with the online streaming services. The player has slow operational speed.
THE FINAL WORD: The Toshiba BDX2700 Blu-ray Player has a great set of features. It is a step up from the BDX2500 model with built-in Wi-Fi capability. Has great images, 7.1 multichannel audio output, online streaming media services and Wi-Fi options. The very reasonably priced BDX2700 would make a good addition to your Home Theater. -- Price you should look for when purchasing -- Under $200.00
