Insignia NS-BDLIVE01 Blu-ray Player Reviewed

  • By: HomeTheaterReview.com,

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HTR Product Rating

Performance
3 Stars
Value
4 Stars
Overall
3.5 Stars

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The Insignia NS-BDLIVE01, sold exclusively through Best Buy, is the company's first Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player and is priced at an entry-level price point. We have not performed a hands-on review of the NS-BDLIVE01, but here's an overview of its features. As a Profile 2.0 player, the NS-BDLIVE01 supports BonusView/picture-in-picture playback and BD-Live Web functionality, and it offers bitstream output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio over HDMI. It does not support any type of video-on-demand streaming or download service, such as those offered by Netflix, Amazon VOD, and CinemaNow.

Additional Resources
• Read more current Blu-ray player reviews from Vizio, Sony, Toshiba, Samsung, Oppo Digital and many others by clicking here.

In terms of video connections, the NS-BDLIVE01 offers HDMI, component video, and composite video outputs (no S-video). This player supports both 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 output resolutions via HDMI. The setup menu doesn't offer any advanced picture adjustments, such as preset picture modes or noise reduction. Audio outputs include HDMI, optical and coaxial digital, and stereo analog, but the player doesn't have multichannel analog audio outputs. The player will pass the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats in their native bitstream form over HDMI, for your A/V receiver to decode; however, it lacks DTS-HD Master Audio decoding and only supports two-channel Dolby TrueHD decoding. It does have onboard decoding of Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD High Resolution, but these formats are not as common.

The disc drive supports BD, DVD, CD audio, MP3, WMA, and JPEG playback. The back panel features an Ethernet port for BD-Live Web features; the player doesn't include a wireless network connection option. The NS-BDLIVE01 lacks internal memory, so the addition of an external storage device is required to download BD-Live features; dual USB ports are provided, which also support MP3, WMA, and JPEG playback. Not surprisingly for a budget player, the unit lacks advanced control ports, such as RS-232 or IR.

Read The High Points, Low Points and Conclusion on Page 2

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  • Comment on this article

  • By David Jonathan

I bought an NS-BDLIVE01 last weekend, and was surprised to find that while it does frame-by-frame advance, it does not do slow-motion playback. I would expect a reviewer to notice this gaping feature hole, since even the cheapest DVD player does slow-motion.

  • By subrot0

Ah, the good old days when you bought home stereo and it would last about 2 years before it was obsolete. Now things last about 8 months before you are panting for the latest and the greatest.

My job is to upgrade the home stereo system (television, dvd player, speakers, amplifier) all under $1,500 and make it usable for a lady who is 75 years old. Its going to be very very painful.

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