2 new Best Buy Insignia Blu-ray players get Netflix streaming

The ability to stream instant movies from a Blu-ray player, once relegated to higher-end models, is moving to the masses with two new Insignia-brand Netflix enabled Blu-ray players from Best Buy.

The two models with Netflix access are the Insignia NS-WBRDVD player, sale priced at $200, and the $180 NS-BRDVD3. Both are currently available at stores and on BestBuy.com. The key differentiating feature is that the higher-priced model has built-in Wi-Fi, so you can wirelessly access a home network to connect to the Internet.

In addition, the step-up model can decode both Dolby TrueHD [PDF] and DTS-HD Master Audio internally; the entry-level model only decodes Dolby TrueHD internally, though each can output both formats as bitstream if you have an A/V receiver that can decode them. —James K. Willcox

Comments

[Andrew D]

The reviews at BestBuy.com (where it is on sale today for 130) indicate that plenty of folks have upgraded the firmware (via the Internet). It is generally well reviewed too (4.2/5). Very tempting...

-Andrew

[Gary F.]

After seeing this post regarding the Insignia (Best Buy) blu-ray players, I went to the store with some questions. The salesperson there was friendly and informative, and told me that these blu-ray players are NOT capable of firmware updates. He said that ALL blu-ray players need the capacity for firmware updates or they will become nonfunctional in a matter of months. In essence, this Best Buy rep (Beaverton, Oregon) is saying that these lower-end Insignias are short-term disposable. Your assistance, please . . .