Insignia NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray Disc Player - Product Review and Rating

The Insignia NS-2BRDVD plays Blu-ray Discs at full 1080p/60 or 1080p/24 resolution, provides bitstream output for both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD via its HDMI 1.3a output, and is fully playback compatible with standard DVDs, most recordable DVD formats, standard music CDs, and CD-Rs/RWs. Another bonus is that standard DVDs are upscaled up to 1080p via the HDMI output. The NS-2BRDVD adheres to Profile 1.1 (Bonus View) specifications, but is capable to accept a future firmware update to enable Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) functions. For a closer look, check out both the following review and my NS-2BRDVD Photo Gallery.

Blu-ray is one of the two major High Definition disc formats that were vying to replace the current DVD standard in the U.S. market. The other format was HD-DVD. However, as of February 19, 2008, HD-DVD was discontinued and now Blu-ray is the remaining high definition disc format available to consumers.

Blu-ray utilizes Blue Laser and sophisticated video compression technology to achieve high definition video playback on the same size disc as a standard DVD. For a more details on Blu-ray, as well as historical information on HD-DVD, check out my reference articles: Blu-ray and HD-DVD - What You Need To Know, Blu-ray and HD-DVD FAQs, and Before Your Buy a Blu-ray Disc Player.

Overview of DVD Upscaling

In addition to Blu-ray Discs, the Insignia NS-2BRDVD can also upscale standard DVDs to 720p, 1080i, or 1080p (in addition to 480p) to your HDTV, provided you are using the HDMI connection option.

720p is 1,280 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 720 pixels down the screen vertically. This arrangement yields 720 horizontal lines on the screen, which are, in turn, displayed progressively, or each line displayed following another.

1080i represents 1,920 pixels displayed across a screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down a screen vertically. This arrangement yields 1,080 horizontal lines, which are, in turn, displayed alternately. In other words, all the odd lines are displayed, followed by all the even lines.

1080p represents the same pixel resolution as 1080i, however, the lines are displayed progressively, rather than alternately, providing a better visual look. Check out more details on 1080p.

The Practical Side Of Video Upscaling

The capability of the NS-2BRDVD to upscale standard DVDs in 720p, 1080i, or 1080p format allows a closer match to the capabilities of today's HDTVs.

Although this is not the same as watching your DVDs in true-high definition, such as the results you get when watching Blu-ray Discs, it does provide a better DVD viewing experience on an HDTV, especially with today's larger screen sizes.

Product Overview

1. The Insignia NS-2BRDVD features Profile 1.1 functionality with 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 Resolution output capability via HDMI 1.3a audio/video output. In addition, the NS-2BRDVD features 720p, 1080i, or 1080p upscaling for standard DVDs via HDMI output.

2. The NS-2BRDVD offers multi-format playback capabilities for: BD-ROM, BD-R/RE, DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, AVCHD, CD/CD-R/CD-RW.

3. The NS-2BRDVD offers Internal decoding of Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD, as well as bitstream output (via HDMI) for all digital surround sound formats, including DTS-HD Master Audio.

What this means is that this Blu-ray disc player can decode most surround sound formats internally and convert them to PCM output, or pass them in bitstream form for decoding by a Home Theater Receiver.

4. High definition video outputs include: HDMI, DVI-HDCP video output compatibility with adapter.

5. Standard definition video outputs include: Component Video (progressive or interlaced), and composite video.

6. The audio outputs of the NS-2BRDVD include: Two channel analog stereo (via RCA outputs), digital optical, digital coaxial and HDMI outputs. NOTE: The NS-2BRDVD does not have 5.1 channel analog outputs.

7. Dynamic Range Control evens out audio output levels from Dolby Digital tracks so that loud parts are softer and soft parts are louder.

8. Dialog normalization feature improves quality of low dialog parts of a Dolby Digital soundtrack.

9. A Wireless Infrared Remote Control and full color high definition onscreen GUI (Graphical User Interface) is provided for easy setup and function access.

10. Retail Price - $229. May be lower during sales.

For a closeup physical look at the NS-2BRDVD, after reading this review, also check out my Insignia NS-2BRDVD Photo Gallery.

Hardware Used

The additional home theater hardware used in this review included:

Home Theater Receivers: Onkyo TX-SR705, Harman Kardon AVR147.

Source Components: Sony BD-PS350 and LG BH100 Blu-ray/HD-DVD Combo Player and OPPO DV-983H DVD Player (used for standard DVD upscaling comparison)

Loudspeaker System 1: 2 Klipsch F-2's, 2 Klipsch B-3s, Klipsch C-2 Center , 2 Polk R300s.

Loudspeaker System 2: 2 JBL Balboa 30's, JBL Balboa Center Channel, 2 JBL Venue Series 5-inch Monitor speakers.

Subwoofers: Klipsch Synergy Sub10 - System 1. Polk Audio PSW10 - System 2.

TV/Monitors: A Westinghouse Digital LVM-37w3 1080p LCD Monitor, and Syntax LT-32HV 720p LCD TV. Displays calibrated using SpyderTV Software.

DVDO EDGE Video Scaler used for baseline video upscaling comparisons.

Audio/Video connections made with Accell, Cobalt, and AR Interconnect cables. 16 Gauge Speaker Wire used.

Level checks made using a Radio Shack Sound Level Meter

Software Used

The software used in this review included the following titles:

Blu-ray Discs used included scenes from from the following: 300, Across The Universe, Alien vs Predator: Requiem, Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian, Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer, Hairspray, I am Legend, Iron Man, Shakira - Oral Fixation Tour, Sunshine, The Dark Knight, and Wall-E.

Standard DVDs used included scenes from the following: The Cave, House of the Flying Daggers, Kill Bill - Vol 1/2, Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut), Lord of Rings Trilogy, Moulin Rouge, and V For Vendetta.

CDs: Al Stewart - Sparks of Ancient Light, Beatles - LOVE, Blue Man Group - The Complex, Joshua Bell - Bernstein - West Side Story Suite, Eric Kunzel - 1812 Overture, HEART - Dreamboat Annie, Lisa Loeb - Firecracker, Nora Jones - Come Away With Me.

Proceed to Page 2: Evaluation and Final Take