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

In terms of Blu-ray Disc video playback quality, the NS-2BRDVD certainly held its own when compared to other players I have reviewed. However, the NS-2BRDVD did exhibit heavier color saturation on reds, as well as a shift towards orange. This was noticeable on several program sources, including Across the Universe (Blu-ray) and Moulin Rouge (DVD), as well as the color bars and some images on the Silicon Optix Test Disc.

With regards to standard DVD upscaling, the NS-2BRDVD does a credible job and did fairly good on the Silicon Optix HQV Tests with regards to deinterlacing and 3:2 source detection, but needs improvement in noise reduction, as well as 1080i/1080p video conversion. The NS-2BRDVD did not do as well as the OPPO DV-983H upscaling DVD player and DVDO EDGE Video Scaler used for additional reference.

For a closer look at the video performance of NS-2BRDVD, check out some Video Performance Test Results using the Silicon Optix HQV DVD Benchmark and the HQV Blu-ray Disc Benchmark Test Discs.

Audio Performance

On the audio side, the NS-2BRDVD offer limited onboard audio decoding, but does provide undecoded bitstream output for compatible home theater receivers. In addition, the NS-2BRDVD does not come equipped with the 5.1 channel analog audio output option. The lack of both on-board decoding and a 5.1 channel analog output option was a disappointment as it prevents access to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD output for non-HDMI audio equipped receivers.

What I Liked About The Insignia NS-2BRDVD

Some positive points of the Insignia NS-2BRDVD included:

1. Reasonably fast start-up and disc load time.

2. Very Good Blu-ray Disc Video Playback. Except for some over-saturation of reds, the image quality was good in terms of detail and contrast.

3. Good standard DVD upscaling. Although there could be some improvement, the video upscaling of standard DVDs to 1080p was acceptable in comparison to the other Blu-ray disc players used, but not as good as the Oppo DV-983H upscaling DVD player and DVDO EDGE Video Scaler used for reference.

4. Very good audio performance. The audio quality was very good. However, the lack of 5.1 channel analog outputs is worth noting.

5. HDMI 1.3a connectivity. This makes the NS-2BRDVD up-to-date for any audio and video source codecs now in use, as well as in the near future.

What I Didn't Like About the Insignia NS-2BRDVD:

Some drawbacks of the NS-2BRDVD included:

1. Profile 1.1 specification out of the box - Needs forthcoming firmware update for Profile 2.0. Why the delay when a growing number of players are now Profile 2.0 out of the box or Profile 2.0 firmware upgrades are already available?

2. No 5.1 Channel analog audio outputs. This is an omission that is becoming more common in Blu-ray Disc players, but is a bad move, in my opinion. 5.1 channel analog outputs would allow owners of older home theater receivers with 5.1 channel analog audio inputs, but no HDMI audio input capability, to take advantage of the internal surround sound decoding options of the NS-2BRDVD more effectively, in addition to allowing access uncompressed multi-channel audio signals on non-HDMI receivers.

3. Reds appear a little over-saturated and lean towards Orange.

4. Remote not backlit. Not having a blacklit remote control makes using functions more cumbersome.

5. May not play recent Blu-ray Discs with added BD+ Copy-Protection. From reports, this issue affects mostly recent Fox Blu-ray Disc releases, including: Babylon A.D., The Day The Earth Stood Still, Futurama, Bender's Game, Predator 2, and X-Files 1 & 2. However, I did not have any difficulty playing the Fox Titles I had on hand, including: Alien vs Predator: Requiem, Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer, I Am Legend, and Sunshine. As a positive note, a forthcoming firmware upgrade is expected to correct this.

Final Take

I found the Insignia NS-2BRDVD delivered very good video and audio performance with Blu-ray, DVDs, and audio-only CDs.

Its physical profile is slim and compact compared to previous Blu-ray Disc players from many companies, and is not much larger than many standard DVD players.

The NS-2BRDVD had a fast start-up time, about 10-15 seconds, to get into disc loading mode. However, although faster than my comparison Blu-ray Disc players in terms of actually loading a Blu-ray disc, it still took some time, depending on the contents of the disc.

With regards to Blu-ray video quality, the NS-2BRDVD did well when compared to other players I have reviewed. However, the NS-2BRDVD did exhibit more color saturation on reds, combined with a slight shift towards orange, which knocks its rating down in this area.

With regards to standard DVD upscaling, the NS-2BRDVD did fairly well on the Silicon Optix HQV Tests, but did not provide the stellar upscaling performance of the OPPO DV-983H upscaling DVD player.

On the audio side, the NS-2BRDVD offers bitstream output for compatible home theater receivers. It is important to note that there is no 5.1 channel analog audio output option, which decreases its connection flexibility with non-HDMI home theater receivers.

Another disappointment is that the NS-2BRDVD does not offer Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) out-of-the box. User will have to wait for a forthcoming firmware update to add this feature.

Despite some disappointments, including compatibility issues with BD+ copy-protected titles (firmware update forthcoming), the NS-2BRDVD delivers and good audio and video experience from Blu-ray Discs and DVDs and deserves consideration if you are looking for a reasonably priced Blu-ray Disc player.

For an additional close-up look at the NS-2BRDVD and its performance, check out my supplementary Photo Profile and Video Performance Test Results.

Note: Insignia is Best Buy's house brand. This means that the NS-2BRDVD is only available through Best Buy's online website or brick-and-mortar store locations.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.