If you were paying close attention to my blog a week ago, buried in my del.ico.us links were 2 links to Blu-ray news, including one on the state of Blu-Ray.

This was all research with the intention of buying a Blu-Ray player, which I ended up doing a week ago Sunday. I was lucky enough to find a second generation Samsung player, the BD-P1200. Why a second generation player, and not one of the third generation players that are profile 1.2 and just hitting retail shelves? It’s all about the Silicon Optix HQV video processor included, the only Blu-Ray player to include one. Where the HQV shines is on upscaling normal DVDs and is one of the best video processors ever made. Due to trying to reduce costs, Samsung did not include it on the BD-P1200’s successor, the BD-P1400. (Read more on the HQV video processor at the CNET BD-P1200 review under DVD performance.)

The quality of Blu-Ray discs is amazing. I expected to be good, on par with high-def TV, but it’s amazing. I’m lucky enough to own a 1080p TV, and I can’t get over the video quality of the movies I’ve watched so far. I bought a handful of movies with the player, and so far I’ve had the opportunity to watch both Fantastic Four movies, and Live Free or Die Hard.

I bought my Samsung player a week ago Sunday, at night, and promptly left for L.A. the next morning for work, returning late Thursday night. I then had plans all of last weekend, and was home only a few days before coming home to Milwaukee this weekend for Thanksgiving, so I haven’t had much time to enjoy it yet.

I still have to watch a normal DVD and see how good the HQV video processor is. I made sure the first thing I did was update the firmware – plugging in via ethernet I wasn’t able to grab an IP, but burning the firmware to a CD-R and popping it in was easy enough. I’m not concerned about being limited to a 1.1 BD profile – the only thing 1.2 allows is picture-in-picture for things such as director commentary. Until players come out in a couple of years at BD profile 2.0, this player will do just fine, and by then the cost will have come down and I’ll want to replace my other DVD players in the house.

I’m also not concerned about the pitched battle between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. A few months ago I was 100% sure Blu-Ray was going to win, but now it’s looking like a stalemate and both formats will be around for at least a few years. HD-DVD only has 2 studios in their camp, and one of those they had to pay $150 million for to be exclusive for the next year. Blu-Ray has all the other studios, and all the hardware manufacturers, except Toshiba, so I’m betting Sony will have it’s first format win in a long time.

If I hadn’t come in to some extra money, I don’t know if I would have bought one, but am I glad I did. The picture quality is beautiful and I can’t believe the difference between Blu-Ray and DVD.