Absolutely not. Anyone who buys a blu-ray player is an idiot. Buy a PS3, its about the same price, its blu-ray performance is very nice. Why wouldnt you want a nice gaming system for free? You can also get a $15 remote for it so it acts like a regular blu-ray player. Then you dont have to use the sony game controller to play your discs.
I have only downloaded from my cable provider. The selection of HD new releases can be limited. I hear good things about Netflix and you can also consider satellite. For me, I am satisfied with "on demand" and all the Cinemax channels. Good luck.
When you get an HD signal (not to be confused with just âdigitalâ transmission) from your cable or satellite company it is compressed. That is why you see artifacts sometimes and the picture as well as sound is good but it has limitations. So while most HD broadcasts are in 5.1 and they sound good on a surround system, they donât really compare to the uncompressed audio from a blu ray when used with a quality receiver and speakers.