it's totally up to you... The PS3 does more, obviously, since it plays video games and it does upconvert DVDs.

The only other thing is, that I do not believe that the PS3 comes with a traditional DVD remote...you'd have to pay for that separately.

True the traditional remote for the PS3 is like $25 extra. I am leaning a little more towards the standalone blueray player since after the remote it would only be like $25 more than the PS3 plus it has a 5 free Blueray movie offer (although it is a limited selection).

Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a Blu-Ray drive for your PC then hook up your telly to that?

In the end, you may be better off with the PS3, I mean they gotta come out with some good games EVENTUALLY. If not you can always beef up a F@H score. The only issue with the PS3, no controller and no cable by default.

t3h SQUIRREL RETURNS!

You can use the wireless gaming controller if you don't want to buy a remote, plays DIVX now to with the latest patch. Store videos , pix what have you and has a memory card reader to name a few things. WiFi. Good games you can play on it as well.

Quote: Originally Posted by kardiacc True the traditional remote for the PS3 is like $25 extra. I am leaning a little more towards the standalone blueray player since after the remote it would only be like $25 more than the PS3 plus it has a 5 free Blueray movie offer (although it is a limited selection).

25 dollars for a bluetooth remote that connects to a PS3, which doubles as the top game console, which triples as a media center extender and is also a kick ass and cheap Blue-Ray player with wireless internet, the ability to run another OS like Linux and/or Windows....sorry the average standalone player in a similar price group just doesn't compare. Heck even much, much, much more expensive players can't compare. Now when extra features come out that maybe another story because your PS3 will not be compatible with all the new Snazzy blue-ray features possibly (like PiP and such, but who the hell cares about PiP)...but right now the PS3 is many times over the better choice.


EDIT: ohh yeah and it qualifies for the 5 free movies just like any other player, although that offer takes over 8 weeks to fulfill

definately go with the PS3. A standalone player can't do half the things a PS3 can do. Besides the prices of Blu-ray players are prob gonna drop pretty soon so if you eventually need a second player the prices will be much lower later.

Side note--- Looks like Blu-ray has almost won with the new supporter of Time Warner/Warner Bros.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dex Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a Blu-Ray drive for your PC then hook up your telly to that?

Not only that but the one LG makes plays both blu-ray and hd-dvd. I just picked one up for Christmas and love it. I've played both kinds of movies on it and the video is great.

LG Optical Drives - Model GGC-H20L: Computer Products > Optical Drives > Optical Drives > GGC-H20L

Price is under $300 at this point and sure to drop, I got mine for $260 in all the holiday sales.

PS3 hands down for many of the same reasons Wellmont said as well as many of the cheaper Blu-ray players aren't actually true Blu-ray players, thats how there cheaper. They just decode the media and send it to the outputs. What I mean is the processor has to read the disc and send out the information. The difference between the cheaper Blu-ray and the Expensive or PS3 blu-ray players, is the cheap ones compress the data in the process as the expensive Blu-ray players and the PS3 do not compress the data.
So with the cheaper players your getting reduced quality. The PS3 is a $935 system, thats about how much each one costs to make.
I would say the computer drive players also have the same compressing issue. I wouldn't get a drive in my computer, however I do have a full entertainment system.

I to have a 46" 1080p LCD 10,000:1 contrast ratio with my PS3 and the blu-ray movies look amazing, especially the animated movies. The first time I closed my eyes at the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean; The dead mans chest, it was like I could feel the moisture in the air at the opening scene with the rain poring down.

My PS3 is hooked up with High quality monster cables, the HDMI cable transmitting the video and a fiber-optic cable transmitting the sound.

As far as playing DVDs upscaled the tech guys say it dose but I haven't seen those results first hand. It depends on the media and how the film was mastered. I watched Batman Begins on my TV when I got it and it look really pixelated in the dark scenes such as the Tumbler chase, same thing with Underworld. However I did recently watch Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex the Laughing Man. That movie look great and sounded great.

As far as an awesome upscaler goes I intend to get one of the new Sony ES model receivers they are actually excellent at upscaling DVDs.

The PS3 will also get updates to further is abilities while a stand alone player most likely will not.

A little something of Engadget

Quote: Ok, so the PlayStation 3 wasn't exactly the most flexible high def device out of the gate; despite Sony's claims, DVDs aren't upscaled, there's no component out, and from what we've heard, even though its HDMI 1.3 output technically supports 1080p/24 (for the uninitiated, that's 24fps to match a film master print), we understand it's not yet playable as such. (Note: we've yet to try 1080p/24, as we don't have any media mastered thusly.) However, this could change according to a translated Impress interview of Sony PS3 A/V developers. Obviously something is bound to be lost in translation, but if the text reads correctly then the PS3 will not only be getting better software SACD support, but it'll also get user-selectable internal YCrCb image processing (instead of RGB -- although we've yet to hear of component output plans), 1080p/24 support, and will finally allow for DVD upscaling as well. We have no idea exactly when this will happen (or why this wasn't made clearer to us US-dwelling videophiles) but apparently Kutaragi-san and the gang are on the case -- godspeed, PS3 team. [Thanks, David] Update: we printed the PS3 would be getting SACD support. Supposedly it's already got that, but future version will have better sound and dynamic range. So there!

So ya I would get the PS3 hands down.

Hope this helps.

i have a Samsung bdp 1400 and i must say that it is a cheaper player but does wonderfully in playing blu ray movies...... Until i witnessed a ps3 which loads the movies in half the time and still has the same video quality via hdmi cable... So if you can get a ps3 for around the same price as a blu ray, i would say ps3.

This was tested on a Sony KDL 46v3000 tv with an yamaha AV reciever capable of DTS HD-MA which sounds supurb!

Thanks to everyone for their feedback!

After all the feedback from here and some of the stuff I was reading at another forum or two I returned the Panasonic and bought myself a 40GB PS3. While the Panny still seams to be a great player everyone seems to agree that the PS3 is still the best bargin. I have never played a PS 1 or 2 game so I went for the now backwards compatibility option. Especially since for the price difference I can buy myself a PS2 if I ever want to play any of those games.

The added FAH points aren't going to hurt either.

Here are some before and after pics of my setup

Before


The Box's


Final setup (for now)

Very nice

Looks like a killer setup. Nice to see you rocking some old skool nintendo. When I was the thread title, my initital thought was purely "PS3 for MGS4"!

Quote: Originally Posted by kardiacc Thanks to everyone for their feedback! After all the feedback from here and some of the stuff I was reading at another forum or two I returned the Panasonic and bought myself a 40GB PS3. While the Panny still seams to be a great player everyone seems to agree that the PS3 is still the best bargin. I have never played a PS 1 or 2 game so I went for the now backwards compatibility option. Especially since for the price difference I can buy myself a PS2 if I ever want to play any of those games. The added FAH points aren't going to hurt either. Here are some before and after pics of my setup Before The Box's Final setup (for now)

I see yur not the only one still with a turntable!!!!!!! Get some games for the PS3, And you have a Gamecube....Love mine!

I wouldn't trade my turntable for anything. In fact I have a spare in the closet in case anything goes seriously wrong with this one. When I get home tonight I will snap some pictures of my other baby for you. She is a 1977 Rowe AMI RI-2 Jukebox.