PS3 or Stand alone Blueray player?

[james.miller]

Ii is amazing how so many people think that the PS3 is just a Bluray player and a games machine.

How about its ability to play AVIs?
How about its web browser?
How about its ability to show photo slideshow?

If all you want is a BR player, then fine get a stand-alone, but if you want flexibility to do other things without using a PC, then get a PS3.

i guess it isnt mentioned becuase those featured arent really important to to op.

 

[photoshop]

Even though i have a dedicated HTPC in my living room, i still prefer to use the PS3 for my divx/vxid movie playback. How am i doing this? Via TVersity.

Its more simpler than using a HTPC and even my nephews can browse the easy menus and play a divx/xvid movie easily.

I also play my music through the PS3. Same again via TVersity.

The PS3 just simplifies thing for me. It acts like a hub to wirelessly play music and movies from my main PC.

On the plus side its also a games console and my nephews, when they come round, enjoy a blast of Street Fighter.

And oh ye, it plays Blu-Rays aswell.

I know your not interested in anything other than playing Blu-Rays (which the PS3 does very well) but even if you dont use the features that i mention, they are still there should you ever wish to in the future.

 

[Tdh1987]

Is that just because the blu-ray software that comes with the drive only outputs in stereo over SPDIF? If it's just a case of having the right software to get DD/DTS over SPDIF then it'll be a whole load cheaper than buying a standalone or PS3. Just a thought.

Are you telling me it can be done? I've got the top of the range power DVD and can't get it to work. Works flawlessly with DVD in Media player and Media Center but not with Blue rays in Power DVD.

 

[Tdh1987]

pay the extra for the BDPS550 as the 350 doesn't have HD master audio.

Can you please exaplain what HD master audio is? At this moment in time I don't have a modern AV receiver with HDMI input, but it will be the next thing on my list.

 

[wolvers]

Are you telling me it can be done? I've got the top of the range power DVD and can't get it to work. Works flawlessly with DVD in Media player and Media Center but not with Blue rays in Power DVD.

In that case it should work. What I suspect might be happening is that PowerDVD is decoding the HD audio track to PCM. You'll only get 2 channels like this as SPDIF can only handle that in PCM. It may just be a case of selecting the correct audio track on the disc so that you are playing the DD or DTS track which will be 6 channels and is compressed so your SPDIF can handle it (like your DVDs).

Might also just be just a setting in PowerDVD as DTS-MA has a standard DTS core and should be played automatically. I don't have any experience with this software so maybe someone else here can help with that.

Can you please exaplain what HD master audio is? At this moment in time I don't have a modern AV receiver with HDMI input, but it will be the next thing on my list.

It's the DTS version of a HD audio track and is usually called DTS-MA. The Dolby version is called Dolby TrueHD. Have a look here for all of the formats and how they work;

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s..._FAQ:_Blu-ray_and_HD_DVD_Audio_Explained/1064

Also, this might help;

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17931333

 

[probedb]

If you have no intention of gaming the just get the stand alone player. The PS3 is an OK Blu Ray player but even next to the £150 Sony stand alone unit there is quite a bit of difference in picture quality.

I very much doubt that. You're saying Criterion in the US know nothing about video quality when they use the PS3 as their reference BR player (or did until recently).

At any rate you're unlikely to notice any differences on anything but possibly 50"+ screens.

I wouldn't worry about BR picture quality on the PS3.

 

[El_Watcher]

i guess it isnt mentioned becuase those featured arent really important to to op.

But the OP started with a media centre PC. What advantages did that have over stand alone, oh yeah playback of AVIs, web browser and photo slideshows.

I just thought they were important to him.

 

[kidloco]

I very much doubt that. You're saying Criterion in the US know nothing about video quality when they use the PS3 as their reference BR player (or did until recently).

At any rate you're unlikely to notice any differences on anything but possibly 50"+ screens.

I wouldn't worry about BR picture quality on the PS3.

I think maybe you should actually do a comparison for yourself then post your finding rather than quote what other people use.

Not having a go but saying you wouldnt notice the difference on any other Blu-Ray layer over the PS3 on screens under a 50" is a bit bonkers mate.

 

[james.miller]

I think maybe you should actually do a comparison for yourself then post your finding rather than quote what other people use.

Not having a go but saying you wouldnt notice the difference on any other Blu-Ray layer over the PS3 on screens under a 50" is a bit bonkers mate.

yet you are just about the only person saying that? i cant find anything on the net agreeing with you. I dont agree with you either, ive seen bugger all in it between an s350 and a ps3 on my screen (50pz80). I'm not saying you are flatout wrong, but so far i have found nothing.

 

[probedb]

I think maybe you should actually do a comparison for yourself then post your finding rather than quote what other people use.

Not having a go but saying you wouldnt notice the difference on any other Blu-Ray layer over the PS3 on screens under a 50" is a bit bonkers mate.

Sorry...where's your proof, test results, screenshots, analysis? Posting that you say it's better because you saw it is *exactly* the same as me saying Criterion use it as a reference.....and saying that the average viewer is unlikely to see the difference is perfectly reasonable because they won't. Just please don't tell me you buy £50 HDMI cables as well... As Attu90 said, he couldn't really tell the difference either.

But anyways, we could argue till we're blue in the face so I'll agree to differ with you on this.

 

[Attu90]

if going the stand alone route and looking at the BDPS350 pay the extra for the BDPS550 as the 350 doesn't have HD master audio.

The 350 does do HD master audio but it can't decode it onbard, it sends the tracks as bitstream via HDMI for an amp to decode so its only really an issue if your using an older amp that cant decode HD Master audio.

 

[jas72]

My PS3 is now nearing 18 months old and has developed a hairdryer fault.

Even watching standard dvd's causes the fan to kick in full blast which sounds worse than the Xbox which is why I switched to the PS3

I fairly certain you would not have this problem with a stand alone player.

 

[V1N]

Every now and then I think about getting a standalone player.

At the moment I'm using a PS3, and it's become my full media centre.
It's connected to a server, from which I stream various filetypes like XviD and MKV (after running through mkv2vob), the quality of which looks better to me than using my PC connected to the same screen. I also use PlayTV to take advantage of the upscaler.

When the PS3 got its DVD upscaling update, I was dead impressed with it. It was definitely the best upscaling DVD player I'd seen, and I'd tried a few. Bluray quality looks fantastic to me, but I've only ever seen blurays played on a PS3.

Despite all this, I do consider getting a standalone player now and then, due to the prices dropping. When upscaling DVDs, my PS3 isn't silent. It also isn't region free.

So what I'd want from a standalone, apart from a decent price, would be a DVD upscaler that beats the PS3, and bluray quality as well, plus, region free bluray and DVD.

Can any of the current bluray players do that?

I'm in no rush at all. I'm even considering waiting for the PS3 slim, and maybe getting that, as I imagine with the new lower power design, it should be quiet (I borrowed my Brothers 40gb PS3, and plugged it in exactly where mine goes, and after hours of DVD upscaling, the fan didn't spin up at all, I have a 60gb model) and then I can continue to use it as an all in one media centre, for DVD, bluray, streaming and TV.

Otherwise, if I can get a decent standalone player for less than the cost of a PS3, that outshines the PS3 in terms of DVD and bluray quality, and is fully region free, then I'd consider getting that, and swapping between that and the PS3 when I want to stream content from my server.

Sorry for going on a bit, this is something that's been on my mind for a little while now, and I can't decide if it's worth getting a standalone player or not. I certainly won't until I can get a region free one anyway, plus of course, one that will remain region free even after firmware updates. I imagine it may be worthwhile hanging on a bit longer, for some cheaper brands to get some players out there, region free out of the box, or after typing in a code on the remote, rather than getting anything modded.

As I say, no rush really, the PS3 is doing a fine job, it's just that in this hot weather, after a bit of upscaling, I can hear it, which isn't too intrusive, but it is noticable.

Vin.

 

[Xelene]

My PS3 really earns its money as the heart of my home media system, barely ever play BluRays but having a small box that plugs into the tv and streams 1080p across the network at minimum fuss is worth it.

 

[photoshop]

Both my 40Gb PS3's are whisper quiet 2 yrs on

 

[easyrider]

Juts get a standalone OP if you have no interest in games.

PS3 if you want to mess with other types of media files and streaming etc...

I do enjoy though having the option to play the odd driving game when I feel the urge

 

[SeriousPigeon]

Are you telling me it can be done? I've got the top of the range power DVD and can't get it to work. Works flawlessly with DVD in Media player and Media Center but not with Blue rays in Power DVD.

I use Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre 2 for playing Blu-rays and output DD or DTS over SPDIF to my amp just fine. I just let the software resample everything to DTS (including the HD audio stuff). I am pretty sure that PowerDVD can do the same thing, just a case of selecting the correct audio setup options. It all integrates into Media Center as well.

 

[samhain]

I have the Panasonic BD55 and the PS3.

When we see reviews that say the picture is better on one over the other we are talking very small percentiles. I use the BD55 because it had 7.1 channel output so I can get HD audio to my older Denon amp. If I had an amp which was able to take HD audio via HDMI then I would have stuck with a PS3 only.

I have watched and watched and blind tested and watched the PS3 and BD55 on my set up and you know what, I couldn't tell the flamin' difference to my eyes, even though the BD55 is supposed to 'trounce' the PS3

 

[Alex h]

ps3 is good but stand alone players are better now sony and panasonic models but like others have said ps3 does play games aswell

 

[james.miller]

ps3 is good but stand alone players are better now sony and panasonic models but like others have said ps3 does play games aswell

people keep saying that. I want to see a decent review!