Blu-ray: Samsung BD-P1400 vs PlayStation 3?

[sir42]

I'm in the market for a Blue-ray player this holiday season. I'm not a huge gamer, but I thought for roughly the same cost, it may be nice to have a Blu-ray player that can play video games every now and then.

I'm currently torn between the Samsung BD-P1400 and the PlayStation 3 but I'm wondering if the PS3 has any major disadvantages when it comes to watching movies. On the cnet review it does mention that:

While the PS3 can decode Dolby TrueHD and pass along PCM output via HDMI, it cannot decode DTS-HD Master Audio and currently lacks bitstream output (for external AV receivers to handle the Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio decoding) which is available on newer standalone Blu-ray players like thePanasonic DMP-BD30 and Samsung BD-P1400.

My Samsung HT-Q80 will act as my receiver with it's HDMI input and output. It looks like the PS3 will send the Dolby TrueHD signal via HDMI to my receiver, but I'll be missing out on the bitstream Dolby TrueHD output from the PS3. That seems somewhat contradictory to me. Could someone please make sense of that and any other features I may miss out on by going with the PS3?

thanks!

 

[jaw04005]

How old is C|Net's review? Generally, C|Net does not update their reviews for changes in firmware updates. The PS3 has had a multitude of firmware updates this year alone addressing audio issues.

You might want to try searching the boards.us.playstation.com "media" forum.

 

[sarah3585]

The PS3 is a very good Blu-Ray in my opinion. Don't know how it compares to others but I'm very happy with it. So for the same price I'd recommend it.

 

[XxCH3AT3RxX]

I own a 60GB PS3 and trust me it is well worth it. First of all it includes a blu ray player. Web browser. Music player. Can download movies and put them on your PS3. Play games, etc. And right now if you purchase a PS3 you can get 5 Blu ray movies for free, but I think that offer is for other Sony Blu ray players as well.

In my opinion it is totally worth it. You can also get the 40GB Ps3 that is now $399 which is cheap for everything I have mentioned above. All you need to buy is HDMI cords. Also Ps3 has a DVD Upscaler.

Sorry I had to write this real quick since I have to go some where. Any other questions about Ps3? Let me know, I have owned one since it came out a year ago.

 

[hotwire132002]

I own a 60GB PS3 and trust me it is well worth it.

Agreed 100%. I just bought a 60GB PS3 since I was in the market for a Blu-Ray player, but I've ended up using it more as a game system than video player! Of course, it does an excellent job as a Blu-Ray player as well (make sure you spend the $30 0n the Blu-Ray remote, though) -- but it's definately worth the extra few dollars to get the gaming option as well.

 

[GreatDrok]

I'm in the market for a Blue-ray player this holiday season. I'm not a huge gamer, but I thought for roughly the same cost, it may be nice to have a Blu-ray player that can play video games every now and then.

.....

Could someone please make sense of that and any other features I may miss out on by going with the PS3?

thanks!

The Blu ray spec is still not fully implemented so if you buy a current BD player you will run the risk that it can't play future disc features. The PS3 can be updated as the spec evolves. If you must buy into Blu ray you should definitely get the PS3 because it will at least retain value if the format loses out to HD DVD or downloads in the long run. Personally, I have an HD DVD drive for my Xbox360 and have considered a PS3 because the picture quality of 1080p on my HD projector is astonishing but there is still a serious price problem here in NZ for both the PS3 and the media and there are no killer movies on BD at the moment. I will eventually buy a standalone player but it must support both HD DVD and Blu ray since any player that only supports one is a significant risk. With the move of Paramount to support only HD DVD it looks like this war will drag on and on and I have to say that I prefer HD DVD because it is region free so I am able to import discs and they cost half as much for exactly the same picture quality and better interactivity than BD can deliver in its current state.

 

[sir42]

Thanks all. I just purchased the $399 PS3 from Circuit City with an extra wireless remote. I'll be picking up at the store tomorrow.