Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Normal Blu-ray DVD player VS PS3

crazycat

crazycat

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 5, 2005
1,319
0
I am building a cinima room (enough for 4 peopel) and i want to put a Blu-ray player in there. Should i buy a normal player or go with the PS3?

Price is not an issue but i am worried about updating it and i am not sure which ones are able to be updated via the internet.
 
NewEgg's cheapest Blu Ray player is $349.99. You can get a PS3 for $50 more than this (or less if you buy used or hunt around a bit) and I think that it is well worth it. The PS3 has a built in hard drive with access to the PlayStation Store where (eventually) you can buy movies and things.

You can also use the PS3 to show content from your Mac on your TV. Nullriver's MediaLink software allows you to do this.

Let's also not forget that PS3 has a catalogue of great games to play too.
 
I'd go for a PS3 simply because they're around the same price as a standalone Blu-Ray player, it's also a games console and it's more or less guaranteed to be the most compatible Blu-Ray player you can buy because every disc will be designed to work perfectly with it given the huge userbase of PS3 owners.
 
I was an early adopter of the ps3 and don't regret the premium I paid, it is simply a stunning system.

I also use nullriver and find it *too* easy, as the centre of your cinema room its a great and very powerful machine.

I assume that you already have a large DVD collection, therefore another point to raise is the great upscaling the ps3 does of dvds. I dont think you can notice the difference between older films now released on BR and upscaled dvds, you can obviously tell the difference of those shot with HD in mind.

After all that you still get the most powerful console and whether that appeals or not to you specifically it will bring another dimension to your cinema room for friends, especially given the wireless controllers....oh and did i forget call of duty 4 how silly :)))
 
Go with the PS3... still the best Blu-Ray player for it's value. It's the only Blu-Ray 2.0 spec compatible player for sale out now.
 
I would go for the PS3 simply because it is upgradeable with software updates. Plus you also get a game console as well to play with in your new media center.
 
PS3 is a great player, BUT some (like mine) make a lot of fan noise. After 15 min it really is quite loud. It helps if you can place it on it´s own with lots of air around.
A BD player is far more quiet
 
Yesterday I decided to switch to Blu-ray and sell off my HD DVD collection. When I went shopping for a new Blu-ray player I considered a PS3, however the salesman suggested a stand alone player if all I was going to do is watch movies. He suggested that it runs quieter and cooler and will probably prove to be a more solid drive for years of spinning disks. I bought a Panasonic DMP BD30 for $450 with a 10% off Reward Zone coupon at Best Buy. It appears to be a quality Made in Japan unit. So far I am very happy with the player.

I guess it all depends on what you plan to do with your system. If you are a gamer then a PS3 would be a no brainer. I am a Wii gamer and that's it so for me I just would not need the extra complexity of the gaming console. The other thing is that I use a Harmony 890 to control my system so I like the fact that the Panasonic is compatible with it.
 
yoak said:
PS3 is a great player, BUT some (like mine) make a lot of fan noise. After 15 min it really is quite loud. It helps if you can place it on it´s own with lots of air around.
A BD player is far more quiet
Click to expand...

Yeah, the PS3 doesn't like being cooped up in an AV cupboard without plenty of airflow.

That said, it is a marvelous system, and it's 2.0 spec :)
 
If your biggest concern is longevity and the ability to do firmware upgrades, than the PS3 definitely fits this criteria. I just purchased a PS3, and intend to use it as my blu-ray player, as well as for gaming.

If gaming isn't an interest for you, then I would still consider the PS3, as well as standalone players that have a USB 2.0 port, and can be connected to a laptop for firmware upgrades, or else an ethernet port for the same reason. This means the player will have some sort of built in hard drive in order to upgrade the firmware, and presently, I'm not knowledgeable about which, if any standalone players have this.

Now that the HD wars are over, I'm expecting fewer firmware issues, and hoping there won't be anymore at all. With the PS3, you are possibly sacrificing fan issues, but I haven't noticed mine doing this? I wonder if this is an issue for those who mentioned it when gaming and not just viewing movies?

I'm not sure I agree with the salesman who stated that a standalone will last longer than a PS3 due to the constant spinning of the disk in order to view movies, because the PS3 is built to spin both movie and game disks, which means it's built to be excessively durable in that aspect. If anything, I think the PS3 is more durable than standalone players.

Good luck with your decision.
 
Most current Blu-ray players do NOT have ethernet jack for software and firmware updates. The PS3 does. That means you can save a ton of hassle by not buying into incremental updates, just download them.
 
PS3 pure and simple. It's the only current BR player with an ethernet port.

Plus, if you ever decide to, it plays games.
 
The PS3 is barnone the best HD player on the market and always has been. Its basically an appletv+web+games+bluray/dvd. Its an all-in-one multimedia device, it doesnt do any of those things halfassed either since it uses Sony's tried and true XMB system usually only reserved for their most high end products. Really the only thing it doesnt do is record tv shows.
 
Well...If the Blu-ray player in the PS3 is anything like the DVD player in the PS2 then I would not use it as my main BRD player.
 
Yeah, as others said, the PS3 is currently the only Blu-ray player on the market that can do software updates easily. Therefore, when the BD 2.0 spec comes out later this year, the PS3 will update to 2.0. All other players will be stuck with 1.1, so they won't be able to use the extra special features that will be available to the 2.0 players.

Plus, you can play video games on it, browse the internet, stream media from your computer, etc.
 
Add me to the list of those that highly recommend the PS3. It's literally one of the finest pieces of consumer electronics ever made for the price, and it does a lot more than just playing video games and Blu-ray movies.
 
PS3 no doubt. It doesn't cost much more than a regular blu-ray and a regular one does not have any advantages over the PS3.
 
I'm personally going to wait a couple of months for the Panasonic DMP-BD50. It's a Blu-ray 2.0 model with more advanced audio capabilities than the PS3. I'm an audio nut, so having no fan noise and full support for all of the HD audio formats is important to me.
 
The PS3 is still lacking in the Audio department. Currently the Samsung units are the best out there, supporting all the Audio Codecs, but all the standalone players have one issue or another with them. If you want to spend the money, Denon has one that I believe supports pretty much all the specs.

To that end the PS3 has been the most future proof. Its also the fastest to load and navigate through the menus.

Check out avsforum.com for the comparison charts among blu-ray players and their capabilities.

For the money, the PS3 is the best bargain out there. If money isn't an issue, there are other choices, but the blu-ray spec has been a moving target, so many of the vendors have taken a wait and see approach.

Now that the format war is over, expect a bunch of players to start showing up in the next 3 months. A bunch of announced products never shipped over the holiday season. I suspect you'll see them get pushed out now.
 
zioxide said:
Yeah, as others said, the PS3 is currently the only Blu-ray player on the market that can do software updates easily. Therefore, when the BD 2.0 spec comes out later this year, the PS3 will update to 2.0. All other players will be stuck with 1.1, so they won't be able to use the extra special features that will be available to the 2.0 players.

Plus, you can play video games on it, browse the internet, stream media from your computer, etc.
Click to expand...

x2
 
Thanks for all the great replys, it seems i am going with the PS3. I am installing a 4MB internet connection just for downloads (no download limit), i am going to use it for my torrents, AppleTV and PS3.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back