PS3 as a Blu-Ray player...

[DeputyMoniker]

I've Googled it and I can only find very old articles on this. How do you guys feel about someone needing a Blu-Ray player, they aren't big gamers, and I'm thinking of telling them to go for the PS3. Would that be bad advice? Is there a player out there that produces a better picture? Is the PS3 lacking in something that another player offers?
EDIT: Are they going to have to navigate a menu to start the movie?

[mnbren05]

I've actually heard almost nothing about the PS3 as a blu-ray. I guess most people just use it for gaming. Granted, I'm sure many utilize the tech, but I've never actually read anything particuarly based upon the subject.

[jonjandran]

For the price the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player is the obvious choice.

It is highly recommended on the AVS forums and elsewhere.

And now that it plays Divx and more it is an obvious choice.

A movie will start playing as soon as it's inserted and if there is a movie in it when it's turned on it will start playing it. And get the Blu_ray remote for a dvd like remote.

[geneshifter]

Another thing is that the PS3, with HDD and wifi/ethernet, will always be up to date with firmware upgrades. The latest Blu-ray 2.0 standard specs calls for the newer players to require ethernet connectivity. So, if you own a stand alone player right now, you may be out of luck. The PS3 seems to be the best choice right now.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Now provided, that I'm relaying 2nd hand information- and I don't actually own a PS3... the only problem I could see with it would be the remote (which operates on bluetooth). If one uses a universal remote, you couldn't program it to work with the PS3. Of course a lot of people have multiple remotes, so what's another one.

Alright, mid-post I went over to avsforum and see if I cold pull up a link for you...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=997240

It's only 2 pages and it's a good summary of pros and cons, and in the 1st post it mentions a possible work around for the remote issue. It's not a super-techy thread either and should be a quick read.

[Cornelius]

I think the ps3 is the best choice for a blu-ray player still. It is no longer the cheapest option like it was for a long time, but it has consistently reviewed to have as good or better picture quality than most of they highest priced blu-ray players. That is secondhand from my father-in-law who reads a bunch of the high end a/v mags.

I also think it has some nice features that anyone could make use of, for instance the ability to browse the web, or look at your digital pics.

[diskoboy]

I've found the PS3 to be a pretty good BD player. Just stay away from the Samsung players. Supposedly there are alot of problems with Samsung's players.

[mailman187666]

I've bought a bunch of Blue Ray movies for PS3. I only have an oldschool HD that does 720P and 1080i. It isn't even a flat screen or anything like that but it has great quality for Blue Ray. I know it'd be better on LCD or something that has 1080P, but with component cables and 1080i, it looks fantastic. I don't know how it would be compared to standalone players, but I think the firmware updates for BR being available make it that much more worth it. There is also the option to be able to save music, videos, and pics on it as well in case thats something they may be interested in.

[CosmicMonkey]

I've been wondering this too. Currently I have an AppleTV hooked up to my TV to watch stuff. I decided I wasn't going to get involved in a format war and would rather watch upscaled DVD rips. I never thought the whole BluRay/HDDVD thing would be over so quickly.

I'm not really interested in the PS3 for the games, I just want a single box solution to put under the TV.

It's good to hear that the BD playback is excellent, time to start using my 1080p TV to its full potential. But what's the DVD upscaling like?

And how good is this DivX/Xvid playback. Can I just point the PS3 to a shared drive on the Mac that has all my video files in it and start playing them? And is it possible to update the video codecs on the PS3 itself, or is this something Sony do?

[Willem]

It's good to hear that the BD playback is excellent, time to start using my 1080p TV to its full potential. But what's the DVD upscaling like?

good, as far as upscaling SD images can go.



And how good is this DivX/Xvid playback. Can I just point the PS3 to a shared drive on the Mac that has all my video files in it and start playing them? And is it possible to update the video codecs on the PS3 itself, or is this something Sony do?
sharing stuff: it needs the latest WMP, so I'm note sure if it can go on mac. probably a workaround for it. hopefully they eliminate the use of WMP in the future.

codes: through sony PS3 firmware updates, DIVX and XVID are fine, other things like .mkv/etc. are not playable.

[diskoboy]

The one thing I like about the PS3 upscaler over the 360 - the 'full screen' option.

If you're like me, and watch alot of old TV shows on DVD, that are in the 4:3 format, It stretches the image to fill the screen. So no black bars on the sides of the picture, if you're using an HDMI connection..

On non-pro-scan discs, you may notice a little mpeg artifacting or signal noise. But still leaps and bounds over the 360 player.

[Half Japanese]

Now provided, that I'm relaying 2nd hand information- and I don't actually own a PS3... the only problem I could see with it would be the remote (which operates on bluetooth). If one uses a universal remote, you couldn't program it to work with the PS3. Of course a lot of people have multiple remotes, so what's another one.

Alright, mid-post I went over to avsforum and see if I cold pull up a link for you...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=997240

It's only 2 pages and it's a good summary of pros and cons, and in the 1st post it mentions a possible work around for the remote issue. It's not a super-techy thread either and should be a quick read.

From what I understand, there's a thrid-party remote that comes with a USB dongle that can be used with most any universal remote.

[Rob2600]

The one thing I like about the PS3 upscaler over the 360 - the 'full screen' option.

If you're like me, and watch alot of old TV shows on DVD, that are in the 4:3 format, It stretches the image to fill the screen.

Do people look wider than usual or are the top and bottom of the picture chopped off? Either way, I can't imagine that mode being enjoyable.

[roushimsx]

From what I understand, there's a thrid-party remote that comes with a USB dongle that can be used with most any universal remote.

I've heard good things about this but haven't tried it. Since we picked up the PS3 primarily as a blu-ray player, we also picked up a remote control along with it. Navigating movies with the gamepad is doable (especially if you've ever done it on a PS2), but the bluetooth remote should at least be considered if you're thinking about picking one up for watching movies. If you can find a dongle on the cheap, I'd say jump on it and program it into your universal remote for extreme ease.


Do people look wider than usual or are the top and bottom of the picture chopped off? Either way, I can't imagine that mode being enjoyable.

Yea, the shit is unwatchable imo. I do like it stretching to max out the 4:3 area, though. Like Willem said, it's pretty decent considering you're dealing with a, at most, 480p source. I've found the PS3 to have less trouble deinterlacing cartoons, in particular the Futurama DVDs sets that we recently watched. On our HD-A2 it'd have some funky combing going on here and there while the PS3 resulted in a nice, clean image.

I really wish stand alone players would drop further in price, but as it is right now, the PS3 is pretty much the best deal you can get as far as BD playback goes. Just make sure you don't get raped on cables (I buy from monoprice.com, other people buy from other places, do not buy from someplace like Best Buy or Circuit City), make sure you take a minute to properly set the system up, and take some time to properly calibrate your TV to maximize the benefits.

[DeputyMoniker]

Now provided, that I'm relaying 2nd hand information- and I don't actually own a PS3... the only problem I could see with it would be the remote (which operates on bluetooth). If one uses a universal remote, you couldn't program it to work with the PS3. Of course a lot of people have multiple remotes, so what's another one.

Alright, mid-post I went over to avsforum and see if I cold pull up a link for you...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=997240

It's only 2 pages and it's a good summary of pros and cons, and in the 1st post it mentions a possible work around for the remote issue. It's not a super-techy thread either and should be a quick read.

Thanks for the advice guys, and thanks for the great link, TDI.
I told them to either snatch up a PS3 with a remote and HDMI cable or wait until Spring and we can take a look at the Panasonic BD50 and whatever else is out by then.

[MeTmKnice]

Well.. having a PS3 and reading a bunch of stuff on it. PS3 is one of the best PRE-amp units you can get. It is all you really need considering blu-ray player, upconverting standard DVD's and dvix playback and of course playing PS3 games. The audio output for cd's is fantastic as well. There are several palces online to get HDMI cables for as low as 2-3$ depending on length.

[jonjandran]

From what I understand, there's a thrid-party remote that comes with a USB dongle that can be used with most any universal remote.

I personally bought this :

http://schmartz.com/product.sc;jsessionid=EB804B99897C87034505DBBA1DD9 000A.qscweb24?categoryId=1&productId=4

Now I can use my harmony Universal remote and it even turns the PS3 on and off :)
With the ones with a USB dongle you can't turn the PS3 on with the remote.

[Dreamc@sting]

I'd honestly recommend a PS3 - I have one, and for the prince..it has 2 HDMI out ports and puts out at 1080p - the harddrive space is nice for firmware upgrades and if you get one with the built in wireless then your golden, and won't be restricted in placement to get the updates off the net..or have to wait for a new release with the latest firmware on the dvd

[Chunky]

I love it so far, but only through HDMI, Component seemed to artifact a little on older dvds that it upconverted.

but most everyone is concerned more about BD version 2.0. But won't the ps3 be updated?

[Dreamc@sting]

Yeah, it will be updated - I remember reading that RE: Extinction was suppose to lead the way with 2.0

[Poofta!]

ive read from sound & vision magazine that the ps3 is actually *the* best bluray player. with constant automatic firmware upgrades and built in internet connectivity its the best way to view your blurays without fear of incompatibility

[CosmicMonkey]

Technical question time:

Does anyone know if SATA Hubs (http://www.datoptic.com/cgi-bin/web.cgi?product=SATA2_HUB&detail=yes) or Multipliers (http://www.cooldrives.com/cosapomubrso.html) are likely to work with a PS3?

If you were to format each HDD with the PS3 before connecting it to the hub, would the PS3 see just one big PS3 formatted hard drive?

[DeputyMoniker]

Cool. Cool. Now, I've read different things. The Walmart site says one thing while some other sites say another. Regarding the 40GB w/Spider-man 3, does it have wi-fi or is it strictly bluetooth? Walmart says it does have wi-fi:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7964601

Key Features:
High-definition Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray disc
Internal 40GB HDD for storing your games, music and photos
Built-in Blu-ray player
SIXAXIS wireless controller
HDMI output for 1080p resolution
Internet ready with built-in Wi-Fi
Free PLAYSTATION Network access
2 USB ports

[Cornelius]

Cool. Cool. Now, I've read different things. The Walmart site says one thing while some other sites say another. Regarding the 40GB w/Spider-man 3, does it have wi-fi or is it strictly bluetooth? Walmart says it does have wi-fi:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7964601

Getting the info straight from the horse's mouth (http://www.us.playstation.com/ps3/about/specs) it would appear that it does indeed have wi-fi.

[namzep]

My two cents:

It's a great Blu-ray player and also very good for upconverting dvds (as good as my old Oppo player which alot of techie sites always seemed to rave about). In all honesty though, any decent player should do good upconverting anymore. My only problem with Blu-ray (and this is a problem with the technology, in general) is the cost of the damn discs. Damn near $40 if you pay retail (which, thankfully, I never do).