Is a PS3 all I need for viewing? (1 Viewer)

[Retro-Warrior]

I'm finally ready to upgrade to Blu but have almost 3,000 DVDs and I'm not interested in upgrading 90% of them. I know that all BR players upgrade the video picture when they play standard DVDs, right? We have 3 kids so I'm leaning towards getting a PS3 and use it primarily as our player first, and game system second. Will a PS3 upgrade our DVD viewing as well as a BR Player, or should I really be thinking about getting a player only for better picture?

 

[Ed Moxley]

The ps3 will do just fine. Some people complain about fan noise from the ps3, when watching movies. But if you don't sit too close to it, it should be ok.

 

[Brian McHale]

All Blu-ray players will upscale DVDs. That doesn't necessarily mean they will improve the picture, though. The fact of the matter is that the TV will upscale to HD if the player doesn't, so there may be no improvement at all by playing a DVD on a BD player (the player may or may not do a better job than the TV)

The PS3 has a reputation as a pretty good upconverting player. I dont' have any experience with them myself, but there are many people who think they're the best BD players going. Also, it's my understanding that the newer PS3 units are not nearly as loud as the earlier ones, though you might want to do a little research to be sure it that's a concern.

The main complaints I've read about the PS3 (in addition to the fan noise) as a BD/DVD player are that the remote's not very good, the console doesn't always fit in home theater cabinets very well and the interface isn't as simple as a stand alone player.

If you're interested in a PS3 to play games in addition to viewing BDs/DVDs, then it is a no-brainer. If you want it as a stand-alone player, there are cheaper choices that might suit your needs.

 

[John Garcia]

The original "fat" version has some size/shape issues, but the slim shouldn't be a problem. It is smaller than most players on the market. The slim still has fan noise as well, but it is quite a bit quieter than the previous generation. I own both, so I can tell you these things first hand.

The PS3 is fine at upscaling, but to be honest, even though you have a large collection, once you start watching the better looking Blu-ray discs and hearing the updated audio (your TV may be able to upscale the video but nothing else will give you lossless audio), many of those DVDs will not be viewed much anymore (rare discs aside). I had a moderate size collection as well, but I have only watched a few SD DVDs in the last year and those are only instances where it is something that isn't available on BD.

The remote is actually as good as most, however the issue is that it is Bluetooth only. For about $40-50 there are a number of solutions that plug into the PS3 that can be used with an IR universal remote however, so you actually don't need to buy the Sony remote. Since you want gaming, I think it is a pretty clear cut decision.