[Dan Magnin]

A few years ago I made purchase of the Panasonic RP-82 dvd/dvd audio player based on findings of multiple tests that a plethora of players were subjected to. The panny cost me about $240.00 on ebay. It was rated higher in performance than a very, very expensive Denon player at the time. Question comes to mind about the abilities of the PS3 coming out. How will it perform as compared to others?

[JeremyErwin]

benchmark it, and find out.

[Dave H]

Keep in mind the Benchmark tests are only one piece of it all when evaluating video quality. I have seen players which didn't do real well on the Benchmark produce some very nice images in terms of color rendition, blacks, sharpness, clarity, and detail.

On the other hand, I've seen some players do very well on the tests which really didn't impress me much.

Also, some of it depends on what you watch. Some of the deinterlacing tests are less important if you watch film-based DVDs vs PAL or video sources.

[JeremyErwin]

The point of benchmarking is to provide an objective (though hardly all encompassing) standard for review. Sometimes a manufacturer gets lucky. Sometimes it releases a real turkey.

I believe you can buy the DVD benchmarks from secrets and conduct your own tests. They don't test audio, which could explain why some multi-thousand dollar universals score rather poorly on the tests.

[Steve Tannehill]

Quote:

How will it perform as compared to others?

I'll check my tarot cards and get back to you.

Let's see, the Tower reversed, The Magician, and DEATH.

Outlook not so good.

Oh wait, that's the Magic 8 Ball.

- Steve