New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available... (1 Viewer)

[Edwin-S]

Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done about the remote. SONY should have included an IR pick up on the machine. I doubt it would have cost more than a few cents per machine, considering how mature IR tech is.

Like D. Boulet has stated, DTS HD MA support is in the cards.

I don't understand the concerns about noise. I have the 60 gig model and the fan is virtually silent. For me, fan noise has not been a distraction at any time during playback. I'm surprised at how quiet the unit is, considering that people were concerned about overheating. That is another concern that I have yet to come across. I have had the unit on for hours and the case hardly gets warm.

I think the unit is a very good player, but I can understand why some people want a more traditional look (i.e. front panel display). I'm sure I will eventually buy a more traditional player, but for now the PS3 does a more than adequate job.

 

[Patrick_S]

See Robert's and John's posts, they covered most of the reasons.

 

[Will_B]

PS3 is the best? See the DVD Benchmark testing results on regular DVD playback (there is no testing of the BluRay playback):

Failed:
Video Levels
Blacker-than-Black
3-2 Cadence, Film Flags
3-2 Cadence, Alt. Flags
3-2 Cadence, Mixed Flags
Film Mode High Detail
Video to Film Transition
Recovery Time

Passed:
Layer Change
Responsiveness
Chroma, 3-2 Film Flags
Chroma, 3-2 Alt. Flags
Chroma, 2-2 Film Flags
Chroma, 4:2:0 ICP
YC Delay
Sync Subtitle to Frames
3-2 Cadence, Video Flags
2-2 Cadence, Film Flags
Bad Edit
Incorrect Progressive Flags
Motion Adaptive

Compare that to, say, an Oppo DVD player which fails nothing, and it appears there is room for improvement. Since many people have extensive DVD collections a BluRay player needs to play DVDs back well too. The review notes "The PS2 was anything but impressive as a DVD player"

 

[Zack Gibbs]

Actually with a usb adapter you can control the PS3 with any normal IR universal remote. I don't know if they sell one by itself but this $13.99 3rd party remote comes with one that you could use and just throw the remote away I guess. Hopefully someone will step up and make a standalone adapter with the demand.

Amazon.com: PlayStation 3 Blu Wave Remote: Video Games

Will, I've read that PS3 dvd playback was originally very poor. They made significant upgrades to it through firmware updates over the last year. Sorry it wasn't mentioned, didn't seem relevant at the time.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

They didn't date the article, so not sure on when they did the testing but it sounds like it was maybe early summer?

The PS3 engineers have been constantly updating the DVD playing aspect of the system. There was a great interview with the team working just on that part of the system. They were very excited with the progress they made and knew there was much to be improved upon. Best of all, that is exactly what they planned to do. I don't discredit that benchmark, but there have been a lot of updates since that article. It would be interesting to see them run the tests again. Personally, I've been very happy with the upscaling DVD results of the PS3, viewed on a 1080p LCD.

And this again reaffirms why the PS3 is currently one of the best consumer electronic devices out there. It is consistently receiving updates and improvements and will continue to do so over the course of its remaining ~7 year life.

 

[Zack Gibbs]

All valid reasons. What isn't clear is why you couldn't have said that in the first place instead of just complaining that it was a gaming console.

 

[RobertR]

It's because it's a gaming console that all the things I said about it are true, but at Tony's insistence, I delineated a game console's weaknesses.

 

[John Kwong]

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in to say I've had nothing but problem free experiences with my PS3 and is now the hub of my entertainment center. Hooked up to my Denon amp and HDTV, this baby has brought nothing but pleasure. Plays HDM, games, MP3's, now supports Divx, has DVD upscaling, and stores digital pictures - all in one machine. Need more memory? Just replace the HDD with a 120GB drive, that simple. Software upgrades are a breeze with the wifi connectability. And how cool it that "outer space" visual display?

Granted there are drawbacks - the lack of a IR remote (the bluetooth one is way too big) and the thing generates a lot of heat. It has froze during game playback (but I understand it's a game software issue), but no issues whatsoever with BR movie playback.

I usually avoid Sony equipment like the plague, but the PS3 was just too good to pass up. Like someone mentioned in an earlier post, the PS3 is like a Swiss Army Knife, you get everything you'd ever need in an entertainment hub.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

I have nothing but good things to say about the PS3 as well. Quiet, quick, and it does a great job visually and sonically. All that and it plays games too.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

That's why my post was directed to NEW Blu consumers... who don't already have a player and don't want to buy one that won't be fully compatible with profile 1.1 and 2.0.

Right now, the PS3 is the only available player on the market that will be 2.0 compliant, so a new consumer might want to consider it if they don't want to invest in a player that can't do 2.0. Obviously, this has nothing to do with someone who already has a BD player and can buy and enjoy movies already (that consumer can just upgrade to a 2.0 player if/when they feel like it later).

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I'm not sure. 2.0 requires Ethernet and 1Gb of memory. HD DVD and BD 1.1 require 256Mb of memory. I'm not sure if there is a USB or other type of memory slot on the Samsung to increase the memory. If there is one then there is a good chance that it will be eventually upgraded to 2.0. If there isn't then due to memory requirements it wouldn't be able to meet the standard. Even if it didn't meet 2.0 requirements there is a chance you would be able to use some 2.0 features.

 

[Edwin-S]

If 2.0 compliance requires 1GB of memory how can the PS3 be updatable? I thought the PS3 only had 512MB of memory. Am I incorrect on that assumption? Does the PS3 contain a gig?

 

[Douglas Monce]

The hard drive can probably be used as virtual memory.

Doug

 

[Zack Gibbs]

I think the hard disk takes care of it as well, however the memory doesn't have to be on-board. You can use memory sticks, usb drives, etc. as well as long as the player is equipped to read them.

 

[Edwin-S]

Ah! Never thought of that.

The PS3s lack of analog outs is a pain. I have thought about getting a pre-pro and using the amp section of my receiver, but unfortunately I'm just a little tapped out right now. Eventually, I hope to build a system of separates. I'm getting tired of throwing out a perfectly serviceable amplifier section because the receiver it resides in cannot be updated for new sound codecs.

 

[TonyD]

wow, grouchy.

thats all i was asking, is what reason besides, "it plays video games"

sure, it's curved, but in my shelf area with all the other stuff i dont even see the ps3's curves.
who said anyone making players should quit.
it sits on a shelf or rack just like any other player.
i'll give you analog outs, but hdmi into a receiver with hdmi will take care of that.

the remote is a problem for most people, not for me. i use a harmony for everything else, the ps3 remote for the ps3.

i dont know why my asking you questions and trying to find out what points on the ps3 you don't like bothered you so much, but you did bring it up.

when i talk to someone and they say, "oh, i dont like that" i usually say,
"why is that?" then when they say "because" i try to get a little more detailed answer.

 

[Douglas Monce]

I have no plans to update my receiver any time soon so no analog out on the PS3 means no sale.

Doug

 

[KurtEP]

Out of curiosity, have you done this? I have an 80GB PS3 and a spare SATA 120 GB laptop harddrive from a laptop I ruined a while back. I'm wondering if I can upgrade using this.

I'll echo the good comments about the PS3. I own both this and an XBOX 360 with HD DVD, and the PS3 is a huge step up in quality. The PS3 is one of the nicest pieces of gear I've owned. Its quality is up there with some old 70's Marantz gear I also own. Nice materials, well thought out and rock solid.

My only gripe is that it doesn't look great in my stereo rack, but I'm more than willing to make allowances for the huge upsides of the PS3. Oh, and it irritates me that it will turn on if I touch any button on my remote. Other than that, no complaints at all.

 

[Norman Matthews]

This is a great point of concern that I hadn't even thought of. Can anyone offer any insight as to what the PS3 does?

 

[Douglas Monce]

My buddy who has one says that the PS3 will pillerbox upscaled 4x3 SD DVDs

Doug