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

[TonyD]

yes i saw that too, never heard of it.

guess i won't be sending music to my ps3.

 

[TonyD]

 

[wally]

Sounds like (by googleing DLNA and PS3) if you have Vista or have XP and MP 11 you are in luck.

DLNA is a protocol for media sharing so your computer becomes the server and the PS3 the player/client.

That's just a very quick read of the forum, may be 100% wrong.

 

[MarkHarrison]

Not sure about iTunes. But it works great with mp3s. Yes, it will stream jpgs from your computer. It will also stream videos from your computer.

On Windows XP I tried both Media Player 11 and TVersity. Actually I had tried these originally with my DirecTV DVR (which was a piece of crap in this regard). The PS3 did such a better job on things that I won't ever try to use the DVR again. And it worked just fine with WMP11, so I ended up simplifying my PC and removed TVersity. It's a better system and will do lots of transcoding so things will play properly on your PS3, but it was overkill for my needs. I also had issues with TVsersity where my mp3s were coming across as 15-30 seconds long. But to be fair, it was an older version.

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

Yes, it does stream .jpeg files from the PC and it actually does them very well in terms of the flexibility it gives you to zoom, flip, crop pictures as you view them via the PS3. The PS3 is so much more than just a gaming console and/or Blu-Ray player. Credit the format wars or gaming console wars, the fact is that the PS3 is one of the best value for money products in the history of consumer electronics.

 

[DaveF]

Sorry if this has been discussed, but I haven't seen it.

How does the PS3 work as a DVD player, in terms of feel. When I think PS3 and DVD I have visions of using a wired PS2 game controller to navigate a DVD menu, guessing whether to press "X" or "O" to rewind and wondering which of the shoulder buttons behaves like the "info" button for a DVD.

So, with a DVD, does the PS3 betray its game-console soul, or does it become a regular player, with regular remote and all?

 

[Sanjay Gupta]

First of all, the standard controller that comes with the PS3, is wireless (bluetooth). Secondly, you can purchase a seperate bluetooth remote control for the PS3 which has alll the standard DVD/Blu-Ray buttons in addition to the PS3 specific buttons.

The PS2 if I remember correctly was quite a poor DVD player, whereas the PS3 is not only a great upscaling DVD player, it is also one fo the best Blu-Ray plaers available and certainly the most upto date in terms of functionality.

 

[Carlo_M]

The PS2 and XBox were piss-poor DVD players. To boot, you had to buy the remote to enable DVD play on the XBox. After that experience, I swore off gaming consoles as movie disc players.

The PS3 has rewritten all of that. Not only is it one of the best BD players out of the box (the remote is recommended to make all features easy to access, but is not required), but as others have said, the upscaling of DVD over HDMI is excellent. When it upscales some of the best DVD transfers, it approaches HD quality. It is now the best BD and the best DVD player in my house.

 

[Robert Burkes]

After reading through this thread, I checked my PS3's ability to produce below black information. Using the DVE DVD, it still does not pass below black tests. Are you guys sure a firmware update was supposed to correct this? Would tests with BD media provide different results? Thanks!
Rob

 

[TonyD]

good question robert.

i thought this was addressed before in an update.

 

[John Burton]

I found this quote in Home Entertainment magazine. It is part of their 10 best article.
In 2007, the most versatile, useful audio/video source device you can buy is a video game system: Sony PlayStation 3. Some of our equipment reviewers use it as the primary source device in their home theaters, and we know high-end custom installers who put it into their finest theaters.

You can find the article at Home Entertainment - Featuring the Finest in Audio/Video Technology & Design

After dealing with the moody Samsung 1400, I may look to make a switch to the PS3.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

No MC lossless via optical is possible.

 

[wally]

I'm looking to jump on a PS3 in the next several weeks for all the reasons mentioned in this thread. I'm going to have to tough out the audio side for a while longer. I've got 7.1 "ins" and no HDMI on the receiver.

I'm pretty happy now with SD DVD audio via optical, will that change with BDs and the minimum DD or DTS?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Wally,

wait and get the Panny BD50 if you think you want to hold on to your receiver a while longer.

Lossless is INCREDIBLE and it's like "HD for audio"... once you get a taste, the lossy sound of DD and DTS gets harder and harder to enjoy.

If you plan to upgrade your recevier to one with HDMI in the near future the PS3 is a great option. But if you've got analog ins on your receiver and could use them and want to maximize that receiver a while longer... go with the Panny with the 7.1 analog output and on-borad decoding.

 

[Ron Reda]

David,

Any additional news regarding DTS-MA capability? Just checking...

 

[Scott Jentsch]

I have avoided getting a Blu-ray player up to this point because they have been short on features and high on prices.

Now, with Warner's announcement, any hope that my HD DVD players will enjoy playing movies currently only available on Blu-ray has all but disappeared.

The PS3's December firmware update for Bonus View/Profile 1.1 was the first step towards making any of the Blu-ray players worth buying. That was bolstered by the assurances during CES by Sony that the PS3 would become BD-Live/Profile 2.0 compatible before fall. The PS3 is the only Blu-ray player currently available that I would consider buying.

However, it still has compromises, just like every other player out there. The lack of IR control is a biggie, especially for those of us that have integrated their equipment with a universal remote. Yeah, there are $14 USB-IR adaptors, but they don't provide full functionality. The lack of bitstream audio output and analog audio outputs aren't as large a concern for me, but given the $400 - $500 price, it would be nice to have such features. I do believe that it will get the ability to decode DTS-HD MA, but I don't think it will ever be able to bitstream (but I don't expect that from a game system).

I was all set to pick up a PS3, but I wanted to wait for the CES announcements to see if the other Blu-ray manufacturers would step up and provide a worthy competitor to the PS3 that was also on par with their HD DVD counterparts. The only unit that delivered on that hope is the Panasonic DMP-BD50. Unfortunately, that player is going to have everything but the kitchen sink, which is good, but I fear that it means that it will also have a street price much higher than the BD-30's $410.

So now, instead of buying something, I'm waiting to see what the price of the BD-50 will be, and when it will become available.

If I could find a good deal on the PS3, or if I feel that its other features provide additional value, I may still pick one up.

I'm not a gamer, so I don't know how much value I would get from that aspect. All of the kids in our neighborhood that my kids play with have PS2's, Xbox 360's, or Wii's. The selection of PS3 games is also pretty small. That doesn't bode well for the value of the gaming side of the PS3. My impression is that to get good value for gaming, you really need to pick up the 80GB version so that the PS2 games can be played (so that kids can bring their games over, and the selection of games for purchase is wider). Unfortunately, that adds $100 to the price and reduces the value proposition.

That leaves the PS3's media capabilities, which are intriguing to me. Unfortunately, that's one aspect that no store I've been in is able to demonstrate. I've tried to use my DirecTV DVR's network media capabilities, but it is very much beta-level functionality. It would be nice to be able to have the PS3 access my music collection, display hi-res JPG's from the network and/or from memory cards/USB drives, and play videos that I download and create myself in both SD and HD resolution.

Can anyone comment on the PS3's media capabilities? Can it view 1920x1080 and 1280x720 JPG's from a USB memory stick and SD/CF memory card?

Can the PS3 play QuickTime movie trailers in HD? There is a site that links directly to the trailers on the Apple site, so I can dig it up if you don't have it.

I'm also concerned about fan noise from the 80GB version. The new 40GB units sound like they are pretty quiet, but I've seen comments about the 80GB unit being louder. Does anyone have any first-hand experiences with this?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

I hear ya.

Except for price, the Panny BD50 is *the* perfect player (even has 7.1 analog output).

I'd suggest waiting since IR control is important for you. See what the BD50 costs... maybe you can get a good discount on-line to knock it below the rumored "500-600" retail price.

 

[Robert Burkes]

David, you have a PM.

 

[Scott Jentsch]

After doing a bunch of research this weekend, including sitting through a Sony-led Blu-ray seminar at a local A/V specialty dealer, I am in the market for a Playstation 3.

If not for some misinformation from some PS3 owners on Saturday, I would have picked one up while I was out on Saturday (even though the temps were nearly unreasonable).

According to the Sony reps I talked to on Saturday, the replacements for the BDP-S300 and 500 are not due until Summer/July (depending on which rep you talked to). There will be a BDP-S350 and BDP-S550 that will include both Bonus View and BD-Live capability. They didn't say what the price points would be, but they didn't lead me to believe that they would be any different than what the 300/500 are now.

I asked them after the presentation how the PS3 was as a Blu-ray player in their opinion, and they professed little knowledge about it. There were some employees that were willing to give me their opinions, even if their information about features available were outdated.

The presenter looked genuinely concerned when he found out there was an HD DVD owner in the audience as he was talking about the features of the two Sony standalone players. I didn't give him too much grief beyond expressing my disappointment with their slow pace of getting decent players to market. He admitted that any HD DVD owners would be disappointed that the PiP and online features they were used to are not on the units currently for sale. I did support him, though, when someone asked if the difference between Blu-ray and DVD was that noticeable, and how it compared to HD across their cable system.

So, unless Panasonic starts releasing some good news about their new player, I'll be a PS3 owner as soon as I find something attractive in the way of package deals, discounts, or something that is a better proposition than the standard $399 list price.

 

[Ron Reda]

Scott,

I used dealnews.com - Find the lowest prices and coupons on computers, laptops, digital cameras, iPods, MP3 players, HDTV to find a good deal on my PS3.