PS-3 or a Blu Rap Player

[CousinDave]

Okay I want a Blu-Ray Player - I've already even started buying a few Blu-Ray discs, Iron Man, I'll get the Hulk later today.

I have a HD DVD player and about 30 HD DVDs - I plan on keeping them

Right now I just have a TV that will display 1080i with 1 HDMI input

My receiver is a Denon AVR 4802 - its 7.1 but no HDMI switching,

I am going to get a front projector and a screen 120 to 150 inches before the end of the year.

I have a Direct TV HD DVR and a Nintendo Wii

I'm not much of a gamer, I just play the Wii Sports and Wii Fit. I bought Metroid (my favorite NES & SNES game) but haven't played it. I want to get Rock Band and the expansions. I might get some classic games as well - Pac Man, Frogger, Missile Command, etc...

I know I can get a separate black box HDMI switch, and have the DVR, HD DVD, and Blu Ray or PS-3 hooked up to it. I've seen some of these switches that my Harmony 880 remote will control.

I heard something about the harmony 880 not controlling the PS-3.

So anyway should I get a PS-3 or a Blu-Ray player?

[Warfarer]

No remote will control the PS3, it is bluetooth not IR. The PS3 has the ability of easy, downloadable firmware upgrades, while most others don't.

Nice receiver, I had looked at the 4803 when they came out but I didn't want to drop 2000 on it at the time.

To operate the projector, make sure you get some type of switch that your remote can operate or you will have to run up and manually do when you want to swap. Most projectors have only a couple inputs, so a switch of some sort is the key here.

[tourettesguy]

First of all, don't use 1080i, use 720p. For a good explanation why, watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-JXfyvlPh0

Get a PS3, no doubt.

[Nortonsmeatytit]

Many videophiles consider the PS3 to be their "reference" Blu Ray player. I've had one since they first came out and the picture quality is excellent, fuck the other features you can live without and don't settle on the picture quality.

[Blue Heeler]

^^ What they said...

Also, Sony makes a very nice bluetooth remote, so you don't have to use a controller. You won't regret getting a PS3, even if you only want to watch Blu-ray movies...excellent, excellent player.

[STARTSOMETHING]

Blu ray player, the latest gen does everything the ps3 does. And their now half the price of a ps3.

[Blue Heeler]

Blu ray player, the latest gen does everything the ps3 does. And their now half the price of a ps3.

You're missing the firmware updates for the sake of saving some cash upfront...not to mention never having the option to play games, stream your PC or surf the net from your couch.

[fandango86]

Blu ray player, the latest gen does everything the ps3 does. And their now half the price of a ps3.

Can he play Rock Band on it?

[shimrra]

To be honest I'll say this unless you really are going to get into gaming I would not invest in a PS3. Yes it has the option to play both but from what you described of your hook up as well as your now current gaming device PS3 just might not be your liking. I would recommend 1 of 2 options.

1. Either just purchase yourself a stand alone Blue Ray player if you just want to start watching movies. I know PS3 offers updates but some people might just like the turn on and watch with out having to think about doing updates. Also if you are serious about getting a PS3 gaming look at upgrading your setup to 1080p with 120mhz.

2. Look into buying yourself a DVD that can do 1080p with up scaling. These days some DVD players have HDMI hook ups and other bells and whistles which I have seen starting prices on these players to be under 100 dollars.

The best thing you can do is hit up a couple other forums strictly dealing with this topic. You ask this type of question in a gaming forum and a majority of people will tell you to get a PS3 since it is the only gaming console out there that can do both. But think twice before you invest money into a gaming/movie console.

[MrBogey]

The PS3 can do 1080p upscaling off of a DVD.

Heaven help us if we ever make a TV that does 120mhz. ;)

The PS3s big advantage over Blu-ray players is you can download video rentals from the PSN or if you know how to find bootlegs, you can stream video from off your computer. Or if you have a digital camcorder you could view it directly from the USB.

Also the remote control issue can be fixed with the IR USB attachment. You simply need to manually turn it on but you'll control the PS3 all the same.

A used PS3 40GB can be bought on Ebay for 300-350$.

[STARTSOMETHING]

You're missing the firmware updates for the sake of saving some cash upfront...not to mention never having the option to play games, stream your PC or surf the net from your couch.

The new one's do receive firmware updates. I do agree with you. Until, the players go below 100 bucks

[Snake2k9]

I don't know what a Blu-Rap player is...but I love my PS3 with it's Blu-ray playback.

[Warfarer]

A used PS3 40GB can be bought on Ebay for 300-350$.

The only reason I bought a PS3 was because I wanted one AND caught it on sale at Toys R Us. They ran a special on 40 gigs for $400 with the bluray remote, an extra game, controller, charging stand and an extra charging cable. I returned the game and swapped it for something else. I ended paying 260 or 270 for the system according to the receipt.

[LZMF1]

i have both and i can tell you that getting a PS3 is a better choice. the standalone blu-ray players are very sluggish. you turn it on and it takes forever to read the disc...i dunno, maybe it's just me but i prefer the PS3 over my sony BDP-S301

[THE FEZ MAN]

i like my ps3

[CousinDave]

i have both and i can tell you that getting a PS3 is a better choice. the standalone blu-ray players are very sluggish. you turn it on and it takes forever to read the disc...i dunno, maybe it's just me but i prefer the PS3 over my sony BDP-S301



That's the same way my HD DVD player is - very slow to load - I hate it.

[LZMF1]

i have the HD DVD add on for the 360 but i never bought any HD DVDs. the only one i have came with it (king kong) and i've yet to watch it.

[KneeKnee]

Love my PS3 as a blu-ray player. Never had a problem with it and it plays them flawlessly.

[Razor Roman]

...all BluRay players are firmware upgradeable - the PS3 is easy cause its internet connected. Others require downloading onto a flash drive or a CD rom and updating that way.

The main draw backs for "serious" home theater enthusiasts with the PS3 are

1. No IR remote support for universal remotes (already mentioned)

2. Loud fan noise. (Depends on where you are putting the thing)

3. Better audio is not fully supported - some stand alone players will give you 5.1 Analog Audio output and decode the hi-res audio for users that don't have HDMI receivers. If you do get an HDMI receiver, the PS3 will not send the audio as-is off the disc for the receiver to decode, it will decode it in the PS3 and then send it as PCM to the receiver ("lossless" in terms of quality, however if you spend a lot of money on a receiver with better decoders than the PS3 it will be worthless since the PS3 must decode the signal before it is sent to you)

If those are all minor issues to you, or you don't even know what they mean, then enjoy your PS3, you will not find a BluRay Live compatible player for less. I have zero interest in a PS3, so I was able to pick up a Sharp BD player for cheap. I'm extremely happy with it. When I upgrade from my XGA projector to a flat panel this winter, I'm sure I'll be even happier.

[Blue Heeler]

The main draw backs for "serious" home theater enthusiasts with the PS3 are

2. Loud fan noise. (Depends on where you are putting the thing)

My PS3 is very quiet and it's sitting on top of my dresser ~5 feet in front of me. I will say that my bedroom gets heated up after extended play though...but with winter coming up, that's just fine. The cooling in the PS3 is very efficient.

[MrBogey]

The fan is quiet... except when it's set in a small area and it has to kick up the speed to keep it cool. But it's still not annoyingly loud.

[LZMF1]

after reading this thread i decided to update the firmware of my BDP-S301. you have to download the firmware (http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=BDPS301) and extract the files and then burn them to a CD-R. after doing that you have to put the cd into the player and sit and wait patiently for @ 30 minutes. it's still updating. i'll let you know if the update makes much of a difference.

according to the website it could take up to 30 minutes or longer.....luckily it didn't take that long for me. i popped in the iron man BD and it still loads slowly but when you press eject the machine responds ququickly. before the update it took forever.

[LZMF1]

^^ wow my spelling sucks ^^