PS3 vs Standalone

[RoadRunner6]

There IS no freakin' Fish Forum!.....psst... He's over 60. He can't read this

Oh, wise guy!

Well, take this:

http://www.fishforum.com/

RR6

[Rich-n-Texas]

I'm afraid to look.

[GMichael]

Everyone should have both. A PS3 for the living room and a BR player for the BR.

[DetroitIrish]

Everyone should have both. A PS3 for the living room and a BR player for the BR.

Pffft!!! 2x PS3 FTW! after she goes to sleep, login for a few more rounds of SOCOM!!!

[Woochifer]

There are a few other things to throw into the mix both in favor and against the PS3. Since I've (finally) made the jump to HD, I'm now looking to upgrade to Blu-ray as well.

However, because my DVD player is a 480i model (made no sense for me to upgrade while my monitor remained a standard def CRT), I'm looking for something that will also do a decent job with progressive DVD playback.

The issue with the PS3 is that while it remains one of the top rated Blu-ray players, it has fared very poorly as a progressive DVD player. The Secrets of Home Theater site has been running benchmark tests since 2000, and the PS3 purportedly turned in one of their worst benchmark scores on DVD playback, even while running a recent firmware version.

The Sony PS3 continues to have extremely poor results in our SD DVD tests. The fact of the matter is, it just cannot lock onto a high resolution test pattern for any of our cadence tests. This is worse performance than we see with even sub-$50 players at your local big box store. One could argue that the player will probably do just fine with real world content since it probably doesn’t have as high detail as our test patterns, but I think that argument would mainly come from those trying to justify their purchase. If I can get nearly every DVD player out there to pass these tests, why won’t this one?

Given that I have over 500 DVDs at home, I still want to something that can do justice to my DVDs. Most standalone Blu-ray players also have mediocre DVD playback performance, but still better than what the PS3 delivers. The Oppo DVD players offer up stellar DVD playback for around $200, and can bitstream DVD-A and SACD via HDMI. The combined cost of the Oppo player and a standalone Blu-ray player would not be much more than the PS3.

On the flip side, I'm also intrigued by the PS3s class-leading Blu-ray performance and its future proof upgradability. Another capability that I really like is the media center feature. Nice to have one device that can connect to the movie, photo, and music files that I got stored on my Mac, and apps are available that can seamlessly integrate the PS3 with iTunes and iPhoto.

Plus, the PS3 can do gaming. So, as I decide on how I want to go about playing back my video media, there's a lot to consider!

[Rich-n-Texas]

Well, you have a point there Wooch, but in my case, even with my Panny set to output in 480p, I'm certain I'm seeing better PQ when I play any of my DVD's through my PS3. You still have to take the DVD's mastering into consideration as well though right?

[DetroitIrish]

IMO go PS3 and grab an upconvert DVD or 480p dvd, both of which are cheap as dirt

[johnny p]

I have 2 PS3s........ No games

[pixelthis]

There are a few other things to throw into the mix both in favor and against the PS3. Since I've (finally) made the jump to HD, I'm now looking to upgrade to Blu-ray as well.

However, because my DVD player is a 480i model (made no sense for me to upgrade while my monitor remained a standard def CRT), I'm looking for something that will also do a decent job with progressive DVD playback.

The issue with the PS3 is that while it remains one of the top rated Blu-ray players, it has fared very poorly as a progressive DVD player. The Secrets of Home Theater site has been running benchmark tests since 2000, and the PS3 purportedly turned in one of their worst benchmark scores on DVD playback, even while running a recent firmware version.



Given that I have over 500 DVDs at home, I still want to something that can do justice to my DVDs. Most standalone Blu-ray players also have mediocre DVD playback performance, but still better than what the PS3 delivers. The Oppo DVD players offer up stellar DVD playback for around $200, and can bitstream DVD-A and SACD via HDMI. The combined cost of the Oppo player and a standalone Blu-ray player would not be much more than the PS3.

On the flip side, I'm also intrigued by the PS3s class-leading Blu-ray performance and its future proof upgradability. Another capability that I really like is the media center feature. Nice to have one device that can connect to the movie, photo, and music files that I got stored on my Mac, and apps are available that can seamlessly integrate the PS3 with iTunes and iPhoto.

Plus, the PS3 can do gaming. So, as I decide on how I want to go about playing back my video media, there's a lot to consider!

How important are games to you? And if you're such a cheapskate there is another issue to consider, mainly your receiver.
Multichannel outs can extend the life of an older receiver.
Another thing , start culling your DVD's, figure out which ones to replace, which ones to cull completely, and which ones you can live with in reduced definition.
HATE to tell ya but after awhile watching a DVD is like when you tried to watch a VHS tape after months of DVD watching, remember that?
No matter how good the "upconversion" a DVD is never gonna be as good as HD, either from blu or broadcast.
Just the way it is.
A lot are disapointed by by "upconversion", mainly because they are expecting a HD pic, and all they get is a slightly improved DVD pic, if that.
Remember, a DVD is not 480p, its 480i, that is not much info to "scale" into 1080p, and the resolution isnt going to increase regardless.
Don't worry about upconversion too much, concentrate instead on the higher res sources, they look better from the git go.

[Woochifer]

How important are games to you? And if you're such a cheapskate there is another issue to consider, mainly your receiver.
Multichannel outs can extend the life of an older receiver.
Another thing , start culling your DVD's, figure out which ones to replace, which ones to cull completely, and which ones you can live with in reduced definition.
HATE to tell ya but after awhile watching a DVD is like when you tried to watch a VHS tape after months of DVD watching, remember that?
No matter how good the "upconversion" a DVD is never gonna be as good as HD, either from blu or broadcast.
Just the way it is.
A lot are disapointed by by "upconversion", mainly because they are expecting a HD pic, and all they get is a slightly improved DVD pic, if that.
Remember, a DVD is not 480p, its 480i, that is not much info to "scale" into 1080p, and the resolution isnt going to increase regardless.
Don't worry about upconversion too much, concentrate instead on the higher res sources, they look better from the git go.

Given that I plan to upgrade the receiver next year, the lack of multichannel outs is a nonissue. The issue has more to do with what I plan to get first.

Standalone Blu-ray players have mediocre DVD playback, yet even that's better than what the PS3 delivers. The quality of the DVD playback is consequential because I have a DVD library that, aside from a select title here and there, I don't plan on upgrading to Blu-ray. The question is whether the media center, class-leading Blu-ray playback, and gaming features are enough for me to overlook the PS3's flaws with the DVD playback. At the moment, I'm leaning towards the PS3 despite its shortcomings.

[Woochifer]

IMO go PS3 and grab an upconvert DVD or 480p dvd, both of which are cheap as dirt

The reviewer did mention that the cheapest upconverting DVD players on the market will outperform the PS3 with DVD playback. And even the Oppo players, which routinely turn in the top benchmark scores, mostly sell for around $200.

[Woochifer]

Well, you have a point there Wooch, but in my case, even with my Panny set to output in 480p, I'm certain I'm seeing better PQ when I play any of my DVD's through my PS3. You still have to take the DVD's mastering into consideration as well though right?

Garbage in garbage out. The DVD players though can make a difference with poorly mastered discs because of how the video processors differ.

[DetroitIrish]

The reviewer did mention that the cheapest upconverting DVD players on the market will outperform the PS3 with DVD playback. And even the Oppo players, which routinely turn in the top benchmark scores, mostly sell for around $200.

True enough but how many of them have firmware/software upgrades, and have better BR playback?

[GMichael]

Hey Wooch,

I hear you on the DVD playback. Many of us have a few DVD's that we won't be upgrading to BR for one reason or another. It's important that our BR or PS3 players do a good job with them.
I believe that Sir T had a fix for the PS3's less than stellar DVD playback problem. Several people have tried it and agree that it's a good fix. I use an HD-DVD player for DVD's so I've never tried it. But you may want to contact Sir T before you make your purchase.

[L.J.]

Yup, my 2910 & A2 still get plenty of use. Can't let my PS3 do everything.

I kinda agree with Pix. IDK, I throw on a DVD and the last thing I'm worried about is PQ. You just get used to HD. Everything else is...meh.

What I do know, is that I've used my PS3 for it's streaming & media capabilities far more than DVD viewing. I have my entire music collection ripped in FLAC and that's pretty much how I listen to music now. For me, the media streaming/BR capabilities are too high a priority to be concerned about DVD playback. But I think Wooch has a good point if DVD playback is a priority.

The only solution is to get a PS3 complimented by a Oppo player

[Rich-n-Texas]

Okay please tell me where I go to get the FLAC CODEC? installed onto my PC, and what special considerations do I need to take into account when I want to rip tracks from my CD's.

[Woochifer]

Yup, my 2910 & A2 still get plenty of use. Can't let my PS3 do everything.

I kinda agree with Pix. IDK, I throw on a DVD and the last thing I'm worried about is PQ. You just get used to HD. Everything else is...meh.

What I do know, is that I've used my PS3 for it's streaming & media capabilities far more than DVD viewing. I have my entire music collection ripped in FLAC and that's pretty much how I listen to music now. For me, the media streaming/BR capabilities are too high a priority to be concerned about DVD playback. But I think Wooch has a good point if DVD playback is a priority.

The only solution is to get a PS3 complimented by a Oppo player

Good points. My original plan was to get the Oppo first, and then figure out if I want a standalone player or a PS3. But, now that I've seen the wonders of HD at home, upgrading the entire video chain to HD is now the first priority.

One reason for looking into the Oppo is that my SACD player can no longer read hybrid discs reliably. It's still under warranty (thanks to the 5-year warranty on Sony's ES components) and I'll probably send it back to Sony soon, but it made me think about backup options for my 5.1 audio discs. Since all Oppo players also play DVD-A and SACD, and can bitstream those formats via HDMI, their stellar DVD playback performance is the icing on the cake.

On the other hand, I can also see myself making big time use of the PS3's media center features. I've already ripped over 300 CDs onto my Mac, and the insanely great iTunes Genius feature can auto-generate some incredible playlists. Nullriver's $20 MediaLink application integrates the PS3 with iTunes, and can link to all of my iTunes playlists.

I guess that DVDs remain a priority simply because I have so many of them!

[L.J.]

Okay please tell me where I go to get the FLAC CODEC? installed onto my PC, and what special considerations do I need to take into account when I want to rip tracks from my CD's.

Google is your friend:

http://flac.sourceforge.net/index.html

And you can read this:

Why is this section so dead, when computers are so awesome?

[Rich-n-Texas]

I know, Google is my friend. So is AVS.com, blue-ray.com, Howstuffworks.com, Hometheatershack.com... etc. See what I'm sayin'?

[GMichael]

I know, Google is my friend. So is AVS.com, blue-ray.com, Howstuffworks.com, Hometheatershack.com... etc. See what I'm sayin'?

That you'd rather get the answers from someone here?

[Rich-n-Texas]

Yes. That and I lke to make L.J. work for his keep.

[GMichael]

You just like how he takes all that techno-babble and turns it into something even us simpletons can understand.

[audio amateur]

Hi guys
As I know that you're all PS3 savvy, what is the current going price on the console (cheapest -no games), and how low do you think it will ever drop to? Any idea when that will happen?
As we're both too cheap to buy one, me and a buddy are thinking of buying one together,
It sells in the UK for £300, that's about 470$.
In France it sells currently for 400 euro, which is approx 500 bucks. I'll be going to my sisters wedding in April which will take place in Boulder CO, so will hopefully pick one up there.
Thanks for the info. Hope everyone's well

[audio amateur]

Google is my best mate ever

[Woochifer]

Hi guys
As I know that you're all PS3 savvy, what is the current going price on the console (minimum price -no games), and what do you expect to be the minimum price, and how soon?
As we're both too cheap to buy one, me and a buddy are thinking of buying one together,
It sells in the UK for £300, that's about 470$.
In France it sells currently for 400 euro, which is approx 500 bucks. I'll be going to my sisters wedding in April which will take place in Boulder CO, so will hopefully pick one up there.
Thanks for the info. Hope everyone's well

The current 80GB version sells for $400USD. Unfortunately, it has zero PS2 and SACD compatibility, unlike the first generation models. Believe it or not, reconditioned first generation PS3s sell for about $430, which is more than what you pay for a brand new unit.