Is the Sony PS3 Blu-ray good enough or do we need a standalone player?
So I have been sitting here watching a Blu-ray movie on my Sony PS3, man I fell good that Blu-ray has won over HD DVD. Then I got to thinking about a standalone Blu-ray player and how they are not future proof.
The thing is as far as I know the Blu-ray player in the Sony PlayStation 3 is future proof as the firmware update that we get, adds new features all the time. The thing is is the built-in Blu-ray player in this games console as good as a standalone player.
Many people have said that the Blu-ray player in the Sony PS3 is not as good as a standalone player. However I have no problems with the built-in player, the thing is if you have a TV that you have spent thousands on and one of the most expensive Blu-ray players, only then will you get to see a difference.
So do we need a standalone Blu-ray player or is PS3 good enough?
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lol this makes me laugh as i have always heard the same record being played that the ps3 is the superior player on the market for both picture and feature wise (upgradable etc) so there is no need for a stand alone blu ray player. therefore the ps3 is the best console on the market. hd dvd is dead blu ray is way superior
I’ve used standalone Blu-ray players, and I own a PS3. There’s no question it’s just as good as the best standalone players out there when it comes to playback and features, and it’s fully upgradeable so any future upgrades to the format won’t be a problem for PS3 owners.
The way I see it, the PS3 should be any movie fan’s main player — due to the gaming and host of other multimedia features that are included — and standalone players should only be bought to satisfy need for additional rooms, etc.
What Sony should do is start including the very useful and convenient Blu-ray remote, which retails for about $20, with the system. That would make it an even sweeter deal for the consumer who’s primarily getting it for the movies.
My only issue with the PS3 as a Blu Ray player is it’s lack of HD audio flexibility. It will not output HD audio codecs in bitstream. When you combine this with it’s lack of an internal DTS HD MA decoder, it becomes impossible to take advantage of that codec. I’ve found a large % of Blu Ray discs use this as their only HD audio track. WTF Sony?
For picture quality, there is no difference. But for audio a stand alone bluray player will outdo it. try getting surround sound 7.1 is or any other codec that it does not support. As for the BD-J (BD Live), I only hope it becomes better and not so bug filled as I have heard. HDI was a much better interactive tool but to bad HD DVD died. It was much more feature rich then Blu-ray.
You also have to remember that all new bluray player have to have and ethernet port. So therefore all new players are upgradeable through firmware updates. To bad for everyone that did not buy a PS3 as a bluray player in the begining. That’s another reason that blows my mind when I think about the battle between bluray and hd dvd. The HD DVD was equipted with an ethernet port and it was more feature rich then the Bluray from day one. Only in 2008 they decide to play catch up with the features with BD-J. All Bluray had was more disk space. Yet this is the format that won. A complete shame when you realize that the more complete product got ditched because of PS3 causing market confusion.
Why aren’t all Blu-ray players future proof? I have a 5 year old DVD player that can accept firmware upgrades from a CD-rom. You download the firmware from the manufacturer’s website and run it in the player.
There is no such thing as a future proof player. If you would have reviewed all models of the hd-dvd drives they had problems that could not be fixed. The first DVD’s were not firmware upgradable. Every Blu-ray player and HD-DVD player can be firmware upgraded. They just don’t have the storage to hold the updates. Sorry but there was never a complete format. VHS was the only complete format. Every HD-DVD movie I owned had a website listed to download the latest updates. Besides all I want to do is watch the movie. None of those HD-DVD features interested me. Niether will BD-J.
Hi all. The format wars are over but its not clear if the better format won.
Definitely Sony’s marketing strategy in bundling Bluray player with the PS3 was a deciding factor. However the fact also remains that there is still a paucity of cheap and readily available HD content.
I have a Ps3 and most of the time aside from playing games and surfing the net I use it to upscale DVD movies so the Upscaling feature to 1080p is very usefull as full HDTVs are ahead of their time.
Even the Ps3 games come mostly in 720p formats with few titles at true 1080p and bluray disks dont come cheap.
What the PS3 really needs to make it a complete home entertainment system is a HDMI input receiver to receive SD channels from SD settop boxes. This will unleash the awesome power of the cell processor to upscale all the hundreds of SD channels to 1080p formats.
I think they alreay implemented this in Korea so i just wish sony does the same for the rest of the world. Of cause the HD broadcast stations and channels wont be too pleased as it eats into their marketing segment. And of cause it also does not help sale of sony’s own bluray movies.
But this is the all important missing link that will complete the PS3’s evolution into a comprensive home entertainment system that will complement a Full HD TV system