Billiam

On paper the PS3 has one or two limitations of what it can do with certain audio types that you may want to look into. For 90/100 people they won't matter though.

ChodTheWacko

http://www.dailyramblings.com/?p=1596

jiggaman

yeah i heard you need to get like the $600.00 + Bluray players to access certain audio features or something...is that what you mean?

Doom878

It doesn't bitstream the DTS-HD and TrueHD tracks. It converts them to Linear PCM. All have the same bitrate but the super audio geeks say it matters.

Billiam

And just to expound on that, your same HDMI connection that would be carrying the THD or DTSHD-MA bitstreams is also fully capable of carrying the six or seven discrete channels of L-PCM after the PS3 has decoded them.

If you have a receiver that's capable of DTSHD-MA and TrueHD, then about the only difference is that the receiver won't actually display those names, it will just say L-PCM or something similar. It should sound essentially identical though.

Doom878

Yeah. I have an HDMI receiver and it only says 7.1 and then PCM. I was watching Batman Begins and left it on regular Dolby Digital, then switched to DTS-MA and what a difference.

jiggaman

i have a bose lifestyle sound system. do you think that i would benefit from this better sound tech with higher end blu-ray systems?

Doom878

No because the only way to benefit from the new HD tracks is to have a receiver that gets video and audio through HDMI. I have 0 optical cables used in my setup.

jiggaman

so i might as well get a PS3...

Doom878

Billiam

FYI, Walmart is apparently going to run their $100 offer again this Saturday (11/8). Purchase the $399 80GB system and they'll give you a $100 gift card. No, it's not $100 off the price but it is $100 worth of free stuff.

moeronn

I was looking through ads this weekend and it looks like the Netlix streaming will only be SD quality. While that may be okay for some TV shows, it doesn't appeal to me for most shows or movies. I don't see (or know) what features these new players for $350+ offer over the older models that are selling for close to $200?

Samsung BD=P1500 can be had for ~$200 from Amazon

Sony BDP-S350 can be had for ~$225 from Amazon

I definitely want to get a player by the end of the year. My current DVD player is on the fritz - tray doesn't like to open.

Billiam

What do you have for a receiver? Whether or not the difference between the higher and lower end models matters to you may be dependent on the answer to that question.

Doom878

The difference between the 1.1 and 2.0 players is mostly online support. I believe both have the same HD audio codecs (unlike the HD-DVD players where the cheaper ones offered very low bitrates thus hurting audio quality). That's what makes the PS3 such an attractive machine. It was the first to be 2.0 and at the time was the same price or cheaper than other machines.

FYI, avsforum did a review on Kung Fu Panda. The guy scored it 100 for both audio and video. I think Iron Man was his last 100 but only for video. The reviewer is pretty strict too. Can you say demo material!!!

kona

fyi... The Sears black friday ad has it for $180.
http://www.blackfriday.info/sales/se...friday-ad.html

moeronn

I think both of these players are Live 2.0. I know for sure that the Samsung has ethernet update capabilities.

My receiver is a few years old - Yamaha RX-V1300. No HDMI.

FWIW, my TV doesn't have HDMI either, plus it's only 720p. I need to make sure I can go HDMI-->DVI and still get 720p.

ChodTheWacko

I wouldn't use an animation as demo material, to be honest, because it probably won't look THAT much different than an upscaled DVD.

From an 'edge' standpoint, Upscaled DVDs hold their own, because edges
are still nice and sharp. Where HD really shows its strength is in surface detail - like skin.

- Frank

Billiam

From what I can tell, it looks like your receiver has 6 channel analog inputs. So theoretically, you may want to consider looking for a BDP that has multi-channel analog outputs. In this case, the player would decode the audio stream and then send it out over it's analog outputs. This is one area where you'll see the difference between models. For example, the Sammy 2500 has multi-channel analog outputs whereas the 1500 doesn't. Of course, if you just want to stick with the Dolby Digital soundtrack, then your existing optical connection is all you need.

What I said about audio could be a moot point. I think Blu-Ray may require an HDCP-enabled connection which can only be provided by HDMI. Someone here will know for sure.

NetEditor

I disagree. Ratatoiulle and Cars are some of the best examples for Blu-ray. I see a stark difference between Blu-ray and DVD on those movies.

ChodTheWacko

Okay, I'm going to have to backtrack on that a bit. I had cel type animation stuck in my head. With cgi, you can definitely have lots of particulate matter and all that.

I'm still leaning towards Iron man being my main demo.

- Frank

TS_eXpeed

I'm just jumping in here and haven't read much, but in a short blurb, can someone tell me if the Blu-Ray Player in the PS3 is good?

I never thought about getting a PS3, but being that it has a Blue-Ray Player, it's kind of hard to beat. And besides I want Grand Turismo

Sarlacc

Not Baraka?

moeronn

Don't you have a new bride to plow? Get the hell off the computer.

ChodTheWacko

It's certainly good enough that if you are a gamer you can use it as your primary blu-ray player. There are better players if you aren't.

Baraka has possibly the best video out of any Blu-ray I've seen so far,
but for first impressions I want something with flashier sound, and something
well...... more fun?

I'd probably get the Fifth Element if I didn't already have two versions on dvd. ha ha.

- Frank

Doom878

I have 5th Element but I will buy Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda on Sunday (on sale at Target) and compare. Iron Man will be my live action demo and Kung Fu my animated demo. I just need the BBC History Collection (Planet Earth, China, etc) to be my documentary demo.

moeronn

Isn't Kung Fu Panda out/on sale now? If you wait until Sunday, you might miss the sale. Or you might catch a new one.

moeronn

I bowed to the peer pressure and just ordered the Sony BDP-S350 from Amazon, along with Kung Fu Panda, Baraka, The 5th Element and Iron Man. Good thing we didn't open the Iron Man DVD we laready bought.

Should be here by Friday. Now it's time to look into Netflix.

YVRTSX

Although I had never heard of this film, thanks to all of your comments, I finally managed to track down a copy of this in Blu-Ray. It is truly amazing.

Doom878

It's not $19.99 until Sunday.

Derk's K24

Once you change your account on Netflix to let them know you have BR everytime you pick a movie if it's available in BR they automatically put it in your queue.

BTW The Incredible Hulk was freakin amazing!

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

Out of these players what's the best bang for buck? Best of breed? or should I just get PS3 (I don't really game much).

Panasonic Blu-ray DVD Player (DMPBD55)
Panasonic Blu-ray Player (DMPBD35)
Pioneer Blu-ray Player Disc Player (BDP-51FD)
Samsung Blu-ray Disc Player (BDP1500)
Samsung Blu-ray Disc Player (BD-P2550)
Sharp AQUOS Blu-Ray Player (BDHP21U)
Sony Blu-ray Disc Player (BDPS350)
Sony Blu-ray Disc Player (BDPS550)

Doom878

Are those all 2.0? Do you care about BD-Live or any other extra options? If you want just a Blu-Ray player just go for the cheapest. Amazon has been having deals on these like crazy.

MisterLinus

I am about to get this one, very good reviews and I have seen it for sale around $225-$250. I also have a Panasonic Viera plasma so the Viera link is important to me. I am also a big proponent of having your visual equipment match. So if you have a Samsung TV maybe go for the Samsung Blu-Ray. Audio equipment is a different story just get what sounds best and fits your budget but as far as visual sources are concerned, I think when you stick with the same manufacturer you get less hassles in the end since the component was most likely optimally designed to work with the manufacturers display device.

I have heard the PS3 is an excellent Blu-Ray player, but if you really don't see yourself gaming at all I think it may be a waste of $400 since there are excellent Blu-Ray players out there for less.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

I haven't really done my research, what's 2.0? I know the samsung pd1500 has a firmware update that's supposed to add bd live and 2.0 I believe but I really don't know what the added benefit is.

jlukja

Does the PS3 upconvert SD DVDs to 1080p and, if so, how well does it do it?

Doom878

I believe 2.0 is BD-Live but you may want to google that. The PS3 is said to be an excellent upconverter for SD-DVD's. For a while the PS3 was considered the best BD player out but I'm not sure if that remains true with all the latest models released.

Mizouse

iirc, it does but only thru HDMI, dont remember how well it did it thou.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

I'm pretty sure my TV will upconvert too.

jlukja

I'm also trying to decide between a BR player and the PS3. I'm not a gamer but if the PQ for BlueRay and DVD-SD discs is the same for a player and for the PS3 then I wouldn't mind having the gaming ability of the PS3 for an additional $100 or so over a dedicated BR player.

Dougler, I read somewhere a while back that the PS3 only outputs 1080p. If that's true then your TV wouldn't need to do the upconvert. If that's not the case then ignore this comment.

Sarlacc

PS3 does a good job on the upconversion of SD discs. Better then my Sammy BluRay. Not quite as good as my XBOX HD-DVD player, but pretty close.