I have never really been a PS3 fan, but I have had to have 7 360's replaced in 2 years time; so I'm considering a PS3 for when my XBOX dies for the final time.

I also have been eyeing a blue ray player for my DLP sammy I bought earlier this year, but never really wanted to spend the money. I got about $350 in gift certificates yesterday. I was originally going to get the Sony Sony BDP-S550 blu-ray player, but then I remembered that the PS3 also has a blue ray player so I am wondering if getting a PS3 would be a better buy.

What are the differences between a PS3 blu-ray player and just a standalone blue ray player like the Sony BDP-S550?

 

PS3 Hands down. I really like the fact that the PS3 has wifi for web browsing.

 

Simple, if you also want the gaming system, then get the PS3. If a gaming console isn't a priority, then get a stand alone.

 

I recently was in a similar situation.
I don't game at all, but wanted a good Blu-Ray player that could stream from my Netflix account. I came across a Samsung Blu-Ray player that connects to Netflix for instant playing and bought it on the spot. PERFECT for my needs.
It's on sale at BB this week for $350, down from $400.

 

 

For me it came down to the PS3 ($399) or the Panasonic BD35 ($199). Not being a gamer and only wanting to watch movies with the highest PQ (don't really care for the internet connectivity or other special features) I chose the dedicated blueray player.

 

makes sense.

 

Don't forget the PS3 is a media streamer. Tversity will stream your music, photos, and videos for free. Plus it has 80GB minimum storage space for other stuff. Plus if you're not much of a gamer, casual games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Singstar are hits at parties. Plus it has a movie downloading service that I think is cheaper and with a better selection than pay per view (I could be wrong though). And with the browser, you can watch You Tube videos and catch up on your TV shows through hulu.com for free.

 

Well I ended up going for the PS3. I got the 160 GB bundle with Drake's fortune. I already have a couple of 360's (Pro and Elite), but I'm averaging a dead console every 2 - 3 months. So I was planning on transitioning anyway for when they die and are out of warranty.

Quick question about the BlueRay player, I got the Dark Knight on Blue Ray and when watching it I noticed that some scenes are full screen and other scenes have the black bars on the top and bottom. Is this normal or should it all be full screen? I have a pretty new Samsung DLP 61" widescreen that I got this past January.

 

I don't have the disc, but I assume it's the difference between the scenes that were shot in Imax and those that were shot on a conventional film format. Imax is a different aspect ratio than the two normal film formats for movies.

 

That was my guess too

 

yep...it does the ratio changes.

But I find it a bit silly because they still crop the IMAX aspect ratio to full 16x9. Granted it would REALLY silly if they kept switching from 4:3 to 2.40 on a 16x9 TV....but the effect is lost overall.

 

congrats on getting the ps3.

i had to make a similar choice in the summer, and i ended up with the ps3 too even though i'm not much of a gamer. 6 months later, i'm really enjoying the machine. even though i use it mostly for movies, i've been having fun with the games too.