Playstation 3 as a Blu-Ray player

[aubergine]

"Resume" is actually very handy. I usually can't sit through a whole movie.

Had a guy at EB run me through the DVR gadget add-on today, but at $400-$500 (compared to $116...) it's highly unlikely.

I think the smart thing to do would be continue to save until E3, when you might reasonably expect a price cut or a much better bundle to appear.

Or a Dick Smith Administrator's Liquidation Sale.

Unfortunately, with such purchases "The Smart Thing" rarely comes into it.

[VanAce]

I am sure that by E3 there will also be a handful of other entry level blu-ray players on the market.

[Str8JaktJim]

I use my PS3 pretty much exclusively as a bluray player. It's pretty good. It plays 3D movies if that sort of thing floats your boat (and if you're TV can do it). I think the big thing that the PS3 has over the cheaper Bluray players is that it has HDMI and Optical out options. Most of the cheaper BR players I've seen are just 2 channel stereo.

The only downside I have is that running the audio through a optical cable puts in some white noise for some reason, but I think that must be either the cable or the amp I'm running everything through, because I recently discovered it does the same on my new Xbox.

[aubergine]

I'd think that the ideal would be HDMI to your TV then the sound going from TV to Amp via HDMI or optical or something (?).

Sony actually has a cheapie BRDP designed to vaguely resemble a tiny PS3, and it does have the advantage of BEING tiny, looks less than half the size of standard players.

A major plus when it will be sitting on a desk for much of its life.

[Starscream]

For me

Positives:
+ Future proof Blu-ray player - so many patches (don't know if the 3D capability patch has been released)
+ Plays games
+ Region free for gaming (import away)

Negatives:
- Price
- Have to buy a PS3 remote (relatives struggle to use the PS3 controller as a remote) for playback
- Region locked for playback of DVD/BR movies

If you're not into PS3 gaming, buy yourself the Soniq 3D BR player at JB for $100 (don't know if it's still on special). If you're into importing BR movies make sure before buying it check that region playback can be changed via input code as certain models might not allow it.

[Str8JaktJim]

Originally Posted by aubergine

I'd think that the ideal would be HDMI to your TV then the sound going from TV to Amp via HDMI or optical or something (?)

Sounds goods in theory, but my amp doesn't do sound in 5.1 through HDMI for some reason, hence using an optical cable. Hadn't though about running HDMI to the TV and sound to the amp, but I think I'll still get the noise since it happens with the Xbox as well. Might try buying a not so cheap cable.

For me

Positives:
+ Future proof Blu-ray player - so many patches (don't know if the 3D capability patch has been released)
+ Plays games
+ Region free for gaming (import away)

Negatives:
- Price
- Have to buy a PS3 remote (relatives struggle to use the PS3 controller as a remote) for playback
- Region locked for playback of DVD/BR movies

If you're not into PS3 gaming, buy yourself the Soniq 3D BR player at JB for $100 (don't know if it's still on special). If you're into importing BR movies make sure before buying it check that region playback can be changed via input code as certain models might not allow it.

PS3 do 3D BR movies. I've watched one on mine.

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

If you also want to record TV and stream stuff from your pc the ps3 is a pretty decent purchase for the price. On top of that you get the definitive console of this gen with more AAA titles than the other current gen consoles combined (iPad and Wii) and we are only halfway into the 10 year plan.

[aubergine]

The definitive versions of Skyrim and Mass Effect for example.

[T Strife]

Originally Posted by aubergine

A few $100-ish players would suit this just fine, and I'm not keen to produce an extra $250 on top of that for a PS3 Slim, though there's clearly some advantages. One is the wireless Internet capabilities.

Not really a comment on advantages of the Ps3 (most of which come down to games, but at this point in the cycle you would have to have a crapload of free time - possibly the result of some dark magic - to justify to yourself that you *need* both HD consoles), but it is worth noting that off-the-record reports from sales assistants suggest that a disproportionate number of bargain-of-the-month blu-ray players end up getting returned as faulty.

If the games really don't matter, and you're considering that extra cash just for a bit of a laugh, then I'd suggest meeting the idea in the middle and looking at a dedicated player in the $200-250 range. And for the love of everything worth loving, order all your cables online.

Originally Posted by aubergine

I'd think that the ideal would be HDMI to your TV then the sound going from TV to Amp via HDMI or optical or something

It typically ends up being a case of HDMI to the amp, and then HDMI from the amp to the TV. At least, so long as the equipment is recent enough.

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

Originally Posted by aubergine

The definitive versions of Skyrim and Mass Effect for example.

So definitive, I can't even play Skyrim at the moment because it crashes every single time I hit water. True Nord.