Blu Ray player Vs PS3

Deadalus

Probobly being asked many times before so once more wont hurt. Are blu ray players better than watching blu ray on a PS3? In other words is the picture and sound better? I know firmware updates will be easier on the PS3 but I would literally just be buying the PS3 as a blu ray player as I don't really like any of the PS3 games so far. Am I better off buying a blu ray player for around 350 quid instead?

Thanks

Enda89

The PS3 is by no means the best Blu Ray player out there, but is by far the best in it's price range.

You should look up reviews on websites like cnet.com and do some research on what models Argos, Currys, Sony Centre etc. sell.

I read up on them a few months back and the the interesting thing to note was that Blu Ray players you buy now are version 1.3 or something and Blu Ray 2.0 will be coming out next year which is a newer version or whatever. now SOME blu ray players you buy now can upgrade with firmware etc but some dont and could be obsolete. The PS3 will definatly upgrade to version 2.0 when it's out and this is a big advantage for it.

Zonda999

Possibly, if you dont care for Bluray 2.0 and future advances in bluray firmware.I find the internet thing on them fairly useless TBH.BTW, you can do much better than 350e for a bluray player

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/643192/art/samsung/bd-p1400-blu-ray-player.html

Thats only 260e.As for if they are better, i' dont know because literally everyone that i know has a bluray player uses the ps3.TBH, no i dont think they would be any better whatsoever.Bluray 2.0 has been in the ps3 since March by the way...

mathias

The PS3 is by no means the best Blu Ray player out there

Yes it is , point me out one player that gets a better review ! It is the most advanced and responsive player on the market and is likely to remain that way for quite some time.

The panasonic BD50 reviewed here , is twice the price of a PS3 yet its not able to stand up to it in terms of performance ,

http://reviews.cnet.com/video-players-and-recorders/panasonic-dmp-bd50/4505-6463_7-32815617.html

For most people reviewing blu-ray players , the PS3 is the reference standard it has to beat , and so far , none have shown any compelling reason why you should shell out the extra cash for the standalone.

Quote from the Panasonic BD50 review

The good: First Profile 2.0-compliant standalone player; excellent image quality on Blu-ray Discs; onboard decoding for all high-resolution soundtrack formats, plus bit stream output; analog multichannel outputs; SDHC card slot can play high-definition AVCHD video.

The bad: Expensive compared with the superior PlayStation 3; standard DVD performance is lackluster; operational speed still sluggish compared with PS3.

The bottom line: Excellent soundtrack support and Profile 2.0-compliancy make the Panasonic DMP-BD50 the most recommendable standalone Blu-ray player to date, but the PS3 is still better and cheaper.

McDermotX

Like mathias alludes to above,
if anyone I know asks me around the whole BD question, I always end up pointing them in the direction of the PS3..
Although I do point them in the direction of importing from the US or Japan for disc supply reasons..

Since inception, it has proved to be the most reliable, fastest and feature-laden BD player on the market.............and I've already been been through a couple of standalones over nearly two years, and always fall back to the PS3..
Like a lot of people I've patiently waited for the likes of the BD50 to arrive, and the subsequent Pioneers a little later, in order to find that standalone which will finally pull ahead of the console. But they all seem to just fall short of the PS3, either with regard to lack of features, DVD support, Profile legacy etc etc etc....or just basic performance..

The PS3 BD offers speed, ease of use, Profile 2.0, excellent image quality and advanced audio support, which few other players can match or even approach..
Its not 100% though, and there are a couple of minor irritations that may prevent it from being my primary BD player a year from now (hopefully anyway).......lack of HD audio bitstreaming, lack of analogue connections and even the quietest PS3 will be surpassed by future standalones' noise levels. The other minor thing is the lack of IR support (without 3rd party support) meaning it can be out on its own in a home theater setup.......barely worth mentioning as the bluetooth remote is more than decent..
Of course, TrueHD and DTS-MA are all handled by internal decoding, but it would be nice to have the bitstreaming option..
So, even with Sony's excellent firmware updates, there are limitations which can't be overcome..

Still though, even with those caveats it still ranks higher than the players on the market right now..

Enda89

OP should check out this thread:

http://www.empireonline.com/forum/tm.asp?m=1928429

Deadalus

Thanks all. I'm gonna go with the PS3 seems like the sensible option if their really is no difference in picture quality. Much appreciated