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Wich of these stand alone players is the best?

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Effin PS3... which Blu-Ray player should I buy at $399 price point?

11K views 169 replies 50 participants last post by  anonymouse99 
#1 ·
I finally broke down and bought a Blu-Ray player. Not being a fan of Sony I decided I would buy a PS3 because they lose money on me and I have no plans of buying games or accessories for it. After fighting this thing for a week now I think I'm officially done with it. The lack of HDMI cable, IR support, and a few other what I would consider requirements have made me dislike this thing to the point where I've had it. The final straw is my inability to make my Harmony remote work with it even w/the Blue Wave remote dongle. Sure I could put even more time into programming it but it will never control the PS3 100% no matter what I buy. So far, I've paid for another HDMI cable (I really feel sorry for the people that spend $100 for an HDMI cable) an IR remote and after all that it still doesn't function the way it should. I didn't buy a Harmony remote so that I can have some goofy video game controller that I had to use too.


/rant


So, now that I'm returning this PS3 to Best Buy I'm wondering what player that is at the same $399 price point I should get. I've heard that the PS3 is 'future proof' but the more I'm reading makes it seem like even the stand alone players can be updated with the latest firmware when it happens. So, is the PS3 any more 'future proof' than the others or is that a load of BS? The players available to me are:


Sharp BD-HP20U

Samsung BD-P1400/X

Sony BDP-S300


Of those three I would rather not own the Sony but if it's the best I will buy it. The other bonus is I have a 10% off coupon that I couldn't use on the PS3 that I can use on one of these so that will save me another $40. My Harmony will work perfectly out of the gate and it will most likely include an HDMI cable. So, which one should I pick and why? Thanks for the help and sorry if this has been covered some place. I read many pages of thread topics before posting this and didn't see anything that looked like it would cover my issues.
 
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#102 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JVi /forum/post/13394083


I have the Panasonic BD30 and the PS3 40 Gb.


TrueHD = Multichannel PCM (side by side A/B test with six people listening to the soundtrack from 300 with an Onkyo 875 processing the HD track from the BD30 and also receiving LPCM from the PS3). People "hearing" a difference I would not trust as reliable witnesses in a court of law.


PS3 >>> BD30.

How did the DTS-MA comparison go?


Have you compared Fan noise during quiet passages?
 
#103 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rdclark /forum/post/13392767


Son, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but it's not all about you. Nobody really cares what you do, or wants to convince you of anything. We're just trying to neutralize all the anti-PS3 FUD you're spewing, for the benefit of innocents who may stumble across this thread and become alarmed.


If you would just stop it, it would end.


And your sig still makes no sense.

The points he brings against the PS3 are not FUD hahaa. Your claim that they are FUD may be FUD, but not the other way around.


I own a PS3 and I am happy with it. It plays great, but the points he mentions are still very annoying and I would be very happy if they didn't exist. My inability to wait for anything means I bought the PS3 as the best value option at the time for a variety of reasons even though it makes little sense as an integrated piece of HT gear for my system.


I have no regrets, but it doesn't change the reality that has integration shortcomings.


Cheers,


Richard


PS. I laughed at the sig and it makes perfect sense. Sick yes, but it works.
 
#106 ·
Fan noise from a distance, especially loud fan noise is not normal if the PS3 is ventilated and not enclosed.


I have two, a 60g and 80g and both are dead silent even at 1 ft away.


I have a nephew and friend that each have one and both PS3's are silent.


The PS3 is a PC and should not be in ANY enclosed or air limited environment.
 
#107 ·
I've just hooked up my PS3 to my 52" Sony. I haven't road tested everything it can do, but the Spiderman3 movie looked awesome, the wifi internet is a nice feature, D/L'd the latest firmware and a few demo games with ease, and must say I am enjoying it so far. Like everything in life, there's pros and cons and priorities that will never satisfy everyone. This thread proves that. As I said earlier, I'm glad you're happy Jeremy. So am I.
 
#108 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by RROSEN /forum/post/13394842


It's also a little amusing that he held it with 6 people, but the ones who could or thought they could tell the difference don't count



Cheers,


Richard

OK, what is really funny is that there were a total of six liestening intently, of those six all agreed that TrueHD = PCM and those that could tell the difference are imaginary since in this test, none could be seen nor heard from so their votes could not be tallied.
 
#109 ·
PS3 is a great player, if not THE best. Certainly still the fastest and for anyone with an HDMI AVR, it doesn't get better. Setting up the Blu-wave is as easy as selecting it from the DB.
that anyone could have difficulty with that.


Guess I'd wait for the S550 if I had to pick something else, though. Or maybe the Denon.
 
#110 ·
I am setting up a home theater and have the Panny Bd-30 in my other room and thinking of the pS3 for my theater room to play games and mainly watch Blue DVD's. My surround sound cost more then my pioneer 50" Plasma. So, is the PS# the best blue ray for SOUND. Simple answer is NO. It will be good but it is not the best. Missing certain decoders for sound and therefore even the BD-30 is a better BLUE ray player.


I have the harmony one remote and it is annoying that the PS3 will only work with the add on from NYKO (but not a big deal). Right now I am still tossed with what to buy for the theater room. I have xbox 360 (but not HDMI). So my options are


1.New xbox 360 (HDMi) + Panasonic Bd-30 or 50 (when it comes out)

2.PS3

3. keep my 360 and just get Panasonic BD-30 or 50

4. PS 3 + Panasonic Bd-30 or 50.


I am leaning towards 1 and 2. However I love baseball games and PS3 has the best one out there.
 
#112 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy1 /forum/post/13398519


I still think this thread should be closed now that the OP has found a player he's happy with.

You've made your opinion known several times now. There's still plenty of good conversation going on here so no reason to lock it. Eventually, people will stop posting to the thread and it will go away. That's the way this works. If you don't like the thread, unsubscribe and quit posting to it to bump it.
 
#115 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fit2Run /forum/post/13398461


I am setting up a home theater and have the Panny Bd-30 in my other room and thinking of the pS3 for my theater room to play games and mainly watch Blue DVD's. My surround sound cost more then my pioneer 50" Plasma. So, is the PS# the best blue ray for SOUND. Simple answer is NO. It will be good but it is not the best. Missing certain decoders for sound and therefore even the BD-30 is a better BLUE ray player.


I have the harmony one remote and it is annoying that the PS3 will only work with the add on from NYKO (but not a big deal). Right now I am still tossed with what to buy for the theater room. I have xbox 360 (but not HDMI). So my options are


1.New xbox 360 (HDMi) + Panasonic Bd-30 or 50 (when it comes out)

2.PS3

3. keep my 360 and just get Panasonic BD-30 or 50

4. PS 3 + Panasonic Bd-30 or 50.


I am leaning towards 1 and 2. However I love baseball games and PS3 has the best one out there.

A little off topic...My question is what do you want from an hdmi 360? If its to move from the components, just get the vga cable (like I did) and hook it up to to your tv's pc input (if it has one). This way I got the 1:1 1080p pixel mapping and a much cleaner picture. It will match any other screen res as well.


So I would say option 5: Keep your 360 (for the incredible games it has and are coming, Gears 2, Mass Effect 2 anyone!!!) and get a vga cable, AND get a ps3 for the absolutely incredible games that it has and are coming out for it (gt5, MGS, Killzone 2 anyone!!!), and maybe use it a a br player LOL.
 
#116 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by eimajnacnud /forum/post/13399781


A little off topic...My question is what do you want from an hdmi 360? If its to move from the components, just get the vga cable (like I did) and hook it up to to your tv's pc input (if it has one). This way I got the 1:1 1080p pixel mapping and a much cleaner picture. It will match any other screen res as well.


So I would say option 5: Keep your 360 (for the incredible games it has and are coming, Gears 2, Mass Effect 2 anyone!!!) and get a vga cable, AND get a ps3 for the absolutely incredible games that it has and are coming out for it (gt5, MGS, Killzone 2 anyone!!!), and maybe use it a a br player LOL.

If I get ps3 I am selling 360. I love mainly sports games. PS3 I am still not sold on. It simply is NOT the best BlueRay Player. It is the best BANG FOR THE BUCK. But bucks is not my issue sound is.
 
#117 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by eimajnacnud /forum/post/13399781


A little off topic...My question is what do you want from an hdmi 360? If its to move from the components, just get the vga cable (like I did) and hook it up to to your tv's pc input (if it has one). This way I got the 1:1 1080p pixel mapping and a much cleaner picture. It will match any other screen res as well.


So I would say option 5: Keep your 360 (for the incredible games it has and are coming, Gears 2, Mass Effect 2 anyone!!!) and get a vga cable, AND get a ps3 for the absolutely incredible games that it has and are coming out for it (gt5, MGS, Killzone 2 anyone!!!), and maybe use it a a br player LOL.

I am guess because he has an high-end HDMI AVR. Hooking everything up to AVR by HDMI then running single HDMI to display simplifies setup and cable mess. While you are right about PC input less and less displays are using a VGA input either going to DVI + HDMI or simply just HDMI.
 
#118 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fit2Run /forum/post/13399830


If I get ps3 I am selling 360. I love mainly sports games. PS3 I am still not sold on. It simply is NOT the best BlueRay Player. It is the best BANG FOR THE BUCK. But bucks is not my issue sound is.

Then get a DMP-BD30 + PS3 or DMP-BD30 + xbox360. Best of both worlds.


Note: You seem to think audio on DMP-BD50 will be better. It won't. Audio on the DMP-BD30 is flawless. It is bitstream so it is exactly the raw audio from disc sent to your AVR. Your AVR does all the "heavy lifting". You can't get better than exactly bit for bit what is on the disc.


The DMP-BD50 adds BD-Live capability which is downloading content from internet. That is it. It does add internal decoding but the best setup would be for you to set player to bitstream so all that decoding ability will be "wasted".
 
#119 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by namechamps /forum/post/13400039


Then get a DMP-BD30 + PS3 or DMP-BD30 + xbox360. Best of both worlds.


Note: You seem to think audio on DMP-BD50 will be better. It won't. Audio on the DMP-BD30 is flawless. It is bitstream so it is exactly the raw audio from disc sent to your AVR. Your AVR does all the "heavy lifting". You can't get better than exactly bit for bit what is on the disc.


The DMP-BD50 adds BD-Live capability which is downloading content from internet. That is it. It does add internal decoding but the best setup would be for you to set player to bitstream so all that decoding ability will be "wasted".

No, I realize sound wise BD30 or 50 will be the same based on my Receiver. But right now BD-30 sound is better then PS3. My real dilema was BD-30 or PS3 in my theater room. I am right now leaning towards BD-30. Although the gamer in me wants to say PS3.


That said, I do have xbox 360 (no hdmi) maybe I should just keep that wiht a Bd-30 and stop this insanity.


Now if I keep bd-30 in my theater room then I will need a different blue ray play in my kitchen. Maybe PS 3 in their instead but then Im all over the place. Dammit im 35 with a wife and kid and I own a company. Can't be this obsessed.
 
#120 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fit2Run /forum/post/13400429


Now if I keep bd-30 in my theater room then I will need a different blue ray play in my kitchen. Maybe PS 3 in their instead but then Im all over the place. Dammit im 35 with a wife and kid and I own a company. Can't be this obsessed.

Well I wish I had the "problem" of which BD player to put in the kitchen.



I am assuming the display in kitchen is using internal speakers? There is no AVR in kitchen? If so it doesn't matter from an audio standpoint which player to get. You won't be able to tell difference between DD or TrueHD on HDTV speakers. The PS3 or BD30 or any other BD player would work fine. If PIP (picture in picture) is important make sure the player is BD1.1 (both BD30 & PS3 are).


If you want to play games and watch BD on the display in kitchen I would get PS3 otherwise pick cheapest BD player which doesn't have bugs/crashes/etc (check owners forums and steer clear of Samsung).
 
#121 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by namechamps /forum/post/13400507


Well I wish I had the "problem" of which BD player to put in the kitchen.



I am assuming the display in kitchen is using internal speakers? There is no AVR in kitchen? If so it doesn't matter from an audio standpoint which player to get. You won't be able to tell difference between DD or TrueHD on HDTV speakers. The PS3 or BD30 or any other BD player would work fine. If PIP (picture in picture) is important make sure the player is BD1.1 (both BD30 & PS3 are).


If you want to play games and watch BD on the display in kitchen I would get PS3 otherwise pick cheapest BD player which doesn't have bugs/crashes/etc (check owners forums and steer clear of Samsung).

We all should have my problems. I know I sound spoiled. I am not just want life to be simple when it comes to this theater stuff. Yes, the tv in kitchen is working only off tv speakers. I could care less about sound. But then again PS3 in the kitchen/dining room is kind of silly when I have a kick ass theater room that would sound great.


Right now as it stands I think ill search for the cheapest Blue ray for the Kitchen without bugs, move the Bd-30 into the Theater room, hook up my Xbox 360 (no hdmi). I have about 2-3 weeks to make a final decision before Install everything.


But I got to say PS3 so tempting especially that it has the best baseball game to date.
 
#122 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by namechamps /forum/post/13400039


Then get a DMP-BD30 + PS3 or DMP-BD30 + xbox360. Best of both worlds.


Note: You seem to think audio on DMP-BD50 will be better. It won't. Audio on the DMP-BD30 is flawless. It is bitstream so it is exactly the raw audio from disc sent to your AVR. Your AVR does all the "heavy lifting". You can't get better than exactly bit for bit what is on the disc.


The DMP-BD50 adds BD-Live capability which is downloading content from internet. That is it. It does add internal decoding but the best setup would be for you to set player to bitstream so all that decoding ability will be "wasted".

BD50 also adds DTS-MA support I believe which is the sticking point for everything audio on the BR player side.


That said, once a few stand alone players get released with it we will probably see the PS3 get it. I am sure they could do it right now if they wanted to, but we probably won't see it until after the Q3 Sony stand alone is on the market for a bit.


Cheers,


Richard
 
#123 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by RROSEN /forum/post/13400844


BD50 also adds DTS-MA support I believe which is the sticking point for everything audio on the BR player side.


That said, once a few stand alone players get released with it we will probably see the PS3 get it. I am sure they could do it right now if they wanted to, but we probably won't see it until after the Q3 Sony stand alone is on the market for a bit.


Cheers,


Richard

They certainly are waiting. No reason why PS3 can't get upgraded. But I am not going to wait months before that happens and sit in a theater room with no Blue ray player.
 
#124 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fit2Run /forum/post/13400884


They certainly are waiting. No reason why PS3 can't get upgraded. But I am not going to wait months before that happens and sit in a theater room with no Blue ray player.

I hear you. I think that the BD50 will be the best stand alone player and best player for audio and the best bang for the much until the Q3 Sony(s) if they live up to their potential.


If I had the patience to wait from 3 weeks ago till whenever it becomes available in Canada I would have done that.


In reality, by the time the Q3 Sony(s) come out, the BD50 should be in line price wise and any kinks it may start off with should have been addressed by then as well so I will probably pick one up and sell or move the PS3.


Cheers,


Richard
 
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