Is there a better option than the PS3? - Page 3

you can get an ir remote for the ps3 for < $20. you just can't turn on/off the power afaik.

i stayed away for a year waiting for a decent standalone that never came. in that time i moved my equipment rack into an adjacent room. so, now i don't have to look at it or hear fan noise (which isn't that bad) from the fuggly thing.

If my reciever only takes optical and not HDMI I guess the audio aspect is not a big deal to me since I can only get DD. Right??? I just want a player that will last, has good pic. quality and upconverts good and yes I am coming from red camp. If audio is not a factor would there be any benefit in me waiting a few months to get a different player other than the PS3 now?

I'm looking to go purple too. I'm either waiting for a 360 add-on Blu-Ray or finding a cheap used player for under $200. PS3 isn't an option for me cause it's pricey and it's ugly as sin. Not to mention, I'm not interested in Playstation's game offerings.

I believe that the only thing the PS3 will output over optical is the basic DD 5.1 track that is "hidden" on all BDs.

There are many threads about the PS3s audio capabilities if you do a search.

My reciever was 7 years old and due for a change out anyways, so I used this whole situation as an excuse to upgrade myself to an HDMI 1.3a receiver.

I had many of the same issues and bought the PS3 anyways. It's a great BD player (which is all I use it for).

afaik, you can also setup ps3 to output dts over optical.

i thought about it and decided not to get a 1.3a receiver. my reasoning was that you can get a high end 1.2a receiver for the same price as a middle 1.3a receiver. so the new player i know i will buy in the future with internal dts-ma will basically be free (due to heavy discounts on current 1.2a receivers) and i will end up with the same audio and better overall receiver features then i can afford with a current 1.3a receiver.

I'm still trying to decide what to get. DTS and DD 5.1 are good enough for me audio wise, so I'm not so concerned with PS3's audio capabilities as a BD player.

What I want to know is how good of a job it does with upscaling and how does DivX/XviD look compared to one of the better upscaling DVD players.

I'd be connecting to a Sony 46" Bravia LCD via HDMI.

Just a correction: A DD 5.1 track is not on all BDs, hidden or not. Every BD only needs one "mandatory" track: DD, DTS or PCM. (TrueHD on BD will include a DD stream, & DTS-HD MA has it's core DTS.)

The PS3 can output 2 channel PCM, DTS 5.1/6.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 over optical.

What do you mean by "hidden"??? Does anyone have an answer to my second question; If audio is not a factor would there be any benefit in me waiting a few months to get a different player other than the PS3 now?

So in other words you just popped in to troll.

What receiver did you get? I will be in the market for an HDMI 1.3 capable receiver somethime this spring/summer.

afaik, if you are going to get a ps3 then 1.2a vs. 1.3a receiver doesn't matter because ps3 cannot do 1.3a.

if you are going to get 1.3a receiver then its only real added benefit is decoding dts ma and that will only work with a very small set of players.

there are some advantages to decoding in the player. for example, mixing audio from pip.

I was strongly considering the Onkyo 605/705 receivers. They get great reviews.

My only beef with the Onkyos is that setup is a pain.

I have a friend who still sells mid to high end at a local retailer. He ended up getting me the Yamaha RXV1800 for $920 (list $1300) so I bought that. I'm very happy with it. Setup and the on screen display make things a snap and it has 4 HDMI inputs plus supports DTS-MA, True-HD, etc, etc.

Can either player output 480i of HDMI?

How do you use the ps3 as a stand alone player when it doesn't have an IR remote? I wouldn't consider it unless there was a way to integrate it with my universal remote. Is there an add-in available now? The only remote for PS3 that I know about is bluetooth.

i came to the same conclusions about onkyo.

i almost went with your receiver. in the end i picked up a yamaha rx-v2700 for < $900 because of the added features.

i am also using a monoprice 4x2 matrix switch so i have up to 6 hdmi inputs and 2 outputs.

I considered 2700 but thought that True-HD, DTS-MA and HDMI 1.3a made the 1800 more "future proof".

Of course all of this stuff is obsolete every 2 yrs anyways!

Please note that for the PS3, there really is no benefit to having a 1.3 receiver over a 1.1. Deep-color is certainly not a justification. If a 1.1 AVR is less expensive, then you may want to save some money. Or better yet, spend the same amount but on a better 1.1 AVR.

The other thing I find is that the PS3 is really ugly (I know this is subjective), and it would look totally out of place in my rack.

you will certainly have more player options then i will down the road.

however, i am confident that a player with full internal decoding will surface. so, being the tech weenie i am i opted for the extra toys in the 2700 feature set.

My old receiver didn't do HDMi at all so no way to listen to lossless audio from EITHER the PS3 or my HDA1. I got the 1.3a receiver for about what a 1.2 job would have cost due to some connections I have. Certainly I agree that there is no reason at this time to get HDMI 1.3a.

On the other hand, we could see 4K displays in a few years and deep color support. I'd rather not have to upgrade my receiver again at that time. Resale values on receivers are horrible. My $600 Denon is on eBay right now and will probably go for $125 if I'm lucky.

I'd rather buy a reciever with as many HDMI inputs on board as possible, along with lossless support, etc.

Just my .02.

One of the things I have learned about this hobby is: never pay today for functionality that you may require in 2 years.

When you get it please let all of us know about the fan noise, my biggest concern before I buy.

Yup, you are smarter than me and made the better choice in an AV receiver. Can we move on now?

I have owned a XA1 since fall of 2006 and just picked up an 80 GB ps3 over the holidays. The XA1 sits inside my component rack and does not get a whole lot of air flow; the ps3 sits on top in the vertical position. Last night I went from playing a game on the ps3 to watching the Kingdom on HD DVD. To my ears, the fan noise was comparable between the two. If you did not notice the noise on your HD DVD player before, I do not think you will with the PS3. For disclosure purposes, I have no experience with the 2nd and 3rd gen Tosh units, which may be slightly quieter than my XA1.

Also, for those of you with non-HDMI receivers, the ps3 will output 2 channel PCM over optical, in addition to legacy DTS and DD 5.1. If your receiver has Dolby Pro Logic II, you may want to try out the uncompressed PCM tracks on the BR discs. To my ears, the greater dynamic range and overall quality of 2 channel PCM w. Dolby PL applied outweighs the advantage of having better channel separation with the legacy DD. This was the conclusion I reached with Casino Royale and Apocalypto after doing some basic A/B testing. For Fox and NewLine titles, be sure to switch back to Bitstream in order to get the 1.5 Mbps DTS Core track, which to my ears sounds just as good as the best DD+ tracks on HD DVD.

My XA1 has been a solid performer over the last year and a half, only giving me trouble on a couple of scratched rental discs. But I must say that the PS3 is every bit as impressive as a movie player.

Fan noise on the 40GB version is virtually zero. At least in my 68 degree living room.

On my home setup, the Yamaha RX-Z11 powering my Logans and displaying on the 6010, granted I cannot tell, but from the displays that I have seen and sources which output Deep Color, it is phenomenal.

As far as the question postulated in the OP...the way I see it is this.

The smart money in the volatile period of a developing format's launch phase would be the most flexible, least expensive high-quality solution you can find. As far as current offerings go, the sweet spot is firmly in PS3 territory...the most bang for your buck and the most future/feature-proof due to its software upgradability. Audiophiles w/ 10K in surround speakers and no neighbors to bother if they crank to reference +38db levels will, perhaps, have legitimate want of the latest/greatest surround formats NOW...but even there, it seems like the PS3 will soon accommodate. Oh, and its quiet and fast, too.

The dedicated hardware solution that beats the PS3, moving forward? Probably a set-top recorder that is full-spec and dual-format supportive (for playback) and costs under $700, like I've always said would be the ideal. A solution that we, unfortunately, won't see for a while yet.

I have had my 40gb unit for a about a month now, here is what I think of it so far:

BR playback is excellent both PQ and AQ displaying onto a 96" screen with a lowly Sanyo Z5 PJ

Upconversion is excellent, as good or better than my Oppo971 and A2.

Load times are super fast.

Fantastic CD playback.

Very quiet indeed.

Great for streaming photos onto the big screen for slideshows as well as music and video.

If we get DTS MA support it will just be icing on the cake, having said that, films such as Hairspray, Live free or Die hard, Shoot'em up and such sound absolutely awesome and thats just with the 1.5 mbs core.

Overall, top marks and I am not a Sony fan, in fact its the only Sony gear I own, heck even Secrets of HT have it on their best of list for 2007..and thats saying something.

I bought my 40GB PS3 today and just got it all hooked up and integrated into my media center cabinet (man, it's a pain in the a** to get all of the cables through!). I will be watching 3:10 to Yuma tonight and will let you know about he fan noise.

So far, I threw in Resident Evil: Extinction and watched 5 minutes and I didn't hear the fan noise at all. So far, so good!

FYI, I also am not a Sony fan but I'm impressed with the PS3 thus far.

dargo,

Just finished watching 3:10 to Yuma and the PS3 performed flawlessly. Regarding fan noise: it was non-existent. My PS3 was manufactured in November 2007 so I'm pretty sure it has the 65nm Cell processor (I don't remember when Sony started using the 65nm chip). FYI, it's also very well ventilated.

So, don't be concerned with the fan noise...just try to make sure you get one that has the 65nm chip.