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Home audio & video: PS3 vs Standalone Blu-Ray Player ???
PS3 vs Standalone Blu-Ray Player ???
by dgeorgejr - 1/23/08 9:00 PMI need some help and opinions, I am thinking about getting a Blu-Ray player and I am torn with either buying a PS3 or a standalone blu-ray player. I already own an Xbox 360 and PS3 doesn’t really have that good of a library of PS3 only titles. What's a HD fool to do?????
PS3 - No Questions Asked
by lilsim89 - 1/23/08 9:15 PM In reply to: PS3 vs Standalone Blu-Ray Player ??? by dgeorgejrMaybe the PS3 isn't all the Xbox 360 is cracked out to be, but it does MUCH MUCH more than any regular Blu-Ray player can do (times ten, plus four) and plays Blu-Ray discs as good as some of the most expensive stand-alone players.
I feel your pain. I don't have either system (360 or ps3) but now I have no choice. The PS3 seems like a no brainer now that HD DVD has fallen seriously ill.
My brother and I were debating whether HD DVD could survive, and unless Microsoft and Toshiba start buying studios like crack-addicts buy crack (which is very unlike Microsoft (or is it?)).
Take this to heart. The PS3 is a BEAST at an amazing value. Sony only survives when you purchase a PS3 and a couple games, a controller, etc. They profit from *other* sales. Standalone players must make its own profit, so you get MUCH less product for your dollar.
Verdict: PS3
i had been asking the same question...
by bean99 - 1/23/08 9:28 PM In reply to: PS3 - No Questions Asked by lilsim89and there's a ton of info out there on it:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6142_102-0.html?forumID=60&threadID=279232&messageID=2674840&tag=mcnt
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6142_102-0.html?forumID=60&threadID=280832&messageID=2685290
by the way, i'm going to go with the PS3. it's supposed to load discs relatively quickly, people suspect that it'll be easier to upgrade than standalone players as sony will keep putting out updates, and it plays games. can't miss.
If this applies to you...
by lilsim89 - 1/23/08 9:37 PM In reply to: PS3 - No Questions Asked by lilsim89http://tinyurl.com/24ncwa
Maybe you should get a stand-alone player, or wait until Sony possibly releases an update to fix this.
-Simon
I've got a bit more feedback about my PS3
by Dan Filice - 1/23/08 11:06 PM In reply to: If this applies to you... by lilsim89That was my original post about the audio issue on the PS3. I'm still very angry about that. I downloaded the latest Firmware update tonight that fixed the issues I was having with the remote not working properly with the Blu-Ray portion. It's pretty cool that you can download Firmware updates on an USB thumb drive and it loads into the PS3. I was again watching "Sunshine" on BD, which in my opinion, takes 2001 to a whole new level. Yeah, there's holes in the story, but WOW! the cinematography is stunning. What a beautiful Sci-Fi flick.
Anyways, after one night of finally playing around with the PS3, here a few more thoughts:
1) The PS3 outputs 1080 24fps on discs mastered as such, and the image is stunning.
2) The PS3 hand control is a LOUSY control for anyone (me) who wants intuitive DVD remote control. Yes, I know that I can buy a "remote", but I just spent $500 on this thing and I'll wait. Learning how to use the PS3 control for watching BD discs is basically a hunt-and-peck learning experience. The manual tells you NOTHING about what buttons to push to control a BD disc or, once you figure it out and get into the menu, the manual tells you NOTHING about the various BD settings available.
3) The menu on the PS3 is confusing at best. It has a million options that have nothing to do with watching a BD disc and mostly with playing games or playing online games.
4) I'm still pissed that the PS3 will not allow audio to come out of both the HDMI and the optical line together. You need to get into the menu to pick the audio-out format every time you use the system. The PS3 does however, give Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as DTS HD Audio. It sounds good and looks good. But a bit of a pain about the audio outputs.
5) Even though I figured out the hand-control and the menu options, the PS3 mode of things does not work as smoothly as a normal DVD player control does. Every time you need to pause or skip or scan, you push the Triangle button and a menu pops up. Not so bad, but there is literally 30 icons that pop up that have NOTHING to do with BD disc play. Rather confusing. And, I don't know if this is still a software update, but when I press the STOP icon, the movie stops, but when I stumble through the menu to press PLAY again, it does not remember where the movie stopped. It starts at the beginning of the movie. Sony needs to fix this.
Oh, one more thing...
by Dan Filice - 1/23/08 11:53 PM In reply to: I've got a bit more feedback about my PS3 by Dan FiliceThe PS3 does up-converting too, which is nice. When you first go through the initial PS3 setup process, it asks if you want to optimize the PS3 output to match the maximum resolution of your TV. Mine does 1080p, so that's what it converts to.
Stopping a movie
by OttifantSir - 1/26/08 3:16 AM In reply to: I've got a bit more feedback about my PS3 by Dan FiliceI guess they thought that when you hit STOP, you want to stop the movie and not watch anymore for a time long enough that you might wish to watch it from the beginning.
I mean, STOP means STOP right? Stop all processes on the disc and concerning the disc. PAUSE seems like a good enough deal to let any player know you're only gone for a few moments and want to watch the movie from where you left off.
Pause, skip & scan
by Luis_Heineken - 1/28/08 3:30 AM In reply to: I've got a bit more feedback about my PS3 by Dan FiliceI don't know for you, but for me, I can pause the movie by hitting the start button, As for skip you hit R2 and for scan R1... or for less than $25 you can buy an original sony bluetooth remote that have all the functions
Audio
by bevillan - 1/29/08 7:38 AM In reply to: I've got a bit more feedback about my PS3 by Dan FiliceWhy do you want audio to come out of both the digital optical output AND HDMI? If you run HDMI to your TV and want surround sound you need to have the optical cable anyway. Or the other option is to run HDMI to a receiver which would eliminate the optical cable.
Do you want to have your TV speakers playing audio as well as your surround sound system at the same time or something?
Yes, Audio out of both.
by Dan Filice - 1/29/08 11:11 AM In reply to: Audio by bevillanbearvp,
Yes, I want audio to be available on both the TV speakers and my surround. I don't always want the surround receiver on, and the TV speakers are fine. Other DVD player do what I want, so why not the PS3. If I want to hear the surround speakers, I should simply be able to turn on my receiver and mute the TV speakers instead of going into a menu. No other DVD players have this limitation. The logic many people use is "Why would anyone NOT want to use surround speakers?" My answer is that I only want to use the surround when the DVD content justifies it. Games don't always justify it. Watchng a 3-Stooges or Marx Brothers DVD doesn't necessarily warrant it (mono audio). Watching DVDs that I made don't warrant it. Watching the Looney Toons DVD may not warrant it.
I really don't understand the issue with the audio output...
by 1shothenney - 1/28/08 5:18 PM In reply to: If this applies to you... by lilsim89I have my PS3 hooked up via HDMI to my tv and run optical to my receiver. By doing this, my HTIB receiver displays 5.1 channels (linear pcm) and it sounds great. I admit, I'm not a real audiophile but I have no complaints about how the PS3 handles this. If I'm missing something, someone please explain it to me. 
Also, fan noise isn't a problem with me either and I have my ps3 enclosed in an entertainment cabinet with only 3 inches around on each side. There are situations where the fan really cranks up and that's when I'm folding@home or when I'm having a long gaming session. I've NEVER heard the fan when I'm watching a BD.
I've tested the PS3 by taking it out of the cabinet altogether and it's super quiet no matter what I'm doing. You can barely hear the darn thing.
My vote goes for the PS3 over a standalone player.
I really don't understand the issue with the audio output..
by Dan Filice - 1/28/08 5:28 PM In reply to: I really don't understand the issue with the audio output... by 1shothenney1shothenney,
I don't have any issues with my PS3 audio, BUT my 80GB system will no SIMULTANEOUSLY output audio from both the HDMI and Optical. My HDMI is connected to the TV, so I can hear the PS3 in the TV speakers, but while doing this I can't turn on the receiver and hear the same audio through the Optical. For my PS3, it's one or the other. No other DVD player does this. They all allow audio to come through HDMI and Optical at the same time. No, it's not a deal breaking thing, but it's annoying because it requires to get into the menu to get audio to the receiver when I'm listening to the TV speakers. I'm very interersted if your system does both audio feeds simultaneously.
I understand your problem...
by 1shothenney - 1/28/08 6:36 PM In reply to: I really don't understand the issue with the audio output.. by Dan FiliceI have the original 60GB model and no, it cannot output audio over HDMI and optical at the same time just like the 80GB model; However, I can get audio out of my tv and receiver at the same time. It's quite easy to set up and I don't think you totally understand home I've done it.
PS3===>HDMI out (Audio & Video)===>TV===>Optical(Audio Only)===>Receiver
In other words, I'm passing the audio through my TV via HDMI and then the TV is outputting the digital signal via optical to the receiver. Audio comes from both my TV and my surround speakers. Like I said, I'm no audiophile and I don't know if this is an ideal setup, but this definitely works well for me.
Re: I understand your problem
by Dan Filice - 1/28/08 7:54 PM In reply to: I understand your problem... by 1shothenneyI've considered taking the TV Optical-out and plugging that into my receiver, but I've read that TVs do not pass-through 5.1, let alone DTS, which is what I would want. So I scratch my head and ask why TVs have Optical-out? An analog audio-out would do just as good, or so it seems. So, until someone can show me that a TV does pass 5.1 and DTS, I won't do this. I don't want my receiver to simply matrix stereo into 5.1 because it's not the same.
Re: I understand your problem
by spearofsolomon - 1/29/08 3:47 PM In reply to: Re: I understand your problem by Dan FiliceCheck pg 51 of the manual for the Panasonic 42PZ700u - at the bottom it says this:
DIGITAL AUDIO OUT terminals
You can enjoy your home theater by connecting a Dolby Digital (5.1 channel) decoder and “Multi Channel” amplifier to the DIGITAL AUDIO OUT terminals.
Caution • Depending on your DVD player and DVD-Audio software the copyright protection function may operate and disable optical output. • External speakers cannot be connected directly to PROG OUT terminals. • When an ATSC channel is selected, the output from the DIGITAL AUDIO OUT jack will be Dolby Digital. When an NTSC
channel is selected, the output will be PCM.
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