Panasonic BD-10 and Samsung BDP-1000.

Not that any of this should matter in a thread in the BARGAINS forum, but I guess this stuff is all par for the course here.

I am not positive (so correct me if I'm wrong) but I think that the Sony PS3 is able to upgrade to the most current available software updates for free through it's built in WiFi. This would probably be a wiser choice over the stand alones which may not allow this feature. Hopefully they will make a stand alone which has this same WiFi capabilities. Either way, my PS3 looks incredible on my new Pioneer Elite 60" 1080p Kuro PRO-150FD. I have the hdmi out of my PS3 running to my Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH reciever, then from the hdmi out there to my PRO-150FD plasma. I also have a XBOX 360 H3SE (lot # 0734) with the HD-DVD side car going from the HDMI out on the 360 to the VSX-94TXH then to the PRO-150FD. I believe that there have been a couple of updates for the HD-DVD player as well through xbox live because now it runs in 1080p and I believe at first it wasn't. Being able to connect to the internet to get the upgrades seems crucial if you want the most up to date capabilities.

Seems like the same titles over and over again in these sales. After seeing what standard DVD looks like upconverted, and then realizing that many of my Special Editions are better than the Blu or HD version (Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, Die Hard 4) I'm going to be very particular about which titles I upgrade.

You must mean the DVDs have more special features, because the video and audio quality of the Blu-ray versions of those movies is definitely better than the DVDs.

Sony BDP-S300 also plays Sunshine which has 1.1 Spec material (PinP) in it without problem. PinP material can only be viewed as seperate featurettes from the menus, not in-place during the movie. On the PS3 with latest firmware the PinP material can be be viewed in-place during the movie, although personally I found that a little distracting...

That's right but Pearl Harbor and Die Hard 4 have the R rated version vs. the PG13 on the Blu and Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down have tons of extras in the special editions I own. I'm not an extras hound but if I already own a premium SE I'm not going to bother with any more upgrades. Also I prefer the extended or R rated versions so I don't want to upgrade for a less desireable version fo the movie.

I had a similar philosophy too. Then I discovered two things:
Amazon BOGO (I got die hard 1-2-3 plus ice age blu-ray for $11 TOTAL OTD)
Many of my unviewed/sealed movies can be returned for a pretty decent price, in some cases exceeding the price of the blu-ray...

So I jumped when I had the chance, and I'm not disappointed. In a few cases I'm getting rid of the Special Edition even if it has better features.

It's funny, because I've always had the philosophy to buy the 'best' DVD in terms of the special features, but I have to admit to myself after 8 years of chasing features, I hardly ever actually watch them.