sorry if this is a stupid question. if i have a standard tv (toshiba, 22 inch, bought in 2004)

can i play blu ray movies on my ps3? do i need a HDTV or not for them to work?

Yes you can, but they won't look any better than DVDs.

ok thanks

That's not entirely true. The resolution will be no better than DVD, but the image should still be "cleaner" because there won't be any mpeg compression artifacts like most DVDs exhibit.

I'd say some, if that. Most DVDs look just fine to me. I agree with Gerry, BD on a SD/EDTV won't be any better than DVD. If you already have a PS3, there's no reason not to get BD as when (if) you upgrade to an HDTV, your collection will be ready.

I've never actually seen any of the usual compression artifacts associated with MPEG-2 on a standard TV. They only ever became apparent to me when viewing on an LCD and to a lesser extent a Plasma.