Just wondering what you guys all think...

I'm going to be moving soon and when I do I'll be building a HT/Media Room. I will probably be getting a PS3 that I will also use as my Blue Ray player.. Will I even need a normal DVD player?

Is Blue ray a format worth investing in as far as buying new movies and/or replacing a few of my favorites? Or is DVD really going to be the main format and blue ray will be more of a niche, like laserdiscs were to VHS from way back when? Will Blue Ray replace DVD eventually?

IMHO, the PS3 is still the best bang for your buck when it comes to a BD player. No, you will no longer need a normal DVD player. Even if you don't plan to game on your PS3, it has a fantastic picture, upscales extremely well, and I love it for other things like online photo albums, etc. I had about 300 slides (my parent's - family photos from the early 60s to the early 80s) converted to CD, and we all sat around a week or two ago watching family slides on my LCD. It was FANTASTIC how much detail you could see.

Since Blu-Ray won the HD war, it's a format that's going to be around a long time, and we're seeing more and more releases for the format, so I think it's going to be around a long time. I don't know that it's going to replace regular DVDs for quite some time, but it sure is nice to watch things like Planet Earth in HD.

If you want the best PQ/SQ and the currently supported HD standard, then go BD. Like I said in another thread - I don't want to second guess if I'm getting the best with upscaled based SD content.

The PS3 is an outstanding "media services" component!

Like modfather said above - it has outstanding BD playback, does a good job with SD upscaling. With the Sony remote, it works just about like any other player - just insert disk - in fact, it starts up faster than many BD players. It's also very extensible in that it can connect the internet and download upgrades (it was able to upgrade profiles, supported decodings, etc.)

With a PC hosting a media server (and there are a number of good freebies) you can remotely access photos, videos and music (you can stream them, copy them down to the local PS3 HDD) or without a server, copy them to storage media like SD cards, CD/DVD - heck I even moved stuff over to our 80GB IPOD and played the content right from it.

Then if you're inclined, you *also* have a really slick game machine. I'd say about 95% of our use is non-gaming, but we have had some fun with Guitar Hero and GT5 (driving) and there is an amazing game due out in October called Little Big Planet that's about being creative (if you're looking for more interesting/family type games).

It's a tough call at this point whether to switch.

For most people Blu-Ray is still too expensive for a product that is only slightly better than DVD. Sharper picture quality is the only real advantage Blu-Ray has.

When you look at replacing say, "Die Hard" with a Blu-Ray version at $25.95 compared with DVD at $6.99, it's tough to justify it.

If you have lots of disposible income, go for it! Otherwise I don't think you'll regret holding off until the prices come down significantly.

There's lots of people that are still happy with their collection of 500+ laserdisc copies they paid $35 each for, but for the rest of us...

Wrong.

I can't believe I even read that.

Hey

We just got a new set (Sony 40") and new Blu-Ray player. No PS3 since we have the 360 and no-way telling the wife getting "another" gaming system.

I actually thought I'd never get a Blu-Ray player but after playing with it and throwing all sorts of movies from BD, SD, burned SD, ripped SD I'm a believer now. But don't think right away you've got to start saving for a whole new disc collection and throwing out the current one. You'll see a good bit of improvement of the upconvert of the SD. However I have found not all SD content improves or at least the PQ from what I've seen. It seems some movies do a better job than others.

I know some will get Blu-Ray disc no matter and others only the hardcore titles they really want.


Kenny J

You do know that all BD players can play DVDs, right?

I'm watching on a 50-inch Sony SXRD, and Blu-ray is significantly better than a regular DVD upconverted through my excellent Oppo DVD player.

Wrong. There's also the fantastic color fidelity, higher-resolution audio formats and better menus, among other things.

Of course you chose a Fox title, a studio known for ridiculously high prices for Blu-ray Discs. But even at that, I was able to buy the set of four Die Hard films on eBay for about $60. It was easy for me to justify: Great picture, better sound and a smaller package.

Or, if he's buying a PS3 anyway, he can Netflix Blu-rays that are overpriced while buying more reasonably-priced discs, or he buy them online where they are considerably cheaper. In the meantime, he's not continuing to buy DVDs that he may end up wanting to replace in a few months as the prices start to come down.

Yeah, BDs for the most part can be pretty pricey when they first come out, but if you are willing to wait, you will usually be able to find a pretty decent sale, then you can stock up. Plus the Holidays are around the corner so hopefully more and more will go on sale as well.

That's funny, I'm in this situation right now. Buying a new TV, new DVD player, and a new receiver this weekend. I'm planning on buying the PS2 for the Blu-ray/DVD capabilities and the XBox for gaming. My wife doesn't understand that at all.

Good luck with that.

I think you want the PS3.

sorry if this is a thread hijack, but since we are on the subject of ps3s ... does anyone here have any experience using a logitech harmony remote with the nyko blu wave receiver on the ps3? the inability to power down the system is not a drawback for me.

To answer the question; no, you don't need to buy a DVD player. The PS3 will upconvert DVDs for you. Every BD player on the market can play DVDs. Having used the PS3 as a BD, DVD and video game system; it's definitely the best bang for your buck. The photo, video and music streaming and other features are worth the $399 (for the 40GB) or $499 (for 80GB). It's also firmware upgradable and supports BD-Live and loads BDs fast. Even Java heavy discs that take a long time to load on most standalone players load fast. I recently got my first standalone BD player. It's the Insignia Blu-ray Disc Player (NS-BRDVD) from Best Buy for $297. I've always been a fan of standalone players for watching movies and TV shows. Some of the features I miss, but not that much. It is $103 cheaper and I've really had no problems with it other than it loads discs slower than the PS3 and it isn't 2.0 compliant.

If you've got an Oppo upconverter then you probably want to keep that. PS3 just isn't the same with up-converting.

I'll throw in that having a 42" screen, I've decided to opt out of the HD for now. I've got the players but the difference wasn't that great. In fact, most films I cannot tell the difference. And the reality is that I'll need a bigger house before moving up a larger TV. If I do that then I can reconsider but it was a waste of $$ for me to keep buying the HD discs. Maybe it's my eyes, but those aren't going to be getting better with age either.

Now I just buy the version of DVD or HD that is cheapest.

As I wrote before "Most people...", meaning the average person, not the average person who frequents this website who has a 50" Sony SXRD.

I totally agree the picture is better. If you have a 50" Sony SXRD, I imagine the price of a Blu-ray player is not a compelling issue for you. At the moment, I feel the price of the players and the discs are not worth the upgrade.




I suppose one will have to purchase a new 7.1 Surround receiver to utilize the superior uncompressed audio? A better menu is not much of a selling point.


At my local Best Buy etc., this is the average price for any titles. New releases are over $30. Maybe we're getting gouged! I suppose you can get wholesale prices over e-Bay and other websites if you want to go that route.

I'm choosing to hold off until the price makes sense to switch. If you feel the improvements are worth it, jump in with both feet!

One other thing some of you might want to consider when thinking about BD: look on eBay, Craigslist, or whatever for a 20 gig PS3. That's what I bought (on eBay), and since I primarily only use the PS3 as a BD player (and some VERY minor gaming, photos, etc.), all I'm giving up is the WAN connection. That's really the only downside to the 20 gig models, and they can be found cheaper than any of the 40/80 gig models, obviously...

This option may not be great if you plan to store alot on the PS3, but since we don't, it's a perfect BD player and I got it dirt cheap!

I still use both a PS3 for BD and a HD DVD for HD.

IMO the main difference between BD/HD DVD and SD DVD is NOT the sharpness. But rather the richness of color. The shadow detail. And the 3-D effect you get.

The PS3 upconverts SD nicely. Not as good as my HD A3, but very close. I use use my HD player as my SD player since it works with my remote better. Tho I have the PS3 DVD remote and my son uses that for SD movies.

The BD movie prices are somewhat bothersome. I just wait for sales, coupons, etc. No offense but you a fool to put full price at BB for BD (or anything). At the very least just go to Amazon save a few $$ on the price then typically no tax and no shipping. I also still buy HD DVD's. I just bought three for $9.99 each at Fry's. But if wait for deals you can find good prices on BD, just rarely at BB.

One of the greatest things about the PS3 is the ability to easily update the FW. I was an early adopter and have gone through several updates. Easy and seamlessly as it is wireless hooked to my network.

If you enjoy watching older movies in your collection then go with the oppo line of upconversion players, which will upconvert up to 1080p/60 with amazing results, but don't think for a moment that the picture will compare to Blu-ray which is a vast improvement in picture & sound quality.
I have the Oppo 981 connected via hdmi running at 1080p on a 52" Lcd . I also have the Sony PS3 and a Samsung Blu-ray player, but only use the Oppo for SD discs because it does a much better job playing back Standards.
With a lot of Classic, older films not yet on Blu-Ray and probrably won't be for some time you might want to invest in a upconversion player and Blu-ray.

I read awhile back that Blu ray is selling more, that dvd did in the same amount of time, once dvd was released. Now they're saying that by 2012, Blu ray will surpass dvd sales, period: http://www.electronichouse.com/artic...l_dvd_in_2012/
So, people are taking to Blu ray better than they did to dvd, and it's only getting more so. Blu ray is not, and will not be a niche product...............

I think bottom line is getting the PS3 is the way to go especially for a HT/Media app. and if you're looking at gaming and don't have a 360. I wouldn't even think of getting "any" basic DVD player right now even those that upconvert. While prices are still up you're starting to see other lesser known player prices lower (aka Insignia). It's still the disc prices that are holding many to convert over.

Like others said check E-Bay to Amazon to "CD" outlets for discs. I wouldn't go as far as saying the normal DVD is fading but in a year from now I wouldn't be surprised to see BD have 75% share of sales.


Kenny J