I now have both units and I can say that there are valid points made for both players. My first player was the PS3 60 gig and I have had this unit over 18 months and it has performed flawlessly. Never an issue with my Denon 3808CI or my Panny 50" plasma. I've been pleased with both the PQ and AQ in both lossless and lossey playback. I've enjoyed the PS3 games I've played and music in SACD as well as CD. I really have only a few complaints with the
PS3 and it's the fact that it doesn't bitstream and the fan is noisy at times. The WI-FI remote isn't really a problem, but the ability to update firmware via a router is nice!
The Panny 35 does it very well (bitstreaming) but the load times are slower than the PS3 and it's noticable. The one noticable visual difference is in the SD DVD's. The Panny definitely is better. And I agree that bitstreaming (to my ears) gives the Panny a slight edge over the PS3. Not huge, slight.
The versatility of the PS3 in my opinion is it's greatest asset. It's not the one player to rule them all, but it does have a lot of features and very few complaints. The Panny 35 does what it's suppose to do and does it well. A great stand alone player. Not as fast or flexable, but great PQ and AQ and SD DVD playback. I can work it with my Harmony remote and drop a disc and play. Quieter (no fan noise) during quiet passages of music and movies. Between the two I have the best of both worlds. A great movie player, game console, music maker.
I'm sure when Oppo's player hits the shelf there will be many comparisons between the above two players and many other players. These debates will go on forever. But to me value is important, quality is important, reliability is important, and performance is important. I think I have it covered pretty well with these two units and would highly recommend both. Just comes down to preference.
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