Sata Drive Quality Loss Question

[Gwin]

Hey there guys, I recently bought my 1st HD TV (Samsung LN46A750 120Hz Auto Motion) and currently dont have a Blue-Ray player, so my question is... will a simple sata blue-ray drive play movies on that TV as well as lets say playstation 3? Or do you think there will be some quality and 120hz effect Auto Motion loss? I have geforce 280 video card if that matters.

[CptGreedle]

First, it is Blu-ray, not blue-ray.
Second, I am not quite sure what you are asking. If you think a SATA drive will play on a TV without a computer attached, no. You will need to put the SATA blu-ray drive into a computer, unless your TV has SATA hook ups (never heard of it). If your computer can then hook up to the TV, then you can watch blu-ray. Otherwise, you should be able to on your computer monitor.
PS3 will play your movies perfectly on your HDTV via HDMI. I HIGHLY suggest that you use this, since there are no other software or hardware issues that can arise as with an upgraded computer. The PS3 is EASY to hook up, and still among the best players. If you like gaming, even better.
Otherwise, there are a lot of Blu-ray players out there now, check out the link on the top of the page called "players".

[Gwin]

Originally Posted by CptGreedle

First, it is Blu-ray, not blue-ray.
Second, I am not quite sure what you are asking. If you think a SATA drive will play on a TV without a computer attached, no. You will need to put the SATA blu-ray drive into a computer, unless your TV has SATA hook ups (never heard of it). If your computer can then hook up to the TV, then you can watch blu-ray. Otherwise, you should be able to on your computer monitor.
PS3 will play your movies perfectly on your HDTV via HDMI. I HIGHLY suggest that you use this, since there are no other software or hardware issues that can arise as with an upgraded computer. The PS3 is EASY to hook up, and still among the best players. If you like gaming, even better.
Otherwise, there are a lot of Blu-ray players out there now, check out the link on the top of the page called "players".

Thank you for correcting me, And without a doubt a sata drive will not play without a computer .... what i was asking is.. if there is a known PQ loss while using a $100 sata drive. Many recommend PS3 but i dont understand why, what advantages does it have over any stand alone blu-ray player or a sata drive?..... hardware/software problems are not my biggest concern. I guess my main question is why do some blu-ray players cost $200 and some $600? What are the major features to look for, when buying one?

Sorry im a total noob when it comes to HD and Blu-ray

[El Negro]

There are no $200 Blu Ray players. You must be mistaken unless you're referring to Blu Ray drives for pc's. You could find Blu Ray drives for less than $150 and if you're gonna buy a Blu Ray player, i suggest you look into a PS3.

[CptGreedle]

Well, the PS3 is the first to support BD-Live, which allows you to access web-based content on new discs. Some others are now supporting this, and others can be upgraded, but a lot still do not support this, so the PS3 is the leader here. The PS3 also supports Bonus View, which lets you have picture-in-picture, which some of the older, cheaper players do not support.
All of those features are software and hardware reliant. You need internet for BD-Live and a limited hard drive. on a computer, this should be no problem with a SATA BD drive.
Otherwise, the PS3 supports DVD upsampling (most BD players do this too), can play DVDs and CDs (same), but can also play movie files, access the PSN video site, some can play SACDs (a feature that is going away on newer models), as well as games.
Some say that the stand alone players look better, or at least different than the PS3. However, the quality is so high on the PS3, it is hard to really say they are better.
If you want all the extra features, at the lowest price, right now the PS3 is still the best option. Adding a BD dive to a computer is more of a hassle since you need the software to support it (not much out there yet), and the minimum requirements or the hardware as well (and a way to hook it up to the TV). Some BD players are cheaper than the PS3 now, and they are good players. The PS3 is not going to drop in price anytime soon, but BD players will.
If you want a stand alone player, wait till Black Friday. You will see some for less than $200.

Quality wise, the PS3 is great. Most BD players are at least as good. SATA BD drives are not always as good, but if your computer can handle it, should be fine.

And El Negro, you should look around a little more. There are several BD players that are less than $300. And they will be less than $200 for the holiday shopping season.


Also, highest quality for video, use HDMI. Highest quality for audio, use HDMI. Finding a computer that uses HDMI for both video and audio... not easily. But the PS3 does.

[Gwin]

Thanx alot Greedle.. at least i have a basic idea of what is what now.