PS3 vs. Standalone Player

[ThugKing6669]

Hi everyone. I've finally decided to get into the whole blu-ray craze. The only problem is I'm not sure what to get. I will be purchasing a 1080p HDTV to go along with whatever player I choose.

I've been looking at the Panasonic BD35K and the Sony Playstation 3. The PS3 seems like a good choice since I am a gamer as well. Both seem to feature the same kind of features (BD Live, DVD Upscaling 1080p, etc.), but I don't know which one to go with.

Can anyone who owns either or both give me any help deciding which one to go with. Also, how well does the PS3 hold up when being used as a Blu-ray player?

I realize that a stand alone player would perform better than a game system, and I would prefer a stand alone, but if the PS3 is good enough I wouldn't mind going with that as long as it's durable enough to be used as both a Blu-ray player and a gaming machine.

[masc360]

I currently have a ps3, and I love it, it is one of the best blu ray players available and if you are a gamer it's a great buy. I've used it for both Blu ray and games and it has all the features you need. Now the only knock I have against the ps3 is it does not bitstream the hd codecs, it does decode them itself so you do get hd audio. I would have just liked to be able to bitstream. But that is the only negative I can really say about.

[tntkain]

The ps3 does a better job then most standalones. It has faster loading times and is way easier to update when it needs it.

[ThugKing6669]

Originally Posted by masc360

I currently have a ps3, and I love it, it is one of the best blu ray players available and if you are a gamer it's a great buy. I've used it for both Blu ray and games and it has all the features you need. Now the only knock I have against the ps3 is it does not bitstream the hd codecs, it does decode them itself so you do get hd audio. I would have just liked to be able to bitstream. But that is the only negative I can really say about.

Ok cool. I'll wait for some more responses before I make my final decision, but what does bitstream mean? Why is that a negative that the PS3 does not do it?

[Sonny]

Since you game , I'd say the Ps3 would be a good fit. There are some really nice SA Blu-ray players & the Panasonic 35 is a great one. What display do you have? Do you have an A/V, what kind? Do you have a universal remote?

[brett_day]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...01#post1718101

have a read through here. plenty of thoughts and opinions! i am 100% in favor of the ps3

[solarrdadd]

If you have a receiver that does HD Audio and bitstreaming is important to you then you want to get the standalone. i have both and for the most part i prefer my standalone for movies. I think my receiver does a better job on the decoding part; and of course I do feed my vanity with seeing DTS-MA-HD lit up on the display of the receiver! the ps3 is overall the best but I think of it as a gaming machine first and a blu-ray player second. the standalone player is what it is and nothing else; and i don't have a problem with that. everyone grips about load times, so what? we always want our foot on the gas to get there fast not realizing we may be speeding to our doom!

WTF!?! sorry, got caught up there!

either will play movies so whatever is most important to you.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by ThugKing6669

Ok cool. I'll wait for some more responses before I make my final decision, but what does bitstream mean? Why is that a negative that the PS3 does not do it?

It's just the "other way" to send the audio out NOT decoded in the player to an A/V for it to do the audio decoding INSTEAD of the player. There's a big argument about which is better...

[ThugKing6669]

I think I'll go with the PS3 for now for some of the games I want on it. I'll probably go ahead and also purchase the Panasonic player later on. Thanks for the help everyone.

[BillyJack04]

I'm having some problems playing certain blu-rays. Especially the special features. One movie that is giving me the most trouble is, Madagascar 2. After the previews, the PS3 just freezes up. The same thing happens on some movies when I try and watch special features.

I thought it was the disk, and I exchanged it for a new one. Same problem. I thought it was the PS3, so I exchanged it out as well. The same thing keeps happening at the same spot in the movie.

I called Sony, and they cannot figure it out. Im not so sure a PS3 is as good a player as everyone makes it out to be. It does load fast, and decodes all the advanced audio codecs. I just wish it would send the audio bitstream.

My PS3 has the latest firmware, 2.6.

[saprano]

Can we have one mega thread about these questions? these come up every week.

[ScarredLungs]

Get the PS3! It is amazing!

Originally Posted by saprano

Can we have one mega thread about these questions? these come up every week.

I agree. Is there any way to make this thread appear in the list every two or three days just so new people can see it?

[SammyG]

You can't go wrong either way, welcome to the wonderful world of blu-ray!

[SkantDragon]

Originally Posted by Sonny

It's just the "other way" to send the audio out NOT decoded in the player to an A/V for it to do the audio decoding INSTEAD of the player. There's a big argument about which is better...

People argue about it, yes.

However, there is no technical reason for it to make one scrap of difference whether the encoded bitstream is decoded at the player or at the receiver.

The original intent of the Blu-ray specification was that the audio would be decoded at the player. This makes the most sense because it allows the decoded audio to be mixed with other sound effects (during menus, for instance) and such.

Arguments that it's better to bitstream to the receiver and decode it there are generally based on outdated experiences with analog equipment where the Digital/Analog Converters (DACs) in receivers were generally much higher quality than those in players. But that no longer plays a role in the modern digital pipeline. The signal runs through the receiver's DACs no matter where the digital decoding happens. So the whole concept is actually moot.

Even so, because some customers believe the quality will still somehow be higher if everything is done at the receiver, the concept of bitstreaming the encoded audio to the receiver has been tacked on to players. This is a nice way for consumers to spend more money to pay for the necessary hardware and licensing fees from Dolby and DTS twice since the same identical apparatus appears in both the player and receiver, even though only one of them will actually be used. This must be a huge benefit to those companies.

If the consumers demand it, the manufacturers will happily sell it to them. Even if it makes no sense.

[SeanMF]

I'd go with the PS3 as you are a gamer. It decodes the HD audio as PCM to the receiver. Unless seeing your receiver (assuming it is dts-hd ma and dolby truehd compatible) light up those audio signals....the audio issue isn't a big deal and technically you shouldn't notice a difference sound wise. The ps3 streams media...easy to update...fast load times...and lots more. Still best bang for the buck bluray player to date imo.