Which to buy? PS3 or new Panny?

[jedisinclair]

I had a PS3 but had to sell it and my BD movies because of some recent financial trouble. I was expecting a bonus in February, but now I'll be receiving said bonus next week. So, I want to jump back on the Blu-ray train and I'm trying to decide if I should buy a PS3 again or a Panasonic DMP-BD30K.

I liked playing MLB 2K7 but that's about it... I'm not much of a gamer and I can live without the game system. My question though is: does the Panny offer a substantially noticeable picture difference to warrant purchasing it instead of a PS3 ?

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

NOTE: I know the Panny doesn't decode audio internally, but I do have an Onkyo receiver, so that part isn't an issue.

[AranhaHunter]

Originally Posted by jedisinclair

I had a PS3 but had to sell it and my BD movies because of some recent financial trouble. I was expecting a bonus in February, but now I'll be receiving said bonus next week. So, I want to jump back on the Blu-ray train and I'm trying to decide if I should buy a PS3 again or a Panasonic DMP-BD30K.

I liked playing MLB 2K7 but that's about it... I'm not much of a gamer and I can live without the game system. My question though is: does the Panny offer a substantially noticeable picture difference to warrant purchasing it instead of a PS3 ?

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I'd buy the PS3 personally, you can always enjoy a game here or there, and if you liked MLB you can play the yearly editions.

[Sonny]

I have a bunch of both but I would probably go for the PS3 its pretty DAMN good , you know that. Rep dat plate

[dpomp]

you can't go wrong with the PS3

[Tee]

It will depend on what your needs are, if you are strickly a movie watcher and audio/videophile go with the BD30. If you like movies, games, and other muti-media then it is the PS3. Either way its a win-win how you look at, hell you can buy one of each for different media type rooms. I however fall into the HT nutt crowd and the BD30 fits the bill nicley, i also had the pleasure of owning a PS3 as well.

[DavePS3]

My 2 cents... a new display will give you maybe 25% pleasure over your new one but the PS3... kick that percentage up to 90 - 100 over not having it.

[Matt X]

Originally Posted by jedisinclair

I had a PS3 but had to sell it and my BD movies because of some recent financial trouble. I was expecting a bonus in February, but now I'll be receiving said bonus next week. So, I want to jump back on the Blu-ray train and I'm trying to decide if I should buy a PS3 again or a Panasonic DMP-BD30K.

I liked playing MLB 2K7 but that's about it... I'm not much of a gamer and I can live without the game system. My question though is: does the Panny offer a substantially noticeable picture difference to warrant purchasing it instead of a PS3 ?

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

NOTE: I know the Panny doesn't decode audio internally, but I do have an Onkyo receiver, so that part isn't an issue.

I wonder if my judgement is colored by the fact I am a PS3 owner, but I say go PS3 - beyond the games/movies, it does browse the internet fairly well, plus I use it as a media center for parties (ripped some CDs on there, I really like the sound quality) - as soon as I have Vista on my PC, i'll be able to stream all of my other CD's that are on my PC's harddrive (apparently you can do that w/XP, but for the life of me I can't make it work, and I hear it's easier w/Vista)

[bkbluray]

I'd go with the PS3, for the above mentioned reasons, and the fastest loading times.

[MacDaddyOJack]

Since you have the Onkyo 605, this is a no-brainer. Get the Panasonic! It is already 1.1 and has DTS-MA support. The PS3 will probably be 1.1 in the future buy will never bitstream DTS-MA because of its chipset. It may decode internally but I doubt it. If you aren't really into gaming then you definitely want the Panny.

[Marcusarilius]

Originally Posted by MacDaddyOJack

Since you have the Onkyo 605, this is a no-brainer. Get the Panasonic! It is already 1.1 and has DTS-MA support. The PS3 will probably be 1.1 in the future buy will never bitstream DTS-MA because of its chipset. It may decode internally but I doubt it. If you aren't really into gaming then you definitely want the Panny.

I agree. Just picked up my Panny BD 30 and the sound format support and execution on DTS HD is Precision Dynamics beyond what I was expecting (Onkyo 805 receiver). It also delivers a cleaner picture with ehanced color. Internal setting and tweeking in both PQ and SQ are present. The load and unload times of a BD is just like a DVD player. If you want top PQ and SQ for movie viewing, I would go with this elegant new BD player. 100% thrilled with this purchase!

[bferr1]

PS3 for me because of the constant firmware updates/improvements. Soon to go Profile 1.1 and eventually Profile 2.0. The only area that the BD30 beats the PS3 specs-wise is in audio bitstreaming, but hopefully the PS3 will be decoding DTS-HD MA internally soon. Plus, I love having the web browser, media streaming, trailer and game demo downloads, photo viewing, mp3 ripping, etc. That's all icing on the cake.

I have not yet seen the BD30 in action, so I can't comment on any PQ improvements it may have over the PS3. I have read some say it's superior, while others have said it's the same. I imagine the truth is somewhere in between.

[Bullseye]

Can the Panasonic be upgraded to BD Live (2.0)?

[jedisinclair]

I knew this would be a close race, but at a dead tie, the only thing I can assess from this is that I probably won't regret either. I'm still trying to decide. If there was an awesome sale on either, that might sway me. I'd love to find the Panny for under 400 (probably not gonna happen)...

[Hawknelson05]

haha, was 50/50. then i put it over the edge

[jedisinclair]

It certainly has been a heated battle. I might actually buy the Panasonic Plasma and get the Panny BD player for free!

[Luis_A51]

PS3 hands down.

Internet (especially built in wifi) make updates far more convinient. Then theres demos, trailers and downloadable games.

PS3 owners have not had widespread playback/load-time issues that standalone owners seem to have.

Personally I enjoy being able to stream music from my laptop and listen to it through my sound system.

And finally, even if you only play games occasionally, why limit yourself? What if a game comes out later on that truly catches your eye?

[Disco_And]

The Panasonic, it has 1.1 also can DTS-MA and TrueHD Bitstream and in fact I’m thinking of importing one next year but I will be keeping my UK PS3 as well
I hate region coding

[hc666]

The Panny for it's ability to pass the new audio formats

[powersfoss]

If you like MLB 07, then you should love The Bigs. I thought it was better than MLB 07 because the players were easier to control and the over system of batting and catching was very easy for me to learn. MLB 07 looked really awesome to me, but I work most of the time and didn't have time to learn its more complicated control scheme.

Edit: I guess I thought my answer was pretty clear: PS3