BR Player advice from a 360 / HD DVD Fan - Blu-ray Forum

sparksj · 03-20-2008, 04:25 PM

I own an Xbox 360 and bought in to HD DVD when it came out. I, like many, was mad when HD DVD lost. Liking all the extras that came with HD DVD, I thought I would have to wait until October to get a Blu Ray player because I wanted profile 2.0.

Being an Xbox fan, I kind of bought in to the whole “never get a PS3” thing, since I didn’t want to support a competing game console. So, being an analyst by profession, I set out to look for the best Blu Ray player. However, the facts always brought me back to the PS3.

I decided I was too old and too emotionally intelligent to be stupid and boycott the PS3 for such a dumb reason as being loyal to Microsoft. This is the joy of capitalism. If Microsoft wants my loyalty, they will have to earn it by producing a better product. Until then, my purchases will be based on which company offers me the best bargain for my money. And, at this point, PS3 offers the best Blu Ray option for the money.

I have had the PS3 for about three days now and felt the need to write this from the perspective of an Xbox / HD DVD fan. The purpose of this is to keep other Xbox fans from making the same mistake I almost made and avoid the PS3 because of the whole 360 - PS3 rivalry.

At first glance:
I’ll admit I was reluctant to purchase the PS3, but I had to based on what it offered. Upon taking it out of the box, it took me only about 1 minute to set it up. The first thing I did was set it up on my wireless network (Since I never read directions) It took me about 2 minutes to find the mac address so I could enter it in to my router filter. The connection process was easy and flawless. The next thing I did was update the firmware. That took about 2 minutes. Then I put in one of the 5 BR discs I bought. Everything worked perfectly and load time was only about 5 seconds. I’ll list more pros and cons later. But first I want to talk about what impressed me the most.

Having had my 360 set up to stream video and music, I decided to try that on the PS3 too. I expected it to be a harder process than the Xbox, since the 360 was meant to connect via media center (I’m running Windows Vista). To my surprise, the PS3 was actually easier to set up than the box (not that either was hard). There were three simple steps.
1. Set up the IP address to be allowed on my firewall.
2. Set up the files to look at in Media Center.
3. Add the PS3 to my media shared services.
4. Turn on the PS3. I didn’t even have to enter a code like on the 360.

That was so damn easy and the streaming quality is terrific.

Now, since I’m being so wordy, lets go right to the pros and cons

Pros:
Wireless connectivity
Very quite (My DVR hard drive makes more noise than the PS3)
Very easy menu system (You won’t have to waste time reading the manual)
It looks nice (I like the shiny black box)
Fairly nice remote although back-lighting would be nice (even though I had to buy it, I had to do the same for the 360)
Streaming works very well
The PS3 can read WMV files, so I can use the same video encodes for both the 360 and PS3.
PQ and SQ are great. I admit that I can’t tell a big difference from HD DVD on certain movies, but I do notice much better PQ on Disney movies. I still think PQ is more a factor of the studios effort to encode rather than the format itself. But then I also am running it through the TV speakers on a 1080i 50 inch plasma TV. So, I’m not going to argue the PQ and SQ issue. I can just say that on my equipment, there’s no big difference.
Price – This is a big factor. For everything you get, I can’t see why anyone would get a stand alone player (unless they want the extra audio decoders that the PS3 doesn’t have).

Cons: I can only think of 2 cons. One is specific to us Xbox fans.

1. As an Xbox fan, you will need to swallow your pride a bit to buy a PS3. I came to the realization that it’s stupid to be loyal to one system. They both have their benefits. Just be a capitalist. If someone offers a good product for the money, and it fulfills your need, then buy it.

2. The only other thing I can think of as a con is that the Bluetooth remote makes me feel stupid.

I keep pointing it at the PS3 as if that would help. “Duh! It’s not IR… quit pointing it at the PS3 dummy”.

Overall, I am very pleased with my decision to get the PS3. Any Xbox fans looking at getting a BR player should really consider it. It offers so many other benefits that I didn’t mention above. Just do the research.

mike79 · 03-20-2008, 04:38 PM

Those are some pretty good "cons" when you think about it. PS3 is an incredible machine.

DC_Street · 03-20-2008, 04:41 PM

I have a friend that was like you and hated the PS3 and wouldn't dare of buying one, maybe I should let him read this article to see if it will help break the ice with him so he will consider a PS3.

For being a Microsoft Supporter as well it was hard for me to try and remain loyal to Microsoft during the format war because they supported HD-DVD, yes I bought a 360 but will admit I waited for the elite to have the hd-dvd drive just because it was still cheaper than the ps3 at the time but when they released it without the drive I got my halo 3 edition xbox and started to save up for a PS3. The two main reasons why I got a Xbox before a blu-ray player was for 1. Halo 3 and 2. Forza 2, all the other games I could care less about. As soon as Sony did the price drop and I was able to actually find a 40gb PS3 in stock I quickly snatched one up and shortly after my xbox started to collect dust

Irishwiseguy2006 · 03-20-2008, 04:44 PM

Great post

ejcasper · 03-20-2008, 04:45 PM

It's nice to see someone put their loyalties aside and make an informed, unbiased opinion as to the usefulness and quality of the PS3. It's not for kids. Unless I consider myself a kid at 32. Which...may be true.

un4gvn94538 · 03-20-2008, 04:45 PM

con # 2 is so true. i wish the ps3 had an ir receiver built in for remotes. but i never have to worry about it booting up (yes former 360 owner)

fattymcgee311 · 03-20-2008, 04:51 PM

Repentance is a slow process, my son. Welcome to the fold.

Also, great post. I HATE

all the Sony and Microsoft fanboy comments. It's nice to see some sense in people through all of this. Just buy the one you think you will like the most and enjoy it. Who cares about the companies? Are they paying any of us to be loyal?

Bango · 03-20-2008, 04:53 PM

Congratulations on your purchase of THE BEST PIECE OF ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA on the planet! You won't regret it.

BruceWayne · 03-20-2008, 04:54 PM

Nice Post! Have to agree that those "cons" are pretty good. I am on the side of never wanting to support Xbox... not because I hate Microsoft or anything, just never had the appeal of Sony or Nintendo to me.

Sonny · 03-20-2008, 05:03 PM

I have never been a fan of the xbox or the 360 . I was a ps1 Ps2 PS3 kinda guy ,but if there was something I could use the 360 for then I would prolly have 1 or 3

there just isn't

I know it has nice feature & can do lots of stuff its just not for me. I commend you for your wise choice

Welcome

to the wonderful world of the PS3+Blu-ray

I hope more "box" fans come on over that are so nice & level headed

glenn-bob · 03-20-2008, 05:13 PM

you mention that both systems "have their benefits". I've been thinking of getting an xBox simply so I can get other games I can not with the PS3. What are the other benefits the xBox has that I do not have with my PS3? just curious.

...and you should probably post this same message on the xBox forum I assume you are on.

BettiePage · 03-20-2008, 06:14 PM

Well there isnt anything wrong with getting a ps3 if your a ms/xbox fan/supporter... as long as your goal is to use to use it as a bd movie player.

just ignore the fact that it can play ps3 games and your set to go.

course once you have the ps3, you can buy ps3 exclusive games that you cant play on the xbox. and if a game comes out on both systems... you can just buy the xbox version. being loyal to a fault to any company/corporation imo is just plain dumb.

they are a business and they put out a product, if it offers you value you buy it. fact of the matter, the xbox could never play hdm out of the box, it was an afterthought with the add-on. if your looking for a bd player the ps3 is one of the best buys you can get right now with the features it offers for the $ you pay.

gand41f · 03-20-2008, 08:36 PM

Excellent post. I wish I could be as objective.

enjoy
gandalf

iNCREDiPiNOY · 03-20-2008, 08:48 PM

Thats Hot!

bootman · 03-20-2008, 11:15 PM

This gets my vote as the most level headed post by a previous HD-DVD owner ever.

Kudos. (I own a 360 myself btw)

Enjoy both for many years to come.

Blu Titan · 03-20-2008, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bootman

This gets my vote as the most level headed post by a previous HD-DVD owner ever.

Kudos. (I own a 360 myself btw)

Enjoy both for many years to come.

I will agree with the statement. Props to the OP.

clownface · 03-20-2008, 11:47 PM

I like you also have both an XBOX 360 and a PS3. The only difference is that I didn't buy the HD DVD drive, I waited until I saw both formats and to me Blu ray looked and sounded better. You wrote a great post and if I was an XBOX 360 only fan your post would have helped me switch. Both systems have pros and cons so welcome to the best of both worlds!

sparksj · 03-21-2008, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glenn-bob

you mention that both systems "have their benefits". I've been thinking of getting an xBox simply so I can get other games I can not with the PS3. What are the other benefits the xBox has that I do not have with my PS3? just curious.

...and you should probably post this same message on the xBox forum I assume you are on.

I have to say that Xbox live is one of the benefits. For now anyway. I'm sure Sony is working on improving their on line system as we speak.

Also, the main benefit for me is that since the original Xbox came out, all of my friends and I have been playing on line together. So my option was to get a PS3 and play on line with a bunch of people I don't know, or get a 360 and play on line with all my friends.

The other main beneift is that the 360 has more of the games that I like. Not to mention the price benefit when the 360 and PS3 first came out. $350 vs $600. I realize that the PS3 had the Blu ray, so in reality for what you get, the PS3 was still a better bargain. But the future of BR was a bit unknown back then too. I guess hind sight is 20/20

By the way, if you're thinking of getting a 360, wait until after August. There is a new chipset coming out that will run cooler and the system should be much quieter. The price will also go down by then.

sparksj · 03-21-2008, 01:16 AM

By the way, I would like to Formaly thank Sony for rewarding me for my purchase by releasing the profile 2.0 soon.

Thank You.

One difference I always noticed between HD DVD and Blu Ray was this:

HD DVD made many promises always getting my hopes up, but never delivered. Blu Ray made fewer promises, and almost every rumor I heard turned out to be true. Hell, in most cases Blu Ray delivered above and beyond what they said. For example, I always heard that profile 2.0 would come out, but the rumor was it would happen some time this summer. Now it looks like we'll get it befor April.

Sony... You deserve my hard earned $399 as well as my respect.

Great job guys... I couldn't be happier with your product.

X-Ninja · 03-21-2008, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparksj

I own an Xbox 360 and bought in to HD DVD when it came out. I, like many, was mad when HD DVD lost. Liking all the extras that came with HD DVD, I...

If i was a mod, i would give that post of the day.

Have fun with your ps3.
Oh, and just for the fun of it - Get Uncharted.

03-20-2008, 04:25 PM	#1
sparksj Active Member Member since:Nov 2007	BR Player advice from a 360 / HD DVD Fan I own an Xbox 360 and bought in to HD DVD when it came out. I, like many, was mad when HD DVD lost. Liking all the extras that came with HD DVD, I thought I would have to wait until October to get a Blu Ray player because I wanted profile 2.0. Being an Xbox fan, I kind of bought in to the whole “never get a PS3” thing, since I didn’t want to support a competing game console. So, being an analyst by profession, I set out to look for the best Blu Ray player. However, the facts always brought me back to the PS3. I decided I was too old and too emotionally intelligent to be stupid and boycott the PS3 for such a dumb reason as being loyal to Microsoft. This is the joy of capitalism. If Microsoft wants my loyalty, they will have to earn it by producing a better product. Until then, my purchases will be based on which company offers me the best bargain for my money. And, at this point, PS3 offers the best Blu Ray option for the money. I have had the PS3 for about three days now and felt the need to write this from the perspective of an Xbox / HD DVD fan. The purpose of this is to keep other Xbox fans from making the same mistake I almost made and avoid the PS3 because of the whole 360 - PS3 rivalry. At first glance: I’ll admit I was reluctant to purchase the PS3, but I had to based on what it offered. Upon taking it out of the box, it took me only about 1 minute to set it up. The first thing I did was set it up on my wireless network (Since I never read directions) It took me about 2 minutes to find the mac address so I could enter it in to my router filter. The connection process was easy and flawless. The next thing I did was update the firmware. That took about 2 minutes. Then I put in one of the 5 BR discs I bought. Everything worked perfectly and load time was only about 5 seconds. I’ll list more pros and cons later. But first I want to talk about what impressed me the most. Having had my 360 set up to stream video and music, I decided to try that on the PS3 too. I expected it to be a harder process than the Xbox, since the 360 was meant to connect via media center (I’m running Windows Vista). To my surprise, the PS3 was actually easier to set up than the box (not that either was hard). There were three simple steps. 1. Set up the IP address to be allowed on my firewall. 2. Set up the files to look at in Media Center. 3. Add the PS3 to my media shared services. 4. Turn on the PS3. I didn’t even have to enter a code like on the 360. That was so damn easy and the streaming quality is terrific. Now, since I’m being so wordy, lets go right to the pros and cons Pros: Wireless connectivity Very quite (My DVR hard drive makes more noise than the PS3) Very easy menu system (You won’t have to waste time reading the manual) It looks nice (I like the shiny black box) Fairly nice remote although back-lighting would be nice (even though I had to buy it, I had to do the same for the 360) Streaming works very well The PS3 can read WMV files, so I can use the same video encodes for both the 360 and PS3. PQ and SQ are great. I admit that I can’t tell a big difference from HD DVD on certain movies, but I do notice much better PQ on Disney movies. I still think PQ is more a factor of the studios effort to encode rather than the format itself. But then I also am running it through the TV speakers on a 1080i 50 inch plasma TV. So, I’m not going to argue the PQ and SQ issue. I can just say that on my equipment, there’s no big difference. Price – This is a big factor. For everything you get, I can’t see why anyone would get a stand alone player (unless they want the extra audio decoders that the PS3 doesn’t have). Cons: I can only think of 2 cons. One is specific to us Xbox fans. 1. As an Xbox fan, you will need to swallow your pride a bit to buy a PS3. I came to the realization that it’s stupid to be loyal to one system. They both have their benefits. Just be a capitalist. If someone offers a good product for the money, and it fulfills your need, then buy it. 2. The only other thing I can think of as a con is that the Bluetooth remote makes me feel stupid. I keep pointing it at the PS3 as if that would help. “Duh! It’s not IR… quit pointing it at the PS3 dummy”. Overall, I am very pleased with my decision to get the PS3. Any Xbox fans looking at getting a BR player should really consider it. It offers so many other benefits that I didn’t mention above. Just do the research. Last edited by sparksj; 03-21-2008 at 01:26 AM.

03-20-2008, 05:13 PM	#11
glenn-bob Power Member Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Dartmouth, NS, Canada Blu-ray collection:165	you mention that both systems "have their benefits". I've been thinking of getting an xBox simply so I can get other games I can not with the PS3. What are the other benefits the xBox has that I do not have with my PS3? just curious. ...and you should probably post this same message on the xBox forum I assume you are on. Last edited by glenn-bob; 03-20-2008 at 05:16 PM.

03-20-2008, 11:47 PM	#17
clownface Expert Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Brooklyn New York	Wow... I like you also have both an XBOX 360 and a PS3. The only difference is that I didn't buy the HD DVD drive, I waited until I saw both formats and to me Blu ray looked and sounded better. You wrote a great post and if I was an XBOX 360 only fan your post would have helped me switch. Both systems have pros and cons so welcome to the best of both worlds!

03-21-2008, 01:16 AM	#19
sparksj Active Member Member since:Nov 2007	By the way, I would like to Formaly thank Sony for rewarding me for my purchase by releasing the profile 2.0 soon. Thank You. One difference I always noticed between HD DVD and Blu Ray was this: HD DVD made many promises always getting my hopes up, but never delivered. Blu Ray made fewer promises, and almost every rumor I heard turned out to be true. Hell, in most cases Blu Ray delivered above and beyond what they said. For example, I always heard that profile 2.0 would come out, but the rumor was it would happen some time this summer. Now it looks like we'll get it befor April. Sony... You deserve my hard earned $399 as well as my respect. Great job guys... I couldn't be happier with your product. Last edited by sparksj; 03-21-2008 at 02:19 AM.

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03-20-2008, 04:38 PM	#2
mike79 Power Member Member since:May 2007 Location:NYC Blu-ray collection:268 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:1	Those are some pretty good "cons" when you think about it. PS3 is an incredible machine.

03-20-2008, 04:41 PM	#3
DC_Street Power Member Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Denver, CO Blu-ray collection:142 Trading Score:43	I have a friend that was like you and hated the PS3 and wouldn't dare of buying one, maybe I should let him read this article to see if it will help break the ice with him so he will consider a PS3. For being a Microsoft Supporter as well it was hard for me to try and remain loyal to Microsoft during the format war because they supported HD-DVD, yes I bought a 360 but will admit I waited for the elite to have the hd-dvd drive just because it was still cheaper than the ps3 at the time but when they released it without the drive I got my halo 3 edition xbox and started to save up for a PS3. The two main reasons why I got a Xbox before a blu-ray player was for 1. Halo 3 and 2. Forza 2, all the other games I could care less about. As soon as Sony did the price drop and I was able to actually find a 40gb PS3 in stock I quickly snatched one up and shortly after my xbox started to collect dust

03-20-2008, 04:44 PM	#4
Irishwiseguy2006 Banned Member since:Oct 2007 Trading Score:5	Great post

03-20-2008, 04:45 PM	#5
ejcasper Junior Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Texas	It's nice to see someone put their loyalties aside and make an informed, unbiased opinion as to the usefulness and quality of the PS3. It's not for kids. Unless I consider myself a kid at 32. Which...may be true.

03-20-2008, 04:45 PM	#6
un4gvn94538 Blu-ray Knight Top contributor Member since:Dec 2007 Location:Limbo (Bakersfield, Ca.) 4K collection:143 Blu-ray collection:811 DVD collection:54 Digital collection:1494 Trading Score:277	con # 2 is so true. i wish the ps3 had an ir receiver built in for remotes. but i never have to worry about it booting up (yes former 360 owner)

03-20-2008, 04:51 PM	#7
fattymcgee311 Member Member since:Feb 2008	Repentance is a slow process, my son. Welcome to the fold. Also, great post. I HATE all the Sony and Microsoft fanboy comments. It's nice to see some sense in people through all of this. Just buy the one you think you will like the most and enjoy it. Who cares about the companies? Are they paying any of us to be loyal?

03-20-2008, 04:53 PM	#8
Bango Active Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:San Diego, CA Trading Score:4	Congratulations on your purchase of THE BEST PIECE OF ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA on the planet! You won't regret it.

03-20-2008, 04:54 PM	#9
BruceWayne The Dark Knight Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Gotham City Home Theater Gallery:4 4K collection:10 Blu-ray collection:887 DVD collection:496 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:6	Nice Post! Have to agree that those "cons" are pretty good. I am on the side of never wanting to support Xbox... not because I hate Microsoft or anything, just never had the appeal of Sony or Nintendo to me.

03-20-2008, 05:03 PM	#10
Sonny Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2007 Home Theater Gallery:8 Blu-ray reviews:6 Trading Score:1	I have never been a fan of the xbox or the 360 . I was a ps1 Ps2 PS3 kinda guy ,but if there was something I could use the 360 for then I would prolly have 1 or 3 there just isn't I know it has nice feature & can do lots of stuff its just not for me. I commend you for your wise choice Welcome to the wonderful world of the PS3+Blu-ray I hope more "box" fans come on over that are so nice & level headed

03-20-2008, 06:14 PM	#12
BettiePage Member Member since:Dec 2007 Blu-ray collection:31	Well there isnt anything wrong with getting a ps3 if your a ms/xbox fan/supporter... as long as your goal is to use to use it as a bd movie player. just ignore the fact that it can play ps3 games and your set to go. course once you have the ps3, you can buy ps3 exclusive games that you cant play on the xbox. and if a game comes out on both systems... you can just buy the xbox version. being loyal to a fault to any company/corporation imo is just plain dumb. they are a business and they put out a product, if it offers you value you buy it. fact of the matter, the xbox could never play hdm out of the box, it was an afterthought with the add-on. if your looking for a bd player the ps3 is one of the best buys you can get right now with the features it offers for the $ you pay.

03-20-2008, 08:36 PM	#13
gand41f Special Member Member since:May 2007 Location:San Jose, California	Excellent post. I wish I could be as objective. enjoy gandalf

03-20-2008, 08:48 PM	#14
iNCREDiPiNOY Banned Member since:Aug 2007 Location:NoHo, Cali PSN:iNCREDiPiNOY Wii:6379344902430379 Blu-ray collection:143 Trading Score:16	Thats Hot!

03-20-2008, 11:15 PM	#15
bootman Special Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:The Burghs	This gets my vote as the most level headed post by a previous HD-DVD owner ever. Kudos. (I own a 360 myself btw) Enjoy both for many years to come.

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