Wanna switch to Blu-Ray...

[Kennyredline]

I'm thinking of going to Blu-Ray...is it gonna hang around and actually replace DVD's, and be the new standard?

[AaronK]

It seems like it so far. If you are going to switch to blu-ray you should consider waiting until september and just buying a PS3 Slim.

[Thaco]

even if you don't have a BD player, you can still buy BD, they generally (not all, but most) come with a DVD and digital copy included witht he BD disc.

then when you get a BD player you will already have the BD movies.

[teknical]

PS3 just dropped in price as well. Not sure what the specs are on the slims, but comparing my Ps3 60GB to my LG BH-08 burner, and then to the Sony Blu player I just purchased (BDP-S360) I have noticed a small difference in video quality, as well as a significant difference in sound.

The movies looked good on the Ps3, and I use the burner to play my region locked blus, but the Sony player definitely takes the cake!
:thumbsup:

[vtec4life]

Blu Ray > HD x 10

[AaronK]

the PS3 Slim is the exact same as the PS3.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/18/sony-announces-new-slimmer-ps3-coming-first-week-of-sept/

[eblend]

PS3 slim will require a sony blutooth remote as it won't work with any universal remotes.

There are bluray players there that are cheaper then the ps3, I would recommend that over the ps3 if you don't care about games.

In my opinion bluray really isn't going to be near as big of impact as DVD was, downloadable and streaming content is where the future really is.

[teknical]

Thats what I'm worried about... :banghead:

I never collected DVDs, EVER! Now I have well over 250 blu-ray movies. Not sure what got me hooked really...all I know is if they release streaming within the next 5 years I will be screwed...

I've always wondered about streaming though, PQ/AQ, sketchy (laggy) playback, etc. As my Ps3/Xbox never seem to get it right...

[Thaco]

That's exactly why MS supported HD-dvd, because they knew it was the underdog, and they just wanted to keep the war going on as long as possible so they could get the infrastructure in place for digital downloads on the 360... they already have downlandable games, and in the US, they have partnered with netflix for downloadable movies, with a few in HD as well

[Kennyredline]

I'm not a huge gamer, so I think if I'm gonna go Blu-
Ray, I'll get a normal player. I have an old Xbox that I'm still happy enough with!
My main concern is the availability to get good disks, like concerts and specialty shows, like tv series. I've heard Blu-Ray players play standard DVD's and upconvert, is that true for all Blu-Ray players?

[HyperZell]

Originally posted by Kennyredline
I'm not a huge gamer, so I think if I'm gonna go Blu-
Ray, I'll get a normal player. I have an old Xbox that I'm still happy enough with!
My main concern is the availability to get good disks, like concerts and specialty shows, like tv series. I've heard Blu-Ray players play standard DVD's and upconvert, is that true for all Blu-Ray players?

Yes.

[w_man]

Originally posted by teknical
Thats what I'm worried about... :banghead:

I never collected DVDs, EVER! Now I have well over 250 blu-ray movies. Not sure what got me hooked really...all I know is if they release streaming within the next 5 years I will be screwed...

I've always wondered about streaming though, PQ/AQ, sketchy (laggy) playback, etc. As my Ps3/Xbox never seem to get it right...

See I dont know about others but I am using AppleTv for this reason. Instead of spending money on a new DVD Player ... I simply rent/purchase all my movies from AppleTV and dont have to worry about maintaining DVDs etc. I can purchase my movies if I want, they are in HD quality and they sit on a HD.

I still have my old DVD player to play my non-HD movies.

[teknical]

Here's a little more information regarding the Slim Ps3's 'Audio Upgrade':

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/ps3-slim-gets-much-improved-audio-627975

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Kennyredline
I'm not a huge gamer, so I think if I'm gonna go Blu-
Ray, I'll get a normal player. I have an old Xbox that I'm still happy enough with!
My main concern is the availability to get good disks, like concerts and specialty shows, like tv series. I've heard Blu-Ray players play standard DVD's and upconvert, is that true for all Blu-Ray players?

Keep in mind there are massive variations in the quality of video scaling from a DVD (480i) to 1080p and the bigger your screen is the easier it will be to notice. A $150 blu-ray player will not have good scaling in it. If your TV isn't huge though, you probably won't notice. I suggest you get a receiver with good scaling as well, then your HDTV will be scaled to 1080p as well as your DVD's and all other content.

If your concern is speciality program availability, amazon.ca has pretty well everything you can think of if you can't find it in stores.

Another thing to consider is that not all blu-ray players decode the new lossless audio tracks (DTS HD Master Audio & Dolby True HD). If your player doesn't decode this, your receiver has to have that capability. The PS3 can decode all the latest lossless audio tracks onboard.

[teknical]

Also...DON'T buy cables from stores...ever.

MonoPrice has every single thing you need to get a home theatre up and running.

For most of my Blu TV shows and movies I usually visit Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk (more so then Amazon.ca or .com) Although for some of these you need a Region-Free player.

[heavyD]

If you aren't going to play games get a dedicated Blu-Ray player over a PS3 as the PS3 gets very noisy when the fan kicks in high gear. The slims are supposedly better but it will never be quiet like a standard player.

[teknical]

The slim Ps3 is 10decibles quieter then the 'Original'. Not sure which Console they tested, all I know is my 60GB is STUPID loud! I don't really hear it over all the SPLOSIONS though... ;)

[ZMan2k2]

For the most part, where you're really going to notice a difference is in the audio dept. The newest audio out there, DTS HD-MA and TrueHD are worlds ahead of the old lossy sound from DVD's. If you have a receiver with HDMI 1.3 capability, all it takes to get the new sound is an HDMI cable connected to the receiver. If you don't have an HDMI receiver, you need to make sure you buy a player with analog audio outs, like the Sony S550/S560 or the Panasonic BDP-80. Then the player will decode the audio and send it to your receiver with the 7.1 analog outputs.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by ZMan2k2
For the most part, where you're really going to notice a difference is in the audio dept. The newest audio out there, DTS HD-MA and TrueHD are worlds ahead of the old lossy sound from DVD's. If you have a receiver with HDMI 1.3 capability, all it takes to get the new sound is an HDMI cable connected to the receiver. If you don't have an HDMI receiver, you need to make sure you buy a player with analog audio outs, like the Sony S550/S560 or the Panasonic BDP-80. Then the player will decode the audio and send it to your receiver with the 7.1 analog outputs.

That is actually incorrect, just having HDMI does not mean you can decode the losless audio tracks. Either the player has to decode them and the receiver has to accept audio over PCM, or the player has to bitstream it and the receiver has to be able to decode the losless tracks.

[dragonone]

Originally posted by heavyD
If you aren't going to play games get a dedicated Blu-Ray player over a PS3 as the PS3 gets very noisy when the fan kicks in high gear. The slims are supposedly better but it will never be quiet like a standard player.

this is hit an miss. the first ps3 i had was like that. returned it in couple days and the one i have now i haven't heard anything

[heavyD]

Originally posted by dragonone


this is hit an miss. the first ps3 i had was like that. returned it in couple days and the one i have now i haven't heard anything

How so? All non-Slim PS3's have the 65-nm Cell. It's not like the 360 where there are many variations in the hardware. All I know is that when the fan kicks into high gear my PS3 is much louder than the constant 360 drone and watching movies makes the PS3 much hotter than playing games which means the fan is on much more.

[Crymson]

Just a heads up, stay clear of the Samsung BD-3600. Not impressed with that unit at all. Seems like it should be great - hooks up to wireless network, streams videos, etc.. etc.. however, the whole thing is cumbersome to use, about an un-intuitive as it possibly could be and to add insult to injury, i'm on my 3rd unit -- in 3 months. They keep breaking.

[Mitsu3000gt]

If your looking for a stand alone blu-ray player, the Panasonic BD60 is about as good as it gets without spending a ton of money. You need an HDMI receiver though, if not, you need the BD80 if you want the losless audio on an older receiver. The Bd60 is on sale for $378 at visions right now and I'm sure they can do a little better yet on that. It will also upconvert DVD's to 1080p and supports 1080p/24.

The PS3 is still the best bang for the buck blu-ray player, and updates itself automatically via the internet.

[rage2]

Ever since I got Apple TV, I haven't purchased or rented a BD movie unless it's something that's known for amazing visual quality. For most movies, the 720p "HD" that Apple offers is more than enough.

I don't even buy much on AppleTV either. Rentals are cheap, and the movie streams fast enough to start immediately, so it's been cheaper for me to rent what I wanna watch at that particular time than to buy all the movies that I might watch at some time.

[dragonone]

Originally posted by heavyD


How so? All non-Slim PS3's have the 65-nm Cell. It's not like the 360 where there are many variations in the hardware. All I know is that when the fan kicks into high gear my PS3 is much louder than the constant 360 drone and watching movies makes the PS3 much hotter than playing games which means the fan is on much more.

exactly. so if there are ones that are loud and ones that are not (and not failing at all in case one was thinking the fan doesn't spin at all), obviously i'd want the ones that are not:dunno:

if it's not crapping out on you than just ignore that fact. keep it in mind next time u buy one.