PS3 or stand alone blu ray player? pros/cons

Rumor has it that PS3's are coming down in price in the next couple days and I am debating on getting one. I am not a gamer, but like the idea of having a console in case I would use it one day, but more importantly, I like the wifi capabilities, internet accessibility and blu ray player features.

Is there a reason you would choose a stand alone blu ray player over the ps3?

One major issue I have found after researching the product is PS3's inability to play True-HD and DTS-HD-MA. Is there suppose to be a fix for this? Can I even notice the difference in audio quality?

Thanks for any info!

Originally Posted by Xtreme2001

Rumor has it that PS3's are coming down in price in the next couple days and I am debating on getting one. I am not a gamer, but like the idea of having a console in case I would use it one day, but more importantly, I like the wifi capabilities, internet accessibility and blu ray player features.

Is there a reason you would choose a stand alone blu ray player over the ps3?

One major issue I have found after researching the product is PS3's inability to play True-HD and DTS-HD-MA. Is there suppose to be a fix for this? Can I even notice the difference in audio quality?

Thanks for any info!

I thought the ps3 could do true-hd and dts-hd-ma? I can't verify it, as my recieve doesn't support it, but I thought it good. The best part of using the ps3 is that they constantly keep it updated. Newer bluray players seem to have ethernet ports so they should be easy to update as well. That was the ps3's biggest thing, because no matter which player you have, you need to make sure it can be updated with ease. They are constantly changing/evolving the bluray format, so buying a player that does support bd 2.0 and isn't upgradable wouldn't be great.

Originally Posted by zod

I thought the ps3 could do true-hd and dts-hd-ma? I can't verify it, as my recieve doesn't support it, but I thought it good.

This is what I'm wondering too.

Well are you going to play games on it aswell? How much are you willing to spend? If you are going to play games and are willing to pay a bit of a premium on the other Blu-Ray players out there than go fo rhte PS3, if you are just using it for watching blu-rays then go for a standalone that is updatable.

As I stated above, I am not a gamer, but like the idea of having a console in case I would use it one day, but more importantly, I like the wifi capabilities, internet accessibility and blu ray player features.

For a basic stand alone player, such as Samsung DP1600 which goes for $250 without wifi (+$100 adapter), I figured why not just buy the PS3 bundle when it goes on sale for $400.

Originally Posted by Xtreme2001

One major issue I have found after researching the product is PS3's inability to play True-HD and DTS-HD-MA. Is there suppose to be a fix for this? Can I even notice the difference in audio quality?

Thanks for any info!

IIRC, they do support it. They don't support bitstream through HDMI on those formats though (doesn't let your receiver decode the signal). The PS3 converts it into LPCM and that is basically the same thing.

If it is wrong, please correct me! I dont want the OP getting wrong info from me :P

I am also currently debating which of the two to get. I really don't see why I shouldn't get the PS3 at this point.

Originally Posted by FCurimao

IIRC, they do support it. They don't support bitstream through HDMI on those formats though (doesn't let your receiver decode the signal). The PS3 converts it into LPCM and that is basically the same thing.

If it is wrong, please correct me! I dont want the OP getting wrong info from me :P

I believe you are right. I heard that elsewhere. Everyone says you can't notice the sound difference, but I wouldn't know.

It does support DTS. I've hooked up the optical to my receiver and while playing some games, it shows that DTS is enabled on my receiver - and games are in 5.1 surround. Not sure if you're talking about the same things though.

Standalone blurays can be purchased for $100 from Zellers. If you are a gamer I would get the PS3.

Originally Posted by Xtreme2001

One major issue I have found after researching the product is PS3's inability to play True-HD and DTS-HD-MA. Is there suppose to be a fix for this? Can I even notice the difference in audio quality?

Thanks for any info!

The PS3 supports full HD Audio (either TrueHD or DTS-HD-MA) using PCM over HDMI. It does NOT support Bitstream HD Audio over HDMI.

Basically, the PS3 does the decoding for you so your receiver won't need to. There is no sound difference either way and there should never be.

The ONLY problem with this is that you'll never see the "TrueHD" or "DTS-MA" light come on but you'll be able to hear the full quality of your Blu-Ray soundtracks

The only reason to get a Stand Alone is because it's...

Quieter and Life.

These next generation consoles don't last as long and need to be pampered, be well ventilated.

I don't use my 80GB to play DVDs or Blu-ray Disc. I sold my Panasonic DMP-BD55K and upgraded to BD80K.

I can't believe this is still comparison these days if your intention is just watching blu-ray movies.

The price difference is 2-4x compared to a current limited $99 Zeller Sausung 1500 deal and $200 for almost any entry level models when on regular sale.

Other cons : noisy, no included remote, need another dongle for Harmony. I don't know how useful the WiFi is, but I have my S550 connected to a Gigabyte network and I used the line exactly once in the past year to upgrade firmware LOL.

Originally Posted by ppl4golf

I can't believe this is still comparison these days if your intention is just watching blu-ray movies.

The price difference is 2-4x compared to a current limited $99 Zeller Sausung 1500 deal and $200 for almost any entry level models when on regular sale.

Other cons : noisy, no included remote, need another dongle for Harmony. I don't know how useful the WiFi is, but I have my S550 connected to a Gigabyte network and I used the line exactly once in the past year to upgrade firmware LOL.

Actually, the controller works alright as a remote, it's not bad. The wifi is pretty good too, haven't had trouble with it. Every month, you get at least 1 update for your ps3 thru the ps3 network if you're connected to the psn network.

I'll agree with you on the noisy part, if you're in a confine space, you can really hear it roar, but the same apply to almost all next gen console, except for wii.

If you buy a stand-alone bluray player it takes 2-3 mins to load a movie because the unit has to run using Java and the load time really suffers whereas the PS3 loads up movies in mere seconds. For the extra $100 your getting so much more with the PS3. And yes the PS3 slim should hit shelves by late september/october.