Blu-Ray Players? PS3?

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austriaco

46 posts

Geek

#27486 28-Oct-2008 09:35

Hi guys,

After long searching I finally decided on a Panasonic TH42PZ850 for my new TV needs but I may as well splurge out on Blu-Ray player as well.

Some friends tell me that I should get a Sony PS3 as a Blu-Ray player option but my lovely wife says that we don't really need another console as we already have a Wii. Bond & Bond does a bundle deal of this TV with the Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-Ray player.

Sales assistants on Labor Day were a joke so I'm asking this question of you. What Blu-Ray player option should I go for given that I wouldn't use the PS3 as a gaming console a lot (if ever).

Wills1

710 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 17

#174000 28-Oct-2008 09:51

I would still go with the PS3.

We use ours everyday, as a media server, For music and video which a stand alone player wont do

austriaco

46 posts

Geek

#174002 28-Oct-2008 10:13

Will the PS3 Blu-Ray player upscale "old" DVD's?

clevedon

1059 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 205

#174004 28-Oct-2008 10:16

I second that, with all the extra features the PS3 has - you might not use them now but at least they are there for future use.

lchiu7

6521 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 543

Trusted

#174008 28-Oct-2008 10:30

austriaco: Will the PS3 Blu-Ray player upscale "old" DVD's?

It does and from all accounts is one of the best upscalers out there, bested only by those players with the high end Reon or Realta chips. And since it's done in software the programmers can get even better with new firmware releases.

Only thing to consider is how you will connect up audio. The PS3 only outputs lossless audio as MLPCM over HDMI (it decodes them all internally). So you won't need a receiver that can process TrueHD or DTS Master HD but will need that at least can process audio over HDMI - often called HDMI repeater or something.

The other factor that disturbs some folks is the remote is Bluetooth so you need to get extra bits if you want to integrate the PS3 into say a universal remote like a Harmony. It can be done fairly cheaply though but is an extra cost.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

austriaco

46 posts

Geek

#174063 28-Oct-2008 13:40

Thanks for all your replies. I am nearly sold for the PS3 as my Blu-Ray player. One question though, I have loads of DVD's from the USA (Region 1). Would they play on a PS3 or do I run into trouble with regional encoding?

lchiu7

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#174072 28-Oct-2008 14:10

Not sure a PS3 purchased in NZ can play NTSC DVD's. A US PS3 can't play PAL DVD's no matter what the region code is.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

Dell

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clevedon

1059 posts

Uber Geek
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#174077 28-Oct-2008 14:21

No, I am afraid NZ new PS3's are region 4 for DVD, so they won't read. Have you a HT receiver that has a DVD player ? I know Panasonic ones are region free or can be made to very easily ( Smart Electronics in Manukau ) Another option is to buy a second hand USA imported PS3 of Trademe or similar, they come up quite often there. Or if you have contacts in the States, get one from there - though the exchange rate is the worst for five years as of yesterdays drop in our dollar.

austriaco

46 posts

Geek

#174080 28-Oct-2008 14:34

That sucks. Maybe I should just keep my trusted Philips DVD Player for the US DVD's. Hopefully they won't look too bad on a nice 42" HDTV.

lchiu7

6521 posts

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#174097 28-Oct-2008 15:37

austriaco: That sucks. Maybe I should just keep my trusted Philips DVD Player for the US DVD's. Hopefully they won't look too bad on a nice 42" HDTV.

Well if you rip your DVDs as one large file and put them a media server the PS3 will play them fine but without upscaling.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.