Returned HD-DVD player. What should I buy? PS3?

[Xav]

As a Blu-ray player, it is beat by several cheaper standalones in PQ and AQ.

The AQ part I can totally agree with. The PQ part..I just dunno.

I have to admit I am now curious! I must go do research!!!!

[nrdstrm]

As a Blu-ray player, it is beat by several cheaper standalones in PQ and AQ.

Not according to many people on different AV forums...I suppose for your EXTREME discerning taste, what you say might be true. For the average BD buyer though, I would still recommend the PS3...You seem to be the only one bashing it here and seem to be basing it almost entirely on audio codecs. This is not as important to most as it is to you. I respect you for being such an AV enthusiast, but to be honest, most people are not as hard core as you and the PS3 suits them (and me) just fine....

[Ruined]

Wait for the Panasonic BD50. Standalone that decodes all new audio codecs and is BD-Live capable.

[Libertysyclone]

Hmmm where to start :)

MowTim get the PS3 it will be fine for what you have. and I am sorry that you arent an audiophile....wait no I wish I wasnt one.. good job on not caring about sound as much as assholes like evilchris and I.

Now:

I sold my 360 for my PS3...yes I can live w/o halo. BECAUSE my 360 should have been named 747, thats what it sounded like ALL THE TIME!

I have an 80gb and its VERY quite but I think that ambient temp has a lot to do with that, its 66-68* in my basement all the time. Sorry chris I understand the noise thing. and my equpiment has a dividing wall to deflect sound so I can tolerate it a little more than you can.

Why I bought a PS3 over a Stand alone:

I do occasionaly get away from TF2 (pc) long enough to play the PS3.

I wanted something that was able to interface with my Home server and or any other media storage device I have on the network and do it in a somewhat sexy way.

Sony has these great things called firmware updates. That make my BD player "grow" with the technology. I am ok with it having a limit at some point IMO its better than a SA that I have no control/ hopes for upgrades.

and last but not least F@H :) go soapy society 97534!




NOW EVIL CHRIS <--this is me not yelling just making sure you erad the next part and PLEASE correct me if I am wrong.

This is going off the assumption that the PS3 will/does support DTS-HD MA

Recievers must recieve via: LPCM.

LPCM is theoretically lossless as long as certain bandwidth/freqs are maintained. (which HDMI 1.3a/b can support) it should stay this way so I dont have to buy a new reciever everytime a new codec/format comes out*

NOW transfering info in its native bitstream IE: DTS HD-MA currently is ideally perfect and I agree that the PS3 cant do this because of its HDMI issues.(read basic codec)

HOWEVER this WILL change with the interactivity of Blu-Ray (read advanced codec) where the player will have to encode/decode to LPCM anyway because of live mixing. I personally would rather this be done by hardware BUT I think the PS3 has enough "horsepower" if you will to do this and do it correctly VIA software.

Live mixing for those reading this is basically where you would have english/spanish/swaili all on the same "track" but your player pulls the language you select and send it through to the reciever. All the other background sounds are shared on the same track.

DVDs have completely seperate tracks for different languages/back ground sounds

This saves space for more true sounds.



In the end I honestly dont think that I will be able to tell the difference between TrueHD and DTSHD-MA. Dont know now but ears get worse with age.


I dont think its a MP3 vs CD difference. 98% of people couldnt tell the difference between those I doubt that they will even think about knowing a difference between THD and DTSHD.

[mumstheword]

I've heard quite a few times that LPCM is actually better than TrueHD.

[Dr.Nick]

Definitely go for a PS3. Even if it isn't the absolute best BD player out there its a damn fine choice and you wont notice any difference from the best standalone unless you have some seriously high-end audio/video equipment.
Plus lets not get into the additional things its capable of over a standalone (hello!!! its got a hard drive!, it can stream from PC to PS3 to PSP, plays xvid, music, oh and games!) Just don't forget to grab an hdmi cable and maybe the BD remote to make life easier:)

[Libertysyclone]

Get your cables from www.monoprice.com :)

[MowTin]

Just to update, I bought a PS3 and I'm so very very happy with it. It's quiet! My 360 makes so much noise but the PS3 is difficult to hear. I love the way the disks go in without a tray.

Am I crazy or does the PS3 have better IQ when upscaling DVD's?

I think the PS3 is a steal at $400 considering all that it can do.

Very glad I bought it.

[mezkal]

The PS3 has superlative DVD upscale.

[emacs]

I've heard quite a few times that LPCM is actually better than TrueHD.

a quality player will decode TrueHD (an example of lossless compression) into LPCM which should match the uncompressed master. that said, however, there are differences in sampling depth and rate between the two audio formats

[MowTin]

a quality player will decode TrueHD (an example of lossless compression) into LPCM which should match the uncompressed master. that said, however, there are differences in sampling depth and rate between the two audio formats


I'm curious does TrueHD sound better to the untrained ear than good ole DTS? Or is it like the difference between an mp3 and a CD?

My speakers came with my 4 year old receiver. It was a boxed set. If my speakers are low end, I don't think I would benefit from TrueHD right?

[Xav]

I have a 4 year old 5.1 Receiver. No HDMI, only optical and digital audio. DTS decoder. So, I think a PS3 will help because it can decode those fancy new format.

My wife is like, "A PS3?! You already have a 360 why do you need a PS3?!"

It's hard to get the wives to believe that the PS3 is mainly for Blu-ray playing. :D

Heh..the PS3 IS my wife's! :D The 360 is mine.

Now she wants a 2nd PS3 and another big screen because I "monopolize the other one."

I love my wife! (nana2)

[Libertysyclone]

I'm curious does TrueHD sound better to the untrained ear than good ole DTS? Or is it like the difference between an mp3 and a CD?

My speakers came with my 4 year old receiver. It was a boxed set. If my speakers are low end, I don't think I would benefit from TrueHD right?


I am sure your reciever doesnt support True HD. You will enjoy DTS sound on your 5.1 system.

I personally can hear a difference between them. It is just pure s3x IMO. I assume you bought the 40GB, buy a SACD and listen to it thats how I compare DTS 5.1 to TRUE HD 7.1.

You should buy SACDs anyway they are the biggest musical eargasm ever.

[Lyme]

The PS3 has superlative DVD upscale.

The PS3 really requires a TV that can up/down scale, because the console will do interesting things with scaling sometimes.

[emacs]

I'm curious does TrueHD sound better to the untrained ear than good ole DTS?

TrueHD tracks are typically of higher quality than DTS.

My speakers came with my 4 year old receiver. It was a boxed set. If my speakers are low end, I don't think I would benefit from TrueHD right?

if you want TrueHD playback on a PS3, your receiver must have an HDMI connection. if your receiver only has TOSLINK (optical cable), the best you'll ever get is lossy Digital Dolby or DTS.