PS3 VS Panasonic VS XBox 360 *56K Warning*

[CriPPleR_HD]

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/imgcache/3310.imgcache

I picked up my 60gig PS3 yesterday and a Panasonic DMP-BD10 Last Saturday. I know a lot of people wanted to compare the PS3 to the Panasonic so I thought I will post my impressions.

Panasonic DMP-BD10 v1.2:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/imgcache/3311.imgcache

The Bad:

The player feels like $300 to $500 player it definitely does not feel or look like a $1,300 dollar player. The menu's are all low res and really look cheap. Nothing to write home about. When the disk is accessing data it is very noisy but once the movie starts it is whisper quite. There is a low res pop up that says "Reading" when the disk is accessing which really looks bad. Skipping scenes takes a bit of time even when skipping one scene at a time.

Before we get into the good I will say that I firmly believe that HD-DVD PQ is superior to Blu-Ray. In my rig HD-DVD PQ is king. No matter what I read on reviews site etc, no matter what movie I throw at them, HD-DVD's looked better. Sometimes slightly better and sometimes it's drastically better. There was never a time that the Blu-Ray PQ looked better then HD-DVD in my system. This is ONLY my honest opinion using the same settings and same HDMI cable. That being said, at it's best Blu-Ray can look GREAT!!! Now on to the Good.

The Good:

This is a rock solid player that performs flawless once you get past the menu's ETC. If the PQ is better than my old samsung it is only slightly. Where blu-ray excels at is in the audio department and the DMP-BD10 will soon be the master of that domain with it's 7.1 analog outs and its promise of decoding TrueHD and DTS-HD in future firmware updates. The DMP-BD10 also never skipped stuttered or missed a beat. This player has it were it counts Stability, PQ and SQ.

If HD-DVD is PQ king then Blu-Ray is SQ King. If I did not know any better I would sware that the audio from the uncompressed PCM is better than TrueHD but lossless is lossless so who knows. SQ is the main reason I own a blu-ray player. If you have not had a chance to hear it yet then you owe it to yourself to hear these sound tracks on a good HT system. I can tell the difference without even trying.

If all that matters is PQ and SQ than the DMP-BD10 is the best Blu-Ray Player on the market with it's quick FW Updates and 7.1 analog outs.

PS3 Blu-Ray:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/imgcache/3312.imgcache

I was truly expecting the PS3 to be a crappy BD Player but PQ and SQ are about the same as the Panasonic minus the 7.1 anolog outs and no mention of supporting DTS-HD. I do notice that the PS3 picture is slightly darker then the Panasonic but the image is just as clear. As with the Panasonic I had the PS3 hooked up to my Denon 4806CI/200w x 7 McIntosh amp via HDMI. The HDMI from the receiver was hooked up to my Sony 70" SXRD XBR2. I experienced none of the HDMI issues that others reported and hooking it up was a snap. The menu's and icons are all in HD. A small high res "Play" icon replaces the Panasonic's low res "Reading" pop up. The unit is MUCH quieter then the 360 in general and when watching a movie you do not hear a peep from the unit. Skipping scenes is quicker on the PS3 then it is on the Panasonic. The system does get hot but never out of control. I netflixed a bunch of BD's and PQ seems to match the panny blow for blow. Like the Panny the unit seems stable and it has not crashed or locked up while watching BDs or games. I got the PS3 for gaming and got the panny for my HT needs but I think the PS3 is more then capable of handling my Blu-Ray needs. This player will not scale so don't expect to replace your dvd player with the PS3.

PS3 Gaming:

To be honest I am so underwhelmed with the PS3 for gaming. Maybe it's because I am an avid PC gamer but games like Half-Life 2, Prey and Q4 look much better then Fall of Man. On the 360 side games like Gears of War, Ghost Recon and Kameo look better than anything on the PC ATM.

I have seen people with myspace pages that look better than the Playstation Online Store. The online is clunky and the interface pals in comparison to 360 with it's Live and Marketplace. 360 is SOOOO far ahead with Xbox Live and Arcade that sony will never catch up. All the games that I would of purchased I already own on 360 and from the reviews they are better. CoD, Marvel, Oblivion, Rainbow Six: Veges ETC. I use to think that MS Achievement system was a gimmick but while playing Fall of Man I realized how much I missed getting rewarded for doing something cool. Buddy list on PS3 is also a joke. If you get a message and want to respond to it you need to exit the game you playing.

By now everyone knows that it does not come with any kind of HD cables. It also does not come with a head set / mic. You can not recharge you controller and play at the same time if your TV is 50" and above. The cord is so short that you will go blind. I also have an issue with the audio. For some reason I can not turn up the volume past -3.0 on my processer when playing games. It is fine when watching Blu-Ray disk but with game it's caped.

When you first get a game it has to install some of the data to your hard drive just so it can avoid the loooong load times. Most games are in 720p and if it is in 1080p the texture become so simple that it looks worst then some last gen games. You can have all the storage you want but PS3 only has 256 VRAM so we are not going to see these crazy high rez textures that are possible on the 360 with it's 512 unified ram.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire = One of the worst game every made.

Genji: Days of the Blade = This is so not Next Gen. That genera just took like 5 steps backwards with this game.

Resistance: Fall of Man = Fun game but there is nothing next gen about it. The areas are LARGER than most games but some objects look sooo bad that it throws everything off. The windows are straight out of the Half-Life 1 engine and some of the foliage is down right 8bit. Check out the weak bush from the Resistance pic below. Some cool weapons save this game but the Lancer from Gears of War owns them all.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/imgcache/3313.imgcache

Motorstorm demo is pretty fun but nothing worth buying a system for.

I am sure the games will get better in time but so will the 360 games. As far as the interface and online capabilities, MS is light years ahead of Sony and I don't believe they can catch up. Not gonna happen.

If you are coming straight from PS2 and have not played PC games in the last 4 years then PS3 might look GREAT!

If you have a 360 or an updated PC then the PS3 might not impress you.

If you are looking for an inexpensive Blu-Ray Player then the PS3 might be what you have been waiting for.

If there is any specific movies or features you want me to check out let me know. My netflix is unlimited :D

I know some members will not agree with me and that is fine. This is ONLY my opinion.

Happy Thanksgiving,

-Sam

PS I suck with a camera. I will learn to take pics with out flash next time:)
I was also in the process of demo'ing amps so please excuse the wire mess.

[|JuiceZ|]

Good grief, thats a nice setup! Thanks for taking the time to write that and post your honest opinion. It should benefit those in the market contemplating picking up a new BR player.

[Marvel_us]

Hey man thanks for the little review. Very nice setup as well.

I didn't really think about the PS3 controller and charging from a distance, that kind of sucks.

Question, how would you rate the battery life of the controller? Have you ever had to stop play because it was dying or anything like that?

[Tygerwoody]

nice review

[CriPPleR_HD]

Hey man thanks for the little review. Very nice setup as well.

I didn't really think about the PS3 controller and charging from a distance, that kind of sucks.

Question, how would you rate the battery life of the controller? Have you ever had to stop play because it was dying or anything like that?

I had the system on for about 21 hours just down loading etc. The controller still shows 3 full bars but I really have not been interacting with it. The controller has not died yet but there was times when it became unresponsive for a few seconds.

[LiquidX]

Great review and even better settup CriPPleR_HD.

[UDawg]

Thanks for the review. It's too bad this console costs so much and does so little to make the purchase worth while. I like the competition so Sony better get their act together.

[Marvel_us]

I had the system on for about 21 hours just down loading etc. The controller still shows 3 full bars but I really have not been interacting with it. The controller has not died yet but there was times when it became unresponsive for a few seconds.

Thanks for the response.

[FCGD]

If there is any specific movies or features you want me to check out let me know. My netflix is unlimited :D


-Sam

yes i would like to custom request some hi def screen captures from the great classic "120 Days of Sodom" on BluRay and please include your thoughts on picture quality and sound quality
kthanks

[Nv40]

On the BLuray vs HD-dvd.. Did you know the diference between 1080p and 720p ? the movies on the first one (when done natively by the studio) runs at 1900x1080 resolution. while the other its movies only runs at 1280x720.. So in practice there is no way a Hd-dvd will look "better" if they were done using the same compression techniques and you have the right equipment. if there are a case where a HD-dvd movie looks better than the same one on BR ,you can be 100% they arent using the same compression ,or perhaps and bad player. like some issues reviewers reported with the first generation of SAmsung Players.

Get a copy of the bluray movie [Utlraviolet] ,it looks perfect on the latest mitsubishi 1080p 50' LCd's. Its more expensive ,and its from a company that many here love to hate ,but the technology allows much more detail on the screen ...period. In color rich movies ,like from pixar ,the diference will be more noticeable ,than for example in normal movies that doesnt have as many colors . Go play a pc-game at 1280x1024 and later play the same game at 1900x1200 and tell me you dont notice a diference , many with poor observations skills will not notice a diference ,but i can asure you on higher resolutions anything whether games or movies will always look better.

[stevemedes]

Dude, thats a sweetass TV you got there. How much that bitch cost?

[Zelda_fan]

On the BLuray vs HD-dvd.. Did you know the diference between 1080p and 720p ? the movies on the first one (when done natively by the studio) runs at 1900x1080 resolution. while the other its movies only runs at 1280x720.. So in practice there is no way a Hd-dvd will look "better" if they were done [i]using the same compression]/i] and you have the right equipment.

Get a copy of the bluray movie Utlraviolet ,it looks perfect on the latest mitsubishi 1080p 50' LCd's. Its more expensive ,and its from a company that many here love to hate ,but the technology allows much more detail on the screen ...period. In color rich movies ,like from pixar ,the diference will be more noticeable ,than for example in normal movies that doesnt have as many colors . Go play a pc-game at 1280x1024 and later play the same game at 1900x1200 and tell me you dont notice a diference , many with poor observations skills will not notice a diference ,but i can asure you on higher resolutions anything whether games or movies will always look better.

HD-DVD runs at 1080p. You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

[Marvel_us]

HD-DVD runs at 1080p. You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

Me neither :confused:

:::scratches head:::

[CriPPleR_HD]

On the BLuray vs HD-dvd.. Did you know the diference between 1080p and 720p ? the movies on the first one (when done natively by the studio) runs at 1900x1080 resolution. while the other its movies only runs at 1280x720.. So in practice there is no way a Hd-dvd will look "better" if they were done using the same compression techniques and you have the right equipment.

Get a copy of the bluray movie Utlraviolet ,it looks perfect on the latest mitsubishi 1080p 50' LCd's. Its more expensive ,and its from a company that many here love to hate ,but the technology allows much more detail on the screen ...period. In color rich movies ,like from pixar ,the diference will be more noticeable ,than for example in normal movies that doesnt have as many colors . Go play a pc-game at 1280x1024 and later play the same game at 1900x1200 and tell me you dont notice a diference , many with poor observations skills will not notice a diference ,but i can asure you on higher resolutions anything whether games or movies will always look better.

Dude, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are both 1080p. Look up any movie on the following link. http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/

I don't know where you get your info from but maybe should stop visiting them until they stop lying to you.

[Zelda_fan]

This is a rock solid player that performs flawless once you get past the menu's ETC. If the PQ is better then my old samsung it is only slightly. Where blu-ray excels at is in the audio department and the DMP-BD10 will soon be the master of that domain with it's 7.1 analog outs and its promise of decoding TrueHD and DTS-HD in future firmware updates. The DMP-BD10 also never skipped stuttered or missed a beat. This player has it were it counts Stability, PQ and SQ.

If HD-DVD is PQ king then Blu-Ray is SQ King. The audio from the uncompressed PCM is better then TrueHD IMHO and is the main reason I own a blu-ray player. If you have not had a chance to hear it yet then you owe it to yourself to hear these sound tracks on a good HT system. I can tell the difference without even trying.

If all that matters is PQ and SQ then the DMP-BD10 is the best Blu-Ray Player on the market with it's quick FW Updates and 7.1 analog outs.


TrueHD and DTS-HD are supposed to be lossless, so it should sound exactly the same as uncompressed PCM. I'm sure it is dependent on a few variables (like how the studio encodes it, and how the processor decodes it), but theoretically it should sound exactly the same.

To be honest, I'm waiting until a receiver or dedicated sound processor comes out that is capable of decoding TrueHD and DTS-HD. Right now, HD-DVD players only support 2 channels of decoding, and I'd like to see at least 8 which a dedicated receiver or processor ought to have.

[Zelda_fan]

Dude, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are both 1080p. Look up any movie on the following link. http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/

I don't know where you get your info from but maybe should stop visiting them until they stop lying to you.

don't worry about NV40, he's been doing this for years. No one really takes him seriously.

[CriPPleR_HD]

Dude, thats a sweetass TV you got there. How much that bitch cost?

7k when it first came out last september, it is down to 6k now. I made sure they gave me a price adjustment for $1,000. =)

[Nv40]

HD-DVD runs at 1080p. You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

i have read in many places that first generation Hd-dvd players will be limited and no support 1080p.. just 720p.

http://www.audioholics.com/ces/CEStechnology/HDDVDCESinterview.php

So early comparisons from the quality of both formats are 720p vs 1080p.
And with Bluray storage advantage you can store lot more quality on a single disk than on a HD-dvd. that is 15gb vs 25gb or 25 vs 50gb using DL.The biggest advantage Hd-dvd have always been in its price ,easier to produce ,not in the technology or features.

[CriPPleR_HD]

TrueHD and DTS-HD are supposed to be lossless, so it should sound exactly the same as uncompressed PCM. I'm sure it is dependent on a few variables (like how the studio encodes it, and how the processor decodes it), but theoretically it should sound exactly the same.

To be honest, I'm waiting until a receiver or dedicated sound processor comes out that is capable of decoding TrueHD and DTS-HD. Right now, HD-DVD players only support 2 channels of decoding, and I'd like to see at least 8 which a dedicated receiver or processor ought to have.

I hear ya. I understand the whole lossles thing. "Lossless is Lossless" and I am sure it's just the movies them selves that sound great. A TrueHD movie on HD-DVD should sound just as good as a LPCM on Blu-ray.

The XA1 and the A1 both can do 5.1 TrueHD with FW 2.0 but I understand waiting for a receiver to decode it. You will get the whole 8ch that way.:)

On another note, I bet you are loving your WII right now. I have one for my son for xmas and it is killing me because I can't open it and I want to try Rayman and Zelda. :D

[CriPPleR_HD]

i have read that first generation Hd-dvd players dont support 1080p.. just 720p. And with Bluray storage advantage you can store lot more data on single disk than on a HD-dvd. the biggest advantage Hd-dvd have always been in its price ,easier to produce ,not in technology and features.

HD-DVD don't need the storge because it uses VC-1.

[Zelda_fan]

i have read that first generation Hd-dvd players dont support 1080p.. just 720p. And with Bluray storage advantage you can store lot more quality on a single disk than on a HD-dvd. that is 15gb vs 25gb or 25 vs 50gb using DL. The biggest advantage Hd-dvd have always been in its price ,easier to produce ,not in the technology or features.

You read wrong. I don't know what else to say. Any standalone HD-DVD player will output 1080p. I even believe the 360 addon will too if you have the VGA cable.

[Zelda_fan]

I hear ya. I understand the whole lossles thing. "Lossless is Lossless" and I am sure it's just the movies them selves that sound great. A TrueHD movie on HD-DVD should sound just as good as a LPCM on Blu-ray.

The XA1 and the A1 both can do 5.1 TrueHD with FW 2.0 but I understand waiting for a receiver to decode it. You will get the whole 8ch that way.:)


That's something I don't really understand. The XA1 and A1 will decode 2 channels of TrueHD right? How do you get 5.1 lossless from 2 channels of audio?


On another note, I bet you are loving your WII right now. I have one for my son for xmas and it is killing me because I can't open it and I want to try Rayman and Zelda. :D

It is an awesome system, let me tell you what. I'm really having to restrain myself from playing Zelda now. I have a Westinghouse 1080p comming in, and the Wii Component cables shipping next week. I don't want to play any more until I get both items in house. Speaking of which I'm pissed at jr.com. They promised 1-2 day processing. It's been 5 days (in all fairness only 3 have been business days) and it hasn't shipped. I'll give them thanksgiving off, but they are going to get a very colorful phone call from me come Friday. I've also got a video processor that upscales 480p content to 1080p. I don't mess around when it comes to Zelda lol.

[Nv40]

HD-DVD don't need the storge because it uses VC-1.


Watch on your BR [UltraViolet] on a High quality Mitsubishi 1080p LCD and later come back to tell me you werent impressed.

[Zelda_fan]

Watch on your BR [UltraViolet] on a High quality Mitsubishi 1080p LCD and later come back to tell me you werent impressed.

HD-DVD looks better than blu-ray. End of story. No one with any credibility is arguing otherwise. VC-1 is superior to MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 in every way shape and form.

[Nv40]

You read wrong. I don't know what else to say. Any standalone HD-DVD player will output 1080p. I even believe the 360 addon will too if you have the VGA cable.

http://www.audioholics.com/ces/CEStechnology/HDDVDCESinterview.php


The HD DVD players announced so far will not support 1080p outputs -- yet. This is in part because the latest version of HDMI (the only one supporting 1080p as mandatory) is still being finalized. There are CE [consumer electronics] HD DVD players "in the works" that will ship later and are expected to have 1080p outputs, but nothing has yet been announced.


As i said before using same compression on BR or HD-dvd ..1080p >720p. That was my point . if you have a first generation HD-dvd you will be limited most likely to the lower output. and lets not talk about the sound. Second generation HD-dvd players will be able to output 1080p.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/toshiba-brings-2nd-gen-hd-dvd-action-to-the-us/

The main enhancement goes the the XA2, which can now output a full 1080p resolution, and includes HDMI version 1.3

Funny thing they cost the same as BR players.. So far most reviews i have seen between both formats use 720 player vs a 1080p. using diferent movies and perhaps diferent compression .