2141 replies to this topic

[Skid_MacMarx]

First off this is not a Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD thread.. there are plenty of other threads where posts can be made to debate the success of each format..
I have started this as a central thread for blu-ray /ps3 enthusiast to discuss developments, considering the forum administrators have not created separate section for both formats.

To start off, HJ, I found this aticle explaining why PS3 will be more expensive...

Quote

  PS3: pricier because it's better
By Stan Beer  
Monday, 13 November 2006
There's an old adage - you get what you pay for. For the past two generations of games consoles, Sony has lived by that principle and succeeded wildly. Once again, Sony has stuck to its guns and produced the most expensive console on the market. Once again it will succeed. Why? Because it's better.

It appears that the people most worried about the price of PS3 are media commentators because, from early reactions of consumers, gamers certainly aren't. PS3 consoles are rarer than hen's teeth and gamers are prepared to sell their souls to get their hands on the most advanced gaming device money can buy.

Yes, yes we've all heard the arguments that the graphics on the Xbox 360 are good enough and who needs a Blu-ray player and US$500 for a 20GB PS3 is too much to pay compared to US$400 for the 20GB Xbox 360. Rubbish to all of that.

For 100 million plus PlayStation devotees, the graphics are never good enough, many of them want a Blu-ray player (as do many non-gamers) and most will be prepared to pay US$100 or US$200 extra for the 60GB Wi-Fi model. So what are they getting for their money?

For a start PS3 owners will get an incredibly powerful 9-core Cell processor which absolutely wipes the floor with the 3-core Xenon processor in the Xbox 360, admittedly a pretty powerful processor in its own right, but no match for the Cell. Right now, there aren't the games that can really take advantage of that extra processing power the cell provides but there soon will be.

Oh yes, that's right, nobody wants a Blu-ray player because there aren't many movies and nobody has a HDTV. Just watch what happens over the next 12 months.

I keep saying this but it apparently falls on deaf ears for some: the PS2 was just as expensive when it was first released in 2001! Yet everybody wanted this amazing new console with a DVD player.

Some people say that the PS3 will be at a disadvantage because it Europe and the rest of the world will have to wait until March and supply will be scarce in the US and Japan. It may be a blessing in disguise for Sony. By then, the market will have had a good dose of Xbox 360 and Wii and will be looking for something new - especially PlayStation fans.

Yes, you only get what you pay for, whether that's a house, a car or a games console.

http://www.itwire.co.../view/7107/983/

[MarkH]

Skid_MacMarx, on Nov 14 2006, 12:11 AM, said:

To start off, HJ, I found this aticle explaining why PS3 will be more expensive...

Is this thread open to anybody interested in BR/PS3 or is it an intimate thread with just HJ invited?  

[Skid_MacMarx]

MarkH, on Nov 14 2006, 01:14 AM, said:

Is this thread open to anybody interested in BR/PS3 or is it an intimate thread with just HJ invited?  

open to all
I do hope everyone can be civil and it stays on course...
really I feel there are enough pro/con threads to bag out either format..

it would be good to have the "one" thread for enthusiasts to keep abreast of development .. news.., media reports etc..

[MarkH]

Skid_MacMarx, on Nov 14 2006, 12:24 AM, said:

open to all
I do hope everyone can be civil and it stays on course...
really I feel there are enough pro/con threads to bag out either format..

it would be good to have the "one" thread for enthusiasts to keep abreast of development .. news.., media reports etc..

You know, id love to stay around and talk about the good things that PS3/Br has to offer (genuinely), but the Sony ambassador (you know who ye are!) just cant have a decent debate without talking out of his arse.

[Skid_MacMarx]

MarkH, on Nov 14 2006, 01:26 AM, said:

You know, id love to stay around and talk about the good things that PS3/Br has to offer (genuinely), but the Sony ambassador (you know who ye are!) just cant have a decent debate without talking out of his arse.

Like I said, there are plenty of other threads to debate the pros and cons of each format with HJ

it will be interesting to see if the Blu-ray/ps3 enthusiasts will be given space to discuss developments.

[MarkH]

Skid_MacMarx, on Nov 14 2006, 12:36 AM, said:

Like I said, there are plenty of other threads to debate the pros and cons of each format with HJ

it will be interesting to see if the Blu-ray/ps3 enthusiasts will be given space to discuss developments.

well, as that sounded like a jibe at me, ill leave you to it.

[mbash]

I bought 'The Last Waltz'  (The Band 1976) on Blu-ray from the US because I couldn't help myself and I had to do something to satisfy my hi-def hunger.

Then I had a panic attack!  I'm not going to be able to play it on an Aussie player!  So of to Harvie Norm I go, and lo, it plays perfic in their Samsung.  Luke (I was going to call him a sales droid, but he was too much of a gentleman) then checks the very fine print on the cover and reveals the globe symbol without a number in it.  Meaning it's region free.
Lucky eh?  

Only watched about 5 minutes of it but the pic was so 'clean', is how I would describe it.  Thirty year old film. Who'da thought.

Maurice

[Mike Kakay]

HJ & Skid, enjoy!

: oh my:

[Skid_MacMarx]

Quote

Sony's PS3 has problems running PS, PS2 games-paper
Mon Nov 13, 2006 6:32pm ET160

TOKYO, Nov 14 (Reuters) -

Sony Corp.'s (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) new PlayStation 3 game console has problems when playing about 200 software games from previous versions of the machine, the Sankei daily reported on Tuesday. Sony started selling the latest version of its blockbuster game console in Japan on Saturday, and video game magazine publisher Enterbrain has said it sold 88,400 units of the console in the first two days after the launch, leaving most stores without any stock.

The PS3 should be able to load and run games designed for earlier PlayStation models, but the paper said some sound and screen problems have been reported when these games were played on the new console.

Officials at Sony's game division were not immediately available for comment.

Sony is going up against Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360, on sale for the past year, and Nintendo Co.'s (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) Wii, which will hit U.S. stores next week.

Sony was able to ship only 100,000 units for the launch after a glitch in blue laser diode production disrupted its output plans. It plans to have the PS3 on shelves in North America on Nov. 17, followed by a European launch in March.

http://today.reuters...s...6&type=qcna

It will be interesting if this is in regards to a selected number of games or across the board. A development to keep an eye on .. all the same...
thanks Mike

[RodN]

Maurice Stack, on Nov 14 2006, 02:54 AM, said:

I bought 'The Last Waltz'  (The Band 1976) on Blu-ray from the US because I couldn't help myself and I had to do something to satisfy my hi-def hunger.

Then I had a panic attack!  I'm not going to be able to play it on an Aussie player!  So of to Harvie Norm I go, and lo, it plays perfic in their Samsung.  Luke (I was going to call him a sales droid, but he was too much of a gentleman) then checks the very fine print on the cover and reveals the globe symbol without a number in it.  Meaning it's region free.
Lucky eh?  

Only watched about 5 minutes of it but the pic was so 'clean', is how I would describe it.  Thirty year old film. Who'da thought.

Maurice

Maurice some of the older pics, particularly those shot in 65/70mm are some of the most stunning transfers (think Lawrence of Arabia and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)

[Skid_MacMarx]

Maurice Stack, on Nov 14 2006, 02:54 AM, said:

checks the very fine print on the cover and reveals the globe symbol without a number in it.  Meaning it's region free.

hopefully places like Ezy DVD will publish region-coding or lack of...

[Autocrat]

If you didn't want a debate on the relative merits of each system , why the hell did you start off by quoting an article that did exactly that?

[Skid_MacMarx]

Quote

PS3 Backwards Compatibility Issues
New system has some problems with past titles.
by Anoop Gantayat

US, November 12, 2006 - Sony may have included the PS2's CPU and GPU with every PlayStation 3 system, but the system still appears to be having some problems with backwards compatibility. Just in time for the PS3's second anniversary (the second day it's been on the market in Japan), Sony passed on the specifics.

Now accessible at the Japanese PlayStation.com site is a page for seeking out the backwards compatibility status of PS2 and PS1 titles. The Japanese page can be accessed here. By inputting the title, publisher name, release date or product number (an eight digit code containing four letters followed by a hyphen then four numbers), you can seek out the status of the 7,841 titles in Sony's database.

A warning about this search engine. It's a bit tough to read, as it lists all versions of individual games separately. A game might have its main version listed separate from its limited edition, its budget version, its second budget version, and so forth. This is one of the reason you'll find over 350 games listed under Konami, although Konami hasn't actually released that many games.

Most of the titles have the following message next to them "Currently, there have been no reports of major problems during play." Whether or not the games actually don't have a problem, or there is a problem but Sony hasn't found it yet, is up in the air.

We did find a few problem titles by looking through the list. Here's a quick run down.


# Tekken 5: A number of modes don't play background music properly.

# Xenosaga Episode II: The opening movie sometimes stops and sometimes doesn't properly play background music.

# Code Age Commanders: Problems (including data loss) with save game data.

# Radiata Stories: Background music during movie scenes may not play back properly.

# Star Ocean Till the End of Time (includes Directors Cut): Movie scenes may not have proper sound playback.

# Driving Emotion Type-S: BGM may not properly play back during races

# Gran Turismo 4: The screen may freeze following the title demo.

# Hot Shots Golf 3/4: Some sort of problem with the controls becoming unresponsive

# Operator's Side: The game freezes at the logo screen when started up with the Seamic controller

# Onimusha Dawn of Dreams: Screen will occasionally appear 2cm to the right

# Hyper Street Fighter II Anniversary Edition: The screen will not appear correctly in some instances. The S.F.II Movie cannot play properly.

# Megaman X7: There are times when the background music won't play properly

# Devil May Cry: The screen will sometimes freeze during the title demo

# Onimusha: During movie playback, the sound will occasionally stop

# Suikoden III: Cannot read PS1 data during the game.

# Silent Hill 2: When going from the title screen to the demo screen, the screen may freeze

These are the major problems we found looking through the numerous pages for Sega, Namco, Capcom, Square Enix, Sony and Konami.

Some problems, including those for Ace Combat 5, Oz, SOCOM and so forth, were fixed with the System 1.10 update. Sony still lists those problems in the database.

We also noticed a few recurring problems, sometimes based off a common feature, sometimes carried across an entire series of titles. The PS3 Virtual Memory Card specifications do not allow for PS2 games to read PS1 data, which is something that's apparently used in Suikoden III and a few other titles. Most of the microphone-compatible games seem to have problems. Konami's dance/music games seem to have a number of problems.

In addition to the software compatibility issues, Sony has made public the issues that arise due to hardware differences between the platforms, specifically the PS3 not using physical memory cards, not using a multitap, not having rumble built into its controller and other issues related to different hard disk and USB specifications.

As previously announced, you can keep using your PS2 game saves by purchasing a Memory Card Adapter (which is currently harder to find in Japan than actual PS3 units, it seems). Once you have the adapter, you'll be able to transfer your save files to the PS3 hard disk. The only catch is that games whose save icon displays a "No Copy" icon in the PS2 browser cannot have their data copied over.

The PS3 can't use a multitap. However, Sony states that this shouldn't be a problem with the system's ability to recognize seven Sixaxis controllers simultaneously.

Regarding USB peripherals, Sony states that some software that use such peripherals may not run properly on the PS3. It asks that users conduct the manufacturer of such products. As noted above, games using a microphone peripheral seem to have problems.

HDMI also gives problems to PS2 games. Sony states that as of 11/11, when the PS3 is connected to your entertainment center using HDMI, PS2 and PS1 games will output only in 2ch digital. When switching to Dolby/DTS modes for PS1 and PS2 games that are compatible with these sound systems, you'll get no sound output. For now, Sony recommends using an optical cable for such titles. This, of course, will require that you go into the settings menu and change the audio output cable.

The PS3 has no i-Link port, so you can't replicate the i-Link link-up feature from PS2 titles. The i-Link port was used as a bonus in only a few titles and was removed from future PlayStation 2 revisions.

Games that use the hard disk will currently not run. The problem is that the built-in PS3 hard disk cannot currently be used as a PS2 hard disk. We haven't tried it out ourselves, but this means games like Final Fantasy XI and Nobunaga's Ambition Online won't work.

For now at least. The good news is that Sony plans on making hard disk based PS2 games compatible in a future system software update. The list of titles that will work once this magic system update is carried is basically just Nobunaga's Ambition Online, Final Fantasy XI and the Play Online viewer, and Front Mission Online in all their variations, including expansions.

Other backwards compatibility problems will also, hopefully, be fixed in future updates. It's doubtful that the PS3 will every be fully backwards compatible, though, as even the slim model PS2 doesn't play back some PS2 titles properly.

http://au.ps3.ign.co...5/745439p1.html

[Skid_MacMarx]

Autocrat, on Nov 14 2006, 01:13 PM, said:

If you didn't want a debate on the relative merits of each system , why the hell did you start off by quoting an article that did exactly that?

sorry if there was a contridiction in the article I posted.. I only posted it because it attempted to explain why the PS3 is so expensive.
I did not intend for yet another flame war.. I think there are enough threads out there for that..
I had in mind a thread where developments specifically BR and PS can be discussed.
Rather than which format is better or will be the most successful
When I mean developments ..negative or postive.. like the backward compatibility issue and how and if it will be resolved etc.. who has had similar problems, what people think of the different features etc etc..

[ajm]

Skid_MacMarx, on Nov 14 2006, 05:14 PM, said:

sorry if there was a contridiction in the article I posted.. I only posted it because it attempted to explain why the PS3 is so expensive.
I did not intend for yet another flame war.. I think there are enough threads out there for that..
I had in mind a thread where developments specifically BR and PS can be discussed.
Rather than which format is better or will be the most successful
When I mean developments ..negative or postive.. like the backward compatibility issue and how and if it will be resolved etc.. who has had similar problems, what people think of the different features etc etc..

I wish you well with the thread Skid but let's be honest here and say there's no room in this discussion for the negatives while anyone who raises them is going to be labelled a "fanbot".

Have fun guys - I guess you'll need something to keep you occupied until (someday in) March.

FWIW, what will you guys do if either it doesn't meet this latest schedule or you miss out on the first batch?

[Skid_MacMarx]

ajm, on Nov 14 2006, 06:10 PM, said:

.FWIW, what will you guys do if either it doesn't meet this latest schedule or you miss out on the first batch?

hopefully it won't centre on just PS3
like I said.. it would be good to see the thread as a point of reference.. for all things Blu-ray
I  am looking forward to after all this launch hype dies down so we can read some detailed reviews.
This way those who have a genuine interest in blu-ray can keep abreast of the latest developments.without trying to piece together numerous threads...
Many of the good threads span a number of years at this forum .. and maybe this one can be just as useful.
thanks for your support

[Autocrat]

Skid_MacMarx, on Nov 14 2006, 05:14 PM, said:

sorry if there was a contridiction in the article I posted.. I only posted it because it attempted to explain why the PS3 is so expensive.
I did not intend for yet another flame war.. I think there are enough threads out there for that..
I had in mind a thread where developments specifically BR and PS can be discussed.
Rather than which format is better or will be the most successful
When I mean developments ..negative or postive.. like the backward compatibility issue and how and if it will be resolved etc.. who has had similar problems, what people think of the different features etc etc..

Fair enough - I agree about the flame wars, if nothing else it's just so damned boring.  

Best thing to do would be to try to ban any reference to the competition.

[:)]

nobby, on Nov 14 2006, 12:46 PM, said:

Maurice some of the older pics, particularly those shot in 65/70mm are some of the most stunning transfers (think Lawrence of Arabia and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)

agree there. lawrence of arabia is most definetly even on DVD can sjut imagine what its like on the new Hi-def formats ! some other oldies but goodies are vertigo, das boot and north by north west. wonder if some of these oldies will get anotehr lease of life with these new disc formats.

ps nobby ...chitty chitty bang bang ! hehehe who woudl have thought that one for PQ

one thing guys thank god now 4:3 releases on the new disc fomats...hope havent spoken too soon but boy would that drive me up the wall ! hehe

[Skid_MacMarx]

the latest on PS3 compatibility issues:

Quote

Sony PS3 Japan launch hits software glitches
Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:25 AM GMT

TOKYO, Nov 14 (Reuters Life!) - Sony Corp. said on Tuesday its new video game console, the PlayStation 3, does not run about 200 PlayStation and PlayStation 2 software titles properly, the latest problem the electronics maker has run into in its cash-cow game business.

The PS3, which Sony calls its most important strategic product of the year, went on sale in Japan on Saturday, setting the stage for a three-way showdown with Microsoft Corp.'s already available Xbox 360 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii.

Sony said audio features do not work on some software titles when played on the PS3, which is supposed to be compatible with games designed for its previous models, while some other titles do not work on the latest machine at all.

Shares in Sony closed up 0.9 percent at 4,730 yen, underperforming a 1.64 percent gain in the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index IELEC.but in line with Nintendo stock.

Industry specialists say the glitches appear to be the kind of hiccups that often plague console launches and are not likely to have a lasting impact on the PS3 business.

"There are always sorts of little problems at launch ... It may take some time to make everything compatible, but I don't think it's a huge problem," KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide said.

Indeed, Microsoft received customer complaints following its Xbox launch in Japan in 2002 that the console was scratching game discs, while Sony's PS2, which it released in 2000, had compatibility problems with PS games.

Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), Sony's game unit, plans to fix the PS3 problems by offering online upgrades for system software, SCE spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka said.

Sony sold 88,400 units of the PS3 in the first two days of the Japan launch, clearing out most stores' stock, video game magazine publisher Enterbrain said on Monday

The PS3 will be launched in North America on Friday. Gamers in Europe must wait until March due to a glitch in commercial production of blue laser diodes, a key component of the game gear's Blu-ray high-definition DVD player.

The Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment conglomerate aims to ship 6 million units of the PS3 by March.

The original PS and PS2 have each sold more than 100 million units.

Sony, which has dominated the game market over the past decade, has packed the PS3 with its latest technology including a Blu-ray player and the Cell microchip, dubbed a "supercomputer on a chip".

But the new machine's lifelike graphics and fast downloading of game software and video clips come at a price.

Sony sells a basic model for 49,980 yen (223 pounds) in Japan, almost double the price of the Wii, which will be released in the United States on Sunday and December 2 in Japan.

http://today.reuters...t-C4-Internet-5

[RodN]

alebonau, on Nov 14 2006, 07:11 PM, said:

ps nobby ...chitty chitty bang bang ! hehehe who woudl have thought that one for PQ

Just think - Dick Van Dyke in full HD glory.... ok maybe that one can wait

[Skid_MacMarx]

Hopefully the necessary software upgrades will be installed on the consoles when released in March:

Quote

PS3 tragics warned to wait

November 14, 2006 01:28pm

AUSTRALIAN gamers who buy the new PlayStation 3 console through online auction sites before its local release could be in for a rude shock.
PS3 was launched in Japan at the weekend to frenzied fans, some of whom queued for hours or paid homeless people to do it for them.

But PlayStation spokesman Adrian Christie warned Aussie gamers the Japanese console may not play their PS1 or PS2 games. Several PS3s are now selling on online auction sites.

A PS3 console that would have sold in Japanese stores for $673 was on eBay for $2991 just two days after the launch.

The Australian version will be launched in March and will be compatible with PlayStation games bought in Australia.

Thousands of fans queued in cities across Japan at the weekend, with many going home empty-handed.

"Japan is seen as the heartland of gaming because it often has the most dedicated fans," Christie said.

Brian Ashcraft, associate editor at Japanese gaming website Kotaku, told the BBC that he saw homeless people waiting in line and heard similar stories from other shops around Tokyo and Osaka.

The website has reported PS3 consoles advertised as used are already being sold in shops for $1608, more than double their official retail price. PS3 is being sold in two configurations.

In Australia the more expensive version, with a 60GB hard drive and Wi-Fi, will cost $999 and the 20GB, which lacks Wi-Fi, will sell for $829.

Both versions include a wireless controller and Blu-ray.

Buying a PS3 also gives owners free access to the online PlayStation Network where they can meet and take on other gamers.

http://www.news.com....36-7486,00.html

[Highjinx]

Nice find(s) Skid.

Other than a few fixable issues, the PS3 seems to be well received. Many obviously see ample value in this unit to pay the asking price. When 3rd party software comes on stream along with the wireless keyboard and mouse, there will be a lot more going on with this unit than gaming and BluRay playback.

[Skid_MacMarx]

Re: US launch. . .Interview with Kazuo Hirai:

Quote

PlayStation 3 consoles to be flown in to replenish stock

By Peter Svensson
ASSOCIATED PRESS

11:45 a.m. November 16, 2006

NEW YORK – Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 is in high demand and short supply, prompting some gamers to camp out in front of stores for the chance to pay up to $600 for one of the sleek consoles.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Kazuo Hirai, the head of Sony Computer Entertainment America, emphasized that while the company is trying to satisfy demand as quickly as possible, it's in it for the long haul – and sticking to strategies that have allowed it to dominate the video game market for a decade.

AP: How long will it take until everyone who wants a PS3 can get one?

Hirai: We are trying everything we can to get as many units into the North American market as possible. The thing that we're trying to focus on now is shortening the lead time from the factories to the retailers and consumers. Usually, something this size and weight we would put on a boat, but what we're doing is chartering planes to fly them in ... that combined with trying to ramp up production as quickly as possible as well.

AP: So are we talking months here before there's a surplus in the stores?

Hirai: Well, I think that's really going to be a function of the demand for the product. ... I think we are going to be selling out of the product very quickly. Hopefully we'll replenish it very quickly as well with the weekly shipments. But ultimately, when we have a situation that the consumer can walk into retail and pick one up remains to be seen, basically.

AP: There are rumblings out there among people waiting for the PS3 that some stores won't be able to fill their pre-orders because allocations have been moved between retailers. Is there anything to that?

Hirai: We've always allocated our products to our retail partners in a very fair way and also a transparent way. We don't favor one retailer over another.

AP: There was a price break on the cheaper PS3 model in Japan (the price was cut from about $500 to $400). Is that something we can expect in the U.S.?

Hirai: We've been very comfortable with the pricing points we've announced. In speaking to our retail partners, they're very happy with the price points as well. We see no need to adjust the pricing at this point in time.

AP: What is the bottleneck in production?

Hirai: I think it was well publicized that we had some issues initially with laser diode production (used in the Blu-ray disc player). Those issues have been ironed out, but with any component, whether it's laser diodes or anything else, you do have a ramp-up period. You suddenly can't go from zero one day to 100,000 units the next day.

AP: How do you feel you're positioned vis-a-vis the competition?

Hirai: We have a long-standing history of providing a stable platform that the consumer can enjoy for many, many years. We launched the first PlayStation in 1995 in the U.S., and we were in that business till last year. PlayStation 2, six years into the market, continues to be the best-selling video-game console in the market, with over 110 million units shipped worldwide. With the PlayStation 3, we'll be embarking on the same kind strategy, where the console will be supported by a fantastic lineup of software titles ... It's really all about making sure that you have content that's fresh in the eyes of the consumers, month in and month out. That strategy has worked very well for us in the past, and we're going to continue on that strategy.

When we introduce a product, we introduce a product that's going to be relevant for a very long time, we don't suddenly leave the other, older console twisting in the wind, which seems to be a strategy some of the older companies go through. ... We have many more years to go with the PS2, we're not suddenly dropping support for that platform.

AP: There have been some complaints in Japan that the PS3 had problems playing some games from the older PlayStations. Is that something that can be fixed?

Hirai: Just to put it in perspective, I think there are probably 8,000 titles out there for the PlayStation 2 on a worldwide basis, and the vast majority of those titles will play on the PlayStation 3 right out of the box. If you look at the launch of the PlayStation 2, there were some titles there as well that did not play on the PlayStation 2.

The beauty with the PlayStation 3 is that you can always have the firmware (the console's underlying software) updated as you connect the PlayStation 3 on to the Internet. As we go through these upgrades, one of the things we want to do is make sure that the percentage of compatible games goes higher and higher.

http://www.signonsan...0...onyq&a.html

[Skid_MacMarx]

the beast causing all the trouble  
and  in regards to BR HD movieplayback, an article comparing the samsung player with the PS3:

Quote

Sony says a dedicated remote control will be available in December for $25. (I'll post some thoughts on our blog when I have a chance to try the remote control.) The decision to leave the remote out of the PS3's bundle seems chintzy and odd to me, especially given that Sony is positioning the premium-priced PS3 as an all-purpose entertainment device.
[. . .]
Nonetheless, even with the added cost of the remote, the high-end PS3 still costs significantly less than stand-alone BD players, which range in price from $899 for the Philips BDP9000 to $1500 for the forthcoming Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1. If you buy the high-end PS3 with the remote, you'll spend about $625 (the standard console costs $100 less), making the PS3 an attractive option for high-def movie playback.
[. . .]
While usability is critical to any consumer electronics device, the quality of the output remains paramount. Having the PS3 finally allowed me to compare the first-to-market Samsung BD-P1000 (with the original, factory-installed firmware) side by side with another Blu-ray Disc player, and the results highlighted a fundamental shortcoming in the Samsung player that produces subpar video quality.

I tested both players with a 50-inch high-definition plasma screen, the Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1, running the output over HDMI at 1080p. I could see that the images from the PlayStation 3 appeared noticeably sharper and crisper, with more depth and detail than the Samsung unit produced. That's probably because the PRO-FHD1 was released with noise reduction enabled by default and offered no way to disable it. Samsung's misstep on this setting goes far to account for the flat-looking image, and for the generally lower picture quality that I and other reviewers noted on the PRO-FHD1 during the summer. (The company says this problem has been fixed via a firmware update released at the end of October; all players shipped since then have the new firmware.)

Earlier, with no other Blu-ray player to compare against the Samsung, I had found its output of HD films on Blu-ray definitely better-looking than the same movies on standard-definition DVD. However, when I watched the same Blu-ray movies on the PlayStation 3, I could better appreciate Blu-ray's potential for image clarity. I also found the overall image quality more comparable to that of HD DVD films I've seen displayed on Toshiba's HD DVD players, in terms of sharpness, detail, and color.

Though my first impressions of the PlayStation 3's Blu-ray video playback quality were positive, videophiles should take note: The PS3 has two technical limitations that set it apart from stand-alone Blu-ray players. First, unlike stand-alone Blu-ray players, the PS3 does not have a dedicated video chip set optimized for decoding Blu-ray video, instead relying on the Cell processor and its software to do the job. This may turn out to be a plus, however, as Sony's improvements to the player software can be more easily distributed to existing users than a hardware upgrade.

Second, the PS3 offers 1080p60 (where the 60 refers to frames per second) playback, which is less optimal than 1080p24 for filmed content. Few displays support 1080p24 output today, but if your HD set and your BD player do so, you should see higher-quality images than you'd get from 1080p60 output. Since movies are filmed at 24 frames per second, you'd want to use an even multiple of 24 (such as 72 frames per second) to avoid motion artifacts in slow-panning scenes. If you display 24-fps content at an uneven multiple, like the commonly used 60 fps, you'll end up with those artifacts.

http://www.pcworld.c...ia/article.html

[:)]

are there actually any blu-ray owners on this forum. seems kind of strange we have not had one comment from owner though the players have been in the shops for quite a while now ?

has anyone imported one over from the us ?

will be good to get some actually owner reviews ?