[Phil_1976]

Hello all.

I’m a long time lurker, first time beggar of knowledge.

I have recently purchased a Sony 40W5500 and am making that scary leap into the HD world. I have SKY HD and am looking into the Blu-Ray side of things. However, realistically I will not be purchasing many Blu-Ray discs at first and so would like to make the most of DVDs. Most of my Buddies are bullying me towards a PS3 and I have to agree that is something that interests me.

My questions to you guys are these,

How does the PS3 compare (upscaling DVD & Blu-Ray) to Sony’s upscaling DVD players and Blu-Ray players? Are they using the same technology in the PS3 or am I better of purchasing separate upscaling DVD player and Blu-Ray player?

Cheers,

Phil

[nizzywizzy]

I have similar question, Can someone help? Tnx

[confused88]

Originally Posted by Phil_1976

Hello all.

I’m a long time lurker, first time beggar of knowledge.

I have recently purchased a Sony 40W5500 and am making that scary leap into the HD world. I have SKY HD and am looking into the Blu-Ray side of things. However, realistically I will not be purchasing many Blu-Ray discs at first and so would like to make the most of DVDs. Most of my Buddies are bullying me towards a PS3 and I have to agree that is something that interests me.

My questions to you guys are these,

How does the PS3 compare (upscaling DVD & Blu-Ray) to Sony’s upscaling DVD players and Blu-Ray players? Are they using the same technology in the PS3 or am I better of purchasing separate upscaling DVD player and Blu-Ray player?

Cheers,

Phil

The question is will the PS3 or S360 upscale better than the W5500 itself?

[XHi-FiX]

Hi guys, I was using a ps3 with my sony 46w4500 tv but recently purchased a sony 360 blu ray standalone player and i can happily tell you it surpasses the ps3 easily. If you want gaming & movies then stick with the ps3 route but if its just movies then a standalone player is worth looking at. With the ps3 being a 1st generation product the standalone players have evolved.

[24 P]

You are so far from the truth it is not funny.
The PS3 is 1 of the most affordable and quality BR players out there, the gaming is just a bonus, and the fact that it is a media portal is an advantage too.
What do you think all the firmware upgrades are for??
Pretty GUIs?
7 processors and because its a 1st gen product, this makes it a lesser quality BR playback device?
I think not.

Its basically a PC with all the available mods, with firmwares...
Simple really...

[XHi-FiX]

You are so far from the truth it is not funny.
The PS3 is 1 of the most affordable and quality BR players out there, the gaming is just a bonus, and the fact that it is a media portal is an advantage too.
What do you think all the firmware upgrades are for??
Pretty GUIs?
7 processors and because its a 1st gen product, this makes it a lesser quality BR playback device?
I think not.

Its basically a PC with all the available mods, with firmwares...
Simple really...


I wasn't slating the ps3, i was merely laying out the facts that the picture quality on the dedicated sony players is far better than the ps3. Set up with the correct display side by side comparison the ps3 gets beat easily with black levels, contrast and image definition. (answering confused question) Picture processing in the standalone players is more advanced so untill you have seen what a £400 bluray player can do, i suggest you stick with what you know instead of bulling on here.
Yes the ps3 has some neat features but it's first & foremost role is a gaming machine with internet access & a
host of other features that a desktop pc can do better.
I'm fortunate to have all three set up on my display but if i wasn't then i'd probably go for the ps3 sacrificing the extra image detail from blu ray discs.

...........................

[24 P]

Rather than try and compare a 400 quid player with a 250 quid PS3 how about do apples and apples??
And why not ask why a lot of reviewers out there use PS3s as reference models when reviewing BRs?
I must be missing something..
I will stick to what I know, thanks for the advice...

[justbrowsing]

Hi fighters

Interestingly there was a live shoot out arranged on this site about 2/3 months ago between a handful of popular BD players, and the PS3. Can't remember who arranged it, but it was interesting. Pretty much everyone thought the PS3 would shine, but in the end the decision was that it was a great games machine that made a fair stab as a BD player, but most of the similarly priced dedicated players beat it for image quality and audio. That may not have been the position 12-18 months ago, but thats what the verdict was as of now.

PS3 owners seem very passionate about their machine, maybe because of all the other stuff it can do, but when making recommendations to a newcomer a broader view needs to be taken, as not everyone wants to play games.

Just to be a bit controversial, I would personally heap all the games consoles together and set fire to the lot, as I get a little cheesed off hearing terrific home cinema kit being slated because toys dont work with them, but I guess thats just an adult view........ wait for the explosion....lol !

[Ify]

Thanks guys. I had the same question as the OP. I will be opting for a standalone BD player (Sony S360 or Panasonic BD60) over a PS3.

[Mr_Sukebe]

Originally Posted by justbrowsing

Hi fighters

Interestingly there was a live shoot out arranged on this site about 2/3 months ago between a handful of popular BD players, and the PS3. Can't remember who arranged it, but it was interesting. Pretty much everyone thought the PS3 would shine, but in the end the decision was that it was a great games machine that made a fair stab as a BD player, but most of the similarly priced dedicated players beat it for image quality and audio. That may not have been the position 12-18 months ago, but thats what the verdict was as of now.

PS3 owners seem very passionate about their machine, maybe because of all the other stuff it can do, but when making recommendations to a newcomer a broader view needs to be taken, as not everyone wants to play games.

Just to be a bit controversial, I would personally heap all the games consoles together and set fire to the lot, as I get a little cheesed off hearing terrific home cinema kit being slated because toys dont work with them, but I guess thats just an adult view........ wait for the explosion....lol !

Interesting. My take on that test was that on BD, the differences were marginal between any of the players, whilst on DVD, some of the other players were noticeably better.

[Avi]

Originally Posted by Mr_Sukebe

Interesting. My take on that test was that on BD, the differences were marginal between any of the players, whilst on DVD, some of the other players were noticeably better.

People often talk about product A being better than product B but there is often little substance behind what's different and why. I think it would be interesting to define "better" and understand if this is a technical improvement or the video equivalent to adding MSG to enhance the flavour of food.

AVI

[tom 2000]

Originally Posted by Mr_Sukebe

Interesting. My take on that test was that on BD, the differences were marginal between any of the players, whilst on DVD, some of the other players were noticeably better.

But at least one of the reviewers commented that the shortcomings in dvd playback were less than he expected and suggested that current BR Players were a marked improvement on those that have gone before.

[its_me_cal]

Originally Posted by justbrowsing

Hi fighters

Interestingly there was a live shoot out arranged on this site about 2/3 months ago between a handful of popular BD players, and the PS3. Can't remember who arranged it, but it was interesting. Pretty much everyone thought the PS3 would shine, but in the end the decision was that it was a great games machine that made a fair stab as a BD player, but most of the similarly priced dedicated players beat it for image quality and audio. That may not have been the position 12-18 months ago, but thats what the verdict was as of now.

PS3 owners seem very passionate about their machine, maybe because of all the other stuff it can do, but when making recommendations to a newcomer a broader view needs to be taken, as not everyone wants to play games.

Just to be a bit controversial, I would personally heap all the games consoles together and set fire to the lot, as I get a little cheesed off hearing terrific home cinema kit being slated because toys dont work with them, but I guess thats just an adult view........ wait for the explosion....lol !

I think that was the 1st shoot out the 2nd 1 seem to put the PS3 top for BD image quality if i'm reading the results right?

Originally Posted by MeanDorris

Results ...

[Nic Rhodes]

PS3 upscaling is one of the best in the business and better than the players, not that it is that important though.

[Ify]

Originally Posted by Nic Rhodes

PS3 upscaling is one of the best in the business and better than the players, not that it is that important though.

Isn't the consensus that the PS3 is inferior to dedicated BD-players when it comes to upscaling DVDs?

[Nic Rhodes]

no, scaling is HQ, though this is only a tiny part of picture quality. See Davids review on this site on slim PS3 for independent details. Sony 'insiders' even talk about the scaling as being a 'a bit special'.

[24 P]

I did a side by side comparison of Leon, DVD SE R1 compared to a BR 2 gig rip...
The 2 gig file made a mockery of it hands down.
DVD upscaling has its benefits, but the inherent source, DVD as a medium, is long gone old software encoding...
I own many a DVD, I concentrate more now on BRs...
To buy a BR player to upscale DVDs, can be a lost cause.
Why? Well you will not get that much a better PQ than the original, yes it will clean it up, but the colors and contrast do not match the 2 gig rip that I did a comparison with.
Still in the end, any player that has upscaling abilities is a welcome, just remember, crap in, crap out....
IMO dvd is dead for the new millenium...
Now watch the sparks fly...

[Ify]

Originally Posted by 24 P

I did a side by side comparison of Leon, DVD SE R1 compared to a BR 2 gig rip...
The 2 gig file made a mockery of it hands down.
DVD upscaling has its benefits, but the inherent source, DVD as a medium, is long gone old software encoding...
I own many a DVD, I concentrate more now on BRs...
To buy a BR player to upscale DVDs, can be a lost cause.
Why? Well you will not get that much a better PQ than the original, yes it will clean it up, but the colors and contrast do not match the 2 gig rip that I did a comparison with.
Still in the end, any player that has upscaling abilities is a welcome, just remember, crap in, crap out....
IMO dvd is dead for the new millenium...
Now watch the sparks fly...

Yes, of course Blu Rays look (and sound) better than DVDs. But there are many of us who have a huge collection of DVDs, which ideally we don't want to replace with Blu Rays for various reasons. Personally, I don't think the difference between a DVD and a Blu Ray warrants spending another £12-20 for the BD version of the film. It's different when it comes to films which are largely visual/action-orientated, like Kill Bill, Sin City, Watchmen, Transformers, CG-movies etc. But when it comes to films like any of the old Westerns, or character driven movies such as There Will Be Blood and The Shawshank Redemption, having a superior picture quality isn't really a must. I'm not saying picture quality doesn't matter outright, of course it does. But I don't feel it's that important to have to spend all that extra money to get it replaced.

Incidentally, I was always used to watching Pulp Fiction on my 37" Phillips with a standard DVD player (no upscaling). When I watched it on the Toshiba HD-E1 HD-DVD player, the difference was phenomenal. I was very impressed. I've been meaning to watch it on a Sony S360 BD player on my new Samsung 40" Series 5 to see what it looks like. Furthermore, watching Dark Knight on DVD on an S360 looked really good, I had very little complaints. I then switched to the Blu Ray version and the difference was not huge. It was largely apparent within the details, the sharpness. But it really wasn't a marked improvement, at least not anything which makes me want to replace all my DVDs with Blu Rays. It may have been the case that the technical folk behind the transfers didn't do as good a job. So I think what it comes to is that if they do a good job transferring the movie to Blu Ray you should see significant improvements over their DVD counterpart. But then again DVDs upscaled look brilliant. It's a case of how far do you want to go.

On a side note, I just received my Inglourious Basterds Limited Edition Blu Ray in the post. Can't wait to watch that bad boy.

[Avi]

Originally Posted by Ify

Incidentally, I was always used to watching Pulp Fiction on my 37" Phillips with a standard DVD player (no upscaling). When I watched it on the Toshiba HD-E1 HD-DVD player, the difference was phenomenal. I was very impressed. I've been meaning to watch it on a Sony S360 BD player on my new Samsung 40" Series 5 to see what it looks like. Furthermore, watching Dark Knight on DVD on an S360 looked really good, I had very little complaints. I then switched to the Blu Ray version and the difference was not huge. It was largely apparent within the details, the sharpness. But it really wasn't a marked improvement, at least not anything which makes me want to replace all my DVDs with Blu Rays.

I've found screen size/viewing distance makes a big impact on the benefit Blu-ray offers compared to the DVD version. As the screen size gets smaller relative to viewing distance the benefits start to diminish.

AVI

[CALLMENUJAK]

Originally Posted by justbrowsing

Hi fighters

Interestingly there was a live shoot out arranged on this site about 2/3 months ago between a handful of popular BD players, and the PS3. Can't remember who arranged it, but it was interesting. Pretty much everyone thought the PS3 would shine, but in the end the decision was that it was a great games machine that made a fair stab as a BD player, but most of the similarly priced dedicated players beat it for image quality and audio. That may not have been the position 12-18 months ago, but thats what the verdict was as of now.

PS3 owners seem very passionate about their machine, maybe because of all the other stuff it can do, but when making recommendations to a newcomer a broader view needs to be taken, as not everyone wants to play games.

Just to be a bit controversial, I would personally heap all the games consoles together and set fire to the lot, as I get a little cheesed off hearing terrific home cinema kit being slated because toys dont work with them, but I guess thats just an adult view........ wait for the explosion....lol !

I'm LOL

[Nic Rhodes]

You need to remember that image quaity and scaling capabilities of players are two very different things. Screen size and viewing distances are huge variables here to be considered. Also DVD differences will be huge in comparison to 'any' blu ray differences on films.

[confused88]

Originally Posted by Avi

I've found screen size/viewing distance makes a big impact on the benefit Blu-ray offers compared to the DVD version. As the screen size gets smaller relative to viewing distance the benefits start to diminish.

AVI

I agree with that. In practice this also means that a big screen, especially a front projector screen will benefit greatly from the use of a bluray player. It is not uncommon to sit as close as 1.5 times the width of a projection screen, Think for example the number times that you went to the Cinema and sat on the front. However, with a 32" TV you wouldn't sit only 1.5m away from the screen, and that is true for every screen where free-view/SD material is often watched.