You don't own a PS3. Why?

[manux]

Ouch, PS3 is already so expensive and you have to spend another 60 USD for simple infrared compatibility to use universal remotes? No thanks.

A shame since my Harmony remote controls every single device in my living room. Including my Air Conditioner. I was rather pleased and surprised when I got my launch 360 and found out it worked with infrared.

Regards,
SB

One doesn't need to if one doesn't want to The wireless controller works well enough for many users. The price of peripherals is issue for any console or how about the price of wlan or bigger hard drive or 5 years worth of online subscription for xbox360? One could also calculate what it costs to buy a separate blu-ray player and a game console and reconsider what makes sense and what doesn't if one is in the market for a console and a blu-ray player.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

One doesn't need to if one doesn't want to The wireless controller works well enough for many users. The price of peripherals is issue for any console or how about the price of wlan or bigger hard drive or 5 years worth of online subscription for xbox360? One could also calculate what it costs to buy a separate blu-ray player and a game console and reconsider what makes sense and what doesn't if one is in the market for a console and a blu-ray player.

Yes, but this gets into the silly region. BTW - my Blu-Ray players supports infrared out of the box also. Either way, it still boggles my mind anyone would release a system that is meant to be a living room entertainment hub and NOT include infrared.

And I haven't needed to buy anything extra (other than a second controller) for the X360. As I said, the infrared support was a nice suprise when I got it, meaning I could use it with my Harmony remote. Meaning I could use it as a media player without having to have more than one remote. Although having a dedicated HTPC, there hasn't been a need to. Just shows that MS was thinking ahead when designing a Living Room entertainment hub. Knowing that many people have universal remotes, since that's basically the only purpose it serves.

Regards,
SB

 

[manux]

Yes, but this gets into the silly region. BTW - my Blu-Ray players supports infrared out of the box also. Either way, it still boggles my mind anyone would release a system that is meant to be a living room entertainment hub and NOT include infrared.

I'm somewhat of a technology freak and I'm boggled why people still buy/want remote control devices requiring one to point the device. I'm all for the bluetooth/wlan/whatever radio technology enabling you to just press the button and not point the device Somebody should lead in this front and start the change for better and maybe we someday don't need to use IR anymore, at least not for remotes.

I just wonder if anyone has implemented ps3 bluetooth remote with j2me so I could use my mobile phone/pc as a remote control -> gone googling...

 

[AzBat]

If the people who don't have a PS3 yet and only considered one for Blu-ray, you might want to consider this instead...

Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-ray Player at Wal-mart for $98, was $128 on Father's Day.

http://gizmodo.com/5311983/walmart-rolls-back-blu+ray-player-to-98

I'm considering this myself, but got to payoff my $100 Batman Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition first.

Tommy McClain

 

[manux]

Very offtopic, I have heard great praises for the lg blu-ray player and it plays back mkv too. That would be my choice for snappy and usable standalone player.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Either way, it still boggles my mind anyone would release a system that is meant to be a living room entertainment hub and NOT include infrared.

...And I haven't needed to buy anything extra (other than a second controller) for the X360.

Meh, it's much of a rub IMO. For me, needing to buy a £70 Wifi adaptor for XB360 would be far more costly than using my PS3 as a BRD with the controller. Seems odd that both would skimp on cheap but seemingly important and ubiquitous components, but they both did.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Meh, it's much of a rub IMO. For me, needing to buy a £70 Wifi adaptor for XB360 would be far more costly than using my PS3 as a BRD with the controller. Seems odd that both would skimp on cheap but seemingly important and ubiquitous components, but they both did.

Why would anyone buy the official wifi adapter when you can just get a cheaper off the shelf one? I know you can get 30 USD wifi adapters that work with the X360 in the states. Added to that I couldn't imagine using 802.11 b/g for wireless for X360 in my area. So many wireless signals here in my area that it makes it virtually worthless for streaming HD video.

Much better to use Wireless-N which you can do with X360, not sure about PS3. Then again I just use wired ethernet.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Why would anyone buy the official wifi adapter when you can just get a cheaper off the shelf one?

That's not the point and not a discussion worth revisiting here. Point is, PS3 is missing IR where it should have it, and XB360 is missing Wifi where it should have it. Both are silly ommissions considering the relatively small costs to include them.

 

[djskribbles]

If the people who don't have a PS3 yet and only considered one for Blu-ray, you might want to consider this instead...

Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-ray Player at Wal-mart for $98, was $128 on Father's Day.

http://gizmodo.com/5311983/walmart-rolls-back-blu+ray-player-to-98

I'm considering this myself, but got to payoff my $100 Batman Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition first.

Tommy McClain

Magnavox? No thanks. The Sony BDPS350, Samsung BDP1500 and LG BD300 have all went below 200 here in Canada so I'm sure they went for less in the states. And if you really want a decent player, the PS3 will get support/updates for much longer than any other player.

 

[AzBat]

Magnavox? No thanks. The Sony BDPS350, Samsung BDP1500 and LG BD300 have all went below 200 here in Canada so I'm sure they went for less in the states. And if you really want a decent player, the PS3 will get support/updates for much longer than any other player.

For those looking at price there's a big difference between $99 & $199, which is what those are still going for new(not refurbished) here in the states. It might not be the best investment due it not being a Profile 2.0 player, but for some people BD-Live might not be needed or wanted. I think I'll still hold out a little while longer for the prices to drop more. And I have no plans to buy another different game console. Rather buy a 2nd 360 for the bedroom to watch Netflix & Hulu.

Tommy McClain

 

[Silent_Buddha]

That's not the point and not a discussion worth revisiting here. Point is, PS3 is missing IR where it should have it, and XB360 is missing Wifi where it should have it. Both are silly ommissions considering the relatively small costs to include them.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this point.

While I and many home theater enthusiasts would claim IR is absolutely essential for a home entertainment device, the consensus for wireless networking being absolutely essential doesn't exist.

I can see your point of view, just don't agree with the relative importance of the two for the intended purpose of the devices. IE - a component of home entertainment setups where IR control is pretty essential. Even home theatre devices like some TV's that have a radio frequency universal remote feature integrated IR blasters.

Regards,
SB

 

[-tkf-]

That's not the point and not a discussion worth revisiting here. Point is, PS3 is missing IR where it should have it, and XB360 is missing Wifi where it should have it. Both are silly ommissions considering the relatively small costs to include them.

As i think i said before, the IR thing most be something regional, i have never ever heard anyone complain about the lack of IR support among my friends. I still think Sony just didn´t understand the incredible need for one remote among some people. And i still think it´s only those that bought it purely for BR purpose that keeps bitching. Everyone else should have the Controller close by anyway.

 

[-tkf-]

If the people who don't have a PS3 yet and only considered one for Blu-ray, you might want to consider this instead...

Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-ray Player at Wal-mart for $98, was $128 on Father's Day.

http://gizmodo.com/5311983/walmart-rolls-back-blu+ray-player-to-98

I'm considering this myself, but got to payoff my $100 Batman Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition first.

Tommy McClain

Please don´t compare one of the best BR players with that piece of shit.

 

[-tkf-]

I'm pretty sure Sony does not want you to do this. they made damn sure that the PS2 was very limited when it was bestowed with Linux and the PS3 isn't that much better.



Resistance was rumored to be 22GB but what is the true required size? if no one compresses any data on the disk, it would surely be those sizes for a game that only needs to be a couple of gig.
But then, there's still something fishy about the ps3 and it's storage cappacity, the recent Fiasco with Ghostbusters is just more fodder for "why do mandatory HD installs when you have 60GB of Blu-ray space available?"

We have had plenty of discussions on the Blu-Ray vs DVD vs Speed vs Space, i love those threads. There is some good examples on the Blu-Ray media enabling better games for the PS3, the piss poor ghostbusters game isn´t one of them.

Maybe these Blu-Ray posts should be killed , they seem awfull of topic though i don´t think any topic is still open.

 

[AzBat]

Please don´t compare one of the best BR players with that piece of shit.

LOL, you sound like I offended you. Man, you need to take it easy. I was not comparing. I was just offering alternatives. Some people don't always need the best. Sometimes they just want what is good enough. At what price is it good enough? $98 seems like a good start to me. Whether or not the Magnavox
fits that bill I have no idea. Caveat Emptor!

Tommy McClain

 

[-tkf-]

LOL, you sound like I offended you. Man, you need to take it easy. I was not comparing. I was just offering alternatives. Some people don't always need the best. Sometimes they just want what is good enough. At what price is it good enough? $98 seems like a good start to me. Whether or not the Magnavox
fits that bill I have no idea. Caveat Emptor!

Tommy McClain

Sorry, i guess i got you wrong with this line:

If the people who don't have a PS3 yet and only considered one for Blu-ray, you might want to consider this instead...

If they only considered it for Blu-Ray it must be because they know it´s one of the best and fastest players out there since there is plenty of standalone alternatives.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

I think the very idea that some BR players are better than others is hysterical on its face.

I'm not saying its not true. However, the mere idea that you need to really investigate and research the BR player before you buy it to make sure it has all the right features, ability to be updated, etc, shows how young the technology is and how divergent it is.

I bought a rather expensive Sony DVD player back in the day, because it had some features and abilities that less expensive models didn't have. (IE: Why would I buy the $500 Sony DVD player instead of the $300 Sony DVD player?) Then you look at what you get for $500 instead of $300 and you make your decision.

Nowdays you can get all the features on every DVD player you buy, and the price premium is really mostly about branding, not features.

And people wonder why BR isn't immediately opted when we've got one user on here bashing another for suggesting a $199 BR player because theres a belief that discount BR player is garbage.

Really? I thought we were dealing with a digital medium here, and as long as it supports the same audio and visual specs, why pay $400 more? It was mentioned the PS3 is one of the 'fastest' BR players.

Really? Fastest? What does that even mean? Do the movies play slower? I don't want my movie player to be slow, but I don't want it to be fast, either. In fact, I'd prefer it play the movies at the rate they were intended to be viewed.

 

[joker454]

Really? Fastest? What does that even mean? Do the movies play slower? I don't want my movie player to be slow, but I don't want it to be fast, either. In fact, I'd prefer it play the movies at the rate they were intended to be viewed.

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not...but if you aren't then the "slowness" is usually about the start up time of a movie. Some stand alone bluray players take as much as two minutes (believe it or not) before the movie would start playing. The PS3 is still one of the fastest (or maybe still the fastest) at start up time. Don't know if that $99 Magnavox is fast or slow though. Some people claim they don't care about movie start up time, but personally a slow start up would drive me mad. Hence why the PS3 is still my blu-ray player of choice

 

[Arwin]

I think the very idea that some BR players are better than others is hysterical on its face.

I'm not saying its not true. However, the mere idea that you need to really investigate and research the BR player before you buy it to make sure it has all the right features, ability to be updated, etc, shows how young the technology is and how divergent it is.

Well, that's true to some extent. At least, in the discount range.

And people wonder why BR isn't immediately opted when we've got one user on here bashing another for suggesting a $199 BR player because theres a belief that discount BR player is garbage.

It doesn't have to be, but it definitely can be.

Really? I thought we were dealing with a digital medium here, and as long as it supports the same audio and visual specs, why pay $400 more?

That's a rather naive comment. You could ask the same thing about Live versus PSN, couldn't you?

I could easily quote this recent review to give you an idea:

In 2009, it's not enough for a Blu-ray player to just play Blu-ray movies. With the ubiquity of online media streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Video On Demand, consumers already expect Blu-ray players to offer a wide variety of standard-definition, instant-gratification media options to complement their high-definition Blu-ray experience.

LG was the first company to realize this trend with the BD300--the first Blu-ray player with Netflix streaming--and the company's flagship Blu-ray player, the BD390 stays a step ahead of the competition with its outstanding feature set--Netflix, YouTube, CinemaNow, built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi (a first), 7.1 analog outputs, geek-friendly MKV-video file playback over USB, and 1GB of onboard memory.
Even better, the BD390 is an excellent Blu-ray player, with top-notch image quality, lightning fast load times, and onboard decoding for all the high-resolution audio soundtracks. The biggest knock against the BD390 is its $400 list price; that's the same as Sony's PS3, which is still a better value if you're into gaming. If you're not, the LG BD390 is our top pick for premium standalone Blu-ray players, narrowly besting the competing Samsung BD-P3600.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10250602-1.html

For the PS3, just to give a simple example of how some features may be relevant, also in terms of cost - I could basically get a rather cheap 5.1 amplifier if I wanted to because the PS3 can decode even the most demanding audio streams into a form of LPCM that most surround amplifiers can deal with. If another player doesn't have that feature, you may need a more expensive amp model. It's just a tiny example, but one that was relevant for me.

Really? Fastest? What does that even mean? Do the movies play slower? I don't want my movie player to be slow, but I don't want it to be fast, either. In fact, I'd prefer it play the movies at the rate they were intended to be viewed.

Each Bluray comes with a loading screen warning users that on some BD players this loading screen may be around for a few minutes. Back in 2008, the fastest load-times from inserting the disc to playing the movie was 41 seconds, with the PS3 clocking in just above at 42 seconds. The slowest machine tested then scored 1m54 seconds. Now I know from lots of personal experience that the PS3 at least doesn't feel longer than a DVD.

And if you think updating firmware is completely irrelevant, even owning a 360 and wanting to own a second one (for which I can't blame you, I want a second PS3 as well), well, I can't really understand it. In the case of just BluRay playback, it can mean that your player won't be able to playback some discs altogether.

Mind you, this particular Magnavox seems to be a fairly decent BD Player for the money. The only drawback right now seems no profile 2.0 and no good upgradability, so it probably won't play some discs but it could be good enough for many.
Oh and mods, feel free to move or delete these posts, as I understand this may end up being rather off-topic.

 

[obonicus]

This is OT, but isn't that what audio/videophiles do all the time? Qualitatively, and, where possible, quantitatively try to compare various pieces of 'equivalent' tech on relative quality? And yeah, for now, isn't BRD still in the audiophile/videophile niche?