[Rob Manson]

Is there any point at all getting a blu ray player (up to £100) instead of just using the PS3. I have an LG 42 inch 3D TV. I am concerned that I have a lot of kit stacked on top of each other - Amp, SkyHD then PS3.

[chrisjr]

The PS3 is a very capable Blu-Ray player. Unless you find some feature it lacks that is an absolute killer must have (unlikely) then I can see little point buying a separate player if it's already hooked up to the telly and AV system.

[Rob Manson]

Cheers Chris. Is this your full time job?? It should be!!!

[koantemplation]

I'd rather have a PS3 than a stand alone Blu Ray player. You can do so much with it, including accessing the internet and playing games.

[David (2)]

but for the rest of us, who dont play games, and use a pc for the web, a BluRay player is a far cheaper option.

You can even put your pictures on a PS3, but no backup!! Much more sense to use the pc for this sort of thing.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by David (2)

but for the rest of us, who dont play games, and use a pc for the web, a BluRay player is a far cheaper option.

It is now, but it wasn't so in the early days of BD - a PS3 was the cheapest way to get a BD player, and a LOT of PS3's were bought purely as BD players.

Certainly now you can buy a Sony DB player for a fraction of the cost of a PS3.

[iangrad]

I read somewhere ( but I can't remember where ! ) that the data to create decode the picture was done in software on a ps3 but its done by hardware chip on a BD player .

I have both and the picture is fine on both , just occasionally on fast moving scenes the ps3 is slightly less than perfect for example on the car / bike chase in Skyfall but this is only slight .

But the main difference is the control operation on a ps3 is very odd until you are fully conversant with it whereas with a BD player its uses a "normal" remote .

[Deacon1972]

Originally Posted by David (2)

but for the rest of us, who dont play games, and use a pc for the web, a BluRay player is a far cheaper option.

You can even put your pictures on a PS3, but no backup!! Much more sense to use the pc for this sort of thing.

Agree the cheaper option can be a bluray player if games are of no interest, don't forget the secondhand market where you can pick up a cheap unit if a brand new one is too expensive and a PS3 is your first choice.

Sorry but I will have to disagree re: photos, the PS3 is hard drive based, no different to a PC, you can back your photos up on an external hard drive, flash drive, dvd or cd just as you would/can for a PC.

[Deacon1972]

Originally Posted by iangrad

I read somewhere ( but I can't remember where ! ) that the data to create decode the picture was done in software on a ps3 but its done by hardware chip on a BD player .

I have both and the picture is fine on both , just occasionally on fast moving scenes the ps3 is slightly less than perfect for example on the car / bike chase in Skyfall but this is only slight .

But the main difference is the control operation on a ps3 is very odd until you are fully conversant with it whereas with a BD player its uses a "normal" remote .

You can get a dedicated remote for blurayd/dvd operation, obviously you have to dip your hand in your pocket, but it will be easier to use for those that can't get use to the original games remote or prefer to use something more conventional or familiar.

[Dansky+HD]

Originally Posted by Deacon1972

You can get a dedicated remote for blurayd/dvd operation, obviously you have to dip your hand in your pocket, but it will be easier to use for those that can't get use to the original games remote or prefer to use something more conventional or familiar.

If you have a Sony TV Sony amp & PS3 or even just 2 there is a version 2 of the ps3 remote that slows you to use the Bluetooth of the PS3 and infrared of the amp or TV to control both from 1 remote.

Hoping for the same (or better) with PS4

[Deacon1972]

Originally Posted by Dansky+HD

If you have a Sony TV Sony amp & PS3 or even just 2 there is a version 2 of the ps3 remote that slows you to use the Bluetooth of the PS3 and infrared of the amp or TV to control both from 1 remote.

Hoping for the same (or better) with PS4

There are a few ways to control the PS3.......

Adaptor for Harmony remotes.

Apps for (jailbroken?) iPhones, iPod touch and iPads.

Apps for certain Androids like Blueputdroid.

It's certainly a lot easy than it once was.

[Lumstorm]

I myself prefer having things designed for a single job than a jack of all trade. So I use a separate BD player although my player does have features that the PS3 doesn't have like being able to play all my discs whatever the region code. Its also a lot quieter than the PS3 once the fans kick in.

[David (2)]

ahh, they (playstations) still sound like a lawnmower then, as per the PS2.

Very little noise from my proper bluray player. Back when i had a PS2 the lawnmower noise was equal to the audio in loudness at times.

Thing is the whole built in bluray or not is nothing new - remember the PS2 was based on DVD, and there were not too many standalone dvd players when the PS2 launched first. And it wasnt bad at playback, but the handset (corded!) was not great for controlling playback, plus you had the noise of the machine.

[call100]

Originally Posted by David (2)

ahh, they (playstations) still sound like a lawnmower then, as per the PS2.

Very little noise from my proper bluray player. Back when i had a PS2 the lawnmower noise was equal to the audio in loudness at times.

Thing is the whole built in bluray or not is nothing new - remember the PS2 was based on DVD, and there were not too many standalone dvd players when the PS2 launched first. And it wasnt bad at playback, but the handset (corded!) was not great for controlling playback, plus you had the noise of the machine.

Hardly a comparison to the PS3...........Your 'Proper'(?) player may be quiet, but, you have nothing to compare it with. So you don't really know if it's any better or not....

[JulesandSand]

If the OP already has a PS3 - which he seems to, then I can't see the point in buying a BluRay player in addition. The PS3 even plays 3D BluRays and is a decent media player.

[Virtual Paul]

I had a PS3 and gave it to a friend and bought a cheap blu-ray player instead.

Only had one game and never played that, and the fan noise drove me mad in the summer when the ambient temperature meant it was constantly whirring. So made sense as I was only using it as a blu-ray player anyway.

Other reason was the video streaming side of the PS3 was poor on the format support compared to a dedicated unit, so now have a silent streamer too.

Makes watching movies so much more enjoyable without the distracting fan noise. I can live without the games.

[call100]

I never understand the 'noisy fan' claims.....I don't find mine makes a noise while operating as a Bluray player summer or winter. If it did, my wife would have insisted on it's replacement by now...
Also it operates as an excellent streamer for movies from my PC.

[XxBlaKOuTZxX]

Nothing wrong with using a Ps3 as a BD player. We did it for long enough before we bought our first BD HT. Only when we bought a 3DTV and 3D HT did we stop using it.

[Deacon1972]

Originally Posted by Virtual Paul

I had a PS3 and gave it to a friend and bought a cheap blu-ray player instead.

Only had one game and never played that, and the fan noise drove me mad in the summer when the ambient temperature meant it was constantly whirring. So made sense as I was only using it as a blu-ray player anyway.

Other reason was the video streaming side of the PS3 was poor on the format support compared to a dedicated unit, so now have a silent streamer too.

Makes watching movies so much more enjoyable without the distracting fan noise. I can live without the games.

I personally have not come across a single container/file that the PS3 streamer has refused to open/play. Did you know there is a transcoding option within settings for the more difficult/obscure formats? There are also other add ons that deal with troublesome files.

On the noise front I can't say I have noticed any excessive noise regardless of room temperature, appreciate I was not acceptable to you, but there is nowt poor about it's format support.

[David (2)]

oooo, people getting protective of their playstation 3s,,,,,,will soon be obsolete by the PS4 which will be "much better" as they say.

[XxBlaKOuTZxX]

Originally Posted by David (2)

oooo, people getting protective of their playstation 3s,,,,,,will soon be obsolete by the PS4 which will be "much better" as they say.

[Party Animal]

Originally Posted by call100

I never understand the 'noisy fan' claims.....I don't find mine makes a noise while operating as a Bluray player summer or winter. If it did, my wife would have insisted on it's replacement by now...

Well your Lucky My PS3 is a great machine but the fan noise is distracting and my son in law brings his PS3 round to play in the bedroom and thats noisy just like ours

so being noisy are not 'Claims' but fact

[JulesandSand]

The fact would seem to be that some are noisy and some aren't. We've 4 in our family, 2 old models and 2 newer slimmer ones and none have a noisy fan.

[call100]

Originally Posted by David (2)

oooo, people getting protective of their playstation 3s,,,,,,will soon be obsolete by the PS4 which will be "much better" as they say.

It's not being protective, it's called balancing the discussion with personal experience. Seems some have duff fans in their machines and others haven't. The discussion is a bit redundant as no one has posted which model they have!!!
Thinking that the PS3 will be obsolete at the launch of the PS4 is a bit naive....The PS2 has only just stopped manufacture 6 years after the PS3 launched.