i dont have a blue ray player, but ive heard the blue ray is amazing quality and is the best thing to buy, but the players are SUPER expensive, and bluerays alone are 50 bucks a pop!

will the dvd of SAL be as good and clear as the blueray version? its still filmed in high def though, so are you all waiting to buy the blue ray version of SAL because of its superior quality? or would buying the dvd be just as good

If a DVD were as good and clear as the blueray version, what would the blueray version then be good for?

Buy a Playstation 3, best value for money.

Vilhelm
Nordic Stones Vikings

I have a copy of the regular(not Blu-Ray) version of SAL and the picture/sound quality on my home theater is FANTASTIC! I've ordered the Blu-Ray as well since I have a player...the resolution and 7.1 sound WILL be better but not tremendously I don't think...I'll let you know on the 29th though!

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mickijaggeroo
Buy a Playstation 3, best value for money.

A few things people thinking about using a Playstation 3 as a Blu-Ray disc player should consider :

1) The Playstation 3 consumes way too much electricity when playing Blu-Ray discs.It uses roughly five times the watts used by the average "stand-alone" Blu-Ray player.

2) You also need to have an HDMI version 1.3 equipped a/v receiver (and an HDMI 1.3 certified cable) to get the high resolution uncompressed sound (Dolby True HD and DTS HD-Master Audio) found on most new Blu-Ray titles as the PS 3 has no analog multi-channel audio outputs.The Shine A Light Blu-Ray disc is supposed to have both of these high resolution soundtracks although in 5.1 channel surround sound and unfortunately not 7.1 . As I said on an earlier thread,you have to make sure that the PS 3's system software is at version 2.30 or higher to benefit from the high resolution soundtracks.The current version is now 2.41 .

3) The PS 3 does not work with universal remotes.It has no IR receptor.This may or may not matter to different people.

4) The PS 3 is louder than most all stand alone Blu-Ray players.

5) If all of this is alright and you decide to buy one,I would go with the 60 GB version because it also plays PS 2 games and SA-CD's.I'm pretty sure that the 80 GB version does not play PS 2 games and I don't think that the 40 GB version does either.

My brother went with the PS 3 and I went with the LG BH200 which also plays HD DVD's which I am finding great value in.The LG BH200 was met with luke warm reviews for two reasons : 1)the original retail price was high at around $800 & 2)it had drawbacks in performance.Since then a few things have changed : 1) Circuit City now sells it for $469 - on par with Blu Ray / DVD only players & 2) a firmware update was released by LG that solved just about every performance drawback that it had. & 3) HD DVD folded and now I'm finding clearance HD DVD's for $8.99 and saving big money for the time being versus $23.99 to $35.99 for Blu-Ray discs.Unfortunately both units have that new cheap looking gloss black finish which is nearly impossible to keep clean but,I covered the top of my BH200 with repositionable self seal laminate to stop it from looking beat up after time.

A PS3 is a must. I have one (40 GB version). That combined with a 46" Sony Bravia flatscreen TV, a NAD T744 surround reciever and Argos surround speaker system makes for one hell of a gaming session I must say. GTA4, MGS4 and football games are great on this set-up.

JumpingKentFlash

It may be a must for people who like video games but,it isn't such a must for people who don't want to play them,only care about watching high definition Blu-Ray movies,DVD's,people who are trying to keep their electric bill down,and/or people who have a non-HDMI 1.3 equipped receiver that they want to keep (may have paid big money for) but still want to hear Dolby True HD and DTS HD-Master Audio found on new Blu-Ray discs.That's all I'm saying.

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Winning Ugly VXII

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mickijaggeroo
Buy a Playstation 3, best value for money.

1) The Playstation 3 consumes way too much electricity when playing Blu-Ray discs.It uses roughly five times the watts used by the average "stand-alone" Blu-Ray player.

I don't mean to nitpick - but if you can afford to buy a BluRay player (of whatever kind) and afford to pay around fifty bucks for a BluRay disc, then the cost of *playing* the wretched thing is relatively small potatoes, right?

PS3 with 46" Samsung and Bose Theatre and NASCAR09... whoa dude! Waiting impatiently for SAL Blu-ray.

I have a ps3 , its amazing!
buy it , and also sal on blu-ray.
its recommended!!

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textmonkey

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Winning Ugly VXII

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mickijaggeroo
Buy a Playstation 3, best value for money.

1) The Playstation 3 consumes way too much electricity when playing Blu-Ray discs.It uses roughly five times the watts used by the average "stand-alone" Blu-Ray player.

I don't mean to nitpick - but if you can afford to buy a BluRay player (of whatever kind) and afford to pay around fifty bucks for a BluRay disc, then the cost of *playing* the wretched thing is relatively small potatoes, right?

Blu-Ray discs that I've seen in the U.S. cost between $22.99 and $35.99.The prices will only get lower over time.I haven't seen any for $50 unless you're talking a multiple disc set.Also,you can rent the Blu-Ray discs at Blockbuster (I'm sure other places as well) for a premium of less than a dollar more than a regular DVD.

The only reason that I see to pick a player that costs over five times as much to run is the fact that it is also a gaming system.There are no other real advantages of the gaming system versus the top notch stand-alones (the disc load times are now almost the same).If you're only going to buy one Blu-Ray player,I guess you have to ask yourself if you want or do not want a gaming system.

I never said the PS 3 was bad.It's great.I was just pointing out that it does have some drawbacks to consider if you are planning on using it as your primary Blu-Ray player.

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Winning Ugly VXII

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textmonkey

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Winning Ugly VXII

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mickijaggeroo
Buy a Playstation 3, best value for money.

1) The Playstation 3 consumes way too much electricity when playing Blu-Ray discs.It uses roughly five times the watts used by the average "stand-alone" Blu-Ray player.

I don't mean to nitpick - but if you can afford to buy a BluRay player (of whatever kind) and afford to pay around fifty bucks for a BluRay disc, then the cost of *playing* the wretched thing is relatively small potatoes, right?

Blu-Ray discs that I've seen in the U.S. cost between $22.99 and $35.99.The prices will only get lower over time.I haven't seen any for $50 unless you're talking a multiple disc set.Also,you can rent the Blu-Ray discs at Blockbuster (I'm sure other places as well) for a premium of less than a dollar more than a regular DVD.

The only reason that I see to pick a player that costs over five times as much to run is the fact that it is also a gaming system.There are no other real advantages of the gaming system versus the top notch stand-alones (the disc load times are now almost the same).If you're only going to buy one Blu-Ray player,I guess you have to ask yourself if you want or do not want a gaming system.

I never said the PS 3 was bad.It's great.I was just pointing out that it does have some drawbacks to consider if you are planning on using it as your primary Blu-Ray player.

But on the other hand, my friend, you did not say what the drawbacks of other players are. I have teenage twins, for me getting a PS3 is getting something me and the kids both can enjoy. I, at age 43, enjoy playing games too, so for me it´s the best value for money.
I´ll run it on my new Panasonic PZ85 46" full HD.
That monster sure gets the electrical bill ticking away

Vilhelm
Nordic Stones Vikings



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-21 01:23 by mickijaggeroo.

Fair enough.Any standalone Blu-Ray player released before December 2007 has more severe drawbacks than the PS 3 does but,with some of the 2008 models (and I assume many future models),they are eliminating the shortcomings of previous models.Examples are the Pioneer BDP-05FD & BDP-LX71,and the Sony BDP-550.The only drawback of these Pioneer players is the fact that they are not profile 2.0 but,profile 1.1 is good enough for me as I consider profile 2.0 to be an unimportant gimmick.Profile 2.0 has to do with bonus interactive features when you connect your player to the internet.My LG BH200 may gain profile 2.0 with a future software update but,even if it does,I may never use that feature.As it stands,the only two real drawbacks of the LG BH200 (after applying the latest firmware update) are its gloss black finish and the fact that it cannot internally decode DTS HD-Master Audio.It (the LG BH200) can,however,bitstream DTS HD-Master Audio to a capable HDMI 1.3 equipped a/v receiver that has its own decoders for the high resolution soundtracks.I'm fine with that because I need a new receiver anyway because the one I have now is too old.It may have been a different story had I purchased a high end receiver the year before HDMI was introduced.In that case,I would have needed the internal decoding but,the way it worked out,I don't need it.Again,I may end up getting it anyway with a future firmware update but,I'm set.

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Winning Ugly VXII
You also need to have an HDMI version 1.3 equipped a/v receiver (and an HDMI 1.3 certified cable) to get the high resolution uncompressed sound (Dolby True HD and DTS HD-Master Audio) found on most new Blu-Ray titles as the PS 3 has no analog multi-channel audio outputs.

you dont need 1.3 with a ps3, the ps3 doesnt bitstream, it decodes truehd and dtshd-ma internally.

and the truest stones fans will not settle for this on dvd, they will get the blu-ray.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-21 09:04 by Slick.

I guess you're right there as long as lower versions can handle that amout of digital data but,you would still need HDMI for high resolution surround sound using a PS 3 (so nobody gets the wrong idea).You could get only two channel stereo in Dolby True HD and DTS HD-MA with the PS 3 without using HDMI. I need HDMI 1.3 with the BH200 for the DTS HD-MA bitstreams.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-22 18:01 by Winning Ugly VXII.

There's a new version of the PS3 coming out late Aug.

And then another one rumoured before Christmas. Thinner, more silent and using less electricity.
I'll wait for this one.

[doctorstonesblog.blogspot.com]

Blue Ray players will start to get a lot cheaper this year anyway.
They'll soon cost little more than standard DVD players did a couple of years ago.

Are there different Region Codes on BluRays too ????

Can the PS3 play all RC DVDs ???

Question # 1 : Yes,but,there are only three different regions for Blu-Ray as opposed to six or eight for DVD's.

Question # 2 : I doubt it but,there are other players that can or that can be made to.

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Mr.D
I have a copy of the regular(not Blu-Ray) version of SAL and the picture/sound quality on my home theater is FANTASTIC! I've ordered the Blu-Ray as well since I have a player...the resolution and 7.1 sound WILL be better but not tremendously I don't think...I'll let you know on the 29th though!

Shine A Light is supposed to have 5.1 and not 7.1 surround sound.

The amount of difference that you will notice for video quality will depend on your TV (55 inch or more HDTV with 1920 x 1080 native resolution is the optimum) and whether or not you are using the right cable(s) (i.e. an HDMI cable) to connect you Blu-Ray player,also which player you have.Which Blu Ray player you have is not quite as important as the first two factors.

To notice the better audio,your receiver has to be able to handle Dolby TruHD and DTS-HD-MA either as PCM decoded by the Blu Ray player (if your player can do that) via an HDMI cable or multi-channel (for surround sound) analog audio cables OR (option two) the receiver has to have Dolby TruHD and DTS HD decoders built in to it so that it can decode the Dolby TruHD & DTS HD signals bit-streamed from your player over an HDMI (1.3) connection,again if your player can bit-stream those formats.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-22 17:36 by Theif in the Night.

Hopefully this is the last time it will change.