Stand alone or 2nd PS3

[Romanc]

Originally Posted by Icemage

Actually the PS3 performs great at audio too. The only weakness it has in that arena is that it doesn't have analog connectors, so if you have a non-HDMI receiver, then the audio has to go through optical, which isn't such a good option.

With an HDMI-capable receiver, however, the PS3's audio performance matches that of any standalone unit on the market (exception made for the handful of units that can bitstream DTS-High Definition Master Audio, but I have it on very good authority that the PS3 will eventually receive a firmware update to decode DTS-MA audio codec). Otherwise it handles LPCM and Dolby TrueHD flawlessly, and still provides a quite excellent DTS-1.5Mbps core on DTS-HD HR/MA encoded Blu-rays.

This is all true, so maybe I should emphasize my point, that its sound capabilities are perfectly workable until you compare it to the high end players. People are nagging about how the PS3 is heavy, try out some of the high end stuff! A pretty decent DVD player like the Denon A1XVA weighs in at 19 kilos, and that is all down to specialized circuitry to tweak the extra nuances out of sound and video. You do need some equally serious AVR's and speakers to appreciate it though.

Anyone truly serious about their home cinemas are usually aware of this, so maybe I should have assumed that this really wasn't an issue, and gone for the PS3 option - because it goes a long way, and you can play different games in different rooms at the same time to boot (an option I sometimes miss...)

[Darth Daver]

With the risk of repeating what's already been said... A PS3 is the best Blu-ray player on the market right now (without going to ridiculous prices) however better stand-alones will be on the market shortly and in the long term that should be the better option. Wait until Pioneer or Panasonic bring out a great profile 2.0 player rather than have 2 of the exact same thing.

So overall I'd say get neither and wait for 6 months to see how things go. I wouldn't be surprised if the PS3 had another price cut soonish anyway or at least some great bundles (such as the MGS4 bundle)

[cmdr_keen]

Might be stupid me, but I'd go for the stand-alone. They usually are faster and have better control and better support for features like BD2.0 and stuff like that.

PS3 is a gaming device at first i'd wager (although sony tends to disagree). I'd keep them separate if i were you

[Romanc]

Originally Posted by cmdr_keen

Might be stupid me, but I'd go for the stand-alone. They usually are faster and have better control and better support for features like BD2.0 and stuff like that.

PS3 is a gaming device at first i'd wager (although sony tends to disagree). I'd keep them separate if i were you

Not stupid, but not actually true at this point. PS3 is markedly the fastest to start up and play a BD movie, although stand-alones are getting closer. And the PS3 supports BD2.0 already, and new features are usually included in the regular firmware updates, so it's more future-proof than most stand-alones.

[dz06lt]

my mother in law got a standalone and when we were over for easter she decided to show it off and after the disc was loaded i began to wonder is this ever gonna start playing??? so i would say this is another + for PS3

[Gunslngr13]

The only reason I own a PS3 is for the Blu-Ray movies, so I would say just get another PS3 as you know it can always be updated for latest firmware.