sti-04!!

Speak to me. Whats the best out there for my budget ? I already have the Tosh EP30.
I dont really want a PS3 & my 360 hardly gets used these days just want a decent standalone that can output HD audio.

PeteBrant

A PS3 - sincerely - Superb upscaling, and firmware updatres guaranteed.

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

another for the ps3, been voted the best (so I was told in a thread the other day), as mentioned firmware updates and the bonus of it will play games if you want. Best thing though is it is well under your budget

dpb

Im i the only one who read the that as 'blurry player' ..?

sti-04!!

Dont need an upscaler as the EP30 does that brilliantly. So you reckon the PS3 is better than this Panasonic DMP-BD30EG-K Blu-Ray Player - Multiregionmagic The Home Of Multiregion DVD ??

PeteBrant

Yes - because PS3 will go to profile 2.0 when it hits (although the panny will still play the main feature - I.e. *all* bluray films will play on *all*bluray players. You just might not get extra features - Profile 2 effectively means that the player has an internet connection).

Not to mention for the same money you are getting a games console and a media server as wellas a BluRay player.

Seiously, if you are going to spend £300 I cannot think of a single reason not to buy a PS3.

DonnieDarko

as an xbox fan boy it pains me to say-

when i go over to bluray i will be buying a ps3.

for the same price as other players you get internet connection, upgrades games and a hard disc. no-brainer imo

sti-04!!

Cheers Guys, will head out today at some point & pick one up.

Any deals in the high streets ?

PeteBrant

If you have a gamestation near you, then go in there - they usually have some of the best deals.

Deep Singh

I've got a copy of last months What TV/hIfI at home and they tested the current crop of 'budget' Blue Rays, I don't think the PS3 won. If you can wait until later I'll dig it out when I get back home and give you the low down

sti-04!!

That would be great Deep. In no real hurry so a few hours wont matter.

Ta

messiah

I've got that issue and I'm pretty sure they tested it with the old, pre 1080p/24 firmware (although the mag didn't tell you that) but if it was the issue that had a free blu-ray supplement you'd be forgiven if you thought Sony sponsored it and they didn't shut up about it - even if the best player was awarded to a Pioneer IIRC

Personally though - the PS3 is a bit of a no-brainer - firmware updates every few weeks, built in internet & HDD and mahoosive processing power for upscaling your existing "blurry" DVD collection... Woolies had them for £269 with Assasin's Creed. Just remember to get a HDMI cable & BR remote while you're at it - with a copy of Pixar's Cars

Deep Singh

Not sure if its the same issue, I'll check later


Can PS3 output sound over HDMI?

Can it decode the new HD sound formats?

messiah

Yes - update last week was for DTS HD MA support over hdmi - just have to be careful your amp will accept it though...

G00ner

get the GTA package for £320 on Tuesday

Sony PlayStation 3 with Grand Theft Auto IV (PlayStation 3) - free UK delivery at GAME.co.uk

Deep Singh

Got the issue in front of me now. The PS3 was the 1080p/24fps version. The Panny DMP-BD30 won. Issues with the PS3 were

1) Not being able to handle HD audio formats but they did mention that this could be rectified by firmware updates and thats obviously whats happened according to Messiah

2)) ' The PS3 can't match rivals for depth of insight and three dimensionality of image'

Sounds like you won't go far wrong with either of them tbh and if you like to play games its a no brainer

Good luck

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I decided against a blueray player as such and went for a MKV media player It was £120 delivered from the USA. I added a hard drive then downloaded the films I have over 80 films on both 720dpi and 1080dpi all which work in proper dolbly digital and they look great on the plasma

sti-04!!

I am tinkering with that as well via my pc

Although i like to "own" the disks of you get my meaning ?

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I do know what you mean, but my lass is doing my head in on the amount of dvd's around the house This way its a small box 1/5th the size of a dvd player with all my films on and less grief

Deep Singh

Is the pic quality from the 'saved' films the same as from a Blue Ray disc?

hux309

Depends, you can get hold of br/hd dvd films which are the exact files just waiting to be burned, they can be finicky to run, i have to oc my q6600 to get it all running smooth, but a lesser system may get away with it.

kmplayer or vlc would be needed to run the files directly.

Just had a nose, br film files are m2ts.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Its exactly the same, but you only get the film not any extra's that may be on a disk ? "Iam lengend" in 720dpi looks stunning compared to the original dvd

Hux309 mine are on a media player and play far better than on the pc !!There is some pausing on the pc but nothing like that on the media player and its connect via my HDMI connection

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Elec...ml?source=9593

sti-04!!

I downloaded Golden Compass the other night, 720p watched it & it was immense

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Try this then You have to go on a waiting list and it takes about 2/3 months to get. The price delivered with all duty paid is £140

Welcome To Popcorn Hour

Deep Singh

I'm confused, you guys are saying that the films are stunning in 720p compared to convential DVD? I thought high def was 1080 (i/p).

PeteBrant

Conventional DVD = 480i/480p

HD - 720p/1080i

"True" HD - 1080p

BluRay is 1080p (assuming you have a 1080p display) But obviously it will scale to 720p if you only have a 720p display.

Deep Singh

Pete, I have a 1080i screen and at the moment play through a Denon DVD (which has an upscaler) and Onkyo 605 amp. The films are upscaled to 1080i (according to the little script that flashes up on the screen).

Given my set up if I were to upgrade to a Blue Ray player would I experience a significant improvement in pic quality?

Thanks

PeteBrant

"Significant" Probably not - Depending on the quality of the upscaler, and of course the quality of the DVD transfer (300, on DVD for example, upscales like a pig, Transformers is virtually indistinguishable fro 710p to 1080i upscaled).

There will be an improvement - After all, upscaling cannot add detail that isn't there, it just interpolates the extra pixels with its "best guess" - Or just doubles up on what it sees.

How much of an improvement there is and whether it is worth while is fairly subjective. I would say, if you can. get someon you know with a BluRay player, or PS3 to bring it to your house, set it up with your kit and play identical films on DVD and BluRay and see for yourself if you feel it is worth the outlay.

If you have a very good upscaling set up, on a 1080i/720p screen then the difference is going to be there, but not significant. If you have a 1080p screen then it will be more noticeable.

Nowithstanding the above - when you get a BluRay on a decent screen, it is pretty stunning.

messiah

There's a huge difference between 720p & 1080p in my eyes - so much so that I'm going to ditch Sky HD next month when my 12 months are up - the films are pretty bad generally, the best PQ comes from those available on Anytime.

Sky HD's native res is 1080i, some films can be pretty good but comparing them to the BR version shows that 720p/1080i is a bit "half arsed".

I'm sure some DL'd films will have great PQ but I doubt they'll be equal to 1080p from BR or HD DVD...