Playstation 3 as a Blu-Ray Player

[cantankerous]

Well, you lot seem like a friendly bunch, so I'd like to ask for a bit of advice.

Are any of you using a PS3 as a Blu-Ray player for your normal viewing?

I'm a bit confused (again). Decent Blu-ray players seem really expensive and, for the money, the PS3 seems to get good reviews, obviously plays games and appears to be firmware upgradable too, so is relatively futureproof.

Disadvantages that I can see are..
1. It has a fan in it, so might be noisy.
2. You have to buy a separate remote. (£15, big deal)
3. Not the most aesthetically pleasing bit if kit.

So in summary, should I get a PS3 or a separate Blu-ray player?

[tequilacrush]

Using the PS3 as a bluray player is awesome!

The fan is whisper quiet... really it is! If you've ever heard, say, the fan on the XBox360, then there's just no comparison.
The fan speed is also dynamic, which means that almost all of the time, you're not even aware there's a fan running. Occasionally, if the PS3 unit gets hot, then it will speed up, and *sometimes* you'll hear it get slightly louder for a short period of time before it quietens down again.

I still haven't got round to buying a remote for my PS3... i'm still using my PS3 controllers (admittedly not the most convenient of ways to do it, but it's still easy to use)

As for the looks... well... it's shiny black, and I think it looks ok if you keep it along side all your other peripherals that plug into your tv

The key things are:
- the PS3 is one of the cheapest ways to get a (very very) good bluray player
- unlike most other bluray players, you can update the firmware to access new bluray features
- plays all your other media, including DivX/XVid movies
- you get a really good games console as an added bonus

[hitenhirani]

agree!

[iangilf]

how does it play divx and avis? i just got a ps3 and am wondering how u do this?

[jemmy]

I would recommend PS3 even over other blu ray players.
One for the reasons mentioned in the post by tequilacrush.
Second it being a great media centre for the lounge. I can stream my photos, music and videos wirelessly from the PC upstairs to the PS3 in the lounge and watch it all on big screen with home cinema system sound. So can go through holiday pics with friends while having few drinks, while playing your favourite tracks simultaneously. Also all the holiday videos and other video files on the PC stream brilliantly to the PS3.
Blu ray clarity is brilliant, the fact that the firmware keeps updating regularly means that the new versions of Blu-ray being added to the market will be update on the PS3, so future proof (to a certain extent).
But best part is the games.
Not to forget, you can browse the Internet and even watch you tube and other videos online, check your mail. Can also install Linux as additional OS and use it for doing your computing sitting in the lounge.
I guess can go on and on about this like the recently coming Play TV etc but matter of fact is you have to see it to believe what all it can do. I would not call it perfect still as some minor problems are there but overall Brilliant!

[cantankerous]

Thank you all for your responses.

Jemmy. You say it streams all your photos and music?

I was going to buy another Roku Soundbridge to stream all my music wirelessly. Are you telling me it does that as well?

Is it really any good at this? Or is it a total nightmare to use? Please be honest.

Thanks again.

[tequilacrush]

I totally forgot... I also use my PS3 to stream (when I want to that is) any media from my PC to my PS3 via my (Sky) router too...
Movies, images, music... it can all be done when the PC's set up for media streaming.
Are you going to use wireless? I'm a bit out of the loop as to whether the new batch of PS3s support wireless or not (I'm one of the lucky ones to have a PS3 that has wireless, wired networking, memory card slots as well as PS1 and PS2 emulation...)
I'd double check whether the PS3 you're thinking of getting is wireless. If it has, it'll work a treat. Before I wired all my systems up, I only had access to wireless, and media streaming all worked great, even though my PS3, PC and router are in total opposite ends of my house!
In summary... BUY ONE! lol...

[jemmy]

Originally Posted by cantankerous

Thank you all for your responses.

Jemmy. You say it streams all your photos and music?

I was going to buy another Roku Soundbridge to stream all my music wirelessly. Are you telling me it does that as well?

Is it really any good at this? Or is it a total nightmare to use? Please be honest.

Thanks again.

It works like a charm.
You do need to tweak your router and the DLNA server programme (like WMP 11) but it does it brilliantly and that too wirelessly. I even stream my videos shot in high definition using HD Camcorder wirelessly in Dolby digital to my home theatre system using PS3. It struggles only with certain file formats. You will need to decide on a good media server programme on your PC first.
My friend has gone a step further than me. He has a Networked Hard drive backup connected directly to the router and it streams to PS3 even when the PC is switched off. But that is only possible if the hardware come with the media server or the DLNA protocol built in.
Let me know if any more queries