Sony intros Next-gen Blu-ray Players : "Better Than PS3"

There have been a lot of problems with Blu-Ray. The first players lacked network connections, and didn't have local storage, but the latest player solves both those problems, adding a full 1GB of storage and a wired Ethernet port.

That means film fans who want the goodness of Blu-Ray, and a truly future-proofed bit of kit can finally avoid parking a PS3 under the TV. Hallelujah, praise be to Sony!
Out "fall 2008" | £255 ($500)

[decapitator]

Yeah but the PS3 is cheaper, still. So for all you out there, if you are still interested in buying a blu-ray player since the war is officially over, You might wanna still go with the PS3 since you can get it for $399.

[Bordel_1900]

This player is cheaper than a PS3, player costs 255£ and the PS3 costs 299£.

Prices may vary, but these are the retail prices.

Don't compare the $500 with the PS3 $399. Cause this player will be like $349 or less in the US.

Everything is much cheaper in the US, in Europe prices are almost twice of the US prices.

I think the PS3 is a very good Blu-ray player and it's awesome value for money.

[sonarus]

This inevitable. Ps3 - ability to play games cannot remain the cheapest/best blu ray player forever. The good news is most likely sony will drop the price to extend the advantage of being cheaper. Once blu ray players take off blu ray drives will get cheaper so ps3 will once again have the opportunity to drop in price

[wallace1000]

Plus these players have the audio support that the PS3 is lacking. I am glad to see other companies introducing players like the BD50. Choice is good :-)

[robbo918]

You post a story description and title that are NOT in the actual article. Wow, talk about making it what you want. How is it so much better than PS3 when PS3 can update to 2.0? Stories like this shouldn't be approved with intro's like yours. Reported as bad editing.

[wallace1000]

To be fair it does have better audio support than the PS3, along with everything else that a PS3 offers as a blu-ray player. Therefore, if you were solely buying a blu-ray player, are these new players not better because they have more features?

[SSCOOLCHEA]

In the end every single person bashing blu ray will own a blu ray player or a ps3 . I mean like you said you cant ignore all the things you can do with the ps3 ....And it hasnt even scratch the surface yet...

[Guwapo77]

The PS3 supports those sounds. They are finally releasing BD standalones that match the PS3. Also, BD-Live will be an update to the PS3 once those get close to coming to the market. This is standard news if you follow the Blu-Ray market. But here is a link.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news...
http://www.audioholics.com/...

Oh as for the Audio...the ONLY thing that doesn't come standard on all movies is Bitstreaming. It is up to the studio if they wish to include it.

One more thing...Sony supports 7.1. 3:10 to Yuma has once scene where they are in a gun fight...

[wallace1000]

I am not sure why you posted those links because they prove what i said. "DTS MA bitstream output is not going to happen though internal decoding isn't completely off the table according to the Sony rep" Right now DTS HD isn't supported with the PS3, so you are only getting TrueHD as uncompressed PCM. So your statement that "the PS3 supports those sounds" is false. The PS3 also can't bitstream TrueHD and DTS HD to an HDMI receiver.

[calis]

Need to start bringing out region free Blu Ray players now.

[rawg]

Agree with you on the editing but not the rest of your post

These bluray players can be updated to 2.0 firmware through their internet connection, an upgrade disc or via software on a usb drive. They already have 1GB storage and an internect connection which are the only hardware requirements for 2.0.

[permutated]

You'd be retarded to spend more on a Blu-Ray player without the PS3 features.

WTF is wrong with ppl?

[robbo918]

Yeah I meant it to show that how is it that much better when the PS3 can upgrade as well, not that PS3 had that exclusivity. Anyway, that's what I get for posting at work lol. Bubbles to you.

PS. To the person who submitted I take back my negativity since you posted the correct link with your update.

[wow14]

The market is going to wait for the price of stand-alone players to decrease.

Many homes dont want a videogame machine in the living room, and the gameplayer is forced into a 2nd room, or a bedroom.

The reality of the market is far more complex than "oh, everyone is going to pay an extra $200 because they want a ps3"

[permutated]

Lol, who would disagree with me?

Do you enjoy spending more money on something that has less features?

IDIOTS!

[Guwapo77]

I stand corrected.

What is decoding my sound is my Onkyo SR-705. That is if I'm understanding this correctly. I do know 7.1 is supported while watching 7.1 Blu-Ray disks. Or is the receiver simulating the sound?

...Let me do further research and I'll get back to you on this.

[godofthunder10]

that's great,since br won i have to buy a player from sony (as bad as i hate to)and i was thinking about buying the ps3 just because it had the best br player on the market so i could watch movies,but since they have a better br player that's coming out this fall i will just wait and get the best br player on the market instead of the ps3 because i'm a movie fan and a collector and i like to have the best br player for movies(not games)even if it's a little higher it's worth it to have the best equipent to watch movies and i bet that all movie fans(not game fans)will buy the br player instead of the ps3 because it's better to watch movies but if you don't really care about movies then the ps3 is the way to go.
what ps3 fans don't understand is that when you watch movies on their ps3 all they are doing is shorting the life span of their system.
ps3 fans are still saying that the ps3 is the way to go and their are right if they are game fans to.but people like me that play games but have a movie theater and collect movies only want the best equipment to use and the newe br player will be better then the ps3 so why would a person like me buy a ps3 just for movies when they have a better br player on the market,it doesn't make any since because i want downgrade to the ps3 just because game fans said that it's crazy to buy the new br player when they could buy the ps3 and it's a game player to.the reason people will buy the new br player is because it's better not because they are crazy.
i even said that i was thinking about buying the ps3 because it had the best br player on the markey but that's not true any more so i'm not going to pay more for something that's not as good as something else that will play br movies to.
ps3 fans said that movie fans should buy the ps3 for br movies even if they don't play games because it was the best br player on the market and they were right at one time but not know more.what i don't understand is that ps3 fans said this but now they have a better br player coming out now they are saying something differnt just to make it sound as if the ps3 is a better value.if people don't like games then the ps3 isn't the best value,even if people have to pay more for just a br player then the ps3 if it's better then it's worth it.
another thing ps3 fans don't understand is that the ps3 want last as long as a stand alone br player,hell their isn't one game system that will last more then any stand alone dvd player and that's a fact.

[wallace1000]

That is a good receiver, i have the 605. I guess you are sending the audio to the receiver via HDMI right? That way it receivers uncompressed PCM and the receiver can apply some further processing. Plus bubble for good conversation :-)

[Guwapo77]

Yes, I have a HDMI cable going from the PS3 to Receiver to XBR3.

Sir Wallace1000, likewise, +1 for you as well. /salute

...Still can't get that WoW out of my mind after 9 months free of my addiction. /bow

[hardmetal]

it's the value that you get from that price. with PS3, you play games, movies and online for only $ 399.

[decapitator]

Yeah. you are absolutely right but some people would argue that they are not gamers and they just want a simple blu-ray player. But somewhere along the lines, they will end up picking up at least one title for the system. The system is so full of win that, you can't completely ignore it's other functions and use it as 'only' a blu-ray player though.

[ban fans]

But there are those people out there that will not get a PS3 just because it is a video game console. They will go to the electronics section of Best Buy a ask for a blu-ray player. There are plenty of, say...over 50s out there who will buy into the market, but would never do so with a PS3. Another point is the appearance of these machines compared to the PS3, more traditional and familiar.

You and I know the PS3 is the way to go, but some kind of look down on the machine as a toy, and will never change their minds.

But hey, it's all Sony so they don't care either way!

[wow14]

Many people are not going to leave their DVD investment for nothing. The price matters a lot.

People are complaining today about the high price of BR discs. The masses arent going to start buying players until they are affordable.

Besides, you can buy Samsung BR players for less than $250 today. Players will be much much cheaper in short order.

Heck, BR drives for PCs are about $150 today. Now that HD-DVD has been discontinued, the computer industry is going to drive the price down.

[Silverwolf]

to that, that the PS3 is also upgradable and you have a better deal yet.

BTW I bought a 40" 1080P Sony Bravia this weekend and I have to admit Blu-ray looks f@$king fantastic.

[novaIS350]

You have to ADMIT that blu-ray looks good? Is there even grounds for denying that 1080p looks good?

[Silverwolf]

Reason why I said that was due to the fact that some claim you can't see a difference unless you go above 42". That's bull! You CAN see the difference on a 40" screen. I've seen a few 32" 1080P Sharp Aquos if anyone has one, I would like to know if you can see the difference as well.

[tonsoffun]

It all depends on the view distance to be honest - from where I sit in my games room, I can tell the diference on my 37 Toshiba 1080p screen

[ravinash]

I have a 32" Sony Bravia...and I can see the difference.
Its well worth it. Even older films like Full Metal Jacket and Enter the Dragon look great. I'm up to 7 films in the BlueRay collection now.

[resistance100]

Well considering i can see a huge difference on my 19" 1080i TV, it no surprise really

[Fishy Fingers]

19" : (

http://www.overclockers.co.... ?

[rgduhart]

I have a 1080p Aquos...the 32 inch one and its looks fantastic. I cna hardly watch my standard def. dvd's anymore.

[DrakenSilverwing]

I got a great deal for a 46" Samsung 120hz LCD 1080p last weekend for only $1700, only cause CompUSA was goin out of business.. and its the best lookin thing i've seen besides the Sony Bravia 120hz.. they just didn't have one of those.. Before i got that i was cheap and only had a 42" 1080p Vizio.. wow i could see a diff, yet 1080p looks good no matter how ya cut it.... now i enjoy watching movies, tv and playin games at the same time.. But i'm still broke..

35 PS3 games and counting(in profile)
15 Blu-ray movies and counting

Playing Beyond!!

[Adamalicious]

Most HD screens (excluding computer monitors) that are less than 40" don't have 1080 vertical lines of resolution. This is why it's generally said that you don't see much difference between 1080 and 720 on 32"ers etc. and, well, it's true.

1080p is awesome, if you really want to appreciate it I definitely recommend getting a set that's 1080 native.

[lodossrage]

It's called tech evolution. However, the ps3 will always be the best value for your dollar because it's a game player as well. It's also a internet browser. And with PlayTV being released soon, it'll be a DVR-esque machine as well.

[wageslave]

Exacty, I'll wait about 12 months and buy a BluRay player for $75.

[Fishy Fingers]

Id still take a PS3, but thats probably because i use it for games first.

Still, nice timing, there's plenty of people with cash just waiting to usher in the HD era.

[feejo]

Who will need those features, not me.

[CaliGamer]

You simply don't use them, but I'm sure if you ever decide you do want them its nice to have them.

You were probably just making a general statement, but I really hate people that say "I" don't need a feature, like they are the only consumer and everything should cater to their needs. If everything was custom made, the world of electronics would be a more expensive hobby than it already is.

Its always good to have things there B4 you need it like care insurance, condoms or the larger storage space of a BD, finding out that you needed these things and not being prepared can be dangerous and its just plain foolish.

[ravinash]

No one "Needs it" in the same way no one Needs a TV....but its nice to have.

[xsteinbachx]

yah i'll stick to my ps3... my 57 yr old father knows that a ps3 is better...plus the fact he plays games.

[TheMART]

What about getting the speed of the BluRay drive in the PS3 up so it loads a game on normal speed without installing 5GB and waiting 22 minutes before a game is installed (it should be called the PC3 instead of PS3 that way)

[bootsielon]

You don't have a PS3 and you'll never get one. Time for you to say: "Oh that's right, nevermind".

[tonsoffun]

That actually has nothing to do with this aritcle at all Mart and you know it.

[ruibing]

I wonder whether you are a bot that searches n4g for keywords and makes associated comments against the PS3. And FYI, compared to the load times on Lost Odyssey, PS3 exclusives such as R&C and Uncharted has literally almost no load times.

[jASSon 360]

oh The Mart. I feel bad for you sir. You own a version of me. I can almost guarantee that I will break down on you at the worst possible time.

I have garnered a legion of some of the stupidest people on the internet. I spit in the face of people that love me, and they just keep coming back. I have a library full of some of the most overrated games ever conceived. I have no idea why I have supporters. I am terrible at my job. I am the most unreliable piece of electronic crap ever made. I keep telling people that all the time. But my creators instead invested 1 billion dollars just to keep on replacing me, but without really fixing what is causing me to take a dump in the first place.

Please mart. for your own sake. just get rid of me. I can't help but feel that I am the reason that you are so stupid. Every time you trash another system, you always forget that I suck as well. You mentioned the PS3 needing to install a game. I WISH I COULD DO THAT!!!, but there are versions of me that have missing organs. I am the chevy cavalier of video games consoles. the only thing that has more flaws than my design are the flaws in logic of my supporters. Mart seriously. close your website. I am on the verge of totally committing suicide on a mass scale. My days are limited. Do you hear me? I am the damn system and I understand that I can't keep up this generation. The Wii is grabbing a whole bunch of moms and marginally homosexual people, and the PS3 is basically set to destroy the world. WE CAN'T COMPETE! Stop talking about me like I will ever return the favor. While you are feverishly defending me on your terd website and on N4G, I am sitting in your mom's basement cooking myself. Buy a Wii. you deserve one, and you fit into the demographic of potential buyers. let me help you.

[xsteinbachx]

Reported. Get use to the Open Zone you'll like it here.

[Bleucrunch]

The Mart needs to get laid.

[SSCOOLCHEA]

your one my favorites here , but a story like this you need to pass . Now talk about your white ceramic psp again.

[dfcm2003]

Why don't Microsoft put out more movies on their format? HD-DVD LOL O yea forgot about that.

[bootsielon]

All they're doing is upgrading to what PS3 has, except without an HDD and the gaming abilities. Since PS3 is likely to remain cheaper for quite some time, buying PS3 is a no-brainer.

[SlappyMcTaint]

I don't see how this is better than the PS3 either! Fcking xbots turning every PS3-related news item into a negative one gets fcking old.

PS3 has no less than 40gb standard
PS3 has wired AND wireless networking
PS3 is upgradeable and plays games all starting at $399 -which is less than these "BETTER THAN PS3" Blu-Ray players.

To the poster of this "news": blow me!

[SSCOOLCHEA]

I mean if you really hate sony that much and opt for another brand of blu ray player i can understand . But the obvious choice for anybody that has a brain would be a PS3...

[wow14]

Three reasons off the top:

The PS3 is too expensive for a movie-player.
(you can get Samsung players for about $250 today)
The PS3 is noisy.
( http://www.pregamelobby.com...
It is big, ugly and doesnt stack in my living room entertainment center
( http://techepics.com/files/...

[resistance100]

So this is sony's first standalone 2.0 player then the see, i really can see the price of blu-ray standalone players plumenting in the near future

[wageslave]

Sony's not the only company making drives.

And, you'd be wrong if you think the price of the player isnt going to fall, and fall very fast.

The MPAA is very interested in getting its DRM discs into more hands, so they are certainly putting the pressure on the drive makers.

Further, they'll be a player from China in very short order to take the lower end of the market, and the big guys will have to react.

[Wicked Sick]

You cant expect that a console continues to be the top of the line format player.

Is PS2 the best DVD player for non gamers?

Nope, because technology has evolved ahead of it. And unlike the PS3, it couldnt update the drive to support added features in the time to come.

[Scottama]

Well, perhaps you couldn't have expected it with last gen's consoles, but the PS3 (as you said) IS upgradeable, and so SHOULD be able to keep up with Blu-Ray players (at least for the forseeable future)

Why wouldn't it be able to?

[Blabbermouth]

Re: Scottama

Its more than just software, over time internal components get better too. That I'm afraid is what the PS3 can not keep up with.

[wow14]

There is no way that the PS3 would *EVER* be price competitive with similar priced BluRay players.

You can buy BR drives *right now* for like $250. 51/2 drives for $150.

They'll be less than half that in 12 months. Will the PS3 cost $150 next xmass? no.

[paul_war]

The PS3 is a great blu-ray player. And I havent had any issues. However it is common sense that better stand-alone players will be released and at a cheaper price. The sooner this happens the better as it will help adoption of blu-ray.

[tonsoffun]

Totally true, but there also has to be a serious drop in the movie prices too: in the UK is costs around $50 for a bluray movie!!!

For high def to truley penertrate the market, not only the ocst of entry has to be lower (which looks set to happen) but the per movie price has to be cheaper too, a price difference of $30 (£15) is too much for the average joe to swallow - they would much preferr to buy the std df DVD.

[paul_war]

I know, new movies especially.

Asda are the best though, some 'cheap'ones. FF movie about £10 for example.

[Scottama]

And I once saw X-Men 30 for £35, equivalent to 70 of your US Dollars!
However, I did get Harry Potter 5 for £13 (about $25), which for me us is VERY cheap, but I've read of Americans complaining even about THAT price!

[wow14]

@9.1

$50 for a movie? Wow! Clearly, the future is Digital Download. Who wants to pay that kind of price for a movie?

[PirateThom]

I import all of my Blu-ray movies from America.

£13 - 300, A Scanner Darkly, 2001, Total Recall... just search on amazon.co.uk and use the marketplace sellers.

http://allaboutbluray.co.uk...

I use that site to check the region.

I think the most I've paid for £45 for Planet Earth.

[Blabbermouth]

The price of Blu-ray discs will come down, DVDs would have been expensive too when they where first released.

So when the price comes down to something more reasonable thats when the serious adoption of the technology will happen.

[Douchebaggery]

The description is not even from the article, there's absolutely no mention of the PS3 in the article.

[tonsoffun]

TOTALLY AGREE, it is a good article, but blatantly set out to increase the temp by sticking bluray in:

FOR SHAME!!!!!!

Just report it, like I did.

[robbo918]

The title is beyond misleading and the intro is full of opinions. Reported also.

[wageslave]

This is N4G. Certain liberties are encouraged, otherwise, not so much.

I'd just like for News 4 Gamers to get off the movie-disc format discussion... its pretty tired.

Some small measure is worthwhile, but it's not that critical-a-matter.

[Vip3r]

Where does it say its better than the PS3? I'm not protecting the PS3 becuase obviously better BD players will come out but it looks like you made the title to encourage a flamewar.

[SL1M DADDY]

Found no reference to the PS3. In no way does it claim that these players are better than the PS3. The title shouls be edited to better reflect the article.

[Scenarist]

Did anyone read the obituary of HD-dvd at the bottom of the article ? lol ......who ever wrote that did a great job it felt epic, or I just woke up.

http://www.reghardware.co.u...

[Ri0tSquad]

DD FTW

[Gazman]

If the next gen blu-ray players can play ps3 games then they are better, but not going to happen

[DJ]

Just because it's cheaper, but still really good.

[rawd]

"the latest player solves both those problems, adding a full 1GB of storage and a wired Ethernet port"

How is this better then the PS3, when it has much more storage and both wired and wireless.

[wallace1000]

The audio support is better on these new players. The PS3 isn't the best option for those of us with HDMI receivers that can process TrueHD and DTS HD.

[Scottama]

That's exactly what I was thinking; a whole 1GB?! WOW!

[wageslave]

Or people interested in the noise that the PS3 produces.

http://www.pregamelobby.com...

[Superiorrior]

No where in the real article does it say "Sony intros Next-gen Blu-ray Players : "Better Than PS3"", nice bullshit N4G.

[Caliber]

The article mentions nothing about ps3, yet the title on N4G and the image reads "Better Than PS3", and the description "...can finally avoid parking a PS3 under the TV. Hallelujah, praise be to Sony! ".

The article title, description and image is not the place for personal opinions..

[RAM MAGNUMS]

I thought blu-ray was better than a regular old dvd. Then why is dvd games like gears 2 coming out and there is no real game coming from a blu-ray camp? Doesnt blu-ray have the capabilities of holding 100 encyclopedias of information on it. meaniing, lots of graphics, no loading, lot more charachters on screen and just plain more things happening? Wheres the steak and potatoes from this gaming machine or is it just the blu-ray movie player that just so happens to play games every now and then. I want a major difference in technolgy here to be apparent. Sony seems to beleive that starving gamers for games will have them playing ports from other systems and really beliveing that small things are really big differences on a playstation 3. For eveything Sony and its Fanboys say about a ps3 there should be a technological leap very soon but who knows? Halo3 was the steak gears was the potatoes. Whats going on with sony Dont they know that there games are much easier to sacrifice playing? Their confidence annoys me to where I think sony is just lying by not doing anything about this. RAM MAGNUMS HAS SPOKEN about bullshit tech specs and who cares about them...

[Frances-the-Mute]

o well, i already have some thing i can play with, all i need is a HDTV
:)

[jiinn]

When you do get a TV, make sure its a plasma. The colour and fidelity cannot be matched by the cheaper LCD.

[Mikey Mike]

the player decodes PCM to out put HD sound on an optical cable rather than using HDMI. That is one thing that ticks me off about the PS3, however I feel the next firm update might fix that.

[whoelse]

The PS3 is still the best deal by far!

[wow14]

No one is going to stand for expensive BR players. The price is going to plummet now that the mass market will move in.

[Ridrick]

My PS3 looks great 'parked' under my TV.
I don't know what this guy is talking about.

[MorganX]

All the PS3 needs is a firmware update to support Dolby-MA, then for the most part, it is on par with the standalone player.

I imagine now Sony will release the firmware sooner rather than later. If you're going to have to buy a standalone Bluray player anyway, the the PS3's BD is no longer a selling point over Xbox 360. I eagerly await the next PS3 firmware update.

[caffman]

on Sonys part. If it was £300 I would get a PS3 instead. But it's cheaper and upgradeable. Plus I have my Xbox 360 and PC for games.

[IzKyD1331]

it would be smarter to buy a PS3 because your getting so much more for a similar price

[Rice]

i wonder if the blu ray player can play games, go on the internet, linux capable, and help cure cancer...

[Raptors]

Maybe its just my ps3 but I cannot recommend the ps3 as a blu ray player. I can hear when the fan comes on to cool the unit which is fine, but when stage 3 comes on? Wow. It's far too loud and stays on far too long. At this point I have the vent in my room closed, the window open to have cool air in the room and my ps3 out in the open. I thought it was just my system but if you google it there is a fair share of other ppl who are experiencing this problem as well. Granted there are alot of ppl who have no problems but there are a group of us who have the "fan noise" problem. I've called Sony and will be sending my console back to them, it'll be interesting to see what they say.

[jiinn]

1. Xbox 360 – on average least noisy, generally level noise output
2. PS3 – Not noisy at first, but fairly noisy once on for a short while
3. Wii – Virtually no noise… until you play a game and then the noisiest of the bunch

http://www.joystiq.com/2007...

[micbelt]

with all the anti-ps3 stuff on this site today?

[darthv72]

they cant keep selling ps3's to people who only use them for movies. It goes against their better principal and they would rather make money off the games. They dont make any money off the hardware and if people are only using it for movies then...they still arent making any money.

They need to shift the weight the ps3 is carrying for movies back over to the partners as well as their dedicated division. That way gamers buy the ps3 for movies and games and other consumers buy regular bluray players just for movies. It would be good for the others like samsung, pioneer, jvc if they could start selling as well.

Every sale of a ps3 benefits sony and the bluray cause. It does nothing for the others who bought into the tech like jvc, pioneer, samsung and all the other partners sony talked into backing the format.

[DFresh]

Doubt it.
Sony will just make a firmware update to match the specifications of the newer models.
Remember the PS3 Blu-ray is the only player that can upgrade w/ out buying another one.
SONY FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jiinn]

BluRay drives at the present moment $150

http://www.pricewatch.com/d...

Windows Media Center for the win.

[ROCCOZILLA]

it dosnt just play blu ray movies better than any other player but for the same money your getting the best gaming system also with internet browser,wi fi,blue tooth and best of all free online gaming.P S 3 F T W !

[ROCCOZILLA]

i wouldnt trade my PS3 for any other player,EVER!

[Rhezin]

wow look at all the disagrees with theMart. A lot of PMSing kids in here, what do you sleep with your ps3's too?

PROPS MART

[zapass]

and his waiting for a dualshock3 to go nextgen.

now for something completely different: buying a stand-alone bluray player more expensive than a ps3 is a puzzling behavior, almost as dumb as buying a 360 HDDVD add-on... but not quite.

who in their right mind would do that?
only a bitter xbaboon would consider it...

[Oilers Fan]

hahahah the mart says one retarded ass comment, and then all u guys start attacking the "xbots", who are not even in this thread.

Bored Much?

[Citizen Cook]

If you look on AMAZON.CO.UK right now, you will see a Samsung Blu-Ray player that has all these features (wired ethernet port etc...) for only £219.99!

HA HA HA HA!

[Citizen Cook]

Here is the Blu-Ray player i was talking about in the above post, only its had another price cut in the last couple of days, its now £199.99! Under £200!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sam...

HA HA HA HA!