Playstation 3

[Starred]

http://www.avrev.com/equip/playstation_3/

Conclusion
It's hard to live up to the hype surrounding $10,000 plus pre-sale prices for the PS3, but it does trounce Microsoft's mighty Xbox 360 in terms of technology, sex appeal and the fact it is the least expensive Blu-ray player on the market. To their defense, Microsoft will have a $200 external HD DVD drive to add to the many Xbox 360 systems out there so gamers can be HD movie junkies at a very affordable price. Considering gamers' willingness to spend $50 or more for a game title – they might just be the best audience to whom to sell high resolution movies.

In my experience, the Sony Playstation 3 is actually a better Blu-ray player than the $1,000 Samsung BDP-1000 first-generation Blu-ray machine, but lack of RS232 control and not-so-fantastic DVD performance will make the need for another HD player a must for most home theater enthusiasts. Sony, Panasonic and Pioneer should have second-generation Blu-ray players to market, and Toshiba will have their generation two HD DVD players complete with 1080p video output, on the streets possibly before St. Nick makes an appearance at a chimney near you. My advice is if you can get your hands on a PS3 – do so by all means, but in the end you will want another player for your back catalog of DVDs, and maybe something a little easier to control than the PS3 when you consider the needs of a more sophisticated Crestron or AMX-controlled system. All of that aside, what makes you think you will be watching movies in Blu-ray anyway? You will have to peel your kids away from your HDTV using a putty knife before you can spin up a movie. You will need another Blu-ray player as well. When you see the picture on your PS3 the cost will be easy to justify. Movies in HD are the only way to fly.

At $599, the 60 GB Sony Playstation 3 is an incredible value. Its gaming power shows huge potential and free online gaming saves you some dough compared to the Xbox 360. The Blu-ray functionality is equally impressive. Its role as a computer is somewhat limited but can provide you that late night fantasy sports fix in ways a traditional DVD player or game machine simply can not. Audiophiles will rejoice at the fact SACD wasn't forgotten, but it is the game play that really makes the Playstation 3 worthy of such strong praise. Even if you are too old or too cool to play some Madden with your kids, you have to have both of your retinas detached to not see how strikingly incredible the picture and action looks. Factor that in with 1080p movies on Blu-ray and you have a case for why it might just be worth bucking up on eBay for one of these machines. In the 10 year history of AVRev.com, we have never ever suggested our readers pay above retail for a product before, but Playstation 3 is so impressive we might need to break that tradition. The Sony Playstation 3 is beyond the Holiday season's hot gift. The PS3 is ground-breaking technology, and the most significant convergence component ever sold.

[Marcel_T.]

Niet slecht! Maar voor gewone dvd's je huidige (goede) dvdspeler nog even houden dus.

[Don_Paul]

Mooi om te zien dat hij 1080p zo goed doet. De review laat alleen de problemen met downscalen naar 720p (zeker relevant voor Blu-Ray) of upscapen naar 1080i (minder interessant) buiten beschouwing, wat zeker voor Amerikanen een grote teleurstelling gaat betekenen als je hem op een wat oudere HD tv aansluit (zoals er daar honderdduizenden in omloop zijn).

[WubboZ]

Ik ben benieuwd wat voor chaos we in Nederland krijgen bij de release van de PS3. Maar het blijft een mooie machine. Kijk, dat ie nu een filmpje kan afspelen op die resolutie, noujah, ach, dat is niet zo heel speciaal vergeleken met het feit dat ie ook zelf realtime beeld kan genereren met die resolutie