Playstation 3: Not the best Blu-ray player you can buy

[nonrev]

STAY AWAY FROM THE PANASONIC BD30!!!!!
The DMP-BD30 has no internal decoding for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution, or DTS-HD Master Audio. This lack of internal decoding is particularly disappointing because the older DMP-BD10A itself offered internal decoding for all of these formats except DTS-HS Master Audio.

 

[teachsac]

STAY AWAY FROM THE PANASONIC BD30!!!!!
The DMP-BD30 has no internal decoding for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution, or DTS-HD Master Audio. This lack of internal decoding is particularly disappointing because the older DMP-BD10A itself offered internal decoding for all of these formats except DTS-HS Master Audio.

Once again, we get the drift that you do not have a receiver capable of decoding advanced audio codecs. This player is obviously not for you. For those of us that do have receivers capable of decoding advanced audio, the player works extremely well.

 

[diogen]

The standard Blu ray players can't play Call of Duty 4....

They also don't do dishes...
But wait... PS3 can't do that either.

I guess we'll have to wait until such player is released...

Diogen.

 

[teamerickson]

The PS3 is a darn good player for the money, and whoever brings up the whole PQ discussion...please bring up an image comparison side to side and show me the huge difference in PQ from a valid* website + link.

It's from Home Cinema Choice Magazine (I've never heard of it).

However, many say that the picture quality of the unit is not at par with its stand-alone competition. Being a Playstation 3 owner, my eye caught the following headline in the latest edition of Home Cinema Choice Magazine. "Sony's PS3 is the best Blu-ray player you can buy." The headline was in a "Fact or Fiction" section of the magazine. Guess what: the magazine gave the notion a "Fiction" seal.

The reason they gave: "Increasingly, the Blu-ray performance of the PS3 doesn't really stand up to videophile scrutiny. While its excellent clarity and fine detail reproduction is without question, motion is not the console's strongest point. Fast panning shots in Sony's own flagship 'Casino Royale,' are prone to stutter, whereas the company's own dedicated players render the same scenes perfectly. It is also prone to visual artifacts not seen on the latest dedicated players."

 

[teamerickson]

Once again, we get the drift that you do not have a receiver capable of decoding advanced audio codecs. This player is obviously not for you. For those of us that do have receivers capable of decoding advanced audio, the player works extremely well.

Well, he did follow your request to post it in the war zone.

 

[teachsac]

Well, he did follow your request to post it in the war zone.

Well, we've read it in every other thread, also.

S~

 

[Zookster]

STAY AWAY FROM THE PANASONIC BD30!!!!!
The DMP-BD30 has no internal decoding for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution, or DTS-HD Master Audio. This lack of internal decoding is particularly disappointing because the older DMP-BD10A itself offered internal decoding for all of these formats except DTS-HS Master Audio.

But yet the PS3 does! (except DTS-HD, but who does?) A point in its favor, anyways.

Given the topic of this thread, I'd be more interested to hear what you think of the BD30's PQ.

 

[nonrev]

But yet the PS3 does! (except DTS-HD, but who does?) A point in its favor, anyways.

Given the topic of this thread, I'd be more interested to hear what you think of the BD30's PQ.

From the Cnet review of the BD30:
"Overall, we were disappointed that the DMP-BD30 didn't handle the difficult video-based HQV tests as well as its predecessor"

 

[teachsac]

From the Cnet review of the BD30:
"Overall, we were disappointed that the DMP-BD30 didn't handle the difficult video-based HQV tests as well as its predecessor"

Very selective quote. It passed the HD portion of the test unscathed (Kris Deering). It was satisfactory on the SD portion. If you only go by numbers, then the XA2 and Samsung 1200 are the only two HD players that passed the HQV test with flying colors. The BD10 was acceptable. The A2 scored 63/130 on the SD portion and 50/100 on the HD portion of the HQV test. The A30/35 was even lower on the SD portion 50/130. Gen1 scored much higher.

You keep referring to its predecessor without ever owning it or a BD player. Just so you know, the BD10 had the absolute worst SD upscaling I have ever seen from a player out of the box, far worse than the BD30. They were able to correct it with firmware updates by 1.4.

The truth is in the real world situation. Does the BD30 upscale? Yes. Is it the best? no. Doe deinterlace correctly? Yes. Does it handle 2:3 cadence correctly? yes. Is that its purpose to be an upscaling SD DVD player? No. Does it play BD's flawlessly? Yes. There is no difference in upscaling between this player and my A35. However, it is not as good as my XA2 or my Denon 3930 (which "tested" perfectly in every category).

If you want a player that upscales, get a player that has the chipset to do it. There is the reon and the realta in the HD models. XA2, Samsung 1200, and 3800. Or just go get an upscaling player and upscale SD DVDs.

Every player has had problems. Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung (to a much lesser degree) have all tried to address these problems. Hopefully Toshiba will address the mess they made with the Gen3 update before they close up shop for good.

S~

 

[nonrev]

I just find it awfully disingenuous to sanction this player considering the specialty equipment needed to get the value of the BD30. Specialty equipment that almost no Americans own. Panasonic realized this and has corrected the mistake in the BD50 by reintroducing internal decoding for the Hi-Def codec’s.

And please don’t cry me that river that ever player has its problems, not including internal decoding for Hi-Def audio was a major gaffe. All the other flaws in most of the other players BD and HD DVD still don’t disqualify owners from enjoying such a major part of the Hi Def experience.

 

[teachsac]

Not a gaffe, an option for those of us that want our receivers to do the decoding because we know it will be done correctly whether it is a $400 Onkyo, a $7,000 Denon, or a $30,000 Krell.

What is a gaffe is when a player cannot correctly pass PCM to the receiver as has been evidenced with the Toshiba XA2 (a year to correct), Panasonic BD10 (not corrected) and BD30 (corrected quickly), and Denons (hopefully soon).

The BD50 is not a replacement for the BD30. It is a different model to meet the needs of a different consumer. As with any product there are different options to meet users' specific needs. One option is not necessarily good for everyone. The BD50 meets my needs for my family room as my Lexicon doesn't decode advanced audio and I'm not going to replace it because it runs circles around any receiver out there, even the 7,000 Denon pre/pro that does decode. It might meet your needs and other's as your receiver doesn't decode advanced audio. The BD30 meets my needs, and many others, in my theater room as my pre/pro decodes advanced audio. As with any product there are different options to meet users specific needs. One option is not necessarily good for everyone.

I have never recommended the BD30 to anyone on this forum, another forum, or my job that doesn't have a receiver capable of decoding advanced audio. I wouldn't call a receiver that decodes advanced audio "specialty equipment" either. I would call it an advance in technology as with any other product. If products didn't advance we'd all still be using red and white rca cables on the back of our equipment or moved from mono to stereo to prologic to DD/DTS and now lossless. People are upgrading their receivers. Does that mean you have to? Absolutely not.

A look at the top 25 receivers on amazon:


1. Onkyo 605 Black (Out of Stock)
2. Onkyo 705 Black
3. Onkyo 605 Silver
4. Onkyo 805 Black
15. Denon 3808
16. Yamaha 663 Black
17. Yamaha 863 Black
18. Onkyo 705 Silver
21. Sony 2100
23. Pioneer Elite 94
25. Yamaha 1800

The fill ins are inexpensive 162-400 receivers.

S~

 

[nonrev]

The BD50 is not a replacement for the BD30. It is a different model to meet the needs of a different consumer. As with any product there are different options to meet users' specific needs.
S~

BD50 is the 3rd generation of the same model line. BD10, BD30, BD50. Just as the BD10 was replaced by the BD30, the BD30 will be phased out by the BD50, So its not a different product that can be picked up if wanted after the BD50 is released. That kinda kills your point that the BD50 is not a replacement, and in your sure to follow reply please don't kill me with wordplay.

 

[teachsac]

BD50 is the 3rd generation of the same model line. BD10, BD30, BD50. Just as the BD10 was replaced by the BD30, the BD30 will be phased out by the BD50, So its not a different product that can be picked up if wanted after the BD50 is released. That kinda kills your point that the BD50 is not a replacement, and in your sure to follow reply please don't kill me with wordplay.

Where did you get this info from? Since my rep says it hasn't and the BD30 was just released in Australia last week and the European model BD30EG (DIVX certified) is due out any time.

S~

 

[nonrev]

Where did you get this info from? Since my rep says it hasn't and the BD30 was just released in Australia last week and the European model BD30EG (DIVX certified) is due out any time.

S~

If all the products are different to suit different customer needs then what happened to the BD10? I don’t see it anywhere, BB or CC don’t have it on their sites, maybe on EBay. By the time the BD50 comes out bank on it all the different flavors of the BD30 will be coming to an end. Just like with the BD10.

Foreign release schedule has little to do with this conversation.

 

[teachsac]

If all the products are different to suit different customer needs then what happened to the BD10? I don’t see it anywhere, BB or CC don’t have it on their sites, maybe on EBay. By the time the BD50 comes out bank on it all the different flavors of the BD30 will be coming to an end. Just like with the BD10.

Foreign release schedule has little to do with this conversation.

The BD10/10A was available for over a year. The BD30 has been available for 4 months. The BD50 is supposed to be available next month, leaving the factory April 3rd.

Toshiba was a good example of having different models to meet consumer needs. They had 3 players each in Gen 2 and 3. Denon is another manufacturer that has 2 different models out to match consumer needs. Samsung 1400 was introduced not too long after the 1200. We were told at Cedia that Panasonic would have a model (BD30) coming out in Novemeber and a higher end model with internal decoding and interactivity coming out in the spring.

S~

 

[teamerickson]

You guys are being thread crappers!

nonrev, It's obvious you don't like the BD30. What player do you like? What is a better player that people should buy instead of the PS3. I like the Samsung 1400. It started of shakey for some, but has been solid for me. I think it is better than the BD30 because of the internal decoding and 5.1 analog out. I may upgrade to the Samsung 1500 or Panasonic BD50 later this year if the reviews are good.

 

[teachsac]

You guys are being thread crappers!

nonrev, It's obvious you don't like the BD30. What player do you like? What is a better player that people should buy instead of the PS3. I like the Samsung 1400. It started of shakey for some, but has been solid for me. I think it is better than the BD30 because of the internal decoding and 5.1 analog out. I may upgrade to the Samsung 1500 or Panasonic BD50 later this year if the reviews are good.

From what I've read, I don't believe the 1500 will have internal decoding either, bitstream.

From Gizmodo:

True audiophiles will love the BD-P1500 as it goes beyond standard Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus audio playback to include 7.1 PCM, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution and Master Audio, Bitstream audio output via HDMI and more—making for a truly immersive viewing experience for movies, gaming, sports and more.

I'm looking at the BD50 to add to my bedroom. I have my 4806 collecting dust that doesn't have advanced audio decoding.

S~

 

[Zookster]

From what I've read, I don't believe the 1500 will have internal decoding either, bitstream.

From Gizmodo:

True audiophiles will love the BD-P1500 as it goes beyond standard Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus audio playback to include 7.1 PCM, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution and Master Audio, Bitstream audio output via HDMI and more—making for a truly immersive viewing experience for movies, gaming, sports and more.

I'm looking at the BD50 to add to my bedroom. I have my 4806 collecting dust that doesn't have advanced audio decoding.

S~

It seems the way these models are still evolving only validates the reasons for picking up a PS3 as a more-than-capable BD player, even if only as a stop-gap for those who aren't into games. As I said in an earlier post: it's still the best bang for the buck in the BD player market.

 

[teamerickson]

From what I've read, I don't believe the 1500 will have internal decoding either, bitstream. S~

I guess I'll have to get the BD50 then.

 

[teachsac]

It seems the way these models are still evolving only validates the reasons for picking up a PS3 as a more-than-capable BD player, even if only as a stop-gap for those who aren't into games. As I said in an earlier post: it's still the best bang for the buck in the BD player market.

Getting back on topic, huh? The PS3 is a more than capable player and Sony obviously supports it. BD picture quality is very good, it is now 2.0 compliant. They have isolated several of their partners with it, not mentioning any names *cough* samsung *cough*. With that, it is not for me. It is a game machine and there are none in my house.

S~