I've had a "fat" 80GB PS3 since about mid-2008. I bought it at the time because it was the cheapest Blu-ray player available and because, well, you could play games on it.
In the last two years, I've barely played any games on it. Been using it almost exclusively for Netflix streaming, Blu-ray, DLNA, and occasionally popping in a USB flash drive with some video files. For these uses, it has been excellent. I have NEVER, and I mean NEVER had a problem with it not playing a Blu-ray disc like I hear about on standalone players. It also starts up really fast.
My gripe as of late has been that the fans will just randomly kick in while watching a movie, which is massively distracting. It also sucks power like you wouldn't believe.
So last week I traded it in to Amazon -- they gave me a whopping $220 for it (likely because it's the last PS3 that offered PS2 compatibility)! I'm debating replacing it with one of the new super-slim PS3s that are quieter and more efficient, or maybe even going for a nice standalone like an Oppo BDP103, Denon, or high-end Sony S790.
So here's where my head is at.
Super-slim PS3
PROS
-still the most compatible Blu-ray player around
-unbeatable for DLNA and video playback
-I can still play my games if I really want
-Excellent Netflix client
-only $269
-still a reference-quality player (pulldown, chroma, etc)
CONS
-power hungry compared to standalone
-still requires stupid Logitech Harmony adapter
-basically end-of-life, no more updates
Standalone player
PROS
-now match or beat PS3 for speed
-better 3D support
-low power usage
-tons of extras such as Amazon VOD, Hulu, YouTube
CONS
-possible compatibility quirks (rare on Oppo/Denon)
-spotty support for video file playback
-some players have weird firmware quirks with video quality (rare on Oppo/Denon)
-can be expensive for reference-quality player
Anyone have any thoughts? Anyone here ditch their PS3 for a standalone unit?
In the last two years, I've barely played any games on it. Been using it almost exclusively for Netflix streaming, Blu-ray, DLNA, and occasionally popping in a USB flash drive with some video files. For these uses, it has been excellent. I have NEVER, and I mean NEVER had a problem with it not playing a Blu-ray disc like I hear about on standalone players. It also starts up really fast.
My gripe as of late has been that the fans will just randomly kick in while watching a movie, which is massively distracting. It also sucks power like you wouldn't believe.
So last week I traded it in to Amazon -- they gave me a whopping $220 for it (likely because it's the last PS3 that offered PS2 compatibility)! I'm debating replacing it with one of the new super-slim PS3s that are quieter and more efficient, or maybe even going for a nice standalone like an Oppo BDP103, Denon, or high-end Sony S790.
So here's where my head is at.
Super-slim PS3
PROS
-still the most compatible Blu-ray player around
-unbeatable for DLNA and video playback
-I can still play my games if I really want
-Excellent Netflix client
-only $269
-still a reference-quality player (pulldown, chroma, etc)
CONS
-power hungry compared to standalone
-still requires stupid Logitech Harmony adapter
-basically end-of-life, no more updates
Standalone player
PROS
-now match or beat PS3 for speed
-better 3D support
-low power usage
-tons of extras such as Amazon VOD, Hulu, YouTube
CONS
-possible compatibility quirks (rare on Oppo/Denon)
-spotty support for video file playback
-some players have weird firmware quirks with video quality (rare on Oppo/Denon)
-can be expensive for reference-quality player
Anyone have any thoughts? Anyone here ditch their PS3 for a standalone unit?