PS3 Review by Ultimate AV
Ultimate AV was my favourite print magazine before it went web-only. The PS3 is currently my favourite console, sitting gracefully on the top of my equipment rack. So I ws wanted to know what Ultimate AV thinks of the PS3 as a Blu-ray player, and now I know.
First off, Shane C. Buettner of Ultimate AV notes how gorgeous the PS3 is, and of course I have to agree. Though I thought it was stubbier-looking than I expected, even after seeing tons of pictures.
Note that the PS3 decodes TrueHD to digital PCM, if you wish. Not so with DTS HD Master, however. If you want that track in full glory, you’ll need to use the HDMI 1.3 connector to a receiver or pre/pro that supports DTS HD Master. And…. none of them currently do.
While we’re complaining, the PS3 also doesn’t put out 1080p/24. Not a biggy, but it would have been nice. Note also that the PS3 can’t convert 720p up to 1080i. Which would suck if you had a display that didn’t accept 720p. (Of which there aren’t that many out there.)
But how does the video quality look? In a word: excellent. The PS3 is a very good BD player, which is nice to hear. Because the PS2 was only a mediocre DVD player, so people were wondering if the PS3 would carry the tradition.
Mr. Buettner also points out that 25GB BD + MPEG2 does not equal BAD. That’s what a lot of people have been saying about MPEG2, and it’s simply not true. MPEG2 films can look excellent in 25GB of space, it just needs to be done properly.
All in all, the PS3 is an excellent BD player, and I have to agree with Mr. Buettner on that.
Check out our new sister blog on Home Theater, HTBlog.net
December 18th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Have to agree. Watched Superman Returns last night and the detail is amazing.
Also, Motorstorm is awesome at 110″.
December 27th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
Too bad the PS3 has an inferior GPU and lower in game RAM to access during gameplay than the Xbox 360! Way to go Sony.
December 27th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
Oh, and in case someone tries to say. “They both have the same amount of RAM.” Yes..total. But the split 256/256 can’t be accessed at the same time AND the PS3’s Operating System can at times be up to twice the size of the 360’s..therefore giving the 360 a huge amount of RAM difference during games.
Because of this, not only could any PS3 game run on the 360, it could run better.
December 27th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
Sabre, I think you’ll find that you’re wrong. Any PS3 game can’t run on the 360 and they won’t look better, especially if they were ported from the PS3.
And higher RAM doesn’t mean the 360 is superior to the PS3.
Resistance couldn’t run on the 360. A little thing known as BD prevents that from happening, with Resistance clocking in at over 16GB. Simply not possible on ‘regular’ DVDs. And yes that includes compression.
If you want to debate about the PS3/360 then come and visit www.ps3blog.net, this is not the place to do that.