Looking to get into Blu-Ray

[tfinch2]

First off let me say that I am not looking to get a PS3 to play games on. That would just be an added benefit that really doesn't weigh into my decision. I have an Xbox 360 and a Wii for that. What I want is something to play Blu-Ray movies on.

My HTPC budget would be about $500 for mobo/proc/memory/video card/br drive. I already have the HDD/case/keyboard/mouse.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Is it to watch on a TV, or do you want to be able to rip them and watch them via a networked connection?

If you want a player to hook up to the TV directly, I would go with the PS3. If you want more of a media server or plan on ripping the Blu-ray disks then HTPC.

 

[WraithETC]

If all you want is to play BR the PS3 would be much simpler and less of a headache... plus you can always wirelessly stream media to it, although that function isn't always 100% stable.

 

[M0R0NI]

For just watching BR on a TV the PS3 is the easy way to go.

 

[JackBurton]

For $500 your going to have one crappy Blu-Ray capable HTPC. I'd definitely go for the PS3.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: JackBurton
For $500 your going to have one crappy Blu-Ray capable HTPC. I'd definitely go for the PS3.

 

[cubby1223]

The software for PC playback just isn't mature in any sense of the word. I don't have a Blu-ray drive, but I did buy one for someone else for server data backups, and swiped the included PowerDVD cd to get a current version (else I have PowerDVD 5). Even with playing regular dvds, the software locks up ~30% of the time for me. Rarely it will display static noise over the whole screen, making it difficult to shut down. Brightness level will flicker at times, and occasional distortion over the full image.

That's just with regular dvds.

Maybe in a year the software will be up to par, but I'm not holding my breath.



If the software were decent enough, $500 gets you a good HTPC, just choose the right video card with hardware decoding (I'd go with a Radeon 3450 myself), and the other parts can come cheap. Blu-ray drives are falling in price, Lite-On is $129 (without software, with is $149), Sony is $199.

 

[Chosonman]

I have both set up on my 60" Sony SXRD. I agree, PC's aren't mature in the Home Theater dept. I enjoy surfing the net the and watching movies on my PS3 more than on the PC. One gripe I have with my PC is that my screen isn't centered and I have a black border on 2 sides.

BTW, my HTPC is connect via HDMI cable to using an ATI HD3850 Graphics card. 5.1 surround sound comes from the graphics card directly via HDMI. I also have an HT Omega Striker 7.1 sound card which is incredible, but my receiver doesn't have digital sound inputs and I only have 5.1 speakers.