Criterion Collection's reference Blu-ray player is a PS3

If it's good enough for Criterion and CNET, it should be good enough for you.

It goes without saying that the folks who work at Criterion Collection are film buffs. And anyone who has watched one of the company's lovingly remastered DVDs can attest to the fact the company really cares about making films look as good as they can. That's why we took notice when a poster at AVS Forum pointed out an interesting tidbit in Sound & Vision's recent profile of Criterion Collection's new high-def home theater--Criterion's reference Blu-ray player is a PS3.

We're not exactly surprised. We've been using the PS3 as our reference Blu-ray player at CNET since it was released, and you'll notice that it tops our best Blu-ray players list by quite a margin. Furthermore, it's worth noting that video quality expert Joe Kane help set up Criterion's new home theater room. When we checked out Joe Kane's demo of the truly awesome SP-A800B at CES, we specifically asked what Blu-ray player he thought had the best image quality, he immediately said the PS3. So if you're worried about the image quality of a "game console" versus a high-end standalone Blu-ray player, it's worth rechecking your assumptions when CNET, Criterion and Joe Kane all vouch for the PS3's excellent performance.

Another interesting piece of gear we noted from the S&V article is a DVI Gear HDMI cable. That's right, the image quality experts at Criterion opt for the relatively cheap DVI Gear brand rather than splurge on a $275 Monster cable. Again, that's no surprise to us, as we even recommended a $2 DVI Gear cable in our Quick Guide to HDMI cables. If the image quality experts at Criterion and CNET both agree that inexpensive cables generally perform just as well as more expensive cables, we're betting those cables are okay for your home theater too.

Sources: Sound & Vision via AVS Forum

[tae_kwon_doh!]

I wish this were true because the PS3 is amazingly cheap. It's not a bad player by any means, but when it comes to video performance on a high-end projector like a Marantz VP-11S2 or a SIM2 Grand Cinema C3X 1080 on a screen width of 100" or greater, the PS3's playback flaws with noise and motion artifact are clear as day. Even my non-videophile friends remark at the difference. Granted, a solid video processor will make up for the deficiencies, but why not forgo the cost of one and get a better Blu-ray player. That said it's the best option for 99% of us; however, it isn't the best player out there by a significant margin.

[rikkuotaku]

Both Criterion and the fine folks at the amazing site dvdfile.com disagree with you. When those that actually critique BDs use PS3s to do so, you know there must be something to it.

http://www.dvdfile.com/article/panasonic-dmp-bd50-blu-ray-disc-player-12620

[odysseusg]

Yes, they use a $400 PS3 with.... a $3500 video processor? Seems like an odd (and uncommon) couple. One the one hand, you'd better get good image quality from a $4k video source. Then again, if you're already spending that much on the processor, it's not the PS3's low price that you're interested in.

[tae_kwon_doh!]

What they're probably interested in is the PS3's fastest-of-the-bunch boot time.

[jshin32]

Take it from a former a/v snob, HDMI is the great equailizer. It really has made super expensive gear voodoo. The PS3 with a good amp that has HMDI inputs, and you also have an amazing CD player, it's all about the linear PCM output. My whole CD collection sounds like I've never heard it before. And for those of you who have large MP3 collections, just get a pc with an HMDI out. I recommend the PS3 with SACD if you can still get it, with a Sony 5300 amp, and a pair of high resolution speakers like KEF iQ9, for a great bang for your buck system.

[Carlox1]

well i prefer to believe what the video quality expert Joe Kane and cnet experts and many other technology experts say about ps3 je

[hodedofome]

Look guys, the PS3 has nothing to do with the video quality they are experiencing. They have a DVDO VP-50 Pro video processor that takes care of the video, so whether they use a Funai, PS3 or Marantz it's going to look the same - excellent. In order to get the same results you need a processor equivalent to the one they are using.

[rikkuotaku]

It is widely known at dvdfile.com and other premier video sites that the PS3 is an exceptional BD player.

I've also owned/compared a BD30 and S300 to the PS3. There are some differences in the units default output settings/options that can cause a difference in picture quality depending on how the display is calibrated. For example the PS3 is limited to RGB and YCbCr 4:4:4 colour space. The BD30 default in my setup was YCbCr 4:2:2 meaning colour may look different depending on how my display decodes/upsamples 4:2:2. I also observed that the BD30 appeared to have more edge enhacement applied at default compared to the others. This can be perceived as more detail but increasing my displays sharpness setting a couple of clicks resulted in similar amount of "enhancement" from the other players.

If you just swap the players withour calibration one may appear different. Personally I think many of the claimed differences are down to settings and calibration.

[michaelprete]

I purchased a PS3 along with my purchase of a 50" Panasonic plasma at Circuit City on July 20, 2008. I am still waiting for the 40GB model to be delivered. I'd love to take advantage of this machine, but there seems to be some problem in obtaining the product. Anyone know what's going on here? Is the model being discontinued? Any suggestions on what to do now?

[MEGA_MAN_X]

I want a LCD panel TV for Playing Playstation 3 . I want you to tell me which of these 2 LCDTVs is better to buy for playing : Panasonic Viera TC32LX85 or the Samsung LN32A450.I have another question I want you to tell me if there is another LCDTV that cost $800 or less that is better for playing than this two LCDTV models that I told you .Plese answer my question on my Email because I am going to Buy the LCDTV in these Week. Right now I only have 800$ to buy a high definition LCD TV because I am a middle class man so I would like you to tell me other tv model choices at that price please (800$).