School me on VOD (Video On Demand) Services

[Dedicated_Dad]

Hi guys...

Finally broke down and bought the TV - a 50" LG Plasma - and are thrilled with it.

Though I don't watch much TV, the little I do is SOOOoo much more enjoyable now!!

Naturally, having a 1080p TV means I also need a blu-ray player. Since they all seem to work, I find myself considering their other "services"...

All seem to have NetFlix now. Some have Blockbuster. One had "vudu" - which looked pretty good, then there's Amazon, Sony's Qriocity, and so on and so on...

Basically, my decision on which bluray player to go with will in part depend on the services available with it...

Last thing: I'm considering skipping the BRP altogether and going with the PS3. It's a blu-ray player, has ability to download "apps" (and all the aforementioned services seem to have one) plus, though I'm really not into games, it IS a game-console as well which would let us leverage the old PS/PS2 games the kids still have around.

I appreciate all input!

DD

[MelodyByrne]

Go with the PS3, even if you don't use it as a gaming console. We have one and it certainly saves us space to have all of those capabilities in one box. Also the PS3 is capable of firmware updates so you don't have to replace it when the technology improves. Some of the cheaper Blu-Ray setups are not capable of keeping up. The PS3 can also act as a media server, streaming from the net or from networked computers.

As for VOD, we use Netflix, Amazon, iTunes (not available on PS3) and Hulu. The Netflix streaming is pretty good even on our microwave internet, Amazon does pretty well for us, and Hulu is really good as well. The costs are reasonable (cheap, cheap, and free). You could spend days and days going down the rabbit hole that is old tv shows on Netflix and Hulu.

[rightisright]

I also use a PS3. I don't watch much TV either, but I have a Netflix subscription for when I want to watch a movie. They don't have the greatest selection of newer stuff, but they have tons of older movies and TV shows. I just watched the Lonesome Dove miniseries...

I don't do any gaming and I don't have kids, but the ex did. And it came in handy for entertaining them on rainy days when they were visiting.

AFAIK, you can't do Blockbuster on the PS3. At least that was true the last time I checked a few months ago.

[mekender]

The PS3 is the choice I made... I use it for video all the time, gaming not so much.

That said, it would not be compatible with PS2 games.

[Jericho941]

I went with the PS3 as well, but then again, I actually like what's out for the PS3.

[Evyl Robot]

We decided to make the format jump shortly after the war was settled. At the time, we got a screaming deal on a clearanced-out Samsung dual format that plays both HD DVD and Blu-Ray. I specifically wanted a machine with discrete multi-channel audio output and onboard decoders for high-definition audio because the AV receivers that decode them were horridly expensive, and I like the Marantz we've been running (which does have discrete inputs for 7.1 surround). I don't know whether there are cables available to go discrete with the audio from the PS3 or if it has the capability of decoding. I've been mostly pleased with the Samsung even if it is not without its shortcomings. It's been a whole lot of fun to get HD DVDs for cheap since we have that capability. We've had to update the firmware several times. When we rented Avatar, the necessary update was kind of rushed from Samsung and would not automatically download, so we had to download it to PC, burn a CD, and then run the update on the machine. Prior to that, it did them through the network router. Since that update, it hasn't wanted to run any more updates through the network, but I know there is a more current version. I suspect that if I do a manual update again, it will correct the problem. I know a lot of people love their PS3s. It appears that the bottom line is that it's not a DVD player anymore. Some movie company will figure out some other thing they want it to do, and suddenly you have to update your firmware to watch the damned movie. It's annoying because I didn't go high definition for the extra doo-dads. I was after the clearer picture and sound. Good luck to you and have fun no matter what you decide.