Enter the
PlayStation 3, scheduled to be released stateside on November 17. The system will sell in two different configurations: one for $600 and one for $500. While there are many differences between the two, the biggest one from a home-theater standpoint is the lack of an HDMI output on the cheaper model. While no company has decided to apply image constraint to component, the HDMI-enabled PS3 is the only future-proof bet. Nevertheless, waiting a few months will get you a machine that's a serviceable Blu-ray player and a state-of-the-art HD gaming machine for just a little more than the cheapest HD-DVD player, the
Toshiba HD-A1. In my opinion, something's gotta give.
While the PS2 gave the DVD format a good boost, it was far from the best movie player of its day, with a substandard picture and clunky navigation. The Xbox and Xbox 360 systems stand as proof, too; amazing video game systems have had only average movie playback capabilities. Granted, the DVD format wasn't as much in its infancy at that point, but I can see Sony going the PS2 route by using a decent movie player in its newest gaming hardware to give its game and film outfits a boost. While 1080p is 1080p, a company has to cut corners somewhere. A $1,000 dedicated movie player should have a professional-grade remote and sleek menu navigation; asking for more than a controller and a simple movie playback interface in a launch console is being greedy. We haven't heard what the final in-box items will be for either PS3 configuration, but you can bet that some accoutrements, perhaps only accessories and design, will remain exclusive to the movie players.
If you're looking only for a device that can play Blu-ray discs, there's no
question about it: wait for the PS3, as a movie will likely look just as nice
on it. Just don't expect all of the home-theater trimmings of the more expensive,
movies-first players. Can you live without a backlit remote or a front-panel
display?
