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John Falcone John Falcone, April 1, 2009

Murphy's Law seemed to be the theme for Blu-ray in 2006. In addition to firmware foul-ups and component shortages, a lackluster slate of early Blu-ray movies let underdog HD-DVD steal the show. But a new year means new opportunity: the number of available Blu-ray titles is soon expected to surpass that of HD-DVD, and there are actually some players you can buy. So far, the PlayStation 3 is the runaway winner, offering excellent Blu-ray playback in addition to its HD gaming and multimedia capabilities--all for hundreds less than the price of competing players. Moreover, the PS3 is the only player that boasts bleeding-edge HDMI 1.3 compatibility, and it's going to remain in the line-up for years to come. Meanwhile, the other first-generation players shown here will be soon overshadowed by their inevitable successors, certain to be on display at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show. In other words: Blu-ray fans who can't get their hands on a PS3 should wait to see what the second-generation players will offer later in 2007 before taking the plunge.

More Resources
CES 2007: HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray vs. the world,
Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on: full review,
TalkBack: PlayStation 3 a Blu-ray bargain?,
HD DVD and Blu-ray guide,
DVD 2.0: HD-DVD and Blu-ray,
Quick guide: HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray,
HDTV World,
Why today's best HDTVs aren't worth buying
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Review date November 13, 2006
The Bottom Line The high-end Sony PlayStation 3's larger hard drive and ability to play PS2 games makes it a worthwhile alternative to the cheaper model--so long as you're willing to wait several months for the more promising exclusive titles to hit store shelves. If backward compatibility is your top priority, this hard-to-find model may be worth the search.
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Features
Media TypeFlash memory card
Blu-ray
Processor typeCell
RAM installed size256 MB
Graphics ProcessorNVIDIA RSX
Video RAM installed256 MB
Max resolution (external) [Jul 2, 2008 from CDS: Video Output]1920 x 1080
Full specifications Full specifications
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