Welcome to part two of our 3D Blu-ray player review, where we pit the recently 3D enabled PS3 games console against the companies BDP-S470 standalone 3D capable Blu-ray player.
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The PS3 has always had great loading times for Blu-ray movies, especially when compared to the earlier generation standalone players which could take well over a minute to load a movie in some cases.
Unfortunately the PS3 has now been surpassed. In tests with our 3D disks, the BDP-S470 loaded the movies in around 60% of the time it took the PS3.
Whilst the PS3 is still fairly quick to load up, this round goes to the standalone.
produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date: September 27, 2013 (USA)
Directors: Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn
Running time: 95 minutes
MPAA rating: PG
Producer: Kirk Bodyfelt
It really is a shame about the lack of HD audio, as the pictures on both Avatar and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs look stunning and as good as any consumer based player we have seen, including the Sony BDP-S470. Whilst 3D is more about effects than razor sharp picture quality, we really couldn't tell a difference between the performance of the two machines. It's just the thought that we're missing out on the full sound experience niggles more than just a little.
For those of you that missed the first part of our review, the PS3, due to its lack of HDMI v1.4, is unable to pass through both a 3D Blu-ray picture and HD audio. If you need more information on this aspect, look out for our first article in this review.
At this stage one also has to consider the real lack of 3D films available. Only a handful of title are available to buy right now, although we expect this to improve dramatically once the format starts to take off.
WATCH FREE MOVIE 7 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.
As can be seen, whether you choose the PS3 or standalone option depends on your current situation. If you already have a PS3 and are either not bothered about or do not have the equipment to take advantage of the HD audio formats, then we would advise you to stick with what you already have. Looking at the PS3 3D picture quality alone, there is no need to use a standalone player.
If you have a PS3 and have either the capability or the desire to take advantage of the high resolution audio formats then it is down to your financial situation. For a relatively modest outlay you can get the BDP-S470 and have full HD audio, with the added benefit of the standalone offering quieter operation than the games console.
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If you are new to the Blu-ray market and don't currently own a PS3 and aren't too bothered about the game playing capabilities (surely you'd already own a PS3 by now if you were) then the standalone is by far the better route. Whilst its 3D pictures aren't any better than those of the PS3, it's quieter, uses less power, is much smaller, loads disks quicker and importantly has full HD audio thanks to its HDMI v1.4 connection.
WATCH FREE MOVIE 7 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.
