assuming you have High Speed internet the ps3 is the way to go for sure. It has wifi built in for the blu ray live feature (some standalone players may have this too?) and you will be able to create a Playstation network account (free of charge). With PSN you will be able to download Movies on demand for about the same price as satellite but with a huge selection. Right now there is about 1200 movies(2.99 Standard def / 4.50 HD) and 115 Tv shows (1.99 episode). PS3 also has a Web browser and a Goggle news feed. Last but not least you can go out and buy NBA 2k9 and replay the Blazers Vs Celtics Game…. it ends better that way. I wander if they will patch the KG doggie style animation in the Game?

oops I wonder

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8723045&type=product&id=1200703056300

I did the Black Friday thing, and am selling a one of these TV’s for $1000.

You’d save an additional $100 off best buy’s sale price. I got one for myself, and am selling one. Its Consumer Reports #1 50" Plasma TV.

not sure what Anthony Stine’s beef is. The graphics are awesome, and the Blue Ray player is one of the best on the market, ESPECIALLY since it auto updates firmware and will play all Blue Ray movies. The playback controls are pretty easy, and if it’s really that difficult, since you’re buying a $3,000 t.v., I’m sure you can afford the $20 PS3 dvd remote. I HIGHLY recommend the PS3. I’ve owned the xbox 360 and wii as well, neither hold a candle to it. Plus I can make Roy dunk all the time on Live 09 which is awesome, and Oden is very dominant on video games too = )

I and many people I know have one and they are very durable. I also have a friend at best buy and they never see them back in the stores. Sony makes quality electronics and the ps3 is no exception. Panasonic is good too though. Just saying if you do choose the stand alone, that is up there with Sony as a brand they generally don’t have probs with. I also have all 3 consoles and saying the games on the ps3 are overacted is wrong. Each system has a few exclusive but I tend to prefer my Ps3 (hate my wii :(..yikes that sound weird.) The remote is a must! but other than that it is a great player and gaming device. Its much faster when loading your blu rays also. it is the best about being able to update its self for the newer movie two. trust me I have a dell that plays blu rays and im constantly having to update it and some movies play…some don’t. The ps3 has never had a prob.

This is What cnet says in there summary I would recommend going to the site and reading everything. Its a great consumer report type site!

Panasonic DMP-BD55

The good: Excellent image quality on Blu-ray Discs; Profile 2.0 compliant; onboard decoding for all high-resolution soundtrack formats, plus bit stream output; 7.1 analog-audio outputs.

The bad: PlayStation 3 offers much more functionality and faster navigation for the same price.

AND the Panasonic DMP-BD35

The good: Excellent image quality on Blu-ray Discs; Profile 2.0 compliant; onboard decoding for all high-resolution soundtrack formats, plus bit-stream output.

The bad: PlayStation 3 offers much more functionality and faster navigation, although it costs more.

PS3
The good: Swanky design with quiet operation; all games in high-definition; PSP-like, easy-to-use interface; plays Profile 2.0 high-definition Blu-ray movies in addition to upscaling standard DVDs; built-in Wi-Fi; 80GB hard drive; HDMI output with 1080p support; no external power supply; free online gaming service.

The bad: Lacks full backward support for PS2 games; only comes with two USB ports; no infrared port means non-Bluetooth universal remotes aren’t compatible; no flash card or memory reader; glossy black finish is a fingerprint magnet; online gaming, media, and commerce options not nearly as developed as Xbox Live.

The bottom line: Even though PS2 backward compatibility has been dropped from this version, the 80GB PS3 is still a superb Blu-ray player and high-definition game console

this is a good article where they for the most part ignore the gaming side of it and look at it as just a Blu ray player.

If you’re going Blu-ray you might as well get a PS3 because it covers all your bases.

I have a PS3, and absolutely love it. I use it for about 90% blu-ray player, and 10% games. It has got the best upconversion of ANY DVD/BluRay player that i have seen for standard DVDs and the fact that you can use it for so much more than just a standalone player makes the decision simple for me. I like the controls on it as well, but do make it a point to get the extra bluray remote control as using the controllers is a bit awkward to navigate through movies. the biggest downside, in my opinion, is the fact that you don’t have an external display for movie time/chapter, etc. I got used to that with my old DVD player, but now i just have to hit time on the remote to see the time left. Hell, right now you can even get an 8Gb PS3 with Resistance 2 (one of their flagship game franchises) and Dark Knight on Blu-Ray thrown in for free on Amazon.com. just add everything to your “cart” and enter the code “PSKNIGHT” and it should give you the $85 discount or so.

About the Ads, don’t apologize for having a sponsor! You should have dozens of sponsors right now. I know you never started blogging to get rich, but the quality of your work and the time you put into deserves to be paid somehow and none of us cheapos are chipping in, so you might as well let Best Buy hook you up, along with anyone else that wants to! Good job getting that great deal. You should be happy with that TV. Let us know what direction you decide on the BluRay player!

LittleBigPlanet. Two best games on the system by far. LittleBigPlanet is freaking awesome. It’s ridiculously fun, addictive and so creative.

I’ve had my LN52A650 (6 series) since Sept, and I LOVE it.

I’m not sure the difference between mine and yours, but I researched the more expensive 750 and there wasn’t much difference between the 6 series (650) and the 7 series(750)..other than price.

I haven’t taken the Blu-ray plunge yet..but I have a Philips upconverting DVD player that upconverts to 1080i. I’m hard pressed to tell the difference between HD and the upconverted picture on my standard def DVDs.

you’re gonna love watching games in HD. I can see the wrinkles in LA’s jersey, and the sweat beads on Steve Blake’s head (once I get past the glare of his pale skin! ;)

Amazon has your very same model currently listed for $2598. How much better does a scary, fantastic deal look than this?

As a Blu-Ray player. Like you, I’m not so much for the gaming (though I did buy a few).

But the thing that has made the PS3 perhaps the best home theater investment I’ve ever made is actually its WiFi capabilities, and its ability to stream content from a media server running on my PC. This means I can watch videos I download on my computer (sports highlights, for example) on my big fancy TV. And since I do it wirelessly, I don’t have to run cables all over the house.

Try to do that with a set-top Blu Ray player.

When I’m in Idaho I can school you in a little bit of 2k9.

Not that I’ve ever played that game before, but I feel confident I could still school you.

we got a PS3 to use primarily as a blu-ray player a year ago (when stand alones were all more expensive), and it has worked out great. It is an excellent player in terms of video and audio quality, and with Sony’s easy to update and frequent firmware updates, you will always easily be compatible with all the new blu-ray action (new blu-ray features and codecs are added all the time, still a growing format). standalones are often much more difficult to update and the updates are much slower in coming out—PS3s have a HUGE installed userbase that is serviced by Sony, as opposed to the relatively miniscule user base for specific standalone players.

the other big advantage, for me at least, is haveing a bluetooth controller, and not having to have line-of-sight to the PS3 to use the controller. I find the standard controls with the game controller to be simple and user-friendly, but if it is an issue you can buy the PS3 bluetooth DVD remote and it works just like any other blu-ray remote, so that shouldn’t be an issue.

and, it’s a pretty great game player, which i considered a pretty nifty free bonus. and like other have said, wifi is also very nice and works just like it should.

I’m a fairly devout Xbox 360 fanboy these days but I can’t think of a good reason for you to not get a PS3. It has exactly enough good games to delight a non-gamer and i hear the DVD upconverting and blu-ray playing is top notch. If you ever do get a game for it, make sure you don’t get NBA Live. NBA 2K9 is the one to go with.

That said, I’m going to go with cyberk above me who recommends investing in sound instead of DVD playing. A cheap upconverting DVD player is going to look fantastic on your screen. Blu-Ray is a bit of scam if you ask me and investing in a disc-based format right now seems to me like a waste. You pay a big chunk for the box, and a higher price for each movie you buy and then two years from now everybody will be downloading Hi-def movies off the internet. For the price of a PS3, you can get fancy HD cable or Dish TV or a boomin’ surround system.

I’m kind of a stickler for going with the same brand for all of my components when i can.

That said, I matched my Samsung LCD up with the BD-P1500. It compliments the looks of the TV well and works like a charm. (around $225 retail). I don’t do console games so that’s the way i went.

BTW – Great choice on your HDTV… i’m jealous.

-netty

Cables shouldn’t cost arm and a leg.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/13/criterion-collection-uses-ps3-as-reference-blu-ray-player/

Criterion Collection uses the PS3 as their reference Blu-Ray player.

A high recommendation, to be sure. There might be as-cheap or cheaper options, it’ still one of the best B-R players on the market. And as a game console, it’s hitting the patented Sony third-year stride. I still love my Xbox 360, but am inching closer to getting a PS3. A new TV will come first though.

Just check out the “folding @ home” feature. It’s helping out Stanford University with Cancer research somehow…I run it all the time!

Looks like getting an LCD is not such a good idea if you love watching sports. Brandon Roy will always look blurry driving down the lane, should have went plasma. Be sure to get a PS3 like everyone says because it is the highest rated blu ray player.