As the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player is to that high-definition DVD format, so the Playstation 3 is to Blu-ray: relatively inexpensive, with reasonable features, and a pretty snappy performer. We hasten to point out that this comparison is apt as long as you realize that the Playstation 3 functions only as a standalone player, while the Xbox 360 functions only as a PC or Xbox peripheral device. And of course, you get all the game-playing and other capabilities of the Playstation 3, along with its ability to play back Blu-ray discs and deliver high-definition audio and video output through an HDMI 1.3 port. The Playstation 3 also gets high marks for eccentric but innovative styling, with a curvy package that can lay down or stand up as your media space dictates.

The air vents showing on the right side of the Playstation 3 tell you that you must stand it up on the other (hidden) left side.

You also get an Ethernet port, four USB ports, and some retailers will often bundle a game and/or a movie as part of the overall package. As an added bonus, the unit will play back most PS2 titles of recent vintage; it may have trouble with older ones, and also doesn't accommodate PS2 plug-in peripherals, such as specialized game controllers and such.

The Playstation 3 will play back audio CDs, conventional DVDs, and even DVD-Audio content, along with support for both bitstream and LPCM versions of all the high-end, high-resolution multichannel sound schemes. It won't, however, do video upconversion on conventional DVDs; it simply outputs these discs in 480p format, in take-it-or-leave-it fashion. But this Blu-ray player does appear to start up and load as fast as (if not faster than) other Blu-ray players, and its DVD navigation is noticeably the fastest.

Unless you absolutely must have DVD upconversion (and to be fair, this will make a difference, especially on 1080i an 1080p capable displays) or other media networking features, the Playstation 3 makes a compelling combination of good features and a great price. It certainly comes away with our "Best Buy" recommendation in the field reviewed here.

This concludes our coverage of the available Blu-ray standalone players. In the following sections, we change focus to available (and upcoming) Blu-ray drives suitable for notebook, desktop and media center PCs.