Sony PlayStation 3 review

The Blu-ray format owes much of its success to the fact that Blu-ray playback is built into the PlayStation 3 console.

Until recently, a PS3 was cheaper than any set-top Blu-ray player, and it's still very competitive, especially if you also want a games console, streaming media server and basic web browser in your living room. It also handles music, photos and video on optical data disc better than set-top players.

The PS3 may be a jack-of-all-trades but it's no second-rate Blu-ray player. Paired with the official Blu-ray Remote Control, which costs a further £15, it behaves just as we would expect a fully fledged player to. The remote also uses Bluetooth rather than infrared, so it doesn't require a line of sight with the console.

Various updates have improved the PS3's Blu-ray playback specifications considerably since its launch. It now supports BD Live and internal decoding of all current audio formats including DTS HD Master Audio. It's the fastest player here, taking just one minute and 37 seconds on average to power up and get to the main menu on our three Blu-ray test discs. Disc navigation was even more impressive, returning to the main menu in No Country For Old Men in just 12 seconds - the others took between 22 and 51 seconds.

The PS3 also excelled for DVD playback on a 1080p TV. Detail was sharp, diagonal lines were smooth and there was little evidence of compression artefacts. It played 1080i footage from an AVCHD disc without problems, and 1080p Blu-ray footage was impossible to fault.

The downside of all the high-performance components in the PS3 is that it uses around 10 times as much power and generates more heat and fan noise than the set-top players. As such, the Sony S350's lower price and running costs and quieter operation might make more sense, despite its quirks and lack of DTS HD Master Audio support. However, the PS3 is much more than just a Blu-ray player. For anyone who is tempted by Little Big Planet or Grand Theft Auto 4 as well as high-definition movies, it's the obvious choice.