"October 23, 2008"

Like Kasz216 said, it is too old indeed.

If we want to stick with Sony products, then this one seems way better already :

http://hometheaterreview.com/sony-bdp-s560-blu-ray-player-reviewed/

The BDP-S560 supports 1080p/24 playback of Blu-ray discs.
• The player has internal Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding and can pass these formats in bitstream form over HDMI.
• It supports BD-Live Web content and can play picture-in-picture bonus content.
• You can wirelessly connect the BDP-S560 to your network via 802.11n and stream photos from any DLNA-compatible device.

Nothing is said about the noise, but my former BDP-S350 was way less noisy than a PS3.

Shame about the memory ... typical Sony stuff...

I am more interested in this one : http://hometheaterreview.com/marantz-bd5004-blu-ray-player-reviewed/

"• You can wirelessly connect the BDP-S560 to your network via 802.11n and stream photos from any DLNA-compatible device."

He is not interested in this feature, as all he wants is a stand along player. The PS3 does everything in that bullet list. It also loads movies much faster then most BR players. I have seen some that take 45 seconds to load a movie.

I would bet you any BR player you find today, will be less capable then the PS3 at playing BR's in 2 years. That's true today about any BR player you would have bought two years ago.

As long as the physical connections don't change, the PS3 will have everything the latest players have, as it's amazingly upgradable (and this has been proven to be true). As for the noise, I think all BR players come with a HD, and my PS3 never kicks the fan on high when I am playing movies. Only when I play games. It's as quiet as most players (unless your spending a lot of money).

In the $500 range, it can't be beat. The only thing I don't like about it, is you can't use a harmony remote with it, as it's bluetooth. 

Another review:
http://bluray-players.net/sony/sony-ps3-review/

"When playing Blu-ray titles, the performance outclasses all other players since it makes full use of the hardware that makes the gaming powerful. It effectively upconverts DVD titles to 1080p and the Blu-ray titles load very quickly which is why it has become a standard to compare the load times of other players with the PS3. Using the HDMI 1.3 port, Blu-ray movies look sharp and realistic. Video and audio performance is on par, if not better than most standalone blu-ray players. It plays standard CDs and DVDs, and even SACDs; something most standalone players can’t do."

Waouw, you are so stubborn and insusceptible to high-end technical aspects...

Being you're dead set on not getting the PS3 (no clue why, other then to be argumentative), the next best thing for $500, is probably this:

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/

That is true, if you compare it to Samsung or Philips or wathever...not Pioneer or Marantz or Denon.. anyway.

I give up...

He didn't say high end, he said $500 or less.

I saw it too on Audioholics...never saw it for real around here.

I believe that Marantz BD5004 is also good and affordable (549€/$).

Stop worrying about stupid shit like "wearing down the player" and get a ps3.

Agreed.