We purchased a Sony Blu-Ray S350 during the Thanksgiving sales for $200 out the door. It's similar to the S550 except it doesn't have the 1gb flash drive, analog outputs or DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, and is less expensive. We thought about going the PS3 route, but it was twice as much as the S350 and neither my wife nor I play video games. Also, I read that there were some fan noise issues with the PS3 that might be distracting.

Yes, my mistake! :( Fixed my post.

Now I hear a rumor that PS3's will be down to $199.00 this summer. That came from Circuit City techs.

My 2c real quick:

The quality of BR over DVD is HUGELY noticeable once you get over 48" screen size. Just compare Planet Earth or Ratatouille on DVD and BR and you'll be blown away. Good example on Ratatouille: the rats' hairs are fuzzy ("aliased") on the DVD version, but crystal clear on the BR version.

That said: PS3 is still supposed to be the best player.

Finally: I'm not so sure physical media is going to be around much longer especially with things like streaming netflix via Xbox Live. Just a thought.