When the PS3 first came out, it was the cheapest Blu-ray player, but IIRC, this was largely due to a laser diode shortage due to the PS3. I've seen Blu-ray players for arround 400 now, I think. Regardless, the PS3 is a good media player (it's our default DVD player in the apartment) and you have the peace of mind of knowing that any major issues that crop up with it will most likely be addressed in a firmware update. If you're after a Blu-ray player now and you're even considering a PS3 in the future, you'd be stupid not to just jump on the PS3 now.