I hadn’t considered the pirated game discs factor. That would at least make sense, but if playing bd-r movies is yet another thing* the ps4 does that the xbone doesn’t, I’ll continue weighing my options.

The One S had piqued my interest because of the 4k UHD blu-ray factor. I’ve been wanting to get a streaming device for my downstairs tv currently not connected to anything except a “dumb” blu-ray player from eight years ago. I’d prefer to get a device that’s capable of downloading newer apps but also plays discs (yes, I know, “you’ve already got a blu-ray player, just get a roku,” but I want to “vote with my wallet” in favor of physical media while I’ve still got the option. It kills me that my highly educated cousins got a roku but never bothered upgrading to blu-ray).

I’ve got a sony smart blu-ray player for the upstairs tv that is hooked up to a cable box. It’s limited in its app assortment but it’s got the big ones (netflix, amazon, hulu, youtube, vimeo, vudu), but it doesn’t have hbo go or cbs all access, which I’ll apparently need in order to watch the new Star Trek show come January.

Adding further complication to all of this is the fact that Comcast doesn’t support hbo go on the ps3/4 but does on the xbox. To my knowledge, the app isn’t even available on any of the other UHD players on the market so far.

As far as the bd-r issue goes, I’m assuming the xbox one at least supports avchd discs. Or am I jumping to a conclusion there also? I guess I’ve still got the blu-ray players for these kind of things, and something to continue justifying the “dumb” player sitting around, but it really shouldn’t be too much to ask that these newer devices continue to do everything the older ones did, especially when it’s for stupid copy-protection reasons.

*like bitstreaming, not that I see myself getting an atmos/dts:x setup in the near future, but still.