I have two ps3's in operation in my house. i have the orignal FAT PS3. I bought is specifically for the Blu ray player, Believe it or not it was the cheapest Blu ray player on the market. Having said that i adopted Blu ray right after the decision was made between HD DVD and Blu Ray DVD. Other than being fat, The thing is fantastic, and then when i bought my 3D TV, all i had to do was a software upgrade and i was good to go. I do not game on it at all. i use it specifically for movies and music. HDMI to the TV, and optical out to the receiver. not sure about the True HD issues ppl are discussing, but my system sounds good. i see the autosensing on my receiver changing on occassion to accomodate new and older blu ray recordings. The FAT blu ray is now specific for music and 3d movies only.
On my PS3 SLIM, that is HDMI out to my projector, and optical out to the receiver above. i project of a flat white wall with a 9ft diagonal picture.
For both PS3s above, i would do HDMI out to treceiver and then to TV or projector, but my receiver does not have HDMI.
My recommendation is buy one, you wont be disappointed, having said that, i dont game, i am not a gamer, not sure of the gaming experience on the ps3.
XBOX vs PS3 for gaming is a different thread.