Playstation 3 discussion thread

[impala454]

yeah I just don't see how I could play a RTS game without a mouse

[Hdale85]

Well a couple weeks ago when I first got my PS3 I turned on the 24p function for BD movies. The picture was flickering and what not and I didn't like it at all I just assumed thats how it was supposed to be. Well today I was playing around with it more and I'm not sure if my TV wasn't getting the signal right last time or what but this time I see a HUGE improvement. I swear I see better shadow detail deeper blacks and better detail over all. Not to mention the motion is quite smooth and flicker free. I'm not sure if all this is possible but I swear I do see all this. I've never seen my TV put out a better picture :B

[Chris D]

Everybody might want to take a look at the Playstation store now. Lots of really cool stuff, lots of it free. And now they have a whole bunch of movies and TV shows for download, too.

[Hdale85]

I was going to ask about the movies and stuff because I remember they were supposed to have them but they weren't there. I guess thats what the big update was the other day?

[dyazdani]

I keep playing the "Civilization" demo over and over again. Looks like it would be a fun game--first time on a game console. But I've really had a hard time trying to justify paying $60 for the full game. Maybe if I wait a few months, it will come down.

I played it once, pretty cool. I've played most of the Civ versions on PC quite a bit. I thought I'd hate the console version, but it was pretty fun. I wouldn't pay $60 either as I still prefer the PC style, but it was a good time...

[H.T.C]

Firmware 2.50 is out now !!!

There is now improved bluetooth support and Flash 9 with in game screen shot capture tool and more !!!

[Chris D]

The thing I think I'm most looking forward to here in 2.50 is seeting my controllers to auto turn-off after a certain inactivity period. I leave my PS3 on constantly for the Folding @ Home project, but occasionally forget to turn off the controller when I'm done using the PS3 for the night. Next day, dead controller.

[audioqueso]

These things is pretty amazing. I picked up a 60GB version this month so I can watch Ironman on blu-ray. It came with Call of Duty 4, but I only played it for about 5 minutes and quit. (If anyone wants to trade games, let me know). I bought Gran Turismo 5 the next day. Wow.. I couldn't believe the graphics of the actual gameplay. It really shows what's 1080p is capable of. I just found out from reading this thread that you can download demos, and trailers, and stuff. I think I'll connect it to the internet tonight and try something out.

One thing that surprised, the box is huge. It's so much bigger than the PS2.

[Hdale85]

Well have fun creating an account. You'll have to try a slew of 100 different screen names probably. Their system is a little funky I think.

[Chris D]

Really? I got my first choice when I signed up, but I was one of the first to buy a PS3 - just happened to stop at Best Buy on the way home, the week they were released.

Guys, just PM me if you're interested in adding each other as contacts. Nice to occasionally game with somebody you know.

I still can't figure out, though, how to send an invitation to somebody to game on Rock Band. I can only see how to respond to invitations already received.

[Hdale85]

Well I don't currently have a PS3. I had an 80gb and it was just louder then I had wanted. I'm going to try a 40gb I think eventually but we'll see. Either way your already added to my account lol. I had to try about 20 different user names before I got one that would work. Their name rejection system is a bit messed up.

[H.T.C]

Well I don't currently have a PS3. I had an 80gb and it was just louder then I had wanted. I'm going to try a 40gb I think eventually but we'll see. Either way your already added to my account lol. I had to try about 20 different user names before I got one that would work. Their name rejection system is a bit messed up.

There is the new sku with 160gb and uncharted the game included.

[Gump]

Just hooked up my new PS3 80Gb yesterday. So, THIS is what all the fuss is about....VERY cool! Checked out the new "Sleeping Beauty" (kids ya'know?) Blu ray and it was simply stunning! Superbly detailed and vivid colors....absolutely awsome.

Very happy!

I'll be bugging you guys with silly questions as I get acquainted with this baby, I'm sure! :lol:

[Chris D]

Anybody else interested in the new game "Little Big Planet"?? This is supposed to be a revolutionary game, really new in the way the characters collectively interact with their environment to go through the levels. Although I don't have the time and money to buy all the releasing games that look interesting to me, I've definitely added it to my Amazon Wish List, just in case some relative wants to buy it for me, for my birthday.

It's actually been delayed, now, because the product has been recalled. Apparently, there is some background music including passages from the Quran, such as "Every soul shall have the taste of death", and "All that is on earth will perish." Muslims have been protesting, so these are being removed. (Note that Muslims are not objecting to the words themselves, but just that they are in a song--Muslims find it offensive to have the Quran included in music)

So now the game will be released in November. Already getting some great reviews.

[audioqueso]

Yeah, it looks weird and Sephiroth from FF7 is in it, so I'm interested. :B

[H.T.C]

The playstation store has casino royal special edition in sd or hd for download and total cost is free.

[Kevin D]

Have you downloaded it? At 94MB, I would think it's just the trailer.

Kevin D.

[Kevin D]

Yup, just a trailer, unless I'm missing something.

Kevin D.

[H.T.C]

Yup, just a trailer, unless I'm missing something.

Kevin D.

Your right,it is a just trailer sorry, must have thought it was the actual film but its not ofcourse it would have been a great promo but alas not too many things are for for free.

[Cdub]

I have a quick question for you guys.

Does anyone know of where I can pick up a PS3 that is backwards compatible with the PS2? I would like to get one for its Blu Ray capabilities as well as the gaming.

I know the ones that are backward compatible have 4 usb ports, and can be identified by CHCHE model number.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#Retail_configurations

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Alloroc]

Only getting to throw this up now but I should mention that Little Big Planet truly is a must have for the PS3. It's an absolutly marvelous little game with fantastic graphics, innovative and involving gameplay and it a challenge to boot too. I'm taking my time with it and have only played a few levels but I have found myself smiling and laughing throughout. And, if you've kids, they will love it too. The music is fantastic and is narrated by Stephen Fry - he of HHGTTG fame - he was the voice of the guide.

You won't regret buying this one!

[H.T.C]

Only getting to throw this up now but I should mention that Little Big Planet truly is a must have for the PS3. It's an absolutly marvelous little game with fantastic graphics, innovative and involving gameplay and it a challenge to boot too. I'm taking my time with it and have only played a few levels but I have found myself smiling and laughing throughout. And, if you've kids, they will love it too. The music is fantastic and is narrated by Stephen Fry - he of HHGTTG fame - he was the voice of the guide.

You won't regret buying this one!

They also keep adding new additional character uniforms to the game.

[Ken49r]

I have a quick question for you guys.

Does anyone know of where I can pick up a PS3 that is backwards compatible with the PS2? I would like to get one for its Blu Ray capabilities as well as the gaming.

I know the ones that are backward compatible have 4 usb ports, and can be identified by CHCHE model number.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#Retail_configurations

Any ideas would be appreciated.

The PS3 80 gig with SACD is selling for $399.00 at BB and Wally's. It looked like it had 4 USB ports

[wettou]

The PS3 80 gig with SACD is selling for $399.00 at BB and Wally's. It looked like it had 4 USB ports

I thought that the PS3 stopped supporting SACD after the first version :E

[Ken49r]

I thought that the PS3 stopped supporting SACD after the first version :E

Nope...The 80 gig supports SACD on the current models.

The 80 gig did stop shipping for a while but it came back a few months ago as a bundle pack. Now it's available as player only again.

[Kevin D]

The new 80 gig is the same as the old 40gig. No SACD or PS2 support. Only 2 USB's.

There was the 40 and the 80gig with MGS4. The bundled one had SACD support. Then the 40 went away and the bundles sold out. That's when the new 80gig came out that was essentially the 40gig version with an 80gig hard drive.

Kevin D.

[wettou]

The new 80 gig is the same as the old 40gig. No SACD or PS2 support. Only 2 USB's. There was the 40 and the 80gig with MGS4. The bundled one had SACD support. Then the 40 went away and the bundles sold out. That's when the new 80gig came out that was essentially the 40gig version with an 80gig hard drive. Kevin D.

That is too bad?

[Ken49r]

The new 80 gig is the same as the old 40gig. No SACD or PS2 support. Only 2 USB's.

There was the 40 and the 80gig with MGS4. The bundled one had SACD support. Then the 40 went away and the bundles sold out. That's when the new 80gig came out that was essentially the 40gig version with an 80gig hard drive.

Kevin D.

The Demo Model at Wallymart had the SACD emblem on it. I didn't look at the box to see if it was the same model. I was assumeing it was the same as the bundled 80 gig released a cpl months ago. Even had the 4 USB ports and what looked like memory card slots.

Sorry for the misinformation. ops:

[Allegiance]

Only getting to throw this up now but I should mention that Little Big Planet truly is a must have for the PS3. It's an absolutly marvelous little game with fantastic graphics, innovative and involving gameplay and it a challenge to boot too. I'm taking my time with it and have only played a few levels but I have found myself smiling and laughing throughout. And, if you've kids, they will love it too. The music is fantastic and is narrated by Stephen Fry - he of HHGTTG fame - he was the voice of the guide.

You won't regret buying this one!

I second that! Fantastic game :B

[Cdub]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'm still looking....

[Miyuki]

My PS3 is noisy

My PS3 is working fine and is my main source for DVDs and Blue-Rays.

The only problem I have with it is its noise!

How about your PS3s ? Aren't they noisy?

Another thing, yet not really a problem, is that PS3 does not output DTS Masters and Dolby True HD untouched. Instead, PS3 decompresses those codecs to PCM. This is fine if it does not degrade the source in the process of doing so. Besides the noise, PS3 should perform as well as a high end blue ray player since both the digial as well as audio signal are digital requiring no DACs. Or, I am wrong?

Cheers

[cdika17]

My PS3 is working fine and is my main source for DVDs and Blue-Rays.

The only problem I have with it is its noise!

How about your PS3s ? Aren't they noisy?

Another thing, yet not really a problem, is that PS3 does not output DTS Masters and Dolby True HD untouched. Instead, PS3 decompresses those codecs to PCM. This is fine if it does not degrade the source in the process of doing so. Besides the noise, PS3 should perform as well as a high end blue ray player since both the digial as well as audio signal are digital requiring no DACs. Or, I am wrong?

Cheers

i am wondering the same thing???

Is the ps3 the right choice in terms of the blue ray player? Should a person be looking at something different? Aside from the noise issues?

[ShadowZA]

My PS3 is working fine and is my main source for DVDs and Blue-Rays.

The only problem I have with it is its noise!

How about your PS3s ? Aren't they noisy?

Another thing, yet not really a problem, is that PS3 does not output DTS Masters and Dolby True HD untouched. Instead, PS3 decompresses those codecs to PCM. This is fine if it does not degrade the source in the process of doing so. Besides the noise, PS3 should perform as well as a high end blue ray player since both the digial as well as audio signal are digital requiring no DACs. Or, I am wrong?

Cheers

If I can offer an idea as to how I see it:

After being directly read off the Blu-ray disc, the information is in a format known as bitstream. Bitstream can be handled by the player in 2 ways:

1. The bitstream is decoded (not decompressed) into the digital lossless compressed formats of DTS Master Audio and Dolby True HD and into the lossy compressed formats of DTS, Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital +. The resultant decoded digital signal is then sent to the DAC's to be converted into analogue audio.

2. The bitstream is not decoded but is sent to the DAC's by way of a lossless uncompressed digital format known as PCM. PCM is not a conversion of bitstream. It is a signal that is carried within the bitstream itself.

There should be no source degradation whilst the signal is kept in the digital realm. The main point of degradation would be the conversion from digital to analogue. That would occur at the DAC's.

What one would want to do if audio quality is important, is to allow a high-end processor to handle the DAC stage. It should not matter which unit (source player or processor) handles the decoding part off the process, if the PCM route is not utilized.

As I understand the PS3, it can output PCM via HDMI. That is perfect, provided your processor is HDMI compatible. There should be no difference in sound between say, a lossless codec such as DTS Master Audio and PCM. The only difference is the visible one in that your processor, in being fed a PCM input, will not display any of the lossless codecs by name on its display readout.

Hope that this is of some help.

[wettou]

If I can offer an idea as to how I see it:

After being directly read off the Blu-ray disc, the information is in a format known as bitstream. Bitstream can be handled by the player in 2 ways:

1. The bitstream is decoded (not decompressed) into the digital lossless compressed formats of DTS Master Audio and Dolby True HD and into the lossy compressed formats of DTS, Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital +. The resultant decoded digital signal is then sent to the DAC's to be converted into analogue audio.

2. The bitstream is not decoded but is sent to the DAC's in a lossless uncompressed digital format known as PCM.

There should be no source degradation whilst the signal is kept in the digital realm. The main point of degradation would be the conversion from digital to analogue. That would occur at the DAC's.

What one would want to do if audio quality is important, is to allow a high-end processor to handle the DAC stage. It should not matter which unit (source player or processor) handles the decoding part off the process, if the pcm route is not utilized.

As I understand the PS3, it can output PCM via HDMI. That is perfect, provided your processor is HDMI compatible. There should be no difference in sound between say, a lossless codec such as DTS Master Audio and PCM. The only difference is the visible one in that your processor, in being fed a PCM input, will not display any of the lossless codecs by name on its display readout.

Hope that this is of some help.

Yes I realize that now it took me a while which is why it is best to leave the decoding to the processor rather than a $300 player :B

[ShadowZA]

Yes I realize that now it took me a while which is why it is best to leave the decoding to the processor rather than a $300 player :B

In my (very general) opinion, it does (or shall I say should) not matter to the sound as to which piece of hardware does the decoding. It's the conversion that is important. The reason is that the decoding chipset is the same in each.

I, on the other hand (and probably like you), would prefer to have a Blue-ray player that acts as a digital transport only and outputs bitstream to a high-end processor, I would prefer to let the processor handle the decoding and conversion. My reason for this has nothing to do with the decoding chip itself, but rather the whole package of decoding and converting. To put it another way, I would rather use the "wiring to & from the decoder chip" in the high-end processor instead of similar in a $300 player.

[ShadowZA]

To get back to the PS3 ... yes, it can be used as a high-end Blu-ray player. But ... it can ONLY output uncompressed lossless digital PCM via HDMI. It cannot send BITSTREAM out via HDMI. Strictly speaking, this should make no difference to the resultant sound quality output as I've explained above.

[Miyuki]

Shadow,
Than you very much Good to know that there is no diff between my PS3 and a high end player when it comes to accuracy of conversions -- yet a very noisy one ! I have seen PS3 on many pictuers where it is hooked up to high-end audio systems; so how can Denon sell blue-ray players at 3000 when there is PS3? I bought my PS3 for playing blue-rays only as I never play games.

[Chris D]

I got Little Big Planet, too--very, very good! I'm really enjoying it, and have downloaded all the extra costumes. I've completed all the levels, and am going back now, finding all the other pieces in the levels. I've only got a little more than half of the trophies, though. I tried creating a level, and it's pretty powerful. Lots of options, could be a lot of work to make a really good level.

Also, somehow I got invited to test out a Beta of "Home". It's a public social place, where you can talk to other people through avatars, but also play games and download music and videos. Kinda cool. There are "clubs" there. I've created a club for us there, called "HT Guide". (without the quotes, and a space between HT and Guide) So if you guys ever want to meet there,we can talk live.

[Ken49r]

Shadow,
Than you very much Good to know that there is no diff between my PS3 and a high end player when it comes to accuracy of conversions -- yet a very noisy one ! I have seen PS3 on many pictuers where it is hooked up to high-end audio systems; so how can Denon sell blue-ray players at 3000 when there is PS3? I bought my PS3 for playing blue-rays only as I never play games.

I think the reason a lot of folks use the PS3 as a Blu-ray source is that it can do more than most stand alone players on the market today for a lot less $$$.
A lot of people who bought 1st generation stand alone players are having to purchase newer ones because of the lack of features just now coming out. Which the PS3 already has.

The only cons I have with the PS3 is lack of 7.1 analogue and fan noise.

I found this article from CNET.AU and thought I would share since it kinda fit's in with the discussion.

http://www.cnet.com.au/games/ps3/0,239035763,339289236,00.htm

[Alloroc]

I got Little Big Planet, too--very, very good! I'm really enjoying it, and have downloaded all the extra costumes. I've completed all the levels, and am going back now, finding all the other pieces in the levels. I've only got a little more than half of the trophies, though. I tried creating a level, and it's pretty powerful. Lots of options, could be a lot of work to make a really good level.

Also, somehow I got invited to test out a Beta of "Home". It's a public social place, where you can talk to other people through avatars, but also play games and download music and videos. Kinda cool. There are "clubs" there. I've created a club for us there, called "HT Guide". (without the quotes, and a space between HT and Guide) So if you guys ever want to meet there,we can talk live.

Hey Chris, great to hear! Looks like you're a little further on than me! Also, I don't think they've offered access to home to us euros yet. But once they do, i'll be there!

[H.T.C]

According to a report on psu.com pioneer's 400 gb blu-ray dics will be compatible with all blu-ray players including the ps3.

These super multi-layered read only disc is based on blu-ray with a breakthrough in the material of reflective layers.

The estimate time of arrival for these new discs is 2010.

[Chris D]

400GB? Holy schnikies. Now that's big!

[dyazdani]

Has anyone here swapped out the HDD in their PS3? Just wondering...

[Alloroc]

Has anyone here swapped out the HDD in their PS3? Just wondering...

Yeah, I did....!

Have a read of what I posted a few pages back. It's a cinch. My only advice is that the HDD you select is quiet and should not generate a lot of heat (read slower).

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=23502&page=10&pp=35

[dmcgowan]

Dyazdani,

I've done it too - replaced 60GB with Samsung (I think) 320GB HDD. If you follow the many tips and hints pages on the net, it's pretty easy. The screws are a nightmare though - I had to unscrew the ones holding the HDD into the little cage with pliers as they just stripped with a screwdriver.

Cheers