Bought a PS3

[Halon451]

So, Christmas came a little early for me this weekend - went out on Saturday and purchased a brand new 80GB PS3 to incorporate into my system, and I am quite pleased with it. Although, the first unit I purchased I had to take back to the store, as it apparently had some kind of malfunction in the cooling circuit (so I believe), that caused the unit to go into a safety shutdown after about 10 min. of operation.

But the second one seems to work like a champ so far - have watched a few blu-ray movies on my system and they look fantastic!! Also, not a gamer, but purchased the new Call of Duty - World at War game - wow. Quite a step up from the old Xbox...

Pros:
1.) Extremely user-friendly
2.) Very quick BD load times
3.) Internet browser
4.) Respectable storage capacity
5.) Sleek, gloss black unit looks nice in my setup
6.) Versatile, compatible with an assortment of peripheral devices (mouse, keyboard, blu-ray remote control, etc.)

Cons:
1.) No discrete multi-channel audio output (optical and HDMI only)
2.) Upconverting of SD DVD content left a little to be desired, but I can live with it, as I'll be focusing more on BD content now anyway.
3.) Really, that's about it... Maybe I'll discover more cons later, but for now, I'm >100% pleased with this machine!

First BD movie watched was 'Hancock' - superb, ultra-clear HD on the Panny. It's nice to finally be enjoying good 1080p content!

 

[GlocksRock]

Not to mention built in wi-fi for easy firmware updates, and the ability to use it to stream media from a PC, and you can access the playstation store to download free game and movie demos, as well as rent movies via download, in sd and hd. Even if you aren't a big gamer, some of the arcade type games are pretty fun, and not much money. I got the high velocity bowling for $5 when they had it on sale, and it's definitely worth the money. If you end up getting a universal remote, such as a harmony remote, you can get the Nyko Blue Wave remote and use it's usb dongle to allow your universal remote to do everything but turn the unit on, and eject a disc.

 

[Halon451]

Not to mention built in wi-fi for easy firmware updates, and the ability to use it to stream media from a PC, and you can access the playstation store to download free game and movie demos, as well as rent movies via download, in sd and hd. Even if you aren't a big gamer, some of the arcade type games are pretty fun, and not much money. I got the high velocity bowling for $5 when they had it on sale, and it's definitely worth the money. If you end up getting a universal remote, such as a harmony remote, you can get the Nyko Blue Wave remote and use it's usb dongle to allow your universal remote to do everything but turn the unit on, and eject a disc.

Ah yes, the wi-fi - I didn't even think to mention it, because I had wired a network port on the wall directly behind my system a while back, so I have it hard-wired into my internet connection. We had fun on Saturday night browsing through You Tube videos, but I have yet to explore all the wonderful offerings of the PS Store.

 

[j_garcia]

You are better off with a hard wire. I have excellent reception in my room but I still drop every once in a while while playing a game. I have only had one time where it dropped out while downloading something, however it just picks up right where it left off now, which is a nice feature.

Congrats on the purchase

 

[aberkowitz]

Ah yes, the wi-fi - I didn't even think to mention it, because I had wired a network port on the wall directly behind my system a while back, so I have it hard-wired into my internet connection. We had fun on Saturday night browsing through You Tube videos, but I have yet to explore all the wonderful offerings of the PS Store.

How well does the PS3 browser interface with YouTube? I haven't tried yet (I really prefer to use my laptop), but drunken YouTube surfing could be a great idea when entertaining!

 

[Halon451]

How well does the PS3 browser interface with YouTube? I haven't tried yet (I really prefer to use my laptop), but drunken YouTube surfing could be a great idea when entertaining!

Ha, yes - I did forget to mention the "drunken" part, which does indeed make for a most entertaining time. As far as any interface issues between YouTube and the PS3 there are none that I could tell. In fact, when you open up the PS3's Internet browser, YouTube is one of the "bookmarked" selections by default, which is what led us down that road to begin with.

I've still yet to get a bluetooth enabled keyboard and mouse, which would have made it a lot easier to navigate and enter things in - as it was, it's a bit awkward using the PS3 game controller to type things in...

 

[j_garcia]

They also have the little "thumb" keybord add-on for the controller. I use a USB keyboard and my wireless USB mouse. Works great.

 

[GlocksRock]

I too have mine hard wired, I don't care for wireless unless I have to use it. But sony did just recently release a keypad that attaches to the conroller, it's $50 I believe.

 

[Halon451]

I noticed that the PS3 supports AAC, which (correct me if I'm wrong) is the updated version of the M4A format that Apple uses in all of its products. I haven't tested this yet, but has anyone tried to play iTunes files on the PS3, or know if this works? I have many, many gigs of music in my iTunes library, that would be great if it does.

 

[gus6464]

I noticed that the PS3 supports AAC, which (correct me if I'm wrong) is the updated version of the M4A format that Apple uses in all of its products. I haven't tested this yet, but has anyone tried to play iTunes files on the PS3, or know if this works? I have many, many gigs of music in my iTunes library, that would be great if it does.

AAC is m4a. AAC is the name of the codec and m4a is the wrapper. If you check all your itunes ripped files or any AAC file for that matter you will see that they all have an m4a extension but the codec's name is AAC.

 

[aberkowitz]

I noticed that the PS3 supports AAC, which (correct me if I'm wrong) is the updated version of the M4A format that Apple uses in all of its products. I haven't tested this yet, but has anyone tried to play iTunes files on the PS3, or know if this works? I have many, many gigs of music in my iTunes library, that would be great if it does.

From everything I've tried and read you cannot play downloaded iTunes music on the PS3, even by streaming, because of the DRM protection that is associated with the files. If you were able to download and install iTunes on the PS3 you could authorize it as one of your five "computers" and could then download all of your existing music there. The other solution would be to burn the music to a CD and rerip it back to your PC as unprotected mp3 files, and then stream to the PS3.

Any music that you've ripped to your computer from CDs can easily be streamed to the PS3 through windows media player.

 

[gus6464]

From everything I've tried and read you cannot play downloaded iTunes music on the PS3, even by streaming, because of the DRM protection that is associated with the files. If you were able to download and install iTunes on the PS3 you could authorize it as one of your five "computers" and could then download all of your existing music there. The other solution would be to burn the music to a CD and rerip it back to your PC as unprotected mp3 files, and then stream to the PS3.

Any music that you've ripped to your computer from CDs can easily be streamed to the PS3 through windows media player.

I don't think Halon has itunes bought tracks but he has itunes ripped AAC tracks.

 

[Halon451]

I don't think Halon has itunes bought tracks but he has itunes ripped AAC tracks.

I have both, actually and lots of each. Yeah, that's what I figured - and always forget about their DRM protection. I knew that I would be able to burn to CD and either a.) Import directly into PS3 via disc loading, or re-rip to PC and stream, but that could get to be a hassle with so much music. I look forward to experimenting.

Is it possible to download and install third party applications like iTunes on the PS3?? Did I understand that correctly?

 

[aberkowitz]

Is it possible to download and install third party applications like iTunes on the PS3?? Did I understand that correctly?

I should have finished the thought that I started! At this point it is not possible to install iTunes on the PS3 OS. There are tons of internet rumors stating that Apple is working with Sony, but I'd be incredibly skeptical about this happening anytime in the near future. I'm sure there's somebody out there who will figure out a crack of sorts...

 

[Jack Hammer]

Congratulations on your new player. Have you done a FW update yet? In case you aren't aware, they come out every month or two. When I bought mine the FW was almost a year old.

I hadn't noticed anything off with the regular dvd upscaling, but my old player (Denon 2910) only upscaled to 720p/1080i. So thats all I have to base my opinions on. Have you confirmed it's set to upscale dvd? The upscaling options seemed vague to me, they don't give you anumber, just options for double, normal or full screen.

Jack

 

[Halon451]

Congratulations on your new player. Have you done a FW update yet? In case you aren't aware, they come out every month or two. When I bought mine the FW was almost a year old.

I hadn't noticed anything off with the regular dvd upscaling, but my old player (Denon 2910) only upscaled to 720p/1080i. So thats all I have to base my opinions on. Have you confirmed it's set to upscale dvd? The upscaling options seemed vague to me, they don't give you anumber, just options for double, normal or full screen.

Jack

Yes, I updated the FW as soon as I had it turned on.

I agree, the options are rather vague, but the only way I was able to get the image to fill the screen was by (not surprisingly) setting that option to 'Full Screen'. Remember - 'Upscaling' and 'Upconverting' are two different animals. Since the PS3 is set to output 1080p - I figured it would automatically take SD DVD content and up-convert it to 1080p before sending it off to my display. If there's a setting in there addressing SD DVD's in particular, I'd appreciate the comments.

 

[Halon451]

I should have finished the thought that I started! At this point it is not possible to install iTunes on the PS3 OS. There are tons of internet rumors stating that Apple is working with Sony, but I'd be incredibly skeptical about this happening anytime in the near future. I'm sure there's somebody out there who will figure out a crack of sorts...

Okay, I just about had to jump for joy. Of course, that would just be TOO convenient to happen in reality, wouldn't it?

 

[j_garcia]

Yes, I updated the FW as soon as I had it turned on.

I agree, the options are rather vague, but the only way I was able to get the image to fill the screen was by (not surprisingly) setting that option to 'Full Screen'. Remember - 'Upscaling' and 'Upconverting' are two different animals. Since the PS3 is set to output 1080p - I figured it would automatically take SD DVD content and up-convert it to 1080p before sending it off to my display. If there's a setting in there addressing SD DVD's in particular, I'd appreciate the comments.

In the video settings you can tell it how to handle SD DVDs. Run through the video config, as they are separate for DVDs, BDs, and games. I believe upscaling is off by default for DVDs.

 

[Halon451]

In the video settings you can tell it how to handle SD DVDs. Run through the video config, as they are separate for DVDs, BDs, and games. I believe upscaling is off by default for DVDs.

Thanks j_garcia - I'll check that. I was too busy watching videos from the Playstation Store, and playing COD 4 last night to fidget with SD DVD's.

 

[darien87]

I'm pretty happy with my PS 3. I use it almost every day, as I use it as my BD and SD DVD player. The only thing that bothers me about it is that the fan is kind of loud. No big deal when you're watching an action movie, but when I'm watching a chick flick with the wife, it bugs me a bit.

I find the internet browser pretty clunky. I hate how it always asks you if you, "want to run the plug-in?" I don't even know what this means. I wish there was a way to turn this off? My biggest complaint is that for some reason, I can't access my hotmail account. Seems like some kind of conflict with Microsoft and Sony.

I've never tried streaming with it. I have an HP desktop upstairs that has a lot of music on it. How would I be able to play this music without actually downloading it to the PS 3 hard drive?