Playstation 3 Thread

[CeeBeeUK]

PSN=CeeBeeUK

Can you spot a pattern!

[ThisIsTheGirl]

OK, so as the yearly windfall approaches and I'm getting more and more excited about buying one of these lovely machines for myself, I'm starting to wonder if I should be taking note of any recurrent issues amongst PS3 owners.

I've asked the one and only PS3-owning friend I have, but he's a bit of a nutjob and I don't trust everything he says, so I'm looking for common themes here from folks who actually use the machine regularly, so please only respond to me if you own one or have clocked up at least 30 hours on one. I'm wondering stuff like:

How is the wireless connection? Has it ever caused issues for you when playing? Has anybody been forced to use ethernet cable as a result?

What's the deal for watching BD discs? Do you pretty much have to buy the BD remote control?

How is the sound? Anybody here using the optical outs to hook the console up to an AV receiver (which is what I'm planning to do)

When you buy an older movie on BD, do you still get the astonishing clarity which you see in stuff like Spider-man 2 on BD, or is it a lot grainier? Do movies that were shot in digital look a helluva lot better on BD than older celluloid transfers?

How many of you guys use folding@home (I hope most of you do!)

Do you all use Bluetooth headsets? Can I just use the same one which came with my phone?

How is the sixaxis' battery life?

What, if anything, annoys you about the console?

If I buy one "unbundled", which three games would you recommend as Day One purchases?

I'm sure I have more to ask, but this is the stuff which is bugging me right now....

[stereosforgeeks]

How is the wireless connection? Never had a problem with it.

What's the deal for watching BD discs? Do you pretty much have to buy the BD remote control? Don't have the remote and use the PS3 as my defacto dvd player.

How is the sound? Anybody here using the optical outs to hook the console up to an AV receiver. Yeah I use the optical and haven't noticed any glitches.

When you buy an older movie on BD, do you still get the astonishing clarity Depends on the movie honestly. They all look better but how much can really vary.

How many of you guys use folding@home. Yes

Do you all use Bluetooth headsets? Haven't got one yet.

How is the sixaxis' battery life? I'm nto really sure. I havent had to recharge during a play session yet.

What, if anything, annoys you about the console? no XMB in game.

If I buy one "unbundled", which three games would you recommend as Day One purchases? Uncharted ,Ratchet and Clank, COD4?

[stereosforgeeks]

Wonka = wonkabeer
King Psyz = kingpsyz
stereosforgeeks = stereosforgeeks
CeeBeeUK = CeeBeeUK

who else?

[King Psyz]

OK, so as the yearly windfall approaches and I'm getting more and more excited about buying one of these lovely machines for myself, I'm starting to wonder if I should be taking note of any recurrent issues amongst PS3 owners.

I've asked the one and only PS3-owning friend I have, but he's a bit of a nutjob and I don't trust everything he says, so I'm looking for common themes here from folks who actually use the machine regularly, so please only respond to me if you own one or have clocked up at least 30 hours on one. I'm wondering stuff like:

How is the wireless connection? Has it ever caused issues for you when playing? Has anybody been forced to use ethernet cable as a result?

The connection is solid as a rock, granted it's 5 feet from the source, but still... The speed at which I can access my computer's hard drive for the movies, music, and photos I have set up for media sharing (one of the largely untalked about media center features) is pretty damn good. The only time I have had any trouble is on Burnout but they've been having issues with people getting kicked for no reason since the demo. I get the idea they're working on it and it could be someone with a slow connection fuckin things up.

What's the deal for watching BD discs? Do you pretty much have to buy the BD remote control?

You don't need the remote, but to get the most out of your BD player functions without a popup menu then you want the remote. $24 ain't bad but you can live without it if you don't mind the translucent menu from PS2's DVD player.

How is the sound? Anybody here using the optical outs to hook the console up to an AV receiver (which is what I'm planning to do)

No A/V center yet from me, but even on shitty TV speakers I get better sound than cable.

When you buy an older movie on BD, do you still get the astonishing clarity which you see in stuff like Spider-man 2 on BD, or is it a lot grainier? Do movies that were shot in digital look a helluva lot better on BD than older celluloid transfers?

I don't have a ton of BD movies yet, but hell even DVD looks years better on the PS3. I know Resident Evil one was a celluoid transfer and while it wasn't obviously a raw digital transfer, it was still damn clear.

How many of you guys use folding@home (I hope most of you do!)

I try not to leave the machine running like that, but I have runn folding on occasion. Usually if I'm downloading a large demo or a bunch of demos I'll let it run folding while waiting.

Do you all use Bluetooth headsets? Can I just use the same one which came with my phone?

Since I play at night a headset isn't really in my future since the girlfriend and baby are sleeping. But from my understanding you can use any bluetooth device. Even keyboards and mice!

How is the sixaxis' battery life?

Pretty damn good considering it's extremely light weight. Bluetooth does take it's toll but you could play from when you wake up to when you crash and have battery life. If need be you plug it into a long USB cable and you play like they did back in the early 00's for about half an hour or so. If you're in the market for a second controller... wait! Either wait for local release or go to play asia and import a Dual Shock 3 (maybe even white if you fancy it that way) It's roughly the same price and you get rumble and a rumored better battery life. I wish I had not bought a second controller and now I'll just wait til it's released here later this summer.

What, if anything, annoys you about the console?

Not much, but it does get HOT HOT HOT on the side vent. Do not block the vents at all. I leave it on a open counter top and it works well like that. But the first night I had the game cases next to the vent and they were hot to the touch. Get a low powered keyboard/computer vaccum and some compressed air cans and clean it regular like. Not so much a complain't on the unit itself, but it's something I've noticed people forget to do.

If I buy one "unbundled", which three games would you recommend as Day One purchases?

Not knowing what's available where you are I would say Burnout Paradise (and add me to your PSN!), Call of Duty 4 or Resistance: Fall of Man if you're into FPS games, and Uncharted or Ratchet and Clank to see just how good this machine can get only a little over a year on the market. Rock Band seems to be the hot ticket right now, but a hefty price tag might prevent that purchase for a while. If you got a lot of extra dough than go for it! Tons of available tracks for download too.

Whatever you do, don't buy HDMI cables for more than $20 if you find them in store, or if you can wait or even do some pre-emptive shopping buy one from newegg now for aorund $6.

I'm sure I have more to ask, but this is the stuff which is bugging me right now....

[ThisIsTheGirl]

Fantastic responses guys, thanks very much! I am gradually getting more and more excited about picking this up, even though I'll have to wait till April!!

That was an interesting tidbit about the Dual Shock 3, Psyz - this is exactly the kind of thing I know nothing about, so thanks again to you and SFG for sharing - and anybody else who wishes to, as well.

Looks like COD4 and Ratchet will be coming home with me on day one, now I just need to pick a third! I guess that by April there will be at least 5 more decent games available, just to confuse the issue further....

*checks release line-up*

Hmmmm....

Devil May Cry 4
Conflict: Denied Ops (I LOVED the first couple of Conflict games)
Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
Resident Evil 5
Haze
MGS 4

....will all have been released by the time I buy my PS3. Not to mention a little-known indie title called Grand Theft Auto IV......

So many games, so little time.

[Fievel]

Perhaps by the time you pick up your PS3 there will be the rumored 120GB version that comes with a Dual Shock 3 controller.... but then the rumor could be complete rubbish.

BTW, great list of questions, TITG! I'm a prospective PS3 buyer and a lot of those questions have come in and out of my mind without asking.

[stereosforgeeks]

Yeah I am waiting for the Dualshock 3s to come out over here before I pick up two.

Yeah lots of great games coming out. April isn't that long to wait TITG. It will be here sooner than you think.

[King Psyz]

Unless you have no patience, buy Burnout and pass on GT5:P and wait for the full GT5 to come out in fall.

DMC:4 is gonna rock too and I hear rumors of a bundle with that or MGS.

[King Psyz]

Also since you know it will be in April buy those HDMI cables and any other cables like digital optical now from newegg so you can get the most out of the system on day one.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

Another great suggestion, Psyz! I will certainly do that - I'll probably also buy a couple of BD movies. I'm thinking I'll get the Spidey 1-3 set, the American Blade Runner 5 disc set (you can't get it here, but I hear it plays on European PS3s), and maybe Robocop & Starship Troopers too, just to start off my collection.

[Fawst]

I'll take one copy of The Fountain on Blu-Ray (is it on BR? Or just HD-DVD?), and a handful of mushrooms, please.

[King Psyz]

I'm really hoping we see the Star Wars series on Blu Ray this summer around the aniversarry of the first movie.

Maybe the great flanneled one is waiting for BD 2.0 to hit?

Either way I need me some High Def Star Wars love.

[bluebottle]

do you guys have the backwards compatible ps3's or have you opted for the new ones?

they've still got a few 80gig's at the best buy near me... and i'm wondering if i'll play my ps2 games on it, or if i shouldn't worry about it and keep my ps2 hooked up until i'm done with it.

[King Psyz]

I bought the 80 gig to play the older games I have but have yet to do so. Maybe once I have played the shit out of what I bought I might go back for some Katamari love or something.

Sorry I did play a little DMC2 the other day and it worked fine.

[stereosforgeeks]

I have the original 60 GB one with the hardware emulation, but I don't actually have any PS2 games. Ive been meaning to get Xenosaga though.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

The 60 gig ones are almost impossible to find in the UK now - so I'm destined for a 40. I won't miss the backwards compatibility so much, and I'm hoping that with the "stream from your PC" feature, the amount of drive space won't be an issue - does this sound right?

Another question: with its scary processing power, do you sometimes feel that you're sharing a room with the Monolith from 2001?

[papalazeru]

The 60 gig ones are almost impossible to find in the UK now - so I'm destined for a 40. I won't miss the backwards compatibility so much, and I'm hoping that with the "stream from your PC" feature, the amount of drive space won't be an issue - does this sound right?

Another question: with its scary processing power, do you sometimes feel that you're sharing a room with the Monolith from 2001?

Bah! Give it a few months and you'll have a graphics card on the PC which'll emulate the shit out of it

I'm still biding my time with the PS3. I'm waiting for the next price drop before I buy. Hopefully by then, GTA4, and MSG will be available. Then I'll make my move.

I hope the Mod community still support GTA like on the PC.

[CeeBeeUK]

Looks like COD4 and Ratchet will be coming home with me on day one, now I just need to pick a third! I guess that by April there will be at least 5 more decent games available, just to confuse the issue further....

Good luck getting COD4, I have checked three HMVs and Zavvi at Picadilly Circus and they were all out of stock.

The dual shocks can be imported from CD-Wow to the UK, people have reported no problems with them, mine is on order

[King Psyz]

I wonder if Sony will allow modding on GTA like they did with UT?

Seems they're open to it now, so it's always a posibility.

[TheBaxter]

i got my ps3 about a week and a half ago. so far, i've played a couple games for a bit (simpsons game and assassins creed) but mostly i got it to watch BR movies and upscaled DVDs. i just haven't had a lot of time to watch anything on it recently.

i watched a couple scenes from the included spiderman 3 BR disc. the PQ is really good. too good, maybe. in the couple of scenes i watched (gwen stacy hanging out the building, spidey and sandman fighting in the subway) the fakeness of the CGI effects really stood out. on DVD or film, its not as noticeable but with all the detail of HD, the fx quality is definitely apparent.

i also watched first blood on BR. being an older title, the look of the film is softer. it looked good, but not as crisp as a newer film. the most impressive BR i've seen though, was in the trailers on the first blood disc, for the descent and crank. both of those trailers looked really crisp and impressive.

i also watched rambo's II and III on upscaled DVD (yeah, i'm getting ready to see the new one this week). the upscaled PQ is definitely better than my old DVD player. it's not nearly HD quality though. sometimes, the upscaling seems like its trying to make the picture TOO sharp (and consequently not as smooth or realistic), but i'll have to check out a film with better PQ to tell for sure.

my main worry is the noise. it's silent when it first starts up, but by the end of a DVD or BR movie, i can hear the fan from where i'm sitting about 9 feet away. it's not REALLY loud, but loud enough to hear when the room is silent. this doesn't bother me too much, but i haven't watched a quieter movie, and if its loud enough that i can hear the fan during a quiet scene with dialogue, then it'll drive me nuts. i'm going to watch something quieter soon, to see if the fan noise is distracting during a quieter movie, since the rambo movies aren't really the best for that kind of thing. i don't know if mine is abnormally loud (i purposefully bought the newer 40GB model because i heard it was quieter than the older models) but i've heard other reports ranging from dead silent up to 3-4 feet away to ones that are loud enough to hear over the TV. mine is somewhere in the middle, so i don't know if it's normal or not.

so how loud/quiet is everyone else's PS3?

[stereosforgeeks]

so how loud/quiet is everyone else's PS3?

I mean I can tell the PS3 is on, but the sound of all my other AV equipment definitely makes the PS3's noise level negligable.

[bluebottle]

the upscaled PQ is definitely better than my old DVD player. it's not nearly HD quality though. sometimes, the upscaling seems like its trying to make the picture TOO sharp (and consequently not as smooth or realistic), but i'll have to check out a film with better PQ to tell for sure.

I have an upscaling DVD player, and i've noticed that on some dvd's, motion can suddenly look too smooth - like video. It's a minor grievance of mine. It's worse if the film is black and white.

[King Psyz]

you should see the new upscaling monitors I saw at CES

pumps everything to something ALF like 120 FPS or some shit.

has an internal graphics processor or something, it basically fills in info between frames to give a more "you are there" look and feel to everything. Sorta like a video camera, almost too raw.

they had POTC:3 playing on split screen and it was stunning. Basically it had a 1/4 second lag but it looked like you were there in the picture. No motion blur, no flatness to the image. it looked like a super clear HD video camera shooting live.

[Fawst]

the upscaled PQ is definitely better than my old DVD player. it's not nearly HD quality though. sometimes, the upscaling seems like its trying to make the picture TOO sharp (and consequently not as smooth or realistic), but i'll have to check out a film with better PQ to tell for sure.

I have an upscaling DVD player, and i've noticed that on some dvd's, motion can suddenly look too smooth - like video. It's a minor grievance of mine. It's worse if the film is black and white.

Are you watching pan&scan versions of movies, or letterboxed?

[stereosforgeeks]

For those wanting to catch up with MGS, The Essential Collection

[bluebottle]

the upscaled PQ is definitely better than my old DVD player. it's not nearly HD quality though. sometimes, the upscaling seems like its trying to make the picture TOO sharp (and consequently not as smooth or realistic), but i'll have to check out a film with better PQ to tell for sure.

I have an upscaling DVD player, and i've noticed that on some dvd's, motion can suddenly look too smooth - like video. It's a minor grievance of mine. It's worse if the film is black and white.

Are you watching pan&scan versions of movies, or letterboxed?

letterboxed. but it's a similar to bad pan & scan.

the upconverting process, from what i understand, smooths out the image, and with motion (a car driving through the frame) it can make it TOO smooth. so there's no flicker - and it ends up looking like video.

edit: basically what pyz said three posts above.

[brabs]

psn: brabs1

games:
Burnout Paradise
Guitar Hero III
PES 2008
COD3
COD4
Warhawk
Fight Night Round 3
Ratchet & Clank
Singstar

send me a friend request if you want. i'll add you. cheers.

[stereosforgeeks]

Wonka = wonkabeer
King Psyz = kingpsyz
stereosforgeeks = stereosforgeeks
CeeBeeUK = CeeBeeUK
Brabs = brabs1

who else?

[Bob Samonkey]

I wish I was. I hope my tax return is really really big...

[stereosforgeeks]

I wish I was. I hope my tax return is really really big...

Can't you file now? I already got mine back like last week.

[King Psyz]

hell I spent mine two weeks ago... :'(

[Bob Samonkey]

I wish I was. I hope my tax return is really really big...

Can't you file now? I already got mine back like last week.

We are going this weekend. My wifes W2 took forever to get here...

[stereosforgeeks]

I wish I was. I hope my tax return is really really big...

Can't you file now? I already got mine back like last week.

We are going this weekend. My wifes W2 took forever to get here...

That's always a pain!

[Nordling]

Holy shit, do I love the PS3. I haven't played online yet, but the ease of the system and the access of my PC music and the Blu-Ray, and the quietness of it... I'm in love. I totally prefer this to the 360.

[godzillasushi]

I would to if I spent 500 dollars on one.

[Nordling]

After crunching the numbers, the PS3 was actually less expensive than the 360. I didn't have to buy a wireless antenna (which was already included in the PS3) or a hard drive. The only accessories I bought were an extra controller and a Blu-Ray remote.

[Zarles]

Congrats, Nordling! Invite me over to the play the Lost game in two weeks.

[godzillasushi]

How much did that come out to?

I bought that wireless antenna for the 360. It's got to be the most overpriced peice of crap in history, I'll tell you that much. I guess it's all relative to what you plan on doing with the console. HDD being one issue.

Didn't you say you got Ratchet and Clank? Do you like that/any other games you purchased? (I can't find the original post.)

The one game I truly liked on the PS3 was Motorstorm....I'm so bummed I won't get to play that anytime soon.

[King Psyz]

Godz, I forget where you live. If you're American you got an extra $600 headed your way after you file your taxes with the "economic stimulus package".

You could stimulate both the Amercian tarrif system and support a foriegn market by getting into the PS3 game.

[godzillasushi]

Godz, I forget where you live. If you're American you got an extra $600 headed your way after you file your taxes with the "economic stimulus package".

You could stimulate both the Amercian tarrif system and support a foriegn market by getting into the PS3 game.

Heh, I'm either saving that rebate or using it for something I truly need.

My PSone and PS2 both came from other people for free and I didn't pay for either.

I'm definitely leaning towards getting a Wii for SSBB at some point. But I just can't justify a PS3 for myself. My 360/Cube collection is 50% racing games and the PS3 doesn't have what I'm looking for in that area, outside of ports. I'm a Forza PGR lover unforunately.

I'll get one someday....

(SoCal)

[LaDracul]

Well, a customer I was having a conversation with the other night told me that the 60 and 80 MG versions play PS2 games. We sadly sell the crap 40 MGs where I work. He pointed me into the direction of Sam's Club.

HOWEVER, I wasn't really planning on buying one. I was thinking of just putting that money for necessities/vacations, ALTHOUGH the next "Disgaea" is supposed to be on that system.

But should I search one out if they DO play PS2 games? That's the only reason I'd get it.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

I'm not too fussed about backwards compatibility.

However, I WILL be upgading the HDD to 320Gb almost immediately, just to get it out of the way. I hear forced installs are becoming increasingly commonplace on the console (which I don't actually mind, if the games run smoother as a result)

[LaDracul]

How do you do the upgrades? Do you take them to someone? Do you just pop in extra memory?

(So techno illiterate, me...)

[CeeBeeUK]

As I understand it, you undo two (3?) screws and pull out the old hard drive, plug in the new one and put the screws back in.

One definite reason for doing it early is not having to backup all the data you have saved on it.

Having said that, the PS3 backup and replace procedure seems a lot easier to do than the Xbox one.

Edit: This is the walkthrough I read and it seemed fairly simple.

[LaDracul]

So how do you acquire the new ones?

[CeeBeeUK]

The pS3 should be compatible with just about any 2.5-inch SATA notebook hard disk. I don't know a good parts site in the US, but in the UK I would look at Dabs or Ebuyer.

[LaDracul]

Hmm...or would I be best looking on eBay (After their strike and maybe after my damned "Batman Begins" trading cards arrive) and/or GameStop to see if there's any good systems there?

[CeeBeeUK]

Personally, I wouldn't pay that much money for something off ebay. You don't know what condition it is in. If Gamestop is a store and they'll let you examine the console first, maybe, but if I'm spending that much on something, I'd rather pay a bit extra and get a manufacturers warranty and know that it is pristine. But then I'm a snob!

You don't want one where the previous owner's children have used it as a trampoline!

[ThisIsTheGirl]

Indeed.

play.com sells a 320 GB 2.5in SATA drive for about £120. I'm told they're ludicrously easy to install