The PS3 Review Thread

[WriteSimply]

Update the firmware. Some have said that 720p for BD playback is possible after the latest firmware. If that doesn't work, enable 1080i.


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[surfdude12]

Hey guys,

I've got 2 problems:

(1) under the "A/V settings icon" on the pull up menu, the option of choosing PCM/Bitstream is gone??? am I smoking something
(2) so I quit out of the movie, and went into "BD/DVD settings" and clicked "bitstream" under "HDMI audio out" (I'm watching DieHard: DTS). When I put the movie back on...my receiver says PCM, not DTS??? WTF??!?!?!

anyone please help!!! THANKS!!

[surfdude12]

Got it fixed guys, I had to go to system and restore the default settings in the XMB. A guy in the PS3 forums told me to do so. Now my PCM/Bitstream option is back in the "AV settings" icon. Thanks!

[japuva]

I'm dumping Samsuck and going to buy a PS3 tomorrow. I know out of the box it won't have the latest firmware. Can someone tell me the easiest way to update it? At this time I won't have the ability to connect to the internet.

[amy]

I have a Samsung HLT6187SX TV that I love. I was all set to get a Panasonic BD30 until I read on Cnet that people are having trouble with it not playing discs on Samsungs. Does anybody know of any similar issues with the PS3?

Also, I'm not really into gaming at all, so is the PS3 worth it just to play movies and look at my photos?

Thanks

[GadgetGav]

Hello all,
Blu Ray newbie here. Now that the format war seems to be over, I'm thinking of getting a Blu Ray player and it seems that the PS3 is the way to go. From what I've read here it's the best or one of the best players and it has the bonus of playing games too if you want.
Before jumping in though, I am a bit concerned about whether my other AV equipment is up to the task. I have a Pioneer PDP4304 plasma display, so I know I can only get 1080i max even with an HDMI cable. I have a Denon AVR1905 receiver which I bought just before HDMI switching was available on receivers. Currently I run a TivoHD to the plasma panel with an HDMI cable and all audio goes through Toslink to the receiver. All other sources are component and switched in the receiver to the component input on the plasma.

My question / concern is, if I replace my current upscaling DVD player with a PS3 running Toslink for audio and component for video, what is the best audio and video quality I can get out of it..? (the Denon can do up to 7.1 Dolby Pro Logic II).

My upgrade plan would be to get an HDMI switching receiver and eventually a bigger HDTV, but in the mean time I want something that makes the most of the display I have.

[BluRay Rulez]

I was just at Target and I happend to walk by the PS3. I saw the 40gb PS3 without spiderman included. I guess the limited editon has be removed. Any news on this?

[Robert Siegel]

Originally Posted by BluRay Rulez

I was just at Target and I happend to walk by the PS3. I saw the 40gb PS3 without spiderman included. I guess the limited editon has be removed. Any news on this?

I saw them at our local Target here, also you can find them at Best Buy, I am not sure what the story is, so far all I've seen are Spidey ones.

[Baseball3]

Originally Posted by japuva

I'm dumping Samsuck and going to buy a PS3 tomorrow. I know out of the box it won't have the latest firmware. Can someone tell me the easiest way to update it? At this time I won't have the ability to connect to the internet.

Follow the instructions from Sony EXACTLY and download the update to a flash drive and you, my friend, will then insert the flash drive and follow the directions. My PS3 has a poor wireless connection so I never would try and download an update wirelessly. Actually, I will never try that no matter how good the connection as if I lose it I may be screwed without a kiss.

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by GadgetGav

My question / concern is, if I replace my current upscaling DVD player with a PS3 running Toslink for audio and component for video, what is the best audio and video quality I can get out of it..? (the Denon can do up to 7.1 Dolby Pro Logic II).

Your video will be 1080i and the PS3 will help you if you want to upconvert DVDs. Audio will still be the same.


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[GadgetGav]

Thanks, WriteSimply.
I'm trying to read up all I can, but there's a lot to understand and I don't want to put that much money into something and find it's not what I thought it would be.

[neo_reloaded]

I've noticed a few things with my PS3 that might be considered weird, so I just wanted to check against other owners to confirm whether this is normal for the device or not.

1) You can hear the disc being accessed constantly during a movie.

I normally wouldn't notice this because my couch is a good distance from the TV, but I was sitting at the computer which is right next to the PS3 last night as I was starting a Blu-ray movie, and I could hear the drive going crazy. It's faint, but you can definitely hear the lens going back and forth as it reads the disc if you're within a foot or two of the PS3. Is this normal?

2) The PS3 will drop back to the XMB if a disc has been sitting idly at a menu screen for a long time.

Corpse Bride finished and went to the special features menu automatically, like all Warner titles do. I was busy taking care of some things around the house so I didn't take the disc out right away. I was just going over to finally take care of it (after it sat at the menu for 30-45 minutes) when the PS3 dropped back to its XMB menu. Do all Warner titles do this in the PS3? It seemed really odd.

[kylen]

I got my 40GB PS3 on November 7. Today when I turned it on, it wouldn't play anything--tried a DVD, Game, Blu-Disc. Loaded the disc but did nothing. After being on hold with Playstation customer service for 30 min, I spoke to someone. They are going to send me a prepaid box to mail everything back. Once I receive the box and they receive the return, it will be another 10-14 business days before I receive my in-warranty replacement. So that means it'll probably be a month before I get a working PS3--quite annoying!

One of the things they want me to send back is the original network cable--can someone tell me what color this is--I have so many network cables I'm not sure which one actually came with the PS3.

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by neo_reloaded

1) You can hear the disc being accessed constantly during a movie.

You must not have a lot of background noise in your room and/or you're loving your PS3 way too close to be hearing that sound.

I can hardly hear the drive sitting seven feet away, especially when the movie is playing.

2) The PS3 will drop back to the XMB if a disc has been sitting idly at a menu screen for a long time.

Strangely I don't have a lot of Warner discs so I can't verify.

Originally Posted by kylen

One of the things they want me to send back is the original network cable--can someone tell me what color this is--I have so many network cables I'm not sure which one actually came with the PS3.

It's black.


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[Robert Siegel]

Originally Posted by kylen

I got my 40GB PS3 on November 7. Today when I turned it on, it wouldn't play anything--tried a DVD, Game, Blu-Disc. Loaded the disc but did nothing. After being on hold with Playstation customer service for 30 min, I spoke to someone. They are going to send me a prepaid box to mail everything back. Once I receive the box and they receive the return, it will be another 10-14 business days before I receive my in-warranty replacement. So that means it'll probably be a month before I get a working PS3--quite annoying!

One of the things they want me to send back is the original network cable--can someone tell me what color this is--I have so many network cables I'm not sure which one actually came with the PS3.

This made me wonder what happens if you are playing games (I am currently playing about 15 of them) and have your progress saved on the drive, and your machine breaks and you have to have it replaced, that means you are out as far as game progress? Never thought about this. Can one make a back-up somehow of these files and how?

[Ben123]

Originally Posted by GadgetGav

My question / concern is, if I replace my current upscaling DVD player with a PS3 running Toslink for audio and component for video, what is the best audio and video quality I can get out of it..? (the Denon can do up to 7.1 Dolby Pro Logic II).

For the audio, I think you really need to get one of those newer HD-Receivers that can pass on or decode lossless codecs such as uncompressed PCM or Dolby TrueHD in order to really take advance of Blu-Ray. Otherwise, the audio will be more or less the same as standard DVD.

[General Klinger]

Just wanted to add that I tried playing my original PS1 games on my 40GB PS3 and they all worked great. I only have 3 games (FF7,FF:Origins and Ehrgeiz) but they all worked fantastic. Definitely no improvement on the graphics side but nonetheless

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by mntwister

This made me wonder what happens if you are playing games (I am currently playing about 15 of them) and have your progress saved on the drive, and your machine breaks and you have to have it replaced, that means you are out as far as game progress? Never thought about this. Can one make a back-up somehow of these files and how?

You can simply make a back-up of your game saves by inserting a flash drive or your iPod into the USB port. In the XMB, go to the Game section and scroll to Game Saves. You can backup all the game saves you want or be selective. Do this by hitting Triangle. Then start copying into your flash drive/iPod.

Some game saves can't be backed up like this, so you need to do a system backup. This requires an external USB HDD that at least equal the capacity of the internal PS3 HDD. Of course if you have this drive, the first method is redundant.


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[ATLienGeorgia]

I just sold my Sony BDP-S300 on ebay and bought myself a PS3. I am so happy with the PS3. I bought one game, but am not much of a gamer. I was fed up with my S300 when I tried to play Ratatoullie Blu Ray and it would not play. I put it in the PS3 when I got home today and it started playing so quick! The lack of load times on the PS3 are amazing!

I would defiantly agree the PS3 is the best player out there!

[BBKING]

Hey Everyone

After months and months of wanting a Blue Ray player, I took about 10 of my xbox 360 games to Blockbuster got credit and put it towards a PS3. To get a console and a blue ray player for 399 is awesome. I got Spiderman in the package but I'm awaiting Planet Earth to break my Blue Ray cherry.

I just want to thank everyone on the site and forum for all the posts that helped me decide on PS3 and where to get cheap cables.