The PS3 Review Thread

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by JTK

Yes, I got one. I just drive in the house with it right now.

I'm glad today is a day off.


I found out that my digital camera is not going to get the job done very well today. It doesn't take screen caps worth a damn, so this thread will not have pictures from me.

More to come...

Congratulations, JTK! Let the gaming begin and welcome to the world of Blu-ray - for real.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by GoldenRedux

Congratulations, JTK! Let the gaming begin and welcome to the world of B;u-ray - for real.

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

Got mine back home about 2 hours ago. Hoping to be able to unbox it today.

Congratulations to you as well. Wow, what does that make for you now, three Blu-ray players?

Originally Posted by ay221

You hould of had Bikini Destinations playing.

Originally Posted by JTK

Yup, I've ordered about 10 BD's from Amazon myself here recently.

I've ordered about 7 from Amazon already myself.

[Chris Beveridge]

I love that the power and eject buttons *aren't* buttons. Particularly since I've seen claims on other sites that you can only power it off via remote or with the master power switch in the back.

RTFM boys, RTFM.

[Kenshiro]

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

I love that the power and eject buttons *aren't* buttons. Particularly since I've seen claims on other sites that you can only power it off via remote or with the master power switch in the back.

RTFM boys, RTFM.

Yeah I love the touch sensitive power and eject "buttons". I wonder what the official term is for those since they aren't really buttons? The only time I turned on the master power button is when I first hooked it up, haven't touched it since.

Another cool feature is that if the unit is off in standby mode, you can just slide a disc into the slot and it will automatically sense the disc in the slot, power up by itself and suck in the disc.

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

I love that the power and eject buttons *aren't* buttons. Particularly since I've seen claims on other sites that you can only power it off via remote or with the master power switch in the back.

RTFM boys, RTFM.

So, Chris, what I'm waiting on from you is a review on which one of your Blu-ray players gives you the best PQ on Blu-ray playback. Come on now, don't keep us waiting!

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by Kenshiro

Yeah I love the touch sensitive power and eject "buttons". I wonder what the official term is for those since they aren't really buttons? The only time I turned on the master power button is when I first hooked it up, haven't touched it since.

Another cool feature is that if the unit is off in standby mode, you can just slide a disc into the slot and it will automatically sense the disc in the slot, power up by itself and suck in the disc.

The 50" Samsung HL-P5085W 'T' model dlp in my living room has a touch sensitive front panel; it's very sleek. It reminds me of Star Trek or something. I guess that's why it used to be referred to as the 'Kirk' model, now that I think of it, before it was released? Hmm? I've alwats been found of that sort of thing. It so cool that Sony did that with the PS3.

I think the PS3 may become the first console I purchase - next year, when things have settled down and I don't have to worry about getting trampled or shot while queuing up to purchase one.

[Chris Beveridge]

I haven't had much time, it's been a busy weekend with little realy PS3 time. I've only skimmed Talladega which doesn't look good but I did watch the Italian Job and it looked great in some scenes and decent in others. I haven't had a chance to really put anything else through the motions. I'm hoping Ice Age shows up today to give it a spin and I want to put Project PAPO in there.

I will say, I love the select/display data. Places the info outside the 2.35:1 picture and includes codec and current bitrate. The codec feature is VERY welcome and I've missed the bitrate feature which has disappeared on most standalone DVD decks in recent years.

Give me as much info as you can hit me, CE folks!

[Blackraven]

Originally Posted by GoldenRedux

I think the PS3 may become the first console I purchase - next year, when things have settled down and I don't have to worry about getting trampled or shot while queuing up to purchase one.

And also for better product yields as well.

Also, your unit next year may already use the more-efficient software emulator instead of the EE+GS chip for playing PS1/PS2 games.

As for me, I moved it up a month so I'm getting it on my birthday next year (November 2, 2007).

December is too damn long and I would be missing a lot from this exciting next-gen console.

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

I will say, I love the select/display data. Places the info outside the 2.35:1 picture and includes codec and current bitrate. The codec feature is VERY welcome and I've missed the bitrate feature which has disappeared on most standalone DVD decks in recent years.

Give me as much info as you can hit me, CE folks!

This is something I wish they included on the Panasonic. The so-called 'status' information on the Panasonic is useless, IMO. I want to know the codecs and the bitrates, which the Panasonic doesn't tell you. It's nice to hear the PS3 does this. Sony really went all out. Now we are all seeing that it was really worth all the delays to get it right, I suppose.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by GoldenRedux

This is something I wish they included on the Panasonic. The so-called 'status' information on the Panasonic is useless, IMO. I want to know the codecs and the bitrates, which the Panasonic doesn't tell you. It's nice to hear the PS3 does this. Sony really went all out. Now we are all seeing that it was really worth all the delays to get it right, I suppose.

No question about it.

[Dave]

CNET.com's David Carnoy says that Sony's PlayStation 3 may be the most expensive next-generation game console, but its swanky design and bevy of features make it hard to resist--even at $600.

5 minutes 2 seconds
Nov 21, 2006 12:12:00 PM


http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-6137655...0-20&subj=news

[rgb]

It looks like Sony took their time, and got it right this time! =

Thanks for the detailed impressions of this machine! I think I will get one when more games and movies are available!

[fragglerock585]

I have to second the response that ive seen on here about the PS3. (or 15th it for that matter).

I work for Sony retail and Ive been filled with marketing bs from the company before. So, with all the BD stuff id been hearing, i decided to see it for myself. I went and saw the many times delayed sony BD player. I was impressed, but I also respected HD-DVDs picture. So I didnt go into this flag waving and seeing only what I wanted to. However, I dont have the cash to spend on either, as I was saving for the PS3.

I got a launch day ps3 (NOT from sony, but from walmart).
The PS3's BD playback inspired me to get Xmen3, T2, and Gone in 60 seconds (in addition to ricky bobby). Its that good. Its smooth, clear and beautiful. It loads quickly and isnt awkward like the toshiba.


Yeah. That all seems confusing. In short, I see the PS3 as a great console, as well as an outstanding BD player. Now I understand why M$ was putting out so much FUD. MS and HD-DVD are really at risk from this great product.

[Blackraven]

Originally Posted by fragglerock585

I have to second the response that ive seen on here about the PS3. (or 15th it for that matter).

I work for Sony retail and Ive been filled with marketing bs from the company before. So, with all the BD stuff id been hearing, i decided to see it for myself. I went and saw the many times delayed sony BD player. I was impressed, but I also respected HD-DVDs picture. So I didnt go into this flag waving and seeing only what I wanted to. However, I dont have the cash to spend on either, as I was saving for the PS3.

I got a launch day ps3 (NOT from sony, but from walmart).
The PS3's BD playback inspired me to get Xmen3, T2, and Gone in 60 seconds (in addition to ricky bobby). Its that good. Its smooth, clear and beautiful. It loads quickly and isnt awkward like the toshiba.


Yeah. That all seems confusing. In short, I see the PS3 as a great console, as well as an outstanding BD player. Now I understand why M$ was putting out so much FUD. MS and HD-DVD are really at risk from this great product.

I kinda agree with you right there

Well maybe the PS3 will have it's share of launch problems just like the Xbox 360 and possibly the Wii (hey no first-gen tech product is bug-free).

But in the long-run, I still have faith that the PS3 WILL beat the Xbox 360 over the long term (once we approach 2008)

What I'm worried about is on the "supershort-term" is if they can at least sell 2-2.4 million consoles before the year ends.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by fragglerock585

I have to second the response that ive seen on here about the PS3. (or 15th it for that matter).

I work for Sony retail and Ive been filled with marketing bs from the company before. So, with all the BD stuff id been hearing, i decided to see it for myself. I went and saw the many times delayed sony BD player. I was impressed, but I also respected HD-DVDs picture. So I didnt go into this flag waving and seeing only what I wanted to. However, I dont have the cash to spend on either, as I was saving for the PS3.

I got a launch day ps3 (NOT from sony, but from walmart).
The PS3's BD playback inspired me to get Xmen3, T2, and Gone in 60 seconds (in addition to ricky bobby). Its that good. Its smooth, clear and beautiful. It loads quickly and isnt awkward like the toshiba.


Yeah. That all seems confusing. In short, I see the PS3 as a great console, as well as an outstanding BD player. Now I understand why M$ was putting out so much FUD. MS and HD-DVD are really at risk from this great product.

Agreed 100 percent.

Anyone who knows MS's history knows that FUD is just the way they operate.

I've honestly never seen a product with a bigger bullseye against it like what we saw and still see against the PS3.

Frankly, that's what told me ahead of time what a special product this was going to be. It's clearly a critical threat to MS and to HD-DVD and I just don't see them recovering from all of this.

No one expected the PS3 to be this great of a BD player at this price point.

I owned an XA1 for six weeks and the PS3 BLOWS it out of the water in every respect.

[Blackraven]

Originally Posted by JTK

Agreed 100 percent.

Anyone who knows MS's history knows that FUD is just the way they operate.

I've honestly never seen a product with a bigger bullseye against it like what we saw and still see against the PS3.

Frankly, that's what told me ahead of time what a special product this was going to be. It's clearly a critical threat to MS and to HD-DVD and I just don't see them recovering from all of this.

No one expected the PS3 to be this great of a BD player at this price point.

I owned an XA1 for six weeks and the PS3 BLOWS it out of the water in every respect.

I like to add something else.

PS3, according to majority of reviews, is also quite silent compared to the noisy XBOX 360. They say it is as quiet as a slimline PS2.

On my part, I own a fast PS2 (the one with the fan). I can say that even though I can hear the fan, it is still quiet enough for me.

Heck, what would surprise me is whether or not the PS3 would be more silent than my PS2 (which I will find out this coming week)

To cut is short, I can say this.

If MS cannot shift to the 65-nanometer process ASAP, then the XBOX 360 units will continue to be NOISY.

They need the shift from 90-nm to 65-nm. At 90-nm, the system is STILL burning hot and the fan needs to spin faster thus creating more noise. This is most evident in 110v units (like in Japan and USA/Canada) and slightly evident for the Asian 220V units.

It's no wonder that the "3 red lights" appear more often on US and JAP X360 units than on Asian 220V ones. Nevertheless, they would need to apply the 65-nm process to ALL soon-to-be-produced x360s for ALL regions (whether 110V or 220V)

And for the PS3, the first-gen units generally had mixed temperatures (some say slightly hot while others warm). BUT STILL COOLER THAN XBOX 360 @ 90-NM )

And it is also a fact that the PS3 is MORE SILENT than the Xbox 360 90-nm.

Thus, the PS3 wins in the operating temperature and noise level aspects.

[Blackraven]

Sorry for the double post but....

Here's something interesting info regarding the drive speeds.

This is from a post at nexgenwars.com from an poster named "Andir"...

Dunno if you consider this as true or false but here it is...

"2X Blu-Ray (PS3) vs 12X DVD (XBox360)"

"Too many times I've seen people abuse stats, and I wanted to post this to clear things up:

Yes, the 360 has faster disc read speeds for LESS THAN HALF the disc on single layer only. This means that if you have a 4.5G game, only about 2G of that game will load faster on the 360's DVD drive. When you step up to a 9GB game, the drive read speed reduces to 8X speeds (Dual layer reading is slower) making it slower overall than the Blu-Ray drive at 2X. (So the 360 is only faster for a very tiny portion of the disc)

Now, you compare that to the fact that the BluRay drive has 25G on a single layer, and the PS3 will load 23G of data at a faster rate than the 360. (this doesn't even include time to swap out discs on the 360 if they get to that point.)

I really hate the lies going around only showing the MAX read speed of a 12X DVD-ROM. This speed is not consistant over the entire disc, and it only applies for those 4.5G games.

BTW, it's truly amazing how hard it is to find info on the Hitachi GDR-3120L!"

[dialog_gvf]

A quick post, just as an announcement. I'll post more of thoughts when I've had time to play a bit.

A Canadian HT site (digitalhome.ca) I've been a long time member of, auctioned off a 20GB PS/3 for raising a bit of money to go to a new server. So, I was able to pick this up and donate to a worthy cause.

My first impressions:

- Slick looking. And wow is it solid No wonder people are describing it as tank. I didn't realize it was so dense. Lots of heat conduction I guess.
- Boots up FAST and is sooo quiet. Quieter than my DTheater deck!
- Simple to setup, and easy to navigate.
- Not a lick of trouble HDMI -> DVI with my set.
- Wow, that Paramount teaser looks amazing

Off to watch MI-3

[Monkey]

Currently using my PS3 (HDMI, haven't tried component yet) and 360 a my 60" SXRD 60A2000 1080p set.

Personally I am very impressed, IMO it's one of the best electronic values I've ever had. The machine runs silent which is great and it also play blu-ray movies flawlessly. The SIXAXIS does everything needed for basic playback and more, I have no desire to get a separate remote as it is not clunky at all like PS2 playback. It is extremely fast at fast forwarding and rewind functions, even has audio at 1.5 playback which is kind of cool. It has frame by frame and all that as well.

I've messed around with the A1 at the stores, IMO it is very slow and clunky compared to the PS3. PQ is up to par with blu-ray but that player is one of the chunkiest I've ever used, night and day between that and the PS3.

I've watch two movies so far, Superman Returns (VC-1) and Talladega Nights (forgot to check, just push select while view to check bitrates, et). Superman Returns looked quite a bit nicer than Talladega Nights, but I still think TN, while not as consistent had moments of looking great. Superman was much more consistent though some areas had noise in dark scenes just like almost every HD-DVD and Blu-ray movie I've viewed.

As for gaming, I only bought one game which is Resistance. I've also downloaded some demos.

Resistance surprisingly actually has some story, kind of feels like elements of Half Life and other games mixed together while playing through it. The frame rate has been flawless during single player as well as during split-screen co-op. The guns feel solid though I don't care for the gun that marks somebody and then the following weapons home in. The rest of the weapons are much more enjoyable. It feels good to blast a Chimera up close with a shotgun and see him fly across the room. If you are further away they don't fly as far; it seems like they've put physics into everything in the game. The controls are also solid. The analog sticks are much more sensitive and precise than the PS2's dual shock. No dead zone or anything. It's easy to move the target where you want on exact body parts (usually the head). As for the level designs, the first level of resistance rather bland but once you get inside it gets much better. I haven't had a chance to get online (have the 20GB version) but maybe tonight I'll bring it to my friends as I did earlier to download the demo's.

Motorstorm is just awesome It feels like they it is a more recent build than the kiosk versions with sped up game play and smoother frame-rate. I just finished playing for a few hours with my buddy. This game could easily sell systems, no other racer comes close to this IMO. My buddy kept saying "MS needs to just buy this game already for the 360". Oh yeah, Motion driving on Motorstorm is lame IMO, much rather have rumble. I doubt I'll use it much. To be fair it did feel responsive, I didn't notice any latency.

The Cell Factor (Mutant Storm rip-off, I liked Mutant Storm Reloaded on the 360) demo is too short to say much about it, way too easy and bland but maybe it picks up. The motion gimmick is just that a gimmick on this game.

F1 is pretty fun though I was hoping to see the destruction from the game play videos on the web. Game play is solid for racing fans. I noticed a few screen tears but overall great sense of speed. Also had an impressive amount of cars on screen at once. Scenery graphics aren't anything special but get the job done.

At this point I'm contemplating selling it as I really want a 60GB for the Wireless (I get my internet from my best friend/neighbor so I don't have a direct connection and would rather not buy wireless bridge if I can avoid.