 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
205.240.11.90
Ahh, the $100 price drop and free movies finally got me to buy the Playstation 3 I had been drooling over long before it was actually released, and with the trade-in of my Playstation 2 and a stack of games I was no longer playing, I saved another $120, for a total cost of about $430 after tax for the 60G PS/3 with remote control.
Initial impression: Wow, it does feel like a slick flagship product: My Toshiba HD DVD player is a generic box by comparison! Larger than the PS/2 it replaces, but the footprint isn't too bad when it's standing upright. In fact, it blends in nicely. I also like that Sony didn't rely on a big external power supply: Pretty much everything is contained within PS/3's curvy shell.
Setup: This is where things slow down. Find mini USB cable (included) and use it to connect game controller to console. Enter simple info via the game controller. Not unlike composing a text message on a cell phone, minus a real keypad--kind of bad actually, but it's over quickly enough.
Wifi: I started to set this up, realized I needed to enter the Playstation's MAC address into my Apple Airport Extreme's access control screen and realized that Sony doesn't actually print the MAC address anywhere on the shipping carton or the outside of the console itself. So back to PS/3's main menu (losing my in-progress network settings) and after a couple of minutes, I found what I needed. As I type in my wireless password for the 6th or 7th time, I realize that I REALLY hate using the game controller in this way.
But I stick to it, and soon enough, I have a working connection, almost. All that's needed is a system update, and this is where I feel like gloating, because I won't need to run a long ethernet cable over to the Playstation in order to go online as I do with the HD DVD player: I can just use the wifi! That's the idea anyway: Truth is, after almost exacty 50 minutes (coincidently, this is the time needed to complete a firmware update on the HD DVD player) I get an error message saying that the update has failed. So I wind up taking my long ethernet cable out and going with a wired connection instead. If all goes well, I will have actual gaming and video 2-1/2 to 3 hours after I unboxed the console, with most of that time spent updating (or attempting to) the software.
Meanwhile, the Playstation's cooling fan is noticeable. Very noticeable actually. It's mostly inoccuous white noise, but there's rather a lot of it, and it'll probably be audible over my movies if I fixate on it. Lucky for me I am good at NOT fixating on the shortcomings of my toys once I've bought them--the money's spent, so make myself unhappy. The Toshiba HD-A20 HD DVD player is much quieter.
More on this as I have time to play :-) I made the trek down to the nearby Hollywood Video "library store" and discovered they had increased shelf space for both HD and BD movies, and from the BD side, I picked up Ice Age (just the thing for a hot day in summer), Bridge to Terabithia (never seen it) and Sonic The Hedgehog for the gaming side of things.
Follow Ups:
I gave up trying to update the PS/3's firmware directly from the console: No matter if I used a wired or wireless connection, the update failed after about 50 minutes. Fortunately, it's also possible to do the update by downloading firmware to a flash card, and after one botched attempt and redownload, the system was successfully updated, but including a break for lunch, this took six hours! I apparently didn't actually need the update in order to play the B-D movies I rented, but I couldn't play the game that I rented (Sonic the Hedgehog) without the update.
DVD remote control: Strictly speaking, I did not really need to buy this accessory, because the game controller itself can be used to play a movie. But I found it kind of awkward for anything beyond the most basic functions because none of the DVD functions are marked. The DVD remote remedies this nicely, but it doesn't work right out of the box either: It's a bluetooth device, and must be registered with the console. It's an easy procedure if you're already accustomed to dealing with Bluetooth, otherwise, I imagine a few have been returned to the store as "defective". Other Bluetooth devices like mice and keyboards can also be used, but I don't have any onhand to try right now.
Firmware 1.82 features: Greatly expanded connectivity to external media servers, upscaling for regular DVDs (unclear what the output res is however) and HDMI 1.3a support. As my TV supports 1.3a, I activated this feature.
With 1080p output and HDMI 1.3a in use, I popped in "Ice Age: Meltdown" and, minor compression artifacts aside (mostly banding in the blue skies), it looks great; as a movie, it's no Toy Story or Monsters Inc.
My initial thoughts on PS/3 are Sony delivers a lot of goods, particularly at the now-discounted price. But it feels a bit fussy, tweaky and overly complex rather than being immediately delightful. Sony obviously has talented engineers in their ranks, but they should hire people like my sisters to evaluate their work. If I set either of my sisters in front of the PS/3 for a few hours, here's what I can imagine they might say:
"Why is this thing so noisy"
"Is it supposed to get this hot?"
"It's too complicated, all I want to do is watch a movie"
"Is it ready yet?" (waiting for an update)
"If the controller is wireless, why are you plugging it into the console?"
"I can't read the stupid remote in the dark"
"The picture's really clear, but this movie is junk"
So it's not a slick-yet-cuddly product like an iPod, not yet anyhow.
I've been using a PS3 for about 6 months (not much on games, but I've used it a bit for that). The picture is really outstanding but I agree about the remote. Is there a way to use an infared system so I can use my Pronto to control it?
As for the wireless hook-up, I also use an airport extreme and I never had any of the problems you described. I just had to enter in my WEP password and it worked just fine (including the upgrading of software to the most recent version...but it does take about an hour to do so).
Now if I can just get my Apple TV to output DD and DTS I'd be in heaven.
.
Glad yo bought a unit, but geez, sounds like a PITA,
Like my A1, my samsung was just plugged in, hook up the HDMI, and the analog outs, and I was done. Its quiet too. I'ld heard about the PS3's fan noise.
enjoy,
Jack
In a sick sort of way, the PS/3s tweakiness has kept me entertained this afternoon, but now that it's all updated and properly configured, I'll get down to seeing how much I like it as an entertainment appliance.
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
