New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available... - Page 21

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Well, it (320gb) went all through the "evening"/whole night and then when I got back to work next day (around 19PM) it was finished. Not sure how long exactly, but I guess pretty close to that...

Remember, that this was "full format". With "quick format", it won´t take long (first time you "boot up" PS3 with that new hard drive, it´ll do "quick format" - I then went back to the "Format Utility"-menu). I´m no "computer expert", so perhaps it doesn´r really matter in this case. I just wanted to be sure, you know..

PS3™ | Format Utility

"You can shorten the formatting time by selecting [Quick Format] from the hard disk format methods. However, in this case it may be possible for some deleted data to be restored if a specialized tool is used. Select [Full Format] when formatting a hard disk that contains important or sensitive data."

**

Based on this (from MS - Differences between a Quick format and a regular format during a "clean" installation of Windows XP ), I guess the "full/normal format" will scan for possible "bad sectors" (which then takes time):

"When you choose to run a regular format on a volume, files are removed from the volume that you are formatting and the hard disk is scanned for bad sectors. The scan for bad sectors is responsible for the majority of the time that it takes to format a volume.

If you choose the Quick format option, format removes files from the partition, but does not scan the disk for bad sectors. Only use this option if your hard disk has been previously formatted and you are sure that your hard disk is not damaged."

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

You should seriously consider the Onkyo 606 for that price range. It has 4 HDMI inputs and does the HD audio decoding you are looking for. The Audessy EQ automatic setup is excellent. It accepts LPCM also through the HDMI if you want your PS3 to do the HD audio decoding. The PS3 won't pass the DTS MA via bitstream. The PS3 does an excellent job decoding the HD audio formats. Put the Onkyo 606 on your shortlist IMO. I got mine for $379 onsale at CC. It lists for $579 so it was a decent discount. I know you can find refurbs cheaper online if you want to go that route. Good luck.


Dalton

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

I had the oddest thing happen last night while watching "Heroes" Season 2 (SD version) on my PS3. For about 2 seconds, the picture and sound disappeared and all I saw was a black screen, then it resumed without a hitch. When I backed the disc up to the same spot, it played just fine. Has this ever happened to anyone else? It wasn't a layer change issue.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Not me, but something similar happened when watching season 1 on Blu-Ray and there was an audio dropout lasting about a second in one of the early episodes. Like you, I backed up and replayed it but it didn't happen again. Strange.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Is this the new 80GB PS3 that was coming out (Model #PS398013) with the "Price Drop"?
PS398013 | PLAYSTATION®3 (80GB) | Sony | SonyStyle USA


EDIT: because I can get it at CC for $367 with an 8% off coupon from AAA

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Mark,

Yes, that's it. Don't forget you can also get a $100 credit and 12 months financing if you apply for and use the Sony credit card.

Darren

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Cool! I was going to wait for BDP-S550 to come out, but I guess I could use the $100 for games, cables, and/or movies instead.

Yeah, I know about the SONY card, but don't need another "card". I'll use my Am-Ex and get the points instead...plus, I still have a $100 Am-Ex gift check from Xmas as well as a $100 bill from my birthday, so I'll only need $167.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

So, rumor has it that Sony's Life project is finally being released today...anyone have any additional info on it?

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

I don't even know what that is? If anyone has "Burnout Paradise," though, there's a very big (and free) content update for it today.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Some info here about "Life":
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/...tation”/

Edit: Just updated this (go to "Folding@home" => update => re-start "Folding@home" => another update => "Life with PlayStation"). It´s "neat" etc, but not sure that will I actually use it that much...

Btw. Firmware v2.43 is available, but is specific to the Japan region only:
PlayStation.Blog » PS3 Firmware update (v2.43)

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Well, I just picked up my PS3 80GB and am in the process of setting everything up...so far, everything seems to be working great!

I've been reading about the IR remotes and haven't been paying close attention, but is it true that the Nyko remote won't turn on/off the PS3? The reason I ask is that I have the Harmony 880 remote and want to be able to use it with the PS3 as a BD player.

I've heard about the IR2BT, but the web site says it's sold out and they're not sure when new ones will be coming in. Are there any other remotes (with the USB IR plug) that will allow full control with the Harmony remotes??


Ugh!

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Now that I have everything set up (i.e. I'm running the PS3 and my upscaling HDMI DVD player into my receiver via HDMI cables), I have some thoughts on the upscaling of the PS3.

Since my TV is only 1080i, I'm not sure if my experience translates to 1080p tv's, but here it goes:

The one nice thing with the PS3 is the ability to turn upscaling off so you can see the just how good upscaling is. There is a remarkable difference when upscaling is set to Normal, but I have to say, my old upscaling HDMI SD-DVD player (i.e. SONY DVP-NS75H) still does a better job.

Just as a point of reference; I watch "The New Adventures of Old Christine" on HD Cable and I've gotten used to the HD quality, so I was a little nervous about having to 'downgrade' the picture quality by purchasing Season 2 on SD-DVD...but I have to admit that when I started watching episodes, I was confused as to how good the quality was. I almost had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't actually watching my HD-DVR by mistake - but it was in fact the SD-DVD.

I still am amazed at how well my old HDMI player did at the upconversion...Like I said, the PS3 did a good job too, but not as good as the NS75H does.

If you have (or want) a PS3, I'd definitely reccomend finding a way to incorporate a really good upscaling SD player into the mix. I'm glad I have the HDMI reciever (for video mixing) because it would have been a crime to SD-DVD's if I had to lose my NS75H from the mix.

p.s Did anyone else see the video article on Yahoo about the PS3's decline??
Playback 14 - Playback - Yahoo! Games

Thoughts??

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

They're not offering much in the way of hard information to back up their assessment here. Yes, Sony is in no way the market leader this generation, but that is old news. Nintendo far and away dominates and will continue to do so. The difference between number 2 & 3 (Microsoft and Sony) is not so clear cut. Right now, Microsoft has a price advantage due to recent across the board price cuts which is resulting in a spike in sales. My guess is that Sony will respond in kind and it will help to level the playing field once again. As always YMMV, but in my opinion and from a purely technical standpoint, I think the PS3 hardware is significantly superior to the Xbox 360. So far at least, the technological advantage that Sony has over its rivals has proved to be a non-factor in terms of driving sales in this traditionally price-driven marketplace. The fact that in some months the PS2 continues to out-sell either the Xbox 360 or the PS3 is a testament to that.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

IMO, PS3 is great in upscaling. Probably the best that I have seen so far (I have "full" 1080p TV and I always upscale to 1080p). Not sure if the TV is 1080i, though.

Btw. Interesting tidbit(s) here:
Sony/Toshiba making 45nm Cells in '09, slim PS3 on way? - PS3 Fanboy

"The current PS3s already have efficient functionality with the shrunken 65nm Cell processor, but now things are going to get even smaller. Sony and Toshiba have plans on mass producing a 45nm Cell processor starting in 2009. The plan is to integrate them first into PS3s. The result of which will allow PS3s to save power up to 40 percent."

Sony and Toshiba to begin mass producing 45nm cell processor in 2009 -- cheaper, slimmer PS3s to come? - Engadget

"Japan's Nikkan is reporting that Sony and Toshiba will begin mass production of the 45nm Cell processor in 2009 -- not this autumn as previously rumored. The smaller chip which cost less than the current 65nm Cell to manufacture also require 40% less power to run. This opens the door to possible price drops on existing PS3 consoles in 2009 as well as slimmer, cooler running rigs should Sony decide to refresh the industrial design."

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

My TV is 1080i and my SD-DVD player is a 1080i upscaler...so in regard to 1080i upscaling, my NS75H seems to do a better job than the PS3 (again, at 1080i res).

Perhaps the PS3 does even better at 1080p, but I'm not able to make that comparison.


On a side note, what does the PS3 upscaler setting "Double" (or whatever it is) mean? When I use that setting, the picture looks great, but gets slightly shrunk (i.e. thin black bars all around). Maybe it's a 1080p -> 1080i TV issue?

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

"Double" means it literally doubles the size of the image.

Mark, I'd be interested in knowing what TV you have specifically. Is it an actual 1080i set or does it just accept a 1080i signal?

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

It's definitely 1080i.

It's one of the SONY Grand WEGA LCD's - it's 3 years old. I don't have the model # on me now, but I know it's the KDF-55 series (i.e. 55").

It's one of the slimmer rear projection LCD TV's. I believe it's this one:
KDF-55XS955 | 55" Grand WEGA™ 3LCD Projection HDTV | Sony | SonyStyle USA

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Mark, LCD sets don't display interlaced images. The actual resolution of your set is 1386x768, which is common for 720p sets, it just accepts 1080i signals.

The reason I asked is because you'll get better performance if you'll set your PS3's video output to 720p.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

I can't find the res, but it says "3.28 million dots resolution".

When I watch cable/HD TV, I see the display go between 480 and 1080i.


p.s. The link above is the actual TV I have

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

OK, so I just tried a bunch of settings and here's the results...

When I use the 'automatic' resolution setting on the PS3, it sees 1080i as the highest possible resolution. Even when I use the manual setting and test out the resolutions, 1080i works (obviouslly the 1080p doesn't).

Interestingly, when you switch the upscale setting to "Double", it says that 720p outputs will only use "Normal"...I even tested this out by unchecking 1080i (in setup) and using only 720p...when I played a DVD and selected "Double", I got a message saying that it wouldn't and that 'Normal' would be used.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Mark you may find this interesting:

My TV is a 720p set as well, an LG 42" plasma which goes as far as 1080i.

However, I AM able to get 1080p by activating the 'BD playback at 1080p/24' setting. It doesn't work on my smaller LCD, but I suggest trying it anyway to see if it works on your television. If not, no big loss.

To make the 'Double' setting more clear, it takes your DVD which has a resolution of 720x480 and doubles it to 1440x960. That is why it doesn't completely fill the TV screen.

I find that certain BD's have vertical aliasing, but it's BD specific. The IMAX Dark Knight prologue has it, while the Batman Begins feature does not. Spider-Man doesn't have this, but Spider-Man 2 and 3 do. Independence Day does not, and well you get the idea.

The only way I can avoid it to a degree is to lower sharpness until it isn't as much of a distraction.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Marc, I don't know what practical purpose the "double" scaling really has, I'd just leave it on normal.

Nic, you can't get 1080p on a 720p set. You're almost always better off inputting your native resolution on a fixed pixel display. I've seen the vertical aliasing you talked about on the Spider-Man 3 disc on a 720p set, but it was only there when outputting 1080i from the PS3. I remember it being very visible on the menus in particular, try it on 720p and see if it doesn't disappear.

The sets themselves are going to be a factor as well so I can't make any promises, but as I said, outputting your native resolution is the best way to go.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

I know you can't get it the conventional way, but for whatever reason my TV allows it when the PS3 is set to 1080p/24 playback.

All I'm saying is its an option. Maybe not the best option, but an option nonetheless.

My television also outputs 5.1 through its digital output when I'm using the HDMI inputs. That's something frowned upon and generally considered impossible as well but that works like a charm for me.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Every LCD/Plasma-TV has only one "native resolution". E.g. mine is "1080p" and you probably have that "768". So no, you don´t get the "real 1080p" with your TV-set, I´m afraid. Further more, 24fps-playback requires also 24fps supported TV-set (e.g. mine doesn´t support 24fps, even when the LCD is 1080p).

Btw (since we should get back to the topic..), "DualShock 3" controllers are currently on sale at Amazon ($40.96):
Amazon.com: Playstation 3 Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller: Video Games
Not sure how long, though... (They won´t ship these to outside North America, though)

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Speaking of PS3 accessories, can anyone point me to one or two good resources/sites for PSP info, including what you can do w/ the PSP+PS3 combo (and maybe some reliable Pokemon info, if that's allowed )?

I'm looking at buying a PSP for the family -- well, mainly for my grade-school-aged son and wife to share (instead of separate IPod Nano and Nintendo DS), but since it seems like such a nice all-around piece (much like the PS3), I imagine everyone in the family will end up using it on occasion, especially if there are some nice bonus features to go w/ the PS3.

Thanks.


RE: the native res thing, yeah, ideally, it's probably best to do all the video processing in *one* top notch processor to be displayed w/out further processing in native res on the display -- this could be in the player or some 3rd party unit or the display/TV itself. But things are often not ideal, eg. 768p native is certainly not gonna make that easy. So YMMV, and you'll need to try different setups to see what works best for your case.

_Man_

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Here´s one good news site (similar available for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS - "fanboy"-sites I mean):
PSP Fanboy

I also got PSP some months ago. It´s pretty good and works nicely with PS3 (I downloaded some demos, etc). Haven´t played it *that* much yet, though.

Note, that the "new" model PSP-3000 is coming soon ( PSP-3000 series - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ). You might want to get that.

Some good/interesting games:
*Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (well, if you´re into FF, I´m no expert..)
*God of War: Chains of Olympus
*Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories/Vice City Stories
*Tomb Raider: Anniversary/Legend
*Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
*Monster Hunter Freedom 2
*Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
*Secret Agent Clank
*Silent Hill: Origins
*Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror/Logan's Shadow
*Worms: Open Warfare 2 (classic stuff! )
*Duke Nukem Trilogy (coming)
*Resistance: Retribution (coming)

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Thanks for the pointer, Jari. I knew I could count on you.

Hmmm... PSP3000, aye? I doubt I'd wanna splurge on that, but that could mean even better discounts for the current model.

As I mentioned, it's not really for me, but for my kid (and wife). I haven't been that interested in gaming in a long time now -- well, I do still play a good deal of fantasy baseball, but that's quite different (and is more like playing a year-long or even multi-year-long game of chess ). We have the PS3 and the old XBox, but I don't actually play either one even though I originally thought I'd play some when I got the XBox a few years back. And my kid (and wife) doesn't play any of the particularly violent or complex games, so probably most of the ones listed won't suit us. Maybe Tomb Raider and some basic FF (after lighter fare like Sonic Hedgehog or similar) might be of interest at some point since he likes Pokemon and such -- we don't want to steer him toward the more violent stuff anyhow. And really, if not for Blu-ray, we'd probably be getting a Wii now instead of owning the PS3.

Thanks again, Jari.

_Man_

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Just a friendly opinion, but that sounds like a terrible compromise to me.

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

Normally, I'd agree. But really, I don't want to encourage my kid to spend more time gaming than he already does -- and although he understands that, he's still just a little kid and could use the extra help w/ self-discipline (while still getting excited about a new toy). And my wife only wants some portable music on occasion for workouts and such and is not picky at all about it. Otherwise, I'd definitely get her the iPod Nano. We're going this route so that we can more easily monitor (and limit) his gaming since it's a shared item, etc. while also keeping costs lower than otherwise. The reality is that the novelty and coolness factor weighs a whole lot in this kind of thing, especially for kids. As long as he's excited about it, it's probably good enough (and would serve well as a sort of motivator for him to do well where it counts most).

Also, I do actually plan on getting an iPod Nano for my slightly older daughter, so my wife could also borrow hers on occasion, if the PSP becomes a bit too cumbersome to use for workout music and such.

Remember, I'm talking about grade-school-aged kids here, not teenagers. When I was their age, nobody even owned a walkman yet though that was starting to show up on the market (and my father was one of the first common folks to get one).

_Man_

Re: New to Blu? Buy a PS3: the most featured BD hardware available...

This is why my PS3 and my HD-A2 HD-DVD player make a killer combo.