120GB "Slim" PS3 officially announced (1 Viewer)

[Paul Arnette]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten

Pain is a low cost Ragdoll Physics genre game (see: Stair Dismount etc on google to see what i am talking about) that has become a kind of 'platform' on the PSN network. You download the base game for $5 or so (unless you buy the high end PS3 which comes with a voucher / code on a slip of paper which you can type in to get the game via free download) and then you can just play this base game OR you can add on optional extra characters, playgrounds, and extras. The rough idea is you shoot a guy out of a canon and try to get him to hit specific landmarks which make him hurt in extremely bad ways, blow him up, land on sharp objects, flip into comical poses, etc.

Ah. Thanks for the explanation!

 

[Nick Martin]

Originally Posted by DaveF

My question is then: does the PS3 behave like a dedicated DVD / Blu Ray player?

If I have a PS3 Slim and the Logitech Harmony adapter (to work with my Harmony One remote), will it be just like a disc player to my wife? Or will her experience be like that of loading a game in the Xbox 360 to play a movie?

I have no idea how a 360 behaves since I've never used one and only saw demos encased in plastic, but the PS3 behaves like this:

When you turn it on, you hear the sound of an orchestra "rising", just like what you would hear at a classical music concert.

The default screen is "Game", unless you already have a DVD / Blu-ray disc inside the console. If you do, "Video" is the default screen, with the disc already selected so you just have to press enter.

If it's on "Game", scroll once to the left to get to "Video", and insert the disc. You then scroll up or down (it depends) to select it, and then hit enter. It starts like pressing Play on a regular player.

This is what it looks like:



As you can see, the little icons that run across identify each section - a camera for "Photo", a musical note for "Music", a filmstrip for "Video", a game controller for "Game", and the name of each is underneath the icon when it's selected.

This XMB (XrossMediaBar) is supposed to be on a lot of Sony products including TVs and Blu-ray players as well.

 

[BrettB]

FW 3.0 is gonna update the xmb. www.youtube.com/watch

 

[DavidJ]

Originally Posted by DaveF

My question is then: does the PS3 behave like a dedicated DVD / Blu Ray player?

If I have a PS3 Slim and the Logitech Harmony adapter (to work with my Harmony One remote), will it be just like a disc player to my wife? Or will her experience be like that of loading a game in the Xbox 360 to play a movie?

Using a game player to watch movies is a no go; I could replace my DVD player with the 360, but the it's too clunky. (My 10 year old DVD player is easier and better.) But if it's using a disc player that happens to also play games, that might be a winner.

In addition to Nicholas's post above, you can have the PS3 set to auto play when a disc has been inserted. This saves you a step and makes it more like a stand alone player.

 

[DaveF]

Thanks for the notes. I'll be looking into this more

 

[Zack Gibbs]

Man, I never new you could turn autoplay off. That's always annoyed me (because there's so many things you could be turning it on for).

I'm surprised the idea of adding IR support or HD Audio bit-streaming hasn't been brought up. Both would have been insanely easy to add.

 

[Will_B]

Would be nice if they also released an improved remote control (that both versions can use). I hate the one that they made, so I use a third-party one, but it is not perfect either.

 

[oscar_merkx]

here is more info on the updated cell chip

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090820/tc_pcworld/sonysps3slimcarriesupdatedcellchip

The PlayStation 3 Slim gaming console from Sony Computer Entertainment is not only smaller and cheaper, but adds hardware enhancements that make it speedier, including a new Cell microprocessor.

The gaming console, introduced on Tuesday, is a slimmer and lighter version of older PS3 consoles. It carries a 120GB hard drive, which is an upgrade from the 80GB of storage offered in the earlier PS3. The console will sell for US$299 and become available on September 1.

Sony has made some enhancements under the hood to boost its processing speed and power efficiency. The gaming console will carry an upgraded version of the Cell microprocessor, which is being jointly developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba.

The new chip has been manufactured using an advanced 45-nanometer manufacturing process, an IBM spokesman said. Based
on IBM's Power architecture, the chip delivers many performance improvements while drawing less power than earlier chips, IBM has said. The earlier console carried a Cell processor manufactured using the 65-nm process. IBM declined to provide the clock speed of the new Cell processor.

Chip production enhancements for the Cell could deliver some cost benefits to users, said Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research. The chips will become more power efficient and users may see some energy savings, Peddie said.

Smaller chips also cost less to produce, which may have contributed to the lower console price, Peddie said. That could also set the stage for further price drops in the future.

On launch, a Sony executive said the advanced manufacturing process was a factor in driving the console's price down.

"We're extremely pleased that we've been able to meet production efficiencies that have allowed us pass those savings on to customers," said President and CEO Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, in a video on the official PlayStation Web site.

The console carries a graphics processing unit made by Nvidia, though details about the chip were not immediately available.

Nvidia officials declined comment, and Sony officials did not return calls seeking comment.

Earlier consoles carried the RSX GPU developed jointly by Nvidia and Sony. Peddie said that the graphics core in the PS3 Slim has to be identical or similar to the RSX GPUs, otherwise existing games for the PS3 won't run on the new console.

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Will_B

Would be nice if they also released an improved remote control (that both versions can use). I hate the one that they made, so I use a third-party one, but it is not perfect either.

Would be nice if they acted sanely and made it an IR remote instead of bluetooth.

 

[Sam Posten]

Originally Posted by DaveF

Would be nice if they acted sanely and made it an IR remote instead of bluetooth.

Crazy talk! =) You guys can pine for IR all you want but non-LOS connectivity like bluetooth is the true future for remotes. WiFi is even better but BT does the job.

Originally Posted by Will_B

Would be nice if they also released an improved remote control (that both versions can use). I hate the one that they made, so I use a third-party one, but it is not perfect either.

PURE crazy talk!

Seriously tho, of the dozen plus remotes in my house the PS3 remote is my favorite. It is fantastic.

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten


Crazy talk! =) You guys can pine for IR all you want but non-LOS connectivity like bluetooth is the true future for remotes. WiFi is even better but BT does the job.

It may be the future, but it's not the present.

It is pure Sony: design a a "standard" interface incompatible with everyone else.

 

[Nick Martin]

I hate having to use like five different remotes (can't afford a Harmony right now) but I do like the PS3 remote, except that if you're not careful enough you can accidentally stop the disc if you mean to press pause - I've made that mistake often with Java-enhanced discs and you all know what happens when you stop a Java-enhanced Blu-ray title....not to mention since every button on the remote can turn the console on, once you turn it off and put the remote away, you have to make sure not to press anything on it while doing so.

 

[DaveF]

Harmony has dropped in price some since release. If you can find some coupons or "reward" points or something and can fit it in your budget, it's a superb remote. I recommend it without reservation.

 

[Nick Martin]

In 2007 I worked in a high-end electronics shop, and part of what I did was program some of the Harmony remotes for customers, specifically the Harmony 1000, which is now the 1100. Of course I wouldn't dare go after a $600 remote, nor would I need something like that, but it was fun to play around with.

 

[Stephen Tu]

Sane would be IR in addition to bluetooth. Not either in place of the other.

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Stephen Tu /forum/thread/291790/120gb-slim-ps3-officially-announced/30#post_3597925

 

[James Ryfun]

Just wanted to share a video with you folks, that may clear up a couple minor things.

1) There is NO external power supply or "brick" (ala the Xbox 360) despite what John Koller of Sony originally stated. That is clearly evident in the video I am going to post below.

2) The hard drive is fully and easily upgradeable. Even the guy in this video (from IGN) is initially confused by this point, but towards the end of the video he updates and clarifies on that.

Just thought you guys might like to see a visual representation of the new system, just for reference.

 

[Nick Martin]

The PS3 Slim SUPPORTS Bitstreaming Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/21/ps3-slim-bitsreams-dolby-truehd-and-dts-hd-ma-audio-at-last/

As the Blu-ray.com post about this explains, this isn't going to be something everyone can benefit from:

The regular PS3 can't bitstream advanced audio codecs because its HDMI transmitter chip doesn't support it. Therefore, unlike the addition of DTS-HD decoding or BD-Live support, a new firmware cannot add advanced audio bitstreaming to existing consoles.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3301

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Originally Posted by Will_B ">[/url]

Would be nice if they also released an improved remote control (that both versions can use). I hate the one that they made, so I use a third-party one, but it is not perfect either.
[/QUOTE][QUOTE]Originally Posted by [b]Sam Posten[/b] [url=/forum/thread/291790/120gb-slim-ps3-officially-announced#post_3597816][/url]

I hate having to use like five different remotes (can't afford a Harmony right now) but I do like the PS3 remote, except that if you're not careful enough you can accidentally stop the disc if you mean to press pause - I've made that mistake often with Java-enhanced discs and you all know what happens when you stop a Java-enhanced Blu-ray title....not to mention since every button on the remote can turn the console on, once you turn it off and put the remote away, you have to make sure not to press anything on it while doing so.
[/QUOTE]I too don't care much for the PS3 remote. Like Nicholas, I often accidentally hit the stop button, which is a serious pain w/ BD-J discs. Sometimes, I hit it instead of the pause button, and sometimes, I hit it instead of the play button (after I carefully paused before that).

 

[Nick Martin]

I should look into that Nyko remote. My PS3 remote was part of a PS3 bundle, so I got it free. I usually get up to turn it on and off anyway, since I have to insert / eject discs (who doesn't? ) so I have no problem getting up to power it on and off.