PS3 questions

[TomTom]

Am considering getting a PS3 but have a few questions.

Is there an HDMI cable included or do you really need to buy it extra? It is not mentioned in the package but I wonder if they would really sell a HD device without a HDMI connection option.

Can I put it in a wlan network with my PC or are only USB transfers possible?

Can it play mkv files and what about upscaling? As far as I have read upscaling is not included but is there maybe a firmware update available?

Last question, what about role playing games? Are there any good ones out or only the forthcoming ones like Fallout 3 and such.

[beanzncheez]

Re: PS3 questions

Mine came with an HDMI cable but I don't know if that's standard as I got mine through my hotel points reward program. Mine came with an extra controller and charger cable too. You can get HDMI cables for very cheap nowadays. I got another one for another device for $3 with free shipping from monoprice.

It has built in WiFi so you can configure it to your network. Works great.

I don't know what mkv files are but the PS3 can play a plethora of avi, divx, wma, and other video files. Same with audio. It has built in upscalling and the DVDs that I've watched on it look quite well. Much better than with my other three DVD players that I've tested on this television.

As for firmware updates, Sony puts them out quite often and they're easy to get. You just accept the update, it downloads and then installs. The next update (2.20) will enable BD-LIVE so looking forward to that.

I don't know what good RPG there are as I don't have the time and have stayed away. There are a lot of games that you can download, try out and purchase as well as the system is backwards compatible with PSX and PS2 games. I hope this info. helps.

[ddr]

Re: PS3 questions

i am not a console gamer at all..

but what i hear, ps3 has crap for games. its basically just a blueray player.

if you are looking for good/fun games, get a wii or a 360.

[Adzey]

Re: PS3 questions

360 all da way for decent games

saying that gt coming out on the ps3 is gonna be gravy baby yeahhh

[beanzncheez]

Re: PS3 questions

^ ^ What you're hearing is a lot of bullshit. There are great games on the PS3 and the image quality is so much better than the Xbox360. What you can do with a PS3 is quite amazing too compared to shit boxes like the one from MS. You can load in multiple OSs, emulators, use it for online gaming and the support is far ahead of what MS has done. The Wii is great for "fun" games with multiple people and drinking parties. Kiddies too.

And don't forget... official release of GT5: Prologue in two weeks.

Another key thing to add is if anyone was interested in adding an HTPC to their entertainment setup, you can just use the PS3 to stream from your network to your television, as well as store the video and audio content. You can upgrade the hard drive to 320GB and add more storage or just connect it to a NAS.

[Corven]

Re: PS3 questions

^^ basically what beanz said and in terms of games i would say that games that are released to date for the ps3 are decent but not yet fantastic however in comparison to multi platform games that are on xbox as well those on the ps3 does look far nicer ...

i'd say the ps3 is worth the investment especially if u are considering on a blu-ray player since if im not mistaken its the only player on the market that does firmware updates plus this is the year where all the sweet games would be released for the ps3 ... i.e gt5 prologue, fallout 3, ffXIII, gta4 ....

[TomTom]

Re: PS3 questions

Thanks for the responses so far. Roberto, mkv is a HD video format in 720p quality. I would like to just stream vidz through the PS3 without burning the files to a disc or to reencode them to a worse looking dvd format.

Reason I want the PS3 is that I have seen the 1st game giving a hint what the PS3 can REALLY do..so far most games did not use the architecture of it properly and PS3 > Xbox360 by far. I know the Game Portfolio of the Xbox360 is way better than the PS3 at the moment but I buy it and want to enjoy it for 3 years at least. I am always looking for best hardware when I build my PC's and I like the way the PS3 is built much more than the XBOX. Besides that the PS3 chip architecture is more advanced compared with the XBOX you can mod the PS3, run diff. OS's on it and more goodies and online gaming options are available for free if you compare it with the Xbox. For now, I am drooling for GT 5 Prologue and if you have seen this game running in full hd with 60 frames per seconds you know what Next Gen means.

http://uk.media.ps3.ign.com/media/949/949777/vids_1.html

I also wanted to buy a Bluray player anyway since the war of formats is over but I am a 100% PC player normally so I am still hesitating. Sadly the now available PS3 can't play PS2 games..if this was still the case I would have bought it without a second thought, purchased Final Fantasy 8-12 and locked myself in the cellar for a year.

Any word about DVD upscaling on the PS3?

[Simon Preston]

Re: PS3 questions

DVD upscaling looks brilliant on the PS3. Not sure how it'd look blown up to 1080p but on my 720p set it looks sharp, detailed and no noise.
Anyways, if I were given the choice I'd always take my PS3 over the XBox. Build quality is superb, Blu Ray player and upscaled DVD's are fantastic. Mine can play PS2 games and blow them up to fit the screen which is great as my tv is shite at upscaling. My one also plays SACD's which I don't think the new ones do. Get yourself the official Sony remote for it as well.
HDMI cables aren't included but most retailers will bundle one in anyway.

GT5 Prologue looks great but I still feel they can do more to it. So I'm drooling highly for the release of the full game. Was released over here a couple of days ago. Gonna get some online on the go and see what thats like. Over the next couple of years we'll see developers start to get work out how to do tricks with the hardware and get the most out of it.

2008 is definitely going to be Playstations year.

[TomTom]

Re: PS3 questions

Thanks! I wonder why they do not mention it here that it can do upscaling. This is one of the must have features for me if buying a player device in 2008. Also a good chance to watch my old DVD's again..Lord of the rings special edition on 720p looks surely good. Mmmhh...almost convinced to get one. Do you know something about PS3 and compatibility with mkv files, Simon?

[beanzncheez]

Re: PS3 questions

Thanks for not reading all of my reply, Tom.

My results are from viewing it on a 57" DLP rear projection television.

[TomTom]

Re: PS3 questions

^^ you have no boobs so why should I read carefully.

[beanzncheez]

Re: PS3 questions

I can put some on if you'd like.

[day_for_night]

Re: PS3 questions

^^ basically what beanz said and in terms of games i would say that games that are released to date for the ps3 are decent but not yet fantastic however in comparison to multi platform games that are on xbox as well those on the ps3 does look far nicer ...

i'd say the ps3 is worth the investment especially if u are considering on a blu-ray player since if im not mistaken its the only player on the market that does firmware updates plus this is the year where all the sweet games would be released for the ps3 ... i.e gt5 prologue, fallout 3, ffXIII, gta4 ....

so you're saying the quality of games is going to improve? i'm strongly considering getting one as well, mainly for the bluray right now, but i'd like the option to do a bit of gaiming when my schedule allows.

[Homskillet]

Re: PS3 questions

Mine came with an HDMI cable but I don't know if that's standard as I got mine through my hotel points reward program. Mine came with an extra controller and charger cable too. You can get HDMI cables for very cheap nowadays. I got another one for another device for $3 with free shipping from monoprice.

It has built in WiFi so you can configure it to your network. Works great.

I don't know what mkv files are but the PS3 can play a plethora of avi, divx, wma, and other video files. Same with audio. It has built in upscalling and the DVDs that I've watched on it look quite well. Much better than with my other three DVD players that I've tested on this television.

As for firmware updates, Sony puts them out quite often and they're easy to get. You just accept the update, it downloads and then installs. The next update (2.20) will enable BD-LIVE so looking forward to that.

I don't know what good RPG there are as I don't have the time and have stayed away. There are a lot of games that you can download, try out and purchase as well as the system is backwards compatible with PSX and PS2 games. I hope this info. helps.

Well said...

I use http://www.tversity.com/home to stream all my media to my ps3 wirelessly.

Funny that when I first got the ps3, I only got it to play all the games... Now I find myself streaming video and audio to it more than I play games.

It has pretty cool visual effects when playing audio too!

[Corven]

Re: PS3 questions

so you're saying the quality of games is going to improve? i'm strongly considering getting one as well, mainly for the bluray right now, but i'd like the option to do a bit of gaiming when my schedule allows.

i would say yes in terms of the quality of games improving by the end of the year just by looking at the games that are going be released ... u could check some of them out as most them have demos or game play trailers which are already out ... good examples would be videos from mgs4, gt 5 prologue and ff13 ... the transitions from cut scenes to gameplay are pretty much seamless

my only beef with the ps3 is that psn is not as good as xboxlive in terms of online gaming ... thats probably the only thing that the xbox has an edge over the ps3 imo