The Playstation 3 (PS3) is the third generation console in Sony's gaming lineage and presented a challenge to the X-Box 360 and Nintendo Wii.
The PS3 boasts a immensely powerful 3.2 Ghz Cell Broadband Engine processor and an RSX graphics card. This enables high definition display, up to 1080p, to be displayed on a HD-ready television set. There is also a blu ray disc drive, a 250GB hard drive, wireless network and bluetooth connectivity.
Upon opening up the box, I was presented the blu ray discs, a Dual Shock controller, power cable, AV cables, printed manuals, and of course, the console itself.
The Slim version of the PS3 that I bought is lighter and smaller than its predecessor released earlier (a.k.a the Fat version), consumes up to 33% less power and is therefore quieter. It will also bitstream high definition sounds to your amplifier via a HDMI cable. If you don't have an amplifier that accepts HDMI connections, you can also output digital audio to your reciever via optical out at the rear of the console unit which allows legacy DTS and Dolby Digital to be played.
The first production batch PS3s came with 3 USB ports and backward compatibilty with PS2 games which were eventually watered down in latter versions whereby only 2 USB ports were provided with no backwards compatibility at all, as found on current versions.
Just after booting your PS3 up for the first time, you'd want to begin by customizing the video settings to suit your television set. If you have a 1080p tv, please do connect it to your PS3 using a HDMI 1.3a compliant cable and you will be rewarded with a rich and vibrant colors. When watching movies with dark scenes, you can clearly see the silhoutte of contrasting blacks, especially handy when watching Batman Begins and the Dark Knight.
Watching Star Wars Episode III on it was a wonderful experience. The CGI scenes have never looked more realistic and brings you closer to the action.
The load time for blu rays discs on the PS3 is also one of the best rated in the market, at a mere 5 secs. If you speak to owners of some standalone blu ray players, they will tell you that it takes an average of 20 seconds to a whole minute to load a single disc!
In addition to being a games console and blu ray player, the PS3 will also decode Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby HD and DTS-Master Audio on board. Obviously, you need an AV reciever that accepts both video and audio via HDMI to be able to output HD sounds. The result of this is a spectacular symphony of surround sound from your movies or games, bringing deep immersion into whatever that is happening on screen.
Whilst spinning the Dark Knight bundled disc, I can hear the drop of every spen bullet casing fired by the Joker in the opening scene. You can even hear Christian Bale breathing through his black rubber suit when the background ambient noise is sufficiently low.
When playing Metal Gear Solid 4, you hear bullets whizz past you as you trip the alarm, and you can tell when the enemy is about to stick a knife into your back.
From left to right, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Batman: The Dark Knight, Metal Gear Solid 4.
The PS3 comes with a single DualShock Six-Axis controller as standard. You can either connect the controller using a cable provided or you can use it wirelessly (using bluetooth). The joypad provides rumble and vibration feedback from appropriate games. The Six-Axis function detects movement in the joypad and allows you to control movement in the game by simply turning your joypad, a bit like Nintendo Wii.
The free official Sony blu ray remote.
The XMB menu
Metal Gear Solid screen
Batman: Arkham Asylum demo screen
Blessed with a 250GB 3.5" hard drive and DIVx support, you can save and play your downloaded movies on the PS3 too! I saved a whole season of downloaded X-Files on the console and played it seamlessly with no problems at all.
There are two ways of importing your files: either via the network (if your PS3 is connected to your home network) or using a USB pen drive.
As mentioned earlier, this version of the PS3 consumes less power and quieter. Contrary to the 60GB version of the PS3, which could sound like a jet plane taking off, you really don't hear the console running at all. The fan noise is near inaudible unless you stick your ear right next to the unit.
To summarize, the PS3 is an extremely powerful gaming console and doubles as a reliable blu -ray player. If you are looking for a good blu ray player, I suggest you get the PS3 even though you don't play any games.
The XMB menu
Once you've grown accustomed to the menu interface, I recommend signing up to Playstation Network (for free) where you can stay in contact with fellow PS3 owners, and also pay a visit to Sony's online store where you can download demos and trailers to games and movies.
Metal Gear Solid screen
Batman: Arkham Asylum demo screen
Blessed with a 250GB 3.5" hard drive and DIVx support, you can save and play your downloaded movies on the PS3 too! I saved a whole season of downloaded X-Files on the console and played it seamlessly with no problems at all.
There are two ways of importing your files: either via the network (if your PS3 is connected to your home network) or using a USB pen drive.
As mentioned earlier, this version of the PS3 consumes less power and quieter. Contrary to the 60GB version of the PS3, which could sound like a jet plane taking off, you really don't hear the console running at all. The fan noise is near inaudible unless you stick your ear right next to the unit.
To summarize, the PS3 is an extremely powerful gaming console and doubles as a reliable blu -ray player. If you are looking for a good blu ray player, I suggest you get the PS3 even though you don't play any games.
