[Dont be at yourself]

This thread is here to provide links and information on frequently-discussed topics. Feel free to contribute. Please keep chatter to a minimum, and only post useful information!

1. Buying a PS3 Abroad

European (inc. Irish) PS3s will play:

All Playstation 3 games (inc. US/Japanese/Asian games)
PAL Playstation 2 games (IF your system is backwards compatible)
PAL Playstation 1 games
Region B (Europe/Africa) and multi-region Blu Ray movies
Region 2 (PAL), 4 and 0 DVDs

Japanese PS3s will play:

All Playstation 3 games
Japanese Playstation 2 games (IF your system is backwards compatible)
Japanese Playstation 1 games
Region A (Japan/US) and multi-region Blu Ray movies
Region 2 (NTSC) and region 0 DVDs (PAL DVDs may not play back)

American PS3s will play:

All Playstation 3 games
American Playstation 2 games (IF your system is backwards compatible)
American Playstation 1 games
Region A (Japan/US) and multi-region Blu Ray movies
Region 1 (NTSC) and region 0 DVDs (PAL DVDs may not play back)

With all models, all menus can be put into English. You may sign up for your local Playstation Network store, regardless of location. There are some differences in firmware, and some features may not be available on certain machines. You may be liable for import duty and VAT if your machine is imported from outside the EU. Although overseas Playstations may specify 100-120V, they should work with Irish voltage without a transformer, though this may change. Use at your own risk.

--------------------------------

Threads of Interest:
Essential PS3 Games

Topics to be covered:

NAT/Firewall Problems
Adding funds to Playstation Network accounts
Streaming from media centers
Connecting PS3 to TV/Speakers

Feel free to contribute!

[giggsy664]

Originally Posted by NekkidBibleMan

This thread is here to provide links and information on frequently-discussed topics. Feel free to contribute. Please keep chatter to a minimum, and only post useful information!

1. Buying a PS3 Abroad

European (inc. Irish) PS3s will play:

All Playstation 3 games (inc. US/Japanese/Asian games)
PAL Playstation 2 games (IF your system is backwards compatible)
PAL Playstation 1 games
Region B (Europe/Africa) and multi-region Blu Ray movies
Region 2 (PAL), 4 and 0 DVDs

Japanese PS3s will play:

All Playstation 3 games
Japanese Playstation 2 games (IF your system is backwards compatible)
Japanese Playstation 1 games
Region A (Japan/US) and multi-region Blu Ray movies
Region 2 (NTSC) and region 0 DVDs (PAL DVDs may not play back)

American PS3s will play:

All Playstation 3 games
American Playstation 2 games (IF your system is backwards compatible)
American Playstation 1 games
Region A (Japan/US) and multi-region Blu Ray movies
Region 1 (NTSC) and region 0 DVDs (PAL DVDs may not play back)

With all models, all menus can be put into English. You may sign up for your local Playstation Network store, regardless of location. There are some differences in firmware, and some features may not be available on certain machines. You may be liable for import duty and VAT if your machine is imported from outside the EU. Although overseas Playstations may specify 100-120V, they should work with Irish voltage without a transformer, though this may change. Use at your own risk.

--------------------------------

Topics to be covered:

NAT/Firewall Problems
Adding funds to Playstation Network accounts
Streaming from media centers
Connecting PS3 to TV/Speakers

Feel free to contribute!

In order to add funds to your PlayStation Network account, you will need a credit card, such as a Visa or Mastercard, (Possibly a 3V Prepaid card, if you use it like a Visa).

Go to Account Management under "PlayStaion Network", Wait for it to load, then follow the link to either "Wallet Management" Or "Redeem PlayStation Network card or Promotion code".

Method 1: Wallet Management)
To add funds select "Add Funds". It will ask how you wish to add the funds, But will only give you one option: "Credit Card". Now enter your credit card details. If you entered your credit card details when you signed up to the PlayStation Network, you will not have to enter your details again.

You can only enter Amounts in Denominations of €5, €10, €20 ETC.

Method 2: PSN Code)
Someone else fill this in.





Edit: Denominataions? WTF???

[ravydavygravy]

NAT Issues

If you go into the PS3 Network Settings and perform a connection test, it will tell you what NAT level you are currently on. The three levels are NAT1, NAT2 & NAT3:

• NAT1 - Direct connection to the internet - no NAT required
• NAT2 - Connected via router, but all necessary ports NAT-ed (aka port forwarded)
• NAT3 - connected via router, some ports not NAT-ed yet.

When you first connect your PS3 to the internet through a normal DSL router, you will usually be on NAT3 - you probably want to get this up to NAT2 or NAT1 to ensure you can sucessfully do all the online gaming stuff you want to do (chat, host games, join games...)

There are two main ways of doing this - you only need to do one or the other.


Method 1 - Port-Forwarding to get NAT2

In this method, you are trying to open certain ports in your router to allow other users to connect to them - this is necessary for the complete operation of PSN functionality. The idea is that you set up rules on your router to forward traffic on certain ports to your PS3, which lives on your internal network. When all the ports are done, you will be at NAT2.

To get specific instructions for your router, go to portforward.com - pick your router (look on the router for a sticker with a model number if you don't know it), and then select "Playstation Network" as the application to configure. Follow these instructions carefully.

You may also need to open these ports on your routers firewall - refer to to user manual of your router for further info, or ask on the Comms forum. Also, some games use special ports - you can get instructions for them on portforward.com as well.


Method 2 - Using PPPoE to get NAT1

PPPoE is the protocol your router uses to connect to your ISP, but your PS3 is able to do it as well - it's explained clearly on this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JugGe7CCuNU

As Mick mentioned, you'll need your internet login details - if you don't have them, ring your ISP and ask fior them (or google it). Also, bear in mind this will only work for ISPs that use PPPoE (regular DSL providers) - I'm not sure if it will work for cable modems, radio internet, satellite internet etc... (people like Irish Broadband, UPC) - maybe someone else can confirm/deny this.

The net effect of following the video is that your PS3 gets a public IP address on the internet (like your router has) and is outside your firewall (so all the necessary ports are open by default) - do the connection test, and you'll be at NAT1


So which one do I do??

It doesn't matter, both will work, and conversly, people have had trouble getting either method to work. In general, method 2 is simpler and involves no router knowledge, so a lot of people go for it. On the other hand, method 1 exposes less of your PS3 to the internet (just the ports you open), so its argueably a better option from a security point of view. Also, if you use media servers to stream to the PS3, method 2 will also probably stop this working - it can be made work, but thats another story....

If you are still in doubt, or you have a funny network setup, try asking on the Net & Comms forum for advice. Alternativly, search this forum for old threads on NAT issues - there are loads of them, so its possible someone had the exact same problem as you and found a solution already...

[ravydavygravy]

PS3 Models - What are the differences??

Summarized from wikipedia:

All models include: Blu-ray/DVD/CD drive, HDMI 1.3a, Bluetooth 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T), PlayStation One backward compatibility through software emulation. All models used to come with a single Six-Axis controller, but in the newer 80GB and 160GB models, this has been replaced with a Dual-Shock Six Axis controller. All models come with a simple AV cable & scart adaptor to connect to a TV set, an ethernet cable, power cable and a USB cable to charge/power the controller.

Model	Region	USB Ports	Wi-Fi	Card Reader	Play SACD?	Play PS2?	Released	Available	Colours
20GB	NTSC	4	No	No	Yes	Yes (via HW)	Nov 2006	No	Black
40GB	PAL,NTSC	2	Yes	No	No	No	Oct 2007	While stocks last	Black, White(Asia Only),Silver(Asia Only),Grey
60GB	NTSC	4	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (via HW)	Nov 2006	No	Black
60GB	PAL	4	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (via SW)	Mar 2007	No,second-hand only	Black
80GB	NTSC	4	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (via SW)	Aug 2007	Yes	Black
80GB	PAL,NTSC	2	Yes	No	No	No	Aug 2008	Yes	Black
160GB	PAL,NTSC	2	Yes	No	No	No	Oct 2008	Yes	Black

SACD = Super Audio CD - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Audio_CD (no, I never heard of them either...)


Tell me more about the backwards compatability!!

Originally, the PS3 was built containing the two main hardware chips from the PS2 - the Emotion engine processor and the Graphics Synthesizer. These models (20GB and 60GB NTSC models) could therefore support most PS2 games using this extra hardware. Later, they removed the Emotion Engine chip, replacing it with software emulation to run PS2 games (80GB NTSC and 60GB PAL versions). Eventually they removed the graphics chip as well, and now no currently available PS3s have PS2 backwards compatability. Since the emulated version relied on the graphics chip, and it is no longer built into the PS3, backwards compatability for PS2 games seems to be a thing of the past.

If this is a big deal for you, you'll have to trawl the second-hand market for a 60GB version...

[giggsy664]

Release Dates:

20/60 GB Japan: November 11th 2006
20/60 GB US/Canada: November 17th 2006
60 GB Europe, Middle East, Africa and Austrailasia: March 23rd 2007
80 GB Usa/Japan: August ?? 2007
80 GB Europe, Middle East, Africa and Austrailasia: August 22nd 2008
160 GB Worldwide: October ?? 2008

60 GB Release Prices (In Order Of Release):
Japan: ¥59,980 (€313.30)
USA: $599 (€405.75)
Europe: €599
Britain: £425 (€532.61)
Ireland: €629

We paid 13£ Less than britain at the launch. darn excahnge rates

[guil]

just to clarify that pppoe doesnt work on cable davy, i'm with upc

[guil]

edit

[ravydavygravy]

HDMI Cables for my PS3

Ok, so something that comes up a lot is the issue of cabling - do I buy a €200 HDMI cable or a €1 one?

Companies will always try to get you to part with as much money as possible. With analogue cabling, stuff like shielding and good cable construction were kinda important, because these things could have a real effect on the signal being passed from one end to another.

With digital signals (like HDMI), the information being passed through the cable is much simpler - just 1s and 0s. In general, digital cables either work perfectly (clear picture) or not (no picture/blocky picture) - you don't get interferance noise, or fuzziness.

With this in mind, a producer that makes cables and sells them for €100+ with claims that they are ultra-low interferance, gold-plated, low-oxygen wonder cables are duping you and me. They may well have all these features, but the performance (in general) will be no better than a cheap €5 cable from tescos. The features don't matter.

So why make expensive cables - they may be useful in some circumstances, such as over long distances, where a quality cable may keep the signal stong for longer. Or if you like brandnames. A lot.

To sum up: In general, if you are connecting a PS3 to TV with a HDMI cable under 5M, the cheapest one you can find will work perfectly.

Its not just us - other people have come to the same conclusions:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...e/4235717.html
http://boardsus.playstation.com/play...sage.id=828972
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thum...2007/2/19/7116
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11276_7-6845988-3.html

[byte]

The likes of Monster would think different. Or at least, hope you see their way of thinking!

[guil]

trust me there is no difference between a monster 300 and one i got for 20 euro i payed 100 for the monster like a gob sh!te

[ball ox]

Originally Posted by byte

The likes of Monster would think different. Or at least, hope you see their way of thinking!

this is interesting

[giggsy664]

Adding funds, Part 2!

To add funds to your account with a PS3 Voucher Card, You will need;
1) A PS3 Voucher Card (Only available in USA/Canada)
2) A USA/Canadaian Playstation Network Account

Step one: Purchase your Card.
Step two: Sign in with your USA/Canadian Psn account.
Step three: Go to the store, and in the top right select "Redeem Code", and enter in your code.
Step four: Done! Enjoy your money.

Note: For those of you who receive a beta code (ie: LBP or Home), or a special add-on for a game (ie: Nariko or Kratos for LBP), The above steps, with exclusion of step one, and step two being "sign in with your account"

That is all.

[pool fan]

how do i set up a us account so i can download a game from the us playstation store?

[the hunter]

i cant change my nat type. ive tried carlow micks way of doing it i tried through eircom they were no fecking help i tried the other method going into computer setup still on type 3 . does anyone know how to do this ????

[L37 fan]

Originally Posted by pool fan

how do i set up a us account so i can download a game from the us playstation store?

well what i done was 1st type in your name, DOB etc then for address ... type in the address of a hotel in USA it worked 4 me !