Some questions about the ps3

AlmightyCushion

Hey all, I'm thinking about getting a ps3 and I have a few (read: lots) of questions about it.

Is there any difference between the 40GB, 80GB and 160GB (the one that will be coming out later in the year) apart from hard drive size and the price difference between 160GB and 80GB?

What the media player like on the ps3? Does it have good codec support? Can I install my own media player (such as vlc player) on it? I'll be hooking it up to my 1TB drive for media streaming, it's fat32 so I assume there is no problem with that?

Can a keyboard and mouse work with it? In games or in general (e.g. using the web browser on it with a keyboard and mouse)?

Cheers in advance guys.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Yeah you can use any ol' USB keyboard and mouse for the PS3 gui... but game support for the mouse is very limited... (UT3 is the only one I know of personally)

The media support on the ps3 is pretty good... just off the shelf, it plays divx's, xvids and most other things I've thrown at it... it has some minor quirks with some files, but I've found that to be the exception.

Kintarō Hattori

1 - There is no difference between them except the hard drive size.

2 - Codec support is pretty limited at the moment. If you have older DivX files it's hit and miss as to whether it'll play them or not, however lots of people stream to their PS3 from a PC using a program called tversity and it'll pretty much play anything. Unfortunately you can't install your own player. You're 1TB drive will be just grand.

3 - As mentioned a keyboard and mouse will work but gamewise it has to be supported with at this point they pretty much aren't except for UT3.



It's a great machine which is slowly, it feels a little too slowly sometimes, being improved through firmware updates.

Otacon

Install Linux and VLC on a 10GB partition if you want to play the files the PS3 OS can't.

Also, getting the 40GB gives you a SIXAXIS controller, the 80GB and 160 GB come with dualshock controllers.

I'd suggest not bothering with the 160GB, as the hardrive can be easily and cheaply upgraded if necessary.

WarZoneBrother

Kintar? Hattori wrote: »

1 - There is no difference between them except the hard drive size.

and the fact that the 160 gb version comes with 70euro to spend on playstation store..

DonkeyStyle \o/

You can't really buy much of crap on the playstation store though, the selection is rubbish IMO.

Kintarō Hattori

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote: »

You can't really buy much of crap on the playstation store though, the selection is rubbish IMO.

Yep there are only three things worth buying from PSN:

Super Stardust HD
Calling All Cars
The Last Guy

That all comes to considerably less than €70.

ongarite

I would add PixelJunk Monsters & Eden, Flow, Everyday Shooter to the essential PSN list also.

norrie rugger

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Yep there are only three things worth buying from PSN:

Super Stardust HD
Calling All Cars
The Last Guy

That all comes to considerably less than €70.

Super Puzzle Fighter II is worth a look



For the OP
If you are putting a 1TB HD externally then no point with the larger internal drives. I think that the linux partition is a set limit so your internal space would easily cope with that. Allowing you to store media on your external

AlmightyCushion

Can't believe it, start a thread at 5 in the morning and you still get a responce quite quickly.

I was hoping there was some difference between them other than hard drive size. I'm getting a 320GB hard drive for my laptop so I can just use my current laptop hard drive if needs be. Hopefully I can pick up a 40GB a little cheaper that the 80GB.

Might go down the installing linux on a separate partition route just for vlc, firefox and thunderbird. I assume you need a specialised version of linux seeing as most would be x86 which wouldn't work with the ps3?

norrie rugger

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Can't believe it, start a thread at 5 in the morning and you still get a responce quite quickly.

I was hoping there was some difference between them other than hard drive size. I'm getting a 320GB hard drive for my laptop so I can just use my current laptop hard drive if needs be. Hopefully I can pick up a 40GB a little cheaper that the 80GB.

Might go down the installing linux on a separate partition route just for vlc, firefox and thunderbird. I assume you need a specialised version of linux seeing as most would be x86 which wouldn't work with the ps3?

I think that Yellow Dog seems to be the recommendation of our Linux board

AlmightyCushion

Cheers, I'll look in to that. Pity about the keyboard and mouse, I was playing a demo of haze the other day and it looked good but I'm useless on fps with a controller.

norrie rugger

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Cheers, I'll look in to that. Pity about the keyboard and mouse, I was playing a demo of haze the other day and it looked good but I'm useless on fps with a controller.

I'd check out the reviews on Haze first too

noodler

I.E. its crap apparently.

AlmightyCushion

Not too bad so I suppose. Still would prefer if it supported keyboard and mouse in every game out of the box.

norrie rugger

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Not too bad so I suppose. Still would prefer if it supported keyboard and mouse in every game out of the box.

It is up to the developers to add this as a trait in the game.
If demand is there then it will get done I imagine.

Been so long now since my Delta Force days that i would be lost on a PC FPS

311

Just to add ,there is additional addons for the ps3 by the end of the year.
They include online music video streaming ,with online track purchases to follow early next year for phones etc.
Sony Computers are now joined with sony online entertainment ,which means that media and software will become available in the future also.
I'm not fully clear on the full details ,but they are all in the game conference videos on PSN.

noodler

All software updates though right?

Kintarō Hattori

noodler wrote: »

All software updates though right?

What's wrong with that? What would you like to see?

noodler

No, just checking to see if you meant later PS3s would have different software in them or were we just talking about firmware.

AlmightyCushion

311 wrote: »

Just to add ,there is additional addons for the ps3 by the end of the year.
They include online music video streaming ,with online track purchases to follow early next year for phones etc.
Sony Computers are now joined with sony online entertainment ,which means that media and software will become available in the future also.
I'm not fully clear on the full details ,but they are all in the game conference videos on PSN.

Meh, not really that interested in any of that. The ps3 is region free, is it down to the developers to implement a region if they like or are all the games region free? Also, any good online shops that sell relatively cheap ps3 games?

ixm1980

www.videogamesplus.ca

311

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Meh, not really that interested in any of that. The ps3 is region free, is it down to the developers to implement a region if they like or are all the games region free? Also, any good online shops that sell relatively cheap ps3 games?

I've been using the internet for years ,nows my chance to ask this question.

What the hell does Meh ,mean ?

AlmightyCushion

311 wrote: »

I've been using the internet for years ,nows my chance to ask this question.

What the hell does Meh ,mean ?

I actually say the word meh in real life, have done for years. You know that noise you make when some one says something that doesn't interest you at all in any possible way in the slightest (usually accompanied by a shrug), that's what meh is.

Sea Devils

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

are all the games region free? ?

As far as I know all PS3 games are regional free

Developers have the option of making them region locked but as yet none of them have

AlmightyCushion

Sweet!

Otacon

Sea Devils wrote: »

As far as I know all PS3 games are regional free

Developers have the option of making them region locked but as yet none of them have

While all games are region free, be aware that some online features are region locked.

Example, Army of Two. For a game so geared for online co-op multiplayer, they locked the online mode to the regions. Insanity tbh.

Kintarō Hattori

noodler wrote: »

No, just checking to see if you meant later PS3s would have different software in them or were we just talking about firmware.

The basic software will be the same for all PS3's. Sony are including €70 worth of downloadable software with the 160GB and special packages like this might become more common but essentially what runs the PS3 will be the same across the board otherwise you'd end up with compatibility issues.

S.I.R

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Hey all, I'm thinking about getting a ps3 and I have a few (read: lots) of questions about it.

Is there any difference between the 40GB, 80GB and 160GB (the one that will be coming out later in the year) apart from hard drive size and the price difference between 160GB and 80GB?

What the media player like on the ps3? Does it have good codec support? Can I install my own media player (such as vlc player) on it? I'll be hooking it up to my 1TB drive for media streaming, it's fat32 so I assume there is no problem with that?

Can a keyboard and mouse work with it? In games or in general (e.g. using the web browser on it with a keyboard and mouse)?

Cheers in advance guys.

a usb keyboard works grand ( plug and play ) but after 2 minutes your just as fast using the gamepad as you are with the keyboard

also

the midea player is grand, my external hard drive works though i wouldnt reintall anything on the machien personally

also get the neewest console possable as the early ones even upto late last year had terrable hd issues....

only thing worth saying is this: buy it for the play station controller set up - sacrafice playing online... as its rather rubbish compared to the wii and xbox... and pc repsectfully...

Otacon

Off-topic: The Wii online? Are you serious? Besides Mario Kart Wii, its pants!

Hellrazer

S.I.R wrote: »

midea player is grand, my external hard drive works though i wouldnt reintall anything on the machien personally


only thing worth saying is this: buy it for the play station controller set up - sacrafice playing online... as its rather rubbish compared to the wii and xbox... and pc repsectfully...

Have to say the PS3 is better as a media player than the 360.Its played everything Ive thrown at it so far and its even better that you can put movies on the hard drive (cant wait for 320gb hdd to arrive)

As for online its no worse than Live in my opinion--I actually prefer it to live mainly cos its free and also the fact that the PS3 has wifi built in means I dont have to move my router into the room with the ps3 just to get online.

Browser is excellent aswell when you use kb/mouse---I find Im using it more than my pc for web browsing these days.

It just seems more like a "well rounded" machine--browser,mp3s/movies on hard drive (cant do that with a 360)

AlmightyCushion

Hellrazer wrote: »

Have to say the PS3 is better as a media player than the 360.Its played everything Ive thrown at it so far and its even better that you can put movies on the hard drive (cant wait for 320gb hdd to arrive)

You can buy a 320GB 2.5" sata drive online for €80. This will work with the ps3, although you'll have to reinstall the ps3 stuff.

Otacon

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

You can buy a 320GB 2.5" sata drive online for €80. This will work with the ps3, although you'll have to reinstall the ps3 stuff.

Not if you use the backup utility.

AlmightyCushion

Oooh, please explain as I plan on sticking in my own hard drive.

ongarite

Connect a FAT32 USB HDD to PS3. Go to "System Settings" and "Backup" to backup an exact 1:1 copy of your current PS3 HDD. When you then install a new larger HDD, you run the "Backup" again and this time restore the image.
All users, game saves, installs, music & video will be installed on new HDD.

AlmightyCushion

Can you backup to a usb hard drive and then rip the hard drive out of the enclosure and pop that into the ps3?

ongarite

Not unless its a SATA 2.5" HDD and then you won't have your data backup.