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The "I just bought a PS3" impression thread.
CZroe
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've got a lot of questions peppered in there, so if I expect answers, I'd better supply cliff notes...
Info:
-The PS3 isn't selling fast. We all know this, but this is a pretty telling example.
-New PS3 console no longer include Talladega Nights, as indicated by the lack of a "Includes FREE Talladega Nights:" sticker.
-Many people are returning their older PS3 units, so you may see one.
-Best Buy is advertising Talladega Nights as included with the PS3. It is not.
-You can press the issue and get TN Ballad of Ricky Bobby Unrated Edition for free instead.
-Most BB stores still have the PS3 in stock.
-Few BB stores have TN on Blu-Ray Disc in stock.
-Best Buy is more dumb than the assuming eBay sellers because they left themselves open for abuse.
-PS2 Component Cables work with the PS3. Even for 1080p over component (BD 1080p is HDCP/HDMI only).
-Even 1080p games require HDCP for HDMI/DVI output.
-Most BB stores still have PS2 component cables but are sold out of the over-priced PS3-specific ones.
-Some BB stores have the PS2 cables half-off and shoved away hidden in the store ("Manager's Special" in Peachtree City, GA at least).
-TN Unrated on BD is not discernibly better than a DVD on my top of the line TV, though it may be more because of what the TV does to improve DVD movies rather than it being only a small improvement.
-The PS2 problem and fix are bogus.
-The reason PS2 games look better on a PS2 is because the TV's image processor doesn't fudge with a HD signal.
-Set your PS3 to 480i for PS2 games so the SD image is not output within an progressive signal.
-The PS3 has no overscan compensation, though it needs it badly.
Questions:
-I know about the memory card adapter, but how do I use my PS2 accessories? Taiko Drum Master Drums, Guitar Hero SG Guitar, etc
[Thanks! PC PS2-to-USB converters partially workm though not well enough for GH; official converter coming in Spring.]
-Does it support USB PS2 controller adapters? The IR remote trick to program a universal remote seems to imply that it does ... plug an original PS2 controller-port remote IR receiver into a USB adapter and program your all-in-one for the primary functions.
[See above]
-Is there a way to upscale DVDs to HD? This is a feature I expected and needed for calibration purposes and troubleshooting.
[Coming in a future update. Should be on ALL BD players according to disneydvd.com.]
-I'm using the multi-out connector with component cables, so if this is an HDCP thing, would an HDMI-to-DVI cable work or enable this feature?
[No]
-The manual makes no mention of DVI or HDCP DVI, so how would it handle 1080p over DVI?
[Same as DVI with no audio]
-Why did I get this instead of an XBOX 360?
[Because the XBOX360 v2 is on the way!]
My local Best Buy had 27 PS3s when I checked Monday morning. This was after a full day of being in-stock on Sunday ("Minimum 25 per store, store opens at X:00AM December 31st, 2006, tickets handed out, blah blah blah"). Well, I guess they closed early for New Year's Eve but by the end of Monday, they were down to 26 units. Yeah, they sold one by the time they opened Tuesday. :shock:
I looked at the ad and saw that they were still offering Talladega Nights: Ballad of Ricky Bobby with it. I had seen eBay sellers make this assumption when the boxes were clearly not stickered to say so (just like the free mini XBOX 360 Media Remote last year and the Spiderman 2 UMD before that). Sure enough, the boxes were not stickered. I asked the employees if this was saying that Best Buy offers to include the BD separately and they agreed that "it must be." They were out of stock of the Talladega BD so I had to check a couple other locations on my way to TRU to find one (all three were fully stocked with PS3s). When I found one, they assured me that the disc was in the box despite my suspicions. I told them that my purchase decision was based on the advertised offer, as I didn't intend to buy a game, and that I would need to open it in the store after buying it. I did, it wasn't there, they sheepishly sent me to CS for the free Talladega BD.
Unfortunately, despite them ASSURING me that it was included against my better judgement, the CS rep was very unwilling to help me. I pressed the issue and eventually got my free BD, but they did it in a way that makes me able to go to another store with my receipt and make the same claim! Silly BB for not doing it as a return/rebuy with a zeroed-out BD title, but at least they got a customer that will not take advantage of them for it.
So, this particular BB store had a manager's special that has been going on for months. They were sold out of PS3-branded and targeted component cables, but the 1/2 price Official Sony PS2 component cables do 1080p just fine! They have a several left and they were nowhere near the PS2/3 consoles in case anyone is looking for any (I actually already had one somewhere).
So then I get home and connect her up. I set all my configurations for 1080i 16:9 and encounter horrid overscan. HUDs chopped off in-game (rented), URLs are chopped off in the browser, etc. It's intolerably bad. Unexpected considering that this is a pairing of high-end Sony products. This is a Sony XBR910 equipped with the SFP tube (65% more lines than 1080i with an XBR image processor to take advantage of it). It's essentially something like 3168x1782 resolution with an advanced image processor to utilize the added resolution. The SFP (Super Fine Pitch) tube is legendary. In fact, my set was rated as the best image quality in the industry beating all other sets against all other HD technologies (Plasma, DLP, LCoS, LCD, etc). It shouldn't be the weak link here.
Then came the moment of truth: I popped in Talladega Nights and pulled up really close to study the visual difference between it and DVD. My set does not say the screen mode or signal (720p, 1080i, etc), but the aspect was locked so I know it was outputting the selected HD signal (1080i). 1080i is no 1080p, but I could not discern the difference in detail. It was as if they were using the algorithms to remove fine details like hair, grain, and pores to avoid interlaced line twitter even though it was mastered in 1080p! Perhaps it's just this movie, but my brother and I came to the same conclusion... on this set that should be able to show the difference better than nearly any other. I wouldn't expect this flagship disc to be poorly mastered, but the PSP Spiderman 2 UMD sure was (notice the banding and artifacts in dark areas). That said, it was the "Unrated" version instead of the one first included with the console. In contrast, after totally expecting Pixar's "Cars" to lose a tremendous amount of detail on DVD vs. Cinema (it was actually depressing me before the DVD release), I was actually surprised by what I was seeing on this very set. It lost surprisingly little and really blew me away. If I didn't know the futility of comparing film to CG, I'd say that TN on BD actually shows far less discernible detail than Cars on DVD! This actually leads me to believe that my TV is partly responsible for why DVDs look so good and BD looks so indiscernibly different.
To top it off, I discovered a bad problem with my TV. Text in the upper-left hand corner is blurred and "out of focus" compared to the rest of the screen, You can also barely see some red bleeding to the left of white text on the whole left side. This is why I hate CRTs. I thought "Hey! Now I can finally run my Digital Video Essentials DVD and calibrate it correctly for high definition!" Unfortunately, the PS3 does not upscale DVD like the many HD upscaling DVD players. Once again, because my TV doesn't show the resolution in-use, I had to confirm this by seeing if the aspect function was still working. HUGE flaw. As widely reported, any BD player should do this. The $600 PS3 as a BD player is lacking in more ways than one: It also can't output >5.1 DTS ES. :v: By this point, I'm more than disappointed: I'm pissed. Is this possibly limited to HDMI or something? Is there any way to do this? Also, would HDMI-to-DVI work with 1080p sets? Would it possibly allow me to upscale (my set accepts DVI but not HDMI)?
Considering that I bought it primarily as a PS2 and BD player, I'm further disappointed. I don't own a PS2 and I never have, but I do own a several PS2 games. Strangely, almost every one uses a special controller (Guitar Hero 1 & 2, Taiko Drum Master, etc). Didn't Sony promise a PS2 controller adapter? Didn't Red Octane say that GH 1&2 would work with the PS3 using a controller adapter? Am I correct in assuming that a USB adapter might work? After all, it apparently works for the original model PS2 controller IR receiver + remote. I don't see how PS2 rumble could work through USB HID drivers though without being totally screwed up (the PS2 doesn't use DirectX FF profiles). Megaman X8 is all I have that I can play on it until I can find Megaman X7 (as if I want to... *GAG*). Of course, I'm going to run right out and grab God of War, Shadow of Colossus, I
Katamari, Katamari Damacy, etc (or see if friends are done with the copies I gifted to them).
The "problem" people are reporting with PS2 games is not a real concern. Those people simply don't understand that the image processor in a TV doesn't do much (if anything) with an HD signal and does wonders with an SD signal. This is why setting 480i output "fixes" the problem (wasn't really broken in the first place... false detail). Until 480i is selected, it's just SD within a HD resolution and so the image processor refuses to mess with it. The image processor in the set expects a device outputting HD to do whatever is needed to make it HD. In contrast, it needs to scale regular SD to the native HD resolution of the set and does what it can in the process.
[Actually, it is output in progressive scan which will similarly disable the image processor in most sets.]
Info:
-The PS3 isn't selling fast. We all know this, but this is a pretty telling example.
-New PS3 console no longer include Talladega Nights, as indicated by the lack of a "Includes FREE Talladega Nights:" sticker.
-Many people are returning their older PS3 units, so you may see one.
-Best Buy is advertising Talladega Nights as included with the PS3. It is not.
-You can press the issue and get TN Ballad of Ricky Bobby Unrated Edition for free instead.
-Most BB stores still have the PS3 in stock.
-Few BB stores have TN on Blu-Ray Disc in stock.
-Best Buy is more dumb than the assuming eBay sellers because they left themselves open for abuse.
-PS2 Component Cables work with the PS3. Even for 1080p over component (BD 1080p is HDCP/HDMI only).
-Even 1080p games require HDCP for HDMI/DVI output.
-Most BB stores still have PS2 component cables but are sold out of the over-priced PS3-specific ones.
-Some BB stores have the PS2 cables half-off and shoved away hidden in the store ("Manager's Special" in Peachtree City, GA at least).
-TN Unrated on BD is not discernibly better than a DVD on my top of the line TV, though it may be more because of what the TV does to improve DVD movies rather than it being only a small improvement.
-The PS2 problem and fix are bogus.
-The reason PS2 games look better on a PS2 is because the TV's image processor doesn't fudge with a HD signal.
-Set your PS3 to 480i for PS2 games so the SD image is not output within an progressive signal.
-The PS3 has no overscan compensation, though it needs it badly.
Questions:
-I know about the memory card adapter, but how do I use my PS2 accessories? Taiko Drum Master Drums, Guitar Hero SG Guitar, etc
[Thanks! PC PS2-to-USB converters partially workm though not well enough for GH; official converter coming in Spring.]
-Does it support USB PS2 controller adapters? The IR remote trick to program a universal remote seems to imply that it does ... plug an original PS2 controller-port remote IR receiver into a USB adapter and program your all-in-one for the primary functions.
[See above]
-Is there a way to upscale DVDs to HD? This is a feature I expected and needed for calibration purposes and troubleshooting.
[Coming in a future update. Should be on ALL BD players according to disneydvd.com.]
-I'm using the multi-out connector with component cables, so if this is an HDCP thing, would an HDMI-to-DVI cable work or enable this feature?
[No]
-The manual makes no mention of DVI or HDCP DVI, so how would it handle 1080p over DVI?
[Same as DVI with no audio]
-Why did I get this instead of an XBOX 360?
[Because the XBOX360 v2 is on the way!]
My local Best Buy had 27 PS3s when I checked Monday morning. This was after a full day of being in-stock on Sunday ("Minimum 25 per store, store opens at X:00AM December 31st, 2006, tickets handed out, blah blah blah"). Well, I guess they closed early for New Year's Eve but by the end of Monday, they were down to 26 units. Yeah, they sold one by the time they opened Tuesday. :shock:
I looked at the ad and saw that they were still offering Talladega Nights: Ballad of Ricky Bobby with it. I had seen eBay sellers make this assumption when the boxes were clearly not stickered to say so (just like the free mini XBOX 360 Media Remote last year and the Spiderman 2 UMD before that). Sure enough, the boxes were not stickered. I asked the employees if this was saying that Best Buy offers to include the BD separately and they agreed that "it must be." They were out of stock of the Talladega BD so I had to check a couple other locations on my way to TRU to find one (all three were fully stocked with PS3s). When I found one, they assured me that the disc was in the box despite my suspicions. I told them that my purchase decision was based on the advertised offer, as I didn't intend to buy a game, and that I would need to open it in the store after buying it. I did, it wasn't there, they sheepishly sent me to CS for the free Talladega BD.
Unfortunately, despite them ASSURING me that it was included against my better judgement, the CS rep was very unwilling to help me. I pressed the issue and eventually got my free BD, but they did it in a way that makes me able to go to another store with my receipt and make the same claim! Silly BB for not doing it as a return/rebuy with a zeroed-out BD title, but at least they got a customer that will not take advantage of them for it.So, this particular BB store had a manager's special that has been going on for months. They were sold out of PS3-branded and targeted component cables, but the 1/2 price Official Sony PS2 component cables do 1080p just fine! They have a several left and they were nowhere near the PS2/3 consoles in case anyone is looking for any (I actually already had one somewhere).
So then I get home and connect her up. I set all my configurations for 1080i 16:9 and encounter horrid overscan. HUDs chopped off in-game (rented), URLs are chopped off in the browser, etc. It's intolerably bad. Unexpected considering that this is a pairing of high-end Sony products. This is a Sony XBR910 equipped with the SFP tube (65% more lines than 1080i with an XBR image processor to take advantage of it). It's essentially something like 3168x1782 resolution with an advanced image processor to utilize the added resolution. The SFP (Super Fine Pitch) tube is legendary. In fact, my set was rated as the best image quality in the industry beating all other sets against all other HD technologies (Plasma, DLP, LCoS, LCD, etc). It shouldn't be the weak link here.
Then came the moment of truth: I popped in Talladega Nights and pulled up really close to study the visual difference between it and DVD. My set does not say the screen mode or signal (720p, 1080i, etc), but the aspect was locked so I know it was outputting the selected HD signal (1080i). 1080i is no 1080p, but I could not discern the difference in detail. It was as if they were using the algorithms to remove fine details like hair, grain, and pores to avoid interlaced line twitter even though it was mastered in 1080p! Perhaps it's just this movie, but my brother and I came to the same conclusion... on this set that should be able to show the difference better than nearly any other. I wouldn't expect this flagship disc to be poorly mastered, but the PSP Spiderman 2 UMD sure was (notice the banding and artifacts in dark areas). That said, it was the "Unrated" version instead of the one first included with the console. In contrast, after totally expecting Pixar's "Cars" to lose a tremendous amount of detail on DVD vs. Cinema (it was actually depressing me before the DVD release), I was actually surprised by what I was seeing on this very set. It lost surprisingly little and really blew me away. If I didn't know the futility of comparing film to CG, I'd say that TN on BD actually shows far less discernible detail than Cars on DVD! This actually leads me to believe that my TV is partly responsible for why DVDs look so good and BD looks so indiscernibly different.
To top it off, I discovered a bad problem with my TV. Text in the upper-left hand corner is blurred and "out of focus" compared to the rest of the screen, You can also barely see some red bleeding to the left of white text on the whole left side. This is why I hate CRTs. I thought "Hey! Now I can finally run my Digital Video Essentials DVD and calibrate it correctly for high definition!" Unfortunately, the PS3 does not upscale DVD like the many HD upscaling DVD players. Once again, because my TV doesn't show the resolution in-use, I had to confirm this by seeing if the aspect function was still working. HUGE flaw. As widely reported, any BD player should do this. The $600 PS3 as a BD player is lacking in more ways than one: It also can't output >5.1 DTS ES. :v: By this point, I'm more than disappointed: I'm pissed. Is this possibly limited to HDMI or something? Is there any way to do this? Also, would HDMI-to-DVI work with 1080p sets? Would it possibly allow me to upscale (my set accepts DVI but not HDMI)?
Considering that I bought it primarily as a PS2 and BD player, I'm further disappointed. I don't own a PS2 and I never have, but I do own a several PS2 games. Strangely, almost every one uses a special controller (Guitar Hero 1 & 2, Taiko Drum Master, etc). Didn't Sony promise a PS2 controller adapter? Didn't Red Octane say that GH 1&2 would work with the PS3 using a controller adapter? Am I correct in assuming that a USB adapter might work? After all, it apparently works for the original model PS2 controller IR receiver + remote. I don't see how PS2 rumble could work through USB HID drivers though without being totally screwed up (the PS2 doesn't use DirectX FF profiles). Megaman X8 is all I have that I can play on it until I can find Megaman X7 (as if I want to... *GAG*). Of course, I'm going to run right out and grab God of War, Shadow of Colossus, I
Katamari, Katamari Damacy, etc (or see if friends are done with the copies I gifted to them).The "problem" people are reporting with PS2 games is not a real concern. Those people simply don't understand that the image processor in a TV doesn't do much (if anything) with an HD signal and does wonders with an SD signal. This is why setting 480i output "fixes" the problem (wasn't really broken in the first place... false detail). Until 480i is selected, it's just SD within a HD resolution and so the image processor refuses to mess with it. The image processor in the set expects a device outputting HD to do whatever is needed to make it HD. In contrast, it needs to scale regular SD to the native HD resolution of the set and does what it can in the process.
[Actually, it is output in progressive scan which will similarly disable the image processor in most sets.]
CZroe on
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It's a goddamned $500-$600 gaming system
The fact that they throw a mediocre movie in should not be a selling point
Your sig is of my absolute favorite PC adventure game series. That makes me love you.
-Talledega Nights sucks.
Perhaps I made it seem like it was the reason I was buying a PS3. It was not. It was the reason I was purchasing one now rather than, say, when I could better afford it in a couple months.
I partially agree... it's somewhat better than most of Will's movies but it was full of bad bit parts and unfunny stuff. I wasn't trying to critique the movie though.
The movie is pretty good, by the way. I've seen it a few times, and it gets better every time I see it. It has a lot of heart. Besides, Free is FREE.
I see.
I'm sure used copies of the movie will be very cheap in a couple of months. You can pick it up then.
"Very cheap" for the unwanted PS3 version perhaps, but the $30 one may be netting you $30 used for now thanks to the eBay sellers over-promising their customers and being forced to compensate.
I can't believe a free copy of a crappy movie means that much to someone buying a PS3.
It's pretty much the only place I go to for non-clearance games because of the BB Gamer's Gift Card and the Reward Zone points when I price-match. Really, they see me so often and sell me so many games that if anything, they'd put up something welcoming me.
Why did you 'expect' DVD upscaling and not bother to research it?
You'd be surprised how many eBay buyers may demand a huge portion of money back if they have even a tiny leg to stand on. Sellers promise and buyers exploit. If you recall, I lost almost $400 to Erik Norberg when his uninsured package broke open and lost 200 of his 800 Hot Wheels cars. He went to PayPal and was granted a FULL, not partial, refund. You don't mess around there.
Free stuff is free stuff. While I don't care about the movie, checking out how Blu-Ray compares to normal DVD would be cool.
Nothing wrong with free stuff, agreed. Getting this worked up over Ricky Bobby? Pointless.
You can have mine if you want it.... The only reason I got it was that mine was a return (a 20GB).
DVD upscaling is promised in a future update (over HDMI, not component though).
I haven't seen any issues with PS2 games, but I have only tried a handful (though, some of the most popular ones, GT4, GTA:San Andreas, etc..) I'm using component cables though, and the output is 480p from what I can tell.
The web browser does have overscan compensation, and yes I need it badly. I haven't seen any issues with games or the PS store, etc... though some of the text on the PS store is dangerously close to the title-safe...
PS2 accessories - there's a Sony adaptor coming out in March supposedly (PS controller to USB adaptor that is). You can buy ones that were meant for the PC, but may have mixed results. I know for a fact the Guitar Hero guitar doesn't work right. USB accessories should work though. My PS2 driving wheel works fine in PS2 and PS3 games so far.
So, perhaps buyers aren't concerned with the free BD if they are actually buying it for games NOW, but if they are not buying games (I'm renting), then it lend more importance to the offer.
I don't intend to buy a game until there's a deal on Resistance FoM.
Who said anything about getting worked up? If you aren't buying a game and the PS3 will be the same price when you finally do get a game, then there's no other reason to get one now. Renting can wait just the same.
Thank you! Now, if only I knew how HDMI-to-DVI (HDCP-compatible)affects "HDMI-only" DVD upscaling... So, is Sony's back-compat list referring to the problem with the other adapters? Because of course there will be a problem with the conversion from circular axes to square axes that most PC USB adapters do... though I wonder why it wasn't a problem for Frets on Fire. I'd suggest eBaying that copy with the option to ship straight to your buyer's buyer and a big ad to notify pissed off PS3 buyers.
I bought R:FoM for $40. It was on sale at Target.
Amazon has most games "discounted" to $54.99....
But if you have a PS3 you must own this game, seriously go pay $60 for it.
Also sign up for Netflix, they are renting Bluray movies now, same price as DVDs. I should have a couple in the mail today or tomorrow... I hear Superman Returns is good for checking out picture quality.
jerks.
Oh, and I see... Yes, my PS2 games are seemingly outputting 480p (I have aspect controls). This still fits my explanation of why it reportedly looks crappier... most sets refuse to mess with 480p images too (only 480i). Even my set looks noticably worse (pizelated) when I set my Gamecube to 480p instead of 480i, but I prefer "real" detail over false detail.
Edit: Oh, and there doesn't seem to be any compensation in the browser that I can find. I assumed that they are aware of overscan and resolution problems when it asked you about SD vs. HD use. All I can do is switch from overly-cropped to way more overly cropped.
Army of Two looks good (April)
Well, there's Lair which looks kinda neat. DMC4 is coming out to 360 too, but there's still MGS4 unless Konami decides they want to make money on it and ports it to 360 as well.
So Lair pretty soon and FFXIII in like a year.
Rainbow Six Vegas is supposed to come out on January 30th, but that seems too good to be true to me (if anyone knows the latest news, please tell me; GameSpot just says Q1 2007).
Splinter Cell Double Agent is supposed to come out in March.
MGS4 is coming out sometime at the end of 2007 with some luck.
Other than those 3 games, not really sure. A bit disheartening since the first two games are on the Xbox 360.
A lot of people liken the 360 to the Dreamcast of this generation, but its looking more and more like the PS2 to me: Less power, but out of the gate sooner with a lot of titles in the pipeline.
Any hope Sonic is going to be fixed for the PS3? It was utter shite on the 360.
But the rest of those look damn good.
when was it announced that DMC 4 was 360 bound?
Never. But it hardly matters, Kamiya's abscense has pretty much doomed it to DMC2's fate.
thats good im considering buying a usa ps3 for this game (and because my usa ps2 broke).
With DMC 4 I love the art style and the surrounding have that feel of the first game which i love ( and was my only complaint with DMC 3 kinda lost some of the art direction of the first game)
Just from the videos ive seen IMO think it runs slower and a lot less fluid than DMC 3 which isn' promising but i still do have hope.
And CZroe, you're probably going to need the highest setting. The XBR910 you have gives beautiful picture quality, but like most CRTs also overscans a lot.
Also, your statement that the PS3 doesn't output anything higher than 5.1 ES sound is incorrect, I'm pretty sure. Doesn't it have a Dolby 7.1 logo on it? Perhaps I'm misremembering.
"I just want people to see my action heart."
It will output 7.1 audio, but only through the HDMI port. If you're using the optical port, 5.1 Dolby Digital, DTS, and 2 channel PCM are all you can get. I use it with an optical cable and it sounds great, but I'd love to try the 7.1 channel audio all the same. Now I just need a receiver that supports HDMI audio...
PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
Darn. I want one. I should have taken up that Microcenter mail in rebate deal... darn... I so want to play Gears of War.. gurhghghgh.
seriously.
XBL - Follow Freeman