Hi all,

I will be moving my BV7-40 from its motorised floor stand onto a fixed flush wall bracket soon and I need to buy a PS3 before the work starts to allow the cabling to be channelled in. I am not a games person and I understand there are several types of PS3 that exist. The original model with a 60GB hard disk seems to be the most sought after from the little research I have carried out, mostly on Ebay. This is because of the backwards compatability.

The only reason I am buying the PS3 is for Bluray DVD playback but since it is a games console as well it would make sense to use it where possible. Now, the only games I ever really got into were the old shoot em up games by Namco called Point Blank. There were a couple of versions and I know they made these for the PS3 model. Can people advise if it is still possible to find these games, to find the guns (blue and pink in the arcade) and which PS3 model I need to buy to play them? Apart from those, the only other games I would be likely to play would be the old 80s classics like Asteroids, Space Invaders, Missle Command, Pac-Man, Crazy Balloon, Defender, Galaxian, Frogger, Pole Position, Donkey Kong, Outrun, Spy Hunter etc. I have never been into the more modern games since.

Also, what are your thoughts on buying a PS3 for Bluray playback? Is it better to wait for something else? I know there is a new module coming out to replace the BV7-40 DVD player but from what I have been told this will not be backward compatable and will only play Bluray DVDs, which is not an option I want to be limited to as many of my films are on standard definition DVD.

So, any and all thoughts, views and opinions are most welcome please on this topic.

Thanks in advance,
Simon.

Hi Simon,

My brother's a PS3 expert as he's heading into the gaming industry and is already doing some development, so I'll check with him, but I'll try to answer myself.  The early 60gb ps3's you mentioned are the most sought after because they have a ps2 chipset inside (called the Emotion Engine), allowing you to play ps1, ps2, and ps3 games on them.  Later on though, Sony started pushing their inexpensive slim version of the PS2.  Sony felt the backwards compatibility of the PS3 was hurting the PS2 sales, so they subsequently removed the backwards compatibility from the newer PS3's.  Some say it was also just to reduce production costs for the PS3.  The new PS3's (80gb and 160g) still have backwards compatibility with many PS1 and PS2 games, but not ALL of them.  You can find lists online where you can check to see whether older PS1 and PS2 games you want to play will work on the new verions.  As far as I know, the game Point Blank and its sequals were only for PS1, so you'd have to check before buying the new PS3 version.  The old classic games you mention are often released as classic arcade packages for the PS3.  So you can often find a single disk that will be a collection of several older games.

As a blu-ray player, the PS3 was arguably the best player on the market when it came out and for awhile after.  I don't know whether there's supposed to be anything better out now, but I can't imagine any improvements being meaninful.  As expensive as the PS3 was when it came out, it was an absolute bargain for the technology within.  My two roommates and I were science majors in college.  My one roommate was a physics major and worked in a modern physics lab.  An experiment they were working on required high quality blue wavelength lasers.  They ended up buying a bunch of PS3's and cracking them open to get the blu-ray lasers inside, as they discovered that laboratory lasers of the same quality as the PS3 lasers would cost far more than the PS3 itself.

Austin

A PS3 is a good option, but knowing how you only like to control your kit with your B&O remotes, you'll need an additional device to make this happen.

The PS3 is ideal if you are going to play the occassional game. I've not played games for years, but since buying the PS3, have played the odd racing game from time to time. Kind of further justifies the PS3 purchase. I also was a big fan of the old 80s games, but once you start playing Burnout Paradise, you'll realise the power of the PS3. You will not - really - want to play old games on a PS3 once you get it. You might as well just do that on a PC.

However, if you're ONLY going to purchase a PS3 for Blu-ray, why not simply wait for the internal Blu-ray drive for the BV7-40, which is due in April/May? That's only two months away.

The internal drive will be backward compatible. ALL Blu-ray drives play standard definition discs. That's norm in the industry. Who on earth told you that?

Hi Austin,

Many thanks for your reply and I look forward to seeing if your brother has anything to add to the discussion. I saw a Point Blank game advertised on EBay yesterday along with 2 guns. However, it said in the advert that the guns do not work with LCD or Plasma screens! So here we have a further problem if this is the case. So, does anyone happen to know if you can get updated guns for the PS 1/2/3 that DO work with LCD and Plasma screens? If this is not the case then I will almost certainly get the latest model and just use it for Bluray DVD playback.

Simon.

Simon, I am pretty sure you may have thought of it already, but from an installation p.o.v. make sure you run cables you may think you don't think you need - IR Blasters, HDMI's, Digital Out etc. etc. if you are channelling the wall specially, or certainly allow to pull cables through in the future!

i'd look at standalone alternatives , i've had 3 ps3's in the last 18 months - due to unreliability and overheating issues , so so much for it being a solid reliable product

the thing is also rather noisy ( the fan will probably annoy you in quiet passages in a film ) for blu ray playback and the picture quality isn't as clean as a good standalone player i'm led to believe , i do find mine rather grainy for films , but i use it mainly for games anyway

sony have some very interesting models , bdp s350 & 550

http://whathifi.com/Reviews/Home-cinema-Reviews/Blu-ray-players-Reviews/default.aspx

Heya, i whould wait for the B&O Version and check it out first. I whoulden't be suprised if they got some nice picture enhancements build in there.

And for my self i whoulden't buy an old PS3, those BluRay Lasers need to read some very thin information. You can't tell how long it has been running and how "used up" the Laser capacity is. A DVD Laser compared to a CD Laser doesen't last as long and with BluRay Lasers it is probably not better.

Flappo The Grate:

the thing is also rather noisy

It's not noisy at all. One of the advantages of the PS3 is the quiet operation - I think the early versions were noiser though.

However, I would agree that it crashes or is unreliable. Often the controller 'loses' the wireless connection; same as the bluetooth DVD controller. I have to turn the PS3 off at the mains to reset.

Flappo The Grate:

i'd look at standalone alternatives , i've had 3 ps3's in the last 18 months - due to unreliability and overheating issues , so so much for it being a solid reliable product

the thing is also rather noisy ( the fan will probably annoy you in quiet passages in a film ) for blu ray playback and the picture quality isn't as clean as a good standalone player i'm led to believe , i do find mine rather grainy for films , but i use it mainly for games anyway

sony have some very interesting models , bdp s350 & 550

http://whathifi.com/Reviews/Home-cinema-Reviews/Blu-ray-players-Reviews/default.aspx

Thanks for the link Flappo, I was trying to find some good review sites for Bluray playback. Perhaps it is worth hanging on to see what B&O bring out in a couple of months.

Simon.

Interesting PS3 comments - I too find my PS3 (an earlier 40GB, non-backwards-compatible model) noisy, due to the fan. However it's been completely reliable. I've never experienced it losing connection with a controller (except for one time when the controller's charge depleted). Been using it daily for games and movies for half a year.

Tip: when connecting it to a B&O TV, turn off the PS3's "DVD upscaling" feature. The B&O does a much better job.

Leo

I am put off by the loud sounds of the fan actually. Someone mentioned in a reply that it would distract me during DVD watching and it would. I also don't like the fact that I can't control it through the Beo 4. How about the Beo 5, any better?

Simon.

At home, my setup is a bv4 50" connected to BS3. I decided to go down the route of PS3 (bought the 160GB) for playing of dvds and bluray discs and I have to say the result is fantastic (I didn't buy PS3 for games). The PS3 is an excellent player - it's v fast, 7.1 sounds fantastic, updates regularly, picture is very vivid and sharp, and best of all it is an excellent upscaler- better than the beosystem 3 itself. Standard definition dvds look brilliant - once the player had been updated to current firmware. It can also be controlled by the beo5 using a BS3 - it can't be switched on with remotely but you have to put in a disc anyway. Also great are the ability to use the internet, view photos play games etc.

Having said this, I haven't seen a standalone player connected to this system, but the PS3 is so good that I won't be looking at buying one as I don't think the quality can be further improved from what I am seeing already.

With regards to the fan, It's incredibly quiet, I didn't notice it at all when it's switched on.

I got the same version. No problems, it's not loud either and sure you can control it with Beo 4 since there is a STB Controller entry for it.

EDIT: You need that USB dongle they suggest for PS3 though (for use with the STB Controller).

Hi again Simon.  The PS3 can be controlled by universal IR with this usb adapter:

http://www.schmartstuff.com/sony-ps3-ir-upgrad.html

Review and some more pics:

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=92360

As you can see, the front plastic part is shaped to match the shape of the front of the ps3, so when it's plugged in it blends with the front quite well.  It's received much praise on the avs forums.

In regards to fan noise, I hear it when I first turn the ps3 on, but after that I never noticed it.  If we leave the ps3 on by mistake I only ever realize by seeing the led, not by hearing the fan.

I haven't compared the dvd upscaling to anything else, but I do know it has improved with the firmware updates.

Austin

Thank you so much to all those who have posted replies. They have been first class and helped me make a firm decision, which is to buy the PS3 160GB version. I really do appreciate the time people take to comment. Generally, (on any topic) people don't tend to reply if the thread doesn't interest or concern them, which is shame. But, for those who do, whether it concerns you or not - I send you a big heartfelt thank you. One of my greatest pleasures from using Beoworld is the invaluable advice received from other members and I am so grateful to those who offer it. I like to feel 100% certain (as much as can be) before making a purchase and BeoWorld always helps me with that. All the best to everyone.

Simon.