63 of 68 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent all round media package., 30 Aug 2011 This review is from: Sony Playstation3 160GB Slim Console (Video Game) Some things not mentioned in the product description; This is a new CECH-3003A console which comes loaded with firmware 3.65 and will require an update to 3.70 if you intend to use PSN. The controller which comes with the console is a vibrating DualShock3 with six-axis, not the non-vibrating original controller the description wrongly states.
I've been a happy Xbox360 user for almost 6 years so after a few weeks, these are some of the pros and cons I've experienced compared to the 360:
Pros
- Much quieter than my 20gb Xbox 360 (I don't know how it compares to the newer 360's). Every now and then you'll hear the Blu-ray disc spin up momentarily but general noise is very low while playing.
- Wireless controller has a charging lead which connects into a usb port. Buying batteries/play and charge kit isn't cheap for the 360.
- Great TV on demand services including BBC iPLayer, 4od and ITV Player. BBC iPlayer is partically impressive, allowing much of its content to be played in HD if your connection to the internet is sufficiently fast enough. Dragon's Den looked brilliant.
- The system is generally much more open than the 360. You can use your own keyboard, mouse or bluetooth headset without having to buy Sony's own peripherals. You can also put a bigger hard drive in if you like, quick glance on amazon and you could upgrade to a 640gb hdd for around ?50, not bad at all!
- Had success importing video files to enjoy on my PS3. Firstly, external storage devices must be formatted to FAT32 which means all files must be below 4GB's in size. All the AVI and MP4 files I tried worked, sadly videos formatted in MKV format won't work. I also imported some of the AVCHD formatted HD video from my Sony camcorder and it looked stunning, great way to show videos to the family.
- Playstation Network is free. I've loved playing Xbox Live over the years and will continue to pay my subscription towards it, but it has to be said that Sony offering their service for nothing is very attractive if you're new to online gaming.
- Blu-ray player. Although their price has come down in recent times it's still a bargain to get a brilliant gaming platform and Blu-ray player at this price point.
Cons - Before I start I just want to say that all the problems I'm about to list are minimal at best and shouldn't be reason enough not to buy a PS3.
- Updating/Installing/Loading times can be significant. Getting my system up to date when I plugged the internet in took the best part of 30 minutes, maybe even slightly longer. When it then came to update Uncharted 2 this also took a long time compared a 360 title update which in my experience takes less than a minute. The first time you play a game can also take quite a long time to load as the console has to install a large amount of the game on the hard drive because transfering data straight from a Blu-ray on the fly is too slow. However I found that once this initial load had completed, in-game load times are much shorter.
- No Sky Player. Not an issue if you don't have sky, but this functionallity has been quite useful on the 360 for watching sky sports in a room other than the one we have the sky box in.
- Lovefilm is actually a bit naff. At the moment when you buy this PS3 you get 3 months unlimited (one disc at a time) membership to lovefilm with the ability to stream films to your PS3. Great right? I was initially quite excited about this until I actually tried it. For starters there isn't a great list of available titles. There are one or two I would watch but don't expect to find big blockbusters such as The Matrix, Dark Knight or Avatar. I tried watching Hurt Locker and Swordfish but both had very average picture quality and sound even when left to buffer for a while. This is a shame as the BBC iPlayer app showed that my connection can easily support watching programs in HD so I was quite disappointed with that.
- The charging cable for the controller is very short making it difficult to play and charge.
- Doesn't come with a headset, my 360 came with a wired headset.
- In my opinion the Xbox360's controller is superior. It's much chunkier than the PS3 controller and easier to hold; my hands tend to cramp much quicker with the PS3. I've also found the PS3's L2 and R2 triggers to be less responsive and accurate than the 360's, I'm looking to purchase the EA Sports Comfort Play Pack from amazon which adds thicker grips and triggers to the PS3 controller.
Thats all I can think of right now, I'll update if anything else comes to light. In short I'm very happy with my purchase and now that it costs the same as a new Xbox 360 I do think that it is a superior package.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you?35 of 38 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Good but shouldnt really of needed it, 25 Aug 2011 This review is from: Sony Playstation3 160GB Slim Console (Video Game) I have had a PlayStation before. An original CECH-C03 60gb with memory card readers and PS2 compatability.
Now this YLOD due to solder problems and as Sony wanted over 134 for a refurb unit this seemed like the better deal.
First of all this is a brand new CECH-3003A console that was just released. It is extremely light and quiet compared to my old PS3. It is missing the wifi indicator, eject indicator and has an etched sony logo on the front. It definitely is a cheaper look and feel than my old one, but is under half the price, and plays games/films the same!
Otherwise it is exactly the same as the previous slim model.
Loud disk eject compared to my old one, but thats the only big negative. (I have a PS2 still and I rarely used the memory card slots) Although more USB ports would have been useful
Hope it lasts more than 3 years of the previous machine.
Edit: Had a little play with it and noticed you can now with my Samsung LCD tv turn the console on and off with the TV remote via HDMI-CEC (anynet) Pretty cool! :)
Blu-ray only play in HD with HDMI cable not component but thats no trouble for me anyway! Just thought I would let you guy know.
Definitely runs quieter. Had it on all night redownloading all my data from PSN.
Swapped the drive out (which is a single platter 160gb thin 6.5mm drive) with a 640gb from my old PS3 and had to reformat the disk which is annoying. But works.
Comes with firmware 3.65 (June 2011) which at time of writing needs updating to 3.70 to play online.
