PS3 Impressions Yes Another One....

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:19 pm

Diablo25 wrote: I'm using Nero Media Home as my media server and have no problems streaming videos to my PS3. Originally I did but it was because of my Linksys router...they are not to "friendly" with the PS3. I changed routers (Netgear) and bingo. Well, that and I had to make an adjustment with my anti virus program. I use Norton 360 and I had to make my network "trusted" as compared to "limited." After that I have had no problems. What router are you using?

BTW, I use a number of programs to convert videos to MPEG4 - Nero 8 Ultimate and PS3 Video 9 being the two main ones.

I have a DLink router 614+ it's an older router I think it is a .B or G

I copied the files to the ps3 and they play fine. So I obviously have a connection issue somewhere, not sure how to solve it at this point.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:25 pm

Danimal wrote:
Diablo25 wrote: I'm using Nero Media Home as my media server and have no problems streaming videos to my PS3. Originally I did but it was because of my Linksys router...they are not to "friendly" with the PS3. I changed routers (Netgear) and bingo. Well, that and I had to make an adjustment with my anti virus program. I use Norton 360 and I had to make my network "trusted" as compared to "limited." After that I have had no problems. What router are you using?

BTW, I use a number of programs to convert videos to MPEG4 - Nero 8 Ultimate and PS3 Video 9 being the two main ones.
I have a DLink router 614+ it's an older router I think it is a .B or G

I copied the files to the ps3 and they play fine. So I obviously have a connection issue somewhere, not sure how to solve it at this point.

I have a list of routers with known issues somewhere...I'll try and find it.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:51 pm

Leebo33 wrote:
I actually bought my first Blu-ray today (Planet Earth) because I had a Christmas gift card that was burning a hole in my wallet.

I had a BB and Visa Gift card so I went goofy...Have the 40 Gig PS3, HDMI cable, Beerfest and after leaving went to Gamestop as I had a credit there and picked up a used copy of F1...

Xmas does come twice

...Now to hook the sucker up.

Oh yeah and I figured I could get Uncharted cheap somewhere as its a 10? hr game...or at least rent it.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 2:42 pm

Haze and Singstar are both listed for $30 at walmart.com. I ordered Singstar even though I'm a little iffy on it, but I figured if I can get it for that price it's worth it.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 4:47 pm

Has anyone read the rumors that there might be a $100 price drop on the 40 GB PS3? Supposedly, the date for the drop is January 28th. I can't imagine it being true, but if so it's back to Best Buy to get a $100 credit.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 4:59 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Has anyone read the rumors that there might be a $100 price drop on the 40 GB PS3? Supposedly, the date for the drop is January 28th. I can't imagine it being true, but if so it's back to Best Buy to get a $100 credit.

That would be great!....

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:16 pm

I wouldn't be surprised if the rumors started to circulate after Sony had announced the production cost of the PS3 was cut in half.

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/01/11/ps3 ... t-by-half/

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:23 pm

I don't buy it. Maybe later this year, and probably not more than a $50 drop. That's my prediction.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:48 pm

sportdan30 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if the rumors started to circulate after Sony had announced the production cost of the PS3 was cut in half.

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/01/11/ps3 ... t-by-half/

I would....they bled to the tune of a $2.1 billion loss due to PS3 last year and are projected to lose $1.4 billion this year. I am sure if the PS3 is at least breaking even now, they would at least like to enjoy the lack of hemorrhaging for a while since the 40 GB PS3 is helping their sales numbers.

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:51 pm

I doubt it as well, but it wouldn't surprise me. Would be a good way to capitalize on the recent Blu-Ray / HD-DVD developments.

I wouldn't guess a 100 though, maybe 50. All nothing more than speculation of course.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:18 pm

I don't have any idea of the answer (price drop rumors), but it seemed that Sony was more concerned about making Blu Ray the high def player winner than winning the console wars. Since it appears that has happened, maybe it is time for Sony to turn its attention to the PS3.

Personally, I would consider buying a cheap Blu Ray player that also played games. Especially since it appears that developers are figuring out the issues with coding for the console.

Of course, the fact that it seems to be both reliable and quiet doesn't hurt it either.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:41 pm

Man I hope it is true. I will say this, if they drop the 40gb 100bux, they will sell a TON!!!! I know of MANY friends that do not own a next-gen console simply because of the prices and I know they will jump on a ps3 at $299.

Almost makes waiting to see what "deal" is next after the 5 free blu-rays that ends the 31st.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:01 pm

SEMINOLE wrote:Man I hope it is true. I will say this, if they drop the 40gb 100bux, they will sell a TON!!!! I know of MANY friends that do not own a next-gen console simply because of the prices and I know they will jump on a ps3 at $299.

I would have a real hard time not jumping back on the PS3 bandwagon at that price....

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:19 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Has anyone read the rumors that there might be a $100 price drop on the 40 GB PS3? Supposedly, the date for the drop is January 28th. I can't imagine it being true, but if so it's back to Best Buy to get a $100 credit.

Just out of curiosity, where did you read this? Do you have a linky? Thanks

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:35 pm

It was a rumor that started circulating at slickdeals.net and has since spread to CAG as well. I'm banking on it not being true though.

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:06 pm

Sorry if this post goes off topic a bit, but since I've bought the PS3, I'm wondering if there is a need for me to get a Blu Ray disc burner with a Dell laptop I'm about to buy.

It's an extra $350, but will it be worth it? I'm pretty amateur when it comes to downloading movies/music off the internet. How would I go about using it so that I can watch stuff on my PS3?

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:16 pm

While I am no expert I can only see 3 reasons to own a Blu Ray burner at this point.

1. You have a HD video camera capable of producing HD content to go on a Blu Ray disc.

2. You have a lot of video taken or data and you just want the larger storage capacity.

3. You want to "back up" blu ray discs.

All I can say is by the time most people actually need one they will cost about 80% less then they are now.

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:29 pm

Danimal wrote:While I am no expert I can only see 3 reasons to own a Blu Ray burner at this point.

1. You have a HD video camera capable of producing HD content to go on a Blu Ray disc.

2. You have a lot of video taken or data and you just want the larger storage capacity.

3. You want to "back up" blu ray discs.

All I can say is by the time most people actually need one they will cost about 80% less then they are now.

Thanks...really helpful post.

Doesn't seem like I need it...especially since I don't have a video camera.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:48 pm

With all this talk about Blu-Ray the final thing to think about is how close are we to bypassing mediums like this to going to wireless transfers. With Apple and MS moving this way, HD and BD might be irrelevant in 2-3 years.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:09 pm

JRod wrote:With all this talk about Blu-Ray the final thing to think about is how close are we to bypassing mediums like this to going to wireless transfers. With Apple and MS moving this way, HD and BD might be irrelevant in 2-3 years.

I was just having this conversation with a coworker the other day. He was saying the same thing and I disagreed with him. I know the technology is there that completely removes the need for discs but I don't think the public will embrace downloading purchases in the long run. The 4 main reasons I think this are:

1. No resale value. Unless they give you the opportunity to transfer ownership to someone else this is a big drawback unless they severely cut the prices down. One of the biggest complaints I have with Live Arcade, the Nintendo store, and PSN is the fact that I can't resell games I've dled. Once that sunk in I became much more careful with my purchases and stopped buying the games on a whim.

2. Corporate greed. I don't think consumers will want to be members of tons of different services to buy things and you know each company will want their own service. Do you want to have a Steam experience with every movie studio?

3. The target audience that buy movies, games, music, etc. typically enjoy collecting them. Special edition packaging and whatnot are a big deal to people that pay for this merchandise. The audience that will embrace downloading without packaging are the ones who download this stuff for free so they won't be paying for it any time soon.

4. Don't underestimate the power of the retail stores. Stores like Wal-Mart and Best Buy sell a ton of movies, games, and music and I don't think they'd appreciate not being able to sell those items anymore.

I think it will eventually happen but it's going to take a long time before it does. I could be wrong though.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:39 pm

Scoop...

I think you are right on.

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:34 pm

Yep. Scoop brings up a lot of strong points there.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:39 pm

My view is all console companies are pushing to get digital distribution on the roll. That's why it's such a big deal on XBL, PSNm and on the Wii. That's how they want people to get use to the idea of having a game on the hard drive instead of owning a disc.

It will take sometime but eventually I can foresee that we will be playing a game off of a server instead of our hard drives. I know Sony and Microsoft both hinted this is where they want to be eventually.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:28 pm

There's one big problem though scoop...

What will be the time for BD and HD to get an installed base in users homes more than the early adopters that we see now. Maybe 2-3 years for people to move past DVD, wait for the BD and HD-DVD players to become attractively priced and have the lure of good library of BD/HD-DVD movies.

Maybe we'll that at the earliest in 2009 and we are talking holiday 2009. For 2008, these players will come down in price and that will help to get the installed base up.

Much like the transition from VHS to DVD, this new one has a direct competitor, digital downloads.

Digital downloads take a lot more in the way of infrastructure but America is slowly getting there. You need a broadband connection and a some way to get it onto your TV. No one really wants to watch movies on the computer.

This brings up two camps, those with high-speed internet and those without. If Apple or someone else can bring digital downloads to the mass market, those already "digitally" inclined, those people might migrate over and save the expense of buying another media player.

Secondly, the time it takes for BD and HD to gain the user base, might be long enough for companies like MS, Apple, DirectTV, cable providers etc, to offer products to capture this growing market. That time delay, I believe will be enough to make digital downloads a viable alternative hurting the market for BD/HD-DVD.

Personally and in a perfect world, here's the product I would buy. An apple TV, that had direct TV or cable access, with Tivo. Some cross breed of streaming media from my computer or through broadband rentals, ability to receive satellite/cable, because that's just about standard these days and Tivo/DVR for recording shows.

Put that box in a TV room and I think it would sell.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:02 pm

Most enthusiasts will want discs, because the downloaded movies will not have the same quality audio or video. For instance, Apple announced iTunes video rentals and their HD rentals have 5 Mbps or lower bitrates, compared to as high as 40-50 Mbps for Blu-Ray. Even some DVDs average more than 5 Mbps.

I don't think the studios want to see DVD sales be completely replaced by digital downloads. They would want to keep DVD sales and also get a growing business of downloads.

That is why for instance, the record companies are pissed about CD sales declining, even though digital music download services are growing fast, like 50% a year while CD sales declines are in the 10-20% range.

But for people who aren't really into home theater (but they may still have a flatscreen HDTV), movie downloads may be good enough for them. Lot of them think DVD is good enough for their HDTVs, so if the convenience factor is high and prices are low enough, they may go for it. Look at how people have come to accept lossy MP3 files as replacements for uncompressed digital audio of CD.

Gaming situation is different. Like Scoop mentioned, buying and selling used games is a much bigger deal for having physical media than a download. The main reason is, games cost way more than movies and you have EB and Gamestop which buys and sells used games, not to mention eBay, Craigslist, etc.

The games publishers HATE that games stores make so much money off used games, which hurt initial sales of new games. They would love digital distribution of all games, that way there is no used games market.

But there are infrastructure issues and plus, publishers like EA has a competitive advantage with a huge retail distribution channel compared to others. They would lose that if it was just as easy to click and download a game from a small studio compared to a game from EA.

Plus, you cut stores out of the game sales loop and they have no reason to carry consoles because games are where the profits are.

Digital distribution for games is a long ways off, unless the Wii effect is so huge that people settle for simple, less graphics-rich games, which don't take up a lot of data. Even then, gamers would probably expect to pay less for a downloaded game.