Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Sony PS3...

I've had mine for over a year or so and my assessment is that it is nothing more than a PIA POS, that blu-ass-tooth-shit-fer-nothing remote is a total waste of plastic, solder and batteries ... ordered an Oppo BDP-83 to replace it, yea.

My Nextel phone is not too far behind it.

That is all.

I really like my PS3... use it for movies mostly but games as well. However, the remote does suck.

What specific problems are you having?

Grumpy old man

Get off my HT carpet ya young punk.

It's ugly, collects dust and the remote absolutely sucks ... my son will be toting it to Orlando with him whenever school starts and I'll be viewing our BR stuff with the Oppo. The Toshiba HD-DVD has a better picture anyway.

And I'm grumpy.

I wouldn't go that far calling it a POS. If you are just using the PS3 for Blu-ray than sure there are players that have more features but when it comes to performance (sound, visuals, load times) the PS3 is neck and neck with the OPPO. The fact it supports the latest console games makes the PS3 quite a bargain for the price. But that all depends what you used it for.

I enjoyed my PS3 when I had it, and I didn't feel the video quality was lacking, even next to the Toshiba HD DVD player I have. I wasn't a fan of the fan noise, and I didn't like how easily it scratched, but overall I wouldn't call it a POS.

As far as the OPPO, I'm going to have to call on it soon. It's starting to hang up on DVDs when I pause it and then try to play it again, and a couple of times it hasn't wanted to boot up when I've turned it on. It just says HELLO on the front of the unit, and I have to power it off and try again. Other than these recent developments, I like the OPPO.

Huh..agreed OPPO is nice..but PS3 rocks too..

except ofcourse the noise..mine is okay after a USB external fan in the cabinet to keep the PS3 some cooling company.

I like the fact that it gets those firmware upgrades to keep it updated and ofcourse regular DVDs and audio are very good. Agreed i have not seen the OPPO yet.

Not kool u OPPO guys :SOB:

Let us know your thoughts on OPPO when u get it.

--Avi

Has anyone who thinks the PS3 is loud heard an xbox 360?!? MY Ps3 is quite... can't hear it from my couch at all. However, my 360 sounds like a rocket at times.

I agree terzaghi. The 360 is very loud. I should try downloading games to the harddrive instead of playing off the disk and see if that helps. My personal bias is also to the 360 because I like their developer support better. You can certainly make an argument that the xbox 360 and its hardware is a POS, the PS3 - no way.

I prefer my 360 for playing games (over the PS3). I did try burning one game to the hard drive (I think it was Fallout3) and noticed a significant decrease in noise. However, It's not really possible to do that with all of your games if have a launch 20 gig HD.

I haven't found the bluetooth remote to be poor in the least...maybe i got the lone good one.

No, my PS3 remote worked fine. Very responsive. More responsive than the OPPO remote, for sure.

I prefer the 360 controller also. Generally speaking 3rd party games perform better on the 360 (which most games are these days). I also like the 360 exclusives even though I would still like to play a few games on the PS3.

It depends. There was a batch that tended to overheat (extra loud fan kicked in constantly) and Sony was replacing them for free for a while.

Also, keep in mind that there are *STILL* movies that Oppo has issues with. Not so with the PS3.

Blu-ray as a consortium sucks big rocks. To put out movies that *STILL* don't play universally is a big joke.

Having said that, I can't stand the fact the PS3 lacks an IR port so I use my Oppo (or Samsung 1400) BD player. If a movie doesn't play, then I use the PS3.

I really like my PS3. I spend at least 6 hours with it each day. I don't game too much, but here and there. I use it for Blu-rays and some DVDs, and much MPEG-4 AVC video. I love the remote, I wish all remotes were Bluetooth. I don't have to point it in any specific direction. I can see how it would be a pain if you use a universal--I don't. Even though I have a launch 60-gig unit, which is supposed to be louder than the current models; since I replaced the thermal compound on the heatsink it is very quite. On 90+ degree days, I can hear the fan from the couch, if I listen closely, but as soon as any content starts it gets covered up.

As for the Oppo, I was all ready to buy one, but after following the "official" thread on AVS for several hundred posts, I think I'll hold off until their next hardware generation. The PS3 has never failed to play any Blu-ray disc. While the Oppo has had issues with several new releases and had to wait for firmware updates. While this is actually the fault of the studios for putting even more restrictive anti-copy measures in place, it doesn't change the fact that the Oppo can't play some BDs at release time. While the Oppo can bitstream the HD codecs, it can't decode them into LPCM and mix in the secondary audio. If you wish to have the secondary audio enabled you'll be degraded to the lossy core audio. Secondary audio is still a bit of a gimmick, but it is part of the Blu-ray spec, and the Oppo can't handle it 100%.

Chris:

You are the Man..Can you tell the fix you did..
I would like to do that.


--Avi

What fan did you use? W/ the fan on, mine sounds like a plane landing. When I run it vertical, no fan issues but I don't have the rack space to store it vertically.

I am using the Thermaltake USB fans

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00080G0BK/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

You're right, overall the unit isn't, but the remote sure is ... non-IR so therefore I cannot program the remote into the universal remote. Saturday evening we watched 'Iron Man' and 'Cadillac Records' with the PS3 and with both movies I wanted to pause the movie a time or two but accidentally hit the 'Stop' button and had to restart the movies from scratch, a problem I've had with most movies and the remote since owning the PS3. The remote may be alright for you young bucks to operate in dim lighting but for my blind AARP ass it definitely needs (other than IR) better placement and more easily distinguishable function buttons, also with me being old school I do not like the looks of the PS3 as a stand alone BR player, it looks odd as hell in the component rack with the shiny black surface being a dust and fingerprint magnet and you can probably tell by now I do not play games with it.


Last evening the wife and I watched 'Transformers' and 'The Italian Job' on our Toshiba HD-DVD and we both thought the picture was actually better than the PS3 and as far as operating the remote, ez-freaking-pz with it being programmed into the universal remote ... like every other component we have, other than the PS3.

See what you started Rick?

And regarding "The remote may be alright for you young bucks to operate in dim lighting but for my blind AARP ass", when I visit you someday, can we just sit around and enjoy your HT instead of you flying or boating me somewhere?

What universal do you use? If it is a Harmony, this PS3 adapter should work perfectly. If it is another brand, you can still probably find the IR codes for it.

You'll need a Torx, security bit (I forget the size). Remove the warranty sticker from the side of the PS3 which is over part of one of the rubber feet. Then gently pull the foot off, you'll find the Torx screw under there. After you remove that the top will slide to the side a bit and lift off. From there it'll be standard Phillips screws for the rest of the disassembly.

I can't remember all the details. You can find disassembly instructions online anyway. But you start with removing the screws which have arrows pointing at them. Be careful with the first few which hold the case in place, they are going into plastic posts, if they're stuck you'll break the post off.

Just continue disassembling until you get to the part where you can separate the fan from the motherboard.

You'll want a can of compressed air to blow out all the dust. Also you'll need something to remove the old thermal wax. I use ArctiClean. It's just a two step cleaner, the first is a citrus degreaser, and the second is alcohol to clean the remnants of the first. You'll see how badly the original compound has migrated from where it is supposed to be to all around the Cell and video chips. Just use the degreaser to dissolve all of it, and then the alcohol to get it all squeaky clean. Finally, replace the crappy wax with one of the new, high-tech compounds. I used ArcticSilver 5, but there are actually better products than that available now. Follow the application instructions for what ever you use. Most of the time that's to put a small, smooth glob in the center of the chip. The pressure of clamping down the heatsink will spread it out evenly, and without air pockets which can form when trying to cover the whole surface evenly.

Reassembly in the opposite order of assembly.

It is a little harder than building a computer, but not much, and I'd say easier than dis/re-assembling a laptop.

I read this as "What universe do you use?".

That would make a good sig line....

Rick,

Since this really a remote issue and you have a universal, let me point you here.

These work with Harmony and Universal Remote Control's (URC) units. The top two models have discrete on & off macros built in, solving that problem elegantly problem. They also issue firmware upgrades, which is nice.

I use a URC MX-900 in the HT setup, and All I did was load the PS2 (that's 2, not 3) commands from the database in the software. BAM - all done and it works a treat.

You can't learn the commands from a bluetooth remote to an IR remote, so this solution worked very well.

As an aside, I got a Belkin wall wart that has two USB ports. That let's me keep the Schmart remote unit and the controller plugged in 24/7 and avoid any funky power issues.

While I agree the PS3 remote is a PITA, I will say that the Bluetooth works well through a wall. This was a pleasant surprise as I'm controlling movies in the room with the projector and the AV equipement is racked in the old adjoining TV room. My RF Universal Remote does the rest. Be nice to have it control everything but I'm OK for now.

I do need one of those gadgets linked above but since I'm not one to fidget during a movie and not into "extras" at all, once I get it to play, I can generally put the stupid controller down for the duration.

I'm having a hard time picturing your setup, Murph. Have you considered inviting the entire forum to PEI for a looksie?

Consider yourself all invited.
It's running about 30 Celsius, the beach water is hitting 25 degrees (warm for the Ocean) and fresh lobster is cheaper by the pound than boneless chicken.

I'm kind of busy today. Can we go tomorrow instead?

I have just one question for you Murph... when in the hell is that blasted jeep EVER going to get to the top of that God damn mountian??????

Micah got stoned and has been waiting for it to crest the hill for three hours now....

It's not really a mountain, but one of those newfangled mountain simulator escalators you see in the Jeep showrooms.

Great post Mark! ...I got freaked out the other night when the lion blinked at me

That's odd. It's not winking at anyone else.....

Thanks Ray, I have the Harmony 880 that I'm using now and an MX-980 that I haven't finished programming yet (we've been busy with work!) .... whenever I get some free time in a couple of months I'll get that programmed into the 980.
________________________________________________

In the mean time, what are the issues that folks are having with the Oppo BDP-83? Seems like just about everything I've read on the player points to it as being a very good player.

Other than the remote (which I resolved with an adapter), my first generation PS3 has been bullet proof. It’s ugly, noisy and a dust collector, but performance wise, it’s been a great little machine. I suspect you have something not set correctly if you don’t like the image. Do you have it set up for 1080P/24, color space set up for 4:4:4 and not RGB, audio set to PCM and all the right boxes checked?

The Oppo has been trouble free as well, but I feed the DVDO VP50 Pro with it and have it set up for source direct. I basically use if for a transport and can’t comment on how it does with SD/DVD. Oppo is real quick to address any bugs with firmware, so I wouldn’t hesitate buying one now. Oppo is on a mission to have the best player on the market, and I think they’ve succeeded.

When you get to playing with the 980 Rick, feel free to let me know when and I’ll set up a time to talk you through it on the phone. My life is a little less hectic than the last time we talked and can give you some pointers. It would be best to do that when I’m sitting in front of the computer and have the software pulled up.

Oh, man, I need one of those. I want to be a mountain man, but I don't want to leave the city.

I haven't had a single problem with my Oppo. I don't play anything exotic on it, just Blu-rays, DVDs, SACDs, DVD-As, and CDs. Everything has loaded quickly and properly, played flawlessly (no glitches or refusals-to-play, freezes, etc). Couldn't be happier.

It is a very good player. It just isn't the image of perfection which some people are making it out to be.

Since Oppo isn't a big name, studios don't test on it before releasing a disc. This means Oppo will be chasing releases for firmware fixes. This may improve over time, as several studios have told Oppo they'll be checking compatibility with this player specifically in the future; the treatment the PS3 (and other big names) already get.

The "no sale" point for me is that it can't mix the full-quality, lossless tracks with secondary audio. There is no way to fix this with firmware either, as Oppo has stated the player just doesn't have enough power to do so.

I know there'll always been something better in the pipeline, and if you wait for the next best thing you'll wait forever. But when I do go to buy an electronic device, I make a list of must-have features, and will hold off buying until I find a model which meets all of those. Right now the PS3 actually does meet my demands while the Oppo doesn't.

Rick - just to be clear, you will need one of those Schmartz units I pointed you to (or something similar). They act as an IR to bluetooth converter. Without it, the IR signals from the 980 won't operate the PS3.

Yer *hick* so schmartz, Ray. *hick*

Sounds like you need to buy the Abomination that is the Jeep Compass.

The PS3 Slim was officially announced today. Will be $299 USD, and the existing fat models should have their price cut to that now. This new one should suck less power, put out less heat, and run quieter. How much less is yet to be measured. It also doesn't seem to be shiny, so less obvious dust and fingerprints.

Oh, that was good stuff.

And one more vote for the PS3. In terms of innovation, bang for the buck, bullet proof reliability, future proofing and costs, i think it is one of the best products this decade...but I don't use the remote!

And now there is going to be a $100 price drop

Heck, i can play family pics from my computer in another room on a 120" screen in my HT in an artistic manner, while listening to a SuperAudio CD and downloading a HD movie, all without wires. Plus BluRay and games...if it could make a stiff drink I'd elope.


but...but...but...its shows fingerprints if I'm too lazy to wipe them off after eating fried chicken.


Sorry, the fried chicken thing was just my experience, your results may vary.

And if it could make a drink stiff, I'D elope!

It seems like the one I was hoping to replace mine with. Hopefully impressions are favorable.

I guess it's not an Oppo problem, but a Blu-ray problem in general. Recently, some new movies failed to play on the Oppo. So FW will be required. It's pretty annoying to have a disc sitting there an you can't play it until a new FW is released. Blu-ray really blew it. Not that HD-DVD was 100% problem free. But when I bought my players, I knew I was on the bleeding edge (somewhat). But that was two years ago. We *still* need freaking FW updates? Puhlease.

I think it is an Oppo problem as I have never had a bluray that didn't play on my PS3

Never a problem with a BlueRay here either.

Actually, we recently had a DVD rental that wouldn't play through past the 10 minute mark of the movie. Skipping ahead to later chapters also seemed fruitless. For fun I tried it on the Toshiba HD and my PC drive. They both rejected the disc completely but putting it back in the PS3 allowed me to get to the previews and menu again and even the extras. I was a little impressed with that but we still couldn't watch more than 10 min of the movie but it wasn't any players fault. It was just a badly abused rental disk.

Agree. It is either a Oppo problem which will need to be fixed with a fw update or you have a faulty disk (quite possible)

IMO, it's a Blu-ray industry problem. Think of it this way, if MS only certified Windows to run on Dell machines, is everyone else expected to wait for a FW to run some app? If MS only tests Dell machines before shipping, is it a MS problem or (hp/ibm/gateway/acer/etc.) problem? I would say the fault lies with MS for only testing with Dell.

The very fact that EVERY player cannot play a disc, I mean guaranteed to play, means the industry failed. Like I said, early one, OK, it happens. But not three/four years after it's introduced.

The last firmware update I needed for my Panasonic BD-30 dates from 16 months ago. It is my main Blu-ray player (I use the PS3 only when I need two disks at a time for a TV series + a movie).

The BD-30 has never had any hiccups with any disk while I had to upload a new firmware to run a disk already played on the BD-30 about 6 times for it to run a second time on the PS-3.

There is more than just the Blu-ray industry. As with any protocol (the hiccups of Wi-Fi in the past few years is a great example), specifications are typically only partially implemented (for time-to-market reasons) until it is actually needed. Even Sony have to meet dealines and have to cut corners even if they are the main patrons of the protocol.

Oppo is likely to have taken more shortcuts in the short run as they are smaller, so I have no doubt it is experiencing more problems right now, but Panasonic is a good example that Sony did too as they run new Blu-ray disks without hurdles.

I would disagree for this reason. There were no issues with interoperability of 802.11a, b, or g APs. The "pre-n" "pre-g" stuff had issues because the standards were not settled. I'm not putting the security issues with the original WEP as a compatibility issue (just performance/feature set issue). I understand every standard needs some time to flesh out all the issues. That time has come and gone for Blu-ray. Again, just my opinion.

As a recall, didn't BD30 have an issue with movies if the 24fps setting was enabled?

My only point is at this point, EVERY BD player should play every disc (within the confines of profile 1, 1.1, and 2).

I also own a PS3 and bought a remote control. However, the batteries are in and it won't work. Any ida about what I am doing wrong?

Did you read the instructions on "pairing" it with the PS3?

On the PS3 go to: Settings > Accessory Settings > Register Bluetooth Device > Register BD Remote Control

Then press and hold the Enter (round button in the middle of the direction keys), and Start (triangle button below the PS button in the middle of the remote) at the same time until the pairing is noted on the screen.

Good call Neon. You have to do the same thing with any controllers you buy. I think they already have the one that comes with the system paired up... but not sure.

The controllers can by auto-paired by pressing the PS button while connected by the USB charging cable. There's just no USB interface on the remote, so you have to initiate the pairing on both sides so the devices know what's going on.

ahhh.. good point

USB cable pairing is an interesting point that we discovered last Christmas. Due to an extended family gathering and some VERY nice gifts, we had two PS3's in the same house for a week.

It was quite funny when a PS3 controller would wander from upstairs to downstairs and we couldn't figure out why it wouldn't work. It took us a bit to realise we kept interacting with the PS3 that was on a different floor of the house without knowing it. In the end we all became familiar with USB cable pairing!

Not to veer off from the topic, but seeing as your avatar is a motorcycle helmet I'm assuming your handle is in reference to the Honda you own.... yes?

You win the prize Micah! That's something I think only a fellow motorcyclist would put together - though I'll bet our pilot friends and other 'hobbyists' would have similar analogies.

Yeah, I ride a 2005 CB919 with Akropovic titanium exhausts (should have got the carbon fibre!!) and a Powercommander. Otherwise all stock. My avatar is my current lid.

However if and when I can afford to upgrade I have my eye on the Buell 1125R.

Super sweet, yeah I run a full Akropovic Evo 1 exhaust myself. And yes I did get the carbon fiber can after having burnt my daughters leg on the stock titanium can a few years back. After that mishap (God did I ever feel bad when that happened... she was 8 years old at the time, but after we bandaged her up, she wiped her tears away & says, "can we go on a ride now"? God love her, she is addicted to riding with me) I was 100% determined on getting the carbon fiber can.

I just got a new Shoei lid myself. I've had an X9 Scott Russell edition Shoei for, gosh, proly 15 years now. But of course I don't wear it anymore, it sits on a shelf. I bought that 'Assassin' JBC helmet I'm wearing in my avatar a few years back. It looks nice enough, but it just didn't have the comfort of the Shoei line. So I got a blue & red 'Norick 5' X-11 earlier this summer. World of difference, without a doubt! Some may question why anyone would ever spend $600 dollars on a helmet when you can pick one up for $80. But if you do much extended riding at all, a premium helmet is worth its weight in gold!!!

So, we have effectively hijacked this thread!

Micah - I'll PM you about your carbon exhaust so we don't bore everyone.

PS3 comments anyone?

Hell I say we bore em!!!

Here's another boring shot...

Yawn....

Zzzzzzzzz....

That is some sweeeeeet candy there! Very nice.

Does it make your PS3 load faster??

But how does it sound?

BWAAAAAAAPPP BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPP BWAAAAAAAPPP BWAAAAP BWAAAP BWAAAAP BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPP!!!!!!

Sony just announced that there'll be a 250 GB Slim PS3 available starting November 3rd. It's price will be $350.

That means they've finally caught up to my launch 60 GB which I upgraded to 250 GB after owning it for about 2 months. I've been looking for a 500 GB SSD to use in it now.

Netflix coming soon to Playstation 3.

I repeat...

Netflix coming to PS3.

Additional: Reading up on it a little more, it is going to be a Blu-ray based service. Netflix is going to be releasing a BD-Live disc which you'll put in the PS3 and the BD-Java will play back the streaming video. Wonder if other non-Netflix enabled players will be fast enough to also support the disc. Oppo, I'm looking at you.

Yup, just ordered my disc on Netflix.

I like the Michelin Man decal. Also reminds me of the Staypuft Marshmallow Man from the Ghostbusters movies. Cool ride.

I'm also excited about the PS3 Netflix news!

My experience with the PS3 has been quite the opposite. I've had my PS3 for 2 years and it's great. I use mine with a Harmony and the Harmony adapter for the PS3 so I have no integration issues. In terms of BD playback quality I have no doubt the Oppo is great, but I'm betting the PS3 is comparable if not better.

Criterion uses a PS3 for their reference BD player and Joe Kane has claimed that the PS3 is simply the best BD output he has seen.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/installations/2916/criterion-remastered.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10016208-1.html

The fact that it is a brute of compute power and software makes it extremely upgradeable too.

Add to that the new lower price (you can get the new 120GB slim for $275 online) and it's a great deal as a BD player that happens to be a great gaming console too. :-)

Don't forget Criterion also uses an Axiom 80/500, so that's two arguments for their good taste in electronics.