# PS3 Slim released today



## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

For those of you who have been on the fence about the Playstation 3, there was a recent price drop and the 120 GB "Slim" model just got released today for $299.

Of course, the PS3 also doubles as a Blu-Ray player, and it's one of the best on the market for that, from what I understand.

All in all, I think it's a great value.

Unfortunately, it cannot play your PS2 games - they took that feature out of the PS3 line ages ago - but at the new lower price, I can accept that.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

Ooh. I hadn't heard about this.
Hmm ... it is really cheap compared to when I first heard about the PS3 ... It's reasonable to start buying yourself early Christmas presents already, right?


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## cjpatrick (Jan 4, 2009)

I have an old PS3, but I love it. I had a 360 but it went the way of most 360s and I was not willing to buy another one. This is a great deal for only 299.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

CS said:


> ...Of course, the PS3 also doubles as a Blu-Ray player, and it's one of the best on the market for that, from what I understand....


Well, probably "one of the best" Blu-Ray players on the market is a bit extreme, as you'd be comparing it with multi-thousand dollar units (such as the one below at $5,999.00). But if you mean one of the best $300.00 Blu-Ray players, that's possible.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I've actually seen reviews holding the PS3 blu-ray player up $600 models and the like and they often are not all that much better.  That being said, I have a PS3 and immediately went out and bought a separate blu-ray player because I hate messing with all the extra steps... which there may not be many, but I just don't like the menus and such.  I did the same thing after getting a PS2, and this was even after trying to justify the purchase by including that feature in my decision.  So now I never play games on it and have a separate blu-ray player... but I guess it's nice to have it in case something comes out I want?


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

The PS3 was one of the best Blu-ray players, if not the best, when it first came out, but as time goes on the value of the PS3 will have to come more and more from the gaming side of things as people looking for only a Blu-ray player will become more inclined to go with stand alone units, especially if they are audiophiles (that's the one area I know for certain that the PS3 is beginning to lag, can't remember whether it's just the connectivity options or whether the PS3 is also lacking with it's audio decoders). I don't see myself ever buying a stand alone though as I much prefer using the PS3 controller to a standard *have to look at the buttons to make sure I'm pressing the correct button* remote.



Scheherazade said:


> I've actually seen reviews holding the PS3 blu-ray player up $600 models and the like and they often are not all that much better. That being said, I have a PS3 and immediately went out and bought a separate blu-ray player because I hate messing with all the extra steps... which there may not be many, but I just don't like the menus and such. I did the same thing after getting a PS2, and this was even after trying to justify the purchase by including that feature in my decision. So now I never play games on it and have a separate blu-ray player... but I guess it's nice to have it in case something comes out I want?


Extra steps? The only thing that I can think of is having to manually boot up a disc, which can be taken care of by turning the disc auto-start to "on" (the setting column, system settings), and then whatever disc you have in it will play when you turn the system on, or when you put in a new disc.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I just didn't find it very user friendly.  I'll admit to not trying it with an actual remote, but I wasted the money on one for my PS2 and didn't feel like it on the PS3.  Might be silly but it's how I am.  Either way I have two blu-ray players now in case we need one on another television.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

CS said:


> Of course, the PS3 also doubles as a Blu-Ray player, and it's one of the best on the market for that, from what I understand.[/url]


It used to be, but is now below-average. Not terrible (and there are worse), but there are a LOT better players available now. I bought 3 a few years ago (exclusively for Blu-Ray and [email protected]) because it was the only Blu-Ray player I deemed acceptable--and that included the $1200 and $2000 ones. But now you can get a better player for $200. Hell, it costs an extra $60 just to get the damn thing to work with your universal remote (and then only if you have a Harmony).

But if you're looking for a gaming platform, audio/video player AND Blu-Ray player, it's a good compromise unit. The old ones are better looking though 



Selcien said:


> The PS3 was one of the best Blu-ray players, if not the best, when it first came out, but as time goes on the value of the PS3 will have to come more and more from the gaming side of things as people looking for only a Blu-ray player will become more inclined to go with stand alone units, especially if they are audiophiles (that's the one area I know for certain that the PS3 is beginning to lag, can't remember whether it's just the connectivity options or whether the PS3 is also lacking with it's audio decoders)


The PS3 was actually one of the first (it was probably 4th or 5th) to support internal decoding of all the audio codecs supported by the Blu-Ray spec. What audiophiles are angry about is that it can't send the raw audio stream off the disc to be decoded in a receiver, despite the fact that it has HDMI 1.3a (which allows for that feature). That, the remote issue (which I've mostly resolved with the above mentioned Harmony adapter), and the fact that the unit often crashes when I try to load a disc that has been in it for a few days (like a movie we didn't finish the previous weekend) and has to be powered off by the switch, are the reasons I'm looking for a new player (this is the current leader).


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

Scheherazade said:


> I just didn't find it very user friendly. I'll admit to not trying it with an actual remote, but I wasted the money on one for my PS2 and didn't feel like it on the PS3. Might be silly but it's how I am. Either way I have two blu-ray players now in case we need one on another television.


That I can understand, it's probably like the couple of times I've used my 360 for anything video related, absolutely hated it.

I think the only reason why I found the PS3 to be user friendly is because it's setup just like the PSP, so I was already accustomed to it before I ever bought one.



geko29 said:


> But now you can get a better player for $200.


That I have to seriously doubt, at least, I wouldn't trust a stand alone player that was that cheap.



geko29 said:


> the fact that the unit often crashes when I try to load a disc that has been in it for a few days (like a movie we didn't finish the previous weekend) and has to be powered off by the switch, are the reasons I'm looking for a new player


It shouldn't be doing that so I'd suggest keeping a close eye on your PS3 as the Blu-ray player might be getting ready to crap out on you as my 60GB did something similar before it stopped reading BD's entirely, I had to have it fixed. To top it off, my Sony Vaio PC, which I bought late last year, no longer recognizes BD's, so that's two BD drives that crapped out on me (I would send it in to have it fixed but I just don't feel like going through the hassle for something I had rarely used, the DVD/CD drive still works fine...)



geko29 said:


> (this is the current leader).


Now *that* one looks nice, first stand alone BD player to catch my interest, might have to consider it. Any affordable surround sound systems you'd suggest to go with it?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

> Now that one looks nice, first stand alone BD player to catch my interest, might have to consider it. Any affordable surround sound systems you'd suggest to go with it?


"Affordable" is, of course, in the mind of the beholder. AudioAdvisor.com usually has a good choice of "entry level" audiophile equipment that typically is a step above the run of the mill stuff you get at your local consumer electronics chain store. For example, this would be about $800 before shipping and taxes (if any):


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

NogDog said:


> "Affordable" is, of course, in the mind of the beholder. AudioAdvisor.com usually has a good choice of "entry level" audiophile equipment that typically is a step above the run of the mill stuff you get at your local consumer electronics chain store. For example, this would be about $800 before shipping and taxes (if any):


Affordable, neither cheap nor expensive, and I think you nailed it. Unfortunately, one must also consider willingness to pay. After thinking about it today, the cost of the BD player, the cost of what you linked to, that it's a 5.1 receiver rather than a 7.1 receiver (if I bought that BD player I'd want a 7.1), which would naturally cost even more, and well, I'm just not willing to pay, even if the BD player is removed. I think that a $300 Sony should do me just fine and I'll stick to what I have for BD playback.

I do appreciate the links and I've got the site bookmarked should I ever decide to not be cheap.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

The problem for me with 7.1 is that it means 2 more speakers and 2 more amplification channels (those 2 things together will cost a lot more than the additional digital processing, what with the low cost of chips these days). That means for the same total cost you have to dilute your cost-per-channel ratio for what is (to me, mind you) a very small increase in the overall experience.

But then, I watch DVD's through a music-first system with only two speakers and a 2-channel preamp and amp, so my priorities may be very different than yours.  E.g.: about 1/3 of my audio system's cost is in those 2 speakers, and another 1/3 in the phono turntable/cartridge, and the remaining 1/3 covers the electronics: preamp, amp, disc player, and tuner. (Oh, and the _other_ third is in the power conditioner/protector, interconnects, speaker cable, programmable remote, record cleaner, and headphones. Jeesh! What a money pit!  )


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Selcien said:


> That I have to seriously doubt, at least, I wouldn't trust a stand alone player that was that cheap.


The Sharp BD-HP22U, Panasonic DMP-BD60, and Pioneer BDP-120 are all in that ballpark, and all are quality players. I know one person who's replaced their PS3 with the Sharp and is quite happy.



Selcien said:


> It shouldn't be doing that so I'd suggest keeping a close eye on your PS3 as the Blu-ray player might be getting ready to crap out on you as my 60GB did something similar before it stopped reading BD's entirely, I had to have it fixed.


Nah, it's done it since new, does it on all 3 units, and the oldest is about 2.5 years old now. It only happens on BD-Java discs, and only if the disc was already in the drive and the unit's been on for several weeks (mine runs 24/7). If I remember to reboot before starting the BD player app, everything's fine. I'm pretty sure it's a memory leak in the OS that causes the JVM to crash.



Selcien said:


> first stand alone BD player to catch my interest, might have to consider it. Any affordable surround sound systems you'd suggest to go with it?


Depends on your definition of affordable. I run an Onkyo TX-NR905 with timbre matched polks (towers with powered woofers up front, center, and in-ceiling rears) and a Velodyne sub. Not terribly expensive, but not cheap either. At my FIL's house, I set up a Logitech Z-5500 (5.1 computer speakers). As a value proposition, it can't be beat. Decent sound quality, 3 inputs, and in the mid-$200 range. Requires a BD player with 5.1 channel analog outs to take full advantage of the new codecs, though. And of course, there's a lot of stuff in between.


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

NogDog said:


> The problem for me with 7.1 is that it means 2 more speakers and 2 more amplification channels (those 2 things together will cost a lot more than the additional digital processing, what with the low cost of chips these days). That means for the same total cost you have to dilute your cost-per-channel ratio for what is (to me, mind you) a very small increase in the overall experience.
> 
> But then, I watch DVD's through a music-first system with only two speakers and a 2-channel preamp and amp, so my priorities may be very different than yours.  E.g.: about 1/3 of my audio system's cost is in those 2 speakers, and another 1/3 in the phono turntable/cartridge, and the remaining 1/3 covers the electronics: preamp, amp, disc player, and tuner. (Oh, and the _other_ third is in the power conditioner/protector, interconnects, speaker cable, programmable remote, record cleaner, and headphones. Jeesh! What a money pit!  )


Your post was very helpful as I've only ever relied on impressions I had gotten from the IGN message boards, and what I saw regarding 7.1 was always overwhelmingly positive. I've done some research now and considering that the room is closer to small than it is to large I think that a 5.1 will do just fine.

I've also thought about what I *really* want, which is better bass than what I have with my $200 Sony (that's the only issue I have with it), better bass than I will get with the $300 Sony. The thing that troubled me is that I have two HDTV's, a 46" Samsung 1080p LCD, and a 42" Panasonic 1080p Plasma, and I might end up being foolish enough to not be content with one good sound system and end up buying another for the other HDTV, but I've decided to risk it (at the very least I should be able to make myself wait until next year before purchasing another sound system).

The shipping came to $53.78, there was no tax, and based on the reviews I've read I should be very happy with everything. It should be interesting to hear a good sound system for a change.



geko29 said:


> The Sharp BD-HP22U, Panasonic DMP-BD60, and Pioneer BDP-120 are all in that ballpark, and all are quality players. I know one person who's replaced their PS3 with the Sharp and is quite happy.


They do seem to be quality players but I didn't find anything that really says to me "better than PS3", the Oppo though screams it.

I ended up giving into temptation and ordered the Oppo from Amazon. **** it. I wants, I haves.



geko29 said:


> Nah, it's done it since new, does it on all 3 units, and the oldest is about 2.5 years old now. It only happens on BD-Java discs, and only if the disc was already in the drive and the unit's been on for several weeks (mine runs 24/7). If I remember to reboot before starting the BD player app, everything's fine. I'm pretty sure it's a memory leak in the OS that causes the JVM to crash.


That would explain it, I never leave mine on except when finishing a download, and then it shuts off automatically, so I've never had that problem excepting when my drive started crapping out on me.

And now I've found out just how enabling this board can be.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Good luck with the new toys, Selcien. If you ordered from AudioAdvisor, they have a pretty good return policy should you find anything not to your liking. (You're responsible for shipping costs only.) It doesn't matter how many reviews you read, the only way to _really_ tell what you'll like is to hear it, and preferably in the room where you'll be listening to it.

The bad news is, if you start listening to too many good systems, you start hearing more of the music and you start wanting a better system, and the next thing you know, your significant other is getting really fed up with you.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Selcien said:


> They do seem to be quality players but I didn't find anything that really says to me "better than PS3", the Oppo though screams it.


By "better than PS3", I simply meant first that it does most things at least as well or better than the PS3 does:

Turns on/loads discs at least as fast
Supports all profile versions (original, BD-Java, BD-Live, Bonus View)
Supports all audio codecs

That's the area that inexpensive players used to fail. They didn't even get the basics right. Now that they have, there's an additional list of things that can be done better than the PS3 can do them:

Support for high-bitrate audio streaming to an HDMI-equipped receiver
Support for 5.1/7.1 analog output to a non-HDMI receiver
Support for universal remotes, out of the box
Support for non-BD high-def content (Netflix, Amazon Unbox
HDMI-CEC (so your TV or receiver can control the player)
Automatic audio/video synch

These are some of the things where even fairly basic players stand out as better choices than the PS3 for people who are only looking for a Blu-Ray player and not a game console.



Selcien said:


> I ended up giving into temptation and ordered the Oppo from Amazon. **** it. I wants, I haves.


Congrats, let me know how you like it. I'm looking forward to the upgrade myself, but just lacking the fundage at the moment.



Selcien said:


> That would explain it, I never leave mine on except when finishing a download, and then it shuts off automatically, so I've never had that problem excepting when my drive started crapping out on me.


Yeah, my PS3s spend 99.99% of their lives working on the [email protected] project. I'm on a team ranked 55th in the world (out of 68,366), so gotta contribute every little bit I can. 



Selcien said:


> And now I've found out just how enabling this board can be.


Muhahahahahaha!


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## Kind (Jan 28, 2009)

Good to see the price drop. I have a X-Box 360 but I think I would also like to pick this up.


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

NogDog said:


> Good luck with the new toys, Selcien. If you ordered from AudioAdvisor, they have a pretty good return policy should you find anything not to your liking. (You're responsible for shipping costs only.) It doesn't matter how many reviews you read, the only way to _really_ tell what you'll like is to hear it, and preferably in the room where you'll be listening to it.


Thanks. 

And yes, I ordered from AudioAdvisor, but I doubt very much that I'll have to return anything unless I get something that's defective, I mean, how could I possibly not like it more than the $200 Sony that I blindly bought from Walmart?

I've also got the PDF manual for the receiver on my DX (very tiny print though) so I should be able to just hook everything up right when I get it, I also have a question. All of the connections talked about in the manual has everything run to the receiver and then out to the TV, is that better than running things from the TV to the receiver?



NogDog said:


> The bad news is, if you start listening to too many good systems, you start hearing more of the music and you start wanting a better system, and the next thing you know, your significant other is getting really fed up with you.


I don't have to worry about anyone getting fed up with my purchases, so that's not an issue. As for getting a better system, that will require a great deal of research before hand, and my limited price range should keep things reasonable, although the way you can upgrade components individually could cause trouble.



geko29 said:


> Congrats, let me know how you like it. I'm looking forward to the upgrade myself, but just lacking the fundage at the moment.


According to the tracking info I have it's scheduled to arrive tomorrow. The only thing that I need to figure out is whether it's going to take the place of my HD DVD player, or my 360 (whichever one gets booted from the Samsung will be hooked up to the Panasonic.)


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

I just want to mention that a firmware update (3.0) has just been released tonight for the PS3 that allows more flexibility with the audio as now you'll be able to run a digital or analog connection to the receiver while running HDMI to the telly.


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## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

I got everything that I ordered from AudioAdvisor Tuesday, and the Oppo yesterday. Since it's going to be a while before I get a real feel for everything (I need to experiment with settings, connections, and speaker placement) I decided to go ahead and post my impressions.

Of what I ordered, the receiver and the speakers stand out as being the only parts that I'm currently happy with as the benefit is very obvious, just switching the speakers improved things, adding the new receiver improved on that. I had been worried that some of the music that I listened to, particularly black metal (black metal bands tend to prefer not having high quality production standards), wouldn't benefit from the new setup, but of what I tried only the most raw (early Ulver for example) didn't benefit as the sound is simply too raw, albeit a bit of tweaking might help, but all of the other music sounds great, as does the sound from the movies that I've tried so far.

I also like the remote for the receiver as it allows you to adjust the volume for the surround speakers, center speakers, and sub separately with ease as each has a button dedicated to it, with the Sony you had to go into the menu system to make any changes. It's a very simple thing but it's really nice to be able to adjust things so very easily. Very good purchases.

The subwoofer, unlike the Sony (which was set down and forget it), is going to take some adjustments (settings, placement) before I know what I have, as of now the only thing that's clear to me is that it delivers true bass, and that I need to learn how to use it. 

And now the Oppo.

Everything started off fine. I enjoyed listening to music on it, I particularly like that there's a "pure audio" mode which allows the player to focus on just playing the audio. I've tried a couple of DVD's on it as well, the most impressive being The Lord of the Rings. But here's the problem, with the digital connection for audio I'm not noticing any actual improvement over the PS3, maybe someone more knowledgeable than me would be able to tell a difference, maybe using the 5.1 connections would make a noticeable difference (I need to get cables first of course), maybe playing around with the settings...

To make matters worse, the very first BD that I picked to try out (Dollhouse) did not work (it started to boot up but then froze, the player became unresponsive, and then I somehow managed to get it to spit the disc back out), after going to Oppo's site I found that there's an "experimental" firmware update available which fixes some issues, particularly compatibility issues like with Dollhouse, and I have to say that this experience has made me particularly displeased with the player. Now, I realize that I've upgraded my PS3 so many times that I've lost count but here's the thing, the upgrade was always easy as I could simply download it directly via Wi-fi, or use an SD card (it should be noted that I didn't try to use the player's USB port for the upgrade, I burned a disc instead, it should also be noted that the actual firmware upgrade went quickly and smoothly), and outside of having the drive fail outright on me, I never, not even once, put in a BD in a PS3 and had it not be compatible. Both things, needing to upgrade out of the box, and the bother of getting the upgrade (I tried upgrading via the internet connection first but no upgrade was available) leaves a rather bad impression with me.

I'm sure that my opinion will improve but it's clear to me that the benefits of the Oppo require the use of the 5.1/7.1 analog connections, or having an HDMI receiver.


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