Would you dump your PS3 for a $250 standalone? - Page 3

I dislike the rather loud fan noise of the PS3, so I would dump it for a cheaper standalone for BD playback assuming it's as good in that regard (I only sit 7 feet away from the screen with an open cabinet, and I hear the fan all the time), But I would not dump it since I enjoy the gaming aspect of it.

Very well said, nyg!

With all its functionalities, I will keep my PS3 for as long as it lasts. And I'd like to add a blu-ray recorder whenever it becomes available.

My PS3 is not loud. Quiet, I daresay. I wonder about all these complaints of it being loud because it's probably one of the quietest components I have. Certainly, quieter than my Panasonic AE1000U or my Toshiba XA2. I feel sorry for you guys who don't keep your components cool so it has to run up its fan.

Anyways, no, nothing except DTS HD MA and dual support would even tempt me from my PS3. And those things would have to be with a real secure namebrand before I'd jump. So no, Samsung or LG can make all the dual players in the world but I won't bite. I've seen LG's last player and Samsung's last two. The PS3 trumps 'em. Don't trust 'em now to make anything stable and 100% compatible.

File sharing works fine... there are bugs and incompatibilities with certain programs, but it does indeed work.

For all those that have loud fans............. replace your unit. My PS3 is a quiet as a church mouse. I have played RFOM for hours and watched movies back to back without any hint of fan noise. I sit about 8 feet from the unit. Yes, I do have good hearing and others in the house can't hear it either. I think some people fixate on the fans and are trying to hear them. Also, how can anyone hear the fans when watching a movie on a home theater system? Are you watching the movie with mute on? Btw, my PS3 is a keeper.

If you really want to fix your problem (Don't think Sony will do it for you at this moment), you can always try my suggestion, it won't affect anything on your end, only thing is that in order for new devices to find your router, you will need to enter setting manually instead of just try to discover the router.

I would agree to replacing your PS3 if it is extremely loud...My first PS3 was very loud and ran very hot, after 2 weeks it died right in the middle of playing a BD movie...no matter what I did I couldn't get my PS3 to even turn on...my disc could not be removed and I had to send it to Sony for a replacement. Happy to say my replacement is very quiet and seems to run much cooler. BTW I never got my BD disc back from Sony...so I'm out $25

Thanks. I'm glad you mentioned Blu-ray recorders. In particular, I'd be interested in a Blu-ray DVR/Disc Recorder.

No. I like the games.

While the $250 price point would be great and would surely help bring HD to more people. I'm waiting for a player that meets all the BD-J specs before I upgrade from my PS3. I would like to have PCM audio on more than two channels to compare with my XA2 and its analog outs, but a new receiver is not going to happen for me soon. Even if I did get a HDMI receiver, it seems that any format neutral studio has already made the choice for me to choose the HD DVD version with their audio selection. Which then makes the PS3 good enough again, until a new player with all the new specs is released. If its good priced as well, then that's just a bonus.

As for my PS3 for games, I'll probably keep it after it get replaced as a BD player. I have one PS3 game and a couple dozen PS2 games and my kids keep it pretty active.

Heck no, name one other BD player that plays motorstorm!

Nope, if anything I'll be buying another one for the bedroom.

No, but I would buy the $250 standalone for the bedroom.

I'm a gamer and a movie buff, I don't see a standalone replacing my PS3.

Nope. I like the media center functionality I got with 1.8 (love just being able to keep music on my PC!), and I like the gaming aspect, though I wouldnt consider myself any sort of gamer or anything. Even if I didn't own any games, I still wouldnt dump it.

I see comments about loud fan noise... I just don't notice it I guess, it seems really quiet to me. Then again, my TV has a fan, and my PC is in the same room, so maybe I'm just used to hearing fan noise anyway.

The only scenario right now that would cause me to buy a standalone would be if I could buy a full featured Blu-Ray/HD-DVD combo player (no crippling one format like the LG player does!)

Brian

After 1.8, if you had room in your AV cabinent for either your PS3 or your $250 standalone, I think you'd have to dump the standalone.

Nope. The PS3 isn't a great game machine, sure, but it's a great addition to my home theater. I've never even HEARD the fan.

I am shocked that some of you guys don't hear the fan! I have a PS3 in my dedicated theater, and the fan is driving me NUTS! It is quiet for the first few minutes of operation, then it is extremely loud, and HOT. I don't have any active air management in my shelving (which I will need to correct) but it is on a shelf with about 12" of clearance above and behind the console. My receiver and projector both run hot, but the PS3 just COOKS! Also, it is MUCH louder than my projector (Optoma HD70) and my HD DVR cable box. If I could get Sony to replace it with a new unit, that ran cooler and quieter, that would be GREAT!

I also agree with the poster about the sensitivity of the controller. That too drives me crazy. I haven't bought the add on remote, or done the PS2 workaround which would alleviate some of that grief for me. Every movie I watch gets interupted at some point by an inadvertant bump of some sort. WOW, that is annoying. A simple IR port on this thing would have solved that problem.

I don't game much, but my 5 year old LOVES the demo's I have. He is always wanting to play motorstorm. I love the option of playing a game, downloading stuff, etc. It is also nice to have music on there, though I don't use that option all that much because it is in my dedicated theater, not my family room.

Those are my major gripes with the PS3. Even with those gripes, I can't seem to see myself getting rid of it for a standalone, especially now with what I consider excellent upconversion. I watched Night at the Museum last night with my kids, and I literally had to check to make sure I didn't have a Blu-Ray version. It looked fantastic, and the DTS soundtrack sounded great as well.

Now this though..... I think I will sell my 60gig with my games I currently have, as well as my BR movies. Then, I will take that money and buy a used 20gb model, and the Tosh HD-D2 from costco for $250. I REALLY want the Matrix Trilogy. I would then be format neutral, and would probably use the HDDVD player for SD playback, simply because I wouldn't have the noise or heat.... I should be able to get both for what I sell my package for, at least close to what I sell me package for.

Here is a pic of my shelving, before everything was finished. Trim is done now. I moved the PS3 down about 6 more inches for more breathing room! Still hot and loud.

Well, to be fair, adding an IR receiver (which should be easy with the USB ports) likely wouldn't solve the problem with controller sensitivity, since the controller would probably still be able to control the BD functions. They would also have to add an option for disabling controller input for BDs, and/or the ability to map (and more importantly, un-map) controller buttons. Un-mapping L2 and R2 would probably do it for most people. Of course, they could do this now without an IR receiver.

There are 2 different fans being used in the ps3. One has 19 straight blades and the other has 15 curved blades. Apparently, the former is more efficient and moves a lot of air, even at low speeds. It seems that most U.S. models have the better fan, while many Canadian and European ps3s have the other. I live in Canada and have a loud ps3. It wasn't that noticeable in the winter, but now (25 celsius) it's getting pretty unbearable and it's not even summer yet. I could try to get a replacement but I don't know how to externally identify the ps3s with the quiet fan (otherwise it's luck of the draw). This is a very real problem. For games and music -- no big deal, but for movies it's a different story. I was a big proponent of the ps3 up until now.

Photos of the 2 different fans used in the ps3

I realize that most are not gamers in this area of the forum, but just as a point of reference, my ps3 is at least as loud as my original xbox and "fat style" ps2 after just 10-20 minutes of operation. Although I would not get rid of my ps3, a $250 dedicated player would be a welcome addtion.

I'm guessing that people with fan noise problems should have a setup similar to yours, I may be wrong but if that's the case, problem is that PS3 needs more space to the sides that it needs to the top, at least that my own experience, I moved it to an open space and so far you can't hear the fan even after 6 hours of Blu-ray movies and 1-2 hours of kids playing. IMHO

I agree. You need to have it vertical. Mine was hot when I had it horizontal even out in the open. Now that it's vertical, it stays very cool and is virtually silent.

Will try that out and see. I really didn't want to set it up vertically, but oh well!

I agree with the OP. The PS3 is an awesome machine technologically, and does everything I want it to do. But the noise and heat are just too annoying. Not so much with most movies, but definitely a serious issue with music. Which is really too bad because otherwise I love the quality of multi-channel SACD's through the PS3. I'm definitely going to get a stand-alone eventually and keep the PS3 as a gaming machine, but I'm not in any hurry. I'll probably wait until there's a reasonably priced dual format player on the market.

I have no problems with heat and noise, the only way I can see moving to a standalone is if the kids are using it too much for games and it gets in the way of my movie watching, but then I might just get another PS3 along with a new display.

I have some time before any of that happens, they are only 3 and 5 now.

His setup is way too cramped. He needs space, both in the back, and to the right.

I have mine setup in an open entertainment center, and have not had problems.

I'd suggest that he try setting it out on a table or something, and see if it still makes a lot of fan noise. It's fairly easy to see why the ps3 would go on turbo mode. The simple fact is that the ps3 generates a lot of heat, and needs a lot of room.

If you can't provide ample space, then a standalone is the better option.

Not a chance I would get rid of my PS3, under any circumstance. Even if it died, I would replace it with another.