PS3 General Discussion

[klondike]

Anyone knows if HDMI (Advanced DVI) is HDMI or is it something different? acer website is confusing me :/

DVI is HDMI without the audio signal being carried.

I used to have a similar solution as the once you where asking about.

My old TV only had DVI, but not HDMI. So I used a HDMI > DVI converter to connect the PS3 to my TV so I could play games in HD. Then I connected Phono cables to my stereo reciver, to get the audio.

 

[Paulie]

First thing I would check is the HDMI cables, making sure connections are secure on both ends, and possibly testing out a different HDMI cable if you have another one.

Edit: New Avatar to mark the occasion.

From,
Chris.

My connections on the TV end seems to be OK. Occasionally my picture will suddenly drop out too, and I have to change to another input then change back so it tunes back in. I went for the better leads but alas they're not doing their job brilliantly. I don't have other leads to test, and it is a bit random. Additionally, I've only seen one black flash on the main menu, all others have been playing MC LA (where my PS3 also freezes up on pretty often, partly thanks to my connection speed I think, it also freezes on others with that game but not as often), and strangely on GT5 will only have the little "glitches". Funny, because it almost seems that playing GT5 makes the PS3 run better than not playing any games at all. Goes to show how solid the software in GT is.

 

[Mad Matt]

Sorry to hear about your PS3 Chris. I trust friends were by it's side as it passed over!

Fortunately this seems to be a fairly rare occurrence, but I always use a surge protector and don't leave mine on standby overnight.

Anyway, good luck with raising the cash, I hope you've got a spare kidney!

 

[Giancarlo]

Eh, just shut down and the red light started blinking in the middle of the night, upon further inspection it seems to be something to do with the GPU, as everything starts to freeze up a bit right before it shuts down.

You still think leaving it on permanently is a good idea?

 

[Robin]

R.I.P. 80GB PS3

Sorry to hear that WallRunner... hope you get a new one soon 👍

Even though the numbers of PS3's failing is relatively low its seems to be all the later models which are breaking, i.e. the 80 and 40GB models. You would think these are more reliable with the 45nm CPU but it seems that Sony has cut corners to cut costs and reliability has suffered. They also should have not removed the lower front vent from the 40GB models just because the chip runs cooler.

I have not yet heard of a launch 60GB failing. These had the most complex innards and generated the most heat but they also had the most expensive components, heatsink and the best fan.

Keeping the console on all the time and running F@H is most likely going to shorten the life of you console because of the heat it generates.

Robin.

 

[Robin]

Oops double post..

 

[J-PaP]

I have not yet heard of a launch 60GB failing. These had the most complex innards and generated the most heat but they also had the most expensive components, heatsink and the best fan.

My launch 60gb failed saturday night. Started off as if it had overheated (had never overheated once since i purchased it day of launch even when using it on 40degree celcius days). Let me reboot later on so i could remove disk and backup 2 gamesaves before it died again and then had the ylod after that.

Damage in the end is I lost little big planet, ferrari challenge 100% game saves. GTA4 that was all complete bar most of the multiplayer trophies, and a few days progress in motorstorm 2 and wipeout hd. Had backed up my gamesaves about a month or 2 ago so salvaged the rest.

Will find out tomorrow how much sony wants to replace my unit for another 60gb. Couldn't find how much sony wants in Australia.

 

[WallRunner]

Sorry to hear about your PS3 Chris. I trust friends were by it's side as it passed over!

Fortunately this seems to be a fairly rare occurrence, but I always use a surge protector and don't leave mine on standby overnight.

Anyway, good luck with raising the cash, I hope you've got a spare kidney!

Thanks for the kind words.

You still think leaving it on permanently is a good idea?

I stand by my decisions until deat...wait...nevermind.

Sorry to hear that WallRunner... hope you get a new one soon 👍

Even though the numbers of PS3's failing is relatively low its seems to be all the later models which are breaking, i.e. the 80 and 40GB models. You would think these are more reliable with the 45nm CPU but it seems that Sony has cut corners to cut costs and reliability has suffered. They also should have not removed the lower front vent from the 40GB models just because the chip runs cooler.

I have not yet heard of a launch 60GB failing. These had the most complex innards and generated the most heat but they also had the most expensive components, heatsink and the best fan.

Keeping the console on all the time and running F@H is most likely going to shorten the life of you console because of the heat it generates.

Robin.

Mine wasn't one with the 45nm CPU, those came out in 08, IIRC.

Also, I know a guy who got his at launch and it did fail him, aswell as quite a few people on the internet with 60GB models.

And yes, I agree about F@H, but I think the switch to Life With PlayStation didn't help as it bumped the graphics up considerably.

From,
Chris.

 

[Robin]

Oh right, well now I have heard of 60GB failures

Still, I think compared to failures of other models (early 80GB, late 80GB & 40GB) the 60GB has less failures simply because it had the best kit onboard. It was also the most expensive to produce at $840! and Sony wanted to make a good early impression on an already slated console.

The 80GB came out after Sony managed to cut down on production costs as some things were changed. Right now the console only costs around $400 to produce. That means that $440 of kit has either come down in price or has been removed / replace with cheaper alternatives and that affects reliability. But on the upside you enjoy a lower purchase price.

Mine wasn't one with the 45nm CPU

Oh right.. I guess even more heat then!

Robin.

 

[J-PaP]

Oh right, well now I have heard of 60GB failures

Still, I think compared to failures of other models (early 80GB, late 80GB & 40GB) the 60GB has less failures simply because it had the best kit onboard. It was also the most expensive to produce at $840! and Sony wanted to make a good early impression on an already slated console.

The 80GB came out after Sony managed to cut down on production costs as some things were changed. Right now the console only costs around $400 to produce. That means that $440 of kit has either come down in price or has been removed / replace with cheaper alternatives and that affects reliability. But on the upside you enjoy a lower purchase price.



Oh right.. I guess even more heat then!

Robin.

That is actually interesting as I was thinking after getting my 60gb fixed I would sell it and get a 40/80gb assuming the 45nm would be more reliable. I never used the ps2 emulator as I still have my ps2 slim connected to my tv and didn't really care about the card reader. the extra 2 usb ports were useful though especially once playtv is out. Sounds like a better bet that i don't bother and make sure I have another 60gb.

 

[FoolKiller]

Sorry to hear about the PS3 deaths, guys. My 60GB is still running strong.

In fact, I just got Bioshock.


I do have a question if anyone can help. Two Blu-Rays I watched this weekend The Golden Compass and Hellboy II have given me audio troubles. What these two have different from other Blu-Rays I own is that in the audio setup they list 7.1 surround, but not 5.1 (not for English anyway). So, when I watch the main feature I get no sound. Put it in a foreign language or the commentary audio and it works. Other movies work fine still.

I go into my audio settings and turn off the Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 options (both supported by my entertainment system) and it works fine. Am I doing something wrong or is it that these movies do not support 5.1 digital audio? With most everything else my PS3 and entertainment center work well to auto-detect the best option. The entertainment center's display will even say Auto-Detecting. However it does not say that when these movies play.

Now, in the past I have had game issues where a game or demo on the first play after an install or update will not auto-detect properly, but if I go into audio settings and turn off then turn back on my surround options it works.

I have also on only two occasions loaded up a game and gotten a screen by my TV that says "Not supported!" Simply exiting the game (by memory as I have no on-screen cues) will make it go back to the XMB fine and then loading the game again makes it work fine. This has only happened twice though, but if I am having a hardware or cable issue I thought this may point the way.

My current setup is n HDMI cable going from PS3 to Vizio HDTV. Then a digital optical cable going from TV to entertainment system. The system supports both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1. Whichever it is using has the logo displayed when it is active.


I am going to go in and see if I just choose Dolby or DTS if the movie will work (I didn't buy Golden Compass) that way.

It seems odd that these movies would only have surround support for the 7.1 and not work for 5.1.

Anyway, any help is appreciated.

 

[Sureboss]

Controllers

Mine is playing up at the moment. It only works if plugged into the console via the USB. It just flashes if it's not on the USB, press the PS button to assign itself and it stops flashing for a moment. By flashign I mean all 4 lights.

Could this be down to the recent firmware update or is the controller broken?

I did try to re-assign the controller, didn't do nowt.

 

[FoolKiller]

Controllers

Mine is playing up at the moment. It only works if plugged into the console via the USB. It just flashes if it's not on the USB, press the PS button to assign itself and it stops flashing for a moment. By flashign I mean all 4 lights.

Could this be down to the recent firmware update or is the controller broken?

I did try to re-assign the controller, didn't do nowt.

Is the battery charged?

 

[Scaff]

Controllers

Mine is playing up at the moment. It only works if plugged into the console via the USB. It just flashes if it's not on the USB, press the PS button to assign itself and it stops flashing for a moment. By flashign I mean all 4 lights.

Could this be down to the recent firmware update or is the controller broken?

I did try to re-assign the controller, didn't do nowt.

Mine has done that before, a reset fixed it.

On the bottom of the controller is a tiny (and I do mean tiny) reset button, get something small like a paper-clip and push the reset button. You may need to pair it with the PS3 again, but that's what fixed mine.


Regards

Scaff

 

[Sureboss]

Ah, didn't think of the reset button. Thanks, Scaff.

It was about 2/3rds charged, FK.

 

[FoolKiller]

Ah, didn't think of the reset button. Thanks, Scaff.

It was about 2/3rds charged, FK.

Just checking, because the only time mine did that the battery was dead and I didn't realize it.

 

[Dead_Poetic]

Thanks for the kind words.



I stand by my decisions until deat...wait...nevermind.



Mine wasn't one with the 45nm CPU, those came out in 08, IIRC.

Also, I know a guy who got his at launch and it did fail him, aswell as quite a few people on the internet with 60GB models.

And yes, I agree about F@H, but I think the switch to Life With PlayStation didn't help as it bumped the graphics up considerably.

From,
Chris.

Join the club, man. My 60 gb went too, got the yellow light of death or whatever. Its gonna cost me 149 dollars to get it fixed through sony. Better than paying 500 for a new console. My only worry now is that my guitar hero world tour disk is still in the console, as it wont let me eject it at all.

Does anyone know if all of my trophies and game saves will remain?

 

[J-PaP]

Join the club, man. My 60 gb went too, got the yellow light of death or whatever. Its gonna cost me 149 dollars to get it fixed through sony. Better than paying 500 for a new console. My only worry now is that my guitar hero world tour disk is still in the console, as it wont let me eject it at all.

Does anyone know if all of my trophies and game saves will remain?

When getting it repaired tell sony that the disk is still in it and they will remove it. Your trophy progress will stay. Your save games are lost.

 

[hamstrings]

It might be worth investing in a sub-$10 USB flash drive to keep a monthly backup of save games. I do a monthly backup of everything to external USB HDD.

 

[Jeremy Ricci]

I actually stopped using F@H entirely after my first system failed while folding.

of course, it didn't help that it was on for weeks at a time running folding @ home...

 

[J-PaP]

I actually stopped using F@H entirely after my first system failed while folding.

of course, it didn't help that it was on for weeks at a time running folding @ home...

I doubt it even matters. I used f@h for a total of a minute when i first got my ps3 and never since and it still died.

 

[hamstrings]

My 40 GB 65 nm Cell BE PS3 has been running Folding@home or the Distributed.net client in Linux since I got it half a year ago. Although it is the noisiest device in my room when F@H is running, it hasn't failed me yet. I do keep it vertical and reasonably well ventilated.

45 nm Cell BE-equipped PS3s aren't out yet. The current ones have 65 nm Cell BE and RSX. I expect them to be much quieter.

 

[FoolKiller]

Sony just earned a bit of respect from me.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/27/sony-dismisses-igns-psp2-rumors-disses-ign

Sony dismisses IGN's PSP2 rumors, disses IGN
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 27th 2009 at 9:42AM }

Wow, not only did Sony take the time to deny an IGN rumor about the PSP2, but the company took the opportunity to flat out insult the site. IGN recently cited "several credible sources" in a report on Sony's next handheld, allegedly featuring a touch screen, Bluetooth support, hard drive and GPS. MCV then spoke to Sony about the rumor -- that's when the sparks flew.

"Clearly, being a quiet time of year, many, what we thought to be credible websites, are making up stories about PSP2, and how it allows you to teleport across the globe, travel through time, and will be powered by the horns of baby rhinoceroses," Sony explained. "Hopefully, you can sense a mild tone of sarcasm, which should hopefully indicate how 'on the money' IGN are. Needless to say, we don't comment on rumour or speculation, but this is nonsense."

We don't know who to feel embarrassed for right now, but it's certainly going to be awkward if IGN is right.

I can't stop laughing.

 

[Omnis]

Seriously. I want to know who runs IGN's review score department too. They always, always are far too generous with them. I've never seen 9s so abused.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Sony just earned a bit of respect from me.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/27/sony-dismisses-igns-psp2-rumors-disses-ign


I can't stop laughing.

That is a bloody hilarious image to conjure up... especially the bit about the horns of baby rhinoceroses... hasn't Sony heard of dilithium crystals???

Maybe who ever said that remark had just finished playing Afrika (Hakuna Matata) ?

However, regardless fo whether or not IGN deserved it, I don't think it's a smart move for a company to publicly insult a website that objectively or not can and does sway public opinion about games.

On the other hand I can also understand the frustration as so often unofficial hype is misrepresented as official, and then if and when it doesn't come true, the company that makes the product get's blamed for not living up to the hype.

 

[FoolKiller]

That is a bloody hilarious image to conjure up... especially the bit about the horns of baby rhinoceroses... hasn't Sony heard of dilithium crystals???

I think the baby rhinoceros horns was a dig at the perception of how a lot of these gaming sites have made Sony out to be negative a lot this generation.

However, regardless fo whether or not IGN deserved it, I don't think it's a smart move for a company to publicly insult a website that objectively or not can and does sway public opinion about games.

I honestly don't know of anyone that has regularly used IGN since they started the IGN Insider paid subscription thing. Since then I have been using 1Up.com and Joystiq. Now, just Joystiq, and on occasion I will read articles rom The Escapist after watching a Zero Punctuation episode.

If they could get away with it with one site I think it is the one that will only allow paying customers to see their response.

But, I am guessing someone was already having a bad day.

On the other hand I can also understand the frustration as so often unofficial hype is misrepresented as official, and then if and when it doesn't come true, the company that makes the product get's blamed for not living up to the hype.

Oh yeah. In all honesty I would be surprised to see a hard drive considering the need for prolonged battery life, or possibly even space for continued UMD use, when something solid state would work better with both of these issues. Plus, expandable memory cards are still a good idea in my opinion, if for no other reason than it works with my PC with no special software.

Or the built-in GPS when they already make a peripheral (not in the US, but soon, really we promise, soon, definitely sometime in 2008 soon) for this and sell the software for that.

And it seems that every other week talk of a PSP phone comes out.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

I suspect one of the reasons Apple has always had a policy of secrecy and silence in regards to upcoming products is to avoid being blamed for hype that they never even mentioned... as let's face it, some Apple fanatics create and spread a lot of hype.

However it is a double edged sword, as silence also leads to a lot of negativity as well. Just look at all the criticism Polyphony Digital gets for not openly discussing their upcoming games and not feeding the fans enough official information.

Basically, many people like to complain (a trend that appears only to be growing, especially with the anonymity the Internet offers them) , and no matter what a company does, someone, somewhere will find something to bitch and moan about. I imagine one would have to have a very thick skin to be in a PR position for most consumer product based companies.

 

[Touring Mars]

And just look at the criticism/negativity towards PS Home at the PS forums...

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

And just look at the criticism/negativity towards PS Home at the PS forums...

I don't doubt you, and is the reason I rarely ever even look at any threads on that site as well as other gaming sites. The amount of time it takes to filter out all the nonsense, hype, complaining and misinformation, it's frankly exhausting, and is exactly why I prefer GTP as it has so much less of all of that crap and a lot more of people who are generally positive and want to share opinions and gain accurate information and help others do the same. 👍

 

[Famine]

Seriously. I want to know who runs IGN's review score department too. They always, always are far too generous with them. I've never seen 9s so abused.

It's been like that as long as.

I remember the days of Amiga Power. Good game = 70%+, Bad game = <=30%, Average game = 50%. Seriously, their average marks over the entire lifespan of the magazine was about 55%.

They even ran an article about "the score of the devil" - 73%. 73% was the score given by reviewers who hadn't actually played the game, didn't want to rate it too high, didn't want to upset the software house responsible and whose review consisted of the accompanying literature reordered with "73%" at the end.

In reality, 73% would be enough to score you a First class degree and should be given only to games which meet a similar standard. But all too often 73% - or 7/10, or 3.5/5 or any permutation thereof - is given to average games, resulting in a gigantic pile-up in the 90s (or 9s, or 4.5s) for the exceptional stuff and with no real way to differentiate between them.