Product reviews by 'BobH29'

People need to consider the PS3 as not just a games console (in which regard the Xbox360 is identical and cheaper) but a fully fledged media center.

I have owned a PS3 40gig for nine months and have expanded it with PlayTV and a 320gig HDD, all-in cost of around £400. (I should also say it is connected to a 50" 1080p HDTV, as when run on a SDTV there is a significant loss in value of the system due to the reduced resolution).

PlayTV (for around £60) converts the console into a PVR comparable to stand-alone systems in the £800 to £1000 price range. (See reviews by "The Gadget Show" of PVRs). It is a 2 ch freeview decoder, which upscales, and has a weeks EPG from which it is a doddle to "TIVO/Sky+" your weeks viewing. Coupled with the upgraded HDD I can record and store over 100 hrs of television, which can then be exported to the XMB (cross media bar - basically the OS) and then any other media storage device. One down side is that this is (to the best of my knowledge) a UK specific add-on.

One much commented upon feature of the PS3 is the BluRay player. Having a HDTV, this is a feature I make a lot of use of (through only hiring BluRay movies, not DVDs) and am thoroughly impressed with. The picture quality is superb, although not quite the step up from DVD that DVD was from VHS. It is the only BD player I have used so can not compare it to stand alone players on the market but friends say it is as good as any out there. It also plays and upscales DVDs and again, the picture quality is superb.

Also, thanks to the larger HDD I can store my 450+ music album collection on the system, accessible from the XMB. I have my PS3 connected to an A/V receiver which sorts and sends any sounds from the PS3 (be that mono, stereo, Dolby 5.1, DTS 6.1, TrueHD 7.1, etc) to the 7 speakers set up around the living room. This makes the PS3 my home HiFi. And of course it can play CDs, and rip them to MP3, AAC or ATRAC, all with a good range of user determined bit rates.

The PS3 is internet enabled and I have had no problems with connectivity, either with a LAN line or WiFi (my usual connection). The web browser is OK, but could be a bit faster but is certainly adequate.

PSN (Play Station Network) and the PS Store all have been fine, demos etc download pretty quickly with no problems and the games I play online (COD4, Resistance: Fall Of Man) are pretty lag-free. The online service is free and my Xbox owning friends say it is no better or worse than XBL.

As for the games, other than saying that there are already more games out, both multiplatform and PS3 exclusive than I've got time to play, I'll leave you to read the many other reviews which concentrate on that aspect of the system. Sony have recently introduced the Trophy system with is to all intents identical to Xbox's Achievements system. This, I believe, was in response to customer demand and should not be criticized as "a rip off". It certainly got me playing GTA IV again!

The PS3 has robust social networking features allowing users to chat both verbally and in written form with friends, and has just introduced a Second Life style playing area called Home, although these features are not for me.

Hardware wise, many say the 60gig model, with its PS2 backward compactability, SD slots and 4 rather than 2 USB slots is better specified, but it does use slightly older chip technology and has louder fans. That said, both are pretty quite.

One final point for the more altruistic of you. Sony is assisting Stanford University with their distributed computing project call Folding At Home, which allows PS3 users to help find a cure for many diseases such as Alzheimer's, CJD (mad cow) and Huntington's but running protein modelling software on the PS3 while you're ot using it. A very worth while cause which i set off running while at work.

To conclude, yeah I'm pretty pleased with the PS3. Whatever media based entertainment I'm enjoying (games, film, music, TV, web browsing) the PS3 will be powering it. If you have a use for all the additional features the PS3 has over the Xbox360 then the PS3 is an absolute bargain. If you only ever play games on a small SDTV then its probably not for you.