Sony Playstation 3 Slim Blu-ray Disc Player Review

**The News Bot** · 27-10-2009, 8:05 PM

Reviewed by David Mackenzie
If you’re into gaming and high-def movies, it's an absolutely excellent proposition: it's as good a BD player as any other for the vast majority of titles, and its unique scaling algorithm means it delivers a nice image from SD DVD, too.
Read the full review...

pwood · 28-10-2009, 10:34 AM

Totally agree its a great bit of kit.

One extra feature some may not be aware of is using it as an audio player streaming lossless audio files (providing you have a decent DAC in your av amp). I compared a wav file done this way to my CD73 and was surprised at the resultant sound being as good if not slightly smoother.

Welsh Whirlwind · 28-10-2009, 10:36 AM

Can I just ask if a firmware update could enable the bitstreaming of HD audio on the older machines? Or is this something that needs a specific hardware alteration?

Thanks!

WW

paulst10 · 28-10-2009, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welsh Whirlwind

Can I just ask if a firmware update could enable the bitstreaming of HD audio on the older machines? Or is this something that needs a specific hardware alteration?

Thanks!

WW

This is only with the slim consoles, the older models are unable to bitstream HD audio

David, did you have quiet or noisey one ?

Welsh Whirlwind · 28-10-2009, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulst10

This is only with the slim consoles, the older models are unable to bitstream HD audio

David, did you have quiet or noisey one ?

Hi Paul, I'm aware of this but was just wondering if this could ever change with a firmware update? Or is it only possible to do by altering internal hardware, ie. has the slim got something different built into it in order to do bitstream HD audio? Or could this adjustment be sent down telephone lines to enable all PS3's to bitstream HD audio?

paulst10 · 28-10-2009, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welsh Whirlwind

Hi Paul, I'm aware of this but was just wondering if this could ever change with a firmware update? Or is it only possible to do by altering internal hardware, ie. has the slim got something different built into it in order to do bitstream HD audio? Or could this adjustment be sent down telephone lines to enable all PS3's to bitstream HD audio?

I believe it was a hardware limitation of the older model

Welsh Whirlwind · 28-10-2009, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulst10

I believe it was a hardware limitation of the older model

Damn. Ah well it's not like it's a massive issue, decoded LPCM is just fine. It's just you kinda feel like your missing out on something when the slim machine can do it!

Thanks for clearing it up though!

acid007 · 28-10-2009, 2:47 PM

Personally i do not think even the most attuned hearing would be able to tell any difference, both are lossless audio after all.

But if you have an AV amp with lovely little lights with DTS-HD/Dolby TrueHD on you want to see them on!, well thats what they are there for. It gives you a little comfort that you are getting what it says on the tin, just reassurance thats all.

LPCM is no worse than Bitstream, it just means the amps will not light up as they should do.

Off course some snobs will be replacing their PS3's with this one so they can see the lights come on.

Sid

Follow · 28-10-2009, 5:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwood

Totally agree its a great bit of kit.

One extra feature some may not be aware of is using it as an audio player streaming lossless audio files (providing you have a decent DAC in your av amp). I compared a wav file done this way to my CD73 and was surprised at the resultant sound being as good if not slightly smoother.

Just a shame the PS3 can't cope with any lossless formats other than wav... which is frankly Ridiculous

David Mackenzie · 30-10-2009, 1:25 PM

Quote:

David, did you have quiet or noisey one ?

Quiet

And yes, the HD audio bitstreaming was a hardware issue with the old model.

Quote:

Just a shame the PS3 can't cope with any lossless formats other than wav... which is frankly Ridiculous

I know - I was surprised when I connected my older Sony Walkman to the PS3 and it couldn't play ATRAC Advanced Lossless! Sony machine can't play proprietary Sony format - weird...

**Mark Hodgkinson** · 30-10-2009, 1:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Mackenzie

I know - I was surprised when I connected my older Sony Walkman to the PS3 and it couldn't play ATRAC Advanced Lossless! Sony machine can't play proprietary Sony format - weird...

It can but it's something you have to enable in the options somewhere much like getting the DivX certificate

David Mackenzie · 30-10-2009, 2:02 PM

I had to enable lossy ATRAC in the menu, but could never get the thing to play back ATRAC Advanced Lossless - has that changed?

**Mark Hodgkinson** · 30-10-2009, 2:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Mackenzie

I had to enable lossy ATRAC in the menu, but could never get the thing to play back ATRAC Advanced Lossless - has that changed?

Ahh, I'd not realised it didn't play ATRAC lossless. Sorry, I was under the impression it did.

MJeeves · 01-11-2009, 4:01 PM

Thanks for the excellent review David.

Does anyone know...?

Firstly, is the PS3 Slim available in Multi-Region for DVD and BD?

Lastly, what is the streaming like for YouTube videos and trailers etc etc?

Thanks again guys!

David Mackenzie · 01-11-2009, 6:42 PM

No multiregion for anything, sadly. I had to buy a US model PS3 because that's the region I use the most. I can't understand why they want me to buy less discs, but there you go.

Not sure about the streaming - the PS3 doesn't have a dedicated YouTube program to the best of my knowledge, but the web browser works really well so you should be able to just use that.

agdzzz · 02-11-2009, 5:06 PM

David

Enjoyed reading your review. I am looking to buy my first blu-ray player and am unclear whether to go for either the Sony S360 stand-alone or spend an extra £100ish and get the PS3 slim for the extra gaming (which for me is a nice to have).

Is the blu-ray performance of the PS3 better/worse/same as the S360 ?

THanks

David Mackenzie · 02-11-2009, 5:13 PM

I've not reviewed or seen an S360, sadly. A reliable source tells me that the S350 crops pixels from the image - perhaps this has been fixed on the S360?

It's likely that the BD performance of the PS3 is either going to be better than, or the same as the S360, so if you play games, the PS3 and BD Remote accessory would be a good idea.

sirlukas · 11-11-2009, 1:54 PM

David,

Great review, thank you.

It would be great to see a table with direct comparison of PS3 and PS3 slim.
How different are they when it comes to quality of the Blu-Ray playback, gaming etc.

PS. BTW PS3 Slim looks to me like a little cheap toy compared to the old PS3, once again difficult to comment on the personal aesthetic views.

mattrixdesign2 · 11-11-2009, 4:31 PM

I am now the proud owner of a PS3 slim (after my old PS3 suffered the YLOD)... Now it seems to me, that the PQ is better, its just seems sharper and richer... but it perhaps all in my head!

My slim is quieter, and I prefer the smaller size, the Bravia Sync is a nice addition also. I am not sure if I would ever recommend it to someone who JUST wanted to watch movies, as all those extra menus just make it that bit more complicated.

For people who want something that does a bit more (photos/music/tv/www/streaming/mp4 etc) then it is an essential purchase, the fact that it plays games is an added bonus

toeboe · 11-11-2009, 8:25 PM

David,
Thanks for such an indepth review. This is perfect timing for me as I am soon to purchase new TV with BD player and had so many questions about the use of PS3 in this situation. I feel you have answered all my queries.

.
Looks like I now have to relay the pros to my wife who will no doubt think I'm getting one purely for gaming,,

Cheers

David Mackenzie · 11-11-2009, 11:07 PM

Quote:

David,

Great review, thank you.

It would be great to see a table with direct comparison of PS3 and PS3 slim.
How different are they when it comes to quality of the Blu-Ray playback, gaming etc.

The only difference you'd (maybe) notice with both units covered by black sheets, is that the old model can't bitstream HD audio via its HDMI output port, and seems to be a bit noisier. Everything else is the same: the PS3 DVD/BD player program is implemented in software, so the two are identical in terms of quality.

mksuperhoop · 18-11-2009, 1:18 PM

hi,
I've just read your review and have an audio question.
I have connected my PS3 via HDMI to my Onkyo HTX-22HD, then via HDMI to my Panasonic TX-P42S10B as per the thread on A.V.Forums.
I'm pretty sure it says on the thread to set the PS3 to PCM for Audio not Bitstream

, where as your review seems to indicate the PS3 should be set to Bitstream

.
I'm on a steep learning curve and am now confused which setting i should be using?
Please could someone clarify the best setup??
thanks.

MJeeves · 26-02-2010, 4:18 PM

What is the PS3 slim like for taking HD YouTube videos off of the internet and showing them at 1080p on a 1080p HD plasma (like my Pioneer KURO)? Are the YouTube HD clips good, smooth and stutter free? What about displaying J-PEGs in HD quality on a plasma? Any good?

Are they as good as the Popcorn Hours etc etc at this sort of thing?