PS3 labeled "best media center" by EISA
by Nick Doerr 
{ Sep 11th 2007 at 11:00AM }
Seems Sony can jam another feather in its cap and cluck about another award today. The winners were announced for this year's EISA awards (European Imaging and Sounds Association) and the PlayStation 3 walked off with the award for best multimedia device. From the official announcement on the EISA site, "Sony's PS3 is a wonderful example of a powerful media centre, thanks to its inclusion of an audio-video-photo player as well as a web browser to navigate, download, play and chat on the Internet. In addition there's a 60GB hard disk for content storage, plus Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and four USB interfaces allowing connection of external hard-disk storage and USB accessories such as keyboards."They continue to gush about the importance of Blu-ray and how, above all else, the system is a "worthy heir to the grand PlayStation heritage." We're glad that, for once, the PS3 isn't rated an over-priced piece of hardware or a product that has already failed. We'd like to think that the opinion of the EISA is the least biased and a lot more convincing than one Japanese author, or a single journalist. We're happy for you, Sony, just don't forget that you've got to make the PS3 a gaming console above all that other useful stuff!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Byron517 @ Sep 11th 2007 11:07AM
HA FIRST!!!
Hmmm could we be seeing the beginning of the shift in tide??? hmmmmmm LoL maybe to early to talk but nice one SONY!
JL @ Sep 11th 2007 11:10AM
Gamespot has a heavenly sword review up. It got an 8. They said it was short-like Gears of War short :(
Andir3.0 @ Sep 11th 2007 11:13AM
"just don't forget that you've got to make the PS3 a gaming console above all that other useful stuff!"
Since when wasn't it a gaming console? I've been using it for gaming quite nicely.
papichulo18_2000 @ Sep 11th 2007 11:25AM
The review on gamespot isn't bad it's just saying it's short but there's still really good games that were short but still worth playing like ICO, Shadow of the Colosos and even Gears was kinda short I finished it in one night but it's ok There's nothing negative bout the game itself cept that it's short which I think is lame but ok whatever I'm still getting it!
Zim @ Sep 11th 2007 11:38AM
I use my ps3 to watch movies that I have streamed or downloaded on my laptop so i can watch em on my tv.
Tome the PS3 is more than just a games console.
Trev @ Sep 11th 2007 11:43AM
Yeah JL. HS was reportedly pretty short, but after the way God of War dragged it's ass through the whole Hades/Pandora's Temple section, I don't consider that bad. Games, like skirts, should be short enough to stay interesting Given how many times I played the three minute HS /demo/ without it getting old--it still hasn't and I'm probably near triple digits--a short and impeccably made game doesn't sounds great. GS seemed pretty harsh in the score given all the praise and lack of flaws, but I'd rather have that than relaxed scores. I guess, 9s are for games that are as good as they could possibly be (which is confusing, because I found plenty of flaws with Bioshock, though it was still really good) and 10s are impossible to give, except for Shadow of the Colossus. Only time I've had a half dozen people gasp simultaneously from watching a videogame being played is in Shadow.
Holy off topic, Batman!
Props to the PS3 for being a great media center. Once I repaired my ailing desktop and ran TVersity, I found it was great, especially with the BR remote control. Whole collection of music and videos that I can control from basically anywhere, including lacking line of sight and without constantly draining a sixaxis battery. XMB is easy to use even if you've never touched a PS3 or PSP. Native support for more formats would be good but Divx and Xvid are piracy's favorite format; you can't blame a company that makes movies for not making a player that will play movies stolen off them. I'm sure there's legit content but... seriously, who are you kidding?
Wall of text is a wall of text, sorry folks.
Trev @ Sep 11th 2007 11:44AM
"Doesn't sounds great" = "sounds great"
I fail.
Justin @ Sep 11th 2007 11:51AM
i FINALLY found out how to rip my DVD collection and save it to my ps3 hdd for viewing in the correct format....all those other converters never worked for me including ps3video 9 or w/e and xilisoft's program...in fact, i tried about 4 or 5 converters and nothing worked...but HANDBRAKE...easy as pie.. AND had a ps3 preset.
so now, i'm enjoying my ps3 even more. Renting movies (for free cuz i was a manager there for 2 years), ripping them to my computer for copying later, AND playable on my ps3 on my 160GB hdd...
i'm happy.
gamingeek @ Sep 11th 2007 11:59AM
Too bad that Xbox 360 still has much better in-game media options (yes I won both). Bluray really means nothing to gaming at this point as none of the developers have yet made use of it. I didn't buy the system for a bluray player either.
papichulo18_2000 @ Sep 11th 2007 12:01PM
I am still buying Heavenly Sword and @ 8 your so right Shadow of the Colossus is still one of my all time fav games for the PS2 I would love to see a sequal or a remake on the ps3 that would be amazing!! And as far as the HS review they had nothing bad to say bout the game itself other then the fact that it was short and they are a bit harsh on their scores depending no whose reviewing it.. They have some writers who are more lax then others but still I will be picking it up and playing it because it has that artistic flow to it that Shadow had! Hey @8 you own ICO?
JimNasium @ Sep 11th 2007 12:44PM
@gamingeek
Wasn't Heavenly Sword well over the 4.7GB DVD limit
Bish @ Sep 11th 2007 1:12PM
I own both a 360 and a PS3 as well, and I originally bought my 360 for gaming and because it could double as a media center. I then bought the PS3 and as far as I'm concerned it blows the 360 out of the water when it comes to handling video and other media. I rarely use my 360 anymore for that purpose because the PS3 just does it so much better. It handles 1080p video that the 360 does not. Even the 720p movies and TV I've downloaded from Xbox live stutter when it the action pans across the screen. and the fact that I can transfer videos to and from the internal hard drive on my PS3 is great. And to top it off the video interface on the ps3 is much better too. The 360 is way too clunky.
I like my 360 for games and my PS3 for that as well but the PS3 is way beyond the 360 when it comes to digital media. It's nice to see someone else say that for a change.
Byron517 @ Sep 11th 2007 1:12PM
@8
Shawdow of the Colossus is still one of my all time fav for the PS2 I hope that the devs *which also created ICO* make a next gen game! I would even love to see a remake but something new from them is going to be well recieved!! The gamespot review of HS was a bit harsh, they didn't say anything negative bout the game itself other then its short.. I'm still going to buy HS because I can appriciate the artistic direction that game has..
ruibing @ Sep 11th 2007 1:23PM
@11
Both Lair and Heavenly Sword went over the DVD limit. Not sure whether they went over the DVD-9 size limit, but its not hard to imagine given how much texture is in each game.
I haven't gotten a chance to use my PS3 for much besides gaming, folding, watching moves on DVD and Blu Ray. I think the PS3 is best described as a "Gaming Media Center", but since there is no such category yet, meaning PS3 is the first, I think "Best Media Center" fits the profile nicely. It goes right under my HDTV and looks real nice next to my DVD (don't use it anymore) and Karaoke players (replaceable by Singstar) with the Chrome finish. No need to plug anything I don't want to like add-on DVD drives or wireless adapters.
Keep it up, sony!
Kiteless @ Sep 11th 2007 1:34PM
I too use the media abilities of the PS3. I watched almost all of season 1 and 2 of LOST on my Pea Ehs Three. I keep a 4GB SD and 4GB CF card in it at all times for other media/photos and backing up my save games.
The PS3 continues to get a lot of bad press and I have never been 100 percent sure why. It started slow just like the PS2 and XB360 did and look at them now. Look at how long the PS3 has come not to mention a great fall/winter/spring lineup. Keep it up Sony, and PLEASE DONT REPLACE THE XMB WITH HOME... EVAR.
- Kiteless
gamingeek @ Sep 11th 2007 1:41PM
@13 But why is it that the Xbox 360 seems to have a much better upscaler for games? Every game I run on it is upscaled to full 1080p (and I own a 1080i set)Whereas the PS3 WILL NOT upscale 720p games to 1080p at all? Sony always boasted that their games would be in 1080p. WTF is up with that?
Thomas @ Sep 11th 2007 1:59PM
The PS3 does deserve this award.. but Sony still needs to get them into people's homes. This is a feature that people won't notice when they buy the console, rather after they've got it home and start to use the system. Sony needs to get people to want to have the system in their home.. get people excited about the system. PS3 needs to win the popularity war.
Bish @ Sep 11th 2007 2:17PM
@17 I have a Mitsubishi 1080i only CRT HDTV, and that was supposed to be an issue with my set, however the only game I have that says 720p only is Motorstorm and it upscales to 1080i fine. Also any demos I've downloaded that are at 720p upscale to 1080i as well, Not sure if thats because they patched the game or what but I haven't had any problems with the upscaling at all. Perhaps your settings are off or if it's because I'm using HDMI as my connection.
@18 I agree, and its one of the reasons it frustrates me when I see people saying that the 360 is better at handling video when once youve actually used a PS3 you see its not the case.
never$$hort @ Sep 11th 2007 2:43PM
I use my Ps3 equally for both gaming and media... I really couldn't ask for much more out of it.
I come to realize that most people that trash the PS3 either hate all Sony products or have actually never had any hands on experience with the system or they dont understand its full capabilities and functions... Therefor, that means they are talkin outta thier ass!!
Andir3.0 @ Sep 11th 2007 4:05PM
@never$$hort: Or they don't like the games, and somehow that's entirely Sony's fault because Sony is the sole creator of games and nobody else is allowed to create them.
Navstar @ Sep 11th 2007 4:30PM
I agree, the PSP and PS3 are both great media players. But games? hello?
Mine runs Folding@Home more than anything else.
ssway @ Sep 11th 2007 4:23PM
Best "media center"?? Get Divx/Xvid support, video editing software for use with DV camera, and a PS3 Skype client that works with the new upcoming eyetoy and I will say "best media center"!
never$$hort @ Sep 11th 2007 4:52PM
@#'s 21, 22, 23, 24:
"@never$$hort: Or they don't like the games, and somehow that's entirely Sony's fault because Sony is the sole creator of games and nobody else is allowed to create them.
Posted at 4:05PM on Sep 11th 2007 by Andir3.0"
"@never$$hort: Or they don't like the games, and somehow that's entirely Sony's fault because Sony is the sole creator of games and nobody else is allowed to create them.
Posted at 4:05PM on Sep 11th 2007 by Andir3.0"
"@never$$hort: Or they don't like the games, and somehow that's entirely Sony's fault because Sony is the sole creator of games and nobody else is allowed to create them.
Posted at 4:05PM on Sep 11th 2007 by Andir3.0"
"@never$$hort: Or they don't like the games, and somehow that's entirely Sony's fault because Sony is the sole creator of games and nobody else is allowed to create them.
Posted at 4:05PM on Sep 11th 2007 by Andir3.0"
-OK DUDE!!! got it the 1st time THANKS!! LOL
never$$hort @ Sep 11th 2007 6:36PM
Well now that you deleted Andir3.0's quadruple double posts... you kinda make me look like the jack-a$$.. LOL
Andir3.0 @ Sep 11th 2007 7:43PM
Eh, it was I who was the jackass. My comments weren't showing up and I refreshed the page, but only once did I repost. So I don't know what happened. *shrug*
Truckondo @ Sep 11th 2007 7:46PM
I have the Xbox360 (with HDMI - thank you ext. warranty) and just got the PS3 last week. When I try to view videos my PS3 media server app crashes. The 360 works fine with a program called "Transcode360". I admit that I haven't tried looking for any software to fix the issue. And since my 360 has an IR port, it works easily with my Universal remote. Hey SONY! PLEASE MAKE AN OFFICIAL USB IR DONGLE AND UPDATE THE FIRMWARE SO THAT WE CAN POWER ON AND OFF THE UNIT. That is all.
Bish @ Sep 11th 2007 7:53PM
Maybe I'm just not a big a gamer as some people but I have three games I play regularly (Four when stranglehold arrives) not counting PS2 titles that I never played because I didn't have a PS2. There are bunch of games coming out and in the works. There may not be as many as the 360 but it also had a year or so headstart? All game systems seems to have a dearth of games at the beginning its just the way it goes in a year it wont even be an issue anymore.
And one thing not mentioned is that you can install a 2nd operating system on the PS3. That has real potential for video editing, or other applications that could be taken advantage of. Thats a pretty cool option in my book.
CoolDude330 @ Sep 11th 2007 8:55PM
@17 Obviosuly your 360 isn't upscaling to true 1080p because you have a 1080i TV. The PS3 doesn't fake it- if you have a true 1080p set, then it'll upscale.
swesoulc @ Sep 12th 2007 2:01AM
I have always used my PS3 as a multimedia / home media center thingie. Running slides when my mom is over, music as we play tabletop games... bluuueee rays on my 37" 1080p tv. And playing many hours ontop.
for me the PS3 isn't a gaming console, it's a media device, and games are also a media.
Niels R. @ Sep 12th 2007 2:06AM
And when they finally support DivX/Xvid it will become the "Even Better Than Best Media Center"?
Grr... still waiting to play my Xvid's on that nice little piece of hardware...
swesoulc @ Sep 12th 2007 9:46AM
* Niels R.
Nero Home Mediacenter allowes you to stream your xvids to the PS3 like a charm
I have a 360gb archive streaming with Nero from my computor to my PS3 over wlan... so sweet
Ryan @ Sep 12th 2007 11:03AM
@10,11,15: Heavenly Sword has 10gb of Audio alone. Thats from all the uncompressed speech, sound effects, and the few hours of cut scenes.
Epic stated they will need to compress things and cut out levels from Unreal Tournament 3 on the 360 because it won't fit on a DVD-9.
Killzone 2 levels are *2GB* each, So that would be only 4 levels on a DVD-9 and not much else.
Stranglehold comes with the movie Hardboiled on the same Blu-ray disc as the game, which of course wouldn't fit on a DVD-9 with the game unless you compressed the hell out of it and was only DVD resolutions, and thats just to name the few I know about, I'm sure there will be plenty more games in the future.
I've had PS2 games that take up multiple DVD-9s, and Blue Dragon for the 360 is 3 DVD-9s. Wouldn't that have been nice to have it all on one disc? :)
Ryan @ Sep 12th 2007 11:08AM
Oh, and I use Tversity on my PC that transcodes everything on my PC and sends it to my PS3. I had to manually tweak one of the config files to get full quality out of it but it works flawlessly. No need for Divx/Xvid support.
adrian @ Oct 1st 2007 1:02AM
Just wondering if anyone could help me? I have a pc running media centre in my study and wanted to transfer all the info from pc to a xbox 360 in my theatre room using ethernet cable so that i can watch movies, recorded tv, live tv in hd and so on, can this be done with a ps3. The main function i am looking for in the media centre hook up is streaming live or recorded tv.