Home Entertainment Upgrade

AJ · Post by AJ » Fri Nov 23, 2007 10:29 am

Iâ€™m looking at upgrading my home entertainment very soon and want to ask your advice.

The plan is LCD TV and PS3.

Iâ€™ve been reading about LCD v Plasma and really canâ€™t decide. I think the only draw back with LCD is that black doesnâ€™t look that good. I think it wins on all other levels, correct? Iâ€™ll be using the TV for gaming and watching blu-ray so it will need to have 1080 input/output. Iâ€™ve always been a fan of sony products and as they donâ€™t make Plasma, Iâ€™m seeing that as a sign to go with LCD. I have Sony Ericson phone, sony camera so everything connects together nicely, thatâ€™s why Iâ€™m thinking of staying with Sony, plus Iâ€™ll be getting the PS3.

I heard a rumour that the big studios (Paramount, Universal etc) are no longer going to be producing blu-rays, but after a quick search on blu-ray.com I couldnâ€™t see anything to back that up.

Also, I want to have all my music on a hard drive so that I can stream it wirelessly around the house via a multi room system without needing a computer if possible. Would the PS3 be able to do this? I mean, will it hold enough music? Suggestions please? The Bose lifestyle systems look perfect but at $8000 they are out of my price range at the moment. Iâ€™ve looked in to Sonos systems but they also seem pricey and have a few faults that reoccur.

Do I need an internet connection? If so what sort. I donâ€™t use the internet at home and only have a really old, basic lap top that I use for spreadsheets and editing FTO movies. I have a 300GB portable storage drive that I use and Iâ€™ve looked in to it and it looks like I can add this to the PS3 with no problem to back up itâ€™s internal hard drive.

Iâ€™ve always liked JB Hifi and they said that they would do me a good deal when I go to buy all my stuff. How is there after sales service? Iâ€™ve never bought anything huge like this from them before. I got burnt by â€œthe good guysâ€

Post by **Bennoz** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 11:32 am

Its all do-able mate, I've got all of that setup at home already. Got the Samsung 46 inch LCD in 1080p, built in HD tuner & HDMI connection to the PS3.

If you want to use the PS3 as a multimedia device (ie streaming movies & music etc) you need to load Yellow Dog Linux V5.03 on it. You can then either boot the PS3 into its gaming software, or load it to linux (which has a Windows style Graphical interface.)

The PS3 uses a 2.5" laptop size HDD to run on & most of the new PS3's coming out now are only 40Gb, the original versions were 120Gb. The only way round that is to ghost the exsiting PS3 HDD onto a bigger unit (which you'd have to buy seperate.) I didn't bother, I just use my PC as the movie & music storage box, then stream it over the network to the PS3 & the TV & surround sound. Even if you hooked your portable HDD into your laptop, you'd still be able to stream it to the PS3. The PS3 & the laptop will need to be networked, either wirelessly or cabled.

And yes, you will need internet access - as the PS3 requires regular firmware updates & also much of the gaming is done online. You can also download the PS3 games from the PS3 when its connected to the net.

Post by **Bennoz** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 11:33 am

Oh & I bought my LCD from JB Hifi... I love that shop

FTO338 · Post by **FTO338** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 12:30 pm

AJ wrote: The Bose lifestyle systems look perfect but at $8000 they are out of my price range at the moment.

Thats the LifeStyle 48 right? They the best sound quality i've ever heard for the size of the control unit and speakers.

Sony had just release a new 50" HD LCD in 1080i (better resolution then 1080p) , its got a new technology which stop the blurring effect that LCD produce when watching fast movement movie or sport event. And yeah i saw this at JB HiFi too

AJ · Post by AJ » Fri Nov 23, 2007 12:35 pm

I love JB so much.

Doesn't some people here work for them? I know Silentbob does in Newcastle, anyone in Sydney? mr_7too?

AJ · Post by AJ » Fri Nov 23, 2007 12:43 pm

Would this be the sort of set up that I need?

jonowong · Post by **jonowong** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 1:40 pm

if you get this set up im comming over everyday aj

Richy · Post by **Richy** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 4:42 pm

Sony had just release a new 50" HD LCD in 1080i (better resolution then 1080p) , its got a new technology which stop the blurring effect that LCD produce when watching fast movement movie or sport event. And yeah i saw this at JB HiFi too

1080i = interlace, 1080p = progressive = better

Its all do-able mate, I've got all of that setup at home already. Got the Samsung 46 inch LCD in 1080p, built in HD tuner & HDMI connection to the PS3.

i got the samsung M series 40" too.....bloody good mate......true black with the coating like the laptop lcds. only drawback is its reflectivity...but doesn't bother me..

also, i think atm any lcds above 46" are too expensive...might as well wait a little while and get full hd projector...which the prices are coming down.

as for audio....i use Focal JM Lab - Sib&Co....7 speakers...= bloody good too..

AJ · Post by AJ » Fri Nov 23, 2007 4:47 pm

Bennoz wrote: The only way round that is to ghost the exsiting PS3 HDD onto a bigger unit (which you'd have to buy seperate.) I didn't bother, I just use my PC as the movie & music storage box, then stream it over the network to the PS3 & the TV & surround sound.

What sort of computer, router, internet type stuff do I need for that?

AJ · Post by AJ » Fri Nov 23, 2007 5:06 pm

Richy wrote: as for audio....i use Focal JM Lab - Sib&Co....7 speakers...= bloody good too..

Does the PS3 kick out 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1? This may effect which amp I go for too.

AJ · Post by AJ » Fri Nov 23, 2007 5:30 pm

Richy wrote:1080i = interlace, 1080p = progressive = better

No difference. 1080p only slightly ahead but you shouldn't notice the difference.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/gearworks/1106gear/

Dr_Jones · Post by **Dr_Jones** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 1:18 am

I believe it can do 7.1 via HDMI only not the optical out. Of course the content must provide this. The original Aus ps3 had a 60gb drive it's easily upgraded as mentioned. If you do it from the start you can just format it and no need to ghost anything. The ps3 also accepts external drives but only in fat32 I think.

I also just store all my movies and music on pc and stream to the PS3
check out http://tversity.com/ for a solution on streaming video.

eThix · Post by **eThix** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 3:22 pm

get the new Sony Bravia with a ps3, but wait a bit because the ps3 will be dropping price soon.

AJ · Post by AJ » Mon Nov 26, 2007 1:57 pm

Cheers for all that guys. I'm going to do it in March I thionk but am planning it all now.

AJ · Post by AJ » Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:21 pm

Do I have to have a PC if I'm going to do this or can it all be run through the PS3? Also looking in to it, Sony says that the PS3 can wirelessly connect to the net straight out of the box. I know that I'll need a wireless router to do this but do I need anything else to run the PS3? Any hidden extras like leads, fans, extra controller etc? Ben, can I come over and check out your new system sometime please?

Post by **Bennoz** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:29 pm

You dont have to have a PC, it will work without, but I'd put one in anyway so you can manage the network. I'll rebuild that old one of yours that I've got if you want.

Yep, you can come have a look if you like. Mind you Im booked solid till February

AJ · Post by AJ » Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:54 pm

That was Leahs. I think she wants it back

Thanks for the offer, If I find a cheap pc lying around I'll grab it. What sort of specs do I need? A guy at work hear builds them, I'll get a quote off him.

Are you free on Skool nights for an hour or so?

AJ · Post by AJ » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:27 am

Dr_Jones wrote:I also just store all my movies and music on pc and stream to the PS3
check out http://tversity.com/ for a solution on streaming video.

erm, what does this do. I down loaded it but don't really get what it does. Can I wirelessly stream from my pc to the PS3?

Dr_Jones · Post by **Dr_Jones** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:40 pm

http://tversity.com/download/features

There you go.

AJ · Post by AJ » Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:47 pm

Yeah, I erad this but it still doesn't make sense to me. Does it find all the media on my pc, organise it and then allow me to stream it through a wireless router to the ps3? Or do I have to load all my cd's again?