messiah

Whats the loading times like - I've read a lot about BD's taking up to 30 seconds before the film starts.

Currently decided whether to bother with the 360's HD DVD add-on or not, not only is there a format war, but its hiding a codec war which not too many people are aware of...and personally I'm leaning towards the format that doesnt need a load of compression to get films and soundtracks to fit on it.

DavidBrown

As mentioned above, comparing RR6 on the 360 with RR7 on the PS3 is comparing apples + pears.

Gamespot reviews the following games that appear on both the PS3 + X360

Need for Speed Carbon - "looks roughly comparable to its Xbox 360 counterpart... There are a few subtle differences, most of which the PlayStation 3 version comes up on the short end of. The PS3 seems to have more jagged, aliased edges, and a framerate that is a little more stuttery"

Call of Duty 3 - "However, an inconsistent frame rate and fewer multiplayer options make the PlayStation 3 version slightly inferior to the Xbox 360 version"

NBA 2K6 - "The frame rate's not too bad when you're playing from the default camera angle, but it isn't as smooth as on the Xbox 360."

Tony Hawk's Project 8 - "The game runs at a good speed, but unfortunately the frame rate just can't keep up. The PlayStation 3 version of the game is more unstable and sinks to lower depths than its Xbox 360 counterpart. "

I too was unimpressed at the jaggies/aliasing of RR7 - not a great game to show us how this machine is better than an X360.

There isn't a single game out there where the PS3 beats the X360 version.

Right, but by modern standards 20" is a tiny screen. Even on my 50" plasma the Blu Ray didn't impress me over a Superbit DVD or Sky HD

RB5-Black

I'm sure I read in what hi-fi magazine that there is no difference to the human eye between 720p and 1080p on screens under 36"

can you really tell how much better the res is on a 20" monitor ?

Iain Young

Webmaster sounds like someone desperately trying to justify spending over the odds for something that's not that good to me

I've also heard in numerous places that you can't tell the difference unless on a big screen, (and that confirms what I've seen when I've had some stuff demonstrated). If you can, it sounds like you are exposing flaws in your current tv hardware at the lower resolutions rather than seeing improvement in resolution.

I know I won't be buying a PS3 next year unless they seriously improve the games list...

Hanslow

Sounds like someone trying to justify their 360 to me

Iain Young

No need mate, wouldn't be without it. At least there are some decent games for it, (when I can play them of course)

Hanslow

Sorry Iain, couldn't resist Are you up to box number 5 yet?

ex-webby

Messiah,
Loading times can be lengthy on games, but both games I have will install certain parts to the HD as an option, giving normal loading times.

David,
Personally I think RR7 looks better than RR6.... but that is mu opinion.

20" maybe small..... but I am sitting on top of it and I can assure you the difference between the Blu-Ray and a DVD source (that I used) on the same screen was outstanding.

RB5-Black,
Perhaps from 20ft away that maybe the case, but from what I have seen with my own eyes on a 20" TFT screen used for my computer and consoles the difference was incredible.

Iain,
I personally dont care what other people say.... I know I can see a dramatic difference. You telling me that you have an LCD display at home that playing s DVD does not show any artifacts or blocking? Because the Blu-Ray player on the PS3 doesnt.

Whether people agree with me or not is not a problem, but from what I have seen I have finally a source that is able to reproduce a picture on a LCD screen that is as good (and so much sharper) than a CRT.

As regards to justifying a PS3 and the price I paid..... no need to, I have done this with EVERY console that has been produced since the PS1 and Saturn.

I love the 360 to bits, but the PS3 is also an excellent console as well..... there is no denying that.

Some people just have to have the latest thing, regardless of cost...... I'm just one of those guys.

Perhaps I should of said "yeah it's a piece of cow dung"..... at least then I wouldnt upset you MS fanboys. (and no, I am not a PS3 fanboy either - the opposite infact).

DavidBrown

I wasn't challenging the fact that RR7 looks better than RR6, I was challenging the apples and pears comparison. I have a sneaky feeling if they were to bring out RR7 for the X360 then it would have a better frame rate and not look so aliased. This is disappointing in hardware that is supposed to be more advanced than the X360

Same here, which is why I bought mine.. But realistically we know it's going to be a good while before it is worth buying for the games.

ex-webby

David,
I agree to an extent regarding your last remark.... perhaps mine will be untouched until VF5 comes out.

ex-webby

Please ignore my previous posts about a 20" monitor..... it is 24"

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Probably the first bloke ever to underestimate the size of his!

spectrum48k

David, I wouldn't read much into this as EA have had XBOX36 dev kits a full year longer than PS3 ones I'd bet. Remember at E3 this year a lot of developers were only just taking delivery of their full devkits, so I'd guess the reason for the inferior PS3 version is the time factor to get the product out the door.

Before you ask, I'm not a Playstation evangelist, I usually buy the game first, then the console to play it on, be it XBox360, PS3 or Wii. Unfortunately, there just isn't any games that take my fancy right now.

Iain Young

Nope. I've got a 42" plasma at the moment, (I'm waiting for the format wars to die down a bit before upgrading).

I have gone into my local av specialists and had some demos though. On the expensive smaller screens, I couldn't see any artifacts on the lower definition settings, or really see any difference between that and 1080p. When I started comparing 50" screens, it became more obvious.

I suspect the explanation in your particular situation is that you have a 1080p tv, which doesn't particularly like displaying the lower resolutions (hence the artifacts).

Iain Young

Nope number 4 is still behaving at the moment...

DavidBrown

Yes, but then the PS3 is one year on in terms of technology, so you would expect that to balance out at the very least. (Should we forgive the PS3 for having worse games than a ZX81 because developers have had the ZX81 for 20yrs now ?)

Also, PGR3 was a launch title for the X360 a year ago, at that point developers had the same time to make that game as PS3 designers have had now to make RR7, and PGR3 is easily superior to RR7

ex-webby

David,
I'm not sure that is a fair comparison either..... lets face it, PGR is better than RR on the 360. lol

Iain,
The screen is a Dell 24" Widescreen monitor. The DVD image was being displayed at full screen with the PC res set to the native screen pixels (19.. x 1200). The PS3 was through the same screen in 1080p mode (19.. x 1080). Obviously the picture has been scaled by the monitor to fill the screen, so I would expect the picture to be even sharper on a 1080p specific pixel screen (from the PS3).

Every LCD screen I have seen before has been crap with images regarding blocking and artifacts compared to CRT or even to a degree Plasma (I have a plasma as the main set in the living room). Blasting a 1080p signal in to a LCD that is capable of displaying it has shown me a picture quality through an LCD I never thought possible.

Regards,
Shaun.

Boro

iTrader: (1)

I bet the 360 is faster through the twisties

But really, who cares which is best!

There are going to be games which come out on either the PS3 or 360 that show it off to its best.

There are going to be games which only come out on one console.

If anyone is so narrow minded to think that one is ultimately better than the other then you seriously need to get out more.

IMHO, you need both. End of.

Swen6

<cough, cough> Pictures

Iain Young

That'll be part of the problem then. LCD monitors will usually only display crisply at their native resolution. Therefore, if the monitor is designed to run at 1080p, anything less will likely look fuzzy by comparison. It's the way LCD screens work...

An LCD tv may give you a better picture at lower resolutions as they usually have fancy scaling technology inside to make the picture display at the native resolution of the set.

Brun

Come on Shaun - pics, pics, pics

ex-webby

ROFLOL @ you lot! I am taking some pics now, so expect them to be up in the next 30mins.

Iain,
Yep... I appreciate that, but this monitor aint no cheap peace of crap. I have seen a number of LCD TV's with digital DVD sources and nothing has shown me the crispness that the Blu-Ray gives at 1080p. Hence why I have a Plasma for the main TV as I dont like the way LCD transforms images from my current sources. Obviously there are as many arguments for and against LCD and Plasma, but thats another discussion.

Even on the same LCD screen (another one I use just for the 360) running at 720p (on a native correct display) the PS3 to me seems sharper...... weird and perhaps not expected.

Please believe I am not hyping the PS3 at all.... as has been said, you should own both. lol Whether the PS3 or 360 is the better console only time will tell, but I thought I would share what I have found out.

Anyway..... back to the pics.

ex-webby

Ok.... without spending 10hrs setting up the lighting for the camera, you will have to make do with these pics! lol Obviously the pics do none of the images justice in reality.

XBOX360 and PS3


XBOX360 and PS3 controllers


PS3 Blu-Ray Video Image


PS3 Menu


RR6


RR7


RR6


RR7

Brun

scoobyverysoon

iTrader: (1)

ooooo the PS3 does look

bugeyeandy

Menu system looks very much like the PSP, unit itself looks more compact when stood next to a 360. From all the shots i've seen before the PS3 looked enormous.
Go on then , tell us how you got hold of it and how much it cost

ex-webby

It is slightly taller, slightly wider and slightly deeper then 360.

Menu system is in the same vein as the PSP.... so not as good as the 360 imho.

I got it from a source in Englad that I have used before and it cost me an arm and a leg

drb5

iTrader: (4)

Maybe it's just a wee silly, unimportant thing, but the PS3 actually looks better quality than the 360...buildwise. What's your thoughts there Webby? Better built?

I see you can get them for about £700 delivered on Ebay.

leonpoole

Build quality is very good indeed. Look at the beating this PS3 takes. You'd expect it to explode but it fairs up quite well

PlanetBoredom.Net // Videos - SmashOurStuff.com - Smash My PS3

Iain Young

I thought it looked a bit plasticy from these pics and that shiny finish will show every single fingerprint, (especially if the kids use it). Hope it looks better in the flesh...