henke on 23/5/2013 at 06:38
I've only used the PS3 a little but I can believe that it's UI is the better one. The 360's UI leaves a lot to be desired. Finding certain options is hard as hell. I had to dig around forever in the settings and profile recently just to change the goddamn wallpaper. And some features, like the option to unsubscribe to Gold or some other of their services are straight-up non-existant and require you to use a PC instead.
Interesting. 3rd party software though? Does that work right away or did you have to mod your PS3?
SubJeff on 23/5/2013 at 07:02
Nope, it works straight away. I use it too and whist it's nice its not perfect; sometimes you have to let it buffer the steam, sometimes it doesn't like certain files.
I've always been surprised that Sony never made an equivalent piece of software. You can use stuff that comes with Windows but it's not as easy to set up as PSM.
I've used BBC iPlayer, Channel 4 On Demand and Love Film on my PS3. Once playing they are okay but the interfaces are slow like its 1994.
heywood on 23/5/2013 at 10:13
Since DLNA/UPNP is an open standard, there's a bunch of different media servers out there you can use with a PS3 or 360. I run Twonky on my NAS.
My hope is that either the PS4 or the Xbox One will be a DLNA compliant renderer, so I can control streaming to it via a dedicated control point app on my phone, tablet, or computer. Using a gamepad + on-screen menus to browse a large media library isn't my idea of fun.
Al_B on 23/5/2013 at 10:21
Absolutely. I use (
http://www.serviio.org/) serviio on my PC and it's great being able to use a DLNA app on my phone or tablet to browse and control video playback on a laptop running media player. I wish Microsoft had implemented DMR in media center as that would be perfect.
Volca on 23/5/2013 at 12:19
I don't get it - the new generation of consoles. Both are basically a modified version of pc which won't contain all the games people already own for PC. If steambox will have a comparable pricing it could as well be a winner - just because it means the games people own will be there.
The question is if the steambox can have comparable pricing - they'll be probably selling xbone and ps4 underpriced.
Yakoob on 23/5/2013 at 17:25
While I agree with the overarching "meh" of this console generation and particularily the XBun reveal, I think that consolidating everything into an "all-in-one media box" approach will actually prove very successful for whomever gets it right first.
Firstly, I know many people (like dethy) who say they just want a game console to play games - but you must recognize you are actually the minority. You are not the casual user the consolidation move is moving towards. It's geared towards your average ma and pa who dont understand "Dem computar thingamajigs," the PhD student working two jobs who wants to unwind at the end of the day with some netflix and skype, or even the rich upstarting CEO who's pimping his home theater system.
Just look at the parallels in smart devices and how similarly people scoffed saying "why combine, I already have a phone, calculator, my mp3 player and a laptop!" Sure those folks might still keep their devices separate, but a singular iDevice has successfully penetrated and won the hearts of numerous casual users. Users who dont care what it is, they just want to check their emails, chat with their friends, update their farmville crops, all while listening to their favorite music.
The consolidatation of portable functionality in iDevices proved extremely desirable and profitable, because aside from us power users and nerds, most people like convenience and simplicity. Why do you think "home media/entertainment/theater/etc" system would be any different.
MS Is really smart to recognize that, much as Apple did with iPhones. But I'm not convinced they are going the right way of implementing it just yet. But then neither did Apple and that worked out for them...
faetal on 23/5/2013 at 17:32
Quote Posted by Yakoob
While I agree with the overarching "meh" of this console generation and particularily the XBun reveal, I think that consolidating everything into an "all-in-one media box" approach will actually prove very successful for whomever gets it right first.
My PC has been getting that right for a while now. It's odd, since the the console market seems to be converging on "it's a PC you can hook up to your TV and operate with a controller, you just can't upgrade it", so I can only assume that its USPs are:
1) It's ready to use without any laborious set-up and is guaranteed to work with every game released - no minimum spec reqs
2) Its aesthetic qualities
3) Platform exclusive games
I've been toying with the idea of getting a console for a while, mostly after I played Dark Souls and lost my antipathy towards gamepads, but none of this upcoming batch are making me want to shell out the money which I could otherwise be spending on PC upgrades.
SubJeff on 23/5/2013 at 17:33
I agree but I think the PS4 will do the same.
