This is a great console and quite reasonably priced.
However, the reason I gave it a four is because the failure rate could be better. Microsoft have improved this in the newer versions (which I own) but it really should have been done in the first place.
Also, by the time you add the 120GB HDD and Wi-Fi etc (like I have). it does end up costing more than a PS3 would so in some ways the base price is more accessible to those on a budget but for enthusiasts looking for a complete entertainment solution, it wil cost more.
An internet browser would have been nice and more support for different media formats.
There are some great exclusive titles that make this console a great addition to a gamers collection.
The fact that this console can be modified may also attract some.
Product reviews by 'Ryu77'
I recently got one of these as a bonus for a 52" bravia (KDL52Z5500) and I actually prefer it to my 80GB "fat" version. It does have some hardware improvements with newer audio and video processing units. It also runs cooler and quieter.
This is the absolute best value player on the market.
I have the Australian version so MKV playback is included. This player will also play both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD from DVD media in AVCHD format without a problem.
This was the only player (besides the PS3) that could do so after I tested every major brand. Still to date, I have not come across another player that can. The closest I got was Panasonic's offerings which would do DTS-HD but not TrueHD from AVCHD media.
The PS3 has always been a great all in one entertainment solution. However, the PS3 slim has some notable improvements. Less heat, more energy efficient, HD audio bitstream etc.
Juvenile, where can you get a NEW 120GB PS3 in Australia for $499? I sell these in my store and we can not even buy them for that. The current RRP is $499. If you get lucky and find the right sale, you may pick one up in mid $400 price bracket but most certainly not $350. I think the $1,000 price listed refers to the price at time of release. The 60GB was one of the first released.
It was also mentioned below that the Blu-ray player should have been an add-on. However, all the games are released on Blu-ray discs meaning more feature rich content on a single disc.
Because of a system error... The application gets the blame?
Some people...
MeGUI is an excellent piece of open source software. My thanks goes out to Kurtnoise & Sharktooth for taking this application to the next level. :-)
No encoding application can perform a DivX encode with anything over mid quality settings in 2 hours! Unless it's a single pass encode with very low quality settings. Admittedly, TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress is a little slower than say VirtualDub or MeGUI (about 15% slower). However, you do need to consider that this software is doing all the filtering (crop, resize, de-interlace etc.) and frameserving in one very easy to use application.
