I've been planing to buy a ps3 from ebay now b\c of sonys lack of respect to us european.. :crying: So I wanted to hear from any other europeans that have already bought a PS3 what issues I can expect.. From what I understand only PS3 titles is region free not PSX/PS2 or bluray movies.. is this correct? And about voltage can it handle 230V directly.. or would I need to buy a converter? And last one.. as I havn't bought myself a HDTV yet (going to do that soon I think).. can it output PAL signal / is it possible to hook it up to a vga monitor?
PS3 games I think are supposed to be region free, but it's up to the developer. I think they can region lock them, but I'm not sure. PS1 and PS2 games are region locked as I remember. Bluray movies, you'd be able to play Japan and North American movies. They share a region code with Bluray. The voltage you'll probably need to step down to 110v. 230V could likely damage it. The system won't output PAL, you need a TV that can display NTSC which is far more common in Europe than vice versa in North America.
The voltage is apparenty auto-switched within the machine, so there's no need for a stepdown transformer. I always thought that the HD resolutions of 720p, 1080i and 1080p are universal, PAL/NTSC made no difference, that's only a concern with VHS/DVD resolutions at 480/576. I'm in Australia and have just imported a US model, and so far there have been no problems. I don't think it's up to the developers for region free, I think Sony has mandated all PS3 games MUST be. I think Microsoft is the one who gave the choice to developers. PS1 and PS2 games are still region locked, so a US system means US games. Mottzilla is correct on the Blu-ray issue.
If you need help finding a unit I'd be willing to pick one up for you, but it would be retail priced from the US so that may not be what you're looking for. Anyway PM me if you need anything.
Sounds like I might buy one at the end of the month then. I guess I could live with my PAL PSX hooked up to the TV too for playing PSX games. As I don't really own any PS2 games atleast that isn't a issue One last question.. DVD playback.. is that region free?
I'm not certain that's true but I'm under that assumption that Component Video is mostly universal color encoding wise but the frequency still probably follows NTSC and PAL differences perhaps. Not really sure. Not a big issue when you have a display that handles both PAL and NTSC which honestly all TVs should. DVD playback is most likely region locked. I would be surprised if it wasn't.
heh. so in the end it's either: - I get HW PS2 backward compatibility. But I wont be able to play my PS1 games or my PAL DVD movies. or - I get inferior SW PS2 backward compability. But atleast I don't have to use my old PSX and watch DVDs on my XBOX. Thank you sony.. oh well, as I can play PSX and DVD already I don't really need to get myself an european PS3. edit: oh, and the fact that I can buy two PS3 at ebay for the price of one european PS3.. I also think I would go for one from U.S.
bump about my question: Does the damn thing (lovingly refferred to as Ps3) support some sort of quasi-official VGA cable? or do I have to snap an adaptor from DVi->VGA->VGA cable->monitor ?
Yeah. I know.. warranty is an issue unfortantly. But as I stated before.. for the price of one PS3 in sweden I can get two new from ebay. And ofcourse.. as I havn't preorder one I could probably expect to recive my PS3 around summer if I order one in sweden. :banghead: edit: barc0de afaik there is no official vga cable.. but I also would like to know this.. b\c if it can't output vga or pal signal I better buy a new tv first. xD
DVD playback on a Japanese machine means you can play Region 2 discs and you can watch UK / Euro PAL films. Sadly it still has the stupid macrovision protection so that if you use a SCART RGB cable then it comes out Green... Not tried a Blu-Ray disc yet... There is an official VGA cable sort of, the VGA cable that came with the PS2 Linux kit does work with the PS3 but will only give you 480p maximum resolution which is better the using RGB Scart (although if you monitor supports it you can get 480p via RGB SCART too....), the monitor must support Sync on Green else you will need a VGA Sync remover box which aren't cheap (but you can make them for about £2). I got a Japanese machine as I have a lot of Japanese PS2 and PS1 games so it wasn't rocket science, I also bought the machine when the exchange rate was 240 Yen to the pound and got a new machine for 52,000Yen so got a good price on it.
Get one from the US if its that much cheaper. It seems like Europe is getting a screw job on the PS3 anyway. As for actually buying it, I'm sure many of us in the U.S. would be willing to pick one up for you. Hell, if there was warranty issues, somebody could probably help you with that as well.
nice to know Goint to think this over under the month as I havn't the money yet.. but for now it feels like I might buy one from the u.s.
Well, it depends on what you want out of your PS3: -If you are looking for a Digital media center for downloaded movies, pictures, and music, then it should be fine. -If you want a Playstation/PS2 in higher definition, either wait for the PAL version or keep your PAL PS2. It's a pain in the ass for traveling. -If you want it for Disc movies (DVD, Blu-Ray), then just get the PAL version, or import movies from the states (How expensive are movies over there?) -If you want to just play PS3 games...then you came to the right place. Personally, my PSP is a Japanese model, and I have never used it for UMD movies and it has worked just fine (Both Japanese, PAL, and North American games). Another bit of advice: Get the 20 GB model if you want a cheap solution. The wireless internet and card slots are not worth the $100 extra price, and those are easily remidied by Flash Drives/USB Card Adapters.
I would buy a US PS3 they are sitting on shelfs here. why pay the extra for a eurpean PS3. Or if you have to have a european PS3, not saying to do this my disclaimer , but I have heard some people are buying a us than they will buy a eurpoean exchange the main unit and return the eurpoean box with the us in it.
