I do use it often away from my PC...i have to turn off javascript to make it work...:sadface.....why is Sony not doing any work on the web browser? I think it is cool/convenient surfing from your TV...is there a technical limitation that stops PS3 browser from out performing iPhone/Nexus1 browser...
The PS3 browser and net capabilities : Is PS3 getting Android/WebKit support?
- Thread starter gongo
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Yes, and yes. I also switch off javascript regularly to get some sites to work. It doesn't support Flash 10, so no watching videos on gametrailers. It crashed occasionally, on some sites more then others. And clicking on things to bring up a different page doesn't work on some sites.
I'm really hoping Sony can provide a proper webbrowser some day, because I use it a lot. Simply because it's easily available.
I'm really hoping Sony can provide a proper webbrowser some day, because I use it a lot. Simply because it's easily available.
deathindustrial
Regular
I use it fairly regularly to watch comedynetwork.ca (as gimped as it is) plus the odd bit of browsing.
The browser is *immensely* frustrating as it is dog slow, renders pages poorly, freezes up fairly often (sometimes requiring a forced PS3 reboot), does not handle many Javascript heavy sites very well, has terrible Flash video performance on a lot of sites and pops up "Do You Want To Run The Plugin?" incessantly. It also sucks that it does not let you use the full screen width.
The video performance is particularly strange in that zooming in the video using the PS3 scaler is fine (just grainy) but using the "full screen" option triggered via Javascript / HTML is usually abysmally slow (think slide show). Not for all feeds but most.
As long as it was not crazy expensive I definitely would consider paying cash for a working browser (Firefox, Chrome, Opera, etc.) as the current one sucks.
Cheers
The browser is *immensely* frustrating as it is dog slow, renders pages poorly, freezes up fairly often (sometimes requiring a forced PS3 reboot), does not handle many Javascript heavy sites very well, has terrible Flash video performance on a lot of sites and pops up "Do You Want To Run The Plugin?" incessantly. It also sucks that it does not let you use the full screen width.
The video performance is particularly strange in that zooming in the video using the PS3 scaler is fine (just grainy) but using the "full screen" option triggered via Javascript / HTML is usually abysmally slow (think slide show). Not for all feeds but most.
As long as it was not crazy expensive I definitely would consider paying cash for a working browser (Firefox, Chrome, Opera, etc.) as the current one sucks.
Cheers
I have use it intermittently, and have no popup issues (we discussed this before). There are definitely some tricks you need to know. For instance when available always choose the download file option, this is then automatically displayed and streamed using SPE decoding, looks great (but of course not always available). Used it a lot for gametrailers Performance is good enough but compatibility could be better. What I hate most is the text input, both for being limited in number of characters and being different in 720p from 1080p. This was annoying for forum posts. Now my iPhone has been taking over.
Lucid_Dreamer
Veteran
Oninotsume
Newcomer
I use the browser everyday, and am generally satisfied.
I recommend PS3 Youtube for HD Youtube, excellent
Gametrailers support. http://www.ps3youtube.com/
I recommend PS3 Youtube for HD Youtube, excellent
Gametrailers support. http://www.ps3youtube.com/
Billy Idol
Legend
thanks for the link!
But I think as well that the browser needs a lot of re-work. I use it to take a break during gaming...checking Emails, B3D and other stuff - and it is slow as hell, sometimes till the point where it gets annoying (depends on what you are doing of course) - checking Emails should not take minutes! It is nice, but at this state I would not call it a feature...
Sony may need to address a larger issue: How does PS3 and PSP fit into the Internet ?
If they are serious about Internet integration, I think they will have to port a modern browser core to the Playstations. Sony may make PSN-specific policy decisions, but technically they need to be on par with the mainstream.
On the casual gaming front, the world is running away/ahead with web games. SOE is not as visible as it should. To the casuals, the Playstation family is not known to run simple games already on their favorite devices (like AngryBird on iPad/iPhone). Very few Playstation IPs are known to the casuals (e.g., LittleBigPlanet, Ratchet & Clank). The Flash/iPad/phone games are free or low cost too.
On the app front, PS3 is still rather limited. The recent Photo Gallery and Video Editor apps managed to keep PS3 up-to-date (Photo and video upload are 2 of the top surveyed use cases for Internet communities worldwide). It is a welcomed update, but they are not setting any trend here.
I hope the PS3 and PSP(2) become more open (read/write to SMB drives, RemotePlay/Desktop for PCs & Macs, platform neutral video rental, etc.). Some of their IPs should leak to Internet communities in a meaningful way. The Facebook spamming mechanism cannot be relied on.
The PSN+ packaging is a mixed bag. While it fails to articulate values to many consumers, there is some forward thinking network business model there. Unfortunately, (as usual), it's only partially done. Unless they focus and get their act together, they may continue to lag behind user expectation. It's the same old piece-meal approach. Simply giving us a WebKit browser doesn't really move the game forward (It's a great start though).
EDIT: The Google TV move is interesting but again, Sony prices the TV too high. >_<
Someone else will take the initiative and popularize it. I haven't heard any major talk after the initial launch. Should bring the functionality to PS3 instead.
If they are serious about Internet integration, I think they will have to port a modern browser core to the Playstations. Sony may make PSN-specific policy decisions, but technically they need to be on par with the mainstream.
On the casual gaming front, the world is running away/ahead with web games. SOE is not as visible as it should. To the casuals, the Playstation family is not known to run simple games already on their favorite devices (like AngryBird on iPad/iPhone). Very few Playstation IPs are known to the casuals (e.g., LittleBigPlanet, Ratchet & Clank). The Flash/iPad/phone games are free or low cost too.
On the app front, PS3 is still rather limited. The recent Photo Gallery and Video Editor apps managed to keep PS3 up-to-date (Photo and video upload are 2 of the top surveyed use cases for Internet communities worldwide). It is a welcomed update, but they are not setting any trend here.
I hope the PS3 and PSP(2) become more open (read/write to SMB drives, RemotePlay/Desktop for PCs & Macs, platform neutral video rental, etc.). Some of their IPs should leak to Internet communities in a meaningful way. The Facebook spamming mechanism cannot be relied on.
The PSN+ packaging is a mixed bag. While it fails to articulate values to many consumers, there is some forward thinking network business model there. Unfortunately, (as usual), it's only partially done. Unless they focus and get their act together, they may continue to lag behind user expectation. It's the same old piece-meal approach. Simply giving us a WebKit browser doesn't really move the game forward (It's a great start though).
EDIT: The Google TV move is interesting but again, Sony prices the TV too high. >_<
Someone else will take the initiative and popularize it. I haven't heard any major talk after the initial launch. Should bring the functionality to PS3 instead.
deathindustrial
Regular
Getting off topic but I would happily pay $10 to $20 for a slick MP3 player app that includes a bunch of visualization and playlist options. Ditto for a media player on par with what I can run under Ubuntu (at least as far as media playback capability goes).
I also really do hope Sony does something with the NHL so I can finally watch Canucks games without being forced to get Cable.
Cheers
I'm fairly certain this has been solved. Since one of the last updates, I found some settings that I know weren't there in the beginning of the browsers life. There you can adjust the size of the browsable area. I have overscan turned off on my full-hd projector and through the settings in the PS3 browser, I was able to match it perfectly.
Check the settings using triangle when you have a site open...
Good link. The gametrailer links are convenient - I assume they link to the download mp4 link or something like that directly, which is much easier than trying to select that in the gametrailers website. Reminded me that for quality and speed this works better than on my PC.
Billy Idol
Legend
The problem is that I don't think that the browser should have a high priority for Sony!
There are far more other stuff they have to implement - the browser is nice to have, but not fundamental for gaming.
Some better gaming related community features (cross game chat, game invite?!) are IMO much more important to the overall PS3 experience and probably would make the overall online gaming on PS3 more attractive.
There are far more other stuff they have to implement - the browser is nice to have, but not fundamental for gaming.
Some better gaming related community features (cross game chat, game invite?!) are IMO much more important to the overall PS3 experience and probably would make the overall online gaming on PS3 more attractive.
It depends on what Sony wants to achieve. I think if they are gunning for a network media platform, browser tech is pretty strategic (Think Apple bringing iOS and its collection of apps to AppleTV).
They can sidestep the entire browser stack by offering a remote desktop feature though (e.g., project/upscale PC, Mac and iPad screens to HDTV). The Move controller should make large screen TV UI more usable. But this is not the same thing as having the apps running on PS3 itself. I surmise that all the consoles will have a web browser (or web browser platform tech) before we know it.
They can sidestep the entire browser stack by offering a remote desktop feature though (e.g., project/upscale PC, Mac and iPad screens to HDTV). The Move controller should make large screen TV UI more usable. But this is not the same thing as having the apps running on PS3 itself. I surmise that all the consoles will have a web browser (or web browser platform tech) before we know it.
The netfront access browser is crap. Sony should just contract with mozilla or opera have them make one. Sony could even sell it as download for $19.99. Take half, give the other half to opera/mozilla.
Sony makes money, Opera/Mozilla makes money, customer has usable web browser. Everyone wins!
Sony makes money, Opera/Mozilla makes money, customer has usable web browser. Everyone wins!
Dungeonscaper
Newcomer
draconian said:
Mozilla is a not-for-profit organisation
Which just means that they don't distribute profits to share holders. Money from Sony could still pay for a PS3 browser development effort, with excess revenue to help fund other Mozilla efforts. That's close enough to 'profit' to make it worth Mozilla's while, presumably.
Technically, though, I don't think Firefox would be nearly as good a choice as Webkit. All that XUL interface and extensibility wouldn't be needed or wanted on XMB, and Webkit's lighter memory footprint would presumably be a big benefit.
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