No IR on the PS3

[expletive]

and they assumed that those Harmony remotes will be compatible with all future devices...
wait ..something's wrong .. nope they wont buy any device if its not compatible with Harmony ...
wait... no ..its Sony's fault they must have taken care of all the universal remotes available in market
wait ... ahh nevermind but I guess everyone got the point

Maybe I am among very few who feel that BT is a better technology for such a thing than IR.

Actually, you're missing the point.

It's not about the 'harmony' per se - its about every universal remote anyone has ever purchased up until this point. Every other device has infrared, this is the first with bluetooth.

Honestly, I dont expect this problem to resonate with most on this board, it was more of an fyi for those who are more in tune with setting up a home theater and may have invested in some decent stuff already.

 

[crystalcube]

I do understand the point but question is should a company stop from adding an alternate or better technology just for sake compatibility to older technology. PS3 maybe the first device but other CE devices may come with BT or other Rf remote controls in future.

 

[expletive]

I do understand the point but question is should a company stop from adding an alternate or better technology just for sake compatibility to older technology. PS3 maybe the first device but other CE devices may come with BT or other Rf remote controls in future.

Basically everyone who has setup up their entertainment center to work with a universal remote will have to either use 2 remotes or go buy a new one, surely Sony must know this. I dont see how that makes any sense. If they had included IR, like every other similar device, it wouldnt be the case. What could an IR sensor possibly cost to add? $0.25?

 

[mckmas8808]

I just assumed it would have IR since.

See that's your problem right there.

 

[expletive]

See that's your problem right there.

Actually, its Sony's because now you already have 2 people on this thread alone that wont take it seriously as a primary BR player. If no solution comes up, HT enthusiasts who buy 500-600 pieces of gear will be turned off by this.

 

[NavNucST3]

As strange as it may sound, one of the first things I do when I am about to purchase an electronic HT device is see if it is listed on the harmony website.

 

[crystalcube]

Actually, its Sony's because now you already have 2 people on this thread alone that wont take it seriously as a primary BR player

How many people on this board were serious about making PS3 their primary BR player ?

If no solution comes up, HT enthusiasts who buy 500-600 pieces of gear will be turned off by this.

Such an enthusiast will surely prefer a dedicated BR player compared to PS3.

 

[expletive]

How many people on this board were serious about making PS3 their primary BR player ?

At $600, probably quite a few - if playback was up to snuff. If the playback is garbage like the DVD playback on the ps2, probably not many. Sony needs the playback to be decent though, the price wont justify anything less and the stand alone players are a ways from being affordable.

Such an enthusiast will surely prefer a dedicated BR player compared to PS3.

Well now their mind is made up for them isnt it... Its a big problem for Sony if they have to rely on $1000 stand-alone players to penetrate the enthusaist market when theres HD-DVD players for $500.

 

[Sis]

and they assumed that those Harmony remotes will be compatible with all future devices...
wait ..something's wrong .. nope they wont buy any device if its not compatible with Harmony ...
wait... no ..its Sony's fault they must have taken care of all the universal remotes available in market
wait ... ahh nevermind but I guess everyone got the point

Maybe I am among very few who feel that BT is a better technology for such a thing than IR.

Call me crazy, but being compatible with all major universal remotes is preferable than asking someone to replace all their devices with a (right now) non-existant BT universal remote.

So what happens to all your equipment when you get this new BT remote? Replace them all with new devices that support BT? Of course not. No, you get these nice little IR blaster that recieve BT that you stick in front of each and every IR device you have. All because Sony couldn't be bothered to stick an IR port on the PS3?

So yeah, it's Sony's fault. But like I said, what will happen is that people will buy the USB IR receiver dongle and have that attached.

 

[Sis]

How many people on this board were serious about making PS3 their primary BR player ?

Such an enthusiast will surely prefer a dedicated BR player compared to PS3.

Given that feature for feature no stand alone players will even come close (even Sony's own stand alone), I expect quite a few. It's also the cheapest by a long shot.

The only issue would be if the software based decoding is not up to snuff of the hardware based decodings of the standalones (which is often true for consoles).

Perhaps this was Sony's way of throwing a bone to the other Blu-ray hardware makers?

 

[deathkiller]

If the PS3 don't have limitations to third party add-ons, I think that someone will release an USB IR reciver for PS3 even if it have to simulate being a gamepad.

 

[Guden Oden]

IR has never been mentioned or even hinted as a feature, EVER.

 

[Gradthrawn]

Basically everyone who has setup up their entertainment center to work with a universal remote will have to either [use 2 remotes] or go buy a new one...

Good God Almighty! The world is about to end! A terrible catastrophe! Gather the pitch forks, we riot on the 17th of November!



Just joking with ya...

Well now their mind is made up for them isnt it... Its a big problem for Sony if they have to rely on $1000 stand-alone players to penetrate the enthusaist market when theres HD-DVD players for $500.

Hmmm... considering SCE loses money on the consoles, only to make it up on games, I don't think its a very big concern of theirs for now. Sony proper might be concerned, but they have $1000 (profitable) stand-alone players to reach the enthusiast mark. All the while they'll get plenty of (perceived) BD penetration through gamers who buy the PS3 and will almost certainly buy games and help SCE recoup the cost of R&D and the hardware. Sounds like win-win for them to me. Not to mention that an IR receiver can simply be added on later in a hardware revision if enough people voice their concerns (in the right place, like, say, via an email to them). That's where all those enthusiast come in.

Do I think leaving out an IR port was a good move for the consumers? No, I don’t. Would I have preferred an IR remote? No, not at all, I’m glad its using Bluetooth. But it would have been a nice gesture to the consumers for all of those who do want to use universal remotes as many in this thread have brought up. I agree from a consumer perspective (that it should have been there) but from a business perspective it just doesn’t seem like a problem at all for them.

 

[London Geezer]

I've read through this thread and i keep thinking "What's the big deal??" over and over...

Sony will release a remote. It happens to be a Bluetooth remote. What's more to argue about?

It's a remote people. We're not discussing world hunger. So what if the people who set up their home entertainment system around one remote will have to have TWO REMOTES!!!11!??

Is that such a huge deal? So they'll have two remotes.

Even then, how many people do that?! EVERY single person i know or heard of have their livingroom cluttered with remote controls. It's not a pretty sight but that's the way it is. I have never in my life knows anyone who set up their "home entertainment livingroom" around one remote for all devices.

We're talking super-niche here.

Besides, all these "serious home entertainment people" will hardly want to use PS3 as their bluray player of choice now, would they?

 

[expletive]

IR has never been mentioned or even hinted as a feature, EVER.

Whether or not it was ever mentioned really is irrelevant. So now any bonehead decision by a company is ok because something was or wasnt mentioned in the months leading up to its release? IR was never mentioned with the 360 either and yet lo and behold, there it is.

If you are not affected by this, then thats fine, good for you. But don't tell me how I should feel about it. It's a stupid decision by Sony that can only make things difficult for some of their customers.

I've read through this thread and i keep thinking "What's the big deal??" over and over...

Sony will release a remote. It happens to be a Bluetooth remote. What's more to argue about?

It's a remote people. We're not discussing world hunger. So what if the people who set up their home entertainment system around one remote will have to have TWO REMOTES!!!11!??

Is that such a huge deal? So they'll have two remotes.

Its (potentially) a pain in the ass for some people and the problem I have is that Sony either:

1. Should know better given DNA
2. Did know better and didnt care so they could further some other bluetooth agenda

Even then, how many people do that?! EVERY single person i know or heard of have their livingroom cluttered with remote controls. It's not a pretty sight but that's the way it is. I have never in my life knows anyone who set up their "home entertainment livingroom" around one remote for all devices.

We're talking super-niche here.

So i guess the thousands and thousands of people that buy universal remotes every year are doing so to just add them onto their pile of existing remotes?

Besides, all these "serious home entertainment people" will hardly want to use PS3 as their bluray player of choice now, would they?

What if the PS3 is a fantastic BluRay player? I dont have high hopes for that but now i dont really have a choice but to buy a stand alone unit if i want to integrate it into my system.

There's enough people that are impacted by this and feel the same way (that it was a bonehead decision) that its a valid complaint.

If anyone is in the NY or NJ area (or visiting it) wants to stop by and see how my remote is integrated into my home theater i am happy to demo. Then you can tell me that it isnt a pain in the ass for people like me.

Its not the end of the world, its just one of things that makes you wonder "But...why?"

 

[Sis]

Good God Almighty! The world is about to end! A terrible catastrophe! Gather the pitch forks, we riot on the 17th of November!

I've read through this thread and i keep thinking "What's the big deal??" over and over...

What's the deal lately with all these downplaying posts? OMG we're debating a non-life threatening issue on a video game forum.
[EDIT: Looks like a mod cleaned up part of a post I was referring to; as such, it may appear that I was over the top with my criticism, since l-bs and Gradthrawn's posts weren't as nasty.]


a) I don't think anyone is saying it's end of the world. But for those who have an entertainment system (have you seen Expletive's? In his case, it IS a big deal) it's a nuisance. Here's a clue: it's a an issue when someone has invested hundreds of dollars in buying a remote that controls all their equipment. Some, like the Pronto, are in excess of $500. The Harmony remote I have was $125 (yes, it was worth it).
b) Why does it have to be about something you care about? Obviously, this issue isn't a problem for you as it is for some. So, why drop in on the thread just to crap on the people who do care about it?
c) Perhaps we should form a committee that first approves the topic of a thread to be worthy of discussion. I vote Guden as the chairman of that committee (though he's apparently co-chairing a seperate committee on "Things Which are Obvious to Anyone with Half a Clue"). [EDIT2: This made much more sense before Guden's post was edited. It's not as funny now ]

At least Gradthrawn and l-b offer some type of meaningul dialog, to which:

Besides, all these "serious home entertainment people" will hardly want to use PS3 as their bluray player of choice now, would they?

From my previous post:

Given that feature for feature no stand alone players will even come close (even Sony's own stand alone), I expect quite a few. It's also the cheapest by a long shot.

a business perspective it just doesn’t seem like a problem at all for them.

I agree that they had business reasons for doing so. I don't think anyone is suggesting Sony is trying to screw over people for some perverse reason known only to Mr. Kutaragi; but Sony did make the decision and for some, that decision sucks.

And, as I've said in two other posts: You'll just have to pick up a USB IR receiver. It adds a little clutter, but no matter...

 

[London Geezer]

2. Did know better and didnt care so they could further some other bluetooth agenda

What Bluetooth agenda?? The Bluetooth Fairy will reward them if they use Bluetooth radio waves instead of Infrared?

Come on, the decision was probaly dictated by the fact that PS3 already has Bluetooth capabilities and putting yet another thing in there just for the remote, when Bluetooth is just fine, would have been a bit silly.

So i guess the thousands and thousands of people that buy universal remotes every year are doing so to just add them onto their pile of existing remotes?

Those thousands and thousands of people obviously don't matter in the bigger picture, if they end up with a whole TWO remotes instead of one in their living room. Sony has had a lot more to sort out to make millions of people happy in this time than worry about those thousands of people who will whine for having TWO remotes in their living room instead of one universal one.

What if the PS3 is a fantastic BluRay player? I dont have high hopes for that but now i dont really have a choice but to buy a stand alone unit if i want to integrate it into my system.

To Sony, you will have to put up with having two remotes in your living room instead of one.

There's enough people that are impacted by this and feel the same way (that it was a bonehead decision) that its a valid complaint.

To Sony, those people will just have to deal with it. If they feel they just cannot live with TWO remotes in their living room, then they won't buy PS3, and Sony will have lost a very, VERY small percentage of people who think this is actually worth missing out on a PS3 just because of this. Don't see it happening, people who want a PS3 will buy it, and if it means they have another remote in their living room, they will go "Oh well..." and forget about it soon after.

If anyone is in the NY or NJ area (or visiting it) wants to stop by and see how my remote is integrated into my home theater i am happy to demo. Then you can tell me that it isnt a pain in the ass for people like me.

And i'm telling you that it would only be a pain for you and a few others. You will get over it, the others will get over it.

Its not the end of the world, its just one of things that makes you wonder "But...why?"

See... The why is not really important. They obviously have enough receivers and enough hardware in PS3 already without putting an IR thing there (which i'm sure you can plug in the USB eventually, making your universal remote more likely to work, rendering this whole discussion useless), which would have been silly when Bluetooth is already and more than capable of taking care of that.
That's why. The thousands of people with one remote in their living room will have to deal with the "pain" of having a second remote. All the other millions of people with 5 remotes in their living room will just put it there and forget about it the rest of the day until they have to go watch a Bluray/DVD movie.


EDITED THE POST, it was a bit too bitchy.

 

[Gradthrawn]

What's the deal lately with all these downplaying posts? OMG we're debating a non-life threatening issue on a video game forum.

I just thought it was hilarious when he mentioned that some people would have to have, *gasp*, wait for it, TWO REMOTES! I'm still laughing about that. Its just darn good comedy. I have not seen his setup but I imagine by how serious he is taking this "news" that it is extremely extensive (and expensive). I also have no objection to his objection about IR not being included. My main point was in regards to the effect on Sony and SCE from a business perspective, which I completely disagreed with. I just couldn't miss out on the opportunity to poke fun at him (and others) too, is all.

Two remotes!


Though I hope no one took offense to that.

 

[London Geezer]

I have to agree. Reading how seriously someone is taking the fact that they will have to dal with a whole TWO remotes is just really funny. Sorry. I have 6 remotes, plus controllers, plus mobiles, plus god knows what else in my living room or bedrooms, and the other 99.99999% of the population without "universal remotes" are the same.

Expecting Sony to also take care of that 0.0001% of the population, considering the things they really have to worry about at the moment, is just selfish and a bit silly actually.

I've edited my posts to make them sound less bitchy, and to respect that to some people this is a big deal, but it's still really funny nontheless.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It does seem a little odd to me to leave out IR for remote control when that's been the standard for CE gear for ages and the 'zillion remotes' problem has been solved by single multifunction remotes. I wonder if the CE division at Sony commented at all, 'It's supposed to be a standalone BRD player too right, so why no IR port for a remote?' or if they were even consulted. Or maybe Sony (and others?) are going to offer BlueTooth for other CE goods to create a unified solution more reliable than IR? Replacing IR with BT makes sense, IMO, and now's a good time what with lots of standards appearing concurrently, and that'd allow multifunction remotes with BT. If only PS3 uses BT and everything else sticks to IR, multi remotes might not happen.

Though really, PS3 ought to be voice and sight activated if they don't want to appear last-millenium.