UPDATE: PlayStation 3 Slim does bitstream HD audio over HDMI
UPDATE:
There has been much speculation about the specification of the new PlayStation 3 Slim, so allow us to confirm one thing: it can bitstream HD audio over HDMI.
We have a sample in for review and as this image of the PS3 Slim's display confirms, it will bitstream HD audio.
Look out for a full review on the site next week, just as soon as we've had time to thoroughly test it.
Posted 21/08/09
There looks to be more good news on the horizon for fans of the PlayStation 3. The new PS3 Slim is rumoured to be able to bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
Previously able to decode HD audio on board but not send it out in bitstream form, we're led to believe that the PS3 Slim may rectify this and deliver HD audio via bitstream.
We are looking to get full confirmation from Sony and will of course let you know just as soon as any further specification is 100% confirmed.
Posted 19/08/09
Sony has now officially confirmed the PlayStation 3 Slim will be on our shelves in just a few weeks.
The eye-catching unit is 32 per cent smaller, 36 per cent lighter and uses 34 per cent less power than the original PS3 and is due out in the first week of September.
There was no mention of any spec changes, so expect the Slim to boast a 120GB hard drive and the all-important Blu-ray drive.
The new PS3 Slim will retail for £249, and comes with the new Playstation 3 3.00 firmware. The upgrade makes some changes to the user interface.
Crucially, the PS3 Slim is also rumoured to be much quieter in operation than previous incarnations.
Sony is also launching a video delivery service, via the PlayStation Network, to allow PS3 or PSP users to rent or buy films, in either standard or high definition. The service goes live in the UK this November.
Posted 18/08/09
The web has been awash with rumours of a brand new PlayStation 3, and it seems for once they could be true.
US retailers K-Mart and Sears have begun taking orders online for a "new low price & a new exciting PlayStation 3", according to (badly written) banner adverts on their sites.
Previous speculation had suggested that Sony would release a slimmer machine complete with a 120GB hard disk drive.
With an optomistic shipping date of August 24th on said US sites, we could be seeing a brand new PS3 sooner that we thought...
Comments
i just wish it could do the bravia sync....why do sony expect a seperate remote for basic functions from already customers
Ignore my last post - it appears it DOES work, but you are still prompted when setting audio output to bitstream that "some portions of audio rom the BD may not be played"
Also, Warner BDs require you to manually specify HD Audio as the default to plain old DD.
PS3 Slim CANNOT bitstream HD audio.
The above update from What Hi-Fi is NOT CORRECT, the new PS3 Slims have the exact same issue as previous models and are not able to bitstream HD audio. For example, the Dark Night Blu-Ray can only bitstream Dolby Digital over HDMI - or the alternative method is to use Linear PCM, which simply sends decoded raw digital audio to your AV receiver - So basically the inferior PS3 is doing the decoding and not your flashy expensive AV Receiver.
Mine is going back to the shop, I would rather have my old one back thanks.
hmmm,slightly annoyed about the bitstream issue,us early adopters have been waiting how long for the update?and miraculously this thing comes with it already!has anyone seen the "game"promotion whereby you trade-in your 60-80 gig machine and get the newbie half price?sorry sony but two words spring to mind,beginning and ending with f.
So is the HD sound much better with bitstream then or the same as LPCM??
Just resd trigby1's post. Doh!! I may be tempted now. Hmmmmmmm!
The only thing I would want backwards compatability for would be Singstar. Sad, I know, but fun. We've got about 10 ps2 singstar games that would cost a lot to replace. Our AV rack is proper full already so another box wouldn't be welcome. I would buy one if it played them.
I hope blu ray picture and sound are as good and please test the upscaling of dvds.
You can do LPCM over HDMI, that's how i'm doing it. You may have to change the Audio settings in the PS3 menu, but if you have it connected through HDMI into a receiver then the audio settings check should switch it for you to the correct settings. What you won't see in the receivers screen is the fact that it is receiving the sound as one of the HD audio streams (at least it doesn't on my STR-DA2400)
I have a first genration PS3 with the 60GB HDD and is still super audio cd compatible.
But what is actually the difference between bistream HD audio and pcm?
Can pcm not be done over hdmi?
So if i van get True HD with my older PS3, then how do i do this?
How does it have to be connected to the receiver?
I agree with Fizban_UK, why are people still whinging about backwards compatibility. You can buy a second hand PS2 for 20 quid if you want to play your old ps2 and ps1 games!
I found that once I got a PS3, I didn't want to go back to the PS2 anymore anyway. I downloaded an old PS1 game from PS network and it infuriated me so much it has been deleted from the hard drive!
The only thing that annoyed me was that I had a large singstar disc collection (yes I know that's sad) which was initially useless when I upgraded. Playstation have rectified this with firmware updates, and now Singstar PS2 discs work if you have a PS3 singstar disc and change the disc mid-game. My neighbours are overjoyed by this...
I for 1 will not be getting one unless it has backwords comparability
I own a ps1 and a ps2 and have many classic games that are still good today
and can't Sony understand that people like myself that still enjoy the ps1 and 2 games would prefer to have one console that plays everything than 3 consoles cluttering the place. For the guy who said you wouldn play 7" records on a cd player that's an ok comment but they are two totaly different formats......the point is imagine if a cd player only played cd singles and you had to buy another player to play cd albums...that is the way Sony have gone and apparently to cut the cost of the console..... But why? ...I would still buy a ps3 if it was backwards compatible and £200 dearer than a normal ps3.....
on backwards compatibility it depends which one of these you believe, although the official line is no PS2 capability - who really cares about that anymore - use a PS2 for PS2 games, you wouldn't use a CD player for a 7" single would you?
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/08/21/ps3_back_compat_dead/
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/07/01/ps3_backwards_compatibility/
Would it actually sound any different though to sending the audio to the Amp as PCM?
I agree with jedinight2003 and in addition, no PS2 backward compatability = no purchase for me...
I really hope this will be possible on old PS3s by way of an update.
Is it possible for them to do this on the 'old' PS3 via a firmware update, or is it a hardware issue that it could not handle?
I wonder if the new PS3 will be able to output Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio without decoding it first?
Presently, they cannot do that which is its main failing in Blu-ray playback (the other being its not multi region).
Yaaba Daaba Doo!!
Will the Blu-Ray player be improved I wonder?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002L16JXS/ref=nosim/?tag=hotukdeals-21