270 of 275 people found the following review helpful:
I approve this remote control
I did not think I needed yet another remote control because I thought the six-axis had everything it needed for movie playing on the PS3 and, yet, I bought one. There were 2 initial reasons:
- my wife was missing a 'magic wand' shaped remote for playing movies
- Amazon had it at a great price in one of them lightning deals
65 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
"Stop" Button Should Be Labeled "Ruin My Evening"
If you want to pause your movie, you hit "Pause". If you want to start your movie again, you hit "Play". But between the "Pause" and "Play" buttons is "Stop". Here Be Dragons.
"Stop" means it. "Stop" doesn't just stop the video from playing, it quits out of the Blu-Ray player and returns you all the way to the root PS3 menu. To start watching your disk again...
This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
I did not think I needed yet another remote control because I thought the six-axis had everything it needed for movie playing on the PS3 and, yet, I bought one. There were 2 initial reasons:
- my wife was missing a 'magic wand' shaped remote for playing movies
- Amazon had it at a great price in one of them lightning deals
I ended up using it myself and, in fact, using it for more than just movie playing - see below.
But, let's do a quick inventory of features:
= It's blue-tooth enabled and, therefore, it's not taking any ports on your PS3. This is probably important for anyone who has a "2-USB ports console".
= It's wand-shaped, allowing the non-gamers to control their movie-watching activities while holding a familiar-shaped device in their hand.
= It maps ALL the six-axis buttons and performs everything a six-axis would do, except for the joystick features of R3 and L3 (but you do have the push-down or 'click' abilities for them).
= 2 AA battery powered (still with the original Sony batteries after 4 months of use)
= Includes additional buttons that the movie-only users would expect on a remote such as:
+ a number pad
+ eject
+ red, green, blue, yellow buttons
+ play, stop, pause
+ slow(step), scan(left/right), prev/next
+ display, top menu, pop up menu, return
+ subtitles, angle, audio
What is interesting about this remote is that you can use it for much more than movie-playing. Given that it has all the six-axis buttons, guess what? You can use it, and I do use it to:
- surf the web
- play music
- shop at the PSN store
- play certain games such as Sudoku
- turn the PS3 on/off when your six-axis controllers are in the charger and I am playing GT5 that is using a racing wheel
And, yes, you CAN turn the PS3 on and off with this remote. Turning it on is easy - you simply press the PlayStation button and the PS3 turns itself on. To turn it off, you either go as far to the left on the X-bar and all the way up and press Enter (the turn-off PlayStation icon will be highlighted) or you simply hold the PlayStation button pressed for a few seconds and then select 'yes' and press the X button a couple of times.
Overall: I am happy with this peripheral. Yes, it's one more remote control but it's a pretty good one, for the reasons I stated above.
_______________________________
Notes - Aug 29, 2009, after 16 months of use
I find that I'm using the remote more and more, not only for playing movies but for navigating the XMB and at the PSN Store, also when playing music or slideshows. Due to its very convenient arrows wheel with an 'enter' button in the middle, navigating the PS3 and doing just about anything other than playing games is a lot easier than using the PS3 game controller. Unlike the controller which normally requires two hands to hold, this is basically a one-hand operation where you hold the remote in one hand and operate the wheel with your thumb. And because it's Bluetooth, not IR (Infrared), you don't even need to point it at the PS3.
And, one word on battery life. After about 15-16 months of operation, this is probably the third set of batteries so I'd estimate battery life to be about 4-6 months. Not too bad.
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This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
If you want to pause your movie, you hit "Pause". If you want to start your movie again, you hit "Play". But between the "Pause" and "Play" buttons is "Stop". Here Be Dragons.
"Stop" means it. "Stop" doesn't just stop the video from playing, it quits out of the Blu-Ray player and returns you all the way to the root PS3 menu. To start watching your disk again you need to select the Blu-Ray disk again, wait for it to boot up, wade through whatever previews and coming attractions are on the disk, re-enable the correct subtitles and menu settings, wait for the various FBI and MPAA warnings, locate the place where it stopped playing, and then resume watching. Hitting "Stop" whether you wanted to or not means you're going to spend at least the next five minutes not watching your movie.
The "Stop" button is so big and so centrally located that I can't count the number of times I've hit it in error, either by poking at "Pause" or "Play" in my darkened living room or by sitting on the controller. It's gone from being an occasionally frustrating surprise, to being an infuriatingly common blunder, all the way around to being some sort of perverse comic relief. "What happened? Why did the movie just stop? Did you hit the STOP button by accident again? You did? THE REMOTE GOT US AGAIN. WE HATE YOU, REMOTE."
There are three ways that Sony could solve this problem.
- They could re-label the button "Ruin My Evening", and replace the pushbutton with one of those covered safety switches that are used in military cockpits to arm weapons. A button with consequences this significant needs to be clearly marked with a protective cover that you have to move aside, so that there's no way you'll end up pushing it by accident without understanding what it's going to actually do.
- They could just remove the "Stop" button entirely. Nobody would miss it. There's already a "Pause" button if you need to take a break. There's a "Top Menu" button to return you to the top menu. There's a "PS3" button to pop up the media bar (with an option to quit the player), and an "Eject" button that also quits the player while ejecting the disk. There is nothing that the "Stop" button should do that another button isn't already doing.
- They could make the "Stop" button just return the user to the top level Blu Ray menu, and not quit out of the entire player. They could also make "Play" the opposite of "Stop", where "Play" returns you to playing what "Stop" stopped you from playing.
Apart from the "Stop" button this would be a completely fine remote with a four or five star review. It's well built, it runs for weeks or months without batteries, and because it's Bluetooth (not IR) it doesn't need to be pointed at the player with line-of-sight to work. It's like a well-built Mercedes, with an extra pedal between the gas and brake that makes all four wheels fall off. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT.
Update: It's actually pretty easy to remove the stop button yourself. Undo the screw on the underside at the bottom of the remote and carefully pry the upper and lower halves apart. Under the rubber buttons there's a layer of conducting pads, a plastic spacer layer, and the circuit board. You can either use a hobby knife to cut out the conducting pad that triggers the stop, or you can put tape over the circuit board contact to render the stop button mercifully unusable.
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This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
Most PS3 owners enjoy not only the gaming abilities of their system, but also the built in Blu-Ray DVD player. The Sony remote control accessory lets you play those movies with great ease.
The remote combines the regular buttons of our other DVD players with the funky look of the PS3. You have a red, green, blue and yellow button - labelled with their color names! You also get a circle, X, square and triangle to do a few things like brinigng up the options and back choices.
The main buttons - play, stop, forward, back - are laid out reasonably nicely at the bottom of the remote with large buttons. There are small buttons up on top for the number keys, and a very tiny eject button.
Missing completely is a power button!! You have to hit the PS button in the center and go through the regular PS3 menus to get the power to turn off. In fact, while I was writing this review, I accidentally hit a button on the remote and the PS3 turned on. We were watching regular TV, so now I have to wait until our show is over, switch over to the PS3 and use the buttons to turn the system back off again. That doesn't make much sense at all to me.
Also, on our Oppo DVD remote, the buttons glow which makes it REALLY nice to use in the dark or dim light that most people watch movies in. This unit is completely black with black buttons. This makes it pretty much useless in low light conditions until you memorize all of the button locations. You would think by now that remote control makers would have their buttons backlit or at least glow-in-the-dark to handle this.
The unit takes two AA batteries which makes it a bit heavy, but certainly within the normal range of remotes.
It's easy enough to sync up the remote with the PS3. It's bluetooth powered, so you go into the PS3 menu and use the options there to indicate you have a new remote. Note that the base level PS3 will not handle this - you have to have a connection to the internet from your PS3 and run an update routine. If you don't have an internet connection for your PS3, you have to create an update CD on your PC to do this update.
Well recommended - but it really could be much better to be great.
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This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
I'd bought my PS3 about four or five months ago. I have a pretty nice HDTV and really wanted a Blu-Ray player to compliment it. It also didn't hurt that I had a bunch of PS2 games I still wanted to play.
After everything was all set up and I started watching a couple of movies, it became apparent extremely quickly that I was going to need a remote for the Blu-Ray features. Using the controller was just overly complex to make it a real option.
When I finally grabbed a remote, there were a few things I noticed immediately. Namely, the simple fact that it was a Bluetooth device meant that there was no chance that I was going to be able to use this with any of my other devices like my TV or my surround-sound receiver. Some people don't really care, but I hate having a thousand remotes lying around. I'd rather just have one and forget about it.
Considering that the PS3 is the only device that the remote is able to control, I fail to see why it's covered with buttons. Outside the obvious 'Play/ Pause/ Stop' buttons, I don't understand the decision to make this look so much more complex then it has to be. I would have tried to make the button layout as simple as possible. If it's not going to be able to be used for another device, it (at least) could be easy to use. I would say that two-thirds of the remote's face, you'll never use.
Another reviewer mentioned it, but it bears repeating. If you touch any button on the device, it'll automatically cue-up your system. The PS3 is a wonderful piece of equiptment and I like it a lot, but man that sucker kicks out a TON of heat. Having said that, I do try to make a deliberate effort not to keep it on longer then I have to. When I'm sitting and watching TV, however, I tend to have both my remotes next to me. I can't even tell you the number of times I've accidentally leaned a little too much to one side and booted-up the system. This is complicated by the fact that there's not just a 'power' button anywhere. I actually have to toss my receiver over to the PS3 device and manually shut the system off. It sounds like a small deal, but it's REALLY annoying after you do it a few times.
I'm sure this was mentioned several times before, but I sincerely wish that the device was back-lit. I, like many others, usually watch TV in low-light. Between the (unnecessarily) complex button configuration and the simple fact that you can't read the thing, it makes simply watching a movie more of a chore then it needs to be.
Not an outright "bad" piece and certainly a better option then the controller. It's also better then any of the third-party devices that I was able to find. All that having been said, however, I'd still say that Sony's remote wasn't very well thought out either. There's a lot of issues that the smallest amount of consideration should have been able to change.
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This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
A must-have accessory for your PS3 Blu-ray DVD viewing pleasure! I love that it works without having to point it at anything, thanks to being Bluetooth... you don't even have to be in the same room! (not that there is much application for the latter, but thought it worth mentioning). Anyway, it works perfectly and helps add to your PS3 experience. We have a nice universal remote also, but the "Bluetooth factor" makes this Playstation remote our family's favorite so far. I hope all remotes go that way eventually... much better than IR!
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This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
Not much can be said that already hasn't. It's an OK remote, on par with most typical remotes that are included with any stand-alone player. Sony really should have included this remote with the PS3, it just makes sense, especially with their renewed push for the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player with the release of the 40GB model.
I can only give the remote 3 stars overall though. The buttons should glow or have backlighting. A few of the buttons could be labeled better or located more prominently. But as far as Sony remotes go, this is pretty good. The bluetooth functionality is great. It eats batteries like crazy.
Many people are incorrectly reporting that this remote does not have a power button. In a sense, that is somewhat true. Any button on the remote will turn on (wake up) the PS3. This was a bad idea, they should have limited the wake-up functionality to the "PS" button in the center of the remote. This center "PS" button is also the "off" button. Simply hold the button down for about 3 seconds and the PS3 will ask if you want to turn it off, push the OK button, it shuts down.
As more and more AV components migrate to bluetooth remote control, I'm sure we will see universal remotes (like the Logitech Harmony) come forth with bluetooth capability. This remote will tide me over for a year or so until that day comes. ...Hopefully before the PS3 has become obsolete.
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This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
Bluetooth remotes are handy because they don't have to be pointed at the device. In fact, the device doesn't have to be in the same room to operate with the remote!
The buttons are laid out fine, but the PS3 just doesn't seem to be designed with a remote like this in mind. There's no power button on the remote, so to turn the system on and off the PS button has to be used, just like the controller. Also, when the stop button is pressed the movie stops and goes back to the XMB (PS3's "dashboard"). And there's no backlighting on the remote, so in a dim room it's hard to tell the difference between the fast forward and skip buttons.
All in all, I wish the PS3 had Infrared support so I could just program it with a universal remote... but this is an acceptable second choice. It is nice to have a remote that does everything the controller does and is clearly labeled.
I wonder what the colored buttons do...?
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This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
first of all this is a no brainer.. if you want to watch dvds or check out the awesome blu ray discs on your playstation 3...this is a must have.
sure you can use the ps3's sixaxis controller(which i did for a few months)..but its not the same..sometimes the controls mess up the movie viewing..to put is simply its a bit awkward..
this remote is well done..high quality and even comes with 2 AA batteries (great job sony)... first,you have to register it to your ps3 via update on your console..but thats no problem after that your good to go.
the only things im not crazy about is that theres no backlighting for the buttons or a main power button on the remote...you have to have your ps3 on first..again not a big worry...but i know some people that really went off on the lack of these ..to them i say relax..there are other things more important
i also have a xbox 360..and that systems remote isnt even close to this one.. but both blow the wiimote away.
Bottom line..the remote does what it says...cheers
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This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
First off, when people complain there is no "power" button, they are just too lazy to push the down arrow and then the middle enter button. Whoopdee doo. It takes all of 1 second to power off the PS3 with the PS button so if you can't do that then you are extremly too lazy. Also, if you "accidentally" push a button and PS3 comes on but you don't want to switch your TV to see the PS3 menu, you can get up off your backside and hold your finger over the power button on the PS3 itself and it will turn off. The next complaint people have is with the Bluetooth part of it since they can't use normal IR universal remotes with the PS3. Well, I personally prefer the Bluetooth since you do not have to have line-of-sight with anything to use it like you do with IR sensors. If you like watching movies from your bed and you're all curled up under your blanket you can just keep the remote under there with you and push buttons, the PS3 still picks up the signal. As for it not having the "glow in the dark" buttons... how many of you really press all those un-needed buttons when you're watching a movie? At the most you need to know where "Play" "Stop" and "Pause" are. That's all you really need to memorize. You can easily feel for the big circle and I would hope you know up is up and down is down and so forth with "enter" in the middle.
It's a great remote with every feature you really "need". If you watch a lot of movies from your PS3 then it really is a must have. Much easier to navigate menus with than the PS3 controller as well as knowing the button you're pushing does what it's meant to do. Anyone know how to pause the movie from the PS3 controller? I sure don't.
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This review is from: Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote (Accessory)
I was a little miffed I even needed to get this because I already had a universal remote (Harmony).
This remote works as advertised but the layout is less than stellar and they tried to map every single PS3 control button to the remote, so it's laden with buttons.
Also, you have to treat the remote just like one of the controllers and use the PS button to turn it on/off. Honestly, I think this is just an elongated PS3 controller.
The other issue is that when you haven't used the remote for a bit and it goes to sleep, and then you issue a button press like Pause or Stop, you have to do it twice, because the first time the button press won't do anything except wake the remote up, then the second button press will actually work.
The obnoxious part about the remote is that it has *no* indicators of any kind on it. So you can't tell if it's on, off, asleep, synced or out of batteries. You just use it and if you push a button 3 or more times and it doesn't do anything, it's safe to assume it's dead.
A simple LED on the top would have done the trick, but then they wouldn't be able to keep the $29 margin of profit they make on this piece of hardware.
Overall it's a poor remote, some "throw in" you would expect with a normal TV and overly unacceptable as a remote for a nice TV (not even backlit).
But it's the only way to control movies on the PS3 without using the controller, so if you need it, I guess you are going to buy it.
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