What are you talking about Xbox has had HDMI for some quite some time now. Also most if not all console games run at 720p.
if you just want a media center then but a mini atx case and put in a quad core. gfx, 450wpsu 1tb hdd and a blue ray player.
you will get more bang for your buck and your not buying a standard that will be abandoned at the end of this year.
you could if you dont want to play heavy games by an amd a10 and forgo the gfx. put in a smaller psu and just make it a media hub.
you will still be able to play cod and have a laugh with yer mates. and you wont have the hassle of listening to pre teens get all white boy gangsta or listen to purile sexism.
I would get the PS3, it has better exclusive games than the 360. Plus the netflix app really is much better (it's just a cleaner interface, difficult to describe unless you've used both). I agree with everyone here that a media center PC would be great, but like you said, you wanna play some console games! Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted, God of War 3, Little Big Planet are all great games that are unavailable on PC so go with a PlayStation.
Also, Sony has said multiple times that they will continue to support PS3 well into the PS4s lifetime (they just stopped manufacturing PS2s like a month ago!) and there's a huge catalogue of games to choose from. Also, you don't have to build it, install OS, install programs/drivers etc (which is fun and is why a lot of us are a part of this community). Just plug it in, maybe update the firmware if it's used and you're good.
Thanks again for all the responses guys. (Gals as well?)
I was able to snag up a 160G PS3 w/ Assassins Creed II for $173 (because I am a smooth talker) and I have it set up. It works for what I want it for, don't need massive internal storage. I will say, I really hope Sony revamps the UI before the PS4 is released. It's fairly organized, just seems a bit "clunky" in navigation to me.
Looks like this weekend will be spent sorting through and testing the extra HDDs I've got and searching around for a case to use as a file server.
If you already have a PC for playing your games on but are still considering a console I would go with the PS3. Like you said, there is no cost for playing online. Secondly you can find a host of games for the PS3 that are either in a delete bin or ones that have been pre-played at very reasonable prices. The PS3 is a blue ray player so you can hook it to your TV for watching blue ray movies. There is of course no comparison between a high end computer towers with a separate graphics card to any console. If you don’t care that Laura Croft has square hips and pointy boobs then you understand that it is the game play that counts. I have played many games on my PS2 as well as my PS3 and continue to do so today. I really enjoyed the Prince of Persia series as well as the Tomb Raider series. Now, with all that being said, don’t try to use it as a media box. Build a box separately and it won’t cost much considering what you need to make one. There, my official 2 cents worth.
If you insist on xbox or PS3; nothing else, then I'd say go with PS3. If you're using it mainly as a media center, it's much better. Being an owner of both, I never use my xbox for anything except gaming, all my media is on my PS3, along with exclusive games.
Reasons why PS3 is a better Media Hub IMO
- HDD bay is more versatile and more easily upgradable
- Blu-ray
- Stores Pictures and videos
- More organized
- More Audio-out options
- If you buy a used Phat one, you could find one with card readers
- Supports 1080p
I don't mean to sound like a fanboy here; I actually get a lot more general use out of my xbox, but it's not very good at all as a media hub. You can't store videos or photos on the Xbox as far as I'm concerned. You can only get Music onto the hard drive by burning and ripping countless CD's. It doesn't even support "real" 1080p, It's just an upscaled 720p. So my two cents: Go with the PS3: It's much more capable and versatile.
If you actually want to game, xbox. If not, ps3.
bingo
As a media hub, Xbox 360 hands down. Yes, the PS3 is a slightly prettier system, and it's online is free but other than those two things, i can't think of anything else the 360 doesn't do better. I don't mind paying for the online cause it's $5 a month and you can buy year cards for like $50, and the online services are just that much better, mostly cause they are highly supported since you're paying for it.
Remeber, if you aren't paying for it, you aren't getting a service, you're being a product.
Now, if you're running windows, definatly get the 360! 360 has home grouping capablities right out of the box, lets you stream stuff back and forth between your 360 and pc much easy.
ps3 as a media server sort of sucks for many reasons as i've used both in practical applications. ps3 file system congests with it's file system and also doesn't play a lot of formats and unless you modify the firmware are subject to cinavia steganography which will kill your media playback. ps3 categorization isn't as top notch on say 1tb of music as some would portay even if you id3 tag your music.. xbox also sucks as a media server but sucks less than a ps3 and can also play more formats and doesn't have to worry about steganography. unless the ps3 has files loaded on it's own hd it will take several hours to populate the content reading a music directory(MANY MANY HOURS). xbox 360 has this issue too but it doesn't take hours but about 2-3 minutes which to me is still slow.. the best bet is a upnp nas and a 360 if you want to go that route or use neither and simply buy a pc. when i think of ps3 i think of skyrim.