December 26: PS3 Recommendation

Christmas is over and if your relatives are anything like mine, you might find yourself with a little extra spending money. What do you buy? Do you put it away for a rainy day? Do you throw it at your student loans? Or do you go on a post-holiday sale shopping spree? If you're into movies and technology, let me give you my two cents.

In November of 2009, I splurged a bit and bought a 120 GB Playstation 3 and I could not be happier with my decision. Their slogan is "It Only Does Everything" and I have found that to be more accurate as time goes by. It really does seem to do everything and it has become just as intrical a part of my home theatre set up as the TV and speakers.

I've never been a big gamer. Sure, I had the 32-Bit Super Nintendo and the Nintendo 64. I still have my Nintendo Gamecube, but I rarely play it. The reason I don't consider myself a "gamer" is because I'll get the consoles at the height of their popularity, buy a few games and then sell it for less than half of what I paid for years after I stop playing. I don't play World of Warcraft or Defense of the Ancients. I've never played Halo and if you ask me to join your Call of Duty league, you'll be extremely disappointed in my lack of marksmanship skills. I was more into games like the Donkey Kong Country series and Mario Kart, but even then I'm not terrific.

The reason for my PS3 purchase was not necessarily for the gaming aspect of the console. It was based more on the reviews of the system as a Blu-Ray player. Consistently rated as one of the top performers in its price range, for me, the gaming was just a cool add-on. I have since purchased a few games (the Uncharted series is by far my favorite) and have been very satisfied with the gameplay within a surround sound environment, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

When I was out of work for my first surgery in August, I was able to instantly stream the first two seasons of Dexter through my Playstation and watch them on my TV. For whatever reason, though, Netflix didn't have the next two seasons available for streaming and I found myself downloading the episodes and watching them on my computer. After a little tinkering, I discovered that the PS3 could act as a media server which meant that I could download an episode on to my computer, wirelessly connect the gaming console and stream the downloaded content to my TV. Now it was just like I was streaming from Netflix. But wait, there's more!

I bought my TV in 2007 and my speakers and receiver the next year. The following year (after I had forked over nearly $2,000 on audio equipment alone) high definition movies were making their entrance into the realm of home theatre. My equipment was suddenly obsolete. Dolby Digital-HD and DTS-HD were being introduced, but the best I could get with my receiver was Dolby Digital-EX.

Fast forward to my days of PS3 ownership and now I have it all. With the same receiver and speakers I had a few years ago, I'm able to open the lines of communication between my components and let my Playstation do the decoding straight from the Blu-Ray disc. In layman's terms, this simply means that if a disc can deliver a specific signal, I can receive it without any new equipment; and Avatar on a 50" in Blu-Ray with DTS-HD Master Audio is glorious.

Although my outdated equipment was saved by the powers of Sony, getting involved with technology can be a dangerous hobby. When I purchased the console, I was afraid that a Playstation 4 was just around the corner. I know one is in the works, but another fantastic feature of the 3 is that it has the ability to be updated for free. Gone is the streaming disc Netflix used to require when watching their instant content and as of October of this year, Playstation is the only console with the ability to stream in 5.1 surround sound. Other upgrades have included new audio formats and have even converted my PS3 into a 3D-DVD player! I don't anticipate getting a 3D TV any time soon, but it's cool to know I have the player.

When Sony says the Playstation 3 only does everything, they're not jerkin' your chain. Games, movies, upgrades, decoding, Internet, and more. I discover something new and amazing about my system every few months and I can't wait to find out what else it can do. If you're looking for a new toy to spend your hard-earned Christmas money on, let me recommend the Playstation 3. It only does everything.