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XMB vs. Dashboard
By ObiBen 09-04-2008 12:43 PM
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929 views |
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Well, I finally got around to hooking up the PS3 the other night. I was surprised to find that it only came with composite cables. I wondered if my component cables for my PS2 would work, but I was to lazy to find them. So I went ahead and set it up with the composite cables and installed MGS4, but decided that there was no way I was going to play that game using the composite cables so I swiped my HDMI and optical cables from my 360.
After hooking up the HDMI and optical cables I couldn't believe the difference it made. The menu text in the XMB was crisp and clear and I'll admit it looked damn good. Being used to the 360 dashboard I found myself disoriented trying to find things like where to setup my wireless connection. After about 15-20 minutes of scrolling through menus I was able to get my PSN account all setup and get online. I'm sure as I continue to use the system I will become more familiar with the location of everything. The one thing I do like about the XMB is no annoying ads. |
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Posted in Gaming |
 Comments (Total Comments: 11) |
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The Mana Knight
- 09-04-2008, 03:55 PM
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Yeah, I think we all like how the XMB has no ads. Once you put a wallpaper in the background (you can download your own online or download one from the store, for free, all themes are free), then it looks really cool/sharp.
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ArthurDigbySellers
- 09-04-2008, 04:00 PM
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I honestly don't understand the hate for the ads on XBL. Sure, it would be nice if they weren't there, but I don't think they are obtrusive enough to cause any real complaints.
I guess navigating game sites where ads are commonplace, and much more in your face than on XBL, has just made me numb to the whole thing. It is interesting that Sony's online system has no ads and is free but Microsoft's costs money and has ads. Doesn't really add up. I wonder if Qore was designed to recoup the money that Sony is spending to offer a free online system? |
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zenprime
- 09-04-2008, 04:38 PM
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Ads? On Pay for Play XBL?! Dear god.
Anyway, don't forget that PSN themes are free and you can make your own. |
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smiggity
- 09-04-2008, 05:05 PM
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XMB is much more elegant overall, and not to bash the 360, but the dashboard looks like it belongs on one of those kiddie-notebooks.
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Aku
- 09-04-2008, 05:42 PM
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I know it might be a little hard to navigate but the lack of ads and over all style of the XMB is simply gorgeous.
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RudyPants
- 09-04-2008, 06:19 PM
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XMB does look nice, but I still hate how Sony decided that it would be a good idea to have you manually install all items from it.
Did they really have to make the user take an extra step? I know it doesn't really relate to the OP's experience, but every time XMB comes up I think of all my frustration with that software design choice. They also need to speed up the icons and their loading. |
FriskyTanuki
- 09-04-2008, 07:54 PM
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I really like the quick access to everything on the XMB while the blades are just too clunky and slow to navigate with too many steps just to get to XBLA games or videos. It's a good thing MS is redesigning the entire interface so that's no longer an issue.
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ObiBen
- 09-04-2008, 09:05 PM
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@Rudy - I have noticed the individual install of each item, which might be a little annoying, but I'll just surf around CAG while I wait
@Frisky - I am looking forward to the Dashboard redesign. Hopefully it will make things much quicker. |
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The Mana Knight
- 09-05-2008, 12:14 AM
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@ RudyPants, Xbox 360 does the same thing too, but it just hides it. The difference is on 360, you download, and install, as you go along. On PS3, you just download once and install seperately. It can be good and bad. Some may not like the idea, but I don't mind it because when I download a demo on my PS3, and if I must turn off my 360, a 56% download will be at 32% as an example when I go back to download it. If I decide to cancel, due to partially being installed, I have to manually remove it under memory settings. On PS3, if I power down my console, the download stops and resumes EXACTLY where it left off. And if I decide to cancel a download, it's completely gone off my PS3 and not using any HDD space. Although you have may to install, you can queue up more downloads at once (16). Both have their strengths and weaknesses no doubt.
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johnnypark
- 09-05-2008, 09:44 AM
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Yeah, the XMB is quite nice. I was already familiar with it from the PSP, but it is kind of annoying finding everything.
And yeah... HDMI makes a huge difference. It's clearly the way the system was made to be hooked up, and it's a travesty that they package the "true HD" console with composite cables, cost arguments aside. That, or make it not look like complete ass running over composite. Ugh. Enjoy your PS3, though. It gets a bad rap, some of which it deserves, but overall I'm happy with mine. If it wasn't BC, though, I might not be, but that's another issue. |
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Aleryn
- 09-05-2008, 11:43 AM
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Yeah, it's a nice UI. Kind of simplistic, but that makes sense for a Console.
360 Dashboard has ads? Oh... wait... yeah it does. Feel about the same as an earlier commenter, been seeing banner ads for so many years I tune them out. Make sure you go through your video settings and check some of the nicer HDMI only options in there, they do make a nice difference if you're 1080p especially. |
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