To start with, the PS3, like the XBox 360, supports full high definition.

Along the same lines, the XBox 360 supports the HD format of high definition DVDs for movies, while the PS3 supports the Blu-ray format. If you haven't been following the whole format war for high definition DVDs here's my take of it. In short it's like the VHS/Beta wars when the VCR first came out. Is one better than the other? Will one format win out as the sole survivor?

But alas, that war has recently been decided. It looks like Blu-Ray won the battle for supremecy and over the course of the next several months, you'll see regular and HD DVD's and it's players slowly fade away.

The PS3 has the edge over the Xbox360 in that dept. Blu-Ray has way more storage capacity available to the disc, so developers can add a whole lot more content to their games, while Microsoft can only compete by allowing gamers from Microsoft live to "add content" to existing games through downloading additional content onto the hard-drive.

People will argue about graphics until they're blue in the face. A lot of this comes down to how a specific game company *uses* the ability of the system. Looking at graphics on a tetris-like game will be much different than viewing the graphics of Oblivion or Gears of War. I found 360 graphics amazing on Oblivion. I equally found the PS3 graphics quite impressive on MotorStorm. Since both are high definition, I think that both have the same potential in real life terms. Both really shine in terms of fluid motion, precise detail and realism. I've seen it on both systems, on certain games. I've also seen crappy graphics on both systems. On some of the most current games ( at the time of this review ) I see more crisp, detailed graphics through the PS3. It is a superior machine IMO due to it's more powerful processor.

The design layout of the PS3 is pretty good.

In the front right side of the machine, you insert your disc. It can support games discs, DVD's ( Regular, Hi Def. or Blu-Ray ) It can read burned data DVD's or Cd's and categorizes a mixed data disc into pics, movies or music as well as music discs whethere they be boughten or burned. It can play wavs. as well as mp3's. Pretty much everything and anything, no matter how your data is saved.

How about sound? Both consoles can plug into your stereo system. The PS3 however, has a plug on the back of it's console that supports an Optical cable. The 360's do not. I have an Optical cable installed in my stereo system, however, not directly into the PS3 console. Instead, I have a speaker system where the Optical cable connects from the sub-woofer to the TV. I run both consoles to the TV via  HDMI cables. ( my TV supports 3 HDMI peripherals ) In essence, all my consoles are running through the Optical cable hookup for it's sound. If you do not have this type of setup, then the PS3 is of course superior to the Xbox360 for allowing this feature to be on the console directly for hookup. It comes down to how much you ( the gamer ) spends on your stereo system.

Speaking of sound ( noise ), I do have to comment that our 360 is quite loud when it runs, despite to help it be quieter. The PS3 right out of the box is MUCH quieter. Score 1 point for the PS3.

On the general operating system for the units, both consoles are going for more of a "general use entertainment system" presentation. The XBox has customizeable tabs that let you download new games, manage your environment and so on. The PS3 has an interface almost exactly like that of the PSP, complete with cool drifting smoke waves in the background. You choose which area you want to work on - game, music, internet connection etc., and drop down to alter whatever feature you're interested in.

So on to the online aspect, which most gamers are now fully interested in. Where the XBox 360 makes you buy an external connector for wireless, the PS3 has that built-in on the 80Gb model.

As a side comment on that, the older XBox360 has a 20Gb hard drive. However, they take up approx. 6-7Gb  of that with their base system. So really you get 13-14Gb "free" for other things. Now, 13-14Gb might sound like a lot. But I still remember when the PS2 first came out and everyone was raving about the 8mb memory cards, how you could never possibly fill one of those up. On the contrary, you can fill up one of little cards quite easily with game saves. I have no doubt that 13-14Gb or ( even 20Gb ) is going to fill quickly. As an example, I own the 20Gb white Xbox. I purchased an extra 20Gb hard-drive as I need additional space for my games ( before I bought the Elite ) I put Final Fantasy XI Online on one of my HD's and it took up 6Gb of space with that one game. Ever since I bought the Elite ( 120Gb HD availbilty ) I've changed what I keep for games on my older 20Gb 360. I use one HD strictly for race games ( I'm rather addicted to Race games ) and the other host FFXI ( which I still play to this day ) as well as older original Xbox titles ). I use the Elite for current Xbox Live games. With the PS3 you at least do have that option for a 40Gb or 80Gb system. A bit more HD realty. ( I suggest the 80Gb as you'll put a good dent in that with demos, vids, music and game saves ) "more is better" and it is really worth it. With the 360 ( if you own the older one ) your only option is to get an add-on drive to in essence back up the content you're not currently using and free up the main drive ( like I did )

How does the online world work on the PS3? The XBox definitely has the advantage here. Until this generation, "only" the XBox had a thriving community in their live world. The XBox360 connected right into that XBox Live world ( via an ethernet cable connection ), and they boast a huge community of gamers who actively gain points, play online and form virtual worlds.In the Xbox360 realm this is known as Xbox Live.The PS3 needs to catch up to the Xbox360 in this regard to remain viable as a contending console unit. SONY is currently developing their version of Online game support and will known be as PlayStation Home to play catch-up at this point. It is slated for release in July 2008. I'll cover that more in depth in another article.

 Even if they have better interfaces, it's a matter of converting over all those players who have clans, familiarity and high point collections on the XBox world. Imagine if a new MMORPG came out right now that had fantastic graphics. Sure it might be wonderful - but will you really get all 800 trillion WOW players to drop their world and characters and friends to convert, especially if it costs more? It'll be a hard, slow sell.

I definitely think both consoles have great games and that both are worth owning. It's on this train of thought, I decided to buy both systems and recommend you do to if you want to experience all the bliss these consoles have to offer. Of course I'm in a position that I can afford both consoles, which many people are not. If you really truly can only save up for one of the these consoles this season, it isn't going to come down to which console is "best" for all players in some sort of a global way. It is going to come down to which console is best for "you" based on your specific gaming style.

If you're on a really tight budget and just want something better than the previous generation, go for a Wii. It's cheap, the graphics are better, and the remotes are great fun. If you have a larger budget and really want the high definition, you're now choosing between the 360 and the PS3. You really do have to look at the specifics of each, and think seriously about your gaming style, to see which matches you best. If I were to make a flip summarization; if you really love online gameplay, I'd go with the XBox360 ( at this point in time ). If you are looking for more of a home-based media center for your mp3's, photos, video, blu-ray dvd's and gameplay, I'd go with the PS3. It definitely has the advantage on large scale games. I personally feel as though the PS3 is a more powerful system across the board, but I still find myself doing my fair share of gaming on the Xbox360. I'm very comfortable with it and perhaps like the hand held controller a bit better? Could also be due to the fact that the 360 has Xbox Live. That may change once Sony gets their console up and running in that area.

The PlayStation 3 controller has gotten a lot of press because of its lack of vibration. However, it is wireless, extremely light, and has tilt sensors in it and supports blue-tooth technology. This seems a great trade-off during gameplay.

First, let's get through the "bad" that many people have gotten upset about. They took out the rumble controller from the PS3 controller ( I feel as though you don't really need it anyways ). This was for legal reasons - a company which developed that rumble technology took issue with Sony using it. Some people feel it really affects gameplay not to have that rumbling. I have to admit that I am pleased that the rumbling is gone. I always turned off the rumble in games where I can ( on my 360 ).

Now, to the good parts of the controller. First, they all come wireless for the PS3 and it's feather-weight is wonderful. The battery for the controller is built into it and battery life seems to last longer than my 360. I like the feature that all you need to do is plug the USB directly into your controller to charge it. If your battery runs low and you're in the middle of your favorite game, just plug the cable in and you can continue uninterupted gaming all the while your controller is being re-charged as you play!

It's super light. I imagine this is because it doesn't have to supprt the motors that cause the  rumbling effect. I really appreciate the lightness. You might not notice if you only play a game for an hour or two, but if you're doing marathon sessions of multiple hours, the weight of the controller really does begin to matter. I find the 360 makes my wrists sore if I game with it for multiple hours. The PS3 however, does not.

This controller has a tilt sensor in it. It actually knows when you tilt and turn the controller, or shake it. Depending on the game, you can use those tilts to look around or to shake off an enemy. That really gives you much more interactivity with the game, much more than button pushing. My game Folklore supports it, but I'm more of a traditional gamer and hence am not a big supporter of it. I find it awkward to use.

As odd as it might seem to non-technical people, it does really make a difference what cable you use to connect your PS3 to your TV. The cable helps to define what type of signal your TV receives. Think of it as listening to your CDs on a tinny little $5 plastic speaker, vs listening to your CDs on large, high quality multi-speaker surround sound.

The options for video ( TV ) output cable connection for your PlayStation 3 are composite and HDMI. Composite is the old style VCR type of cable where there is red and white to carry the right and left audio signals, and a yellow plug to carry the video. They are known as RCA cables. If you use that set of plugs, that is "only" regular TV quality. That is the maximum level of quality it can carry.
All PS3s ship with this composite cable as their default cable. Sony gets a -1 from me for not including an HDMI cable with the PS3, since a great majority of TV's now support this feature. 

To get a higher level of video quality from your PS3, you need to buy a separate  HDMI cable. This carries high definition video plus audio, all in one rectangular-jack cable. This in essence sends a bunch of zeroes and ones all in a stream. The transfer rate, if you're curious, is 5 gigabit per second. In comparison, moving a high def movie signal only takes up 2.2 gigabits per second. I found two variants of the HDMI cable "made" for the PS3. There was one for $20 and one for $75 ( which both included a USB cable for the controller ) I chose the more expensive one as it seemed of better construction. The $20 cable looks like it's worth $20.

If you really want to go solely with Sony products, feel free to pay more for the Sony version of the HDMI cable, which is made by Monster. Monster is a well known name in high end cables. They run for the HDMI only ( no USB add-in cable ), for approx. $100 

Now we'll touch the internet and it's browser.You might ask why you even need an internet browser with your PlayStation 3. However, it actually comes in really useful for watching videos in which you can download and save to your PS3 hard drive. I found if you downloaded video content in HD format and played it on the big screen, it looks way better than a computer monitor ever could. For reading text and typing it in ( with a keyboard or mouse ) it's more of a daunting feat, better left for your computer. Text I found was not crisp and I had to sit rather close to the screen to read anything.

So, that being said, how do you use your PS3 as an internet browser?

Press the TRIANGLE button to bring up your menu. You want to go into FILE, Address Entry to enter the URL that you are going to. Yes, you have to click on the letters one by one - but really, you can then bookmark the page so once you bookmark a few of your favorites, you're all set.

There is an auto-fill feature here where if you're typing in a regular word, it'll let you select that word from a list. Oddly, very common words like YouTube are not on the list. That being said, when I tried to type in YouTube the first time, it didn't know that word - but when I went to type it a second time, it knew the word. So it will learn as it goes.

You use the X button to select items on the screen - buttons, links and so on. You can go back (L1) and forward (R1) just as with a normal browser, and refresh and home via the menu.

If you're watching something where the soundtrack just generally goes with the video it works fine. However, if you are watching video where the words are supposed to sync with lips, like a music video or a movie-style show, it is really annoying. They are quite off sync. When I watch the exact same video on my computer, on the same net connection, there is no lag. So it's definitely not something about the internet connection causing the lag, it is something about the PS3 in particular.

So I would not recommend using this for watching movies and videos via the web involving voice-lip syncing. If the video to be watched is mostly narrorated with action sequences and not so much lip syncing, then it works great ( game videos in particular )

The PlayStation 3 has a fully integrated online environment for you to play games, download new games, and do other activities. Here is everything you need to know to get started.

First, every base PS3 unit needs to "update" before it can go online. It is actually connected at this point, but it doesn't have the updates needed to talk to the PS3 interface on Sony's end. Go into the update screens and it will download those files that it needs. There will be a long download period, and then a long update period. Now you can register for a PS3 account.You create either a master or sub account. This has to do with access abilities. Start with a master account. Scroll to the bottom of the giant legalese page. When you enter your information - email, password etc. If you have a USB keyboard this is relatively easy. You can use the online interface to sign in. You can now add friends, block people, look through your message box.

The PlayStation 3 will literally help scientists find cures for cancer, Alzheimer's, cystic fibrosis, and other diseases. This is where Folding @ Home comes in. In essence they provide a little application that you install on the hard drive. When your computer is idle - perhaps when you are asleep or away from you console for extended periods of time - this program uses your console's cpu to fold proteins. Folding proteins is an extremely difficult task that could literally take years to figure out. By having hundreds of thousands of PC's and PS3's all around the world working on it together, scientists have been able to get an amazing amount of research done. I think it's a great idea and support this application as well as use it.

Now that PS3's are being sold in mass quantities, every single PS3 is exactly the same. That is quite different from PC's, where every PC is setup differently. This means that the programmers can write incredibly efficient code for the PS3 that works to the very limits of the PS3's power, knowing that it would always work. With hundreds of thousands of PS3s being sold, this could literally change the face of cancer and scientific research. If every PS3 owner left their machine on while it wasn't being used for gaming, and let it fold proteins, scientists could have their answers in months - not in decades.
Why not have it bring good to the world?

It looks as though HD DVD will become a thing in the past and will be superceeded with Blu-Ray. It's been announcent recently that Blu-ay will be becoming the dominate format for movies in the future.

You have invested in a hardware platform which is apparently winning the format war. Most major studios have said at this point that they are going to produce their high definition DVDs in BluRay format only. It is a royal pain for studios to release DVDs in two separate formats. They want to use one or the other. For PS3 owners, it means they have a single unit which both plays games and plays movies on their high definition systems.

So there you have it in a nutshell.

This is my wrap-up.

The PS3 is the most expensive console to purchase at this time. Has fewer games to chose from compared to the 360. You'll pay premium price for PS3 games as compared to the 360. Graphics on the PS3 are more crisp and clear on the PS3, but color is more vivid on the 360. PS3 supports HDMI and Optical cable, while only the 360 elite supports HDMI and no optical sound. The PS3 is more equipped as a home entertainment center able to read multi data formatted discs ( pics, video, music ) as well Blu-Ray capable.

I bought the PS3 for it's exclusive game titles as well as it's Blu-Ray capabilites. I still do most of my gaming on the Xbox360. That could change once SONY gets their online service up and running ( on par with Xbox Live ) It's worth buying even if you don't hardcore game with it.