The Playstation 3 comes packed with a powerful computer underneath its ‘Gamin Console’ tag. And it gives all the features while being extremely mobile and compact. Sony has capitalized the capabilities of the fast processor to find many uses for the PS 3. Thus, more than being merely a game console, the PS3 gives the user numerous ways to be informed and entertained along with the family from the comforts of the living room itself. Here are 10 super ways in which you could spend happy family time with the PS 3 (other than gaming of course).
1. Enjoy high-quality movies
One of the biggest selling points of the Playstation 3 is that it can play high quality, Blu-ray movie discs. Updates of the PS 3 have ensured that it can also playback 3D movies. Thus, it becomes the best way to create a virtual reality at home as far as movies are concerned.
2. Watch all your standard video files too
Though the PS3 has been touted as a HD device, Sony has kept in mind the millions of users worldwide who still are not yet ‘HDed’ and possess large DVD collections. The good news is that it not only plays the DVDs but digitally converts them also into HD resolution. Apart from this, you can also view the most popular video formats – MPEG, MP4, DivX and Xvid. Such files can be played directly from hard disks, pen drives or computers connected via a home network.
3. Make your own family movies
You can enhance your videos through basic editing which the PS3 offers. Now, it is possible to add sub-titles, texts and transitions to the videos that are stored in the hard disks. Once the editing is done, the videos thus created can be easily uploaded to Facebook and/or Youtube. Your brother’s birthday can now be easily edited and uploaded for your family members worldwide to share.
4. Have a wholesome family photo-time
The Playstation 3 comes with an advanced app called PlayMemories. This app has the ability to take in the different photos and make them into an elaborate 3D presentation. For quickly viewing the pictures you could make use of the slide show feature that is directly accessible from the Photo Gallery. Hours of family fun and bonding is assured via viewing photos together.
5. Watch seamless streaming
By allowing video content to be streamed from the popular services like Hulu Plus (along with subscription) and Netflix, the PS 3 offers extra options for entertainment. It also supports Vudu which features full-length movies as well as TV episodes for rent and sale. If subscribed for the service, the PS 3 allows to watch the Major League Baseball Games live on the console. The NFL Sunday Ticket programming was also recently made available for the PS 3 users.
6. Contribute to finding a cure for cancer
At first, it may sound very bizarre. But the PS 3 definitely offers avenues for assisting cancer research. Stanford University has created a PS 3 version of its app which allows the owners to donate the spare processing time for the calculation of data on the folding of various proteins. The hope of this ‘pastime’ is to find a possible cure for cancer.
7. Networking with family and friends
You can either make use of the standard controller or the clip-on keyboard from Sony or even a Bluetooth or USB keyboard to IM with Playstation network family and friends. By just adding a USb headset or Bluetooth, voice chat is made possible. Adding the PlayStation Eye camera into the thick of things, a split-screen video chat is also very much possible.
8. Browse the web
Getting a web browser installed in the PS 3 will ensure that you can access any webpage with the touch of a button. This includes most of the webmail services and even things like Google Docs in case you want to take a ‘break’ from playing and get to some work.
9. Checking the world news and weather
This is something that has been accomplished in a creative and beautiful manner in the PS 3 console. You can view a 3D earth and then zoom into any part of the globe to a particular country. Then, you can view the news and weather about that country from the console screen itself.
10. Lead an active ‘virtual’ social life
Within the Playstation home, the user can easily interact and meet up with other PS3 users. Apart from this, the PS3′s web browser can also easily connect you to your friends via Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The users can also post updates about their Playstation achievements directly on to the Facebook wall.
