The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
I have had my PlayStation 2 ever since its UK launch date and since then I have always wondered what its upcoming HDD ñ Hard Disk Drive would be capable of. As Sony say, the Future is going to be great for PS2 owners, especially with their HDD soon to be released. My questions are as follows; what can the HDD do? Sony says that it will allow Broadband connection with tremendous speed but with a costly price tag. Other things that worry me about Sonyís new idea of the Hard Disk Drive isÖwill it have similar capabilities as that of a PC. It may be quite obvious to know that you cannot run professional programs as on Windows, but what if we wanted to watch streaming videos of in-game footage on the Net and how about downloading some in-game screens? Will there be any particular programmes that allow users to ëright clickí and ësaveí and will we be able to open up a movie on the PS2, the same way we do on a PC, using Windows Media Player or QuickTime Player; or will Sony design their own program that allows us to have these advantages.
Several people including myself have an ADSL connection to the Internet at home. Sony are setting up a Broadband/Ethernet connection at the back of the Hard Disk Drive, along with 3RD Party modems at the standard speed of 56K. Will ADSL owners be able to connect their ADSL cables to the PS2ís HDD Broadband connection? The ADSL Company has given users a CD, which is used to install the ADSL connection on a PC. Will Sonyís Hard Disk Drive allow us to install this software as well to the PlayStation 2?
How will the HDD work on the PS2? Will it look similar to ëWindowsí on a PC or similar to an Apple Macintosh? Perhaps its interface may look like a huge sort of Memory Card screen, like on current PS2ís.
Several people including myself have an ADSL connection to the Internet at home. Sony are setting up a Broadband/Ethernet connection at the back of the Hard Disk Drive, along with 3RD Party modems at the standard speed of 56K. Will ADSL owners be able to connect their ADSL cables to the PS2ís HDD Broadband connection? The ADSL Company has given users a CD, which is used to install the ADSL connection on a PC. Will Sonyís Hard Disk Drive allow us to install this software as well to the PlayStation 2?
How will the HDD work on the PS2? Will it look similar to ëWindowsí on a PC or similar to an Apple Macintosh? Perhaps its interface may look like a huge sort of Memory Card screen, like on current PS2ís.
Turbonutter wrote:
> Just as a quick note:
Sony are repeatedly saying "Its's a PlayStation,
> not a WorkStation". Don't expect anything too heavy to be released on it.
It's gonna be able to use phanomenal extras but this is the stonge age of gaming! Give it some time!
> Just as a quick note:
Sony are repeatedly saying "Its's a PlayStation,
> not a WorkStation". Don't expect anything too heavy to be released on it.
It's gonna be able to use phanomenal extras but this is the stonge age of gaming! Give it some time!
Just as a quick note:
Sony are repeatedly saying "Its's a PlayStation, not a WorkStation". Don't expect anything too heavy to be released on it.
Sony are repeatedly saying "Its's a PlayStation, not a WorkStation". Don't expect anything too heavy to be released on it.
> My questions are as follows; what can the HDD do?
Sony has a lot of plans for the HDD, from game storage to web surfing, online shopping and more.
> Sony says that it will allow Broadband connection with tremendous speed but with a
> costly price tag.
The HDD and Internet connection are two seperate units, and you won't need one to use the other - though obviously there will be advantages to having both. The combined Broadband/modem unit will cost around £40, but it's important to realise that the broadband adapter is just that - an adapter. You still need to aquire a cable modem or other broadband connection from elsewhere. The adapter is the equivalent of a modem and Ethernet card.
> Other things that worry me about Sonyís new idea of the Hard
> Disk Drive isÖwill it have similar capabilities as that of a PC.
There will be an official mouse and keyboard, so with the the right software, in theory there's no reason that it can't do all of the online options that a PC offers - though in reality, it's unlikely to go quite that far, at least on PS2.
> but what if we wanted to watch streaming videos of in-game footage on the Net and
> how about downloading some in-game screens? Will there be any particular
> programmes that allow users to ëright clickí and ësaveí and will we be able to
> open up a movie on the PS2, the same way we do on a PC, using Windows Media
> Player or QuickTime Player; or will Sony design their own program that allows us
> to have these advantages.
For the US at least, Sony have signed a deal with Netscape to provide web browser software for the PS2, and you should be able to view anything on PS2 that you can on a PC. It's only a question of someone creating the necessary software.
> Will ADSL owners be able to connect their ADSL cables
> to the PS2ís HDD Broadband connection? The ADSL Company has given users a CD,
> which is used to install the ADSL connection on a PC. Will Sonyís Hard Disk
> Drive allow us to install this software as well to the PlayStation 2?
Your PC software certainly will not work on your PS2. Sony want as many people to use the online facilities, so it is quite feasible that software will be developed and supplied (possibly at cost to the user) which will enable the PS2 to use connections from all of the major broadband suppliers. All that's needed is the software to get your PS2 to communicate with the cable modem/ADSL connection; the underying technology for broadband is a standard, so it won't be too difficult for the necessary software to be developed. Whether this will be done by Sony or the cable companies themselves remains to be seen.
> How will the HDD work on the PS2? Will it look similar to ëWindowsí on a PC or similar to
> an Apple Macintosh? Perhaps its interface may look like a huge sort of Memory
> Card screen, like on current PS2ís.
That will depend on exactly what you want to do. I've seen some screenshots of the Japanese HDD interface, but no descriptions of how it actually works.
I would imagine that the PS2 will boot from te HDD unless there is a game disc/DVD present in the machine. Presumably games will provide their own interface for HD access, while the main system will be point-and-click, like just about every other system these days.
Sony has a lot of plans for the HDD, from game storage to web surfing, online shopping and more.
> Sony says that it will allow Broadband connection with tremendous speed but with a
> costly price tag.
The HDD and Internet connection are two seperate units, and you won't need one to use the other - though obviously there will be advantages to having both. The combined Broadband/modem unit will cost around £40, but it's important to realise that the broadband adapter is just that - an adapter. You still need to aquire a cable modem or other broadband connection from elsewhere. The adapter is the equivalent of a modem and Ethernet card.
> Other things that worry me about Sonyís new idea of the Hard
> Disk Drive isÖwill it have similar capabilities as that of a PC.
There will be an official mouse and keyboard, so with the the right software, in theory there's no reason that it can't do all of the online options that a PC offers - though in reality, it's unlikely to go quite that far, at least on PS2.
> but what if we wanted to watch streaming videos of in-game footage on the Net and
> how about downloading some in-game screens? Will there be any particular
> programmes that allow users to ëright clickí and ësaveí and will we be able to
> open up a movie on the PS2, the same way we do on a PC, using Windows Media
> Player or QuickTime Player; or will Sony design their own program that allows us
> to have these advantages.
For the US at least, Sony have signed a deal with Netscape to provide web browser software for the PS2, and you should be able to view anything on PS2 that you can on a PC. It's only a question of someone creating the necessary software.
> Will ADSL owners be able to connect their ADSL cables
> to the PS2ís HDD Broadband connection? The ADSL Company has given users a CD,
> which is used to install the ADSL connection on a PC. Will Sonyís Hard Disk
> Drive allow us to install this software as well to the PlayStation 2?
Your PC software certainly will not work on your PS2. Sony want as many people to use the online facilities, so it is quite feasible that software will be developed and supplied (possibly at cost to the user) which will enable the PS2 to use connections from all of the major broadband suppliers. All that's needed is the software to get your PS2 to communicate with the cable modem/ADSL connection; the underying technology for broadband is a standard, so it won't be too difficult for the necessary software to be developed. Whether this will be done by Sony or the cable companies themselves remains to be seen.
> How will the HDD work on the PS2? Will it look similar to ëWindowsí on a PC or similar to
> an Apple Macintosh? Perhaps its interface may look like a huge sort of Memory
> Card screen, like on current PS2ís.
That will depend on exactly what you want to do. I've seen some screenshots of the Japanese HDD interface, but no descriptions of how it actually works.
I would imagine that the PS2 will boot from te HDD unless there is a game disc/DVD present in the machine. Presumably games will provide their own interface for HD access, while the main system will be point-and-click, like just about every other system these days.
I have had my PlayStation 2 ever since its UK launch date and since then I have always wondered what its upcoming HDD ñ Hard Disk Drive would be capable of. As Sony say, the Future is going to be great for PS2 owners, especially with their HDD soon to be released. My questions are as follows; what can the HDD do? Sony says that it will allow Broadband connection with tremendous speed but with a costly price tag. Other things that worry me about Sonyís new idea of the Hard Disk Drive isÖwill it have similar capabilities as that of a PC. It may be quite obvious to know that you cannot run professional programs as on Windows, but what if we wanted to watch streaming videos of in-game footage on the Net and how about downloading some in-game screens? Will there be any particular programmes that allow users to ëright clickí and ësaveí and will we be able to open up a movie on the PS2, the same way we do on a PC, using Windows Media Player or QuickTime Player; or will Sony design their own program that allows us to have these advantages.
Several people including myself have an ADSL connection to the Internet at home. Sony are setting up a Broadband/Ethernet connection at the back of the Hard Disk Drive, along with 3RD Party modems at the standard speed of 56K. Will ADSL owners be able to connect their ADSL cables to the PS2ís HDD Broadband connection? The ADSL Company has given users a CD, which is used to install the ADSL connection on a PC. Will Sonyís Hard Disk Drive allow us to install this software as well to the PlayStation 2?
How will the HDD work on the PS2? Will it look similar to ëWindowsí on a PC or similar to an Apple Macintosh? Perhaps its interface may look like a huge sort of Memory Card screen, like on current PS2ís.
Several people including myself have an ADSL connection to the Internet at home. Sony are setting up a Broadband/Ethernet connection at the back of the Hard Disk Drive, along with 3RD Party modems at the standard speed of 56K. Will ADSL owners be able to connect their ADSL cables to the PS2ís HDD Broadband connection? The ADSL Company has given users a CD, which is used to install the ADSL connection on a PC. Will Sonyís Hard Disk Drive allow us to install this software as well to the PlayStation 2?
How will the HDD work on the PS2? Will it look similar to ëWindowsí on a PC or similar to an Apple Macintosh? Perhaps its interface may look like a huge sort of Memory Card screen, like on current PS2ís.