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Why the PS3 Is the Best Set-Top Box

Amazon's Fire TV is just the latest device in an increasingly crowded market for set-superlative boxes. The Burn down Goggle box, like the Roku, Chromecast and Apple Television earlier it, has its ups and downs. If you're willing to dish out a fiddling extra money, though, you lot can featherbed a lot of traditional set-summit box hassles past simply purchasing a 12 GB PlayStation 3 for $200 MSRP.

Sony's PS3 doesn't often enter into the conversation about set-top boxes, and it gets excluded for a few reasons: It'south expensive (comparatively); it's older, and information technology's technically not a set-meridian box at all. That said, if you want polished video apps, top-notch resolution, the power to watch DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and some of the best games of the past decade, the PS3 justifies its asking price.

A set-top box by whatever other proper noun

If you've confined your search to traditional ready-top boxes, you may not be familiar with exactly what a PS3 is, or what information technology can practice. Sony launched the PS3 in 2006, though the visitor has redesigned and refined the platform a few times since then, about recently in 2022. Although the PS3's primary purpose is to play games, Sony conceived the device equally a comprehensive multimedia machine right from the starting time. In November 2022, Sony released the PS3's successor, the PlayStation 4, but the visitor still manufactures the PS3 and sells it at a discount.

More than: Amazon Burn down TV Review

The PS3 tin play video games, Blu-ray discs and DVDs. It can also admission 22 entertainment apps, including Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video. You can play your ain media either by plugging in a USB stick or external hard drive, or by streaming the content from a media server (such as your estimator or mobile device).

The system also makes a competent photograph viewer and music player, and supports a wide diverseness of formats. With four ways to consume video (physical media, streaming apps, external storage and media servers), the PS3 tin can play only nearly anything e'er produced in a digital format.

It'south worth noting that while the similarly priced Xbox 360 has all of these capabilities and a similar price, streaming online channels requires a $60-per-year Xbox Live Gold subscription. If you want to play Xbox games online, that subscription is worth the money; otherwise, a PS3 is the better investment.

Streaming video channels

The PS3 has Netflix and Hulu Plus, which admittedly don't fix it apart from any other streaming box on the market. Yet, it also possesses the Amazon Instant Video app, which the Chromecast and Apple Boob tube practise non support. In addition, thePS3 lets you watch HBO Become, which is currently unavailable on the Fire TV.

You tin can check a full list of the PS3's amusement apps at Sony's official site, merely the lineup is admittedly a mixed bag. Services such as Vudu, Crackle and Epix are decent and available on but about every device. You'll likewise find much more niche offerings, like Gaiam Television receiver, which broadcasts new-historic period spiritual programming; Yupp TV, which shows Indian tv; and Crunchyroll, which is an anime provider.

Sports fans should also take note that while the PS3 offers MLB.TV, NHL Game Centre Live, NBA Game Time and the WWE Network, y'all'll have to become your NFL fix elsewhere (among game consoles, merely the Xbox 1 has an NFL app).

Although the PS3 doesn't have the biggest lineup of streaming apps, information technology has the near recognizable ones, and holds them to very high standards. For case, the PS3 has one of the easiest-to-use and fastest Netflix apps bachelor on any system. Over a few months of production testing, the PS3'due south Netflix app loaded videos and brought them up to full resolution much faster than did the Apple tree TV, Chromecast, Fire Television receiver or Roku.

If you need access to dozens or hundreds of channels, a PS3 is probably non the best selection, although a media server can mitigate a lot of the device's limitations. Using an external media server, your computer can access any online streaming channel and broadcast the content to your PS3.

Since media server applications, like PlayOn, oftentimes cost money, you'll have to pay actress fees if you want to go beyond the PS3's default channels. If yous want the best versions of the near common apps, though, the PS3 is currently the style to go.

The only downside is that since the release of the PS4, Sony has but almost stopped releasing apps for the PS3. If the app yous actually want isn't on the listing now, it most likely never volition be. On the other manus, the PS4 cannot stream content from a media server and may not gain the ability to do so for a long time.

A real gaming machine

While each of the four traditional ready-top boxes has some gaming capabilities, they all pale in comparison to a traditional game console. You can still play "Angry Birds" or "Bejeweled" on a PS3, but you tin also play mainstream hits similar "Uncharted," "God of War" and "Ratchet & Clank." As the system has been bachelor for eight years, the PS3 has clustered a vast library of quality titles to suit every taste.

The Roku offers only a scattering of casual games, and its library shows no signs of expanding anytime soon. Developers are all the same figuring out how to make Chromecast into a gaming platform; information technology may never become one. Apple TV can stream iOS games from an iPhone or iPad, but these games are by and large coincidental titles, and the mobile devices themselves are expensive.

Merely the Fire Tv sells itself as a gaming system of any substance, and this merits is spurious at the moment. While the Android-based Fire TV does boast a decent and growing choice of both core and casual games, the device is not well-nigh powerful enough to offer titles on par with a PS3.

Games such equally "The Walking Expressionless" and "The Cave" look and play much better on a PS3 than on a Fire TV. Amazon'due south device also lacks the processing power to back up modern blockbuster franchises. You lot will probably exist able to play old entries from series like "Grand Theft Auto" and "Final Fantasy" on Fire Tv, but not newer ones. Today'southward hit series, such as "Call of Duty" and "Assassin's Creed," need a full-fledged gaming console.

MORE: Can't Find an Xbox One or PS4? Buy an Xbox 360 or PS3

Of course, the hardware necessary to run these games comes at a toll. The PS3'southward $200 price tag towers over the $35 for a Chromecast, $50 for a Roku stick, or $100 for an Apple TV or Burn Television. Furthermore, now that the PS4 is out, new releases for the PS3 will slow downwardly and somewhen stop altogether.

Factor in the price of a controller for the Fire TV, yet, and that device's price rises to $140. Sixty dollars is non an insignificant sum. Simply if yous really want a deep gaming component aslope your streaming apps, the PS3 is low-cal-years ahead of the Fire TV. Toss in the price of a stand-alone Blu-ray role player, and you'll exist only about even.

A worthwhile purchase

Overall, the PS3 is still the best set-pinnacle box for the money. The versatile console offers a skilful array of channels, fast performance and a robust gaming selection. Plus, you tin spotter Blu-ray discs and stream content from mobile devices. The PS3 doesn't have Roku'southward aqueduct selection, Chromecast's cheap toll or the Burn Television's gee-whiz phonation search, just it is the most complete package. If you've been eyeing the Fire TV considering you think it would make a great hybrid set up-elevation box/gaming console, you'd exist much better off investing in Sony'southward black box. While the PS4 establishes itself every bit Sony'due south become-to gaming device, the price on PS3s will continue to autumn, so keep your eyes peeled for skilful deals.

Follow Marshall Honorof @marshallhonorof and on Google+ . Follow us @tomsguide, on Facebook and on Google+.

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Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and engineering. After hours, y'all can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on archetype sci-fi.