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$600 PS3 Ships Without HDMI Cable

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the wow-they-really-know-how-to-impress dept.

Eurogamer reports that the $600 PS3, which comes available with an HDMI port, will not ship with the necessary cable to actually hook the machine up. From the article: "According to the specs page on the official US PS3 website, which notes: 'HDMI cable not included. Additional equipment may be required to use the HDMI connector.' Sony has long promoted the 60GB PS3's HDMI output as a key feature of the machine. The 20GB model, however, doesn't feature HDMI - and nor does the Xbox 360, as it goes, despite occasional rumours of a hardware revision in the offing." The machine will, of course, come with a composite cable.

32 of 416 comments (clear)

  1. Bastards! by wfberg · · Score: 5, Funny

    I heard they're not even including cables for the controllers on some of the new consoles!

    --
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    1. Re:Bastards! by kyouteki · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's a digital cable. It doesn't matter if it's oxygen-free or pure gold or any of that other shit Monster makes consumers think they need. As long as the pulses get from one side of the cable to the other, it doesn't matter if the cable is $15 or $150 for digital.

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    2. Re:Bastards! by GoodOmens · · Score: 3, Informative

      I bought a $21 cable from blue jeans cable. The specs are the same as monster cable ..... Check their cable spec pdf's if you don't believe it. Its nice, thick and has gold plated connectors. Anyone who is into high end audio/video will tell you Monster sucks. Just check the cables of a "real" pro install (IE paying a decent company to hook your equipment up) and see what they use ....

    3. Re:Bastards! by fujiman · · Score: 5, Informative

      One time, at my friends house, he had a really short length of digital cable and a really strong signal, and the 1s were being rounded up to 2s!

  2. Pinch Those Pennies! Ouch! by blueZhift · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It seems a cheap trick, but I understand why they'd choose not to ship with cable. Depending on whose numbers you believe, the sale of peripherals like this may significantly cut the money lost selling the console itself. I'm assuming that the peripherals are not sold at a loss.

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    1. Re:Pinch Those Pennies! Ouch! by ronanbear · · Score: 4, Insightful
      It would be a moot point if you got a HDMI cable with your HD TV.

      Many users don't have the right screen so a cable wouldn't be much use for them. They'll just have to buy a cable when they are buying their screen.

      --
      the more they over-think the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the pipe
    2. Re:Pinch Those Pennies! Ouch! by skinfitz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It would be a moot point if you got a HDMI cable with your HD TV.

      ...except it's Sony and therefore the cable will no doubt be proprietary at the PS3 end.

    3. Re:Pinch Those Pennies! Ouch! by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 4, Funny
      I.e., a $5 HDMI cable will be just as effective as a $100 cable

      But the copper in the $5 HDMI cable might be riddled with oxygen!! I'd pay any price to avoid that fate. I don't want my digital video experience ruined by oxygen.

    4. Re:Pinch Those Pennies! Ouch! by faust2097 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually you're 100% wrong. It's a completely normal HDMI port, look at any picture of it and you'll see that. It also has a normal optical port so whether your taste runs to the $2 monoprice cable or the $6000 Nordost one you'll be able to connect it without giving Sony an extra dime.

    5. Re:Pinch Those Pennies! Ouch! by be-fan · · Score: 4, Informative

      To be fair, the word "digital" should be used carefully in such situations. Digital != Bit-Accurate, as geeks tend to assume. Digital protocols often to include error correction layers, but that is not necessarily the case. DVI, the underlying protocol for HDMI, does not include any error correction, at all. It's more resistant to errors due to noise, because its uses differential signaling, but its not immune to bit-errors. Thus, given DVI's relatively high sigaling rate (165 MHz), cable quality might be an issue with very long runs.

      It should also be noted that the traditional "digital" signals people like to argue over, for example SPDIF, also include no error correction whatsoever.

      That is not to say that there is any merit in oxygen-free copper for HDMI cables, but rather that the world is a lot more complex than knee-jerkers on both sides of this particular argument realize.

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    6. Re:Pinch Those Pennies! Ouch! by 0rbit4l · · Score: 3, Informative

      Have you checked out svideo.com for HDMI cables? I don't work for them or anything - just a happy customer. I got a 6' cable that works just fine with my 1080i/720p set and my Toshiba DVD player for less than $20 shipped to my house. Paying extra money for digital cables is stupid beyond belief.

    7. Re:Pinch Those Pennies! Ouch! by Danga · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually you're 100% wrong. It's a completely normal HDMI port, look at any picture of it and you'll see that. It also has a normal optical port so whether your taste runs to the $2 monoprice cable or the $6000 Nordost one you'll be able to connect it without giving Sony an extra dime.

      You are correct, however while you and I and the rest of the Slashdot readers realize this is the case I would bet the average consumer for the PS3 is not aware that just any cable will work. If Sony releases a cable that is sold right next to the PS3's (I would be very surprised if they did not) then from my experience most people would end up getting that cable since it says Sony on it and appears it is special made for the PS3.

      They will probably end up charging a ridiculous price for this "extra" accessory that should be included with the base system and they will probably make a decent amount of money off of it. It is sad they decided not to include the cable that will give the user the best possible experience. Even if the user doesn't currently have a monitor with HDMI input it would still be nice to have the cable ready once a future upgrade is made.

      --
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    8. Re:Pinch Those Pennies! Ouch! by faust2097 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I wouldn't be surprised if this is a "gift" to retailers who need ways to pad out their overpriced bundles and get some margin on something that's going to take up lots of space and cause lots of hassles. It seems like overall Sony is taking a far less aggressive accessories strategy than anyone has before. Sony employees have gone on the record saying that it's going to support USB mass storage [read and write unlike the 360] and third-party wireless adaptors and the HD is upgradeable with any old 2.5" laptop drive.

  3. This is not news. by casualsax3 · · Score: 5, Informative
    First, the PS2, Xbox, AND Gamecube all had HD cables sold as add ons. Second - why would Sony ship every PS3 which HDMI cables, when such a tiny percentage of homes even have HDMI ready TV's. HDMI cables are only going to run you $20 anyway: http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/DVI-hdmi_cables .html#std

    If you've got $600 to drop on a PS3, you've got another $20 for cables. Move along, nothing to see here.

    1. Re:This is not news. by Garse+Janacek · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you have $600 to drop on a PS3, you have another $20 for cables, true. But if they're advertising this as some sort of luxury sports car of the gaming world, and charging a huge amount for HD and Blu-ray, why assume by default that people won't be able to use them? If you're correct that such a "tiny percentage of homes have HDMI-ready TVs" that it is a negligible issue for prospective PS3 owners, then where's the damn $300 version of the console that doesn't include HDMI/Blu-ray support?

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    2. Re:This is not news. by badasscat · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But if so few people have HDMI capable TV's ... er, why support it in the first place?

      For the same reason the PS1 and PS2 supported s-video.

      And btw, the PS1, PS2 and Xbox didn't come with s-video cables either, even though they supported it. The point is you put the cable in the box that's basically the lowest common denominator supported by all TV's, and then if someone wants to upgrade it, they can.

      There's also the obvious question of if you're going to pay $600 for a console, would you rather Sony put $600 worth of actual machine into the box, or $600 worth of add-on junk that a lot of people aren't even going to be able to use?

      But this is really nothing new, and I have no idea why it's become such a story the past couple days (it was on Joystiq too, and probably other sites) other than the fact that it's become de rigeur to bash the PS3 lately. Consoles never come with the best cable; they come with the cable supported by the most TV's.

      The bigger, more important thing to note is that the PS3 has a standard HDMI port, meaning you can buy any HDMI cable for it. Why no bashing of the Xbox 360 for requiring a proprietary, MS-licensed cable at an inflated price?

      btw, the PS3 will come with component cables, not just composite. Another sign of bias on the part of the submitter here...

    3. Re:This is not news. by casualsax3 · · Score: 4, Informative
      Apparently you've never taken a look at a luxury sports car. Let's take the Porsche Cayman for example: http://youtube.com/watch?v=yRs6oMlyfK8

      This is a review from Top Gear: it's a great clip, however for the point I'm trying to make is about one third of the way in - check out . Things you would consider essentials on a sports car - the sports chrono package (500 pounds), 19" wheels (1260 pounds), fade free carbon ceramic breaks (5350 pounds!), an adaptive dampers (1030 pounds), the SatNav is an extra 1800 pounds - even the rear windshield wiper is an extra 260 pounds. This, all on a car that's already over 50,000 pounds. Tell me again why people are getting bent out of shape here - it's a cheap $20 cable that 5% of PS3 owners are going to want/need - you can't even begin to compare that to a $400 rear windshield wiper that every single person who owned the car (especially in the UK) is going to want AND need.

    4. Re:This is not news. by ArsonSmith · · Score: 5, Funny

      That is a really freaking heavy car.

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    5. Re:This is not news. by Garse+Janacek · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Tell me again why people are getting bent out of shape here - it's a cheap $20 cable that 5% of PS3 owners are going to want/need

      But that's my entire point -- Sony's fundamental premise for this entire console is that most serious gamers will want/need HDMI and blu-ray support. If this is not true, and the percentage is closer to the 5% that you claim, then Sony's entire strategy for this generation is invalidated, and they should have made a $300-400 console instead. If you're already assuming that the vast majority even of the self-selected population that is actually willing to spend $600 on a PS3 is still not going to be able to use the most expensive part of the system, then what is that most expensive part for?

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  4. so for $600... by konigstein · · Score: 5, Funny

    You get a console.* *Some assembly required; batteries cables and other accessories including a TV, controllers, and in limited situations console not included; By purchasing this console you agree to indenture your first born to work in sony's sweatshops...

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  5. In other news... by MojoBox · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sony has also announced the 60Gig version comes with the -abytes sold seperately.

  6. HDMI for HDCP by varunnangia · · Score: 3, Informative

    IIRC, HDMI cables are necessary if you need to view HDCP encrypted content - or you get a "low-quality" version of the image. Considering that most studios are not using the image constraint token till 2010, it seems that HDMI cable or no, no one's likely to need it for a while. Should it be included in a $600 package and is Sony cheaping out? Perhaps. But do you absolutely need it right now? No.

  7. Blu-Ray curse by the+computer+guy+nex · · Score: 4, Funny

    The PS3 is $600 for one reason, Sony pushing their Blu-Ray format.

    Now they have decided to release this ungodly expensive machine without an HDMI cable, which is required for playing Blu-Ray movies.

    So for $600 dollars you are buying something most people don't want or need (Blu-Ray) but still will not even have the ability to use it.

    1. Re:Blu-Ray curse by DrXym · · Score: 3, Insightful

      $600 also buys you wi-fi, a 60 Gb harddrive, 512Mb, a multi-core processor all of which combine to give you a games console, multimedia and internet system that sits under your TV. The price isn't particularly outrageous for its features if you compare it to the Mac Mini for example.

  8. Proprietary connector? by interiot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Several people have mentioned that you might be able to use a standard HDMI cable to connect the PS3? Is that really true? No console I'm aware of has ever had standard connections on the back.... they've always used a single proprietary connector, and forced you to buy a more expensive cable specific to the conections you wanted. eg. it's not going to be cheap.

  9. Re:'Cuz a cable costs $100... by gabebear · · Score: 3, Informative

    Ya, but Circuit City's $125 cable is the same thing as the discount $6 cable in this case. If sony just releases a reasonably priced cable($30) and sells it next to the PS3 then they will make a couple extra million on HDMI cables.

  10. Belkin stock by SQLz · · Score: 4, Funny

    Buy it now!!

  11. Oblig. Xbox 360 Note by Stonesand · · Score: 3, Informative

    FWIW, the Premium version of the 360 comes with the highest-end cable: it has component out, composite out, and optical out. A really great cable! :)

  12. Oh noes! by be-fan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Except every major console in history has shipped with a lowest-common-denominator cable.

    Does the 360 ship with a component cable? Did the dreamcast ship with a VGA cable?

    Will the Wii ship with a component cable, despite the fact that its required to enable progressive-scan mode? The GC didn't...

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    1. Re:Oh noes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      "Does the 360 ship with a component cable?"

      Yes it does, My Sony Fanboi. And its also $100 cheaper. Any more questions?

  13. Re:$920 for the package? by Zardus · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, well, the Wii is just as bad! Check it out:

    $210 for the console (average of the high and low prediction), $0 for the cable, $80 for the controller (lets be cautions and over-estimate), $600 for 12 (non-VC) games, and $40 tax? That's a whole freaking $930 for the Wii!! Even more than the PS3!

    I am a parent (well, no, but I have cats) of a household with income considerably less than yours, and there's no way in heck I'm buying 12 games for the Wii at launch! But that's just mostly cause my wife won't let me...

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  14. Re:My Dryer by Bassman59 · · Score: 3, Informative
    Big deal. The dryer that came with my washing machine didn't even come with a POWER CABLE! How freakin' stupid is that??

    The mains connection for your dryer may vary with local code requirements. Putting four moderately-expensive cables in with the appliance to cover all of the bases doesn't make any sense.

    -a