- Way more complicated then it had to beI'd bought my PS3 about four or five months ago. I have a pretty nice HDTV and really wanted a Blu-Ray player to compliment it. It also didn't hurt that I had a bunch of PS2 games I still wanted to play.
After everything was all set up and I started watching a couple of movies, it became apparent extremely quickly that I was going to need a remote for the Blu-Ray features. Using the controller was just overly complex to make it a real option.
When I finally grabbed a remote, there were a few things I noticed immediately. Namely, the simple fact that it was a Bluetooth device meant that there was no chance that I was going to be able to use this with any of my other devices like my TV or my surround-sound receiver. Some people don't really care, but I hate having a thousand remotes lying around. I'd rather just have one and forget about it.
Considering that the PS3 is the only device that the remote is able to control, I fail to see why it's covered with buttons. Outside the obvious 'Play/ Pause/ Stop' buttons, I don't understand the decision to make this look so much more complex then it has to be. I would have tried to make the button layout as simple as possible. If it's not going to be able to be used for another device, it (at least) could be easy to use. I would say that two-thirds of the remote's face, you'll never use.
Another reviewer mentioned it, but it bears repeating. If you touch any button on the device, it'll automatically cue-up your system. The PS3 is a wonderful piece of equiptment and I like it a lot, but man that sucker kicks out a TON of heat. Having said that, I do try to make a deliberate effort not to keep it on longer then I have to. When I'm sitting and watching TV, however, I tend to have both my remotes next to me. I can't even tell you the number of times I've accidentally leaned a little too much to one side and booted-up the system. This is complicated by the fact that there's not just a 'power' button anywhere. I actually have to toss my receiver over to the PS3 device and manually shut the system off. It sounds like a small deal, but it's REALLY annoying after you do it a few times.
I'm sure this was mentioned several times before, but I sincerely wish that the device was back-lit. I, like many others, usually watch TV in low-light. Between the (unnecessarily) complex button configuration and the simple fact that you can't read the thing, it makes simply watching a movie more of a chore then it needs to be.
Not an outright "bad" piece and certainly a better option then the controller. It's also better then any of the third-party devices that I was able to find. All that having been said, however, I'd still say that Sony's remote wasn't very well thought out either. There's a lot of issues that the smallest amount of consideration should have been able to change.
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