Hey guys just bought an american ps3ntsc 60gb model and i am from australia. can i just connect it to the internet and update its firmware or will it cause it to brick. 2nd question: the confirm button is O instead of X, and the local PAL ps3 is the other way around is there anyway to change this 3rd question: how can i watch PAL Blu ray movies on it as they will not work?
use the internet if you're not sure of the details on how to do it manually/from cdrw/flash/hdd, there's no real difficulty there.
2. the O/X buttons are reversed on the PSP as well, i think it's just something absurd about the NTSC/JP vs PAL/Euro conventions in sony's HQ.
as to changing this, i'm not sure. there could be a proper reason, but it's not overly important, the XMB is kind of universally sucky, and you do get used to it.
3. you can't watch region 4 dvd's or zone 2/B blu-rays on a R1/A PS3, it's coded into the PS3 itself, and while there may one day be a way to convert the discs economically, or to convert the PS3 itself...
you'd still be better off with a Region 1 PS3 if you want to watch blu-rays or a multi-zone BD player (e.g. the sony one has a code you enter in with the remote). as a positive, U.S. blu-rays are cheaper to get from amazon.com even with the delivery cost,
there's also less of a delay to get the Amazon.com US blu-rays delivered to your house, than the typical time it takes to get to australian/european market. it also affects ps2 game regions and DVD regions, which are also cheaper to get in the US, though for some reason, they restrict US videogame sales on amazon. perhaps one can ask why games still cost US$90.00 RRP (typically US$80) on the Australian store shelves here.
The games will work just fine, you can plug a R1 PS3 into Aus TV's, the streaming media works fine too, so you won't be totally isolated.
as for the PSN content/access, i'm not terribly sure about region locking, i believe you need a US credit card to sign up to the US PSN, though it is a better investment in the long run as the US PSN is 10x larger, more current and a whole lot better than the AU PSN.
i don't know if buying PSN content from the PAL/AU PSN will work or not, i imagine the games are just DRM-locked to the PSN account, not region locked as that would be overly complicated. though you may be locked into the US game lobby/player lists with a US-PSN account, that would be the downside. but knowing how few multiplayer online PS3 games are separated by region or location, well, you might not notice it off the bat.
well, put it this way... in the short term, having the American Region 1 PS3 is a pain in the ass.
you might miss the inability to watch region 4 dvd movies, or zone B blu-rays, you can always rip them to x264 or copy them to watch on the ps3. it is a genuine hassle if it's replacing a dvd player, but if you have a pc already, ripping to x264 or a divx/avi with ac3 should be pretty quick and painless with apps like handbrake, nero or clonedvd mobile, etc.
that frustration lasts right up until you work out how much it would cost to get the games, movies and accessories in a retail store in australia. then add in the censorship and OFLC restrictions, price gouging, limited availability due to regional imports, etc.
now, US retailers aren't always going to ship to australia, but that's easily fixed via a remailer, or just choosing a store that does ship to australia.
