Thanks to its inclusion of the new Blue-Ray (BD) Disc format, Sony’s new PS3 has been lauded by both gamers and home theater enthusiasts. The home movie buffs are quickly discovering that purchasing the PS3 is about the cheapest way to have access to BD movie playback. Unfortunately though, there is one drawback. You see, while most home theaters are controlled by infra-red remote control systems, the PS3 does not come with IR functionality. Luckily, with a little effort, you can control your PS3 with IR - here’s how:

1. What You’ll Need

Assuming you already have your PS3, there are a few additional pieces of hardware you’ll need to be able to control movie playback with an IR remote control. First, you’ll need a controller-to-USB adapter originally designed for the PS2. You’ll also need to dig up a Sony DVD remote for the original PS2. This is actually two pieces of hardware - the remote and the external receiver. Keep in mind that remotes for the newer version of the PS2 won’t work because they don’t come with the external receiver. (The IR reciever finally got built in to later versions of the PS2). You’ll probably have to check eBay or similar to find these.

2. How To Assemble

Next, attach the controller-to-USB adapter to one of the controller ports on your PS3. You can now attach the external IR reciever that came with the PS2 DVD remote to this. Granted, it can get a bit tangled and unsightly, but with a bit of creative bundling and with the help of twisty ties, your can probably get the whole setup looking fairly tight. You now have a way to control your PS3’s movie playback with your PS2 DVD remote or just about any universal home theater IR remote.

3. Limitations

You’ll find that with this setup, most of the basic features you’ll need to control playback on your PS3 will work with many universal IR remote controls. There are some things you won’t be able to do through the remote though, such as turning the unit on and off. You’ll also find that if you are using the PS2 DVD remote, that many of the buttons won’t do anything at all. For the most part though, these limitations are outweighed by the convenience of being able to control your PS3 movie playback from the same remote as the rest of your home theater setup.

Conclusion

Although this is a fairly fast and inexpensive way for controlling the PS3 with IR, hopefully Sony will see the demand for this and integrate this feature into future updates to the PS3. It’s current use of Bluetooth is excellent in many situations - but not for users of audio and visual equipment that relies on RF and IR controls. By paying attention to the desires of the home theater market that is turning to the PS3, Sony would quickly find a way to increase sales.