I've been thinking about getting a PS3 for the BluRay capabilities... but the only remote i've seen is a Bluetooth remote by Sony. Can the PS3 be controlled by an IR harmony?

Yes.

[Link: remotecentral.com]

I have done this, and it works great. Please note that I think the button list in that article is incorrect (at least it was with my Sony PS2 remote), so I just noted what each button did on the PS2 remote, then mapped that to my 880. I have also found that the ^<> and down do not work. My total investment was $16 (10 for the PS2 remote/IR receiver, 6 for the PS-USB adapter - both used from a local game place). The USB lead is long, so I ran it down into my component cabinet beside my receiver so it can't be seen.

wow, they make a machine with BluRay, which drives the price way up, and then don't include an IR receiver..
?

Found this thread while searching for info on Playstation 3 problems. I'm having the same problem with a URC MX-800. I got all the buttons listed in the Remote Central article to work with my PS3 EXCEPT the up, down, right, left arrow buttons. The arrow buttons on the PS2 remote work and the MX-800 says that it has learned them, but the arrow buttons on the MX-800 produce no response. There are reports of similar problems with the URC MX-500 and MX-3000. I thought it might be unique to URC, but it sounds like Harmony may have the same problem. The arrow buttons on the PS2 remote must be doing something unusual.

The Playstation 3 uses RF (Bluetooth) for its wireless remotes. This is great for a game controller, but less convenient for a BluRay player remote, since it makes it incompatible with universal IR remotes including Harmony. Sony sells a DVD-style remote, but it also works by RF. In contrast to the XBox 360, which uses RF for its controllers but includes an IR port to support IR remotes for its DVD player, the PS3 has no IR sensor at all.

However, there is a workaround, because the PS3 also supports wired controllers via its USB ports (which is also how you recharge the controllers). Nyko has taken advantage of this by producing an IR remote that emulates the USB wired controller, the Nyko Blu Wave remote. It comes with a USB dongle with an IR sensor that you into one of the USB ports, and then you can use the Nyko IR remote--or a Harmony remote, if you teach it the commands from the Nyko.

This works quite well. There are some limitations, as it only supports the commands that you can execute with the PS3 controller, and not some of the additional commands available on the PS3 remote. So no power key, angle key, or eject key. But it does emulate all of the digital controls of the PS3 controller (i.e. everything but the analog sticks), which makes it fine for controlling the player. I don't mind the lack of a power control as I leave my PS3 on all the time anyway, since it isn't noisy like the XBox 360, and I have set it to donate unused computing power to the Folding@home scientific project. And if I'm going to eject a disk, I have to walk over to get it anyway, so I might as well push the button on the PS3.

Of course, I first had to teach all of the Nyko's commands to the Harmony. This mostly went quickly, with the exception of the square command, which for some reason seems to be difficult for the Harmony to learn properly--it took a couple of dozen takes to get it right. I can now control video play from my Harmony 360 remote, as well as move around the PS3's other menus and activities.

I don't get the Nyko product at all-- why does it even include a remote control? That is, why would anybody buy the USB IR controller to use the Nyko remote??? If you need to use another remote (in this case the Nyko) why wouldn't you just use the Sony Bluetooth remote? Heck, the Sony Bluetooth remote was included for free when I bought the PS3. Obviously, I would assume that anyone in the market for the Nyko USB IR controller is going to use a universal remote instead of the Nyko. Ok, in reality you might need to teach the Harmony (etc) remote the Nyko commands but perhaps they are just using the same PS2 commands that are already known to Harmony.

In any event, the ideal product that people need (since Sony screwed everyone over with their lack of IR support-- odd considering that Sony sells universal IR remotes) is a device that can receive IR signals and transmit Bluetooth signals-- in this way EVERY Sony Bluetooth signal that the PS3 supports can be mapped (ie. the PS button). This product could either be self-powered (and stand-alone) or USB powered (connected to the PS3, although it would need to have an internal battery so it could receive signals when the PS3 was off). Hopefully some 3rd party will sell a similar product soon since I want to have complete control of the PS3 with a Harmony which includes powering it on and off.

No, I can't think of any reason why anybody would want the Nyko remote, other than to teach another remote. It would have had some value on its own if Nyko had given it basic preprogrammed universal remote features, so it could control other equipment (since the Sony PS3 remote obviously can't), but they didn't even do that.

I haven't tried it yet, but I'd be surprised if the Nyko dongle responds to the PS2 infrared remote. I know that 3rd party PS2 IR dongles do not work with the Sony PS2 remote.There is no reason why Nyko would use the same IR language, since the dongle has to convert the signal into an electrical USB signal anyway.

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for somebody to produce a IR-to-bluetooth converter for the PS3. What Nyko did is relatively easy (I've seen a similar remote advertised from another company, although it supports even fewer commands than the Nyko); all they need to know is the USB protocol for the controller and they can make up their own IR code. Sony is probably keeping their PS3 Bluetooth code proprietary, or charging a bundle for licensing. So something like that would have come from Sony rather than a 3rd party. It seems unlikely that they'll do it, considering that Sony didn't even bother to do the sensible thing and put an IR sensor on the unit the way Microsoft did for the XBox, which would have obviated the entire issue. They want the real home theater enthusiasts to buy a dedicated Blueray player, not do it on the cheap with a PS3.

I don't understand Sony's decision to not include the IR receiver in the PS3. To me, it was just stupid. How much could an IR receiver actually cost (considering they are mass produced and included in every other Sony A/V unit let alone in $15 devices from other vendors)? I think, in the future Bluetooth could replace IR for home theater use but right now, it's way too early to abandon IR-- heck, I bet all upcoming Sony A/V devices will have IR and no Bluetooth at all.

I know there are Bluetooth sniffer products available so creating a device that receives IR and transmits Bluetooth shouldn't be that difficult. Also, I'm sure some engineer could crack open the Sony Bluetooth remote and decipher the signals as well.

Is Sony even allowing 3rd party manufacturers to make bluetooth controllers for the PS3? The 3rd party wireless PS3 controllers that I've seen so far don't use bluetooth and require a dongle. However, I gather that the PS3 does work OK with standard bluetooth keyboards.

By the way, I checked, and as I expected the Playstation 2 IR remote does nothing with the Nyko dongle.