I bought a 60gb ps3 at x-mas and have been very happy with it except for one thing: every once in a while it freezes at start-up. Just when the wave begins to appear and before any sound (while the screen is still relatively dark) it just stops completely and freezes. I was about to return it until I decided to do some troubleshooting. What I discovered is a little weird and I need advice by people who are far more knowledgeable than me.

To my amazement my ps3 did not freeze at start-up at all when I switched to component cables. Further, it actually started up about 2.5 seconds quicker than when I used hdmi. The HDMI cable I was using was Monster's 6ft one.

Now I'm really torn about what to do. I see two sources for the problem (bear with my ignorance): a defective hdmi cable or my ps3 has a defective hdmi port. Which do you guys think is the case?

Finally, in my tv can only output 1080i, is there a big disadvantage to using component over hdmi for video?

Can you see a difference? If not then stick with component.

I bought a 60gb ps3 at x-mas and have been very happy with it except for one thing: every once in a while it freezes at start-up. Just when the wave begins to appear and before any sound (while the screen is still relatively dark) it just stops completely and freezes. I was about to return it until I decided to do some troubleshooting. What I discovered is a little weird and I need advice by people who are far more knowledgeable than me.

To my amazement my ps3 did not freeze at start-up at all when I switched to component cables. Further, it actually started up about 2.5 seconds quicker than when I used hdmi. The HDMI cable I was using was Monster's 6ft one.

Now I'm really torn about what to do. I see two sources for the problem (bear with my ignorance): a defective hdmi cable or my ps3 has a defective hdmi port. Which do you guys think is the case?

Finally, in my tv can only output 1080i, is there a big disadvantage to using component over hdmi for video?

No major disadvantage using component over HDMI, but I notice the minor differences between hdmi and component (with the right feed that can display this difference). I prefer the HDMI picture over component, but the average eye wouldn't notice any difference.


Return the PS3 if still freezing over HDMI. Thats not a good sign. You paid good money, so make sure it works 100%.

Fair enough but what scares me is that I'm using a 50 inch dlp my parents bought me. I plan to do grad studies abroad in a year and may invest in a 1080p tv. If so I would probably want to use HDMI (the copyright stuff). BUt if my ps3 freezes with hdmi then maybe I'll thank myself for having exchanged it today.

But my main question is not so much which looks better, but whether trying a new cable might work. I did a little research and some people are inclined to blame the tv as well. So I'm really confused.

brendan, ignore which one looks better, your tv or your ps3 should have everything working 100%.

if you returned your ps3 and got a new one and you still have the same problem, try switching out cables, or try and find a friend's tv that has HDMI and trying it there.

I too would suggest trying another HDMI cable. As mentioned, try a friends if there's one to try. Otherwise, much less out of pocket than Monster, and I can certainly recommend them as I'm using theirs myself...you might try purchasing an HDMI from www.bluejeanscable.com. Good luck!

But my main question is not so much which looks better, but whether trying a new cable might work. I did a little research and some people are inclined to blame the tv as well. So I'm really confused.


Technically speaking, using component cables with the PS3 does result in a lower picture quality. This is because when you go from digital to analog, some information is lost. Although, going from analog to digital is not a problem.

PS3 -----> Component -----> LCD/Plasma display
(digital)..........(analog).....................(digital)

Again, this is purely technical. You may or may not notice as the difference varies from TV to TV. Also, don't worry about spending a lot of money on HDMI cables. Aside from defective cables, the picture quality is the same regardless of what cable you use. A 10 dollar cable performs as well as a 150 dollar cable.

Thanks a lot guys for the great responses. I guess what's most frustrating is that the freeze only occurs at start-up with HDMI. All other times (within games, surfing the net, browsing the PSN) the ps3 works FLAWLESSLY with HDMI. I just ordered a 10$ monoprice hdmi cable so here's hoping that my Monster one was somehow defective.

I'll ask again-Have you updated the firmware?

Yes everything is up to date.

Its either a bad ps3 or the tv is having a hdmi handshaking issue intermittently. I doubt it is the cable- either they work or they don't. Maybe you can hook it up to someone else's tv like the earlier poster suggested to eliminate your tv as causing the problem. By the way you wanna make sure the ps3's hdmi is right-you are gonna need that in the future.Good Luck!

Once again, sorry for the amateurish question but what is a "handshaking" issue.

Do you make sure your TV is on before you turn on the PS3 and plug it in?

The "handshake" is when the HDMI components talk to each other and give the go ahead to transmit. In some products, the handshake can be tricky. Make sure that the PS3 is plugged in and the tV is on before you turn on the PS3.

HDMI should always take a second or two longer to start than component.

Yes, I always make sure that the tv is one before I start the ps3. And it's somewhat reassuring to hear that hdmi takes longer to start-up than components.

I fiddled around after supper for a bit, doing some of the things you guys recommended. What fascinates me about this problem is that once the system starts up clean (without the freeze) it works FLAWLESSLY. This really makes me wonder what could be the problem when the only problem occurs at start-up.

Just a little update for those who were kind enough to give me a hand yesterday. I tried my ps3 on my dad's 720p Samsung DLP upstairs and I got the same freeze. Now his is a 2003 model tv so maybe there is a handshaking issue there too. But if his tv is alright, then that leaves a defective hdmi cable or ps3 with a defective hdmi port as options. I really hope it's the first one. The only thing that gives me hope is that when it starts up clean EVERYTHING works perfectly. It's such a shame since I'd rather not send it in and get a refurb.

You didn't go into the HDMI section manually and set the resolution output to 1080p did you?

No no. My tv's native resolution is 720p so that's what it is set on. Thanks for the suggestion though. :(

It sounds like an HDCP-handshaking delay, in that the two devices have to authenticate each other within a fixed period of time. If the PS3 process for this is sluggish, then the HDMI connection may wind up causing a longer start time on most or all televisions.