One-and-Only PS3 as Blu-Ray Player Thread - Page 491

What video settings do you use for good Standard Res DVD playback? and what Blu Ray settings do you use?

Hi, hope im posting in the correct forum. I own a PS3 that has the latest firmware update. I bought American Psycho on Blu ray and have watched it a few times. I put the disc in tonight, I see the Lionsgate intro thing (not sure what thats called), but then nothing...just a black screen. I ejected the disc and put in a DVD...played just fine. I then put in another Blu ray disc and it played just fine as well. It seems as though only this particular disc will not play. As I said earlier, ive watched a few times already, and have not changed anything. I get no error messages of any kind. When I hit the triangle button on the controller to bring up the PS3 menu, nothing is greyed out...I just get the "this option is not available" text. The disc has no visible scratches, and has either been in its case or in the PS3. Any ideas? Any help? Thanks.

It sounded to me like cracked discs. And I wouldn't blame the fact that they're BDs, I'd blame the mail carrier. I'd wager that the force required to break a BD is the pretty much the same as that required to break a DVD. I've rented hundreds of DVDs from Netflix and maybe 25-30 BDs so far and have only had 2 cracked discs, both DVDs. Your carrier folded/spindled/mutilated the discs, if it happens again you should complain to your local post office.

The PS3 doesn't read NTFS. For external drives (including flash drives) plugged into USB, it uses FAT32 exclusively.

Not sure if this is Blu-Ray software rather than hardware, but here goes.

Recently picked up JL-The New frontier on Blu-Ray; The PS3 being my Blu-Ray player. The disc contains 3 JLU episodes which are not in HD, but in SD. For some reason when they play they are not up-converted to 1080p. The play in the standard SD (I assume) resolution. Weird thing is that if I pop in my separate SD JLU series DVD, the same episode gets up-converted without any problem and actually looks much better.

Not a major problem but where does the fault lie here? Is it the PS3? Which does up-convert the other discs just fine. Or is this an issue with the Blu-Ray disc itself? Has anyone got the disc and played it on a player besides the PS3?

Just curious. Sorry if this has been asked before.

TIA

I agree. I've had a couple broken DVDs over tha last 3 years or so, but hundreds were ok and I haven't had a bad BD yet, out of 10 or so. Netflix should run the government.

The title of this thread should be changed. It's certainly not the "one and only" PS3 as a Blu-Ray player thread. Of course, the other main thread is that AVS FAQ for PS3 as a Blu-Ray player thread.

Last night I played my first (deep bass rich) CD on the 1-month old 80G PS3, with firmware 2.1. When the first drum beat started to roll I noticed right away the really deep stuff is missing. I replayed the disc on my Denon 5900, sure enough, the PS3 is not outputting the really low frequencies. I am not surprised that the 5900 sounds better, but that obvious?

The 5900 is connected using optical and the PS3, HDMI. The CD output is set to 44.1/88/2/176.4. Did I miss anything?

Yeah, you must be missing something; mine sounds good.

Go to PS3 Settings, sound settings, audio output settings and make sure you have all the appropriate boxes checked for channels.

EDIT: Just reread your post. Sorry, maybe my answer doesn't apply; your CD is probably only 2 channel anyway, but it's still worth checking.

If you use automantic HDMI, sometimes it won't give you anything but 2 channels if you don't have your receiver set up the way it likes. If the PS3 reads the TV speakers, it will just put out stereo.

Netflix is in for a BIG surprise if this is standard practice for blu-ray discs. I wonder about their "consumer has spoken" rhetoric ... is it just talk or do they hear about these cracked discs.

I am concerned that 40G PS3's seem to be more sensitive. Is it simply because there are more of them?

My 80G is VERY sensitive to even the slightest smudge or scratch; hesitates, stalls and skips. Haven't tried it with a cracked disc yet, but I'm not optimistic. I'm trying to get in the habit of cleaning all Netfilx discs before I even put 'em in the PS3. My Panny DVD player didn't have near as much trouble.

Speaking for myself, my three week old PS3 40 gb plays everything I throw at it. I haven't had a single BD glitch, SD movies play perfectly and even REAL old cds that every CD read capable device refused to play, the PS3 plows right through. I have compact discs that are so scratched that 5 CD readers on PCs, my XA2, 2 mobile CD players and my A2 had issues with, the PS3 did not so much as stutter.

Being an HD DVD convert, I really wish that I would have picked one of these gems up a long time ago. With the exception of the lack of DTS HD MA support, I consider my 40 to be nearly perfect. Also, there could be capabilites that will be added to the PS3 that we can't even imagine now. Also, I haven't even played so much as a game demo...yet.

I had issues with 3 BD from Netflix in a row. All had a tiny crack on the edge that was hard to see but would prevent the disc from playing. I have not received any cracked DVDs yet. I joined 3 months ago.

You can enjoy 640 DD or 1500 DTS from most discs via optical. You also have the option of downmixing PCM tracks to 2.0 and applying PLII (or IIx)to them. I think you can do that with TrueHD tracks as well.

And yes, PIP is profile 1.1, which the PS3 now is. And of course it has internet connectivity and persistent storage, which is a requirement for 2.0, so that upgrade is just a firmware update away.

When I bought mine a year ago I was also seeking a player with analog outs, and there was only one with 7.1 outs, but it would never be DTS HD MA capable. In the end, I decided to go with the PS3 since it had the least issues and by far the most upgradability. It's blazing fast compared to standalones; I'm glad I chose it. And upgrading my receiver to an aging Elite (HDMI 1.2) receiver at a good price was well worth it in the end. Still waiting for DTS HD MA, but I'm very confident it will come this spring or summer after the decoding players have a chance to sell. The PS3 feels by far the gretest CE investment I've ever made, since it evolves instead of becoming obsolete like everything else.

I've had cracked DVDs, but only 1 or 2 in the year or so since I rejoined. I had to send back 2 or 3 BDs recently. The last one just had a very tiny crack on the edge, and it played, but I didn't want to chance it since I figured the edge was probably the end of the movie. Methinks they need to invest in padded envelopes. I think the sorting machines must exert just enough pressure to crack the hardcoat.

Thanks Larry for the quick response.

Interesting that that review touts it as one of the worst DVD players around and other tests and reviews have it performing pretty well. Do they use proprietary test patterns? Because other reviews have it locking into film mode for 2:3 cadence rather quickly but this review says it won't at all.

Brandon

If I'm reading it correctly it is stated that when it was first tested last year it was one of the worst DVD players available, but subsequent firmware revisions have improved it to the point of being good, but short of high end stand alone DVD players.

Sounds about right.

This is the gist of their review:



Which, just as one quick example, conflicts with Cnet's updated review in response to the 1.80 firmware update several months ago. Notice it is in direct confict with the above:


Something isn't right.

Where the review says the PS3 is commendable is in upscaling performance and BD playback. But as far as SD DVD performance it definitely leaves the impression of it being one of the worst around, worse than sub-$50 players.

Brandon

I am looking to buy a new AVR in the next month or two. Is there a link or rec ommedations as a starting point for a AVR receiver that will make use of the PS3 audio today and in the future ? I would like to get rid of my HDMI switcher and TOSlink switcher and make use of the HD audio capabilities of the PS3.

Apologies if this has already been covered, just looking for a starting point.

Thanks

Here is a good place to start: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=738511

You'll notice that the Onkyo 605 is listed as a Level 4 AVR and it's a very popular model for under $500. That thread is a bit dated now that 2008 lineups are starting to be announced, but if you are just starting to look it's a good place to start.

Brandon

Too deep of a topic to go into here, there's plenty of information available in the corresponding AVS Forum for the AVR topic.

Generally speaking the lower end Onkyo units such as the 605 offer the best "bang for the buck" in a budget AVR that has HDMI 1.3a.

The primary reason for going "higher end" would be to get support for new audio formats (non factor with PS3 as it only outputs the advanced tracks as PCM), more HDMI inputs, more sound processing capabilities, etc.

Excellent, thanks for the link and help.

The yamaha 663 just being released MSRP 549$ is also great excellent review in audioholics

I have a Yamaha 1800 which is quite a bit more expensive but I've been quite impressed with it so far.

Anyone know if new release on 8ogb unit will have same features as old 80gb?

Ah... that is *only* true if DTS-HD Master Audio doesn't make it to the PS3 by way of a firmware update. While there has been no denial from Sony, we have yet to get it so far.

The PS3 can decode Dolby Digital TrueHD and output it to a AVR receiver as LPCM, and I believe TrueHD can be considered an "advanced" codec.

I don't know if it's accurate for you to say that it is a "non-factor" unless you are expressing your opinion. My opinion would be that the PS3 is a great Blu-ray player for the price. I have had no regrets on purchasing one.

Just to confirm something...

If my audio receiver does not have an HDMI audio input (my current receiver has 5.1 analog pass-thru but no HDMI), if I were to buy a PS3 then my sound options are limited to:

- Dolby 5.1 via toslink.

- Buying a new receiver as well as a PS3.

Or is there some other solution (inexpensive after-market gadget?) that can be used for getting lossless audio from a PS3?

And as I understand it, the PS3 is the only Blu Player which can receiver firmware updates via direct Ethernet connection while all other current machine require you to burn a seperate disk for each upgrade?

I am planning on having a discussion with my wife about adding a Blu player to the theater (at some point) and want to be certain that I understand clearly what can and cannot be done with a PS3.

That's right. The PS3 will only support lossless audio via HDMI.

I am in even a worse position until I upgrade. I dragged out a AVR from the closet to use with the PS3 (my main HT system is not HD) and my HDTV. Alas it's only DD (AC-3) so even via Toslink I can only listen to AC3 5.1. If there is content in AAC 5.1 (some of the content on the Internet is like that) or Fox BR's titles which are DTS-HD Master with no AC-3, then I have to listen to them in PCM 2.0 :-(.

It's going to be a hard sell to get the AVR upgraded alas

Larry