One-and-Only PS3 as Blu-Ray Player Thread - Page 91

Originally Posted by STEVEKEYS

Unless I'm missing something?

Originally Posted by xbdestroya

You're not missing anything; unfortunately that functionality isn't in place yet. By advice: download something you want while you're at work or overnight or somesuch.

Originally Posted by jank0023

Stated multiple times that I have used DVE. Bottomline shadow detail is better with STB for Verizon Fios, Over the air HD and an old POS Samsung combo DVD player. The shadow details plain sucks with PS3. I have it hooked up to a Samsung HLS-5688W. If shadow levels were poor on the other units I'd say my TV has issues but as it is, it only has bad performance on the PS3. I have seen others complaining too.

Originally Posted by xbdestroya

Eightnine, where did you get those quotes from?

(The third quote of yours is the one I'm interested in.)

Originally Posted by rstewar

I had not seen a FAQ attempted for this thread yet and I've just spent the last 2 hours making my eyes bleed reading the same questions over and over again.

It's permanent home is here. .

It's not complete yet, but I wanted to get feedback to see if there were any huge, glaring errors. It's on an WYSIWYG wiki page, so correct or add anything that you think is incorrect.

Cheers,
Randy Stewart

General

Does the PS3 have the best video quality of Blu-Ray players?
Nothing is definitive, but most agree that it does.

How could that be possible? It is so inexpensive compared to other players.
While that is true, Sony is known to be subsidizing the PS3, while the other players are not subsidized. Sony wants to ensure the future of both Blu-Ray and PS3, so while this loses them money in the short term, theoretically, it will be a financial win in the long term.

For more info, Sound and Vision magazine has shoot out of the first batch of Blu-Ray players here . I'll ruin the ending, PS3 wins.


Video Questions

I have a HD set, what should I set my PS3 resolution to?
1080.

But what if my tv will only display 720p?
Most HD sets can accept signals higher than they can display. In this case, your television will downconvert 1080p to 720p. If you select 720p, the PS3 will convert your lovely Blu-Ray movie to 480p.

Why does it do this?
Many guess this is an oversight that Sony will fix later. Until then, 1080.

Does the PS3 upconvert regular DVDs?
No.

Which looks better, video over HDMI or component cables?
Consensus seems to be HDMI

From this post
"On my Samsung HLN437N the picture is noticeably better using a hdmi to dvi cable. The component video looks sort of soft and looks like its almost a lower resolution at 1080i, while the hdmi to dvi is nice and crisp looking."

What are the video formats that Blu-Ray supports?
MPEG-2 - enhanced for HD, also used for playback of DVDs and HDTV recordings.
MPEG-4 AVC - part of the MPEG-4 standard also known as H.264 (High Profile and Main Profile).
SMPTE VC-1 - standard based on Microsoft's Windows Media Video (WMV) technology.


Audio Questions

What are the audio formats that Blu-Ray supports?
Linear PCM (LPCM)
Dolby Digital (DD) -
Dolby Digital Plus (DD+)
Dolby TrueHD
DTS Digital Surround
DTS-HD


Which one is best?
Not touching that one, but I will say that in general, lossless compressed sound can sound better than lossy compressed sound. Personally, I'm betting that DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD sound better than regular Dolby Digital and regular DTS.


If I want DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD surround sound, can I use the optical out?
No, only the HDMI cable can carry the various higher bandwidth audio signals.

Why?
We presume that it may have something to do with the fact that optical (or Toslink) output can't move bits as quickly.

From the forum-
Toslink: 125 Mbps
HDMI 1.0: 4.9Gbps
HDMI 1.3: 10.2 Gbps

HDMI

Are there different cable for the different versions of HDMI (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)?
No, despite advertising efforts, there are not specific cables for different versions of HDMI

Can I run video out of both the HDMI ports and the proprietary connector (to component, etc)?
Yes, but not simultaneously.

Can I use HDMI for video and Toslink for audio?
Yes, this does work.



Remote Control

The PS3 doesn't ship with a remote, can I use my universal remote?
Not unless it's got Bluetooth in it or it's the Sony remote for PS3. The PS3 doesn't have infra-red. You can also use the controller that came with the PS3

You're kidding. This is a Blu-Ray player, the pinnacle of technology, right?
Nope. Not kidding. Maybe Sony thinks that infra-red should go the way of the floppy disc?

Is there a remote you can buy?
You can buy the Bluetooth remote from Sony. It's only $24 from Amazon.

Ok, fine. With all those fancy inputs, somebody must have figured out a way around this, right?
Yep.

Um, ok, how?
Well, you didn't ask that before. From this post and this site

Some smart folks have figured out how to set up a few cheap relays with the old PS2 remote and a USB converter that solves the problem. I don't know if anyone will ever make a more elegant approach, but this is great for now and both parts can be had for very cheap on EBay.

You'll need a A PSX/PS2 Controller to USB adapter and an original DVD remote control for the PS2 with external IR receiver

To assemble this contraption, plug the IR receiver into the PS2 controller end of the adapter cable, and then plug the USB end of the adapter into one of the PS3's front mounted USB ports.

Sounds ugly
It is. Hope springs eternal for a prettier solution.

Firmware upgrades

What's the latest firmware upgrade?
1.5

What's in the latest firmware upgrade?
Not much from the movie watching perspective. Here's a list:

* A personal image/photo can now be used with a user ID
* Edy support added
* 'Operation Sound' added to sound settings
* 'Delete Backup Data' added to backup utilities
* WEP128, WPA-PSK (TKIP), WPA-PSK(AES) can now utilize AOSS
* Login password can be saved without setting the system to log in automatically
* Korean keyboard setting now available


What about the other firmware upgrades?
Here's a handy link to the Sony firmware site .

Misc
Standby mode
from this post

Standby on the ps3 is much the same as many receivers, akin to full power down-fans off hd off -no audio or video out. So for the sake of your switch standby IS off. I wouldn't leave the ps3 on steady because of the power use.

How do I get the test pattern from Sony Blu-Ray discs?

Hit
1. menu
2. 7669
3. enter


Does this only work on Sony Blu-Ray discs?
Appears so.

Originally Posted by jdroh

I think I am having the same issue.

I picked up a ps3 last night at Tar-ghay last night. I updated the firmware to 1.5, then played Underworld: Evolution. I don't know if the 1.5 update may have had anything to do with it because I never tried playing the movie with the original firmware (1.10)

I am outputting DD via optical to my receiver, and HDMI to my Sony KDL-60XBR2 at 1080p.

The picture is quite good, but I get the same, _VERY_ annoying dropout as BoSoxMole.

If I send PCM audio to my receiver, I have no dropouts, but the sound isn't as good.

Please report on your what you find out with Sony. I'm very interested.

Originally Posted by rstewar

I had not seen a FAQ attempted for this thread yet and I've just spent the last 2 hours making my eyes bleed reading the same questions over and over again.

Originally Posted by tony06

help!

I just turned on my ps3 today and noticing that tv screen background changed to yellowish, does anyone know how i can change it back to black color?

Originally Posted by Talkstr8t

If your receiver can process HDMI audio (not just passthrough) you should set to Linear PCM. Would suggest leaving video at Auto.

Originally Posted by vvista

Does anyone know if I can use the PS3 Component Video Out for video and HDMI Out for Audio at the same time? My TV is old and does not have any DVI/HDMI input. I need to know before buying an HDMI receiver.

TIA!

Originally Posted by Hyabusha

Thanks for that Info. So for my last question, when going to the audio HDMI settings of the PS3. Theres a choice of "Automatic" and "Manual". What Is the best option here. I'm sure my reciever can decode all the settings In manual, but I'm not sure on what to select. Thanks.

Originally Posted by rlb

Sorry, I'm not familiar with your set. Have you individually calibrated a specific input for the PS3? If you set doesn't allow for individual input calibrations; or if you are running all into a receiver which then uses only one input on the TV, that could cause problems.

Originally Posted by Hughmc

This from the PS forum:

the background color works just like the PSP. The color depends on the month.
If you want to see the different colors, goto 'date and time' choose 'set manually' and
scroll through the months, you will see what the color change will be for each month. (do this during the daytime otherwise the background is black during night hours.

Jan: yellow
Feb: light green
Mar: pinkish
Apr: dark green
May: light purple
June: Torquoise
Jul: Blue
Aug: dark purple
sept: orange
oct: sepia/brown
nov: red
dec: gray/silver

Originally Posted by J y E 4Ever

When I use the Onkyo 674 Receiver the 1080p from my PS3 has really bad video flickering on my 1080p LCD but the 1080p from my HD-XA2 HD-DVD player has no problems even though it's also going thru the Onkyo. 1080i works fine with the PS3.

When I connect the PS3 directly to my LCD (Onkyo out of the equation), the 1080p works without the video flickering?

How can the HD-DVD have flawless 1080p going thru the Onkyo but not the PS3?

Originally Posted by JacobC1983

It is a handshaking issue with the ps3 and the onkyo-- many others with onkyo receivers and other receivers are having the same problem... I am as well.. the problm lies in the ps3.. not your reciever... and as of right now there is no way to resolve it.. hopefully future firmware updates will fix it within the ps3..
hope this helps

Originally Posted by sstephen

Anyone know the "rules" for playing a video on the ps3?
I put a couple of mpeg files (with mpg file extension) on a usb drive and connected it to the ps3, but the ps3 doesn't recognize the files. Tried an avi file as well.

I tried using something called ps3 video9, which is supposed to convert files to ps3 format (whatever that is), but I can't get it to write anything out, or if it does, I can't find the file.

Thanks

Originally Posted by JacobC1983

It is a handshaking issue with the ps3 and the onkyo-- many others with onkyo receivers and other receivers are having the same problem... I am as well.. the problm lies in the ps3.. not your reciever... and as of right now there is no way to resolve it.. hopefully future firmware updates will fix it within the ps3..
hope this helps

Originally Posted by squiredogs

I'm getting my XBR2 tomorrow. My PS3 will have to wait a few months, barring a price drop. I've read much of the thread. I understand that standard DVD's aren't upscaled, and there's no guarantee that they ever will be on the PS3.

But if I have the latest Sony TV, won't the upscaling done from the set be essentially the same thing? I'm guessing that 480i from the PS3 via HDMI could be an improvement over my older Samsung 841HD doing 1080i over component, just because of the digital connection. (I got the Samsung as a hand-me-down, did the HD component hack, but don't have the HDTV to test it out yet.)

Is there any reason to bother with a different upscaling DVD player? I don't want to cut in to my PS3 fund, but I would like SD DVD's to look good even after I get one.

So is the SD-DVD performance of the PS3 coupled with a Sony XBR2 LCD as good as any upconverting player available now?