Official PS3 FAQ Master Thread - Page 88

Ok, since you agree it happens in rhythm games it must also exists in all other games, including shooters.

The fact is input / conversion lag is real. Milliseconds may not matter to you but they do to me so what are we debating? My mentality? Because we've established input / conversion lag is real - albeit small.

There's a reason the WCG uses CRT's with analog inputs.

I don't want to debate lag - I just asked some hook-up questions but instead of anyone giving me an answer, I just get replies about how my concern is pointless. Thank you, now how about that hook-up question, even if it's pointless?

Yes you can set it up that way, you can run everything through HDMI or you can run video through HDMI & audio through optical.

The drawback is you will not get the lossless audio in Blu-Ray playback.

Unless you are a SUPER HUMAN with Nanosecond response times

Just run the PS3 through your AVR.

Everything will work perfectly.

I (and I assume others) only responded to it because you listed it as a concern and I wanted to help you make a more informed choice. My apologies.

And your first hook-up question has already been answered several times in this thread as well as being listed in the first post:


Your second hook up question depends on the different settings for each unit. The simple answer is you can have either the PS3 or your AVR do the upscaling. If neither do it, your TV will do it by default assuming it's a fixed-pixel display.

Unless your AVR is great at image processing and upconversion, I would allow the PS3 to do it since it's going to output 480p at minimum anyway and cannot output at 480i.

Brandon

Thanks mate. I was just getting frustrated because I was waiting to leave but needed to know what cables to grab.

And come on, cut me some slack...this thread is what ...80+ pages? I'm sure every question known to man about the PS3 has been answered at some point in this thread. I tried the search but didn't get what I was looking for. I quoted the same part of the FAQ you did in my initial question, which meant I obviously saw it. I was asking for more detailed info than what the FAQ gave in regards to my question.

My AVR is exceptional at up-scaling (Onkyo 706). I'm about to go check the 706 thread to see how to enable pass through.

----

I just got back and am the proud owner of a PS3 and my first BD player. Being a 360 owner since launch I kinda feel like I'm cheating on my girlfriend or something, haha.

For now, I just went with HDMI and will run it through my AVR (see below).

The main reason I bought it was to watch blu-rays so I don't want to sacrifice loss-less audio with movies for milliseconds of lag improvement in games.

Why won't optical out provide loss-less audio?

Thanks to everyone - for the replies and help.

EDIT: For the post below mine - I don't get your point. It's there, it's real. Just because you never noticed it during your 3K Halo games doesn't mean it's zero. Conversion lag is a fact - whether or not it makes a difference is a debate.

I'm inclined to believe it does or why else would the WCG use CRTs and analog hook-ups specifically due to conversion lag? Read that link I posted. I don't think it makes a difference in most games but if there is no drawback to hooking it up in a way that reduces conversion lag - then why not?

I play shooters all the time and have zero input lag. I have over 3,000 Halo 3 games played. I know that's not something to be proud of...

It is simply not allowed in the optical wire specs to pass lossess audio. The only way to do so is via separate analog outs (which the PS3 does not have), or using HDMI.

Now, the audio you get using optical is still better than 90+% of the DVDs out there and can really be impressive, but most people want the assurance of knowing they're getting lossless audio. If you find that any lag becomes unbearable you can switch to the optical setup and still have a thoroughly enjoyable blu-ray experience.

Brandon

PS3 Onkyo TX-NR905 and DTS-MA 7.1 via HDMI
Well I think i squeezed in initials in the title...

I guess I have been living in a cave because I did not notice that in the PS3 april firmware update that it outputs DTS-MA 7.1, I saw it last night and was shocked (you know when you hit the select button during playback).

So my question is simple -

What is the best listening mode and/or PS3 setup for DTS-MA 7.1 sound through the HDMI input and outputs?

I searched the threads and looked over (again) the 905 instruction manual and was having trouble figuring out what is really the good way to go? Pure audio perhaps?

BTW obviously this is from blu-ray's I am talking about. I dont know if there is another way - but thought I should specify. Thanks for any input on this.

Olias

The PS3 doesn't output DTS HD MA in the strictest sense. What it does do (and I am sure DTS HD MA decoding occurred well before the April firmware release) is decode that codec internally and output the decoded signal as Multichannel PCM over HDMI.

So while the PS3 might display DTS HD Master when playing such a track, it just means it recognised and decoded the stream.

To get the benefits of that you just configure the PS3 audio output to send all PCM outut over HDMI (that is somewhat simplistic but there are tons of options in the PS3 Audio Output format and I am not near my PS3 to look at them) and you're good to go.

With an Onkyo, you'll want either "Multichannel" (which will let you use the Audyssey room eq) or Direct (which just passes the multichannel audio on to the amplifier section with no processing).

Don't overthink the PS3 setup; when connected to your Onkyo, "auto" setup will give you the correct settings, assuming your Onkyo is correctly set up.

I think it was the April release. April 2008.

And as far as sound settings, rdclark and lchiu7 already said it. Set the PS3 to output PCM (it decodes the DTS-HD MA internally) and set your 905 for Multichannel mode (or Neo6 or PLIIx to matrix 5.1 content to 7.1).

Ok thanks a lot for all the quick responses. It seems fine.

So I see the THX setting and the multichannel setting under listening mode. I see also you can jump to THX by hitting the THX button and the multichannel by hitting the surround button (on the remote). But to decode DTS-HD MA 5.1 to 7.1 do I have to do anything besides hit the surround button i.e. go to the multichannel mode? Is it not that the Neo6 and/or Dolby Pro Logic IIx (PLIIx) is an automatic setting under multichannel that you cannot select?

Just checking...
Olias

Multichannel will give you the original channels. You can use PLIIx as the default, and on 5.1 material you'll get matrixed rear surrounds, and on 71. material you'll get the same results as the "multichannel" setting.

I have over 400 dvds that I'm toying with the idea of being able to stream all of them to the PS3 from my primary computer. Be kinda nice not to have to get up all the time and place a dvd in the ps3. Two questions I have though.

Will the PS3 upscale a streamed/locally stored files to it like it does a dvd?

Second question (which completely depends on the answer to the first) can anyone recommend a software program that will copy the dvds to the hd and have it play back on the ps3 with the same sound and video quality as having the dvd in the ps3?

I figure before i invest in a large secandary HD for this project I should get some answers first. Thanks.

In the audio manual setup menu, there is a list of audio formats where only a few are selected and in auto only two are preselcted, what are your recommendations in order to take full advantage of HD audio with the ps3 conncted to a AVR via hdmi LPCM.
The list resembles the chart in the original post:

Should all of them be selected?
What are advantage or disadvanteges of selecting all or just leaving it in auto format.

bump...

You need to give us a little more info. How many speakers are you running?

The "auto" mode relies on your AVR correctly telling the PS3, via HDMI, which audio formats it accepts (in this case 5.1 or 7.1 channel LPCM is what the PS3 is looking for). If this works correctly then you can simply set the PS3 to output the decoded lossless audio over HDMI in LPCM format, as described in Example Case #4 of the PS3 FAQ post at the beginning of this thread. When playing BDs with Dolby TruHD or with DTS HD-MA you can check what audio format the PS3 is decoding and outputting via HDMI as follows (from the FAQ):

While playing a disc press the button on the game controller or remote with the triangle icon. This will bring up a 'control panel'. Use the cursor (or arrow) keys to highlight and select the i+ icon and this will display the current audio and video codecs being used and the associated bit rates

7.1 setup through a yammaha 6160 to the tv

RonJones, the PS3 is set to LPCM audio righ now, but in audio setup there's a long list of audio formats from 2.0 to 7.1 formats and was wondering if it was important to select them all to take full advantage of HD audio. Would it be a better idea to select the proper format depending on what is being needed or watched at that moment instead of simply selecting them all?

With a PS3 and an HDMI receiver, the best approach is to let the PS3 "auto" configure. It will communicate with the AVR and set itself up according to your Yamaha's capabilities.

There are no disadvantages to this.

Thank you for clarifying this with me
I will leave the setting on auto.

For who and what equipment does that list apply to in manual to select various audio formats?

Have the above equipment. PS3 is only for DVD & BluRay movies. What setting should I use on the PS3 (with 5.1 speaker setup)? Thanks for your help.

The table is intended to show for each of the available PS3 output settings listed across the top of the table (e.g., HDMI LPCM, HDMI Bitstream, Optical Bitstream, etc.) what the output audio format will actually be (entries in the table) for each of the possible types of audio that can be recorded on Blu-ray Discs and DVDs (left column on the table). For example, if the BD you are playing has lossless Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel audio (you may have to select this in the disc audio menu) but you have configured your PS3 to output the audio via HDMI in Bitstream mode then you will only get lossy standard Dolby Digital 5.1. However, when playing this same BD if you have set up your PS3 to output the audio via HDMI in LPCM mode then you will get lossless 7.1 audio that has been decoded by the PS3 and output in multichannel LPCM.




Set the PS3 to output via HDMI in LPCM mode. Your Onkyo 606 will accept the decoded lossless audio from the PS3 in LPCM format (as in Example Configuration - Case #4 of the PS3 FAQ Post). The Dolby TrueHD and the DTS HD-MA lights will never activate on the 606 since its not having to do the decoding (because its already being done within the PS3 before it sent to the 606).

Ok, some newbie questions coming up but i'm hoping someone might take a few minutes out of their time to clear things up for me =)

First things first, video wise - I saw it asked before but no one answered.

Assuming I have a DVD rip that i'm streaming to my ps3 - it doesn't get upconverted in any way correct? Just plays in regular standard def? I tested this today and it looked grainy as opposed to playing the DVD which looked very clear, so i'm assuming this is the case.

For any reason would playing a movie off a flash drive as opposed to streaming it give me better quality?

Now for audio, I have an onkyo-606 hooked up via HDMI to my ps3 and outputting via HDMI to my Samsung b750.

My question becomes what audio to use when NOT using blu-ray or DVD as I believe I have this down.

When i'm streaming content or playing it off my flash drive, it seems I get the best overall sound from just using "all channel stereo" but i'm sure i'm missing something here. What should I be using?

Reading about all the problems with firmware version 2.70 and 2.76 I assume I should not upgrade from my 2.60 version?
Correct?

::shrug:: I've had no problems. But "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" are words to live by, IMO. If you wait until a disc won't play or a game insists on an update, all you lose is instant access to that particular title until you give it what it wants.

What problems?

Brandon

friends of mine experienced problems playing bluray and sd dvds afte the upgrade - movies which played before without a problem. they told me that this is is linked to 2.70 and 2.76 -

What other issues are there? At the moment, the only one that I've seen mentioned is the Jethro Tull BD.

The other main issue occurs when you try to play PAL extras on a region-free import BD. Before 2.70, the PS3 would try to play the extra for a few seconds, quit and return you to the disc menu. No harm, no foul. Post 2.70, you now get the error message "This video cannot be played" with a "back" indicator (circle button). Except when you hit "back", it takes you way back to the PS3 crossbar menu and you have to reload the BD. Not good!

If you're running 2.60, do NOT upgrade!