The amazing PS3

[PENG]

Just updated to 3.7 and now the PS3 can do HD audio and BD-J when playing blu-ray 3D content. I thought software update alone could not make this happen due to the HDMI being 1.3a. Now if they would update it to play flac files then it would be the best purchase I have ever made.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Just updated to 3.7 and now the PS3 can do HD audio and BD-J when playing blu-ray 3D content. I thought software update alone could not make this happen due to the HDMI being 1.3a. Now if they would update it to play flac files then it would be the best purchase I have ever made.

Write to them to get on the ball and do it

 

[mike c]

do they flag the HD audio as such or still multi-PCM?

 

[Slipery99]

It really is an excellent device. It is too bad that Xbox decided to support HDDVD, otherwise us gamers wouldn't have to buy both.

 

[PENG]

do they flag the HD audio as such or still multi-PCM?

The model before the slim still does DTS-HD-MSR, DDTHD etc. in PCM only but the slim model can bitstream all of the HD codecs from start. However, it won't do HD period when playing 3D BR movies until this update. Back then all the experts said it would never be able to do HD audio when playing 3D with software update alone. Sony just proved those experts wrong with the latest update. So far the PS3 is the only player with HDMI1.3 that can be, and has been updated to play 3D by software update only, let alone decoding HD audio at the same time. It is a truly amazingly upgradable machine.

 

[GranteedEV]

The thing about the PS3 is how much processing power it's got - it can effectively emulate lesser hardware.

Pity they dropped the PS2 software backward compatibility... they started developing it but never bothered afterwards.

 

[avnetguy]

I'm glad I picked up a PS3, it's a good Bluray player and does fairly well as a media center for playing HD video and audio as well. I don't care much about flac support, high bitrate compressed or PCM works fine for me.

Steve

 

[Crackerballer]

So wait, will the original 80gb fat model do HD too with the new update? Talk about saving me $500 by not having to buy an Oppo!

 

[PENG]

So wait, will the original 80gb fat model do HD too with the new update? Talk about saving me $500 by not having to buy an Oppo!

Of course, but in PCM only, not bitstream.

 

[Crackerballer]

Of course, but in PCM only, not bitstream.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference?

 

[mike c]

to be clear

fat ps3 = PCM (no flags but still HD) and no flags with or without the firmware update
pre-update slim ps3 = ?
after update slim ps3 = with DTS-HD/DOLBY MA flags on the receiver?

i have two fat PS3's, i don't like the idea of upgrading them because they're simply not broken or not yet significantly improved upon.

 

[PENG]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference?

It you want to get into the details here is one good source:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=931796

Like most threads not everything you read are necessarily accurate but for all intents and purposes this thread seems good.

As a user, it may suffice to know that the FAT PS3 cannot bitstream (sending the raw HD codec data) to your AVR or pre-pro. It can, however decode the HD codec from the media disc/or server and send the decoded data in LPCM uncompressed format to the AVR/pre-pro that can do the rest to playback the HD audio without losing any information. The slim PS3 can do it both ways so you have the choice to let the PS3 decode the HD audio or bitstream the raw data directly to an AVR/prepro that has the capability of doing its own decoding.

From my own experience there is no discernible difference either way in terms of sound quality. Bitstream allows the AVR/prepro to display the codec so you can see whether is it DTS-HD MA or DTHD etc directly on the AVR/prepro's display whereas with PCM you have to press a button on the PS3 remote to display the codec on your TV screen. PCM has the advantage that it preserves the full audio content whereas if you bitstream as the instruction manual says "If Bitstream is selected, some portions of the audio content may not be output. ... ", not that it matters as most people probably would never pay attention to those secondary audio contents on some BR discs. In general if you have a high quality AVR/prepro bitstream may (in theory only) get you better sound quality but if you have an entry level unit then PCM may be the way to go.