PS3 Component Connection Progress Report
goodman said:
Whoops. I managed to miss the video output settings. The PS3 came up with 1080i with my display. I am still not satisfied, but the brightness and contrast have improved. Tomorrow, I will see if I can switch the video display setting to 720P to match the native resolution of the display. That may make a difference, but I'm not certain that it will, because switching from 1080I to 720P makes no discernable difference with my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. If I cannot obtain a significant improvement over what I'm getting now with 1080i, I intend to return the PS3.
I'm using the B-D version of Superman Returns and also tried Flightplan in B-D. I will also rent the 480P version of Superman Returns and A-B test it with the B-D version.
To answer the question no one asked, but hopefully someone is interested in, I continued in my quest for improved picture quality with the PS3 by going back to the display menu on the PS3, and setting it to 720P, which is the native resolution of my Sharpvision XV-Z9000. The picture went fuzzy, and the Sharp indicated that the resolution was only 480P. I tried another movie, Kung Fu Hustle, and again the projector indicated that it was displaying only 480P. I went back into the menu of the PS3, which indicated an output of 720P, and reset it again to 720P. There was no improvement. Even though the PS3 was set to output 720P, the Sharp was again displaying only 480P.
Discouraged, I went back into the PS3 menu, and set the display output to 1080i. With a B-D in the slot, the Sharp indicated it was receiving a 1080I output, and the picture was improved.
I then put a DVD version of "Superman Returns" into my Sony NS-755 and A-B tested it with the B-D version in the PS3. The B-D version was noticeably sharper, with less "noise" apparent to both me and my wife. However, in order to bring brightness and contrast to acceptable levels, I had to crank contrast to maximum and brightness almost as high. The way my system is set up, this means I'll have to make adjustments every time I switch between Blu-ray and any other video source.
I then ran the B-D version of Kung Fu Hustle. I would say that this disc, overall had better picture quality than Superman Returns. I have loved Superman since the days of radio, and I'm not a karate devotee, but you gotta see Kung Fu Hustle. This hilarious gem satirizes many other films that you will recognize, and, unless you are a Kung Fu film afficanado, some that you won't.
While I was pleased to see that the PS3 outputs HD through component cables, in comparing it with HD on my SA 8300D, it lacks the snap of the better HD channels and programming, and has nowhere near the quality of the PS3 playing a Sony demonstration disc sending a 1080P signal via HDMI to a 40" 1080P flat panel that I saw in stores.
