PS3 display woes

[Shifty Geezer]

Okay, got me an HDMI <> DVI cable to try PS3 on this PC monitor. It's a 1280x1024 BenQ FP71E+. Using DVI on the PC if I change Window's resolution to 720p I get a letterboxed display. I connected up the PS3, to both the monitor and my SD Etch-a-sketch. Viewing on the normal TV I change output to HDMI, but the monitor reports 'Out of Range'. There's nothing in the manual that I can see on this. A web search only throws up issues with clock frequencies for unsupported resolutions. I know the monitor can handle 720p as I've done it on Windows, so that shouldn't be an issue. Could the PS3 be outputting a 1080 signal be default? It's not supposed to.

 

[Mmmkay]

Well to start with the PS3 is putting out an HDCP encrypted signal so your monitor is probably throwing a fit about that rather than the resolution. I don't think the FP71E+ supports HDCP.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I've seen the BenQ listed as DVI-D, which as I understand it means it has HDCP, although that would be a rarity. Ah, some more research shows DVI came in digital and analogue flavours, and the D doesn't signify HDCP compatibility. So much for that great scheme!

 

[sevanig]

You can always get a 24" dell monitor

 

[Mobius1aic]

I've seen the BenQ listed as DVI-D, which as I understand it means it has HDCP, although that would be a rarity. Ah, some more research shows DVI came in digital and analogue flavours, and the D doesn't signify HDCP compatibility. So much for that great scheme!

DVI-D
DVI-I
DVI-H

Then there is another I can't remember for the live of me (DVI-A?). If I remember right D and I flavors are digital, while H and the other are technically analog, used when converting to analog signals like DVI-H to a VGA out. I'm not too exactly sure, been a while since I looked it up.

 

[Arwin]

If your monitor doesn't support HDCP, I think your only option may be Component to DVI-A, if it supports that. Though there are also Component to DVI-D solutions I think. If you use component, you don't need HDCP for 720p.

I found this page, on which the 29.99 PS3 Component to VGA cable seems to be the cheapest solution:

http://www.thegametrain.com/blog/2008/02/playing-high-def-playstation-3-on-vga.html

 

[infinity4]

And then there is another problem with resolutions unfortunately. I don't think the monitor supports fixed aspect ratio, which means nice HD images will be stretched vertically.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

I got another problem, the PS3 doesnt want to upscale to my native res (768p or whatever the most common LCD resolution is) through HDMI. My X360 does :\

 

[Arwin]

I got another problem, the PS3 doesnt want to upscale to my native res (768p or whatever the most common LCD resolution is) through HDMI. My X360 does :\

That's weird? I mean I actually think that is normal for the PS3, but I didn't realise that there are TVs that don't do this. Are you sure you didn't disable this option in your settings somewhere?

 

[NVNDA]

hmm.. PS3 outputs 480p, 720p, 1080i/p @ 24hz and 60hz.

Like the PS2, it is not PC monitor friendly in the least. Unfortunately I would say the best setup for someone with a PS3 is two monitors. The internal scaler is pretty nasty.

For games, a 720p 1:1 pixel mapping display
For Blu-ray a 1080p 1:1 pixel mapping display

 

[Arwin]

There are enough monitors with decent scalers. I really don't think there are ANY decent setups to think of for the PS3 that involve TWO monitors!

For the ideal circumstances, a 1080p or higher monitor with a decent scaler is plenty. If a game doesn't support 1080p or the upscaling it uses sucks, then you just stick to 720p and let the monitor upscale, and use 1080p for everything else.

It would be helpful though if more games allow you to choose the resolution in-game, like GT5 Prologue for instance.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I'm actually in a comfortable position regards upscaling...I don't care! Sure, in theory everything will look best with 1:1 pixel mapping, but it's a mess and isn't going to happen. It's not like pixels are being rendered 1:1 anyway. And they weren't last gen a lot of the time, but no-one grumbled because no-one knew. What you don't know can't hurt you! Ignorance is bliss! As long as it looks good on screen, I don't care what's upscaling or not! The only downside is for Linux, what will text look like without 1:1? On a 1680x1050, it'll be getting upscaled, so could be a bit fuzzy.

Definitely settled on the Sammy SM3023MW now. It even has 16:9 letterboxing to maintain aspect. Seems like a monitor/TV that covers everything a user could want, developed with experience of the problems owners encounter in the uses they have. One display for all functions suits me perfectly.

 

[JNewt427]

Been there too shifty with a monitor that did not support HDCP, Some SOYO's are also lack HDCP. I ended up buying a cheap 22" SCEPTRE which works great and displays at full 1080p.

DVI looks way better to me than VGA does though, I made the mistake of buying different ccables trying to get a non compliant HDCP monitor to work with no luck. IMO With DVI the picture looks more crisp.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

That's weird? I mean I actually think that is normal for the PS3, but I didn't realise that there are TVs that don't do this. Are you sure you didn't disable this option in your settings somewhere?

The TV is ofcourse able to upscale by itself, but it would be much better if one could set the resolution to your own native TV res, as i think the PS3 is better at upscaling than the TV

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Actually the PS3's upscaling system seems to be very simplistic IIRC. If your TV supports 1:1 pixel mapping, the little border would probably be the best choice. Otherwise chances are the upscaling on the set is no worse than PS3's and you're not missing anything.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

Actually the PS3's upscaling system seems to be very simplistic IIRC. If your TV supports 1:1 pixel mapping, the little border would probably be the best choice. Otherwise chances are the upscaling on the set is no worse than PS3's and you're not missing anything.

Thats good to know, will use that then. Its just that i really spotted a difference when i switched from 720p to 768p on the X360 with a VGA cable, figured it might be the same here.

 

[Arwin]

Unlike the 360, the PS3 doesn't seem to have a dedicated scaler chip. It's a pity.

 

[shiznit]

http://www.hdfury.com/

Kind of pricy, but it will work. You can even watch 1080p Blu-Ray through VGA. I'm thinking about getting one for the GDM-FW900 as soon as I buy a PS3.

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

Unlike the 360, the PS3 doesn't seem to have a dedicated scaler chip. It's a pity.

Was that sarcasm?

I thought the whole 360 has a dedicated scaler chip was debunked (ANA and HANA are just video output chips). The 360 uses the GPU (Lanczos Interpolation algorithm?) to upscale images.

Plus, I thought it has been confirmed that the PS3 has a horizontal scaler chip.

 

[betan]

Was that sarcasm?

I thought the whole 360 has a dedicated scaler chip was debunked (ANA and HANA are just video output chips). The 360 uses the GPU (Lanczos Interpolation algorithm?) to upscale images.

Doesn't matter whether it's a dedicated chip or not, his point is 360 has free (or practically free), possibly developer transparent scaling while PS3 does not. I don't agree it's an issue though.

Plus, I thought it has been confirmed that the PS3 has a horizontal scaler chip.

I haven't seen any confirmation.