PS3 with Westy 42"... won't play Blu Rays

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

I'm really confused. Just hooked up a PS3 to my HT setup. PS3 feeds a/v through HDMI to my receiver, which is a Pioneer Elite 81 and has HDMI 1.2. It the video then goes to the TV through HDMI again, while audio goes to the speakers. The TV is a 42" Westinghouse LCD.

Whenever I pop in a Blu Ray disc, the TV loses the video but the audio comes through. I'm not sure why... I've checked the settings on the PS3 under "display" and "blu ray playback" and everything is in order.

I also have an HD DVD player hooked up and it plays just fine, also hooked up via HDMI to receiver; HDMI again to TV. If it was an HDCP issue, wouldn't the HD DVD player not play either? Everything else on the PS3 works fine. My SACD's come through wonderfully; the PS3 games are top-notch.

But I don't know why I can't get video from the Blu Ray disc.

Anyone have a PS3 and a Westy TV and know of any issues? As far as I know my TV is HDCP whatever?

 

[venkman]

Do you have the latest firmware for the PS3? The PS3 has some known HDCP handshake issues. First i'd try to hook the PS3 straight to the TV and see if that solves the issues. If that fixes the issue then that would point to a problem with the Elite. FWIW I never had a problem hooking up my PS3 straight to my 42w2. If that isn't the case I'd try switching around the order you turn on devices. It sounds weird, but sometimes it helps the HDCP handshake go through when an HDCP poor devices is powered and running before the others.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Thanks for the ideas, I'm off to try them now. So you are able to watch Blu Ray movies then, with the PS3 and 42w2?

edit: IT WORKED! All I did was, turn the PS3 on before the receiver, and it solved the problem. I've never solved a handshake issue that way before; it's good to have another tool in the bag of tricks with this HDMI business. Thanks for the help! Nice avatar btw.

 

[venkman]

Glad to help. Which firmware revision is your Westy 42w2?

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

I'm not sure which firmware I have on the TV. Is there a way to check, and is that something that can be updated if necessary?

Anyway, my success at having resolved this problem is short-lived. After some experimentation, I can ONLY get a Blu Ray disc to play by inserting the disc; turning off the PS3; swapping HDMI cables so the PS3 sends video straight to the TV; turning on the PS3. After this, the movie will play. I can then swap HDMI cables again so that it runs through my receiver and then to the TV and the movie still plays. And under all circumstances, if I stop the movie (i.e. back out to the PS3 system menu) and try to play it again, no dice. I have to repeat the above steps again.

Oh yeah, the PS3 is updated to version 1.8.

I also discovered that running in 1080p causes artifacts on my display. I tried tweaking all the display settings on the PS3 (Full RGB on HDMI, Super-White setting or whatever it is, etc.) and it made no difference until I forced 1080i and the artifacts cleared up. The artifacts happen both on the blu ray movie and even on the PS3's own menus. The artifacts are essentially specks of random color that flash anywhere on the screen; usually the flecks are blue if the onscreen colors are dark; and on lighter colors the specks are white. Further, the specks generally attempt to contour to shapes of the same color. For instance, the blu Ray movie I'm playing with is Pirates of the Caribbean 2; and I'll see the specks along the edges of the ship's mast, or outlining that bald guy's head. I know the TV is 1080p; the movie is 1080p; my receiver handles 1080p. I'm stumped... all I can think is that maybe I have an inferior HDMI cable that just can't move the data fast enough? I am sure its not the movie disc itself because the PS3 menus do the same thing.

But at any rate, with a bit of fudging I can get a disc to play at 1080i and it's still pretty damn sharp. I just wish I could figure out why the hassle and the artifacts.

 

[jkresh]

do you get the same artifacts if you directly connect the ps3 to the tv or only if you switch back to the receiver? Also the reason you are having the hassle is you are booting up the ps3 with it connected to the tv to handshake with the tv, then moving the cable to the receiver, the ps3 never successfully handshakes with the receiver you just trick it into playing through it. You might be better off just using the hdmi directly to the tv and optical to the receiver for audio (I know its a kludge but its better then having to switch cables every time you start a movie).

 

[venkman]

That artifcating is an issue with earlier firmware revisions of the 42w2 which is why I asked about your firmware. It only seems to occur with running at 1080p over HDMI. Running at 1080i or running HDMI to DVI will not produce those sparklies. The latest firmware fixes the issue but there is no way to user upgrade the firmware. The only way to do this is to either send the unit back to Westinghouse (They'll cover shipping and the repair if the unit is under warranty) or ask them if there is a Westinghouse certified Tech is in your area to perform the upgrade (Westy will cover his fee under warranty). If you bought from Best Buy and have their extended warranty, they will probably be willing to replace the TV flat out for you as they did for me.

Considering the on and off nature of your original problem, you are dealing with an HDCP issue. Worst case scenario if you can't get the HDCP figured is that you can run component cables to the TV and the HDMI cable to the AVR to take advantage of the HD Audio formats. It won't up convert SD DVDs but the Westy does accept 1080p via Component.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Originally posted by: jkresh
do you get the same artifacts if you directly connect the ps3 to the tv or only if you switch back to the receiver? Also the reason you are having the hassle is you are booting up the ps3 with it connected to the tv to handshake with the tv, then moving the cable to the receiver, the ps3 never successfully handshakes with the receiver you just trick it into playing through it. You might be better off just using the hdmi directly to the tv and optical to the receiver for audio (I know its a kludge but its better then having to switch cables every time you start a movie).

Thanks for the reply. Regarding the artifacts, they happen regardless of whether the receiver is in the loop or not; the only thing that makes them go away is not running in 1080p.

I would like to directly connect the PS3 to the TV, but I only have one HDMI input on the TV and it's already occupied by the other peripherals which my receiver converts to HDMI out. It isn't a problem sending audio over a toslink from the PS3. But regarding that one HDMI input, I wonder if an HDMI splitter would help? So I can have my HDMI out from the receiver, and the HDMI out from the PS3, combine into one on its way to the TV?