PS3 blu ray on 720p plasma questions

[jlohojo7]

I am thinking about getting a PS3 but just wondering how the blu-ray would look on my samsung plasma ? its only a couple months old but only 720p. does it look any better then regular dvds? anyone input would be appreciated.

joe

[admin]

I can finally qualify answering this question because I just got a PS3 a few days ago, and it's now connected to my 720p plasma through HDMI.

All I can say is that you will not regret it, since the playback quality is simply superb. And I'm not just talking about Blu-ray (which looks fantastic on a 720p), but the upscaled DVD playback is great too - makes me want to watch some of the movies in my collection all over again just to appreciate the better picture quality. But the Blu-ray details are simple amazing, although I don't think they improve the overall movie viewing experience that much since it's the script and acting, not how sharp objects appear, that makes good movies. I've had my plasma for 3 years already, and I think it's the first time I've seen it at it's full potential (I have the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, but it doesn't have HDMI output so the picture wasn't as good as the PS3 through HDMI).

Being in the US, you should get a great deal for the PS3 (look around for deals that gets you up to 10 free movies). And in case you are worried about not being able to play HD DVD movies (Shrek The Third, Transformers ...), it might not be totally expensive to pick up a HD DVD standalone while you are at it - for $190 with up to 10 free movies, you can get an 1080i player (the Toshiba HD-A3 from Amazon) - there's no need for 1080p unless your TV is 1080p (and even then, you probably don't need it). If you do this, you'll be able to enjoy every single high def movie out on the market (no need to worry about the stupid format wars), not bad for a $600 to $800 investment (that includes 15 to 20 free movies while you are at it). Normally I would recommend waiting for dual format players, but with the sales going on and the high price of dual format players, separate players are the way to go.

[jlohojo7]

thanks alot you just sold me. The best deal I have found is @ sonystyle.com where they are throwing in a free wireless controller. that in itself is a $50 value.

jj

[admin]

The only deal going around at the moment (at least on amazon.com and wal-mart.com) seems to be the 40 GB PS3 with Spider-Man 3 for $399 (plus the 5 free movies by redemption as per usual).

[BR7]

I don't think that wireless controller deal is exclusive to Sonystyle.When I got my 80GB PS3 this week it came with a wireless controller and I got it at Kmart.I have to agree with admin that the PS3 upscaler makes DVDs look real good.Being I don't have 1080p my PS3 will play them at 1080i on my TV.I also took advantage of the 5 free Blu-ray movies that bluraysavings.com is offering I sent it out in the mail today

[admin]

Just wanted to add that if you are serious about using the PS3 as your primary DVD/Blu-ray player (this is what I have done), then getting the Blu-ray remote might be a good thing. The official Sony one is the one you want, although there are cheaper ones, but they don't do the job as well.

And if you want to find some PS3 bargains, you might have to look around your local area to see if they are running any specials. There is now a deal on walmart.com for:

* PS3 with wireless controller
* An additional wireless controller
* A Blu-ray movie from a few dozen selected titles
* Two PS3 games out of a dozen selected titles
* All for: $579.46

I don't think this is the best value though, since for the extra $180, you can probably buy all of these "extras" at retail price.

[jlohojo7]

I went ahead a got one @ buy.com 40gig plus and extra controller for all shipped for like 425. no tax or shipping plus a $10 coupon i found online.

Not the best deal in the work but if i would of went to Bestbuy here in town it would of been 400 plus tax 440 plus 50 for controller.

jj

[BR7]

Congrats and the buy jl you will not regret it

[TNT]

I just got a PS3 and had it hooked up to a Vizio 37" 720P.

The interesting thing is that it looked better being fed 1080p (Yes it can accept it although the manual states only 1080i compatiblility) than 720p. Since I saw a difference between 720p and 1080p on a 720, I upgraded to a 40" 1080p Sony and it is even better! The PS3 is a GREAT DVD player. I can see details on DVD's I never saw before. It upscales to 1080p and is one of the best scaling dvd players out there. I think this Walmart deal for a bonus remote and game is a pretty good deal.

[admin]

I too find that sometimes if you feed a higher res input than the TV's native input, you get a better quality picture. This is probably because your TV's scaler is quite good and better than the way the PS3 deals with scaling. Obviously, to really show it off, a native 1080p screen will do it since there's no scaling involved anymore at any stage (from disc straight to screen).

[BR7]

I to will be getting a 32" Vizio Well in my other thread I stated that I got a Olevia 32" LCDHDTV but it had a buzzing speaker, well rather then fixing it they said they'll exchange it long story short I get it home and turn it on and nothing happens Well I took #2 back yesterday and got a refund I will be picking my Vizio tomorrow after I get my check

[TNT]

I too find that sometimes if you feed a higher res input than the TV's native input, you get a better quality picture. This is probably because your TV's scaler is quite good and better than the way the PS3 deals with scaling. Obviously, to really show it off, a native 1080p screen will do it since there's no scaling involved anymore at any stage (from disc straight to screen).

I thnk that it is the opposite. I think the PS3's scaler is better than the TV's. One possible reason that a 1080p feed into a 720p set looks better than a 720p signal is because many 720p sets are actually 768x1366. Therefore, a 720p signal actually has to be scalled up, while a 1080p is scaled down. Just my theory.

[admin]

It all depends on your TV's scaler though. Some TVs are advertised as superior scaling chips, and you'll find that these will have great looking picture whether you feed it 720p or 1080i. The really poor scalers actually take a 1080i signal, turn it into 540p and then scale up to 720p, which is why sometimes 1080i inputs look worse than 720p inputs.

Also, this article about 1366x768 is interesting and sheds a few lights on why many panels don't use 1280x720 resolution:

http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/04/21/whats-the-deal-with-1366-x-768/

[jlohojo7]

well my PS3 arrives today (according to my tracking number) so I am really excited it should make a nice addition to my 360 and wii.

I have a samsung 50" plasma only a couple months old that is only capable of 720p. So what you are saying is that I should set my PS3 to 1080p and even though my tv is only 720 it will look better ? I am still a little confused here is guess ??

[admin]

Does you TV accept 1080p? If so, it might be worth a test to see which looks better, 720p or 1080i/p (1080i and 1080p should look identical for film content for most TVs).

It all depends on the TV, and the best way to tell is still a visual test.