HD Tv's V's HD Ready LCD TV's ....Are we getting the full story ?

dak

Hi All.

I recently purchased a Samsung 26" Hd ready TV and a week later a Samsung 40" Full Hd TV. Don't get me wrong both are terrific TV's but there was a but which I personally wasn't made aware of when I bought the 40". When you read through the instruction booklet you find that the best picture on the 40" is only through a component cable ! The HDMI for this 40" didn't give a resolution better than 576p at 60hz. I had trouble getting the TV to select component via a PS3 and it was only when I disconnected the HDMI in the PS3 select menu that it finally defaulted to the component and I got 1080i.

My question to any of you techies out there is why I can't get 1080p instead of 1080i . The manual does say you get 1080p through component ! The TV is a Samsung LE40M87 ! I am using a branded Sony PS3 component cable !

Also ! This Tv has a CI interface slot ! Can this be used in Ireland ? I know topuptv in the UK supply cards but only for the uk ?

ongarite

I would be seriously surprised if the HDMI input on your Samsung TV doesn't support 720, 1080p.
Anyway the PS3 will only display up to 1080i through component. 1080p is only available through HDMI. This is due to HDCP copy protection rules.

Have you connected by HDMI and let it auto-sense, select its available resolutions?

mathias

Interesting , Ive never seen a TV with Limited capability on the HDMI , what model is it exactly ?

What I have seen , because it happened with my first PS3 , was a fault in the PS3 HDMI circuitry whereby it couldnt do HD , that might be whats going on here , I got mine replaced , no questions asked !!

dak

Ongarite/Mathias,

Thank you for your replies! Ongarite the modekl is a Samsung LE40M87BDX/XEU and the manual states on page 4 that the max supported modes on HDMI/DVI 50hz is 576i, on HDMI/DVI 60hz is 576p and component only 1080p.( Nothing else on component)

I am getting 1080i on PS3 games and 720x 576 on blu ray discs all through component . If you are right about HDCP laws and that 1080p is only obtained throught HDMI then the manual is misleading and this TV should not be sold as full HD 1080p. It does look like limited capability on HDMI !

I did explain to the sales assistant that I wanted full HD and did mention that I would use a PS3 as the Blu Ray dvd player for the moment ( until Sony etc come down in price) Samsung have a new model out in Harvey Normans for 449 V's 469 for a sony 300 Blu-Ray ( Down from 500+). A Harvey Norman Salesman was going to give me a Samsung Blu Ray for 399 but I resisted for the moment !

Very interesting ! I await any of your views/ research on this model !

byte

I've read that manual, and I've worked out the opposite!

HDMI's support everything except 480i and 576i. HDMI @60Hz doesn't support 480p and HDMI @50Hz doesn't support 576p.

I've read the chart, where X's mean No, and O's mean Yes.

It's also mentioned on the PC section of the manual, whereby it supports VESA 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 and 1920x1080, at 60Hz, all through HDMI

mathias

I totally agree , Just downloaded the manual and it supports all the HD resolutions over HDMI , doesnt do interlaced at 480 or 576 but does progressive at both those resolutions , if you cant get a signal then something is wrong ,

But just to be clear , it does support all those resolutions over HDMI and it should work. If it doesnt , you have a faulty piece of equipment.

dak

Thanks guys! I was reading the 0's to mean no and the X's to mean yes based on my experience to date with this TV.

That said could the HDMI cable affect the outcome or as I thought with digital it was all or nothing ? The cable is a gamestop 1.3 compatible HDMI ( so it says on the packaging)

Thinking about what you have said about the PS3 limited to 1080i , does that mean I have to fork out for a full blown Blu ray player to get the 1080p quality . PS3 forums seem to suggest all Blu-ray discs played on PS3 only run at 720p. I get 1080i on Ps3 games only!

Thanks again for your replies

ongarite

As mathias will say a HDMI cable is a HDMI cable. No such thing as 1080p version or whatever.
If you go to PS3 XMB & Settings, Display Settings. Then select HDMI, then press Automatic; what resolutions does it come back with.
576p should be grey, 720p, 1080i, 1080p should be selected.
If you do custom, you should be able to select 720p, 1080i and 1080p. It'll then test these settings to see if your TV supports them. If not, it'll return to previous settings.

dak

ongarite wrote: »

As mathias will say a HDMI cable is a HDMI cable. No such thing as 1080p version or whatever.
If you go to PS3 XMB & Settings, Display Settings. Then select HDMI, then press Automatic; what resolutions does it come back with.
576p should be grey, 720p, 1080i, 1080p should be selected.
If you do custom, you should be able to select 720p, 1080i and 1080p. It'll then test these settings to see if your TV supports them. If not, it'll return to previous settings.

I understantd A HDMI cable is a HDMI cable . Just don't know if you can have a faulty one ! I tried that previously ! The screen went blank and reverted back to 576 settings. I only got 1080i on component when I had HDMI and component and composite all connected and pulled the HDMI lead out when I hit test. It kept coming up with a message "mode not supported " otherwise!

mathias

That said could the HDMI cable affect the outcome or as I thought with digital it was all or nothing ? The cable is a gamestop 1.3 compatible HDMI ( so it says on the packaging)

Thinking about what you have said about the PS3 limited to 1080i , does that mean I have to fork out for a full blown Blu ray player to get the 1080p quality . PS3 forums seem to suggest all Blu-ray discs played on PS3 only run at 720p. I get 1080i on Ps3 games only!

The HDMI cable either works or it doesnt , if it works at all at any resolution then its fine , and its not likely to be the cable causing the issue.

The PS3 can do full HD 1920 x 1080 @ 24 Fps with deep color and HD audio if the title had it , theres nothing it cant do blu ray wise , it has no limitations in that respect when it comes to blu ray or games , its true that most games are in 720p at the moment , but thats the titles and nothing to do with the console.

It is possible that either the PS3 or the TV is faulty however , like I said , I had that problem with my first PS3 ,
Try what Ongarite said , if you dont see the options then try another PS3 if you can , to try and rule out the TV.
Its worth re-setting the PS3 to defaults /factory settings , and then try a fresh setup from there , it may be holding data from a previous set-up , maybe your other TV , that could be whats causing this.

It does look like something is faulty though , assuming that the set up is correct.

ongarite

You don't have the HDMI and component leads connected from PS3 to TV at the same time do you? or am I just reading it wrong..

mathias

Actually , just checked , read this here , if your PS3 was on another TV then this could well be the problem , heres a quote ,

Moving your PLAYSTATION 3 to another television

PLAYSTATION 3 remembers the display settings you give it. If you are moving your PS3 between an SD and an HD TV, you may find you have a blank screen. Simply reset your PLAYSTATION 3 to restore the default SD setting in the following way: turn off the PLAYSTATION 3 system then press and hold the power button for approximately 5 seconds until you hear a beep. You can then use the Settings category in the XMB to configure your Display settings manually.

http://ie.playstation.com/help-support/ps3/guides/detail/item48647/Connecting-to-your-TV/

dak

mathias wrote: »

The HDMI cable either works or it doesnt , if it works at all at any resolution then its fine , and its not likely to be the cable causing the issue.

The PS3 can do full HD 1920 x 1080 @ 24 Fps with deep color and HD audio if the title had it , theres nothing it cant do blu ray wise , it has no limitations in that respect when it comes to blu ray or games , its true that most games are in 720p at the moment , but thats the titles and nothing to do with the console.

It is possible that either the PS3 or the TV is faulty however , like I said , I had that problem with my first PS3 ,
Try what Ongarite said , if you dont see the options then try another PS3 if you can , to try and rule out the TV.
Its worth re-setting the PS3 to defaults /factory settings , and then try a fresh setup from there , it may be holding data from a previous set-up , maybe your other TV , that could be whats causing this.

It does look like something is faulty though , assuming that the set up is correct.

Thanks Mathias,

I did get 1920 X1080i @ 50hz on Mel Gibsons "Apocalypto" and the forest scenes were amazing. I'm probabley being a bit pedantic over the 1080p issue just because the TV is meant to have it but that aside I have to say the graphics and colour were faultless and one of the best TV pictures I have seen in a while

All in the PS3 as a stop gap medium is great and from what I've heard Blu- ray players are much slower to load due to lack of a gaming chip!

PS: I did do a factory reset on the PS3...didn't dedect 1080p ! Will borrow my sons friends PS3 and test it on this set!

dak

ongarite wrote: »

You don't have the HDMI and component leads connected from PS3 to TV at the same time do you? or am I just reading it wrong..

I did at one stage!

dak

mathias wrote: »

Actually , just checked , read this here , if your PS3 was on another TV then this could well be the problem , heres a quote ,




http://ie.playstation.com/help-support/ps3/guides/detail/item48647/Connecting-to-your-TV/

I did the hold and reset but it didn't seem to make any difference! Never got the 1080 i or p on HDMI until I plugged in component cables !

ongarite

If you do a display reset with only the HDMI plugged in, what resolution does it set the PS3 at? I assume on the Samsung remote, there is some info button giving AV input, resolution setting?
Did you try the custom setting on HDMI also and see if 720p or 1080p worked?

Edit: The PS3 should beep twice if you hold the power button when turning on PS3.