And so the PS3 HDMI-related problems start. At least for one dude. CheapyD at CheapAssGamer reports that he's been having issues using the PLAYSTATION 3's and an HDMI-capable TV. Here's the part that concerns me: Cheapy and I have the same plasma, Panasonic's Viera. Yet, I haven't hooked up HDMI cables. According to him:

Although everything seemed ok when I was navigating the PS3 menus, once I launched a game, my TV (Panasonic Plasma TH42PX500) would lose the video signal and would not respond for a few moments. Upon regaining control of the TV, if I cycled through my TV's video inputs and came back to HDMI, I would regain the picture. The same problem occured with DVD movies.

However, when he switched to component cables, he didn't experience any of this weird blacking out. He found a work-around at the AVS Forum, which included this solution:

• Turn on TV and set input to HDMI port being used.
• Make sure PS3 is connected via HDMI.
• Power on PS3 via power button and HOLD IT for 5 seconds (release after the second beep). It should automatically configure your PS3 to the TV's native resolution for all settings.

That worked. But, then things got strange and Cheapy now had an audio prob.

When the auto-setup for HDMI is used, the PS3 is configured to use HDMI for both video and audio. Like most, Cheapy says he needs to use optical audio out of his PS3 to connect to his surround sound system. This is, changing the console's audio settings to optical out killed the auto-setup and made it impossible for him to run HDMI video and make use of the optical audio output! Writes Cheapy:

Since I am relying on the auto-setup for HDMI, this is a pretty big issue, as I can't run Dolby Digital audio.

It seems like this would be a pretty easy fix via a firmware upgrade. I guess the question is, how many PS3 owners will be affected and how soon will a fix be available?

This might be a PS3 issue. A TV issue. Or just an issue. Discuss. Brian Ashcraft

Cheapy's Prob [CAG]

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