1080p & optical cable or 1080i & PCM

[Furley_Ghost]

My receiver only passes through a 1080i signal through the hdmi with PCM. Or I plug the PS3 directly to the tv with the hdmi, and an optical cable to the receiver. I've found that the only way for me to have 1080p with PCM, is with a $600 video processor. I don't want to spend that much, so I'm wondering which set up is going to give me the best overall performance? What's better to lose, 1080p or PCM?

[SlmShdy1]

Using the equipment in your sig, you can get both 1080p and PCM. I don't understand why you would only be getting a 1080i signal from your receiver. Are all resolutions checked under the Display Settings in your PS3?

[Furley_Ghost]

Originally Posted by SlmShdy1

Using the equipment in your sig, you can get both 1080p and PCM. I don't understand why you would only be getting a 1080i signal from your receiver. Are all resolutions checked under the Display Settings in your PS3?

My receiver has a hdmi 1.1 chip, and will not pass through the 1080p signal. When you check 1080p on the ps3 the screen will go blank. I hear the processor I need will split the connection and send the audio with a blank 720p video signal to the receiver, and a separate full signal to the tv.

[BIslander]

You can test this yourself now. Do you notice any audio or video differences between the two connections?

1080i and 1080p should look the same from a 1080p source like Blu-ray, although the interlacing/deinterlacing processes in the player and display can produce differences.

While using HDMI from the PS3 to the sound system will give you lossless audio, the DTS core and companion DD 5.1 tracks on Blu-ray also sound great. They are encoded at higher bitrates than the same tracks on DVD. You may not find that lossless sounds any better.

[syncguy]

I would choose 1080P direct to the TV set vis HDMI and 5.1DTS-core/5.1DD to the reciver via optical. 1080i could show up deinterlacing artifacts. Check this with fast moving action scenes. As said previously, better to check the difference in lossy optical and loss less HDMI audio.

[Furley_Ghost]

I've tested it out and it's really hard to tell the difference either way. I have a lot of movies but hardly ever get around to watching them, so since PS3 games are mostly 720p I might keep it with the PCM option for awhile.