PS3 DVD-Audio Playback

Silvia2112

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Nov 14, 2007
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I have been searching - and whether not here or I am just stupid - I cannot find any audio answers for the PS3. I am interested in buying one as a movie player primarily, games second, and audio playback third.

I cannot find a straight answer whether the PS3 plays DVD-audio. I will never play cd's but I do have a few dvd-a releases from Porcupine Tree and Rush that I want to play once in a while.

Anyone out there play dvd-a via optical or hdmi?

Oh - and how is the dvd upconversion?
 
The PS3 does not play DVD-Audio. Same for all Sony products. They back the competing format, SACD. The PS3 could probably play DVD-A with a firmware update, since it can at least theoretically do Total HD, but we'll never see it. Coke does not sell Pepsi products. I use a separate JVC DVD player, just for my DVD-As. But keep in mind, most DVD-A releases will have a DTS track on them also, so you'll be able to listen to that on your PS3. Or so I've read. Never tried it myself.

Yes, it's been posted and discussed here in other threads. Yes, "the search button is your friend" but it's not a very useful friend.

Very good at upconversion, and there are rumors there will be further upconversion enhancements down the road. I just watched an upconversion yesterday, and it was so good it concerned me- makes it less likely people will spring for Blu-ray.
 
I suspect if it was supported the capability would be easier to find :(

This old thread (thanks Google) seems to indicate no DVD-A for PS3: PS3 DVD/CD playback - AVForums

Though, it's kinda old, and the DVD audio stuff is not something im all that familiar with.

[edit: the all knowing navychop provided the proper info while i was typing this ;)]
 
Just spending WAY too much of my life at this site! ;)
 
.

Very good at upconversion, and there are rumors there will be further upconversion enhancements down the road. I just watched an upconversion yesterday, and it was so good it concerned me- makes it less likely people will spring for Blu-ray.

Funny you should say that. I was at Best Buy today selecting a DVD that came free with my purchase of TaxCut software (up to $20 value). All the specially priced $19.95 BDs advertised this week were out, so my GF encouraged me to just get a standard DVD stating that they looked just as good upconverted on my PS3. I ended up with the Blades of Glory/Anchorman standard DVD pack (hopefully the last standard DVD I ever buy!).
 
So let me understand this - the PS3 will upconvert standard DVD's? I thought it was a BD only player. If it does, this is great news. Now, the question is for those who know, the PS3 remote controls I see at Circuit City - are they pretty good?
 
If you get the latest firmware - the PS3 will upconvert standard dvd's. Here is clip discussing the process:

Before yesterday's firmware update, the PlayStation 3 couldn't upscale
standard-definition DVDs to high-def resolutions--a once high-end
feature that's now built-in to nearly all DVD players with HDMI
outputs. But what's the real benefit of upscaling (or upconverting, as
it's also known)? Despite some of the marketing hype claiming that
upscaling will make your DVDs appear in true high-def quality, the
increase in picture quality will never come close to matching that of
native HD material (HDTV broadcasts, HD DVD, and Blu-ray). Moreover,
the video quality improvement is completely dependent on how good the
upscaling and deinterlacing technology in your TV already is. Every
HDTV is already capable of upscaling and deinterlacing; the only
benefit an upscaling DVD player can bring to the table is to do it
better. In some cases, the difference is easily discernible. In
others, it's much more subtle. Ultimately, an upscaling DVD player
might be able to make your DVDs look better, but the difference will
be worth it only to "critical viewers" who pay close attention to
image quality.

As the PS3 formerly did a pretty poor job of just deinterlacing DVD to
480p, there was a lot of room for improvement. We put the PS3 through
Silicon Optix's HQV test suite in 1080p mode on our Pioneer Pro-FHD1
reference display. For the most part, we were satisfied. It passed the
initial resolution test, which means it can display the full
resolution of DVDs. The next tests didn't go as well. For example, we
saw artifacts on third line on the test with three shifting lines.
We've seen better performance on this test on players with HQV
processing, such as the Toshiba HD-XA2, or even with the older Denon
DVD-3910. On the other hand, the PS3 did a decent job with a waving
flag, as there were definitely some slightly noticeable jaggies, but
we've seen worse. It did even better on the 2:3 pulldown processing
test, as it kicked into film mode almost immediately.

Test patterns performance is fine for the lab, but we also took a look
at some actual movies. The introduction to Seabiscuit can be difficult
for some players, but the PS3 handled it well, with only a few slight
artifacts--occasionally we could see some flashing behavior in the old
photos as the camera panned over them. We also watched a bit of King
Kong, which looked fantastic (as it does on almost all DVD players).

The bottom line is that the PS3's upscaling is pretty good, although
it doesn't compare to top-of-the-line players such as the Oppo
DV-981HD or the new high-def disc players with HQV processing, such as
the Samsung BD-P1200 and the Toshiba HD-XA2. On the other hand, the
PS3's DVD performance is definitely a big step up from that of the
Xbox 360 Elite. In the final analysis, when you consider that
upscaling is just one of the many functions of the PS3, we think the
performance is pretty impressive.

Another resolution issue worthy of note: it appears the 1.80 firmware
update has fixed the 720p issue on the PS3 (the system would
downconvert games and movies to 480p on HDTVs that couldn't handle
1080i or 1080p resolutions). Post-update, we were able to play a DVD
movie, a Blu-ray movie, and a game (Motorstorm), all at 720p
resolution. That'll be welcome news for the legions of TV owners whose
sets have 720p native resolution.
 
I'm not really concerned about upconversion, although from the article it sounds like it does a passable job. What I didn't know was that a standard DVD could be played on a PS3. I thought it could only do BD and PS3 games. Thanks for the info Silvia2112 (is that an old Rush reference?)
 
Yes - I have been on a life long mission to subject as many people to Rush as possible! :)

That is the main reason for this post. I have 1 Rush, 1 Dream Theater, 1 Ayreon and 3 Porcupine Tree DVD-A releases. I don't listen to them often - but don't really want to lose the ability. It looks like the PS3 can't handle the playback. I understand the whole SACD vs. DVD-A format war - but both have lost and will never be mainstream so why not make all players play both?
 
Moving Pictures was my Rush moment in high school, although I have been to two of their concerts over in Shreveport - both back in the 1980's. For DVD-Audio I love my Steely Dan DVD-A's. And the first Blue Man Group DVD-A is not bad either.

Now I'm going to majorly hijack this thread. In order for me to get the updates on my PS3, I'm going to have to bring it to work and one afternoon after work, Hook it up to our widescreen TV and connect it to the internet. First, I don't want to have to get behind my TV at home and unplug the thing - I want to get an extra power cord to keep at work (and use the AV cord that came with it). Where can I pick one up? Second, once I get it connected, does it automatically go to the PSN? I don't have an account created yet, so does it ask me to create one? Do updates download automatically?
 
To answer an earlier question... if you plan on using the PS3 to watch a lot of BDs, DVDs, or (less so) listen to CDs, I find the Sony PS3 remote for $20 at CC to be pretty indispensible. It's Bluetooth, so on the one hand range and physical obstacles are no problem, on the other, you can't program its functions into a learning universal remote.

For the most part, connecting online and downloading updates has been pretty automatic (you'll get prompted), but if not, you may have to fish around in the settings menus. I don't think you need a PSN account to download updates, just an internet connection. You may also be able to download the updates from the Playstation Web site on to a flash drive so you don't have to drag your PS3 into work. Someone else here may know more about that.
 
correct me if i am wrong, but i thought you could download the updates on the web, burn them to a disk and load them on the PS3... again i could be on some delusional drugs.. but i thought an option on the PS3 is to either download or load from disk.
 
You certainly can. I did it yesterday for mine. Went from version 1.91 to 2.10 using my USB flash. I downloaded the update on the website at work and installed it last night. Instructions are clear and its easy to do.
 
Then I gather you will no longer need to schlep your PS3 to the office?
 
You are exactly right my friend. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get the nifty trailers and stuff downloaded too.
 

Launch day XBox 360 finally bricks itself...

iTunes/iPhoto streaming to your Xbox 360 and now the PS3. Yes!

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