Question about PS3 speed after change from RCA to HDMI?

[CraftRoyalPSN]

So this is my first post here on the forums. I don't know if there's a sub forum for questions like this, so this is where I assumed was the place to go, but if possible can it be moved to general support please? Here we go:

I was given a 500GB blue PS3 Super Slim for Christmas, as well as a disc copy of GT6, both delivered by GameStop. The one thing I noticed after I opened it was that it only came with RCA cables (the red yellow and white ones), so the source it shows up as is AV2. I own a Samsung 50" UHD 4K TV, so the picture quality was pretty bad even from a distance and it only had wide-screen display while playing. I wasn't satisfied so I bought an HDMI cable with 27 Gbps and 6K x 4K definition so I could improve the picture quality, as well as Dolby Surround Sound for better sound.

Before I change, GT6 updates to 1.15, which takes over a day to fully complete. It experiences no problems and my game is running fine now, but it downloads so painfully slowly that it seemed it would never complete. I use a 50MBps Internet connection at home.

So my question is this:

Will changing my PS3's connection to HDMI3 make its speed any faster? I know from my local Best Buy Geek Squad that it greatly improves picture definition and speed as well as sound quality to make my gaming experience like no other, but I can't stand waiting an eternity for updates and downloads to finish again. Or maybe is it problems with my Internet connection slowing down? I normally never have problems like this with my Internet speeds and I have had very good experiences with my provider (Consolidated Communications). Can someone give me some insight into what HDMI really does so I know what will happen when I switch out formats? Or should I ask at the PlayStation forums?

 

[AlexMk7]

The video format your PS3 is outputting has nothing to do with the speed if its connection to the internet. Going from 480i or 576i on RCA (depending on which colour encoding system you chose, it doesn't really matter here) to 1080p on HDMI will ask more out of your processor but usually console games are designed to maintain constant frame rates up to the maximum output resolution of the system they are running on so that shouldn't be a problem performance-wise. Back to your internet problem, I think it's probably just a poor wi-fi connection (since you're saying you don't have speed issues with other devices). Somewhere in your PS3's network setup menu you can test your connection and it will give you average upload and download speeds for your current connection. If it's significantly slower than what you would expect, run a wireless network scan, it will give you a percentage representing the signal strength for each network. If that's the issue and you can't improve the strength of the signal by moving your PS3, just plug it in the old fashioned way. I have mine plugged in anyways as wireless connections are subject to interference that can cause them to drop packets which often results in an unstable connection when playing online. Other than that, GT6 updates are usually pretty slow and since you were updating for the first time it would be expected to take a while since it's not only downloading 1.15, but all other updates prior to that (that's why there are 2 progress bars, one for the current update being installed and another for the overall progress). Have you tried downloading anything else on your PS3?

P.S.: Welcome to GTPlanet! , looking forward to racing you in GT6

 

[CraftRoyalPSN]

Other than 1.15 I haven't downloaded anything else yet. Thanks for the invite though, I'm in the novice cups saving for the Shelby (661 HP) and almost have enough to buy it! It'll be a big upgrade from the Honda FIT, but once I buy it we can race! I'm away right now and waiting for news to come from Sony saying PSN is back up since I started PlayStation on Christmas and haven't been able to actually sign up for PSN yet. My ID will be the same as my username. Haven't hooked my PS to HDMI yet because I just bought the cable yesterday and I'm on vacation for New Year's. 2015's going to be a big year for GT6 and I'm excited to see what it's like with HDMI3. Combining 27Gbps and 4K pixels will dominate graphics. So see you around on GT6 and thanks for your help! Happy New Year!

 

[AlexMk7]

Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but no console on the market at the moment can output 4K, it's all 1080p. Might wanna take that HDMI cable back and get the cheapest one you can find; 1080p HDMI cables are all the same. Most of the stuff they tell you are borderline legal marketing hoaxes...

You're welcome! Happy new year to you too!

 

[Bluesman81977]

PSN was gaving difficulties on Christmas and the day after so that could have had something to do with it.

 

[Wide Boy]

Most people seem to have issues with downloading on the PS3, doesn't install that quickly either but its just something you have to live with. I use a aftermarket downloader on my PC & it downloads & installs similar size files in just over a quarter of the time the PS3 takes on the same connection.

 

[AlexMk7]

Most people seem to have issues with downloading on the PS3, doesn't install that quickly either but its just something you have to live with. I use a aftermarket downloader on my PC & it downloads & installs similar size files in just over a quarter of the time the PS3 takes on the same connection.

Does it allow you to download PS3 updates faster and then install them on your PS3?

 

[GregOr1971]

Buying new/better HDMI cable won't change picture quality,since PS3 outputs max 1080 and every HDMI cable supports that.Signal is digital so it really doesn't matter if it has gold plated conectors or this or that .Any standard HDMI cable for 5€ will do good.

About connection > If you got chance and experiencing troubles with wirelles connection , check up/dwnload speeds in XMB > test connection , or try wired connection and see if there is any difference,since as few mentioned ,weak wirelles can be prone to packets loss and that can cause some problems in downloading/online gaming where every packet matters.

Regarding updates. You got fresh install , so there is 15 updates in total size of 7 gig to be downloaded and installed.A week or so ago , It took me 3 h to download and install them all , but with holidays when lots of folks is home ,on PSN and with dDos attacks in past week ,you can expect somehow slower download speeds than on some regular day.Also, PSN doesn't use your full available bandwith ,but it scales speed to their servers bandwith availability.

 

[AlexMk7]

Buying new/better HDMI cable won't change picture quality,since PS3 outputs max 1080 and every HDMI cable supports that.Signal is digital so it really doesn't matter if it has gold plated conectors or this or that .Any standard HDMI cable for 5€ will do good.

About connection > If you got chance and experiencing troubles with wirelles connection , check up/dwnload speeds in XMB > test connection , or try wired connection and see if there is any difference,since as few mentioned ,weak wirelles can be prone to packets loss and that can cause some problems in downloading/online gaming where every packet matters.

Regarding updates. You got fresh install , so there is 15 updates in total size of 7 gig to be downloaded and installed.A week or so ago , It took me 3 h to download and install them all , but with holidays when lots of folks is home ,on PSN and with dDos attacks in past week ,you can expect somehow slower download speeds than on some regular day.Also, PSN doesn't use your full available bandwith ,but it scales speed to their servers bandwith availability.

Do you realize that you have repeated everything I said?

 

[Wide Boy]

Does it allow you to download PS3 updates faster and then install them on your PS3?

No unless there is a way to download the updates on your PC & transfer them.
If there is a site that lets you download game updates for PS3 like you can for virtually any PC game I would use it.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I'd suggest switching to a Cat6 cable and connect directly to the PS3 as opposed to going wireless, if you have trouble staying connected when racing online or are experiencing lag issues when online racing. I know wireless works for some people, but it doesn't work for others. I had all kinds of issues staying connected in GT5, then I changed to a Cat6 cable and all my connection issues disappeared instantly and have never returned.

I read something online about HDMI cables being all the same. This isn't it, but it's along the same lines:
http://www.cnet.com/news/why-all-hdmi-cables-are-the-same/

I've always used Phillips HDMI cables I bought at Walmart. Cheap, heavy duty construction, and they work perfectly. Some of the really, really cheapie cables are very flimsily constructed and I'd stay away from them if you want them to last being plugged and unplugged and beat up and moved around.

 

[Wide Boy]

I agree hook up the PS3 the best way you can to the internet to allow for its shortcomings.
With regards to HDMI cables a friend who knows says the quality does not mater one bit unless you are talking cables over 3metres in length. Its just a ploy to get you to depart with your cash with short cables.

 

[CraftRoyalPSN]

Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but no console on the market at the moment can output 4K, it's all 1080p. Might wanna take that HDMI cable back and get the cheapest one you can find; 1080p HDMI cables are all the same. Most of the stuff they tell you are borderline legal marketing hoaxes...

You're welcome! Happy new year to you too!

I was saying that my TV was 4K UHD and the cable had 27Gbps, so it would make graphics better that way by combining speed and definition. Besides that the cable was $25 at Best Buy and the only brand they sold since I live near a smaller location. Also, I learned some stuff about this from my family since some are gamers and a couple used to work for GameStop; one works for a computer company now, so he knows a lot.

Other than that, that's all I needed to say. Thank goodness I saw it on CNN last night that PSN is back up!! I'll be signing up really soon because there's one game I've wanted for a long time but never had a PlayStation for, and I also want to get to multiplayer racing since I have the 661HP Shelby car now! I'll still be trying to focus on beating Novice first since I have 60K credits still; I'll probably either save it or use it to tune my car. One last thing, is there going to be a New Year's celebration in GT6? I'll be on all day to play in that case. See you there!

 

[AlexMk7]

I was saying that my TV was 4K UHD and the cable had 27Gbps, so it would make graphics better that way by combining speed and definition.

Man... Whoever told you this has no idea what they're talking about. I don't mean to be a jerk, I just don't want you to go around saying nonsense like this, it could reflect badly on you. First, you have to understand that HDMI is an interface for carrying digital audio and video information, meaning that the video and audio signals are sent as a stream of 0s and 1s. Those 0s and 1s are called bits. 27Gbps refers to the number of bits that can flow through your cable per second (in this case 27 billions). This is called bitrate or bandwidth and it may also be given in bytes (symbol: capital B), which is a group of 8 bits. For example 27GBps. The bitrate of the cable, however, is meaningless to you and I because manufacturers have agreed upon, or registered, standards for the digital transmission of audio and video signals. So if the company that makes a cable claims that their cable can do such types of audio (5.1 Dolby, 5.1 LPCM, etc.) and such resolutions (720p, 1080p, 4K, 5K, etc.), they're basically saying that their cable has enough bandwidth to carry the audio and the video formats that require the most bandwidth simultaneously. For example (i'm using arbitrary figures here), if they say their cable does up to 4K video and 7.1 DTS sound, assuming 4K requires 5Gbps and 7.1 DTS requires another 5Gbps, then their cable would need to have a bandwidth of 10Gbps. The only reason they put that number on the package is to market their cable to non-techy people who assume more speed = better. Consumer tech companies are very good at taking advantage of the general public's lack of knowledge...

Now, you also seem to be thinking that a higher resolution display automatically results in better graphics and higher resolution. That is not the case. The video signal you are feeding your TV is being generated by your PS3s graphics processor, which has performance limits. One of those limits is that the maximum resolution it can output is 1080p, so your TV will receive a 1080p signal and display a 1080p image. Also, higher resolution does NOT mean better graphics, it just means higher resolution. Unlike PC games that allow you to tweak the graphics settings in a game, console games have fixed parameters that the developers deemed optimal for that particular console, so everyone gets the same graphics no matter what.

I hope this helps you understand that stuff a little better. I don't think there is a celebration of some sort, they added a new VGT car on Christmas but that's about it. Feel free to send me a PSN friend request, i'll be online tonight so we can go for a few laps around Sierra or the Nordschleife if you'd like

 

[CraftRoyalPSN]

I'm still away at the moment but I believe i'll be back New Year's Day for family dinner and gaming, so if you're online I can get to you then because I left home while GT6 was updating to 1.15. I have news that it finished ok so I will try my best to be back on the 2nd so we can play. Just trying to get out of the Novice cup though because that's where I was when I left and I have the Shelby so it'll be pretty easy and I've been saving. See you there soon!

PS: I know everything you're saying about the cable now. I've talked about it with my uncle who works for the computer company and now I get that at the level my TV is already HDMI will keep everything the same.

My last question is: Is the Pagani Zonda R in GT6 like it was in GT5 and if so how much is it? I'm hoping to have it in my Garage along with my Shelby after I win some races because I'm doing higher level Novice races over to get more credits for new cars.

 

[AlexMk7]

@CraftRoyalPSN unfortunately this won't be possible as i'm only home for the holidays and will be heading back to school soon... maybe we'll stumble upon each other at some point, make sure you sharpen up your skills until then I don't know exactly how much the Zonda R is but you should check out seasonal events when you unlock them, there really is no need to grind your way through all those career races to get the cars you want.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I'm still away at the moment but I believe i'll be back New Year's Day for family dinner and gaming, so if you're online I can get to you then because I left home while GT6 was updating to 1.15. I have news that it finished ok so I will try my best to be back on the 2nd so we can play. Just trying to get out of the Novice cup though because that's where I was when I left and I have the Shelby so it'll be pretty easy and I've been saving. See you there soon!

PS: I know everything you're saying about the cable now. I've talked about it with my uncle who works for the computer company and now I get that at the level my TV is already HDMI will keep everything the same.

My last question is: Is the Pagani Zonda R in GT6 like it was in GT5 and if so how much is it? I'm hoping to have it in my Garage along with my Shelby after I win some races because I'm doing higher level Novice races over to get more credits for new cars.

As @AlexMk7 says, do the Seasonals, you'll have millions to spend and you can buy whatever you like instead of grinding your way through the crappy career mode.

 

[CraftRoyalPSN]

Exactly, it stinks going through Career with the game telling me what to do. I just want to get back so I can finally get into PSN and Multiplayer since my car is 661HP (practically OP now but nowhere near what I've seen), and I'm winning practically every race I enter. Multiplayer and seasonals are a bigger challenge and I'll be out of it as soon as I get out of flippin' career mode (or at least grind on high-level races) so I can get some better cash and cars but the Shelby I have is great for now.

As for the Zonda R, I saw it was 531 HP and the Shelby I'm using is 661HP so getting it wouldn't make it any better, even if it was a premium car in GT5 (It's my main car in GT5). I still have a week of vacation left so I still have time to play so I'm going to try and find some people to race once I get out of Career and hopefully find some friends in there. Probably going to be impossible as I don't have the money for a headset and not getting anything for the rest of the year as I'm going to Great Wolf Lodge in summer, but I'll try. See you around!

 

[Stonemonkey]

Something else to look out for with current 4k tvs is that on some there can be a bit more of a lag when upscaling a 1080p input to the 4k resolution of the screen itself.