PS3 Blu-Ray Movie Stuttering

george-x

Hey all - got a (hopefully) quick question. My launch PS3 pretty much stopped playing Blu-Ray movies normally. Right from the get go, the video moves in a slow-motion stutter effect, with little to no audio being pushed through. I noticed this with Star Trek and Transformers 3, then checked other movies I've previously watched and noted the problem "spread" to them.

I thought maybe 2 things:
1) The PS3 firmware update for the HDMI caused some kind of throughput processing error. I just got new 1.4 cables from Amazon, and that didn't do the trick
2) The BD laser is dying? Blu-ray pressed games work PERFECTLY, not even a hiccup. So this doesn't entirely make sense to me.

Has anybody had a similar problem? All I buy is blu-ray, and if they all cease to work that would be a huge waste.

Really appreciate the feedback!

Edit: Before anyone mentions this - I have the "BD 1080p 24Hz Output (HDMI)" turned off

Allforce

I've heard from others that a recent firmware update borked the blu-ray movie playback on older models so that might be worth investigating further. If all things remain the same, cables, settings, etc., then that's the one variable to look at .

george-x

Interesting...is there any way to roll back the firmware?

george-x

And if I do, will I be able to sign onto PSN without getting prompted to update to 3.72?

harvest

No, and no. Downgradable firmware is the gateway to easy piracy.

EDIT: I should clarify. There is a product that should release soon that will allow for downgradable firmware specifically to the easy homebrew/linux/piracy version.

george-x

I don't want to jailbreak my PS3, I want to go online and I buy all my games. All I want is for blu-ray movies to play again! Is there any solution that doesn't break Sony's ToS?

Bartholamue

I guess the only thing to do is to wait for a new update to address this issue.

harvest

Yep, that's all you can do.

george-x

I just checked with a friend with the exact same PS3 as I have, and he tried the same blu-ray movies and didn't have a single problem. So I'm thinking the firmware is fine, and it's something with my drive.

But how would that make any sense if all my PS3 games work just fine? Regular DVDs work fine too. Bah!

harvest

How old is your PS3?

EDIT: Actually you said you aren't doing any jailbreaking. In that case I have no idea.

george-x

Launch 60gb with new power supply and a 300gb hdd

badpoet

Could be a sign of the drive laser failing. Mine stuttered then started seizing up before the drive died.

george-x

For games too? Because games play perfectly for hours on end. DVDs too. Just blu-ray started crapping out...

Also, did you manually replace your drive or get a new console?

george-x

Update: Wall St. 2 plays just fine. No other Blu-rays I've tried do, even ones I've watched in the past with no issue at all. This really is a strange issue..

Shens

Games load a lot of the information into RAM. As far as I know, the Blu-Ray movies play entirely from the disc drive. I would think a failing drive would be more noticeable on a movie. How do Audio CDs or DVDs play?

george-x

Both are no problem

AbsoluteZero

Don't know if it will do anything but maybe go through the audio/video set up on the PS3 again? Maybe it's passing a signal your TV doesn't like on certain movies like 24p or something.

george-x

Tried all of that unfortunately. The 1080p 24hz is off, fiddled with the options. The thing that gets me is that movies I recently watched no problem are now totally busted. I guess I'll open the system up and clean the lens, and if that doesn't work I found this:
http://store.richspsxparts.com/pl3laaskeke.html

AbsoluteZero

Have you fiddled with the settings on the TV itself, too?

george-x

Yeah - nothing's changed there, but I tried alternate settings. I don't have that wacky 120hz setting (I think that's what it is) where everything looks like a soap opera haha.

AbsoluteZero

I would hate to see you spend cash on a new laser assembly or something and have that not solve your problem... can you borrow a friend's PS3 or something and see if it has the same problem? Just trying to think of ways to narrow down where the issue is.

george-x

Yeah, I was thinking of grabbing my friend's PS3...but I really don't think it'll offer another outcome :-\

Sony offered $130 for repair and return, I think the best alternative would be $80 for the laser assembly...meh

Allforce

Shit just buy a standalone blu-ray player for 70 bucks at that point and use the PS3 for games.

edit: Or trade it in for store credit while it still plays games, I doubt they test a blu-ray movie and you can get a brand new PS3 for less then the cost of repair.

george-x

I was thinking of that too - but if this is the first sign of total degradation then I'll be even deeper in the hole. I figure I'll wait it out a bit to see if games start stuttering too. I'm pretty surprised nobody else here has had this issue before..