HDMI problem

I just got an HDMI cable for my playstation 3. However, when I hook it up to my TV through the HDMI cable it does not work. No sound or picture. The system works with the standard A/V cables. It seems like it could be the HDMI port on the console, on my television, or the cable itself. I have no other HDMI ready tv's or devices to test the integrity of any of the components, but on the packaging of the HDMI cable it says "For all HDMI components up to 1080i resolution. The playstation is a 1080p component - would that be enough to make the cable not work? My playstation 3 is set to 480i, however, because of the standard A/V cables, so I do not know why that would make a difference, but it might. If you have any thoughts on this please share them  -- they're much appreciated.

Well, what happens when you try to switch to HDMI? If you're not getting a signal when you change to HDMI input on your TV after switching the setting on your PS3, make sure your TV accepts 1080p input through HDMI; many do not.

What TV is it?

Toshiba 26HF35. When I'm at the HDMI input on the TV nothing is displayed. The PS3 isn't set to any HD mode at the moment, but it will not display anyway.

OK so I got the HDMI cord to work. What I had to do was have them both connected at the same time. I had to go to the composite input and change the PS3 to HDMI mode, then quickly go to the HDMI input and make the rest of the changes there. It works now, kind of. I say that because it only displays at 720p when my tv is capable of 1080i. I at first manually told it to display at 1080i but it seemed like it was not displaying well, so I went back and chose the automatic function and it went to 720p. I'm not complaining all that much, though. At least it's in high definition now. Thanks for you help Anon.

Won't display 1080i?

Enjoy your PS3.

You probably mean the Toshiba 26HF85, not HF35.

A few things about the HF85s that don't necessarily apply to other Toshiba displays:

1.  720p almost always looks better than native 1080i on all HF85 or HFX85 models, even though such signals will be upscaled to 1080i internally.  This is a workaround for a couple of design issues with this model generation, applicable to both component and HDMI.  Ignore common logic that would dictate feeding 1080i to these specific displays; experiment with setting 720p as your default on your PS3 instead of automatic in order to avoid 1080i on your particular TV.

2.  For a much better picture, ignore all the default preset modes.  All of them make everything look horribly surreal.  Just turn SVM off and set color temp to warm (or maybe medium, depending on source), then turn your contrast down as low as possible, even down to 0 if necessary.  Seriously.  It will look like your resolution doubles after you do.  Brightness should be low enough that blacks still look truly black but otherwise as high as possible (somewhere in the 30s for me).  If colors still look surreal (possibly including glowing edges), play with the color setting slightly and experiment with lowering sharpness.

3.  If you don't already have an external speaker setup, at least plug a cheap subwoofer or boombox into the audio outputs.  All HFs lack the bass of the HFXs.  I hang a 5" powered speaker off the outputs to use as a sub and turn BBE on.

4. Your fix was obviously the right one to try (after all, if HDMI is a non-default menu option somewhere in the PS3, it only makes sense that you'd have to be able to select it somehow).  In future, just make sure your TV is turned on before your PS3.

Also, most current PS3 games are defaulting to 720p anyway, and firmware issues are playing tricks depending on what people set as their default res.  I'm not going to buy a PS3 until they are available for $250 or less and enough good games exist, but this is the gist of what I've read about it.