Blame Gaming - Is the Blinking PS3 Sony's Fault?

mattnyc99 writes "After discovering a blinking problem associated with the HDCP handshake from an HDMI cable to the PlayStation 3, then solving it, Popular Mechanics has now set off a mini-war between Westinghouse and Sony. The 1080p TV set maker appears to be blaming Sony as the source of the blinking PS3, and the two powerhouse companies have organized a meeting to settle the score. From the article: '[Westinghouse had] one suggestion for PS3 owners with blinking Westinghouse televisions: Purchasing an HDMI to DVI adapter to bypass HDCP. Average cost of an adapter: $30. As we reported last week, Popular Mechanics has found an even easier solution: Unplugging the HDMI cable, and then plugging it back in'"

Yes, It's Sony's fault

[sqlrob]

As well as Westinghouse's. Anyone that wants to implement the DRM without full testing (or hell, implement it, period) gets the blame.

I think I'm on Sony's side on this one...

[Thraxen]

It seems odd that this issue would only appear on Westinghouse displays if the problem was with the PS3. I own a PS3 and have it connected to a Samsung TV via HDMI and have never seen this issue.

Acronym hell?

[DogDude]

I don't know what "HDMI to DVI adapter to bypass HDCP" means, and quite honestly, I don't care. But my question is, do manufacturers expect consumers to be able to understand all of this mess? What ever happened to plugging a game system into a TV? How many adapters and acronyms are people going to tolerate just to plug the damned thing to the TV? Sounds ridiculous to me. I'm a big fan of plain ol' RCA jacks: Red and white for audio, yellow for video. It's simple, and you can't screw it up. Just because the new sets and devices (like the PS3) are higher definition doesn't mean that plugging the damn things in should be so complicated. Why do I need 6 ways to connect a TV to a signal (coax cable, RCA plugs, S-video, HDMI, DVI, optical, etc.)? It makes me realize that I'm happy with my regular tube TV. It's cheap, it's simple, it looks good, and you don't have to go through 12 pages of directions to plug it in.

Westinghouse has to be compliant

[Chris Burke]

No comment on whether they did the job right, they might suck at it and this could all be their fault, I'm just saying that as a practical matter they have to support the inputs that devices people will want to hook up will output. Anyone with a PS3 obviously isn't turned off by DRM on principle, and it would be foolish of Westinghouse not to support HDCP. They don't only support HDCP, they support multiple inputs, again for practical reasons. They don't seem to really care about DRM, either, other than they need it to support customers' other electronics. According to the summary:

"[Westinghouse had] one suggestion for PS3 owners with blinking Westinghouse televisions: Purchasing an HDMI to DVI adapter to bypass HDCP."

Um, WHAT?! You mean all you need to get around all this DRM HDCP is a $30 adapter? Not that DRM has ever been something that will do more than stop the most casual of pirates, but even a casual pirate could see $30 to be able to rip all the HD movies they rent from Netflix or whatever makes sense -- just like people bought $30 adapters that stripped Macrovision from VHS. Am I missing something? Tell me I am, because that's just ridiculous for all this bullshit. It'd be like an Express line at airport security where for a small fee you bypass the scanners.

Re:Yes, It's Sony's fault

[Mike Buddha]

As the PS3 suffers under far greater scrutiny here, I would postulate any problems with Westinghouse TVs would go largely unnoticed.

I don't for a second believe that the 200,000 PS3s in the world recieve more scrutiny than the Westinghouse LCDs. These TVs are quite popular amongst AV junkies because they are the most reasonably priced 1080p HDTVs available. If you think they aren't being agonized over by AV nerds, I'd suggest you take a look at AVSFORUM.COM. If I were in the tinfoil hat crew, I'd suggest that Sony was purposely trying to discredit Westinghouse's reasonable quality/low priced competitor to their own high-priced/highly-rated 1080p fare.