4) Output audio and video via different cables
If you ever wanted to output video to your TV and audio to, say, your stereo, it’s a simple process. Simply connect your video with one cable, most likely HDMI if you have an HDTV, and your audio with RCA (the red/white cable). In audio settings, you can output audio through RCA while your video is simultaneously being fed through HDMI. This is a great way to bypass often-terrible stock TV speakers. If you have surround sound, you’ll most likely use the “optical out” option for your audio needs.
-You can find stereos with RCA inputs that cost significantly less than surround sound systems and will bring your audio up to par with the image on your TV.
5) Reset video/audio settings without the controller
This one has saved me a ton of frustration. Say you unhook your PS3 from your huge 1080p LED LCD TV and bring it over to your friend’s house to play some co-op games together. Unfortunately, you forgot he has a tv that doesn’t support your TV’s insane resolution. Now, when you turn on your PS3, it just shows a black screen. Instead of calling one of your PS3-owning friends and having him walk you through the XMB display settings click by click (trust me, not a fun process!) you can utilize my favorite feature of the PS3. When the PS3 is off, press and hold the power button. Do not let go until you hear a second beep from your machine after about seven seconds. Voila! Your Display and audio settings have been detected and you can now play on your friend’s crappy old tv!
6) Expand your black levels (extra, extra!)
If you’ve got a high-end HDTV, it may be capable of displaying a huge number of shades between black and white. The PS3 has an RGB setting, which can be set to either “normal” or “full.” By default it is set to normal. Go to the display settings and go down to RGB full range (HDMI) and select full. You should notice a more vibrant picture. If your TV supports it, this feature will show richer colors and darker blacks. If not, you may lose detail in dark images. You can check your TV’s manual or look online to determine whether your TV supports this mode. If, for instance, you go to change your brightness in an in-game menu and you can’t see the brightness test (commonly a logo on a black background that is supposed to be faintly visible), then you should keep the setting on normal.
