Read Sony’s explanation of PS3, Blu-ray and HDTV. Compatibility, formats, and what you need for Playstation 3 High Definition gaming.According to Sony, a new world of incredibly detailed games and movies awaits us - but to enjoy it to its full potential, you’re going to want to view your entertainment from High Definition media on a High Definition screen. These two aspects of PLAYSTATION3 entertainment are contained within Blu-ray discs and High Definition TV.

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a next generation optical disc format meant for containing high-definition video and games.

The name Blu-ray is derived from the blue-violet laser it uses to read and write to the disc.

While a standard DVD disc can only contain one movie and limited bonus features, a single Blu-ray Disc (BRD) can hold the equivalent of 10 DVD movies and extras or 10 PlayStation 2 games on one disc.

This huge amount of space is important, because High-Definition, next generation graphics will take up much more data than found in existing games and movies.

With Blu-ray, game developers are free to get on with creating amazing imagery and game engines, without having to cut corners to fit it all onto a DVD. Similarly, High Definition movies can be fitted onto a BRD with ease.

Simply, if you’re going to have full-length HD movies and games with incredible, high resolution graphics, you need a next generation storage medium to match. That’s Blu-ray.

The PLAYSTATION 3 has backward compatibility for all PSOne and PlayStation 2 games. It will also play DVDs, CDs and SACDs.

PLAYSTATION 3 will be a HD player and use next generation graphics. To get all the benefits of High Definition movies and next generation graphics you will require a HDTV to view them on.

Well, with ‘HD ready’ televisions, pictures are displayed at a much higher resolution than with standard TV - resulting in more visual information and a much more detailed, realistic scene.

And it’s not just PLAYSTATION 3 games that are set to benefit from the move to HD. Television will soon be broadcast in HD (Sky’s HD service launches in 2006 in the UK, for example, and other services will follow), and HD movies will be available on Blu-ray.

PLAYSTATION 3 will fully support the full range of High Definition resolutions (as well as standard TV resolution), so games and movies can be displayed to their full potential.

A High Definition picture is clearer and sharper than current television because it contains more information in digital form. High Definition television is about four or five times sharper than a Standard Definition picture.

The three resolutions that constitute HD are called 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. (PLAYSTATION 3 is the only console that will support 1080p, True HD resolution). The number refers to the amount of horizontal lines the screen displays, while the ‘i’ or ‘p’ refers to ‘interlaced’ and ‘progressive’.

There are two types of TV projection, ‘interlaced’ and ‘progressive’. With, interlaced images, the screen displays alternate lines so that only half the screen is displayed any one time. The TV switches which lines are displayed every frame, or refresh, so fast that you see the whole image.

With progressive scan images, all the lines on the screen are displayed with each and every refresh. This makes for a spectacular, beautifully clear image, and explains why 1080p is so desirable - it has the most lines (and therefore the most detail), all displayed at once.

The three resolutions that constitute HD are called 720p, 1080i, and 1080p (PLAYSTATION 3 is the only console that will support 1080p, the ultimate HD resolution).

Just as the transition from black and white to colour in the 1960’s, PLAYSTATION 3 will unleash a new world of entertainment. A number of HDTV sets will allow you to take full advantage of this new technology. But don’t despair, even with a standard TV, PLAYSTATION 3 will look great.

There’s no shortage of sets capable of displaying High Definition. Look out for an ‘HD ready’ sticker when you are looking at TVs - to be officially ‘HD ready’, a set must be able to support both 720p and 1080i at 50Hz and 60Hz (or frames per second).

HD ready sets such as those in the new Sony BRAVIA range are becoming increasingly affordable, and when they’re supplied with HD games and movies, you won’t be able to believe your eyes.

Equipped with a Blu-ray drive, pre-installed hard disk drive (HDD) and Wireless controller as standard, PLAYSTATION 3 will be available at in Europe at €499 (20GB) and €599 (60GB).

Although there are two configurations for PLAYSTATION 3, the key elements are standard – Blu-ray disc, Cell chip, Giga-bit Ethernet to provide an always-on connection to the network, and a pre-installed hard disk drive (HDD) as standard.

On top of these great features, the 60GB HDD version includes support for compact flash, SD and Memory Stick Duo, Wireless connectivity and an HDMI connection for output on HDTV.

PLAYSTATION 3 will launch on November 17, 2006 .

• Source: http://eu.playstation.com/ps3/
• Related: PS3 release date and price details for US, Australia and Europe