PS3 Video Interference

[quatoria]

So, I was given a PS3 for christmas, which is nice and all, but the fucking thing doesn't seem to want to play nice with my AV equipment. When I tried plugging it into my component switcher, which had been hosting my 360, xbox 1, ps2, and gamecube, it caused the video channel to display purple and green scrolling bars, and make a loud humming noise. This persisted, even with nothing else plugged into the switcher. Finally, in desperation, I plugged the PS3 directly into my television. No humming, now, but I'm still getting color shifting in rotating bands. It's not always noticible, but it's damned annoying. Any hardware guru have an idea as to what might be wrong, or what could fix it?

[Marcus]

It could be bad cables?

[quatoria]

I've tried two sets of cables so far, and the problem has been identical. I'm about to try a third.

[mkozlows]

Could be a bad PS3.

[quatoria]

Well, I tried the composite cable that shipped with it, and it has absolutely no interference problems whatsoever. So, now the question is, did I somehow, by total fluke, get two bad sets of cables in a row, or is something causing interference on the ps3 and ONLY the ps3? And if so, how the fuck do I fix it? Oh, this is awesome, Sony. Thanks again.

[Marcus]

I'd try it with HDMI if at all possible.

[quatoria]

I'd try it with HDMI if at all possible.

It's not.

[Marcus]

Take it back then. Its clearly fucked.

[Chris Nahr]

Analog input switchers can be problematic. My Gamecube wouldn't work properly with one RGB (sort of component equivalent) switcher, and some other device wouldn't work with another. Depends on the construction of the device and the switcher, I suppose.

However, since you get color shifts even without the switcher you definitely should exchange the PS3. But man... so many consoles and you still don't have an HDTV?

[quatoria]

Apparently, the problem is my cable. I tried unplugging the cable from my set-top DVR, and the interference instantly vanishes. Apparently, this means I have a ground loop. Supposedly, the fix is to buy a sixty dollar Jensen VR-1FF. Awesome. Just awesome. Why the fuck is this only a problem for Sony?

[quatoria]

HAHA! Running my inbound cable feed through my Acoustic Research surge protector fixed the ground loop problem! Or at least cleaned it up enough that I'm no longer getting video or audio interference. ROCKING.