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TV Settings
Make sure your TV is using the right input. Nearly every TV has multiple inputs, or connections, it can use. You have to tell the TV which connection it's supposed to be using; in other words, you might connect your PS3 to your TV's "Input 1," but if your TV tries to display a picture from "Input 2," nothing will show up on the screen. You can usually cycle through all of your inputs by pressing a button labeled something like "input," "source" or "TV/video" on your remote. Most TVs will display the name of the connection on the screen, and you can compare that to the name of the connection you used. If you plugged the PS3 into a connection named "Input 1," you should look for the words "Input 1" on your TV screen. Keep in mind that the terms "composite" and "RCA" are interchangeable, so if your TV says "RCA" by a jack, that means it's a composite input.
Output Reset
A video output reset is only necessary if you're unable to view anything on your TV's screen even though you're using the right input. This may mean that your PS3 is sending a signal that's incompatible with a composite connection, which means your TV can't make any sense of it. When you reset the video output, your PS3 reverts to a standard-definition setting that all North American TVs can use. First, turn off your PS3 by pressing and holding the power button for a couple of seconds until you hear the unit beep; then release the button and wait for the PS3's indicator light to turn red. Now press and hold the power button again; you'll hear a single beep first, and then after a few seconds you'll hear a second beep; release the button after the second beep. This resets your PS3's video output and should make it compatible with your TV.
PS3 Settings
Once your TV is displaying an image from your PS3, you can make sure everything is configured properly. Navigate to the "Settings" section of the XMB menu, select the "Display" option and then "Video Output Settings." Next select the "Composite / S Video" option, and press the right directional arrow on your PS3 controller or PS3 remote to continue. Select the aspect ratio for your TV. A "4:3" TV is close to a square shape; that type of TV is only slightly wider than it is tall. A "16:9" TV is a widescreen TV. Press the right directional key to advance again; now you should be viewing a screen reviewing all of the settings you selected, and you can press the "X" button to save your changes. The PS3 will give you the option to set up the audio as well. Just select "Finish" unless you want to work through audio options.
Other Information
Composite, or RCA, is a connection type that's been around since the mid-1950s, and initially it was a great and inexpensive option for sending color signals to a TV. A television displays its full range of colors by mixing red, green and blue dots, or pixels, all over the screen, and all three of the color signals travel together down a single composite video cord. Usually a composite video cable is paired with two audio cords for stereo sound, and although all three cords have identical connectors, they're easy to connect properly by matching their red, white and yellow colors to the same colors on the TV's jacks. Newer video cables are superior to RCA cords, and a PS3 can make full use of the video capabilities of better options like component and HDMI.