How can i stop that Green macrovision filter the PS2 does when playing DVDs on RGB?

[Marcos]

Its very annoying, don't like to have to buy a cable with a switch just because of some ancient copyright prevention idea of theirs. I hear the american consoles never had any of it.

Would like to watch DVDs through RGB on PS2 basically

[Grey M@a]

The very first PAL PS2's never came with it either hence why I kept hold of mine instead of getting a newer slimline one. The only way to do it is to chip it which has the decoding on it or you will have to buy the cables that do it for a few bob. I haven't found or seen any other way of doing it. As mine does it off the bat I never needed to chip it and I just use a scart cable.

[Marcos]

Yeah, i mean, i'm not too bothered using scart for DVDs, but the difference between scart and RGB in games is really amazing, i think it would do a lot with DVDs too.

Do you have more details on "the cables that do it for a few bob" ?

I have the old shape PS2 too, but my current one was the last version before the slim one came out.

[m2c4u]

Am I incorrect but isnt scart just RGB + audio signals and ground etc?

[Stoo]

There was a problem on the original ps2's when using a scart cable to play dvd's you got a green screen, you can get 3rd party replacement scart cables which fix the problem

[Knoxville]

You can get dvd region free discs that'll fix that aswell.

[Tifosi]

The very first PAL PS2's never came with it either hence why I kept hold of mine instead of getting a newer slimline one.

I'd have to disagree with that, I got mine on launch day and I get a green screen on RGB DVD playback, bit of wiggling the scart thogh and it comes out in full colour funkeh.

[Oakey]

The simplest solution is to just buy a standalone DVD player for gods sake. In this day and age there's really no excuse not to own one. Besides, the PS2 sucks as a DVD player.

£100 gets you a nice Pioneer 575A which plays pretty much everything you throw at it (from Super Audio CD to DivX / Xvid) and has lots of output options.

£30 buys you a pretty damned good Pacific player from Asda that will easily be made region free and output to glorious RGB Scart. This player is probably your best option if you're on a budget as I expect the cables you need for the PS2 will be at least £15, what's an extra £15 for a seperate player?

[Allen]

The simplest solution is to just buy a standalone DVD player for gods sake. In this day and age there's really no excuse not to own one. Besides, the PS2 sucks as a DVD player.

Huh? Why? I use my PS2 for DVD playback, there's no reason not to (unless you can't get it to work). I don't understand how you can say it sucks as a DVD player too, what else is there to do other than put a disc in and press play??

[Oakey]

Huh? Why? I use my PS2 for DVD playback, there's no reason not to (unless you can't get it to work). I don't understand how you can say it sucks as a DVD player too, what else is there to do other than put a disc in and press play??

Let's see... You need a special cable to run in RGB and then you have to buy a remote (unless you're happy to use the controller, most people obviously aren't or there wouldn't be a market in remotes), by the time you've bought these items you could have bought a £30 DVD player.

Then you need a region free disc to watch region free movies, some DVD's are incompatible with PS2's (there's a large list), noticeable pause during layer changes, audio tends to go out of sync with the video, only v9 and v10 PS2's do progressive scan, the PS2 laser is crap and has a high failure rate, some people have problems accessing DTS, some films freeze the system, films can start skipping after the layer change, image quality isn't as good as a dedicated player, etc, etc. I'm sure with a bit of Googling even more reasons could be brought up.

At the end of the day the PS2 was intended as a games system, the DVD capabilities were just an added feature to make it more appealing to consumers. Why people insist on using half assed hardware when you can inexpensively buy something to do the job properly is beyond me.

It's like saying "I can use my Sony Ericsson P900 as an mp3 player, there's no reason not to" or "I can use my mobile phone as a camera, there's no reason not to". Sure, you can if you want, but why, it's not going to do the job anywhere near as well as my ipod would or my Canon EOS20D will.

[Allen]

Let's see... You need a special cable to run in RGB and then you have to buy a remote (unless you're happy to use the controller, most people obviously aren't or there wouldn't be a market in remotes), by the time you've bought these items you could have bought a £30 DVD player.

I'm sure the scart cable I use came with my PS2... I don't have a remote either, I'm fine with using the controller coz all I do (most of the time) is press X once to play the film.

Then you need a region free disc to watch region free movies, some DVD's are incompatible with PS2's (there's a large list), noticeable pause during layer changes, audio tends to go out of sync with the video, only v9 and v10 PS2's do progressive scan, the PS2 laser is crap and has a high failure rate, some people have problems accessing DTS, some films freeze the system, films can start skipping after the layer change, image quality isn't as good as a dedicated player, etc, etc. I'm sure with a bit of Googling even more reasons could be brought up.

I don't have any of the problems you mention here, except probably a milisecond or two of a delay when changing layer (doesn't bother me in the slightest). I only run it on the 14" TV in my computer room so image quality or sound isn't a problem either, but I have used it before on larger TV's (21" normal TV and a 24" widescreen TV) and I can honestly say it didn't look bad at all, or sound crap.

At the end of the day the PS2 was intended as a games system, the DVD capabilities were just an added feature to make it more appealing to consumers. Why people insist on using half assed hardware when you can inexpensively buy something to do the job properly is beyond me.

It's like saying "I can use my Sony Ericsson P900 as an mp3 player, there's no reason not to" or "I can use my mobile phone as a camera, there's no reason not to". Sure, you can if you want, but why, it's not going to do the job anywhere near as well as my ipod would or my Canon EOS20D will.

iPods and digital cameras cost an awful lot of money, not everyone has a huge bank account to be able to afford those fashionable luxuries. If my MD that I've had for years packs up, I'd rather use my 'free' mobile to listen to a few songs on the way to work rather than buying a £150 mp3 player, but that's just me... And if my PS2 plays movies how I want then I wouldn't call it a piece of half assed hardware.

[Oakey]

I'm sure the scart cable I use came with my PS2... I don't have a remote either, I'm fine with using the controller coz all I do (most of the time) is press X once to play the film.

PS2's don't (or at least didn't) come with and RGB scart lead. Composite and phono leads that plug into a scart plug don't equal RGB Scart.

I don't have any of the problems you mention here, except probably a milisecond or two of a delay when changing layer (doesn't bother me in the slightest). I only run it on the 14" TV in my computer room so image quality or sound isn't a problem either, but I have used it before on larger TV's (21" normal TV and a 24" widescreen TV) and I can honestly say it didn't look bad at all, or sound crap.

Yet hundreds of other people do. Just google "PS2 problems", Sony acknowledges a lot of them, most are well known.

iPods and digital cameras cost an awful lot of money, not everyone has a huge bank account to be able to afford those fashionable luxuries. If my MD that I've had for years packs up, I'd rather use my 'free' mobile to listen to a few songs on the way to work rather than buying a £150 mp3 player, but that's just me... And if my PS2 plays movies how I want then I wouldn't call it a piece of half assed hardware.

A PS2 is a 'fashionable luxury', an mp3 playing mobile phone is a 'fashionable luxury'. Are you honestly telling me you can afford these items, afford mobile phone bills, afford to buy PS2 games, DVD's, a monthly WoW sub, etc but can't afford to spend £30 on a piece of hardware dedicated to doing a specific job?

Just because a PS2 plays DVD's how you want doesn't make it do a half assed job any less. It's obviously not playing DVD's how it should for the original poster, a standalone will.

[Allen]

PS2's don't (or at least didn't) come with and RGB scart lead. Composite and phono leads that plug into a scart plug don't equal RGB Scart.

I can't remember, but it's the standard 3 cables plugged into a Scart socket. I dunno what the difference is, but tbh I'm not an AV expert. Can't remember if it came with it or not.

Yet hundreds of other people do. Just google "PS2 problems", Sony acknowledges a lot of them, most are well known.

I'm not saying that people don't have problems, I'm saying that I don't have them...

A PS2 is a 'fashionable luxury', an mp3 playing mobile phone is a 'fashionable luxury'. Are you honestly telling me you can afford these items, afford mobile phone bills, afford to buy PS2 games, DVD's, a monthly WoW sub, etc but can't afford to spend £30 on a piece of hardware dedicated to doing a specific job?

Just because a PS2 plays DVD's how you want doesn't make it do a half assed job any less. It's obviously not playing DVD's how it should for the original poster, a standalone will.

Fair enough, a PS2 is a fashionable luxury, but I've had it ages and it cost me £50 when I bought it and I rarely buy games for it now as my PC is used for gaming. I wouldn't consider my phone a luxury, I think they're more a necessity these days for some people. I'm not saying saying I couldn't afford a DVD Player, I'm saying I wouldn't buy one when I already have a PS2 that does the job.

Anyway, getting slightly off topic now, sorry Marcos!

[Marcos]

I'd have to disagree with that, I got mine on launch day and I get a green screen on RGB DVD playback, bit of wiggling the scart thogh and it comes out in full colour funkeh.

Hmmm, wiggling the scart, i'll have to try that

[Marcos]

The simplest solution is to just buy a standalone DVD player for gods sake. In this day and age there's really no excuse not to own one. Besides, the PS2 sucks as a DVD player.

£100 gets you a nice Pioneer 575A which plays pretty much everything you throw at it (from Super Audio CD to DivX / Xvid) and has lots of output options.

£30 buys you a pretty damned good Pacific player from Asda that will easily be made region free and output to glorious RGB Scart. This player is probably your best option if you're on a budget as I expect the cables you need for the PS2 will be at least £15, what's an extra £15 for a seperate player?

Thats ok, i may get a DivX dvd player later on too, but since the PS2 was my first DVD player movies always feel better to watch on it. Silly, but true.

[Oakey]

Thats ok, i may get a DivX dvd player later on too, but since the PS2 was my first DVD player movies always feel better to watch on it. Silly, but true.

PS2 was my first DVD player but after getting a standalone I would never look back. Happy with my Pioneer 575A now, amazing quality and features for the price.