How To Connect Sony Playstation 2 To Tv

Connecting Playstation 2 to TV and Monitor

The image in games is black and white, what’s the matter ?
Your TV probably does not support the NTSC signal. NTSC is used in North America and Japan, while PAL and SECAM are traditionally used in Europe and in particular.

What are PAL and NTSC systems different?
PAL. It is a European system, and, accordingly, PAL consoles and PAL games are officially sold. NTSC is used in North America and Japan. Technically, these television systems differ in the number of lines (that is, the image resolution) and the way they are rendered. An in-depth comparison of these systems is beyond the scope of this FAQ, especially since the issue is controversial, since there are supporters of both one and the other standard. However, two important facts should be noted:
PAL has more lines than NTSC, i.E. Slightly higher resolution
PAL has a lower refresh rate than NTSC. In PAL 50 Hertz (Hz) versus 60 Hertz (Hz) in NTSC, that is, lower maximum frame rate.
From a player’s point of view, it turns out that PAL games may look better, but usually run a little slower. This is not always obvious, but in fast-paced games such as fighting and racing genres, this difference in speed is quite felt by an experienced player. over, given that many major developers of Playstation 2 games are primarily oriented towards the markets of North America and Japan, it is not uncommon for a game in the PAL version to turn out to be somewhat flawed. For example, some games have horizontal black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. This is due to the fact that the creators of the game did not want to support the higher resolution in the game, which is used in the PAL system, but simply show an image in the center of the screen in NTSC resolution. The most famous example of this approach to game creation. European version of Final Fantasy X. However, in some European versions of games, the developers allow the player to choose between PAL and NTSC (50Hz and 60Hz).
But the difference between PAL and NTSC games is not only about resolution, frame rate and color reproduction. Since Europe, North America and Japan. These are different markets for games, Sony has set restrictions on the use of discs for different regions in its Playstation 2. So Russian and European models of consoles only allow playing discs with PAL versions of games (that is, only those released in Europe) and simply will not allow playing discs brought from America or Japan. You can bypass this limitation by installing a chip in the console or using HD Advance (HD loader).

What are the ways you can connect Playstation 2 to a TV?

What’s the Difference Between Multiple Options for Joining Playstation 2 to TV?
There are several ways to connect Playstation 2 to your TV. The connection method is selected, of course, primarily based on the inputs available on the TV. If there are several different inputs, it is advisable to choose the one that will achieve the best picture quality, because the picture quality on a TV largely depends on how the set-top box is connected. Playstation 2, like the XBox and GameCube. This is far from being an 8 or 16 bit set-top box of the early 90s of the last century, which was quite acceptable to play on a small “kitchen” TV set, or even on an old Soviet-made “coffin”. Playstation 2. Is, albeit not the biggest, but a very serious step from playing on an old “box” to playing on serious big TVs or even a home theater. Therefore, if you have a good TV, you should seriously consider connecting this game console to it.

There are several ways to connect Playstation 2:

How To Connect Sony Playstation 2 To Tv
  1. Composite connection. This is a connection using a standard cable with three RCA plugs (tulips, bells) at the end. This cable is supplied with the set-top box (one plug for the signal and two plugs for the audio signal, right and left channels). This method is suitable for the vast majority of TVs, but it also gives far from the best image quality.
  2. Scart connection. This is essentially the same composite connection (not to be confused with RGB-Scart), but a different connector (21 pin) is used. This connection is required for some European TVs, so a tulip-scart adapter is provided with the PAL version of the set-top box. In terms of image quality, such a connection does not differ from the first option.
  3. High-frequency connection (it is “antenna”). The set-top box is connected to the TV through the TV antenna input. This is probably the worst possible option and it is best not to use it. If such a connection is suddenly needed, then you need to separately purchase a special adapter.
  4. S-connection. A better connection method than the previous ones. A cable similar to a normal cable is used, where instead of a yellow “tulip” signal is transmitted through a round plug with four needles. The advantage of such a cable is that the signal components go along several separate wires, respectively, the picture quality is improved, image blurring is reduced and some other defects inherent in the composite connection disappear. Not all TVs have s-in, and cable for this connection is sold separately.
  5. RGB-Scart connection. This is one of the best connection methods, but it has several disadvantages. Its advantage is that the signal is transmitted in separate color components. Rgb (red green blue), respectively, more accurate color reproduction and high image clarity are achieved, as well as there are no typical image defects characteristic of a composite connection. The advantage of this connection method is that it allows you to play NTSC games in color, even if the TV does not accept the NTSC signal. However, the disadvantage of this connection method is that there may be problems with watching DVD movies (green image). In addition, on some rare TV models, such a connection may be unsafe for the set-top box. Before using rgb-scart, it is recommended to carefully study the instructions for the TV to make sure that the scart connector really supports the rgb signal and, secondly, that there is no danger for the set-top box, as already written above (see questions about black and white images). A special cable for connecting to rgb-scart is purchased separately, in addition, you must set the output signal format as RGB in the Playtstation 2 settings.
  6. Component connection. This is probably the best way to connect. A special cable with 5 RCA plugs (cinch) is used instead of the usual 3. Three plugs are used for signal components and two plugs for audio signal (right and left channels). In terms of picture quality, such a connection is comparable to RGB-Scart, but, in addition, only this connection method allows you to use progressive scan (480p mode). The cable for such a connection is also sold separately, and the Playstation 2 settings also need to set the appropriate output signal format.

When using an RGB-Scart connection, the image on the TV screen may look a little unusual, as with a normal connection, colors are slightly distorted during image transmission.

How to enable this progressive scan ?
Progressive scan. This is a progressive scan (in games it can be called “480p” mode), that is, one of the ways to display an image on the screen. Historically, it so happened that the TV uses interlaced scanning, but this method of image output does not meet modern requirements for image quality, therefore progressive scanning has been supported in expensive TV models for more than one year. Prior to this, progressive scan was used in computer monitors, where the requirements for image clarity are much higher than for a TV, respectively, using progressive scan on a TV, you can get a picture of a higher quality. Its use is most relevant, however, as well as the component connection necessary for this, on TVs with a diagonal of 29 ” and projectors. This does not mean that progressive scan is not needed on more modest TVs, it is just very desirable for a large enough screen.

However, the situation is not very good on Playstation 2 with progressive scan support. Initially, with the release of the console, Sony was somehow in no hurry to take the image quality to the next level, so the use of such a mode was probably not documented for game developers. Accordingly, all the games of the first wave simply do not support image output in this mode, as a result of which there was a misconception that the Playstation 2 does not support progressive scanning at all. However, after a while the developers received updated documentation and tools, and as a result, many newer games allow progressive scan to be enabled. But still, for one reason or another, even many new games do not work in this mode. The built-in Playstation 2 DVD player (starting with the SCPH-50XXX model) can play movies in this mode, but older versions of the player software cannot do this.

The presence of progressive scan support in the game is usually indicated in the instructions and on the back of the game box with a rectangle icon with the inscription “Progressive Scan”. The instructions usually indicate the way to enable this mode. This mode can really be turned on in different ways, but usually this is done either in the Options menu or during the initial loading of the game. If in the first case a line like “progressive scan on / off” or “480p mode yes / no” will be clearly present in the menu, then in the second case there may not be any obvious hints of the existence of this mode at all. That is, the second traditional option for enabling this mode is that at the initial loading of the game (when the “PlayStation2” logo appears), you have to press and hold the “cross” and “triangle” buttons on the joystick. If the game supports the inclusion of this mode in this way, then a special menu will appear on the screen with a choice of the type “Interlace / Progressive” or “Interlace / 480p”.

Additional troubles with progressive scan support are often provided to buyers of European versions of games. Apparently because in Europe the process of promotion of hd-tv, implying progressive scan, is going slowly, quite a few games published in PAL version are deprived of support for “480p” mode. Examples include games such as Socom, Burnout 3, and even the relatively new game God of War.

In addition to the regular support for progressive scanning by games, you can try to enable it in freelance ways, if the developers did not foresee its presence in the game. Several programs were released that forced games to run in this mode. But, of course, full-fledged and stable operation of games in a freelance mode for them is not guaranteed.

And one more important point. Progressive scan only works when connected to a component TV or VGA to a monitor. In other cases, after turning on this mode, the image will simply disappear from the screen.

What is 1080i mode?
1080i. It is an interlaced HDTV mode, but with a higher resolution. To use it, you need a component cable and support from your TV. This mode is very rare in PlayStation 2 games; examples of games that support it include Gran Turismo 4 and Tourist Trophy.

Is it possible to connect Playstation 2 to a monitor ?

Is it realistic to play Playstation 2 on a monitor ?
Playstation 2 can be connected to a monitor, and play on it if it is not possible to play on a TV or it does not suit you. There are several ways to implement this idea:
1) Purchase VGA Box. This is such a special device, read about it below.
2) Connect the Playstation 2 to a TV tuner or other suitable computer capture card and use the computer software to work with the TV tuner
3) Purchase a VGA cable for Playstation 2. When using this cable, only those games that support progressive scan, which is described above, will work. Considering that the console starts in normal mode, after which you need to manually switch the game to this mode, this method is fraught with a lot of inconveniences, although it allows you to get a pretty high-quality image. Required vga cable. Quite a rare thing and it is not easy to find it in retail, so you probably have to solder it yourself or contact a specialist with this question. over, the vga cable will not work with all monitors, but only with those that are supported by “sync on green”.

Information on compatibility of monitors with vga cable can be found at the link: http://playstation2-linux.com/sog.php

What is VGA Box?
VGA Box. It is a device that converts a TV interlaced signal into a progressive signal that is suitable for output to a computer monitor via a vga cable. This device may also be called an “upscan converter” or something similar. With this device, you can connect your Playstation 2 to a monitor, and at the same time you can play any game, regardless of the ability to enable 480p (progressive scan) mode in the game. However, today the vast majority of such devices sold (in particular) have only composite and, at the most, s-inputs, and, accordingly, they give a picture of far from the best quality, which is likely to catch the eye on the monitor. You can read about the difference between the types of connection of the set-top box above.

What signal format does Sonya send 4: 3 or 16: 9?
The set-top box allows you to output both 4: 3 (normal format) and 16: 9 (widescreen format). 16: 9 (widescreen) support varies by game, but most games only offer 4: 3 “square” pictures. Some games have calculated only one of the image formats, and therefore in one of the modes the image is simply cropped. For example, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is initially focused on the 4: 3 format, and in widescreen mode, the image is cropped at the top and bottom; and The Getaway was originally designed for widescreen TVs, and therefore in 4: 3 mode, the image is cropped left and right.

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