PS2 and DVD

HardWired

Is the DVD play'r in a PS2 anyuse? I was thinking of getting1 (and not just 4 the DVD play'r) but I have heard mix'd review's bout it!

I use it for DVD but 5% of the DVD's dont work or parts of the film might not work and oter parts do.If you want a PS2 to play games and DVD get it ,but if just want it for DVD dont get it .

Shinji

Depends what you mean by "any use", really.

It's a woeful DVD player. Poor picture quality, busted RGB-out support, noise on the sound channels, doesn't work with some discs, lipsynch is all wrong on others, menus crash on others ... If you'd actually bought a DVD player that was this bad, you'd take it back to the shop and demand a refund.

It's a pretty neat games console right now though - not too pricey, and although there's really sod all that's particularly good out for it, there are some really good games coming out between now and Christmas.

The bottom line is, if you really plan on watching a lot of DVDs, get a separate DVD player, because your PS2 just won't be up to the job. Scan do an excellent one, the SC-2000, for under £150 Sterling.

However, if you are going to play games mostly and then just watch DVDs once in a blue moon when you rent one or whatever, then it's fine for the job I guess. Just don't expect miracles from it.

Chubby

Shinji, I've been using my ps2 as the main dvd player for a while now and haven't encountered any of the problems you mentioned. Picture quality was quite good and I don't recall the creative mpeg2 decoder (i was using the computer as the dvd player before this) giving much better picture quality. Then again, I can't really play the same dvds I watched before and compare as most of my collection are imported region 1 dvds. And I am too lazy to hook the computer back up to the tv to play the rented dvds.

Didn't notice noise on the sound channels but the sound volume seems to be really low. I have it hooked up to a home cinema thingy using the optical output now and the dolby digital sound quality is excellent. I have not seen any lipsync or menus crashing problems yet but this is probably due to the fact that I haven't seen that many movies with it. Can you name a few movies you had problems with?

Overall, so far it's a more than adequate dvd player for my needs. The only problems I have with the ps2 as a dvd player is that the controller and dvd menu are a pain to use and there's no multi-region support. When I get the neo4 or messiah mod-chip (whenever they come out) I should have the multi-region prob fixed.

BKtje

Its been fine for me 2 but i am used to my 2 yr old pc one and its the same except the menus a bit fiddly

Shinji

Ah come on Wing - to be entirely fair here, saying "it's better than playing DVDs on a PC" is like saying "it's better than being beaten around the head with a spiky plank of wood"...

Discs that have problems with it, which spring to mind, are the Toy Story discs, and The Patriot. There's a full list of discs that screw up somewhere - it's rather lengthy...

I'm not sure what the rest of your setup is like, but essentially; switching from a £150 DVD player to a PS2 DVD player, which sit next to each other in my living room, there's a truly massive drop in quality. That said, if you're someone who's still using TV speakers, doesn't think realmedia files are "all that bad really" and can't really see the difference between DVD and VHS, I guess the PS2 is fine... Otherwise, I wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

Xterminator

I use my PS2 as a DVD player more than a console .. and I'm happy with the quality. I have noticed a glitch the odd time, like a frame jump or something, but nothing bad to say. ther volume was low, till I setup the dolby sound, now it grand, and the picture quality is good.

I understand that a dedicated DVD player might be better, but the picture quality on the PS2 is good. Better than digital satelite signal.

X

Chubby

I think it's just a case of I don't miss what I haven't seen or experienced when it comes to the picture quality of a dedicated dvd players. And like I said before, the other issues don't bother me yet cause I haven't came across them. When I am bored enough though I'll find a copy of The Patriot or a Bug's Life and even borrow the scan dvd player from daire and see how bad the ps2 can be. I am sceptical though to the fact that the difference between a good dvd player and the ps2 as profound as comparing DVD to VHS

Shinji

Depends on the disc actually. Aside from the fact that the PS2 *hates* damaged discs, when the data rate bursts over 9mb on a DVD, it can utterly knacker the PS2 decoding. It's a bit of an odd one though - can be hard to reproduce, making me suspect that it's a memory leak in the drivers rather than an actual hardware problem.

Not that it doesn't have hardware problems... I mean, jesus, no RGB out. Strike that!

Dont be at yourself

sorry to dig the old thread up, but this might be useful for some people: http://dvd.ign.com/articles/315957p1.html

Its a list of DVDs which have incompatabilities with the PS2 - some fairly big name films in there too...

smoke.me.a.kipper

datels "DVD-X" (£19.99 sterling) allows multi region dvd play, and gets rig of the no rgb out annoyance.

Xithus

My ps2 gets more use as a dvd player than a console, And I can say Ive never had a single problem with it, And the quality both picture and sound is absolutely perfect.

Have you actually ever used a ps2 shinji ? Cause all that **** you just read of a website is .. well ****. :rolleyes:

po0k

AFAIK, didn't the PS2 OVER-FLUCKING-HEAT when playing DVDs on the Jap models? For £400 (convert to Yen) that's a bitch. *Apparently* they *fixed* it on the US and Euro models.

And Xithus, I'd reckon Shinji has used a PS2, god knows the swine has burned me enough times with his consoley games knowlege....

[whisper] Long live Amiga + Bitmap Bros. [/whisper]

Shinji

Have you actually ever used a ps2 shinji ?

Used a PS2? Yeah, just a little bit


Oi Syxpak - Bitmap Bros fan eh? You know that Speedball 2 and Gods and all the other BB classics are getting conversions to Game Boy Advance, starting with Speedball 2 which is pretty much ready to roll over at Crawfish?

Xithus

go watch a dvd on it.

bonkey

/me recommends Xithus checks out where Shinji works (the Work URL on his sig) before digging himself into an even bigger hole.

On the other hand...dont...I enjoy a good "put-down" post from el maestro from time to time

jc

Jabba_the_SLUT

c'mon shinji were waiting

amp

Xithus, Shinji has an opinion, you have an opinion. Chill.

Me? Well I don't have a PS2, all my DVD's get played through my w2k server to my telly and surround sound hi-fi and controlled by infrared remote. And it rocks so it does.

P.s. Speedball 2 on the GBA? Well I know what I'm getting for christmas now. ICECREAM! ICECREAM!

po0k

Speedball2. On GBA.
My brother has a GBA.
[understatement]
Yes.
Oh God Yes.

Ecstasy Baby.


[/understatement]

Dont be at yourself

Speedball is going to be The Best Thing Ever.

The_Bullman

this is directed at amp

i read here that you have a dvd with remote wired up to the telly from your computer, which is running on win 2k. fair enough. I was wondering what make or dvd player/ remote thing you have as i have the creative labs encore 12x one and i couldn't get it set up on win 2k.

so to cap off, do you have the creative dvd remote thing and if so how did you get it set up?

Xithus

Im not angry at all, Im just defending the ps2's dvd capabilities I couldnt care less what www.nintendohatessony.com think of it,
Having watched countless dvd's on my ps2, (The Fly is paused as I speak ) Ive found it to be more than adequete.

I dont post in the games section often but I read it daily, And its always the same vibe I get from him ..

Sony dont do anything right, Nintendo do.
:rolleyes:

amp

Bullman: It's an ordinary tosh dvd drive. The output is through PowerDVD 3 using a voodoo 3500. And it's controlled using a Evation serial infrared port and an old Packard Bell remote (any remote will work with the evation, I just use the PB remote for the irony). The evation comes with software but I use IRPC which allows me to assign buttons to various keypresses.

Xithus: Fair enough, your PS2 plays dvd's fine. If you've a problem with Shinji, resolve it over e-mail or complain to the admins. Games is not the place to sort out personal issues.

Shinji

Sony dont do anything right, Nintendo do.

This would be the typical Playstation fanboy take on me daring to suggest that Sony tripped up in a lot of places over the last year or so and that (gasp!) the Cube actually has good launch titles...

Sony are actually doing rather a lot of things right just now. They've dropped the price of their machine to something a bit more sensible, and actually got a really, really good line up of games for Christmas - Grand Theft Auto 3 is the new Best Game Ever - which is really exploiting their second Christmas very nicely indeed. It even looks like, for the first time ever, they'll actually supply retail with enough stocks of the console this year.

Hats off to them here - they've made the best out of a very bad start even if it's meant quietly brushing some of their more off the wall plans under the carpet... When was the last time you heard a Sony rep spouting off about "home media centres" and what have you? Never mind the Broadband fiasco...

None of this changes the fact that the DVD playback capabilities of the unit are nothing short of dire compared to standalone players which cost significantly less money. Of course, Cube doesn't even HAVE a DVD player...

DadaKopf

What about the PS2 for anamorphic vision? It just doesn't handle it on mine, which really pi$ses me off. I got one fo the first batch to come into the country so could anyone tell me if there's a way around this? There's little worse than having a perfectly functioning DVD but the screen's stretched vertically. It's a real shame because the PS2 is a great second DVD player.

Jabba_the_SLUT

Originally posted by Shinji

Of course, Cube doesn't even HAVE a DVD player...

Its not included but i thought i was available as an extra. Im open to correction as always.

Staying on topic my m8 got a PS2 and was slighty disappointed at the overall quality. Hes sez its a gr8 console but hed woyuld sooner watch movies on his comp.

tobi

I found this PS2 Compatibility List, quite a lot of big names there too.

Compatibility List

Dont be at yourself

Panasonic are releasing a DVD playing GameCube called the Q, but it will only be released in Japan. Still, at the current exchange rates, its cheaper to import one than buy a new PS2. European dvds will play on it, and I'd wager that the Jap>US mod chip will work on it too.

Xithus

Id rather watch a dvd on a big tv, sitting on a comfy couch than sitting in a crummy chair watching on a 17" monitor.
The ps2 is an above average dvd player and coupled with the console its a fÜcking bargain.

Cake Fiend

Some of us have decent monitors and remote controls (also, my chairs don't have crumbs).

I paid £80 for my PC DVD drive and £75 for my video card with TV-out. Seems to me I spent £155 on essential computer components and got a free DVD player with them.

I quite like being able to rip DVDs to my hard drive BTW.