Best display connection for Sony PS2

naefeart

naefeart

naefeart

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I'm assuming most on here are running component connections with their PS2s and HDTVs, but is anyone running RGB sync on green (RGBsB) and if so, do they feel it's worth the effort?

I've been reading about this stuff for days and watching the guides on YouTube, but im still unclear if there is a clear improvement for the effort involved. My gaming TV is a 4k 58" Panasonic so ideally I want to get the best picture quality from the PS2. I realise much of this is subjective.

The way I see it, I have two options:

1. Use a good component cable and directly connect to the Tv's component inputs

2. Get an RGB SCART cable and a framemeister or OSSC and use RGBsB.

I'm not scared to spend money, but I don't want to if there is no appreciable gain. Having spent a lot of time in the past trying to get better quality pictures from old consoles, I feel I can notice even small improvements, so to me it is worth the hassle.

Please furnish me with your experiences
 
From my experience the more you increase connection quality, the less I appreciate it because the higher quality connection highlights the poorer graphics and slight "incompatibilities" with HD TVs (the way HD TVs handle SD analogue connections like SCART etc).

If I was going out of my way for the best experience on PS2 I would track down a decent, 4:3 CRT TV with RGB SCART and Component connections and see which one I prefer out of the two.
 
Stew, you are quite right... to experience the PS2 as intended, I should connect it to a CRT. In hindsight I made a mistake with my PS2 purchase, confusing it with my old PS3 which had an HDMI connection.

At the moment all my consoles are connected to my 4k TV. These all use HDMI, so not an issue. Getting a CRT speciffically for the PS2 would not be convenient space-wise atm, so i need to get the best overall experience with what I have.

I understand I'm not going to get 1080p with the PS2, but if there is noticeable improvement to be had, with a little extra kit (OSSC etc) them I'm happy to go down that route.
 
I use an OSSC with a PS2 via RGB SCART and the quality of output is very good. I've not used PS2s component cables so I can't compare as to whether it's worth the considerable extra for the OSSC compared with just going component.

If your planning to play PS1 games on it then most PAL games do not output via OSSC, however they also likely won't output via component cables either so you would need to use SCART directly into the TV.
 
If CRT isn't an option then i'd personally go RGB Scart and XRGB Mini Framemeister. The research I did previously seem to indicate that the OSSC Line doubler wasn't quite as good as the Framemeister.

Although these days PS2 emulation is good so with your PS2 discs you could always emulate.
 
Thanks, interesting watch. Not as simple as one would expect; however I'm no longer a noob when it comes to Sync on Luma/CSYNC, Sync on green etc. My head does hurt a bit though.

Ok, I'm going to either try the OSSC or fat PS3 route. Costs about the same either way.
 
I wouldn't even consider going down the PS3 route unless you can get one really cheap. You're looking at hardware that is over 10 years old now and is notorious for being unreliable. You also need an NTSC version for the best compatibility with PS2 games as they replaced some of the chips with software emulation in the PAL PS3s, to get an idea of whether this is a problem for the games you want to play there's a comparability list here.

If you have an original fat PS2 I would look into modding it with Free McBoot, and installing a hard drive to rip your games to (so you don't have to worry about the laser dying, and getting the benefits of much better load times).
 
No only a few early consoles are, since they have the ps2 chip included. They then reverted to software emulation before removing it via firmware.

Still have my launch 60gb and going strong, but even though it has the chip in it some of the games just dont work, or you have to do weird tricks like with Tomb Raider 1 and 2 and disk swaps to get them to load properly.
 
Thanks, well that's cemented my decision. I'm going to checkout the Free McBoot option to take pressure off the dvd drive.

Glad I came on here to check these things out, I thought I knew the score, but everyday's a school day.

Still undecided on the framemeister vs OSSC, so I'll need to do some more research there. I am however getting some much wanted retro enjoyment, with my old consoles... technology and graphics move on, but a good game is still a good game.
 
andshrew said:
You also need an NTSC version for the best compatibility with PS2 games as they replaced some of the chips with software emulation in the PAL PS3s, to get an idea of whether this is a problem for the games you want to play there's a comparability list here.
Click to expand...

And even then you'd not be able to run your old PAL PS2 games as they're region locked... :(

I think you can download PS2 games from the US playstation store? I'd have thought that would be the best option if you've got a UK PS3 already - download the no-crippled/non-PAL titles and play them on your existing PS3?
 
dowie said:
And even then you'd not be able to run your old PAL PS2 games as they're region locked... :(

I think you can download PS2 games from the US playstation store? I'd have thought that would be the best option if you've got a UK PS3 already - download the no-crippled/non-PAL titles and play them on your existing PS3?
Click to expand...

Not if you buy a PS3 test / debugging console, costs quite a bit think mine was £240 but it will run PS1 / PS2 / PS3 etc from any region.
 
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