Quick question about 60Hz output on the PS2

[dirtydog]

I know the PS2's 60Hz mode is NTSC and not PAL 60. On my TV this results in noticeably different colours compared to 50Hz PAL. eg. red looks more like dark pink.

I have read that an RGB scart cable bypasses the NTSC colour signal and uses its own signal, is that right? Would an RGB scart cable give the same colours at 60Hz that I get with 50Hz PAL?

 

[Wrathamon]

NTSC and PAL are the colour systems used for Composite and RF only, and dependant on the base frequency used for the colour burst and encoding on those video signals only.

NTSC and PAL doesn't apply to RGB, Component etc.

 

[dirtydog]

So you can guarantee that an RGB scart cable would give me proper colours at 60Hz?

 

[drusus]

Yes.

 

[dirtydog]

NTSC and PAL are the colour systems used for Composite and RF only, and dependant on the base frequency used for the colour burst and encoding on those video signals only.

NTSC and PAL doesn't apply to RGB, Component etc.

What about s-video? I ask because my PC graphics card is hooked up to my TV as well, via s-video. If I set it to NTSC mode, I also get the 'pink' look that I get with the PS2 @ 60Hz.

 

[Wrathamon]

What about s-video? I ask because my PC graphics card is hooked up to my TV as well, via s-video. If I set it to NTSC mode, I also get the 'pink' look that I get with the PS2 @ 60Hz.

Depends. Is it truely connected by S-video at the TV end? Because true s-video isn't common at all in the UK, instead the graphics card just sends composite video by the s-video lead instead of the seperate chrominance and luminance signals. This has always been the case with several graphics cards I've had in my PC (currently a decent high end ATI - just sends composite video).

So a quick question - does your gfx card connect to your TV via a SCART Block or a Yellow Phono - either case it'll just be using the composite video signal.

The true s-video signal will be NTSC or PAL frequency encoded, but I didn't mention it as it's not a standard really used by consoles these days - especially in the UK where it's not common.

 

[Dutch Guy]

Get a RGB SCART cable it makes soo much difference to the IQ, I still have a Blaze RGB cable with a switch to go from movies to games and it is soo much better than a standard SCART cable.

 

[dirtydog]

Depends. Is it truely connected by S-video at the TV end?

It goes into a scart adapter thingy, along with audio cables connected to one of my sound cards.

 

[dirtydog]

Get a RGB SCART cable it makes soo much difference to the IQ, I still have a Blaze RGB cable with a switch to go from movies to games and it is soo much better than a standard SCART cable.

The IQ is perfectly good enough in regular 50Hz PAL mode, via the standard cable, to my eyes. It's just the 60Hz mode (NTSC only on PS2s, even PAL ones) has dodgy colours compared to what they should be.

 

[Wrathamon]

It goes into a scart adapter thingy, along with audio cables connected to one of my sound cards.

Then it's just using composite video from the graphics card.

 

[dirtydog]

Get a RGB SCART cable it makes soo much difference to the IQ, I still have a Blaze RGB cable with a switch to go from movies to games and it is soo much better than a standard SCART cable.

That is the same cable I have just bought.

I can confirm it does indeed give the correct colours in 60Hz mode - you can flick the switch between 'DVD' and 'game' (composite and RGB scart) and see the difference in colours.

The picture quality is poor though - very washed out and flat compared to composite. Yes the scart cable is plugged into the correct scart socket, and the TV is set to the correct channel. There is nothing I can adjust on the television itself to make much difference. Flicking back to the composite mode, the picture is much sharper and more vibrant. Is it my television or do people actually prefer the flat, washed out look? It is like when you connect your computer to your TV (most noticeable on CRT TV) and turning the flicker filter up to the max. For games (or watching movies etc) you need the flicker filter off entirely. The RGB scart mode is like having it on full. Meaning zero flickering but at the expense of an extremely flat picture which is hard on the eyes. Shame.

 

[Dutch Guy]

The picture quality is poor though - very washed out and flat compared to composite. Yes the scart cable is plugged into the correct scart socket, and the TV is set to the correct channel. There is nothing I can adjust on the television itself to make much difference. Flicking back to the composite mode, the picture is much sharper and more vibrant. Is it my television or do people actually prefer the flat, washed out look? It is like when you connect your computer to your TV (most noticeable on CRT TV) and turning the flicker filter up to the max. For games (or watching movies etc) you need the flicker filter off entirely. The RGB scart mode is like having it on full. Meaning zero flickering but at the expense of an extremely flat picture which is hard on the eyes. Shame.

Strange, that is not what I remeber from my PS2 time, I can remember the RGB cable being much sharper than the standard composite, but this was on a CRT a few years ago.

 

[dirtydog]

I just took a few pics of the TV to try and show the difference. It doesn't quite show just how blurry/washed out it looks in RGB mode when you view the pics on an LCD computer monitor though - so people will probably say the RGB ones look better. The extra vibrancy of the composite mode is quite clear though, with the in-game shot.

Composite at the top, RGB at the bottom

Composite at the top, RGB at the bottom

 

[Dutch Guy]

The menu pic looks much better /sharper with RGB but the game pic is horrible and deffo not what I remember when I had a PS2/CRT, are you sure it is not a difference on the LCD between inputs/settings?

The ingame pic looks to have high gamma/brightness and different contrast.

 

[dirtydog]

The TV is a CRT I was just saying that when I view the photos now on my LCD computer monitor, the RGB ones don't look 'quite' so bad as they do on the TV itself. I think if you saw both modes in the flesh on my TV, the composite is much nicer.

The in game shot, both photos are using the exact same settings on the TV; all I did was flick the little switch on the RGB cable between RGB/composite modes.

I even tried increasing the contrast and colour settings on the TV to the maximum, and it still doesn't look nearly as colourful or vibrant as the composite mode.

 

[Dutch Guy]

Have you tried it with a different game? I remember something about GT4 that I maybe set the switch to Composite for that game specific as the RGB gave me a green screen.

 

[dirtydog]

I've tried it with Test Drive Unlimited (that is the one I originally wanted to get the cable for, because 50Hz gives huge black borders, and 60Hz gave NTSC colours) and it is the same. It is also the same in the PS2 system config screens. Oh and it is set to RGB mode in the PS2 setup menu as well.

 

[dirtydog]

A couple more comparisons... composite at the top again. (Again the RGB looks better on this computer screen than it does on the telly itself - maybe it's trying to tell me I should buy an LCD television )