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PS2 Getting DVD Upgrade & Progressive Video?
blues5150 writes "ZDNET is reporting that Sony is going to be upgrading the PlayStation 2. According to the article "The new design will support most recordable DVD media, including DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW. The new PS2 will also support "progressive scan", a playback method used by some TV sets for clearer images, and it will come with a built-in infrared receiver for using a remote control to control DVD playback." The bad part of all of this is that they don't have dates for availability in North America or Europe."
This is a weird step, all of the protection schemes sony has been putting on the PS2, and now they are taking steps to allow dvd-r/dvd-rw to be completly supported, maybe they think backing up is fair use? Isen't sony part of the RIAA? I am a bit confused.
Posting useless rant since 2003.
Wonder if it will support VCD's this time... that would be great
Hmmm, is the removal of the firewire port a sign that Sony is moving away from making PS2 a digital hub type appliance. Perhaps they are focusing on PS3 instead in this regard. It's interesting that they never really did anything in this regard. Even having simple dv editing (once you add a hd) would have been possible and one could have imagined that you could have done some cool effects.
Sony's also getting rid of the iLink/FireWire/1394 port, some people used this for linking multiple PS2's for multiplayer.
why upgrade the ps2 when the ps3 is coming out this year ?
At least mine does. Had an original one that didn't. Got this one at BestBuy about 4 months ago, and it has progressive scan as an option in the setup. It requires the use of a component cable, such as the monster GameLink(TM) 400.
how about supporting Divx :-). :-)
So that i can watch my downloaded divx. I download only non-copyrighted stuff of course
for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".
Will there be an upgrade path for those of us with existing PS2's. Also I hope Sony are going to make this a PS2 - Special Edition, i.e. upgrade the CPU/graphics as well and as such they give it the ability to play new special games that won't work on the original PS2.
Now if they could have a special mode on new games that would take advantage of that cool.
Also the i.Link (firewire port is going). Only time I've seen it used is in a 3 screen display og Gran Turismo 3
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
And of course this will be another $300 for those of us who already bought the thing.
If we want the new features that is.
I'm not even THINKING about it until I hear it supports VCDs. I know the quality of a VCD is terrible compared to DVD, but a VCD is comparable to my camcorder and is sometimes the only format in which some Chinese and Japanese material is available.
I was PISSED when I tried to play a VCD of my sister's wedding in my PS2 and it didn't work.
The sickening thing is that the DVD player in the PS2 was based on hardware that CAN play VCDs, they just disabled it.
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
Sony SCPH 50000
I dont use my PS2 besides playing games however I'd find it more useful with the added DVD formats and of course mp3 or whatever music format you prefer.
HOWEVER, I wouldn't think this added feature would make me go out and get a new PS2 or convince anyone else to go out and buy a PS2 who hasn't had one already.
-- ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space!
Allthough no date is given this sure is good news. The PS2 will continue to grow as a replacement for a some other devices. Consider running linux on it, watching DVD (home brew or not I don't care), and game all you want and all this on your TV screen. Other points are the thing isn't realy ugly and therefor easily accepted in the living room, it's quite so the noise won't bother you too much.
It could be a poor man's PC if you ask me
/(bb|[^b]{2})/
...and it becomes obsolete a few months later. Never fails -- I finally broke down and bought a PS/2 for my wife for Christmas, figuring we'd be on top of the video game market for a while. Here it is four months later and we're about to be made obsolete. Not quite the dude coming home with his new PC in his car to see the billboard for a later model, but close enough for discomfort.
For those of us without a dedicated DVD player, this is pretty good news. Now I can watch all those movies my friend burns me from Blockbuster (note to MPAA: I'm only kidding.) on my PS2...
On a more serious note, will the support for DVD-RW discs make it easier to play burned games? I haven't had any experience with that since the PSX.
My Sig is Sauer.
Why age they getting rid of the Firewire Port? I actually have games that us it! I never understood the logic of putting expansion bays on products, then, because of "lack of support" remove it later, after I have something that uses it, forcing an interesting situation. Probbably I won't be able to use the Linux kit with the new model either. I'm willing to bet that the US release ditches the HD slot as well, as it seems that there is little chance of it being used outside of the linux kit.
Bork Bork Bork!!
I'm really suprised that burned DVD's will be supported. It looks like the reasoning is for DVD movie playback, but to me it looks like its inviting movie/game piracy. There must be more to it then just playing any burned DVD, but whatever protection is used is just asking to be hacked. I really don't see where Sony is going with this one.
take off every sig for great justice
Wonder if this means the Linux Kit will work with these Disc types? i.e. it's been a major hassle to do much of anything without the additional media formats being support.
It was originally explained that the reason for the non-support was DRM copy protection. i.e. you wouldn't be able to copy a game CD/DVD to a CD-R and run the software. Now you can...
The CD-RW support is interesting. Save your games to CD-RW for backup! Perhaps they are moving towards making it an Internet terminal.
Firewire removal because they didn't use it and to reduce cost?
I think due to the design of the PlayStation 2's highly-integrated mainboard you can forget about upgrading the video output of current PS2's in the North Ameerican and European to support progressive scan video. =(
It's more likely that we'll see new-production PS2's that will sport progressive-scan outputs using the three-RCA connector component video connection found here in the USA or the special component video connector used in Europe.
Well its about time. I'd say one of the few things left that Xbox had a big advantage over the PS2 on was that you could actually use a remote for watching DVDs instead of a controller. Maybe if we're lucky they'll even allow for more than two controller ports.
This sounds like a marginal addition to the PS2, trying to attract the consumer who'd like a console and a DVD player, and for whom this would provide a good opportunity to get both in one package. While I can't imagine that this will be a huge boost to PS2 sales, it'll hopefully keep things going until the next generation console comes along...
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Sort of Reminds me of MS posting as new features things they claimed the last version had. :^)
You are in a maze of twisted little posts, all alike.
The bad part of all of this is that they don't have dates for availability in North America or Europe
From i4u:
On May 15th Sony starts selling the SCPH 50000 model of the PS2 in Japan. The biggest improvement is the support of DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R und DVD+RW. DVD-RAM. Additionally the annoying Fan noise was reduced significantly (30%). The TV Output supports progressive scan now for better screen quality on high-end TV-Sets. The updated remote control (SCPH-10420) features an eject button and can also power down the console. No date available for the US release of the SCPH 50000. In Japan it will sell for 25,000yen.
I, for one, this this is a bunch of BS. Sony should just focus on the PS3 and make that a better system.
This is not an upgrade. I would need to buy a new PS2 in order to take advantage of these features. I want to leave my next console purchase off for a few years, so that means I am not buying one.
At the same time, I really a better DVD player on my PS2. The one in there now is real high-maintenance, needing to be cleaned before and in the middle of movies.
Bah.
Progressive scan and a quieter fan. This makes the PS2 much more compatible with home theatre setups. One of the things I don't like about the current PS2 is it's extremely loud fan (well if you're watching "quiet" movies or listening to music).
One "benefit" to Sony with supporting dvd-r is that they will probably sell more dvd-r burners now. Someone mentioned vcd, it makes no sense to support vcd as doing so will not drive more sales of other Sony products. I know that I'm more likely to buy a burner now since we use the PS2 as our primary dvd player and we are constantly worrying about the kids scratching up their dvd's.
I should do a better job of RTFA. I thought it said it was going to have DVD-R capabilities, when actually it's just saying it can READ them ...
-- (Score:i, Imaginary)
A little while back I bought a remote for my playstation 2 which came with a CD with software on it. Just put in the remote control reciever into a controller slot and it didn't work so I put the CD that came with it and installed the software, after which now most movies play really chunky on the playstation 2. Anyone else run into that?
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I'm willing to bet that the US release ditches the HD slot as well, as it seems that there is little chance of it being used outside of the linux kit.
Other than the fact that Final Fantasy Online requires the Linux kit?
Will I retire or break 10K?
Could this be where the PS3 rumors for later this year are based on?
Is it going to cost more than the current PS2?
Will the PS2 API be upgraded to include support for the hardware enhancements?
Will there be new games that only work on the new PS2?
Will PS2 Linux need significant work to run on the new PS2?
Will the new PS2 play VCD? SVCD? DivX? XviD? XVCD? XSVCD? CVD?
Why do I h8 apple?
The current PS2 IR remotes require a receiver to be plugged into one of the controller ports. The receiver allows a normal controller to be plugged into it as well so you can still use both ports, though. The integrated receiver is just a matter of convenience, I would think. Having a controller plugged into the receiver makes it a little bulky too, IMO.
I've had a play with firewire on my home PC and for moving stuff around its great. Being able to do real time video on my machine from camcorder amke life fun. However looking at a monitor ain't. This is one of those things that would of been nice but not surprised it didn't happen. Not really their target market
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
The IR port and remote are sold separately. The IR port plugs into one of the game controller slots and has a port on the other side to allow a game controller to be plugged in as well.
They sell for $40 I think.
Sony sold a huge number of PS2s in Japan for the launch, but didn't see the launch game sales to match the console sales. DVD movie sales in Japan, however, skyrocketed at the launch of the PS2.
The PS2 was never used as much for DVD playback in North America. Neither was the Xbox. The DVD video quality in both consoles isn't as good as stand alone players; and the Xbox requires a $30 remote just to open up DVD playback. DVD playback is a nice little feature to have, but it certainly isn't necessary. I want my game consoles to play games; I have a DVD player to watch movies on.
Nope, IR port is an add on that sticks in a mem port.
That's strange - I wonder why they would want to support more formats that are currently be used for piracy, especially when most DVD-R's work fine. What they should really focus on is the quality of the lasers they use in their drives. They are already on the 7th or 8th revision of the PS2 board, and they STILL haven't gotten a decent laser that doesn't crap out after a few months of heavy use. When I bought Xenosaga (their first dual-layered DVD game), I had to swap my PS2 with a friend's whose was only a month old. It would skip on my PS2 and two others I tried the game on. I even returned it for another disc with the same results. Get your laser to work with existing media properly before opening the door to even more piracy!
I don't know about Progressive scan (they have Component video, which you should not confuse with Progressive scan), but there is no IR port on the PS2. If you want to use one of those remote controls you have to plug a reciever into one of the memory card slots on the PS2 (and download an IR supporting DVD player to a PS2 flash card). The remote is a rip off at $20 to boot.
I read the internet for the articles.
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No. It was an add-on that went into a joystick port. Aftermarket versions had a joystick pass thru, but I don't beleive the Sony branded ones did. You could always use your remote as a controller though.
But Gran Turismo 3 - And that's about as mainstream as it gets. I've seen that setup, too, and GT3 made it to PS2's best-seller list. It's a decent game, and I know lots (8+) of people who have it, play it, and party with multiple displays (4?). Better than that splitscreen crap.
Informatus Technologicus
DVD-Rs of my home movies play fine on it.
Haven't had the problems with the dvd drive you've experienced.
I got my ps2 in February of 2002 and it plays DVDs backed up to DVD+RW media already. So what are they changing?
Uncle Thursday
--Link Goes Here--
PS2 "supports" progressive scan already. Look at SOCOM Navy Seals. It has a Progressive Scan mode that displays in 480p, if you enable it and have component cables.
Sounds like this updated console natively displays it now. Cool.
Not trying to troll or anything, but the Xbox's DVD playback kit has had this feature since it was out. At my work we tend to sell more PS\2's then Xboxes but if somebody has a decent TV and wants a DVD playback and gaming solution all in one we push the Xbox thier way.
Gnome wasnt built in a day.
Here's my take. It won't cost more. Your average user doesn't know what progressive scan is, and they're not going to understand why a video game machine that cost X yesterday costs X+Y today when it seemingly does the same thing. My guess is that Sony has come up with ways to simplify the internal design of the PS2, and while they're doing that, they've decided to add some functionality (IR, Progressive Scan, etc.) If you look at the history of consoles, they almost always do a redesign of the console as it matures since it helps improve their bottom line. Genesis did it. Nintendo did it. Even XBOX has a couple variations in its internals. Anyway, that's my guess on why this is being done.
Mine already reads +r/rw and -r/rw.. got it a year ago and it took no upgrade.. it also came with a usb IR + remote..
ZDNET needs to catch up...
Sony should include this feature at least for the American market :-)
I wonder if this time they will include a remote control that actually has an off button. They gave all kinds of reasons for not having one and they all sounded legit until I realized that *gasp* every other dvd player has a remote with an off button without having any problems. Such a crock of shit and I'm tired of hearing lame answers. Give me an off button goddamit!
The Xbox has already been through a major hardware revision (v1.0 to 1.1) which offered many of the same improvements: it eliminated a 40mm fan from the GPU, which quietened the unit considerably, and replaced the bloody awful Thomson DVD drive with a shiny Samsung that can, for the first time in an Xbox, play CD-Rs (note that some units do still come with the middle-of-the-road Philips drive though). Oh, and it has a 20gig hard disk instead of the 8 in the original Xbox, too.
Funny how Sony made a song and a dance about it and Microsoft didn't, though. Not like MS to miss a marketing trick.
You win again, gravity!
They won't put more than two controller ports on it for two reasons.
You may think me a tired, old, cynic. I'd have to disagree about the tired bit.
I remember the article saying the ps3 was supposed to come out this year. My geuss is something got lost in translation somewhere with somebody talking about a new version of the playstation coming out this year, and this is what they actually meant.
i could not think of anything clever.
No kidding. I too was furious that the PS2 wouldn't play VCD or SVCD. A number of Sony's other DVD players also don't support VCD, so I suppose it shouldn't be a huge surprise, but it
s still a major disappointment. No cdr photo cd support either.
I'm glad they made the PS2 quieter - I was disappointed with how noisy it was compared to my PSX.
I wish they offered a high speed DVD drive, thought - the game load and access times from the standard DVD are pretty bad for computer gamers. For a few bucks they could put in a small hard disk to use a cache for the DVD drive and performance would be significantly better.
Lastly, if only they would have included a hard disk and a network adapter in the standard unit. Online gaming, Linux, and PS2 hacking need these components to be more widespread for the PS2 to take off further.
Seriously, at the moment the XBOX is looking like a much better console for hacking and linux than PS2
Damn...Companies sure know how to screw their loyal fans. I bought my PS2 the week it came out. First, there were the price cuts. These are somewhat understandable, with competition and all, but it burns my ass paying $100 more for the same product. Then, it was a cheaper PS2, plus games bundled in. Now, it's a PS2.1. Shoot, I can understand lower prices or pack-in games, but giving the system features, ahhhhh, it screws over the loyal.
3VIL N3V3R SL33PS...PH33R TH3 3VIL
especially in Japan where it is looked down upon. Improving the drive read ability isn't really going to increase piracy anyway, your console would still need to be chipped - and the sort of person who chips his PS2 is the sort of person who's going to have been fiddling with resistors to get it working now anyway.
Sony is probably responding to the person who's bought his lovely Vaio laptop, bought his lovely Sony DVD writer to record his holiday video shot on his Sony Video Camera and is very pissed off when his DVD doesn't work in his Sony Playstation2.
Mine already plays DVD+RW! I have been trying to convert a lot of my laserdiscs to DVD, but my Sampo 631CF won't play any DVD rewritable format. I have been making test masters on a DVD+RW and testing them out on my PS2 before I make a permanent DVD-R copy. Anyway, I know it plays DVD+RW and DVD-R. I haven't tried the other formats yet.
James
whooooa, wait a second... on one hand, sony is a major critic of recording media, citing in their case against Napster (along with the RIAA) that CD/R sales are up but CDs are down. The music industry, which Sony is a major player in, has been trying to devolop CDs that won't work in a PC, and CD players that won't read CD/Rs.
Then on the other hand, now they're implementing DVD drives that can read actually DVD/Rs. Jesus, next thing you know, Sony might start devoloping devices that help you listen to mp3's...
Seriously, does anyone else see the irony?
"In a Democracy, people get the kind of government they deserve." -Winston Churchill
I used to work in Software Etc and saw many PS2s come back with problems with either CDs or DVDs. I think nearly every employee wound up swapping their system in for a new one (Product Replacement Plan thing) because of DVD playback. My PS2 basically won't play the 2nd layer of most DVDs, though games don't seem to have problem. I know other people with the same issue. That's besides the amount discs the early revisions scratched (which people of course tried to return as defective). Do not put PS2s vertical, no matter how cool it looks in all those Sony ads. I've heard of plenty of people whose PS2s work flawlessly. Great, good for them. I know for a fact though that many of them have problems, *especially* with DVD playback.
I can't speak for everybody - but when I chipped my Xbox I dropped in a big 120 Gig drive. I toyed with the idea of buying a DVD writer, but it seemed way too much trouble and expense. Much easier just to store everything on the Xbox Hard Disk and have your own Gaming jukebox.
For reference, I believe The Getaway, SOCOM: US Navy Seals, and Guitly Gear X2 are examples of games that do prog scan output. And only in 480p.
My guess is, since the hardware support is already built in, this is a dvd driver update and might become available to all of those who had already bought our PS2s. Of course, I could be wrong completely...
Your home movies are dual-layered. Try a bunch of dual-layered movies and see how well they work on the second layer.
at least thats what a few friends have said. They burnt a DVD with a sony A500 and the disc played.
The Doormat
If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
Extra revenue from people buying PS2 for firewire port Consider the original Playstation. First the phono outputs on the back of it went, then the expansion port making each successive model cheaper to produce. If anybody ever chipped then they'll know how much simpler it got inside. Started off as multilayer board, then single double sided, then single sided, then the whole thing was shrunk even further for the PSOne.
AREN'T, not ARE, damn preview button... I mentioned earlier that regular DVD-R's work fine. The point was concerning the compatibility issues with dual-layered media and vertical positioning.
>>PS2 "supports" progressive scan already
I think that's true only of gameplay and not DVD playback. You need special hardware to upscale from interlaced format, which DVD's are encoded in, to progressive.
If you already own a PS2, why do you care how they're changing new units? Were you really going to buy *another* PS2 just to get that DVD-R playback capability?
I'm already using movies I've burned onto dvd-r in my ps2. I got mine last christmas. Every movie I copied worked perfectly.
--------------------------------------
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It's less than a month to E3 and Sony will want to make any announcement about a western version of this system there, to maximise publicity.
The SCPH-50000's big difference is that it supports progressive scan for DVD playback, has an integrated IR receiver and removes the firewire port.
Games have always been able to do 480p on all consumer PS2s. Very few games do this because you need a 720x480 framebuffer instead of the usual 640x448 or 512x448. This is because the pixel clock is 1440 units per scanline in 480p instead of 2560 in 480i - you can only set whole multiples of clocks per pixel, hence the constraints. No consumer PS2 has ever had progressive scan DVD playback. Since Xbox doesn't do progressive scan for DVDs either this is a nice little sales bullet point for Sony.
Sony absolutely will not change the CPU or GPU in any way games can detect. Their whole business model is based around games having as large a potential market as possible. As soon as you split the hardware base like that you split your market. This is also why they won't add controller ports.
The removal of the firewire port is surprising to me given that GT3 uses it for system link play (and for the cool 3-monitor single player view) but I would imagine market research told them not enough people are using it for it to be worthwhile. Either that or people are standardising on USB or Ethernet.
Graham
http://www.theinformationminister.com/press.php?ID =612212559 The ministry will fight your playstation in the rear. God will roast the moderator's stomachs in hell.
People who still make jokes about confusing the PS2 with the PS/2 should be banned from posting them. It was funny when they announced the successor to the playstation. Years later, the joke is worn out. Move on. Try something involving the French. It's an easy way to practice being funny.
One of my big complaints about the PS2 is its slow load time compared to the GC and (to a lesser extent) the Xbox.
Anybody know if this updated box will improve the speed at which games load? I seem to remember the PS1 had a couple different iterations with different speed CD-Rom drives, hopefully this will be along the same lines?
I bought my PS2 the day they came out, as a dual-use DVD player and console. Worked fine for about a year and then I got bit by the now-infamous Disk Read Error.
After the usual cleanings and whatnot the problem degraded to the point where I just got fed up and bought a brand new PS2. This time, I checked the model numbers very carefully. Here's what I found... there have been at least 7 revs, all with new capabilities. The first number of your serial indicates what you have:
Serial Number on rear of machine begins with:
version 1 = serial number (refer to yellow rectangle in right of image) start with "U1" and has 10 case screws.
version 2 = serial number (refer to yellow rectangle in right of image) start with "U0" and has 10 case screws.
version 3 = serial number (refer to yellow rectangle in right of image) start with "U2" and has 10 case screws.
version 4 = serial number (refer to yellow rectangle in right of image) start with 'U3' 'U4' 'U5' or a 'U6' and has a total of 8 case screws.
version 5 = model number contains the letter 'R' (refer to the red rectangle in right side of image) at the end (example SCPH-30001 R).
version 7 = 3900X is the new PS2 Version 7 (what I have)
Once you have esatblished what version you have, examine the limitations using this chart:
Version 1 - Basic playstation 1&2 Games no dvd-r,dvd-rw compatability, NO DVD+R, NO DVD+RW COMPATABILITY
Version 2 - Basic playstation 1&2 Games dvd-r,dvd-rw compatability, NO DVD+R, NO DVD+RW COMPATABILITY
Version 3 - Basic playstation 1&2 Games dvd-r, compatability, NO DVD+R, NO DVD-RW,NO DVD+RW COMPATABILITY
Version 4 - Basic playstation 1&2 Games dvd-r compatability, NO DVD-RW, NO DVD+R, NO DVD+RW COMPATABILITY
Version 5 - Basic playstation 1&2 Games dvd-r compatability, MILD DVD-RW, MILD DVD+R, MILD DVD+RW COMPATABILITY
SECOND GENERATION PS2 VERSION 7 - (SECOND GENERATION PS2) Basic playstation 1&2 Games DVD+R,DVD+RW,DVD-R,DVD+RW compatability
Also, the latest version (available now) does away with the 2MB code that had to sit on your 8MB card just to use the DVD remote. It also seems a bit faster to load, and the fan noise is quieter.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Will there be any way to upgrade exististing PS2s when the new drive comes out, or will the purchase of a new unit be necessary?
"Do I dare disturb the universe?"
And I was a late adopter of the PS2 (This January infact) just to avoid THIS kind of thing!! Xo
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If they're adding more features to the PS2 it's probably so as to justify not cutting the price. I was really hoping to pick one up after the next round of price cuts. Looks like that's a long way off now.
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At least you only have to pay for it if you want convienence. The XBox will absolutely refuse to play DVDs until you buy the remote, which works in the exact same way. Not that it contains any of the required hardware, it only acts as a dongle.
v8 seemed to be a test bed for some new anti DVD-r protection. They added some extra checks for DVD media on this model (which have already been cracked by two mods).
Bottom line is that new DVD game media checks were added on the v8 console, these are most deffinatly going to roll over to the v9 if not getting improved in the process. This is to protect sony from burned games since the console will read burned media so well now.
As for progressive output, yes the ps2 had support for progressive output but in games only, DVD progressive output requires a de-interlacer which the current PS2 models do NOT sport. It is impossible for the current ps2 models to output progressive DVD movie output.
This new model will also allow the remote to turn the console on/off and eject the drive tray with a newer model of remote. The older remote requires the controller port IR dongle and does not support eject power on/off features.
As far as modding is concerned, its a wait and see situation. Hope is always there for compatability with v8 compatable mods but sony may have very well added some other sort of check.
If it supported mp3 and dvdrw then happy days. Alas it appears not
With a mod you can boot the divx player and play mp3s from there
There is a new model comming soon (unknown when) SCPH-55000 that is speculated to include a 40gig HDD and NIC (Maybe modem also?). Exspected retail price is around US $350
And the difference is... Microsoft has to pass along a good part of that $30 to the DVD Consortium in the form of licensing fees; fees that Sony does not have to pay.
http://www.dvdforum.org
-- Terry
If the new version played SVCDs and DVDs, it'd be worth it. If it played DivX, even better. Otherwise, I don't quite see the reason to upgrade ...
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Uncle Thursday
---Too many posts, not enough witt.---
I'm surprised that no one is complaining. When Nintendo released the GBA:SP as an update to fix some things with the GBA, hordes of people moaned about Nintendo abusing their virtual monopoly. Yet when Sony does the same thing, all is quiet on the eastern front.
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Anything you can do, I can do meta.
I have Robotech Battlecry which supports it.
A quick glance at the High Definition Game Database and I see 15 games that people have confirmed have 480p support.
I'd been looking into progressive scan DVD players some time ago, and one thing that I saw was that the X-Box's DVD playback did NOT support progressive scan output. I wasn't planning on getting one anyway (I settled on a really nice $200 Panasonic model), but I thought it odd that Microsoft often touted the XBox's readiness for newer televisions but didn't support progressive scan DVD playback...
As for the PS2, it can already output a progressive signal if a game uses it. It just doesn't have a lot of games that make use of the feature and it doesn't support such in its DVD playback.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
The problem with making it a driver update is that it's not just a matter of magically transforming the video. Creating progressive scan output requires use of one of several different possible algorithms to 'de-interlace' the video, and some methods are better for some video formats (movie, television, etc) than others. A 'generic' progressive scan DVD player could just use a single deinterlacing method, but the results could be worse than a standard interlaced player (I've heard of one Philips DVD player with just that problem). I'm not sure how easy it would be to create a 'driver' to handle all of that for the existing PS2 model.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
Certain games have support for Progressive Scan already assuming you're using component cables, though the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Guilty Gear X2.
I think this will be great and I'm very surprised that Sony has waited this long but... Two things here: 1) My wife recently had a problem with our PS2 (Disc Read Errors on valid PS2 games). So she contacted Sony and they did some tests and advised her to send it in. So she did. Only Sony and God knows what they're going to do to it to actually fix the problem but it'd be nice if they just dropped the new (media compatible) drive in. Wishful thinking (but it wouldn't surprise me being that I'm a Sony beta tester). 2) All those diehard folks that fought and fought and (like me) we're lucky enough to grab a PS2 before Christmas 2000 are probably going to be left in the cold. Chances are Sony won't seem an upgrade kit. SCEA means Sony Computer Entertainment System. Computers are easily upgradable the new PS2 should be and the PS3 should be even more upgradable. Moving slightly off topic: We're coming to the point where console based computing is going to become "something". Sony should realize this and adjust accordingly. The only problem comes with games. Console game designers have a set of hardware they have to design for and every game works and performs the same across every PS2. This is the great part about console systems. The games get better (improved coding and use of exsisting hardware) but the hardware doesn't change. Food for thought.
Seriously, those who have HDTVs AND need a progessive scan dvd player, the LAST place they're going to look is a crappy console to do it. You're missing all the options of dedicated progressive scan players offer, not to mention the picture quality is shoddy at best. Those with the big toys dont comprimise. This is why Nintendo never bothered, no one needs this crap. We have it already in a much better form.
Given how many problems there are with current DVD support, I am not surprised to see that Sony is working on improving it.
Most PS2 owners I know use the PS2 as their main DVD reader, even if the current PS2 is quite bad at it. I own one and there are many DVDs it can not read anymore. This is really annoying.
I was considering buying a new one (so I could also link them together to play with friends.) After all, having two TV is a good way to play PS2 games, and watch TV at the same time. It's a must when you're just building up your team in RPGs or doing the endurance races in GT3.
I was thinking of making my next laptop my multimedia platform, but if there is an improved PS2 I might decide otherwise.
Anyway, great move from Sony. Nearly as great as lowering the price...
Black holes occur when God divides by zero.
Go look at the backs of games. Only a teeny fraction of PS2 games do it, but it's there. This is just so that the firmware DVD player will also produce progressive scan video, an important feature since Microsoft dropped the ball when the Xbox didn't do progressive scan DVD.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
I have a 6-player Gran Turismo LAN party with my gaming friends about every other month. We set up 6 Playstations and 6 TVs - each with force feedback steering wheels, connected to each other through an i-Link (Sony's name for Firewire) hub. We play for about 6 or 7 hours at a time - it's like having our own private arcade and is great fun.
The ONLY reason I could see for them to remove the firewire port is because the network adapter is now out and all future games will allow the same basic thing to be done over ethernet. It's a pity about obsoleting the few titles that use Firewire.
I wish they had got it right to begin with and put an ethernet port on the v1.0 model instead of Firewire. It was such a good choice to include USB given that a standard PC Logitech force feedback wheel and a standard PC keyboard and mouse work in the USB ports of the PS2.
I'm so sure Sony's going to pull a Sega and dillute their market by producing a whole bunch of subtly incompatible and feature-different consoles.
Why do you think there was the backlash against Sega? Ooh, look, I can get Sega CD, Sega 32X, or Sega Saturn all within the space of a couple of years.
Any time a company has tried to change the 5-year cycle of console development, they've only killed off the platforms involved. People will adopt a wait-and-see approach if they think something new is coming out. If MS had said that Xbox 2 was coming in fall of 2002, no Xboxes would've sold. Nintendo kept away from mentioning the GBA SP so they didn't kill off their sales, either. And that redesign doesn't even add any new features, it just improves on the base design.
If you really want upgradability and incompatibility, go play on the PC. Then you can spend 400$ a year getting new video cards, CPUs, motherboards, and RAM. For those of us who have lives and don't want to be constantly babysitting a PC with a crappy OS just to play games, we'll continue to use our nice, reliable game consoles.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Breakfast served all day!
The x-box refuses to play DVD's without the 'remote' (or 'DVD kit' as they call it) because the console, on itself, has no region decoding key.
Here in mexico you can buy kits to play either region 1 (USA) or Region 4 (Latin Ame.) DVD's. Once you install either one of the kits the console locks to that region, like a regular RC2 DVD-ROM after 5 changes.
This way MS can manufacture identical consoles for multiregion markets and regionalize with the kits.
16,777,216 comments ought to be enough for any forum!
They're upgrading the ps2 but still leaving out vcd support? Why? That's the only reason why I haven't bought a ps2 yet, because it doesn't support vcds and most of my movie collection is vcd or divx.
Every standard dvd player includes vcd support, I really wish Sony would wise up and throw vcd support in the ps2.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
Sony is probably changing over to a different DVD-ROM drive in order to save money (by now they were probably the only ones using the old part), and this is a free feature that comes with the hardware change.
Jon Acheson
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
>The IR port and remote are sold separately. The IR port plugs into one
>of the game controller slots and has a port on the other side to allow
>a game controller to be plugged in as well.
>They sell for $40 I think.
>
>
Try $14.00 at either K-mart,Wal-mart,Target or Circuit City.
Well I got both of my Japanese PS2s (1st and 3rd gen) to play DVD-R Media.. Though it doesnt play DVD-RW .. To me this isnt really big knews.. Been there done that.. And I already got composite.. So it runs a little bit quieter.. Im not going to fork out 222,000Y . Considering I have about 7 dvd players at home (2 ps2,xbox,PC,Laptop,Sonydvd,Pioneer DVD-LD).
There's no Freedom like UFP-dom
Haven't seen this mentioned here, but:_ e.ht ml
The official complete press release with images of the unit and remote is at
http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/index
One good thang about the wait for this to be released in the U.S. and Europe is that Japan will beta (or maybe gamma) test the upgrade for all of us and hopefully we will have less trouble with it then they will.
You could always use your remote as a controller though.
Either you have that backwards, or I just found the worst way to play Gran Turismo.
Do either the new or old PS/2 support VGA output somehow? I'd like to plug it straight into my projector without having a line doubler.
The main problem with the PS2's visuals is 4 cruddy megs of video ram and lack of flicker reduction.
burn all our rented games!
(For backups of course)
(When the rental store is closed of course. Hmmmm..)
Nope. At least if I recall correctly the DVD remote can be used as a crude remote in the same manner that the regular controller can be used as the dvd remote.
Perhaps the firewire is being dropped to encourage people to connect PS2s using the ports on the online kit (sold separately), or to encourage developers to implement link games using the same method (thus pushing kit sales). Or they just want developers to focus on online games rather than link games.
Of course, losing the firewire port may be necessary to cover the hardware costs of building in IR.
Vino, gyno, and techno -Bruce Sterling
Related question: what's a good cheap progressive-scan component-output DVD player these days? I've seen some for under $100; are any of these at all decent?
I have a year and a half old PS2 and just recently got a DVD burner. I've been testing out media in the various DVD players I have access to and so far my PS2 works fine with all of them. DVD+-R and DVD+-RW. Beats out my laptop DVD-ROM too (Toshiba SD-C2502).. it won't play DVD+RWs or DVD-RWs (yes, I bought the Sony burner that burns all types of media).
Sig!
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regarded as a criminal offence.
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