Alternative Uses and Interesting Mods for a PS1?

carolinamagi asks: "I've got an original Playstation collecting dust in my garage that I only use when I've got a fix for Final Fantasy VII. I know the original Playstation is a dated system but I can't help but wonder if there are any 'after market' or non-game mods which others have tried (with success) to give their Playstation some new life. The catch is that I'm a total novice when it comes to mods (although I am handy around the house and around a computer) and I would still like the ability to play games with my modded Playstation. Any ideas?"

Comments

yes!

[Anonymous Coward]

search your favorite torrent site for the PS1 linux CD. I have a PS1 running linux used as a router/static content web server.

Re:yes!

[brianez21]

How do you get ethernet on the PS1? There isn't even USB.

Re:yes!

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, duh, he's using wireless!

Re:yes!

[Zantetsuken]

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there existed such ports as serial, parallel, RJ11, and cable splicing... Such things weren't so clumsy as today's USB ports - no, they were meant for a more civilized society...

Me too!

[Hennell]

I'm in a similar position, not actually sure where mine is to be honest...

I'm sceptical you'll get anything great though, without an internet connection or Wii like control, what -can- be done with it?
---
That surgeon is a man after my own heart
---

Cool

[anss123]

But how are you getting the PS1 on the net?

For Inspiration

[Cap'nPedro]

For inspiration, see what Ben Heck's done. He's a console modding god. If you want aftermarket, and are skilled with tools, make it portable!

Oh, and I have to mention his Xbox 360 laptop. Because it rocks.

Mod parent dubious?

[reality-bytes]

There is rumour of (I haven't tested) a kernel port of Clinux for the Playstation 1 MIPS-NOMMU but it's hardly a distribution.

Seeing as the PS1 only has limited memory card storage and would require a bespoke serial NIC for use as a webserver, I'd reserve judgement on the ACs claim unless further information is given.

Re:Mod parent dubious?

[BW_Nuprin]

You'd probably be better off modding a DS. They're about the same horsepower, and the DS is portable. Although if you're really jonesing to mod a PS1, I'd think the best you'd be able to do would be to make it portable.

Re:Mod parent dubious?

[Reaperducer]

Of course, since he HAS a PS1, and NOT a DS, it makes your comment pretty worthless. Why would he go out and buy another game machine just to mod it? The point is to re-use what he has, not to satisfy one fanboy club or another.

Re:Mod parent dubious?

[DrWho520]

How do you know what he has and what he does not have?

Re:Mod parent dubious?

[Anonymous Coward]

How do you know what he has and what he does not have?

He RTFA...

Emulators for a Modded Playstation 1

[Croakyvoice]

PS2 News over at DCEmu has emulators and some games for a Modded PS1. http://ps2emu.dcemu.co.uk/

Audiophile Quality CD Player

[Andrew Tanenbaum]

The PSX is almost an audiophile quality CD player.

See: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15484873/
And: http://dogbreath.de/PS1/index.html

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[Anonymous Coward]

Bzzzt. Wrong. It doesn't cost $9000, therefore it logically can not be an audiophile device.

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't doubt it's a decent CD player, but it's nothing special, and the article you linked to is full of complete bullshit. It tells you to leave to console on for at least three days to "break it in" - if that doesn't raise red flags in your head, there's nothing I can do to explain it to you.

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[Slashcrap]

The PSX is almost an audiophile quality CD player.

According to one of the linked articles, it has a very bog standard looking 16 bit DAC. The analogue output stage looks singularly unremarkable.

Some other choice quotes from the articles :

"Michael told me to look for a PlayStation with the model number SCPH-1001, which is the unit with separate audio and video RCA output jacks. That particular model allows audiophiles to use their own (expensive) audio cables to get "perfect" sound."

"Before I started my listening tests, Michael had a warning for me: "Plug in the units -- turn 'em on -- and don't turn them off." It seems the PlayStations sound best when left on all the time. Michael was right. You shouldn't even listen for the first three days. Both units need every second of the break-in period."

To me, both of those quotes raise red flags. The flags have "Audiophool" written on them in big letters.

I also doubt that simply removing two caps and replacing them with the expensive polyester variety is going to make a difference audible to anybody not already skilled in the art of self deception. And apparently if you have one with a mod chip, you should definitely remove it just in case it ruins the sound. I would have thought it would be obvious whether it does or not to somebody with such golden ears.

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[stinkbomb]

Um, yeah.

A Marantz 8B is a pretty unremarkable circuit. Have you ever heard one?

This is the classic debate between engineers and audiophiles; the engineer determines how a piece of equipment will sound by looking at a schematic, an audiophile determines how a piece of equipment will sound by listening to it.

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[Anonymous Coward]

Audiophiles determine how good something sounds by how much is costs.

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[Anonymous Coward]

>This is the classic debate between engineers and audiophiles; the engineer determines how a piece of equipment will sound by looking at a schematic, an audiophile determines how a piece of equipment will sound by listening to it.

Sounds like the classic Western vs. New-age Medicine debate: A "Western" doctor figures out a cure through double-blind tests and publishes the results in a medical journal. Then a phamaceutical company makes medicine from the findings. A New-age doctor just tests it on himself (or others), observes the effects, and publishes the results on a website, and usually sells the item as well.

To any audio engineer, Audiophiles are the engineering equivalent of Alex Chiu.

PSST: I hear putting the immortality rings around the power cord on your amplifier makes the sound warmer and deeper. And it extends the life of the tubes!

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[stinkbomb]

Medicine and audio make a very poor and pointless analogy.

While I freely admit that many audiophiles are more likely to be simply gear-nuts, no engineer has yet been able to adequately explain to me why a 40-year old tube amp sounds so much better than a new solid-state amp. Or why my preamp sounds better after it's been on for an hour or so.

Yes, audio is extremely subjective according to the listener, but some things are obvious to anyone with average hearing. Who would claim that a CD sounds better than a high-quality vinyl/analog setup? Only a fool or an engineer.

Besides, what's the old medical joke? "The procedure was a success, but the patient died."

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[StikyPad]

My favorite is this picture. I can't begin to imagine the thought process which simultaneously rationalizes spending $2,000 for some RCA cables, and yet solders those same cables to some 2 cent copper wiring jerry rigged around a piece of scrap plastic. It boggles the mind.

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[StikyPad]

no engineer has yet been able to adequately explain to me why a 40-year old tube amp sounds so much better than a new solid-state amp.

Tubes use a much higher current than transistors, which leads to a smoothing of the waveform. It may sound better (to you), but it's not more accurate.

Or why my preamp sounds better after it's been on for an hour or so.

The characteristics of an analog electronic component change with temperature. Most electronics generally have a 30-120 minute warmup as they reach a stable operating temperature, and thus achieve stable operation. Say there's a resistor that drives your tube.. the resistance lowers at the temperature increases, so when you first turn it on you might not be able to generate quite enough voltage to turn on the amplifier (tube or transistor). I've forgotten most of my electronics theory, but it's not a mystery, and someone else can probably expound better than I. A proper feedback loop should be able to provide adequate compensation, but it seems audiophile equipment is deliberately engineered with simplistic circuits.

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[tlhIngan]

According to one of the linked articles, it has a very bog standard looking 16 bit DAC. The analogue output stage looks singularly unremarkable.

Actually, it isn't a bog-standard 16-bit DAC. It's a professional-quality DAC. AKM is the choice for DACs and ADCs used by pros (along with the likes of Burr-Brown (now TI, I believe). A lot of pro soundcards use AKM. What's surprising is that Sony went with them (I guess it's because they're Japanese and all...). Note that in the same articles, later revisions of the PSX stopped using them (I think up to around the 75xx models used them).

Until the X-Fi, Creative Labs used the bog-standard codecs by SigmaTel - nothing special, just cheap (and were used on the high end cards costing more than equivalent E-mu (owned by Creative) cards). I believe the X-FIs finally use something other than cheap DACs to help justify their cost...

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[Grishnakh]

no engineer has yet been able to adequately explain to me why a 40-year old tube amp sounds so much better than a new solid-state amp.

Sure they have; because the tube amp produces a lot of distortion, and the distortion has even harmonics. It sounds "better", because some people seem to like the distorted sound. Is it accurately reproducing the sound? Hell no.

This distortion is also the reason guitar players like tube-based guitar amps: because the even harmonic distortion sounds better than odd-harmonic distortion in an amplifier that is intentionally driven to distortion. This makes sense in a guitar amp, though, since the idea is you actually want distortion, not accurate reproduction, in order to get the signature sound of an electric guitar.

But in an amplifier where the object is to reproduce the sound as accurately as possible, thinking that a tube amp sounds "better" than a good solid-state amp is just wishful thinking and misperception.

Interesting that you slam engineers, when they're the ones who actually design all the electronics you use (except for overpriced "audiophile" crap).

Re:Audiophile Quality CD Player

[LKM]

The engineer determines how a piece of equipment will sound by looking at a schematic, an audiophile determines how a piece of equipment will sound by listening to it.

Which is why audiophiles will always deceive themselves by all kinds of subjective factors unrelated to audio quality (such as looks, price, current mood, and the color of the room's walls), while only engineers are capable of objectively judging audio quality; precisely because they don't involve their own opinions.

How about programming?

[skurk]

Get one of those cheat cartridges with parallel ports (Game Shark, Action Replay, etc). They come cheap, $3-$10 on ebay at the moment. Reflash the EPROM and you're ready to inject your own code, or simply watch some demos.

Re:How about programming?

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem with the carts is that they interface either to an ISA card or a DIY parallel port interface, both of which are rapidly going the way of the dodo. There is an USB Commlink interface, but in its current implementation it is slow as molasses and completely unsuitable for development.

Playstation Computer

[brianez21]

You can turn your Playstation 1 into a fully functional computer with this cool mod. I made mine into a VNC thin client.

http://www.bri1.com/nez/2007/04/the-psitx-thinclie nt-in-a-playstation/

Good luck!

Re:Playstation Computer

[TeknoHog]

I was really expecting you to use the actual Playstation hardware... :( using the case to house a boring standard x86 computer is probably not what the original poster is after.

Re:Playstation Computer

[that this is not und]

I think a cool idea would be to find a really, really tiny 'boring standard x86 computer' board, and house it in a gutted mouse case. Then mod a full sized PC to transform it into a mouse by gutting it and putting the mouse circuit board and it's little buttons and wheels inside. You will need to add some sort of caster-type base, probably with a suspension mount, so the PC case can be manouvred around to use as the pointer. Awkward, but a cool 'irony mod.'

Even better would be to find a 'smart button' of some sort (a pushbutton with active display on it's face). Build that button into a PC case, and use it as the main display for the PC. Find the largest monitor you can afford, and configure it to display a solid red or green color on it's face to indicate the PC is on.

These ideas are all now copyright by me. But you're granted an unlimited license to implement them, so long as I am credited. Or something.

Catapult ammo

[antifoidulus]

Your neighbor will never expect a 10 year old game console will come crashing through his window.

Super Mario Bros.

[brianez21]

Mod it to run Super Mario Bros. =)

Mod Your PlayStation

[Anonymous Coward]

I think you should mod it +5, informative.

Re:Mod Your PlayStation

[RealGrouchy]

Really, cause all the newer consoles mod it +4 Funny.

- RG>

Re:Mod Your PlayStation

[Bertie]

And the PS3 could be (-1, Overrated)...

Masturbate

[Anonymous Coward]

with the dual shock ;)

VCD Player

[vortexgods]

You may, or may not have some VCDs. However, they are fairly simple to get, and if you are downloading videos, some will be in VCD format. So, if you want to use your PS1 for something besides a game player and CD player, there is an attachment:

GAMARS VCD Card for PSX

This will let you use your PS1 as a VCD player.

Re:VCD Player

[SScorpio]

I still have mine and it works well, but you are better off purchasing a DVD player so you can also play SVCDs and the laser will be of higher quality. I have a cheap $35 DVD player here that will play any disk you through at it. I have a DVD that wasn't mastered correctly and will refuse to play on any computer or game console, but the little tank will chug along and play the content without issue.

Don't do anything to it

[acidrain69]

Just keep it handy so you don't have to use a PS2 or PS3 to play them. Having seen about every PS2 I have ever come across die at some point due to laser alignment issues, it helps to not use the new consoles if you have an old one that will play the games. I keep a gamecube around so I don't put any additional wear on the Wii by playing GC games on it. Same for the PS2. I softmodded mine and play almost everything off the hard drive, and I have a slim model for the stuff that won't work on the hard drive.

I know GP asked about PS1, but for the PS2, they tend to be able to read CD games long after they get finicky on DVD discs, and part of the softmodding process involves booting a PS1 CD.

If you just want something geeky to do, restrain yourself. This hardware is only going to get harder to find/more expensive to buy on ebay.

Re:Don't do anything to it

[Grave]

Given that more than 100 million were sold worldwide, and how many are sitting around collecting dust since the PS2 and PS3 play PS1 games, I disagree with your "harder to find/more expensive to buy" statement. Sure, a lot of them are wearing out and failing now. But there are plenty that still work, and really, I'm not convinced there's going to be much in the way of "collector" status attached to the PS1 consoles.

Re:Don't do anything to it

[Hatta]

This hardware is only going to get harder to find/more expensive to buy on ebay.

Of course emulators are only going to get faster and more accurate.

Fancy uses for a PS1

[mysidia]

hm..

I like to use mine as a system clock sometimes.

From ~/.bashrc2:

export PS1='\h:`date +"%m-%d-%y %H:%M:%S"`:\w [\!]$ '

Cheap audiophile gear.

[FauxReal]

Six Moons has a very favorable review of the $39 Sonic Impact T-Amp.
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/sonicimpact/t.h tml

Re:Cheap audiophile gear.

[Alt0n]

The T-Amp is amazing for the money but for some reason all its reviewers are overly impressed with its quality. It's still a cheap amp, and it sounds like one.

Give it to your 7 year old cousin!

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't matter if it's an old system - it's new to a young kid.

Alternatively, give it to a charity shop. Someone will get real use out of it.

Re:Give it to your 7 year old cousin!

[evilgiu]

Wish I had mod points.

First sensible suggestion I heard all day.