16x9 & PS2
 

Hello,

First, let me start off by saying that I have a Samsung 30" HDTV compatable 16x9 CRT television. My DVD Player is my Playstation 2 which I have running to my TV via the standard RCA video connection that comes with the PS2. I also have optical audio out running from my PS2 but that doesn't concern this post. :)

My question is this; what is the correct video mode to watch a 16x9 DVD in? I realize that there are 2 main aspect ratios of US/NTSC DVDs, 2.35:1 and 1.85:1. It was and still is my understanding that on a 16x9 TV 1.85:1 should fill the screen and 2.35:1 should have smaller black bars, comprable to 1.85:1 on a 4x3 TV. Now then, my television has 5 video modes: Wide, Panorama, Zoom 1, Zoom 2, and 4x3. When watching a DVD on my PS2 with the Wide setting it simply stretches the 4x3 image causing no reduction in black bars and an incorrect aspect ratio. If I switch to Zoom 1 a 1.85:1 image fills the screen and a 2.35:1 image has reduced black bars. So this would seem like the mode to watch in, correct? I can't quite tell, but Zoom 1 might cause some slight aspect ratio skewing and it certainly causes the picture to become a tad bit more pixilated.

Now, when I'm playing a PS2 game that has a 16:9 mode (like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City) I switch the TV to Wide, not Zoom 1, and everything looks perfect. Also, the THX optomizers you find on some DVD movie discs tell you to have your television set to Wide if it is 16x9.

So, in conclusion, is this simply a limitation of the PS2? If I were to purchase a decent set-top DVD player would it have the correct aspect ratio and bar reduction in the Wide mode of the TV? Or am I simply speaking out of my @$$? hehe. Any help is appreciated. :)

You have to remember to set your PS2 to display 16:9 on the dvd player settings as well (this is similar to selecting 16:9 mode in a game; just a different method).

Page 17 in the PS2 manual tells you how to get dvd player settings. Page 18 of the manual has "Setting Your TV Display Mode (Screen Setup)." That's what you'll want to check out. Since you have it hooked up to your widescreen tv, set the tv to widescreen and the PS2 dvd player setting to "16:9." No more distortion, no need to zoom, the way it's meant to be :)

--HN

Oh my God, you're a genius! :> Guess that's what I get for reading the manual 2 years after buying the PS2. Hehe... beautiful, thanks again.

Glad it worked. :thumbsup:

--HN