I've heard mixed information on this subject, and wondered if anyone knew for sure. Thanks

vivarey

I don't think it's built in, but it does support DD and DTS. You might find the answer at Express.com they have the import PS2 for sale and the corresponding specs.

No it doesn't have one builtin, it passes the DD and DTS signal to your reciever.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by dfcc:
No it doesn't have one builtin, it passes the DD and DTS signal to your reciever.<HR>

That is correct....will not include any type of decoder!!!! You are better off buying a receiver with a decoder!!!!

However much like all DVD players on the market the PS2 will have a "limited" Dolby Digital decoder that will be able to downconvert 5.1 mixes into a 2.0 ProLogic score and output through analog RCA jacks.

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A free Tibet - Keep Hope alive...

thanks for the help guys. i figured it was too good to be true. but for $300, it is still worth it. now if i could just see how well it plays dvds...

quote:<HR>Originally posted by vivarey:
thanks for the help guys. i figured it was too good to be true. but for $300, it is still worth it. now if i could just see how well it plays dvds...<HR>

DVD playback is O.K. but not great as it uses software decompression. I doubt if this will change in the U.S. model as it would add to the cost if they included a hardware based decoder. If you buy then buy it for the games and not the DVD playback. However if for any reason you don't have and can't buy a DVD player it is probably the next best thing.


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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by cloud:

DVD playback is O.K. but not great as it uses software decompression. I doubt if this will change in the U.S. model as it would add to the cost if they included a hardware based decoder. If you buy then buy it for the games and not the DVD playback. However if for any reason you don't have and can't buy a DVD player it is probably the next best thing.


<HR>

In an effort to foil pirates and adhear to region guidelines the PS2 will ship in North America with a hardware daughterboard decoder.

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A free Tibet - Keep Hope alive...

quote:<HR>Originally posted by DaveMorales:
In an effort to foil pirates and adhear to region guidelines the PS2 will ship in North America with a hardware daughterboard decoder.

<HR>

Are you sure about this as this is the first time I have heard about. What is your source for this info?


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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by DaveMorales:
In an effort to foil pirates and adhear to region guidelines the PS2 will ship in North America with a hardware daughterboard decoder.
<HR>

Does this new daughterboard also decode DD/DTS?

quote:<HR>Originally posted by MonkeyBrains:
Does this new daughterboard also decode DD/DTS?<HR>

Again, no decoding of the 5.1 bitstream, only pass through. Decoding circuitry and drivers are needed to decompress the MPEG2 video.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by cloud:
Are you sure about this as this is the first time I have heard about. What is your source for this info?


<HR>

Here you go: http://ps2.ign.com/news/14132.html

"The new system configuration helps Sony get past the nagging DVD copyright problems that has plagued the early version of the Japanese PS2. The New North American version has DVD drivers built into the hardware itself, instead of using the software drivers placed on the Memory Cards themselves. This will hopefully prevent copying from DVD to other media, and solves data corruption problems on the PS2 Memory Cards, too."

Or more to the point: http://ps2k.net/cgi-bin/news/viewnew...8070027,39532,



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A free Tibet - Keep Hope alive...

Having DVD drivers built into the hardware is not the same as having a hardware decoder. All it means is that the drivers are on ROM. The decoding is still done using a software decoder. Therefore the quality still will not be as good as a stand alone DVD player or a DVD-ROM that uses a decoder card. I think people are mistaking the on board drivers for a decoder card.

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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

Good point. Just because there's some new silicon in their, doesn't mean its any sort of MPEG2 decoding chip. They'd have to raise the price for that.

As Monkeybrains said in order to include a hardware decoder Sony would have to raise the price which is not a good move since the system is already listed at $299.99. Besides the systems main use is games playing which does not benefit that much from MPEG2 hardware decoding.

By the way I have seen the DVD performance first hand and as I keep on saying it is not good enough to rival a stand alone DVD player.

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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

[This message has been edited by cloud (edited August 11, 2000).]