twr314

Now that playstation 2 is officially released, can anyone tell me the quality of the DVD video playback and the digital sound. How does it compare to stand alone units?

cartman

I've only thrown a few Discs in as tests (SPR DTS for sound, 5th emelent for video), and the sound is, of course, perfect, just like if you ran an optical cable from a stand alone, the picture looked fine, but I MAY have spotted some additional grain. I'm not too sure about that last point as I just threw in the beginning scene from the 5th Element. Gonna watch a full movie now and will report back when done.

cartman

Just got done with U-571. Picture was fine, sound was, of course, AWESOME! (gotta love DTS) .

necros

Only thing I wanna know... does the PS2 have that annoying "skip" when the movie changes layers, or is it all smooth and seamless? Like in U571 the layer change I think is in the part where they're in the sub and the chief is talking to the captain guy telling him to never say "I don't know"

The layer changes really get on my nerves 'specially when it's at a part where you wanna pay attention and stuff

cartman

quote:<HR>Originally posted by necros:
Only thing I wanna know... does the PS2 have that annoying "skip" when the movie changes layers, or is it all smooth and seamless? Like in U571 the layer change I think is in the part where they're in the sub and the chief is talking to the captain guy telling him to never say "I don't know"

The layer changes really get on my nerves 'specially when it's at a part where you wanna pay attention and stuff <HR>

Every DVD player I have ever seen has the "skip", it's a part of having to switch layers. Have you ever seen one without? Which one?

necros

No I haven't seen one without... but I've read here from other folks that they don't all do that, some have some kinda memory and read ahead the same way a car CD player does to prevent skips when you hit a bump

Vince Maskeeper

I don't know of any current Stand Alone dvd players that buffer into memory. I actually think there is some debate as to if this feature COULD ever happen because of standards for DVD player design (something about the specs not allowing the player to save any data internally).

The Apex dvd player DOES buffer and elimiates the layer change, but it is just a DVD rom drive in its own case (in fact, I think the drive it plug and play, so you could take it out the the player shell and windows would recognize it!)

NOW, about the PS2:

There is a REGION selection in the Parental Control menu: has anyone determined what this does?

I find it hard to believe they would make the region selectable since th Japan machine had tons of fur flying about that: but this selection looks like a region SELECT.

Anyone know, or have any "other region" discs to check it out?

-Vince

Stryx

Ok, just tried some DVDs on the US PSX 2 and I must admit I am VERY disappointed. I tried a good selection of good and bad transfers and all of them looked really bad. Robocop Criterion for example, had a very grainy picture. I noticed on A Bug's Life that the colors were off almost as if the system is dithering the colors. I put it up against my cheapo Samsung freebie (that I got with my CS DTT5.1) and the PSX2 gets destroyed. I think its really sad as there are a few games that I want to get for the PSX2 (like Twisted Metal Black and Metal Gear Solid 2) but I may just sell it off as I was hoping to replace my Samsung.

cloud

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Stryx:
Ok, just tried some DVDs on the US PSX 2 and I must admit I am VERY disappointed. I tried a good selection of good and bad transfers and all of them looked really bad. Robocop Criterion for example, had a very grainy picture. I noticed on A Bug's Life that the colors were off almost as if the system is dithering the colors. I put it up against my cheapo Samsung freebie (that I got with my CS DTT5.1) and the PSX2 gets destroyed. I think its really sad as there are a few games that I want to get for the PSX2 (like Twisted Metal Black and Metal Gear Solid 2) but I may just sell it off as I was hoping to replace my Samsung.<HR>

That's strange. While I admit the picture quality is not up to the same standards as my stand alone Sony player it is still very good and a lot better then I expected. It is infact quite a bit better then the Japanese model. I tried several DVDs including The Matrix, The Abyss, T2, Contact and MIB LE. I would say it is definitely a good alternative to an entry level DVD player.

The other thing that surprised me is that unlike most of the other DVD players on the market including the Sony's it actually plays CD-R's.



------------------
MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST


MY GETTING LONGER 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.

JBDomain

I did two test on my PS2 using the composite cables that came with the system and an after market s-video cables and toslink optical cables for DD/DTS audio . Playing various disc(Matrix, Toy Story 2, Fifth Element)using composite cables showed a lot of scan lines and overall grainy type picture quality - picture quality was passable but weakness became apparent on my 53" rptv. Using s-video cables, I notice improved quality in picture and stability.

Handles like a entry to mid-end player but the picture quality on my Pioneer(606 and 414) DVD player beats it hands down. No, problems with the DD/DTS soundtracks from the PS2. Overall, a great alternative to some of the entry level dvd player. But, I wouldn't make it my sole dvd player for my HT.

------------------
Give a guy a gun, he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God.

My Addiction

El Kabong

What audio-outs does PS2 have for 5.1? Fiberoptic by any chance? How about component (Colorstream) video-out?

cloud

quote:<HR>Originally posted by El Kabong:
What audio-outs does PS2 have for 5.1? Fiberoptic by any chance? How about component (Colorstream) video-out?<HR>

Video:
Composite
S-Video
Component

Audio:
Composite - stereo
Digital optical - DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1



------------------
MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST


MY GETTING LONGER 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.

El Kabong

Has anyone tried watching movies or especially playing the games on an HDTV using the component (Colorstream) video yet? How's the game sound on a 5.1 system?

cloud

I think the review of the the DVD capabilities in the link below from DVD Shrine sums it up pretty well.

Review of PS2's DVD capabilities at DVD Shrine

------------------
MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST


MY GETTING LONGER 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.