PS2 16x9 Question(s)
03-28-06, 10:20 AM
#1
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PS2 16x9 Question(s)
Despite having just bought a TV two years ago, it seems I may be getting an offer I can't refuse on a Sony HDTV in a few months. I had a couple of questions concerning PS2 games on 16x9 displays.. I've seen a lot of PS2 demos on widescreen monitors and the games did NOT appear to be stretched (Ape Escape 3 and Kingdom Hearts 1 being recent examples I've seen this on). Do most PS2 games have a native 16x9 mode or am I seeing these demos stretched and just not being able to tell?
03-28-06, 10:23 AM
#2
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A lot of PS2 games support widescreen displays and some even support progressive scan. I think there's a website called hdgaming.com or something like that which lists all the HD /widescreen games for all systems.
Also some TV's are a lot better at scaling a regular 4:3 image. Make sure you check what regular 4:3 images look like on your TV before you buy considering a lot of content for the next few years will be SD only. Incidentally once you get a HDTV you'll find yourself watching "pointless" shows in High-def just because they look so cool. Surise Earth on Discovery HD is my guilty HD pleasure. No naaration or naarative, just images but they look so pretty.
Also some TV's are a lot better at scaling a regular 4:3 image. Make sure you check what regular 4:3 images look like on your TV before you buy considering a lot of content for the next few years will be SD only. Incidentally once you get a HDTV you'll find yourself watching "pointless" shows in High-def just because they look so cool. Surise Earth on Discovery HD is my guilty HD pleasure. No naaration or naarative, just images but they look so pretty.
Last edited by The Franchise; 03-28-06 at 10:25 AM.
03-28-06, 10:30 AM
#3
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Well, I won't have a choice in TVs.. a friend of mine bought one to build his credit and wants to sell it to me once he pays it off so he can get a better one. It's a Sony, it looks to be about 30"/32". I hate stretch modes so I'm not too concerned about that. I'll check out that site when I get home, since most gaming sites are blocked from work.
03-28-06, 11:21 AM
#4
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Hmm... two hd gaming questions in one day! Here's a mostly up-to-date list:
http://www.hdtvarcade.com/ps2list.htm
There aren't a lot of 16:9 games, and even fewer of those are actually HD enabled. For instance, DragonQuest VIII has a 16:9 mode, but is 480i only.
Edited to add:
For the PS2, you usually have to hold down the triangle and X buttons while the game is booting... if it's enabled for 480p, a screen will pop up asking you if you want to play the game in progressive scan. You must do this each time you boot up the game. The 16:9 is set in-game, so check the settings and you should be able to switch to widescreen, whether you're using progressive scan or not. Some people get confused because there's a PS2 setting for widescreen... this is for DVD playback.
http://www.hdtvarcade.com/ps2list.htm
There aren't a lot of 16:9 games, and even fewer of those are actually HD enabled. For instance, DragonQuest VIII has a 16:9 mode, but is 480i only.
Edited to add:
For the PS2, you usually have to hold down the triangle and X buttons while the game is booting... if it's enabled for 480p, a screen will pop up asking you if you want to play the game in progressive scan. You must do this each time you boot up the game. The 16:9 is set in-game, so check the settings and you should be able to switch to widescreen, whether you're using progressive scan or not. Some people get confused because there's a PS2 setting for widescreen... this is for DVD playback.
Last edited by fujishig; 03-28-06 at 11:25 AM.
03-28-06, 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by fujishig
For the PS2, you usually have to hold down the triangle and X buttons while the game is booting... if it's enabled for 480p, a screen will pop up asking you if you want to play the game in progressive scan. You must do this each time you boot up the game. The 16:9 is set in-game, so check the settings and you should be able to switch to widescreen, whether you're using progressive scan or not. Some people get confused because there's a PS2 setting for widescreen... this is for DVD playback.
As far as God of War goes, though, the widescreen mode is actually worse than the regular mode. Instead of adding content to the sides of the screen, they decided to crop the top and bottom out.
03-28-06, 04:01 PM
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I believe all PS2 games that have a wide (16:9) mode have a menu option.
Also, it should be noted that even PS2 games that do have a 16:9 wide mode will likely not fill up the entire horizontal width of the screen unless your TV has a lot of overscan.
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fab
Also, it should be noted that even PS2 games that do have a 16:9 wide mode will likely not fill up the entire horizontal width of the screen unless your TV has a lot of overscan.
--
fab
