PS2 as a CD/DVD Player

[myriad1973]

Greetings everybody. I've been out of the A/V loop for many years now, and I wanted to get some advice. I am upgrading my stereo for the first time since I was 17, that was back in 1990.

I have a Sony STR-DB840 reciever & Sony SA-WX700 powered sub in transit, and hopefully I'll get my hands on a TC-K611S cassette deck currently on eBay.

Concerning DVD players, how does a PS2 stack up as a CD/DVD source versus an average CD/DVD player in terms of overall sound? Is the video and audio SNR the same as all the other Sony CD/DVD players?

 

[Jedi2016]

I seem to remember the sound was about the same. (it's been a while since I've played DVDs or CDs in my PS2). What with digital-out and all, there shouldn't be any noticable difference.

The video, on the other hand... I was severely disappointed. The image was waaay too dark, almost unwatchably dark. Very soft, too.. softer even than my old Panasonic A110 that finally died last year after seven years of faithful service. I replaced it with a JVC, which prompty went back to the store because it had problems actually playing movies, which isn't what I want in a DVD player. I replaced that with a Sony uh.. NS575, I think it is. That was only about $80, and it's far better than any of the other ones I owned. The difference between it and the PS2 is night and day. Literally.. the PS2 is night because of how frikkin' dark it is, the 575 is day.. hehe. Much sharper image, brighter colors, and it's pro-scan capable.

Bear in mind that my PS2 is a launch unit, and quite old. While age itself doesn't really play a factor, they may have improved the playback on later generations of the machine. A brand-new one bought today might be a lot better than mine.

All in all, though, even the PS2's strongest supporters agree that, as a DVD player, it leaves a LOT to be desired.

 

[Bigsilvs]

I had somewhat the opposite experience. For a couple years I was using a Sony DVD/VHS combo player in which recently ALL DVD's do not load anymore. I was able to dig up a cheap $30.00 (Cyberhome) DVD player to replace my Sony that stopped working. That one worked for a short while and now every DVD seems to skip no matter how I have it hooked up (Composite, Component, S-Video, and/or Coaxial/Mono sound, straight to the tv).

I now just use my trusty old model PS2 with no trouble at all. I have around 250 DVD's and ALL of them work perfectly. As previous people have said, the picture is a little darker, but there are a few nice options that you can play with like Diagnosis, Disc Speed, and Texture Mapping.

One thing that the PS2 does do is composite to HDMI up-conversion (upscaling, not sure which) through an HDMI receiver with no trouble at all. I have the Pioneer VSX-74TXVI and one or both of my old DVD players would not play back through Composite to HDMI.

I can't comment on CD sound quality, but my games and DVD's sound really great using the PS2's optical out.

I would normally go out and buy an up-conversion DVD player for a $100, but the PS3 will be out in 3 months and then I will have a brand new DVD/Blu-ray player anyways.

 

[myriad1973]

Thanks for the advice. I'm still waiting on my A/V reciever to see for myself, so I wanted to get an idea while I was waiting for it. Right now I have an old Pioneer that is audio only, so I have to plug my PS2 into my TV w/ rca, then output the audio to the reciever (rca). With that setup, the PS2's video and audio via the CD/DVD player seems very stuffy & compressed and it doesn't have any dynamic range. It tends to clip at higher volumes.

 

[j_garcia]

I would call the PS2 average at best at DVD (not too bad in progressive) and CD; about equivalent to their basic DVD players. I don't have any issues with clipping at all; mine sounds very good too. It should be quite obvious, but the problem you are talking about is because you are looping it from the TV to the receiver, not a problem with the PS2. You are degrading your sound by doing this for certain. Leave it connected to the TV and use the OPTICAL out from the PS2 to the receiver.

 

[myriad1973]

Jedi,

What model number is your PS2?

 

[ragged]

I have a slim form ps2, it works great for dvd and cd. If you buy a logitech harmony remote, it can turn the ps2 on/off .

 

[Jedi2016]

Jedi,

What model number is your PS2?

I don't remember offhand, I'd have to go look at it again (the model number is hiding under the network adapter, I think).

I seem to remember it was SCPH-30001, but the guy I last talked to at SCEA said that model came out several years after launch. Which is odd, because I distinctly remember buying it on launch day...

 

[myriad1973]

Hmmmm. I have a model 30001R. I wonder if I just wasted $75 getting a Sony DVP-NC875V DVD changer? Well, maybe not considering it's a $400 unit new.

 

[myriad1973]

Just answered my own question. The DVP-NC875V is 10 times better as a DVD player than a PS2. The PS2 has been downgraded back to just a game console.