[pyrojack502]

i have spent countless hours of research and experiments with my two hdtvs and my ps2. i have come to a conclusion that i cant not find on the internet so im sheding my two cents on the matter. so if your the one person out there thats doing thier homework or the thousands still confused about what topic helped, then this thread is for you.

first off the ps2 only accepts 480i-480p resolution with the exception of gran tourismo 4 and valkery profile 2 ( jp verson only) which suppports 1080i resolution. and thats what it all boils down to, F***ing resolution folks.

the higher the res the more sharp and picture is going to be. its going to look crisp, clear, and OMG believable. will this is what you dont want to hear. a ps2 is not made for this, regardless the 480p outputs. let me explain what your hdtv does.

your hdtv upscales the image already to fit its format. if you have a full hd 1080p, your ps2 has very little hope unless you have a good scaler for SD content, then your screwed. the higher the resolution in your games go the less it has to scale. i forgot to mention SD means standard definition which is the same as saying 480i.

heres a question that i always read that im sick of
"how do i make my graphics better on a hdtv with my ps2"
answer: you cant! period! you can make the resolution better which is not graphics. two different subjects. and now we're getting down to the bitter subject.

WHAT CABLES ARE YOU USING???

{takes a cig out for this one}

well lets look at cables you can use.
regular AV which came with your system
s-video which has a prong like insert
or component cable which is a green, blue, red, cable

NOW........ people who look this subject up always say go with component for your ps2. why? because it gives you a better picture? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

component does give you better definition but with the ps2 being built to play in low res its going to look god aweful. why?

the component cable will clear the image up while bringing out the flaws on your ps2. real bad pixels and jagged lines will be very noticable as before. if you have the eye, games are unplayable. not what they used to be is it? dont listen to people that tell you to get a component cable for your ps2. even if it means you can play games in 480p. is just isnt worth it.

so what cable should you go with?
go with s-video if your hdtv has it. some dont. both of mine dont and it brings my **** to a boil. how did i come up with that analogy? i hooked up a vcr dvd recorder and ran my ps2 in it via svideo and blam! svideo quality. which i will tell you this. svideo still looks bad but you can read the words and your games should be somewhat more tolerable than component. in this case guys... component cables are the villians.. stray clear. if your tv doesnt have them then stick with composite or do what i did. find a device that lets you output something in svideo and plug that device to your hdtv via component cable. i know what i said about component cables lol but its the only way it will work.

so lets talk about upscalers.
this is a subject im still not clear on 100% but this is what i do know. an upscaler is going to be a waste of money and time. i spent 100 dollars on an HD xploder recently just for ps2 games. for those unfamilular with it, its a software that renders ps2 game in hd format tricking your ps2 system. some games look amazing in 480p thats not designed for it, others not so well. i upscaled the image in 1080i and was disgusted. the image remained the same while getting brighter. kinda looking at a ps2 game on a psp. thats all it did.

so whats the verdict on this subject?
there is no fixxing this problem. i spent allot of time and money to fix it. i just bought a sdtv (which im going to make a post about when im done with this) to play my ps2 on and hooking ps2 up to a sdtv with component cables = heaven. if you dont have a few bucks to find a cheap one on craigslist or just dont want to get a sdtv then heed my advice i gave on here. you guys have a wonderful day and i hope this helps someone out there.

[ziberthiurdos]

Very comprehensive - nice one!

Quite right about the PS2 not rendering at more than 480p (apart from GT4) despite what the Xploder people say!

I must say though, I use component cables and when games have the option of 480p it does look much more fluid than the normal interlaced signal...

[MattTheBeanster]

A few relevant facts lost in a mess of rubbish because of lack of subjectivity. The only fact you really needed is that it's about resolution. A PS2 is standard def (apart from a couple of games like you mentioned) and on a HDTV will take a quality hit. I find it laughable that you don't recommend component because it makes things too clear! but hey each to their own i guess.

The end result is that the image will need to be stretched and how this appears to you is dependant on the quality of your kit (the SD upscaler in the HDTV) and subjective opinion (you obviously prefer it slightly blurry to hide the jaggies and flaws whereas i don't).

[Nyle]

I'm confused. Lots of people recommend component for PS2, some don't. From what I've seen on Youtube component does make a noticeable difference.

[MattTheBeanster]

It's subjective. Technically component will be the "best" as it seperates the signals giving you the cleanest, most honest picture. I think most people agree it gives the best colours of them all, but as pyrojack has confirmed not everyone likes the flaws in the image exposed for what they are (jaggies).

[blackfalc0n]

One day I'm going to dig up my PS2 order a S-Video cable and a Component cable and compare them because its so hard to determine if S-Video or Component is better. Could some one please compare? If possible record some footage with a HD capture card too so we can compare

[Nyle]

I'd appreciate this too, I'm using composite on a 50" 1080p plasma and I'd like to use either component or S-Video.