So a PAL PS2 plays US games in B&W..what do I do?

[Weinberg]

Is there no FAQ on this site?

Anyway, my friend owns a UK PS2, and it plays US games in B&W. I know about how to correct this with a GC, but what do you do with a PS2? Is it just a case of an RGB cable or something? If so, can you link me to a cheap, decent one?

[Tom Salter]

Just an RGB cable.

Get the Blaze one from Game, ?4.99 or something like that.

[Concept]

Yeah...

The PS2 really doesn't like playing NTSC properly through composite.

[Papercut]

It does, it's just that pal PS2s output ntsc video at 60Hz.

[Concept]

What other frequency is it going to output as?

I assumed it was simply to do with the actual colour coding with NTSC that proved to be the problem for PAL PS2's, not the screen refresh rate.

Every other console I own that runs at PAL 60hz doesn't have a problem showing through a normal composite cable from what I've tried...

It's the fact that no PS2 games seem to run in PAL 60hz (only NTSC) which seems to be the problem from what I can gather.

[Papercut]

got that the wrong way round, meant to say outputs 60Hz as ntsc video (rather than PAL 60).

[charlesr]

This presumes his TV does RGB. If it does, then why wasn't he using it anyway? Composite = rubbish and it is your duty to educate everyone that doesn't know about RGB

[randombs]

lol. if there's one thing i hate, it's the whole 'my games are b&w' problem.

here's the deal

The PS2 can play PAL games in PAL and NTSC games in NTSC. There's no PAL60 on the PS2 (before you say 'tekken 4 does!' it's not pal60, it's ntsc, trust me).
While there is a mod you can perform (joining a wire or something) to get the PS2 to output in PAL60 instead of NTSC, it's not worth it because you lose RGB output which is the best quality

Basically, you need an RGB Scart for your PS2. Make sure you go to a place like gamestation, game or cex as they'll know what's what. If you go to, say, Argos, you'll need to read the catalogue carefully. Best to ask, that way you can bring it back if need be.

But it doesn't stop there. There's an option on the PS2 that you need to set too:

Boot up the PS2 without a game in, and choose 'System Configuration' (under 'Browser')
Scroll down the list until you see the 'Output' option. The output option gives you two choices - RGB and YpYbCr or whatever (YbyYbsF is for component output - not composite - the difference between the words is obvious!).
Make sure the PS2 is set to RGB instead of YbYbScAbCd and you're good to go!


btw if your telly supports full NTSC (read the manual), your games will NEVER come out in black and white even if composite is used. My 29" Sony does it, but my little 14" Matsui only allows NTSC through RGB. If I use composite on it, it goes b&w

So, your UK XBox, GC, Dreamcast, Saturn, Snes (and other consoles) allow PAL60 so they'd use that. They don't DO NTSC unless they're US/JAP machines (XBox does but that's a different story) so that's why ppl have no problems with them
Hope this helps. Maybe I'll put up a guide later on if someone hasnt done so already

[Abhisara]

If you go to, say, Argos, you'll need to read the catalogue carefully.

If anyone does actually go to Argos, this one can do RGB (catalogue number 567/3164).

[randombs]

thanks man