best PS2 display? costs of import tax?

[anephric]

No, I'm reasonably sure that PS2's can do prog-scan: the older models may not but newer ones do.

You don't need Plasma/HDTV to do prog-scan: there are some "reasonably" priced Toshiba and Phillips' tvs that are CRT that do Progressive (I use a Tosh PF2 36" WS) BUT they suck for PAL Progressive.

[Lyris]

I don't even own a PS2, but what I heard was that all of the hardware models support progressive scan, but very few of the games (I think VF4 was named as one that worked). Can someone set the record straight?

[fuzzybee]

The ps2 can do prog Scan but very few games actually support it, as for pal60 it has 525 lines(480 viewable) just like a ntsc signal. Infact you could say it is a ntsc signal with pal colour sub carriers so the frame rate, scan rate and lines of information are all the same as ntsc 3:58
Also any RGB scart cable will display a RGB signal via any region ps2 and the pal ps2 does not display a pal60 signal.
A pal game with a 60hz option is displayed exactly like a ntsc game in ntsc 3:58, through RGB this eliminates the need for a ntsc 3:58 compatable tv as RGB is not region specific.

[lostn]

Actually PAL PS2 is capable of PAL60, just that no games use it. I downloaded a game iso, Champions of Norrath and when the game boots you get to pick your color mode: PAL, PAL60, NTSC. This home made menu that is built in by the crackers who released the iso is actually running in PAL60!

I'm not kidding. I have it hooked up to a TV capture card with Dscaler, and it tells me that it is PAL60.

I had a question though... is RGB only available through a scart connection?

[NeilMcRae]

PS-2 can do progressive scan, few PAL or NTSC-J games support it, but nearly ALL US NTSC-U games support progressive scan, Burnout2 on Progressive Scan mode on PS-2 looks the nuts.

Regards,
Neil.

[NeilMcRae]

One other advantage of the PS-2 component lead is that it plays DVD's in full colour - i.e. no Green Screen effect as with the RGB cable. Also later PS-2 supports DVD play in progressive scan mode.

[NeilMcRae]

I bought my US PS-2 from NCSX and they market it as damaged and I paid no tax
DVDBO I bought 2 xbox's from without trouble.

[killing_floor]

it was never confusing

PAL60 is something I heard about recently at shmups.com. Until then, I just thought about it as I always had since I was into PAL / NTSC / SECAM conversions / converters, back b4 DVDs existed.

Example - back in something like 1992 I got my dad to buy a VCR that could playback NTSC videotapes, plus the TV obviously needed to support that signal. That was when the scart/euroconnector started showing up on shop bought TVs and VCRs, and I needed that plug/socket/connector to be able to watch any NTSC stuff. Meaning if I had used the standard-up-until-then connectors it wouldn't matter how NTSC capable my TV and VCR were, it wouldn't playback any NTSC anything.

The way I always thought of it was that PAL is 625 lines / 50Hz, and NTSC had about 100 fewer lines and is 60Hz. No-one ever said anything about PAL60. SECAM was different again, but wasn't too much worth bothering with because only France and some arab countries used it. Usually, SECAM videotapes would playback on normal PAL equipment but in black-and-white. I still have some SECAM tapes somewhere.

NTSC was always joked about - people would say it stood for Never Twice the Same Colour, because it was crap compared to UK standard. But, the USA had all the uncut horror movies and obscure films and anime stuff etc, Hong Kong laserdisc imports converted to videotape, so movie fans needed a bit of NTSC capabilities on the home entertainment front.

[Lyris]

I think PAL60 first appeared over here in LaserDisc players because like you said, all the best stuff was released in America.

NTSC doesn't seem to be joked about much any more probably because people can now try it for themselves? I've seen antenna and even cable broadcasts in America that look utter crap which is probably where it comes from, but NTSC over a closed circuit really doesn't seem too bad.