PS2 to VGA

[doctorx0079]

Technical question: What's the cheapest way to connect a PS2 to an SVGA monitor, and does it look as good as S-Video? I've put it on RCA composite and that's clearly worse than S-Video. Right now I don't have a TV with S-Video but I will have a spare SVGA monitor in December.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Technical question: What's the cheapest way to connect a PS2 to an SVGA monitor, and does it look as good as S-Video? I've put it on RCA composite and that's clearly worse than S-Video. Right now I don't have a TV with S-Video but I will have a spare SVGA monitor in December.

For doctorx0079,

The cheapest way to connect a PS2 console to an Super VGA CRT-based monitor is to grab a used Microcom produced XRGB-1 or XRGB-2 upscan convertor and a 3rd-party produced PSX Japanese RGB 21-pin cable...one can't get any better than with that world-class setup. (Or you can get a European SCART cable and mod it to Japanese RGB specs and have the same 21-pin Japanese RGB setup if acquiring such an original Japanese RGB cable is unsuccessful.) Also, the XRGB-2 has support of use of optional European SCART cable (though it requires the disassembly of the XRGB-2 to change it from accepting Japanese RGB to Euro PSX SCART cable specs). The techincal website listed here will have the necessary info to do this conversion job: http://www.gamesx.com ^_~

http://nfggames.com/forum/index.php?s=8 ... T&f=5&t=30

(This above link is specific for XRGB-2 mod job to Euro SCART input conversion instead of standard Japanese RGB input...)

Be prepared to spend upwards of $100.00-$200.00 USD for a used XRGB-2 though. It's worth the $$$ for one anyways not to mention it has built-in support for arcade PCBs such as the Seibu Kaihatsu produced PCBs -- Raiden, Raiden II, Raiden DX, and the SP1 mobo/carts like the Raiden Fighters series and even support for the Toaplan produced PCBs as well. The later produced XRGB-2+ and XRGB-3 upscan convertors don't have this particular arcade PCB support that the XRGB-2 does have. Plus, the XRGB-1 and XRGB-2 were designed from the "get go" to support only the analog CRT-based SVGA monitors. ^_~

Good luck on finding an XRGB-2 as they are extremely hard to find these days...you'd be better off scoring a new XRGB-3 if you have the necessary monetary funds to acquire one -- ncsx.com sells the XRGB-3 if you're still interested in one..... ^_~

http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/XRGB-3.html

or here's the 2nd best alternative if you can't find an XRGB-2...

The Hori produced "Upscan Convertor 2" for the PS2 was released at $69.00 USD through NCSX, Inc. (but is currently sold out at the moment). It's powered by USB port on the front side of a PS2 for ease of use.

http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/HP2-143P2.html

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[D]

I think there are component to vga converters out there.
So you'd need a PS2 component cable.
And get one of these component to vga converters.
I'm sorry if I can't help you better.
Good luck and next time you might want to post in the hardware section where all the hardware professors reside

[Thunder Force]

Moved to Hardware forum.

[azmun]

I think there are component to vga converters out there.
So you'd need a PS2 component cable.
And get one of these component to vga converters.

Yeah, I've seen one of these. They usually go for around $50. It's called a progressive-scan component multi VGA Box or adapter:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Progressive-Compone ... dZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Progressive-Scan-Co ... dZViewItem

Apparently, you can use this for other systems too like the Gamecube and Xbox. I thought about getting one but since it got pretty much mixed reviews I decided to pass. The results aren't that good, especially for games that don't support progressive scan. I just wonder how the display here compares with one of those upscan converters mentioned above.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

For azmun,

Your avatar looks sexy...isn't that Millena from Super Dimensional Fortress Macross anime series? ^_~

About that XRGB-2, it is a world-class upscan convertor when used with the Japanese RGB cable setup (of course, an analog RGB monitor would be cheaper and better alternative to an XRGB setup but if all you have is an SVGA PC monitor, then an XRGB will best in that senario...).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[azmun]

PC Engine Fan, thanks. You guessed right. Too bad I've never seen a display setup you just mentioned. I'm sure some games would look exceptional. Perhaps someday.

[doctorx0079]

Would it be easier and cheaper to just get an S-Video cable and a TV with S-Video input? My roommate has one and it looks good.

[azmun]

Would it be easier and cheaper to just get an S-Video cable and a TV with S-Video input? My roommate has one and it looks good.

Personally, anything less than s-video (i.e. RF or composite) is really bad. I'd have to say that it's my standard (minimum requirement) setup. There are other ways of getting better image quality than that though.