PSIO - Playing PS1 games on PS1 via SD

[Friendly]

http://www.psio.com.au
Pretty interesting project for those of us who have a PS1 with worn out laser (=the eventual fate of all optical drives).
They have been working on this since 2010 and are about to open pre-orders.

[Ed Oscuro]

Looks promising. They say music is possible, but where did Klonoa's ingame music go?

[ZellSF]

It looks interesting, but the product needs to actually prove itself before I'm putting down any money. I'm afraid people with more faith in PSIO than me will grab all the good PSX models before I get around to it though

[PC Engine Fan X!]

For some shmuppers like myself, having three of the ol' school PSXs (SCPH-1001, 5501 & 7550 series -- all have the parellel port on the backside) is more than plenty enough if one should decide to "bite the dust" one of these days. If you can find a PSX with a 7550 model no. or lower than that, then you'd be good to go. It's with the 9000 series PSX console that SCEI removed the parellel port indeed.

It's possible to get a 1001 model PSX for about $25-$30 bucks nowadays which is mere chump change (quite a bargain when they used to have a MSRP of $299.99 USD back in it's American debut of 1995).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Ed Oscuro]

Those model 1001 units are considered prime audiophile equipment though, and it's not just the laser assemblies / lasers you're saving, but discs too. I'd really like one of these to work out. It would make trying out new games on the real hardware much easier.

[ZellSF]

Yeah, I'm thinking of the "audiophile" PSX consoles... The biggest problem with those were the unreliable disc drives, a problem this would (potentially) eliminate.

[charlie chong]

yeah after a while i had to put my og ps1 at a diagonal angle for the music to play on games. it may have had the most stuff at the back but the actual drive is no good

[Jeneki]

Nice.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before something like this came out, given how many cartridge systems have flash carts these days.

[yojo!]

People came up with SD card reader for DC a long time ago; glad to see this being done for the PSX too. Will the Saturn be next?

[Friendly]

People came up with SD card reader for DC a long time ago

If you are talking about the one using the serial port, it's pretty crappy. Very slow, not compatible with many games.

[TransatlanticFoe]

The Dreamcast SD card reader also requires to boot a CD first, so is not exactly a replacement should the optical drive fail.

My recently acquired PSX has said parallel port so I'd happily pick one up to save on disc usage. I'd love this to happen for all optical-based consoles, true SD booting so you can still play on the console when the drive goes.

I wonder whether we'll just get a few crappy third party console re-releases like the Blaze Mega Drive though, or emulation will become near-perfect and no-one left will care enough.

[Fudoh]

I fear that SoC (System on a chip) implementations will become less and less common in the future, because emulation platforms have become much more powerful and cheaper. Just have a look at the Retron and their switch from SoC to ARM-based emulation with their upcoming Retron5 system.

[D]

Still waiting and waiting for this. I hope you can force 4:3 3D games to 16:9 like with the PS2. You can do it with emulators, but I have yet to find any info on doing that on a real ps1 console.

[Fudoh]

I never *EVER* want to play a game in 16:9 widescreen with only 320 pixels of horizontal resolution.

[D]

I never *EVER* want to play a game in 16:9 widescreen with only 320 pixels of horizontal resolution.

You will want to if any of your favorite games in the ps1 are in 3D. There is not a huge difference between 16:9 and 4:3 in terms of blockyness even with low resolutions. It's all about seeing more in your favorite games, scenery wise on the left and the right.

But anyway, in what year will this thing be released?

[Fudoh]

I really don't. I don't even want to play 480p in 16:9. I prefer 4:3 all the way due to the higher resolution inside the active area.

Emus the other hand render a higher resolution on 3D titles anyway, so 16:9 (or fullscreen, depending on the monitor) makes sense.

[Friendly]

Yep, displaying a game in 16:9 on PS1 doesn't magically give the hardware the ability to render more polygons.

[ZellSF]

I never *EVER* want to play a game in 16:9 widescreen with only 320 pixels of horizontal resolution.

You should play some Jet Force Gemini. Delicious letterboxed 240p widescreen.