high def console on your comp monitor?

John Warner · Jan 2006

hey folks, i've been wondering...

i'm getting rather sick of playing beautiful games like god of war and shaddow of the colosis on a low-def NTSC tv and having them look like crap. i know that the ps2 does output high def, but i'm wondering if i can plug it into my comp. of course, i'll need a video capture card, but is there anything i need to do to get that super sharp, high rez image you see in all the screen shots, but these crappy NTSC tvs don't want to spit out?

JKMakowka · Jan 2006

Maybe there is a VGA box, like for the Dreamcast?

malcolm · Jan 2006

Hi Johnny, I think there is a VGA cable from some super sketchy website on the internet. Don't be fooled by high res screenshots of the ps2 though, most game companies actually have a trick to render out the screenshots at 1600x1200, they do this by capturing 1/4 of the screen at a time and then compositing it. So technically they can say the screenshot came from the ps2 but I've never actually seen a game running higher than standard NTSC res.

John Warner · Jan 2006

ah right right of course.. i'm familiar with the trick.

interesting. vga output eh?

ps2 DOES output to high def, doesn't it?? couldn't i just get a video capture card and plug in the ps2 and get it to render out at high def? i'm sure that won't be as nice as the screen shots still but..

anyway, thanks guys, i'll look into this.

thomasp · Jan 2006

high def as in HD? don't think ps2 can do that. it does higher than ntsc though. i've captured quite beautiful pal overscan (768x576) images from it that werent scaled up as far as i can tell.

a coworker told me that there is a cable to connect it to a vga screen, too. didn't investigate further tho.

Jay Evans · Jan 2006

I used to play GT3 on my monitor, with a steering wheel and a cheap ass Ati Tv wonder. Seemed to work fine, but wasn't that much better than TV. Not sure if any PS2 games support real HD. I just used the svga, or svideo? (cant remember what its called) cable to plug in. Biggest difference for me was nice computer speakers and a desk to mount the wheel on.

Ryno · Jan 2006

I'm guessing it may be capable of 720p (progressive), which kind of straddles the line of high definition. I could be wrong though.

Edit: It only supports 480p. This really isn't high def, regardless of how some people try to spin it. 720 by 480p is not exactly high resolution, even if the images are progressive. It's been a long time since I've run a computer monitor anywhere close to that low of a resolution for any game.

Here's some games that support it:

ATV Offroad Fury 2 PS2 480p Online

NFL 2K3 PS2 480p 16:9 Online

SOCOM: US Navy Seals PS2 480p 16:9 Online

Guilty Gear XX PS2 480p

Star Wars Bounty Hunter PS2 480p

Tekken 4 PS2 480p

The Getaway PS2 480p 16:9

Vampire Night PS2 480p 16:9

NBA 2K3 PS2 480p Online

Soul Calibur II PS2 480p 16:9

Robotech Battlecry PS2 480p

Primal PS2 480p 16:9

Burnout 2 PS2 480p 16:9

Marvel vs Capcom 2 PS2 480p

NBA Street Volume 2 PS2 480p 16:9

Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild PS2 480p 16:9

John Warner · Jan 2006

ahh yes yes. so it supports progressive scan. well that might make it look a little prettier. either way, i'll take a look see.

oh it's going to be lovely when the ps3 comes out.. hmm.. i wonder if the ps3 can take ps2 games and output them to hd..

Toomas · Jan 2006

Gran Turismo 4 can supposedly outputs 1080i (in race only i think or maybe even replay only).

high def console on your comp monitor?

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