Let us suppose that after my review of the Micomsoft XRGB-2 Plus Upscan Converter you immediately went over to the Upstate Games (http://www.upstategames.com) website and ordered one with the intention of getting the absolute best image quality from your beloved PlayStation 2. At this point it is not inappropriate to wonder what the best connection options available to you are. For starters, take the composite video cable that accompanied the console when you first acquired it, and hide it somewhere.
The options that are worth considering are S-Video, Component Video and Japanese RGB cables. Of these the first two are readily available, but Japanese RGB is available from only one source that I am aware of, National Console Support (http://www.ncsx.com). This form of cable is also known, inaccurately, as Japanese SCART which can lead to erroneous purchases. Apart from National Console Support, all the SCART cables I have ever seen on the Internet are not the same as Japanese RGB, even though they have an identical plug. SCART, also known as Euro SCART is wired differently from Japanese RGB.
On the AtariLabs forum I have read that it is possible to convert a Euro SCART cable to Japanese RGB. Dave K had this to say: "On the Euro SCART leads. I mistakenly bought one of these (the maker was Naki). Since Naki is from Japan I thought it was a Japanese RGB cable. wrong! I had to open the SCART end, and push out/re-arrange the pints to match Lawrence's web page on the Japanese RGB cable specifications (this is on the gamesx.com site). Let me tell you it was a pain in the ass as it's hard to extract the pins without damaging the pins or the socket."
In theory Japanese RGB will give you the best possible video image. If the NCSX cable was built to the same standards as Audio/Video cables made by Monster Cable, this would probably be true. However while it is a fine cable, at $20 you can be assured that it lacks the build quality of a $50 Monster Cable product. With A/V cables you get what you pay for. Expensive is generally better, and believe me the most expensive console cables are nothing compared with A/V cables available to Home Theater enthusiasts. Want to spend $72 on one meter (3.3') of S-Video cable? It's possible. Monster Cables are ten feet in length. A high quality S-Video cable of the same length will set you back over $100. That's just for S-Video. Go to component video, and cable costs increase even further. How about $116 for one meter, or $189 for three (9.9')? These prices are for "excellent" quality StraightWire cables.
No, you can't get these for your PlayStation 2.
This seems like a good point to mention that you will need to ensure that your PlayStation 2 is configured to output RGB or component (YPrPb) video depending upon which cable you choose. You won't do any damage if you forget, but if you have component output selected, and plug in an RGB cable, you'll be spared the shock of seeing a green and black display where you were expecting a color display. Outputting RGB through a set of component cables will give you a very odd picture. This setting can be found in the System Configuration menu. Making the change has no affect on composite or S-Video output should you change cables later.
Nonetheless, the Japanese RGB cable will give you the best image quality available. There are a few problems however. First of all, I cannot in good conscience say that it is significantly better than that available from a Monster Cable Gamelink 300 (S-Video). The improvement is marginal at best. Indeed, comparing the output from a GameCube with a cheapo S-Video cable and a PlayStation 2 with a Japanese RGB cable, both consoles running XGIII: Extreme G Racing, I could see no difference between the two. Looking very closely at on-screen text, there was a marginal, and I mean marginal improvement of the RGB over the S-Video.
Moving up to Sony and Monster Cable component video cables we have an interesting issue to deal with. In order to use these cables you have to convert the signal to either D-Terminal or Japanese RGB via the cable adapters that accompany the XRGB-2 Plus. The problem is that these adapters, while ingenious, are not exactly high quality. In terms of build they are about the same as the A/V cables that are packaged in with the consoles. Workmanlike, but not up to the standard of Monster Cable. So when you run the output from a good quality cable like the oft-mentioned Monster Cables through a lesser quality cable, everything falls in line with the lowest common denominator. In other words, no visible improvement over Japanese RGB.
When using component video cables with the RGB adapter you must make sure to go into the XRGB-2 Plus menu system, scroll down to the GAME_IN option, and make sure you select YPBPR because otherwise you won't get an image. If you use the component to D-Terminal converter, you don't have to do this because D-Terminal is basically component video by another name and with a different socket. Actually, I don't recommend using the D-Terminal input because if you ever get a GameCube, you can use this directly, but I'll cover that in the GameCube article. There's no benefit, anyway.
One advantage of component video cables is availability. You don't have to order them over the internet. You can go to your local Electronics Boutique, Software Etc or Best Buy and purchase one. In addition you get to avoid certain DVD playback problems that plague users of Japanese RGB cables. You see, shortly after the PlayStation 2 release, it was discovered that by running the RGB signal through an Upscan Converter it was possible to remove the Macrovision protection designed to prevent piracy. Sony therefore modified subsequent consoles so that playing a DVD via an RGB cable resulted in a green image on the screen.
There are solutions.
A link to one alleged fix used to be be found at XtreamChips.Com (http://xtreamchips.homestead.com/index.html), though this site seems no longer to be available. A cable that reportedly solves the problem is available in the UK at SpecialReserve (http://serverpool.reserve.co.uk/listings/specialsearch.php?ty=con%ps2) website, but of course this is a Euro SCART cable, and would need to be rewired.
Do you have the patience to sit through another fix or two that would not require you to change cables every time you wanted to play a DVD? For the first, you need a Redant VGA Adapter. Connect this to the VGA pass-through port on the XRGB-2 Plus. Plug your Japanese RGB cable into the A/V port on the VGA Adapter. When you want to do DVD playback, on the Redant product, switch from the A/V port to VGA.or you could forget all about the SCART cable, and plug an S-Video cable into the back of the XRGB-2 Plus, but that would kind of defeat the marginal benefit of having an RGB input in the first place. In this game, marginal is always worthwhile.
Finally, there is a product called DVD Region X, also available from National Console Support (http://www.ncsx.com/) that allows you to play DVD's from multiple regions. As a side effect, the green tint is removed. DVD Region X is comprised of an adapter that fits into a memory slot, and a CD. Made by Datel in the UK, the version stocked by National Console Support does work with US PlayStation 2's. If you don't like the idea of ordering on-line, bear in mind that Datel products often show up in the USA under the Interact label, as this one was once expected to do, though I no longer hold out any hope.
So, what do I recommend. That depends. What other consoles do you have? If you have a GameCube, I would recommend using National Console Support's Japanese RGB cable, though if DVD playback is an issue, my second choice is Monster Cable's Gamelink 400 component video cable. Go to http://www.monstercable.com/monstergame/ps2/ for further options. If you have a PlayStation 2 and an XBox, I would still use a Japanese RGB cable with the PlayStation 2, and plug the XBox into the D-Terminal port via Monster Cable's Gamelink 400 X and the component to D-Terminal adapter. What? you have a GameCube as well? Good question. I'd probably connect Nintendo's console via a D-Terminal cable, the PlayStation 2 via an RGB cable, and the XBox via a Monster Cable Gamelink 300 X S-Video cable.
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