Rear Projection TVs and the PS2

Is anyone here using a rear projection television with their PS2?  What\'s your experience? Did you run into any special problems?

I\'m considering a new purchase, and I believe it will be either the Toshiba 56H80 or 65H80. http://www.toshiba.com/tacp/tv/projection.html  Both are 16:9 aspect ratio rear projection models that offer 480i, 480p, and 1080i modes.

Most 16:9 televisions like these can display 4:3 images (regular television aspect ratio) either by (1) centering the image and drawing vertical grey bands on the left and right of the display, or (2) compressing the image vertically, so that it takes up the entire horizontal area of the display.  RP televisions are more suseptable to burn-in than ordinary televisions, so many people recommend that the 4:3 mode with grey bands not be used, even for short periods of time.  This would apply to signals displayed from the PS2 as well, so I\'m wondering if anyone has tried playing a game in the vertically compressed mode on a 16:9 television.  Did you find it annoying?  I\'ve been observing RPTVs at retail stores running in this mode, and it really seems that one could get used to this compressed mode for television programs without much difficulty.  Maybe PS2 games would be the same, but somehow I don\'t think so.

Are you happy with the results from connecting the PS2 component video cable to an RPTV?  I will probably be using a dedicated progressive scan DVD player with this television rather than the PS2, but if you\'re using the PS2 for DVD playback, what are your thoughts?  I found the PS2\'s sound reproduction on DVDs to be inferior to my dedicated DVD player, but the video was more or less indistinguishable through a composite cable.  Has anyone compared the PS2 DVD playback to another DVD player through component video cables?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but if you\'ve had an experience with this feel free to answer as much or as little as you want.  Thank you!

wasnt there some problem about it burning images into it?

Originally posted by ps2gamer_59
wasnt there some problem about it burning images into it?

Yes. I think in every console manual there is the warning that it can destroy the projection TV.

The problem with the \'Burn in\' statement if for older video games that has one thing on the screen for a long time, and I mean a long time....

For example if there is a logo in the left hand corner of the screen on a video game and you play that game for a good 12 hours a day everyday, then your going to burn your screen.  I have a rear projection HDTV 16:9 TV, (ps2 optimizes for 16:9 too!!!)  and its fine, actually its awesome..

Videoholic will back me up on this, there is nothing to worry about...  Just remeber that it \'Can\' happen if your not smart, have no life, and play the same game for 23 hours out of the day....  You will be fine...

And about the dedicated DVD player..  The PS2 does an excellent job of DVD playback..  I use an aftermarket component video cable and it looks great..  But the fact is I am in the market for a progressive DVD player.  I am looking at a Toshiba right now..  An aftermarket DVD player will be superior to the PS2.  Escp. if its progressive playback

I recommend the Mitsubishi, but everyone has there own tastes..

Thanks for your reply Kirath.  When you said you recommend the Mitsubishi, were you talking about a Mitsu projection television?  I know that is the other big brand often favored by enthusiasts.  Whenever I\'ve seen one in a store, I felt the screen was way too reflective for my taste.  In addition, I\'ve notice there is a comparatively huge amount of info on the Internet about calibrating/tweaking the Toshiba units, so that\'s sort of why I am leaning toward Toshiba.  What make and model do you have?

You are correct about the game image itself not burning in a projection display so long as it doesn\'t remain completely stationary.  I think you could still get uneven burning if you display any game or video in the 4:3 simulation mode with grey bars on the left and right.  Do you display PS2 games in the "squashed" 16:9 mode?  Is it annoying to you?  Do any PS2 games you\'re aware of take advantage of the full screen area on a 16:9 set while maintaining correct aspect ratio?  I heard Madden 2002 was supposed to do this.

Thanks for the input.  I\'m really looking forward to completing this display upgrade before TM:B and GT3 are released.

When you said you recommend the Mitsubishi, were you talking about a Mitsu projection television?

Yeah the mitsubishi TV\'s are really nice, they have great picture and there is a lot of information out there about tweaking them out..
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Do you display PS2 games in the "squashed" 16:9 mode?

The PS2 has an option in the menu to set it for 16:9, its looks good on every PS2 game that I have played.  PS1 games don\'t look so good in 16:9 mode though.
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Don\'t worry about the gray bars on the side, they will not burn in..  Burn in is really something of the past, with older TV models.  I have not heard of a burnt screen in a long time.  And there is nothing in my documentation about not using game systems on this TV.  I have the Mitsubishi 46\' 16x9  The Ps2 looks absolutely awesome on this TV.  I love 16x9, some people don\'t.   Thats why we all have a choice I suppose.

Anything else, just go ahead and shoot.. :eyemouth:

Originally posted by kirath
it \'Can\' happen if your not smart, have no life, and play the same game for 23 hours out of the day.

Looks like no projection TV for me.

LOL, just kidding......

(I WISH I was kidding )

[videoholic]

The grey bars do not cause burn in.   They are to Prevent burn in......  I have full hi-def and I have to run the grey bars myself.   Don\'t compress and fill the screen..  It looks stupid.

Kirath was right when he said that that was the old time RPTVs.  New ones aren\'t going to have a prob.  You have to play the same game for a VERY long time to get burnin.  I wouldn\'t think twice about it.  And I haven\'t.  I\'ve been doing it for years now.

Originally posted by Videoholic
The grey bars do not cause burn in.   They are to Prevent burn in......  I have full hi-def and I have to run the grey bars myself.   Don\'t compress and fill the screen..  It looks stupid.

Videoholic:  I won\'t disagree with you because I don\'t even have a projection TV yet, so what do I know?  Others however seem to be undecided.  Take a look at this thread from the AVS Forum:

http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/Forum11/HTML/010332.html

Some people report no burn-in with grey OR black bars.  Others report noticable burn-in even with the supposedly safer grey bars.  The sample is small and not very scientific, but I\'ve heard this other places too.  

I agree that the 16:9 squashed mode can look dumb on some sets, but the Toshibas have a so-called "theater wide" mode that stretches the image at the edges more than it does at the middle.  This is supposed to keep the focus of the image less distorted.  I don\'t know if I\'ve seen this mode in action at any stores yet (the way it\'s described, it sounds like a funhouse mirror) but many people claim this is a big improvement over linear stretching provided by some sets.

Which make and model do you have, Videoholic?  Which do you wish you had?

I have a question, I heard that projection tvs burn easier than crt tv.  Is there such thing as LCD Projector, I heard Mitsubishi made one with 16 x 9 720p or 1080i 43" LCD Projector\'s type.  What the different between regular projector and LCD projectors?  Well, rather using a small screen CRT tube and project it to the desire size, it use LCD type and you know that LCD uses less Watt and energy than CRT so it will be less likely to burn.  I am not sure about picture quality though.  probably the same.

[videoholic]

LCD is no where near the quality of a CRT.  It can\'t produce true blacks so they always turn out grey.  DLP is the way to go now.  I have front projection theater.  I have 7 inch CRT lenses.  This is obviously the way to go, but we are talking a 30,000 dollar projection unit.  

The grey bars essencially are to wear out your tubes on the parts you don\'t use at the same rate that the center is wearing out.  Essentially to keep from burnin.


I am shooting our TV show this week so I am real tired right now, but I will try and answer you a little more when I get a chance.

Here\'s another point relevent to using the PS2 with an HDTV.  This was posted by someone on Amazon.com, in the review area for the Sony Component Video cable:

Great product but..., May 28, 2001
Reviewer: Chris (see more about me) from Myrtle Beach, SC

This product does exactly what it was meant to do. The picture comes through 10 times better on my HDTV, but this is the Playstation 2 we are talking about. With most games having no form of anti-aliasing the flaws of the system are exploited. I have a Dreamcast hooked up with a VGA converter with an Audio Authority VGA-Component video converter attached and it actualy makes the PS2 look like the weaker system. I hate to say it, but the PS2 was meant for standard TV only. Guess we will have to wait for GCN or X-box for true next generation gaming experience.

Anyway I have to give the product itself 5-stars if only for the irony of sometimes getting what you wish for.

OK, The guy\'s wrong about no anti-aliasing, but could display on an HDTV actually highlight other shortcomings?  Do you think PS2 game graphics were optimized for standard television display?  Could a Dreamcast really look better than a PS2 in this situation, even going through a VGA converter?

[videoholic]

That\'s interesting.  I need to get the VGA adapter for my set.  I am just blowing up the standard interlaced image so it kind of blows, but it still looks good.

is there a VGA adapter available and would I be able to use it with my set...??

Hmmmmm.....

I think the qualilty looks great on my set, I don\'t know how much more I could ask for, yeah sometimes you see a little bit more jaggies, but its huge, so its kinda hard to miss.  But its just a game, and its damn fun on a big screen TV

I have a PS2 and a DC both going to a HDTV. The DC is using the vga and looks a lot better than the PS2. I would really like to see sony come out with a vga adapter.