Connecting a PS2 to a computer monitor


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I'm looking to move a PS2 into my work area so I can have something to do while code compiles, video renders, updates download, etc.

I have three monitors, cross-connected in various ways to 3 computers - a Power Mac G5, a heavily modified old Dell, and my laptop. All three monitors are dual-input VGA/DVI.

I'm looking for some means of connecting an old-style PS2 (large form-factor) to one of these displays so I can play it while I work on other stuff (multitasking FTW) or so I can play it without having to turn on the big TV in the other room which, while a nice game room, gets chilly this time of year.

Is there any device, cable, adapter, or converter that will enable this sort of connection and that doesn't cost as much as a new PS2 to acquire?

Failing that, is there any direct passthrough software that can interoperate with a Canopus ADVC110 FireWire video capture box and thus allow me to play games with no input/display lag? I've done video captures of games before, and while it's an amazing video editor, Final Cut Pro is less than ideal for actual gameplay due to the delay between controller input and screen output.

I've seen numerous other Mac OS X solutions but have tried none of them as most, if not all, are commercial and either have their video passthrough capabilities disabled or unreasonably limited in their free trial versions. I'm not willing to pay $50 for a software package that winds up not working with what I need.

I'm also open to Windows/Linux solutions as my x86 (and x86_64 in the laptop's case) boxes both dual-boot XP and Ubuntu. However, they're considerably less powerful than the G5. The Dell is a Pentium 2 400MHz, and the laptop is a single-core Athlon64 3000 with 1.25GB of memory.

Ideally I'm looking for a direct console-to-monitor connection that requires no computer to act as an intermediary, but if a good, fast passthrough solution exists, I'm not entirely averse.

Also note that if all else fails, I have my eye on Circuit City's line of "Element"-branded LCD TVs that feature component and HDMI alongside VGA inputs and might swap out one of the smaller monitors for one of these instead. But they do cost a bit over $200 and I'm looking to spend less if possible.

Thanks so much for anything you can advise.

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There is an official Sony VGA cable but it only came with the Linux set. Not to mention that games can't be interlaced to play on VGA when most games are. So you can only play 480p games with the actual cable (very few games).

There was another VGA cable that came with a disk to launch games, this would force games to run in 480p instead of 480i thus making them work but I heard it was very buggy.

The last way is VGA boxes and this is probably the best way. I've seen them from $60-$200

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Sorry to pester you guys with these requests, but...if you know of a specific one for $60, do you think you could possibly track down a link to it and post it here for me to check after work? Or better yet, post the product summary so I can get an idea of what I'd be dealing with?

Thanks. Stupid, stupid filter.

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Here's the $60 I was thinking of. It's $50 right now. I've never used it but I've used this site a few times to get parts for PS2 and Xbox and they are great, not sure if they still offer it but they use to do cash on delivery, it was great because before I did not have a credit card.

http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/zz-xgabox1

it uses component (red, blue, green) or composite cables (yellow). I'd highly recommend you get a PS2 component (red, blue, green) cable as it will work much better this way.

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$50 for a PS2-compatible VGA box? That makes me squee.

I have a set of component cables, which makes me squee even more. The capture/passthrough/encoder boxes I was looking at all cost several hundred dollars for the YCbCr models. 'Course I think they also had hardware encoders for MPEG-2 or MPEG-4, so that probably drove up the cost too.

Thank you SO much. I'm going to order me up one of those as soon as I get home today. You, my friend, are a lifesaver. When my world dominance is secure you shall be given a humble but comfortable selection of land along a beach of your choosing and reasonably far from my fortresses of terror, killing grounds, and doomsday machine test sites.

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i bought one of these http://www.kworldcomputer.com/product/anal...2/TVBOX1440.htm a few months ago to play my PS2 on my 19in CRT. It supports widescreen resolutions and supports Component input and only VGA output tho, so no DVI.

i bought it from Newegg for 50 after rebates.

i just bought the Westinghouse L2410NM 24in LCD monitor and a PS3 so i don't need this VGA box anymore. Would you want to buy it for $30? i could set up a private ebay auction. there are several vga boxes for sale on ebay too.

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Supports widescreen AND component? As in YCbCr, 3 video cables, 2 audio cables, crisp image with HD-capable goodness (and a chewy center)?

Iiiiiiinteresting.

DVI isn't really a necessity as long as the picture quality is preserved and there's no degradation converting from component. My monitor has an auto-adjust feature for VGA input so it shouldn't be too hard to get it to look good.

I've never actually done an Ebay purchase though. Do I need PayPal or anything like that?

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yup you need a paypal account and can link a credit card or bank account to it. i would list it for $30 and USPS Priority flat rate shipping for boxes is $8.95. putting it up on ebay will make sure both of us are protected :)

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I'll sell you an old tube TV for $50!

Edit: $50 + shipping :)

J/k....

Seriously though... $50 is a lot of cash to fork over to get a PS2 working... do you have a lot of games or something?

I'm surprised that you have enough time to play video games at work. If I were your ignorant boss I'd start to wonder why I needed you.......

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yup you need a paypal account and can link a credit card or bank account to it. i would list it for $30 and USPS Priority flat rate shipping for boxes is $8.95. putting it up on ebay will make sure both of us are protected :)

Sounds relatively straightforward.

Don't take it personally or anything, but I'm going to check out the links in this thread first (work day's over, heading home) and see what there is to see. If I don't like the vibe I get, I'll get right back to you and we can set up the Ebay thing. 'Twill be my first Ebay transaction EVAR. R U XITED?

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