PS2 Component Video, white colors are green.

[JelloJoe113]

Hello.  I just bought a Playstation 2,  along with a Mitsubishi Megaview 37.
The Megaview supports Sync on Green and has a multitude of connectors on the rear of the unit.    See;

Mitsubishi Megaview 37 PDF Literature

I've succesfully connected a PC and a MAC to this monitor using both the BNC jacks and hd25/mac connectors on back.  The picture is fantastic!

So today I went out and purchased a ps2 component cable and some 'female RCA to male BNC' adapters.  I turned the 'Sync on Green' switch on the back of the monitor and I hooked up the Red,  Green and Blue cables up to the BNC posts.

Now,  my ps2 is set to Y Cb/Pb Cr/Pr on the systems setting menu and I've tried all the possible combinations..  Setting SOG on and off,  setting the BNC jacks at 75Ohms or 'HIGH'...

I get a stable,  clear and flicker-free picture that looks fantastic.  EXCEPT that I get no white whatsoever.  All white text and white backgrounds/images are green.

I've tried swapping the R/G/B connectors around,  I've double-checked that I didn't use the Audio connector for the Red..

I really don't want to mess with a sync stripper but well..  Any ideas?  Secret menus or settings?  I'm not really the type to post long sob-stories and expect to have my hand held as I've been lurking and reading as much as I could for the past few months..  I'm just lost.

Thanks for any replies in advance and sorry for the long-winded post.

-phil

[RARusk]

What you've got is the "Green Screen" effect. You are using a Component Video signal on a RGB monitor. You see, Component Video is not really RGB but an advanced form of S-Video. The reason the screen is green is because the Luminance is on the green line. To fix this you have to go back into the System Configuration menu and switch from " Y Cb/Pb Cr/Pr" to "RGB" in the Component Video section.

In addition, you HAVE to use a sync separation chip with the PS2. Sony did not put in a separate sync line in the AV plug to both the PS1 and PS2 units so therefore you have to take it from the either Composite Video or Luminance (S-Video). The best chip to use is the EL1883 chip. It is also the only chip that is MacroVision compatible. This will allow you to watch movies in RGB with no problems. MacroVision, the copy protection used on most movies, will mess up other sync chips because it adds extra sync pulses that TVs can ignore but VCRs, and sync chips, can't. These extra pulses will mess up your picture. The 1883 ignores these extra pulses and you can watch movies with no problems. Works great on games too. NuHorizons Electronics sells them on their website.

You will also need either a GameShark (they have DVD Region Free) or DVD Region X to watch movies because they disable the Component Video switchback. The switchback occurs when you try to watch a movie in RGB. The three pins for RGB are shared with Component Video. As part of Sony's copy protection, to prevent pirates from copying movies from the pristene RGB signals, the video mode will automatically switch back to Component Video, and getting the "Green Screen" effect again, when a DVD movie is in the PS2 and will remain so for as long as the disc is in the drive. It will go back to RGB when the disc is removed. These programs disable the switchback (plus you can watch any movie from any region in the world - read: import discs).

[RARusk]

What I forgot to mention in my previous post is that if you use a sync chip, you will also need to build a RGB cable for the PS2 because the Component Video cables won't have the necessary signals, like Composite Video (Sync) and +5VDC (power for the chip).

There is also a schematic online somewhere to build a Component Video to RGB converter. It is not as complex as one might think and I may build one for myself. This may not be a bad option but that also depends on your technical skill.

Sorry if I am overloading you with info but I have lots of experience trying to get RGB out of my PS2, and other consoles, and I am trying to help. Sony is not exactly RGB friendly and it can be a bit of a hassle trying to use RGB out of the PS1 and PS2 consoles.

[JelloJoe113]

Thanks for the quick reply RARusk.  I remember reading,  either here or on the old Atarilabs forum where some displays could handle a component signal on the analog rgb line as long as the display could sync on green..

My original plan was to buy a SCART cable and use an LM1881,  female Canare BNC bulkheads and all.  I ordered my cheapo SCART cable from a place in Canada.  It has 3 wires,  red green and blue each with a capacitor on it.
Then there is a black,  white and yellow wire.

Am I missing wires?  I was assuming that I should have a separate wire each for the red green and blue return/ground and also a return/ground for the sync.

Guess I should have bought the xbox with vga kit,  huh?  

I'll look around for the schematics for a component to RGB adapter,  but if you do come across one it would be great if you could share it.  I've no problems with soldering and can print pcbs using my laser printer and a drymount press.

Thank you again for your reply,  it's very much appreciated.

-phil

[JelloJoe113]

I did find this.  I love Google.  It might be a bit past my reach,  unless I get better at using Protel or Circuitmaker..

ELM - YUV(YCbCr) to RGB converter (schematics at bottom of page)

-phil

[benzaldehyde]

GOD BLESS YOU, JELLO JOE! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FOR YEARS!

An RGB to Component Converter; Deceptively Simple to Boot!

[RARusk]

Yep, that's the schematic I was talking about. I should have posted the link myself but it was getting late when I made my reply and it slipped my mind. However, I want to use the simplest version but make two changes.

First, I need to find a solid reliable way to remove sync from green. I have a NEC MultiSync 3D (a sync-on-green monitor) and it has a little problem with interlaced sync when a Component Video signal happens to be used (like with the Xbox in dashboard mode). It has no problems with progressive sync. So to prevent any sync problems, I want to remove sync from green.

Second, there is a .pdf at Intersil's website somewhere that has a schematic that allows the 1883 chip to be autosynced for HDTV applications. On sync chips there is a pin called RSET that regulates the chip by connecting it to ground with a resistor. For 15Khz that would be 681K ohm (1%). For 31Khz that would be about half or 340.5K ohm. But the schematic allows the 1883 to autosync on the fly so you can use multiple sync signals. It is supposed to work as high as 720p but doesn't work on 1080i. However, I don't know if it will work with 480i and 480p signals or that the design can be simplified for RGB monitor use. I will try to post a question at Intersil's FAQ section and see how they answer. If this schematic can be used for 480i and 480p that would really improve the converter design since you would be able to use both interlaced and progressive scan signals instead of just 480i like it is in the current version. This autosync application would replace the 1881 chip that is on the left side of the converter schematic.

If you plan to watch movies on the PS2 in RGB JelloJoe you NEED the 1883 chip otherwise a good chunk of movies, including the most popular ones, won't work properly because of MacroVision. However, if you use something else to watch movies and you plan to just play games exclusively on the PS2 then any sync chip will do. Another sync chip that works very good is the EL4583. That was one I was using before I discovered the EL1883.

I will try to find the address for the autosync schematic and post a little later.

[RARusk]

Found it! A little mistake though. It will work with 1080i but not at 1080p. Enjoy!

<a href="http://www.intersil.com/data/an/an1118.pdf">http://www.intersil.com/data/an/an1118.pdf</a>

[RARusk]

D'oh!! Let me try again.....

http://www.intersil.com/data/an/an1118.pdf

I think that works now.....

[RARusk]

Sent a question in Intersil's FAQ section concerning the EL1883 autosync design last night and got a reply today (these guys are good!).

It will work with 480i and 480p signals and, better still, for RGB applications you can drop the 74HC221s at the bottom of the schematic.

So all you need are six resistors (200, 1K, 2K, 10K (x2), 8M), three capacitors (.1uf, 82pf, 100pf), and two transistors (Q2SC3904 (x2)). Once you put everything together this should make the EL1883 autosync to any sync signal from 480i to 720p (I don't think a RGB monitor can do 1080i and the sync design doesn't do 1080p).

Now all I need to do now is get the parts and build the damn thing.

Now all that's left is to remove sync from green. Does anybody out there have a simple design to do that? :unsure: