PS2 on Computer Monitor

[mangaholic]

Hi guys,

I've been trying to find a way to play my PS2 console on my computer at a low price. I tried a cheap adapter (from Pellican) but all it was was an upscaler and I did not like the results at all since it left a good part of my CRT screen unused...

So now I am looking into a cheap capture card (because it will probably be cheaper than those fancy VGA boxes) that will let me play consoles on the PC. However I don't know what to buy. I guess I need one that comes with some kind of RF modulator or at least RCA inputs since my console came with an RCA cable. I know that the image won't be as great as if I had an S-video cable but I can always get one of those.

So I turn to you guys in hopes someone can recommend a video capture card with RCA or S-video that will let me play my PS2 fullscreen. I do not particulary care about resolution but it would be good if there could me some kind of up-sampling without any delay effects on the screen.

I guess what's important is fullscreen play and no lag. Something around 30$ would be good. Also I am considering getting it through e-bay as there's usually more choices than the rip-off stores near my house. But all recommendations are welcome.

Also, I know there was a topic on this somewhere on this forum but it was very old and didn't really address what I wanted to know so I decided to make a new topic.

Thanks

[Hard Core Rikki]

I believe this question has already been asked answered on this other forum

http://www.geeknewz.com/board/lofiversion/index.php/t268.html

Didnt fully read but i believe your answer is there. Hope it helps.



Woops!! you were there as well? My bad! Check this instead:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-32668.html

[Amnon82]

I've connected my ps2 using a converter to convert the SCART-signal to the PC-VGA.

[CWR03]

I once tried connecting my N64 via a cheap capture card (ATI TV Wonder VE), and was rather dissatisfied with the results. I tried both the tuner input and the RCA jack - neither the N64 nor the card supported S-video, which may nave been better.

[anti]

For the highest quality try a N6 from Viewsonic using Component cables. I was dissapointed though, lines looked way too sharp.

Better than Composite, sharper than S-Video. I was bringing it in via my VIVO on my 7800GT.

Could just be the game I was playing though. Good Luck.

[Sirber]

Console are low rez, so it will look crappy on CRT monitors.

[Hard Core Rikki]

Console are low rez, so it will look crappy on CRT monitors.

I had a friend hooking his PS2 to CRT monitor, and I can swear it looked *much* more pleasant than on TV in all aspects. Console output is interleaved, so using a goof deinterlacer should give you that additional quality you hoped for.

Check there, I believe there's an inexpensive solution (8 bucks):
http://www.twistedforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1741

Here as well:
http://www.answerbag.com/c_view.php/970

Hope it helps!

[mangaholic]

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated.

Your links were very useful Omegasaid and have comforted me in my decision. I'm not gonna get a converter box or cables as the results aren't that great (and usually you have to unplug your monitor from the computer). I can't use the 8$ cable because my vid card does not have VIVO. So I'm going with a TV tuner card like I wanted in the beginning. I just didn't know which card I should get.

It seems though that old cards like the TV Wonder VE or TV Wonder Pro will do just fine so I'm gonna try and get that. If anyone has recommendations regarding TV Tuner Cards in particular, it would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

[mangaholic]

Sorry for making a new post instead of editing the previous one but I felt that since this is an update on the thread it would be better to make a new reply.

I received the tv tuner card, which is an ATI TV Wonder Pro ( w/ remote and for less than 30$ ) and hooked up my PS2 to it. Right now I'm using the Composite Cables so the picture quality is a little crappy in fullscreen mode. It should be a little better when I get an S-Video cable.

But I have two questions.

1. When I play I notice a longer delay between the moment I press a key and the moment I see the corresponding action being executed on screen when using the tv tuner card as opposed to when the PS2 is plugged directly in the TV. Is this due to some image post-processing being done before outputting to screen or is it simply a normal delay due to the signal having to travel from the PS2 to the tv tuner card to the graphics card?

Also I am using ATI's multimedia center (TV) and even though i disabled Timeshift it might still be slower than other programs out there that could let me watch what's fed in my tv tuner card.

2. My second question is whether it is possible to have the graphics card perform some image quality processing (Image Anti-aliasing for example).

**EDIT**
I found the answer to question 1 and part of the answer for question 2. I switched to a program called DScaler (which is free too!) and no more delay! On top of that, video quality is better than using ATI's TV program. Also it contains some advanced deinterlacing settings so I'm playing around with that trying to get the best possible picture quality.

Some more input and suggestions from you guys is still welcome.

Thanks!