# PS2 as DVD Player ...
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 8, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849 "2003-03-08T03:41:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/1 "2003-03-08T03:41:29Z")
This may actually belong in GQ, but this forum is more my style.
My DVD player is pooched. It sort of pulled and _Office Space_ – one day it just decided to stop working. So I’m watching my DVD’s in my PS2. I’m wondering if any other PS2 people have these same experiences:
1 - The volume of movies (DVDs) is so low I have to crank my TV volume all the way up to be able to hear it. No exaggeration … all the way up.
2 - The volume of games is so friggin’ loud I have to turn the damn thing down almost all the way or I’ll disturb the neighbors.
Imagine my dilemma when I throw a game in right after watching a movie (I’m extremely absent minded).
Anyone?
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### Author:  [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/2 "2003-03-08T03:52:53Z")
I just want to go on the record as stating that the PS2 is a shitty DVD player.
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/3 "2003-03-08T04:16:35Z")
It beats spinning the little discs on my finger and trying to decipher the code by eye.
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/4 "2003-03-08T04:17:41Z")
I mean … I just keep missing the more subtle plot points.
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### Author:  [@Vanyel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vanyel)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/5 "2003-03-08T04:30:45Z")
Yeah, I’ve had that same experience. Thought it was just my PS2 or TV, but I guess not.
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### Author:  [@Melon\_Farmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melon_Farmer)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/6 "2003-03-08T04:37:24Z")
Similar experience, but nowhere near what you’re describing. Movies are a bit low, games are about where my regular t.v. is.
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/7 "2003-03-08T04:43:34Z")
I’ve noticed a low volume on a couple of DVDs, but it’s not a general problem. And I’ve never noticed an overly loud volume on games. Are there volume settings somewhere in the setup menus? I don’t remember.
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/8 "2003-03-08T04:46:36Z")
I don’t know. I’m just a little relieve that it isn’t a “me” thing. I was getting ready to replace the cable or something – that’s about the extent of my techno knowledge.
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### Author:  [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/9 "2003-03-08T05:43:33Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by skaterboarder87 \*
> \*\*I just want to go on the record as stating that the PS2 is a shitty DVD player. \*\*
Why? I find it perfectly adequate.
To the OP: I do find I have to turn the volume up a few notches for DVDs, but nothing so extreme as you describe. Games are normal volume.
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### Author:  [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/10 "2003-03-08T06:16:27Z")
Same here. Games seem to be at normal volume, but to hear a DVD I really have to crank up the volume (to about 3/4 of max volume on the TV).
It is a bit jarring when I stop the DVD and go back to normal TV – I always forget to lower the volume first.
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### Author:  [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/11 "2003-03-08T06:18:46Z")
Same here. I have to turn the volume right up for DVDs. You are not alone.
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### Author:  [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/12 "2003-03-08T06:21:57Z")
[Here](http://www.home-entertainment.co.uk/firstlook_read.asp?ID=1019) is a review of the PS2’s DVD player feature. A few minor quibbles, but overall not a bad player. One important (well, important to me!) problem not mentioned in the review is that it will not play VCDs or SVCDs.
[Here](http://pub2.ezboard.com/fglobalgamersplaystation2.showMessage?topicID=73.topic) is a person on a different forum with the same problem as the OP. A suggestion is offered, but nobody posted whether or not it worked for them. It’s worth a shot, I guess.
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### Author:  [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/13 "2003-03-08T06:27:36Z")
Just another “me too” checking in. Regularly have to jack up the volume to it’s highest setting.
Here’s another problem I have with the PS2-as-DVD-player: Sometimes the sound stops matching the actor’s mouths. I mean, the voice is a split second ahead or behind (I can’t remember which) the action on the screen. Anyone else had this problem?
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### Author:  [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/14 "2003-03-08T06:29:04Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by neutron star \*
> \*\* One important (well, important to me!) problem not mentioned in the review is that it will not play VCDs or SVCDs.
> \*\*
It also won’t play any media on the following formats: CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD-RWs and finally DVD+RWs (woo, that wore me out).
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### Author:  [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/15 "2003-03-08T06:41:20Z")
You’re right **skateboarder87**. I could have mentioned that in my post. The reason it doesn’t support those formats, of course, is to prevent game piracy. Of course, $30, a soldering iron, and a steady hand can defeat that. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/16 "2003-03-08T06:52:21Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by skaterboarder87 \*
> \*\*It also won’t play any media on the following formats: CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD-RWs and finally DVD+RWs (woo, that wore me out). \*\*
Oh. Okay, if that’s important to you, I can see why you’d say it’s a shitty DVD player. Me, I don’t even know what those are, much less have a need to play them, so it’s not a problem.
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### Author:  [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/17 "2003-03-08T07:02:29Z")
**Ferrous** : burnable CDs and DVDs that you can make yourself. For example, you could take a home movie and use a $200 DVD burner to produce a disc that will play in a regular DVD player. If you’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of quality, you can burn the video onto a VCD (Video CD) or SVCD (Super VCD) with a regular $50 CD burner and watch it on your standalone DVD player. Most DVD players support this, but some, the PS2 among them, do not.
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### Author:  [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/18 "2003-03-08T08:55:19Z")
I also have the problem with the volume as stated in the OP.
I manage though. When we move, we’re going to hook the whole thing up to the stereo, and see if that changes anything.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/19 "2003-03-08T16:41:27Z")
Well, is it just me? But if you are playing a dvd, just hit setup when ya is playing it & from there you can adjust some super duper dvd play settings that make things look better.
There is also a spiffy PS2 dvd diag menu, although I forgot how to access it perhaps its mentioned in the manual?
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### Author:  [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ps2-as-dvd-player/159849/20 "2003-03-08T17:19:30Z")
Try switching from dolby to stereo sound. Tends to bring the volume up.
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