# Should a Year-Old Playstation2 Suck This Badly?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [October 24, 2002, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663 "2002-10-24T11:41:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2002, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663/1 "2002-10-24T11:41:37Z")
My PlaystationII, a Christmas gift from Mrs. Rastahomie last year, absolutely **SUCKS** as a DVD player.
Whenever there’s a flash of light on a movie (such as an explosion) my TV screen “flickers” and momentarily goes black (this lasts for about a quarter of a second).
My PS2 “reads” new movies (read: movies that I’ve bought, as opposed to rented) reasonably well, although it has difficulty with _Shreck_. It does just fine (apart from the “flickering”; see above) until a certain point in the movie (the scene where the princess and the little bluebird sing until the bird explodes) and then, for no reason that I can figure out, just cuts off completely. I get this little message that says “unable to read disc.”
My PS2 has the same problem with about 1 out of 4 rented movies (and with animated rented movies it’s 4 out of 4).
So, WTF is going on? The guy at Best Buy said that the PS2 DVD Remote would solve the problem, but it hasn’t.
Is this common in PS2’s? I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m going to have to spend $100 and buy a real DVD player…
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### Author:  [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2002, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663/2 "2002-10-24T11:50:06Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Whenever there’s a flash of light on a movie (such as an explosion) my TV screen “flickers” and momentarily goes black (this lasts for about a quarter of a second).
I would guess that there might be an issue between your playstation 2 and your television. the DVD remote should vastly improve picture images, but the problems you appear to be having might be with the TV playing the PS2.
Have you tried your PS2 on another television?
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### Author:  [@SpaceDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpaceDog)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2002, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663/3 "2002-10-24T12:39:24Z")
I’m gonna waltz in from the land of personal-experience-and-wild-ass-guesses here, so be warned.
My PS2 ('bout 6 months old) plays most DVDs fine, Shrek included, but bombs on others. I think that’s just a thing.
Older PS2s have different DVD software I believe you get a software update with the offical PS2 remote which helps this.
I agree with **TwistofFate** that the explosion thing seems to be a TV problem, however you say:
> [@](#):
>
> just cuts off completely. I get this little message that says “unable to read disc.”
So clearly your PS2 is having an issue too. My first question is what happens if you reset and start again ? What if you skip over the offending chapter, can you play the end of the movies ?
Finally (heres where the guesswork comes in) Where is your PS2 located in the room. Particularly with respect to the TV and any speakers you have ? I ask 'cos I’ve had probelm with having a CD player near my speakers, when it hit a big low note it would cause the CD to skip. So I’m wondering if the explosion could becausing enough noise to cause your DVD to skip in the PS2.
Just a thought,
SD
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### Author:  [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2002, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663/4 "2002-10-24T12:58:33Z")
Rental DVD’s tend to be beaten to crap- so a sensitive unit to scratched disc’s, like your Playstation, are more effected. I decent standalone unit would be much better, but of course that would cost more $$.
FWIW, I use my Playstation 2 for games alone. I have a Sony DVD player unit for watching DVD’s.
I assume you have no issues with games though?
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### Author:  [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2002, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663/5 "2002-10-24T13:00:04Z")
PS2s tend to overheat, and they are also serious dust magnets.
Nearly all of the PS2s I’ve had to deal with being returned at work were okay, just flaking out due to a dirty lens or overheating.
NEVER do the vertical stand thing with one… It’s hard on the motor. And deal with it-- the PS2 is a decent game console, but it really is a crappy DVD player.
Yes, I’m grumpy today.
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### Author:  [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663/6 "2002-10-24T16:50:27Z")
I bought a PS2 about a month after they were released. I use it as our video game machine and DVD player. I have never had a problem with it.
[sub] well, thats a lie. One rental DVD skipped but it was scratched all to hell so I am not faulting the PS2 on it.[/sub]
I have _heard_ that the Xbox is a better DVD player. I might buy one of those in time.
However, for the time being, I have zero complaints about my PS2s DVD ability.
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2002, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663/7 "2002-10-24T17:26:37Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Darth Nader \*
> NEVER do the vertical stand thing with one… It’s hard on the motor.
While I’ve had zero problems with my PS2 and am perfectly happy with it’s DVD playing (I’ve got a nice new widescreen tv and a Prologic sound system) I do have it vertical. Thanks for the advice. I’ll put it flat when I get home.
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2002, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663/8 "2002-10-24T18:14:45Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by rastahomie \*
> \*\*
> Is this common in PS2’s? I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m going to have to spend $100 and buy a real DVD player… \*\*
And when you do, you will have most of the same problems. Its a conspiracy I tells ya!
Best advice I can give, is get a dvd cleaning disk, and use it religiously, its helped me.
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### Author:  [@glarGH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glarGH)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2002, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-year-old-playstation2-suck-this-badly/133663/9 "2002-10-24T19:29:52Z")
Urgh.
I just had this happen last night. Its a mood killer when you’re trying to watch something serious and the “unable to read disk” message comes up and poops at you. Mr. glarGH and myself had to watch one scene on the laptop, and swtich it back to the PS2 for the rest. Pissed me right the fuck off, it did.
Mine is about a year and a half old, I keep it vertical, next to my TV, on S-Video cable mmm… s-Video cable… I think I needs a cleaner and some other stuff. GAH!! Too much stuff!! I wanted a PS2 'cause those bastards were supposed to do everything and cut down on the stuff you needed to buy.