PS2 PS2 image on HDTV and image size (Underscan? Overscan?)

[DTR]

Hello

So i play my PS2 on a HDTV (kdl32-wd600a) via Component and i have the screen format set to 4:3. So far so good. But my TV has another setting called "Display Area" with the options: -1, Normal and +1 (Full Pixel not available for obvious reasons).
My question is, which of these options do i use to get the best image quality out of the PS2?

In -1 the image gets expanded to the point it can't fit it all on screen vertically on some games like Onimusha 2 (at 60hrz) so i have discarded this setting entirely.

In Normal the image mostly fills the screen vertically (can only see a sliver of black bars) and expands horizontally a bit as well.

In +1 the image is the smallest of the bunch with black bars all around and in games like PAL Onimusha 1 the screen looks a bit too small.

It looks to me that all modes keep the aspect ratio, i can't detect any stretching or compression. I honestly can't tell if image quality is impacted because i feel like i am gaslighting myself when trying to judge this and falling for placebo effects; I'd rather have a scientific or experience based answer. Now i learned about these overscan and underscan terms and i am truly confused. I'll play on the smallest image if need be, i just care about the best image quality.

I don't know if it's worth noting but when playing my PS3, +1 is what i have to set to see the full picture. Also the name for the 4:3 format is "Normal", so i don't know if that has any correlation to he Display Area setting.

Thank you and sorry for the long post.

---//---

As an aside, and just for information's sake in case anyone else comes across this topic. On my TV, if i set the image mode to Game Mode to play my PS2, the image will be terrible and really blurry. However if i set the image mode to Movie for example, the image will be significantly better and sharper (this is not to do with the sharpness setting). I think this means my TV turns off some sort of advanced scaling when in game mode. This is making me wonder if i should set it the same for my PS3, since 99% of it's display output is 720p and i guess that is also not getting upscalled.

 

[Rock77]

You can use modded psx/ps2 emulators... Or in webmanMOD check the box for netemu, you could also try with IRISMAN, when in the menu, navigate on the game you want to play press triangle and there you will find some settings, check the 16:9 widescreen box and launch the game. When you check that settings you can then also launch the game from webmanMOD.

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see this is a question for ps2 consoles, I was thinking that you have a problem with ps2 games on ps3 :/

 

[gamerman 5000]

I recommend playing your PS2 with a 4:3 aspect ratio on 29" or 32" screens maximum.

If you say you have a component cable, then take advantage of the fact that some games have the option to force progressive scan natively. Some are in their menu, while others have this hidden option that you "unlock" by pressing a certain button combination before starting the game.

Another thing I recommend is using the "GSM" built into Open PS2 Loader and testing it out on games that don't have progressive scan natively.
You can force 480p SD (4:3) and even force up to 1080i HD (16:9).

 

[mimi]

https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/res/manuals/W000/W0005401M.pdf

page 50 explains aspect ratios
page 128 explains Display Area

Normal, scales and zooms image without losing aspect ratio or image information, overscans image to have a bigger active screen, less visible black bars from top and bottom.
+1, fits image to screen. Shows image as is - original.
-1, enlarges image, you don't want to use that.

Use Normal when playing ps2. And use game mode, not sure if game mode turns off all processing, turn off every image enhancement (read manual).
Or maybe use Display area - auto. Because you have multiple systems.

 

[DTR]

https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/res/manuals/W000/W0005401M.pdf

page 50 explains aspect ratios
page 128 explains Display Area

Normal, scales and zooms image without losing aspect ratio or image information, overscans image to have a bigger active screen, less visible black bars from top and bottom.
+1, fits image to screen. Shows image as is - original.
-1, enlarges image, you don't want to use that.

Use Normal when playing ps2. And use game mode, not sure if game mode turns off all processing, turn off every image enhancement (read manual).
Or maybe use Display area - auto. Because you have multiple systems.

Thank you for taking the time to look it up and help. I really appreciate it.

Here's the thing though (and don't take what i am saying personally)...at least when it comes to you telling me to use Game Mode, i know for a fact this is not correct advise. Like i said, at least when it comes to the signal the PS2 is outputting, Gaming Mode will show a very blurry image. It will be very noticeable in the accessing memory card text or item description in games. In some games it will be so blurry it is barely readable but in Movie Mode it will be perfectly sharp, as it would be in a CRT. It's not a minor thing, i am talking about like 5x increase in image quality. I fear "use Game Mode" might have become one of those truths that just gets taken for granted, at least when it comes to old consoles with low resolution analog signals. Or maybe it's just this TV. I do turn off all image enhancements but my TV has a setting called Display Speed Preference that i think turns off or on advanced image processing. This setting is grayed out and on in Game mode and grayed out and off in Movie mode. This is what makes the difference on the PS2 i think.

You can set the image, screen and audio settings for each signal source independently so that's not an issue with multiple systems. Display Area set to auto is only useful for systems that can output the TVs native resolution as well as lower ones, such as the PS3. That way you can have Full Pixel for 1080p content and +1 for 720p content. Though i noticed that the TV defaults to +1 from Full Pixel and vice versa depending on the content even if Auto Display Area is off. So it remembers the display area selected for each resolution on it's own, which is very convenient.

Thank you for clarifying what the Display Area options meant. Honestly, my OCD is telling me to use +1 if it's the original signal, mostly because i am wondering how the upscalling part influences deinterlacing, if at all. This is likely to be my paranoia though...

 

[DTR]

I feel i owe this thread a definite conclusion in case some random somewhere in time happens to have the same question.

After much testing i can confirm that: yes, for 480i/576i PS2 content on this TV, the optimal mode is Cinema. It's better than even Game mode with Display Speed Preference turned off (it's a feature for SD content but grayed out in HD content). In game mode the image is rendered with significant errors, as if pixels are misaligned in vertical blocks. Using Onimusa 2 as an example you will see lines in character's faces, as if the image is made of strips glued together. Input lag compared to Game mode is completely negligible (unlike other modes like General, where it instantly noticeable).

For 720p/1080p content (PS3 and above), stick with game mode for better motion handling. Don't know if this applies for PS2 using GSM to force these resolutions.

I am talking about the way the image is rendered, not picture quality (Contrast, Brightness, etc). That everyone has to calibrate or set to taste.

As far as the screen aspect goes i set Screen Format as Normal for 4:3 and Display Area as Normal so it overscans, as suggested.

Turn off every image enhancement option, including Reality Creation (this was ruining my PS3 image especially).

I think that's it. Thank you for everyone that replied. Because of this thread i ended up testing my image in different modes more thoroughly and re-calibrated picture quality by correcting Contrast, Brightness and Gamma as well as turning off that Reality Creation tripe that was making my image worse.