Oddball issue with DVD playback on PS2

[ZackN920]

Honestly I have no clue where to go with this thread. Seems like the video game section is almost dead, and this doesn't really fit in the best there either...

Anyway's I've got an "old" (fat) PS2 that I've had since new in the early 2000's. This thing has gotten heavy use as I was growing up. Parents would say way too many hours wasted on it.lol I've kept it up though(clean the vents periodically &ect.) It still plays everything as it should but I've noticed a weird issue with DVD playback lately(which is what I use it more for now).
While playing a show the picture will get dark, then after about 30 seconds or so, it'll brighten up to normal for about 5 seconds then go dim again. It just repeats this all the time, from the minute the DVD is loaded. All the menu screens on DVDs do the same exact thing. I know for a fact that this is not an issue with the VCR the signal goes through or the TV. That and video game playback doesnt have this issue.
I'm thinking there might be an issue in the power supply... But that's just a hunch. I honestly have no clue with this thing. What do you all think?

[Eric H]

You are running it through a VCR then to the TV?

Doing that can cause exactly the symptoms described because of the Macrovision copy protection.

Have you tried it without the VCR in the path, hooked directly to the TV?

[ZackN920]

I've never ran the PS2 straight to the tv. Mainly because I have the VCR sound outputs (which the tv don't have) connected to the stereo receiver. It's always been fine accept for the last year or so. It's progressively gotten worse over that period. When it started having this issue it would just dim slightly. Anyway's I did swap the VCR at the end of last year with a mid 80's Zenith but nothing at that time changed.

[old_tv_nut]

Symptoms definitely sound like macrovision/copyguard, but I can't understand why it would have come on gradually - you would expect it to either be there or not.

[centralradio]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

Symptoms definitely sound like macrovision/copyguard, but I can't understand why it would have come on gradually - you would expect it to either be there or not.

I agree .It looks like Macrovision is kicking in with the VCR circuitry.I would try to hook it direct to a TV with A/V jacks if you have one.or a stand alone TV RF modulator.

[Findm-Keepm]

From the Stanford University page "Macrovision Demystified": The most glaring problem with Macrovision is that compatibility is not guaranteed. Although the Automatic Gain Control circuitry is only supposed to affect the video signal when a Macrovision- protected video stream is recorded, many VCRs activate their video-scrambling chip when a signal is simply passing through the VCR. Since DVD players rarely include RF output (a single round cable with a single pin in the center - it looks like a cable TV connection), and millions of TVs currently in use lack composite video input (3 cables, 1 yellow for video and 2 (red and white) for audio - all have RCA-style connectors at the ends), or have only one set of composite inputs (which is occupied by a VCR, a Sony Playstation, or any of a variety of popular consumer electronics devices), many people discover that the only way to connect their brand-new DVD player to their television is to run the cables through their VCR. While there is nothing illegal about this configuration, due to pour design on the part of VCR manufacturers, quite a few people have been innocent victims of distorted pictures, and as DVD technology grows in popularity, this problem will grow exponentially. Already popular web sites are receiving questions from worried users, asking whether their new DVD player is broken because they are seeing an image that jumps around their television screen. The troubleshooting section of DVD player owner�s manuals rarely mentions this potential problem, incorrectly convincing many people that they own a faulty DVD player. While early adopters have been generally unaffected (due to the nature of early adopters, most own TVs with multiple S-Video or composite inputs, and thus do not need to connect their DVD players to their VCRs), this demographic is insignificant compared to the number of people who will try to connect their DVD players to their VCRs.

How about non-macrovision DVD's (direct video to DVD format, no macrovision encoded) - do they play okay?

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by Findm-Keepm

How about non-macrovision DVD's (direct video to DVD format, no macrovision encoded) - do they play okay?

In a VHS tape, the Macrovision signal is recorded directly on the tape. In a DVD, however, a control signal is embedded in the DVD, and the DVD player generates the Macrovison signal on the analogue output. This is another opportunity for it to be done incorrectly and generate the Macrovision signal when it is not supposed to.

[centralradio]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

In a VHS tape, the Macrovision signal is recorded directly on the tape. In a DVD, however, a control signal is embedded in the DVD, and the DVD player generates the Macrovison signal on the analogue output. This is another opportunity for it to be done incorrectly and generate the Macrovision signal when it is not supposed to.

I forgot to mention on trying a non macrovision encoded DVD in the PS2.
Will the PS2 accept burned DVD from a stand alone DVD recorder or burned from the computer DVD burner.I cant remember.

I have my stand alone Panasonic DVD recorder piped through my VCR and have no issues with the video on my own recorded DVDs playing.

[Findm-Keepm]

Originally Posted by centralradio

I forgot to mention on trying a non macrovision encoded DVD in the PS2.

Basically what I was asking the OP in my statement:

Originally Posted by Findm-Keepm

How about non-macrovision DVD's (direct video to DVD format, no macrovision encoded) - do they play okay?

[ZackN920]

Well, I still havn't connected it directly to a TV yet but I did try a homemade DVD in it and it didn't have any issue. Played fine other than a few skips. I don't know if we've got any non Macrovision discs that are professionally recorded. If this is a problem with macrovision/copyguard why did it come on gradually?? Sounds like ya either got it or ya don't with what your all saying.
Anyway's I'll try the PS on the 27" Sanyo tomorrow after work sometime as long as the TV's not being used allready by that time. (It's got an open set of AV jacks right on the front)

[ZackN920]

I tried it on the Sanyo and was surprised to find that it does not do it when attached directly to a Televsion. I guess it is with the VCR.... Hmm. I wonder why. The VCR's from the early to mid 80's. It shouldn't even know what this Macrovision crap is, unless it dosnt know how to deal with it. I don't know.
Welp, what can I do about it? I want sound from the ps2 to be routed to my stereo receiver so I can't hook the system strait to the tv because it don't have sound output.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Macrovision started in the early 1980s with video tapes, so even the earliest (VHS) VCRs are probably going to have problems with it. It was designed to mess with the VCRs that were already on the market at that time.

An interesting side note is that they only tested it and designed it with VHS VCRs, which were already the more-popular format as of 1980-81, so most Beta VCRs were not affected by it. If you had a Beta VCR, you could go ahead and make copies of rented movie tapes (from a Beta or a VHS VCR, it did not matter) just fine, except for the big quality loss.

[Electronic M]

One solution is to go to rat shack, similar store, or online and get a pair or RCA Y connectors each one with two female connectors and one male.

It is a hell of a lot more compact than a VCR, though if you still watch tapes getting another thrift store VCR may be a better option.

[ZackN920]

Hmm, they started it in the early 80's?
yea, I could do that M, but the back of the stereo is all full up(if that's what your reffering)
I still do watch tape's. Part of the reason I picked up this VCR is because the last one (which we got new) wore out the VHS playing and ejecting functions.Damn plastic gears. That and this old Zenith feels well built, had the extra feature's that I wanted and is in great shape. Most of the one's at the thrift store's are crap. Once inawhile they get a decnt looking and featured one in but...
Our thrift store's around here suck though, when it comes to electronics.
Well, I guess i'll just deal with it.

[Electronic M]

I was talking about using two of these:


They are like cable TV coax splitters only for RCA A/V cabling.