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[playXray]

Hi guys,

I want to play some of my old PS2 games (and PS1 games for that matter) on my TV. I am open to using real hardware (my father in law gave my console away by mistake but I can get another cheap enough) or emulation. I also want to use wireless controllers of some kind (I have an 8bit Do Pro 2 but happy to buy something different). I obviously want to get the best image quality possible, but I’m not too fussed about lag as long as it’s playable.

What do you guys recommend?

 

[jshackles]

PS2 emulation has improved significantly in the last few years, most games play "good enough" for most people. Do you have a PC? Can you hook it up to your TV's HDMI port? That would be the easiest way by far. This would also allow you to scale the internal resolution so that it will look much much much better on your modern TV. If you don't have a PC, I would recommend getting something like a Steam Deck - in addition to being portable you could easily hook it up to your TV with an HDMI adapter and pair your wireless controller to it.

If you really want to use real hardware, you'll need a PS2 to HDMI adapter, something like this one:

Amazon.com: PS2 to HDMI Adapter PS2 HDMI Cable PS2 to HDMI Converter Support 4:3/16:9 Screen aspect ratio switch. Works for Playstation 1/Playstation 2 HD Link Cable Playstation 1 Adapter Sony PS2 HDMI Converter : Electronics

Amazon.com: PS2 to HDMI Adapter PS2 HDMI Cable PS2 to HDMI Converter Support 4:3/16:9 Screen aspect ratio switch. Works for Playstation 1/Playstation 2 HD Link Cable Playstation 1 Adapter Sony PS2 HDMI Converter : Electronics

www.amazon.com

As for wireless controllers, there is the Dream Gear and Logitech that are both really nice - but super out of production and somewhat difficult / expensive to find.

EDIT: or the RetroTINK as Naked Lunch pointed out below, would be the best (but most expensive) option.

 

[Naked Lunch]

To use real hardware, the best option (right now) is the RetroTINK 5x.
Virtually zero lag and the best de-interlacer/upscaler available at the moment, especially for the PS2. However its best used to upscale at 1080p and 1440p.

5X-Pro | RetroTINK

We are proud to offer the RetroTINK-5X Pro, our first FPGA-powered device that introduces a few landmark accomplishments for bridging retro consoles to modern TVs: The first automatic optimal phase algorithm to produce the sharpest image with zero adjustments needed beyond selecting the base...

www.retrotink.com

The RetroTINK 4K is on the way in the near future if you want to wait. Obviously this one is going to be specifically for upscaling old consoles to 4K.

If you go the real hardware route - look into PS2 OPL. You wont be sorry.

 

[Arioco]

I don't think there's a "good way" to play PS2 gajes on C9. At least on real hardware.

If you want to use real PS2 a component cable will provide the best picture quality, but your C9 doesn't have any component input, so you'd need a device to convert the signal and do the trick.

Having said that, emulation will look much better on your C9, so if you care about picture quality I think this is your best option. I mean, you can play PS2 games at 4K@60 fps if you want to and improve textures, settings, etc...

 

[wvnative]

Emulation is way better but still far from ideal. I used an HDMI adapter on my PS2, didn't have great PQ but I have high tolerance in favor of convenience. A component adapter will likely yield the best results, but I just couldn't do that with my setup.

My advice is to use emulation for games with minimal issues, and just use the PS2 for stuff like ratchet/sly cooper or anything else that still struggles a bit.

 

[Max_Po]

Tricky, because there are options and some of them as very expensive.

You can get RAD2x or a property sealing company's. Nothing facy, it is a Component to HDMI but very good. Let you C9 upscale the 480p

24.0US $ 29% OFF|Retroscaler Hdmi-compatible Adapter With Rgb To Ypbpr Switch For Playstation2 Ps2 Game Consoles - Accessories - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I also have a RetroTink 5x. It is 450 CDN plus option and only good if you are really really into Retro Setup. This solution was originally designed by RetroTink guy as well but it is never in stock.

 

[Beer Baelly]

With your eyes closed.

 

[TLZ]

If you care about best image quality possible then it's PC for you.

 

[playXray]

Thanks for all the info guys. I have a spare mini PC that should be up to the job for this. What’s the best way to set up emulation? I will be playing from a couch, so will need a UI with full controller support. Would Ubuntu + RetroPie x86 be the best way to get this up and running with a multi-emulator front end (will need to work with PS1 games too)?

 

[TintoConCasera]

Thanks for all the info guys. I have a spare mini PC that should be up to the job for this. What’s the best way to set up emulation? I will be playing from a couch, so will need a UI with full controller support. Would Ubuntu + RetroPie x86 be the best way to get this up and running with a multi-emulator front end (will need to work with PS1 games too)?

Sounds overcomplicated. Why not just Windows and PCSX2? That's how I used to do it before getting a PS2 and a CRT TV.

 

[playXray]

Sounds overcomplicated. Why not just Windows and PCSX2? That's how I used to do it before getting a PS2 and a CRT TV.

Wouldn’t I need a mouse and keyboard for that? I’m looking for PS2 and PS1 emulation, and would like to be able to browse and play games/systems with a controller from my couch.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Wouldn’t I need a mouse and keyboard for that? I’m looking for PS2 and PS1 emulation, and would like to be able to browse and play games/systems with a controller from my couch.

Oh, forget about it then. I always browsed them on the PC and then moved to the couch to play with the gamepad connected via wi-fi.

 

[jshackles]

Thanks for all the info guys. I have a spare mini PC that should be up to the job for this. What’s the best way to set up emulation? I will be playing from a couch, so will need a UI with full controller support. Would Ubuntu + RetroPie x86 be the best way to get this up and running with a multi-emulator front end (will need to work with PS1 games too)?

Yeah that would be a good setup, if you know what you're doing. You can set Ubuntu to auto login, and set RetroPie to boot immediately in full screen. You should then have full controller support once everything's booted up. Copy your roms and bios files to the right directory, and you're good to go.

 

[Tarin02543]

I'm playing PS2 on a 1982 Sony PVM.

For the moment I am stuck with composite via BNC, this PVM has a strange SCART pin layout which makes it somehow not suitable for modern scart connections resulting in bad colors.

It also has a proprietary RGB input which happens to be a standard 34 pin floppy drive connector. I'm in the process of creating a SCART RGB adapter with cheap AliExpress parts.

 

[Calling 911 Melts Beams]

the ps5 is out btw

 

[solidus12]

Backward compatible PS3.
You can play PS2 games without shimmering through hdmi.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Emulation on PC.

 

[KuraiShidosha]

PCSX2 is still a mess. Even if you use software rendering there are still problems with every game you play. There really is no ideal way to play such a system on modern TVs with high quality results.

 

[polybius80]

the xploderhd can dictate the output of the GS of the console you can get progressive scan in games that dont give the option, it has even 1080i and 720p options but dont know wich games are compatible with that, I remember I played back in the day matrix path of neo wich support 16x9 but no progressive scan but with xploder I get both and played on a 720p LCD TV from 2005 and looked really good I think there are tools to use with the free mcboot to achieve the same

 

[K' Dash]

The best way to do it is to buy a nice Sony Trinitron CRT and play there.

 

[01011001]

PCSX2 is still a mess. Even if you use software rendering there are still problems with every game you play. There really is no ideal way to play such a system on modern TVs with high quality results.

not every game at all... I played many games that run flawlessly on PCSX2.
the only game I had to actually use the Software renderer is Disaster Report, but in software it runs perfectly

 

[Spukc]

Backward compatible PS3.
You can play PS2 games without shimmering through hdmi.

I owned that one.. still looks rather rough.
Framemeister looks hella better

 

[Brofist]

Wouldn’t I need a mouse and keyboard for that? I’m looking for PS2 and PS1 emulation, and would like to be able to browse and play games/systems with a controller from my couch.

Can't you run those emulators through Retroarch? It has a pretty controller friendly UI

 

[playXray]

the ps5 is out btw

Had one since launch day. Two actually, but gave one to a friend.

Can't you run those emulators through Retroarch? It has a pretty controller friendly UI

Yeah that should do it, though I find Retroarch on its own a bit clunky - I prefer to use a front-end layer like Emulation Station if possible. TBH my media server died over the weekend, so I may have to use my mini PC as a replacement - I might end up back at square one with a hardware-based setup if I can't bring my media server back to life.

 

[Esppiral]

The best option to play PS2 games on modern TVs (or any other consoles of that gen and back, leaving aside original hardware is an Xbox. Period.

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

Xbox series console would be my guess for a modern tv.

 

[01011001]

Wouldn’t I need a mouse and keyboard for that? I’m looking for PS2 and PS1 emulation, and would like to be able to browse and play games/systems with a controller from my couch.

you can easily emulate and only use a controller it's called Xbox Series X

but on PC, if you have a DualSense I can give you my DualSense easy PC config that I put together where I can control basically everything that's important right from the couch with my DualSense controller. not as straight forward or comfortable as a console menu but it works just fine

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I am curious what method you finally decided to use.

I am using a RetroTink 2x Pro on my C9 and it looks fantastic. The C9 appears to use motion-adaptive de-interlacing. This is actually the main reason one would get a RetroTink 5x, and us C9 owners just get it for free! What this means is that objects that are not moving on screen will appear rock-solid, even though the source is interlaced. It uses a different method on moving parts of the image, so you will see minor artifacts there. Without motion-adaptive deinterlacing, the entire screen will have interlaced artifacts.

If you don't care about scanlines or enabling progressive scan on the few games that support it, the Tink 2x Pro is my suggestion to everyone. It's less than half the cost of the Tink 5x and is all that you need for great PS2 graphics. Since we already have the superior method of de-interlacing built into the TV, the main advantage of the 5x is simply progressive scan support and the various scanline options. This comes with input latency, though. The Tink 2x has effectively zero latency. On a side note, the 2x also has arguably better optional smoothing if that matters to you.

 

[AGRacing]

XBXS2 on Series S or X.

Play at incredible resolution OR the CRT filter of your choice. I've been happy trying both.

 

[playXray]

I went for an OSSC in the end - I really wanted a Retrotink 5x but they’re just too expensive to import in the UK. Maybe one day when I’ve saved up enough pennies I will get one

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I went for the 2x Pro and it was about $230 after tax and import duties to Canada. The 5x Pro would be $500! I'd love to try the 5x, but the 2x does everything I want other than the fancy scanline modes.

I'm holding out for the RetroTink 4k, even though I expect it to be $500 USD.

 

[Knightime_X]

PCSX2 for ps2
Duckstation for ps1

Is all you need.