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"Is Sony leading me up the garden path? Help?!!"

Hi Everyone,

I'm after some help of any of you PS2 owners out there. I've got a "feature" or problem with my PS2 when playing DVD's. The problem doesn't appear to be one of the "usual ones" but is as follows:

When playing a DVD (or as Sony suggested, have a DVD paused), if you push the select key and select the setup menu from the list, the second option along (visual option but can't remember the exact name!) allows you to change the TV TYPE from 16:9 to 4:3 LETTERBOX or 4:3 PAN AND SCAN. Unfortunatly, my PS2 and a couple of my friends PS2's will not allow this to be changed i.e if you highlight TV TYPE and push the right arrow or the X key it will not bring up any options. TV TYPE is also in white and not blue as other items in the menu are. I've also noticed the same problem in the fourth option along (Sound, I think!). In this menu at the bottom there is an option called DVD VOLUME. This as above when highlighted cannot be changed.

The PS2 manual says both of these can be changed and Sony Technical Support have told me that you can change these items and that I must have a faulty PS2. My concern is that all my friends PS2's behave in exactly the same way i.e. these options can't be changed.

This is where I need help!!. Anybody out there who has a PS2, could you please try the above for me and reply to this post so I know whether I have a duff PS2 or whether none of them will allow these changes to be made and Sony are leading me up the garden path??!!

Thanks!! :-)

Thanks everyone, everything now works fine. Tried the TV TYPE setting again last night and it saved fine. Think the problem was with my non-technical girlfriend not understanding what I mean't over the phone!! . The volume trick also works. It's good to see that Sony's manual is so good at explaining how these settings can be changed (sarcastic note!) :-)

And the answer to my question is...............

Yes, Sony was leading me up the garden path, good old customer services eh?! ;-)

World In My Eyes i dont know i think my setting r saved in my memory card cos my setting stay no matter wat i do either if i turn the power off or if i put it in standby mode they all ways stay.

the trick with the circle button works a treat you can indeed change the tv type but i have a widescreen tv so that was not a problem.

the other problem with the volume..and trust me it was a problem( i nearly had to have my tv at full volume to hear DVD films on it properly) is resolved thus

you seem to need to have the digital optical set at off.you can then move down and adjust the volume to +2. i presume this is because if its set to digital optical on ....your PS2 will be plugged into a DTS/Dolby digital receiver where the volume adjustment are made.

i hope this clears up a few headaches

Hip Hip Hooray!!!, got someone to try my PS2 at home and yep DMITCH's suggestion works. If you play a DVD then STOP it (not pause) you can access the setup menu via select and you can now change the TV TYPE to 4:3 Letterbox or Pan Scan!.

The only "problem" I've found and perhaps DMITCH or you other guys can try on your PS2's, is that once the TV TYPE is changed, if you change the dvd or put the player into standby mode, the TV TYPE reverts back to 16:9 again. Using the above procedure you can change it again, but surely you don't need to change it each time you use the dvd player??

Is this the same on all your PS2's or am I missing something?!! :-)

ok i had the same problem and sony couldnt help me either so i figured it out myself while watching the dvd press circle to stop it then press start and go to the menu to change the tv type then continue the movie and u should have to change it again good luck and reply if it works

ok got you now

Sorry, I mean have the DVD in, but not playing, *then* press Select - rather than pressing Select while the disc is running, which is what I interpreted the messages as.

Apologies if I'm not clear - you can tell I don't use the PS2's DVD facility!

no a dvd needs to be in the machine to load up the dvd OS

Have you tried changing it before playing the disc? I have no TV at the moment (away for repair), so I can't try it, but I seem to remember changing it the day I got my PS2, when testing the playback quality with The Matrix.

that happens on mine aswell!!!! but the dvd volume works ok.