Some questions about the PSone and its LCD screen

I just got the Sony official PAL PSone with LCS screen combo. I had the intention to use the LCD screen as well for other things (maybe even make a portable MVS lol). However, I thought the screen would be more independent of the PSone, that is, it could work without it and with an external video source.

Anyway, appearently it doesn't have an external IN connector for sound, and for video, there's an AV IN mini-plug, and it mentions it's for videocameras. Of course, I should be able to use the PSX IN connector, which should accept RGB and stereo audio, just like it gets it from the PSX. However, it looks to me that the screen needs to be connected to the PSone to work (no ON switch in the screen itself), so that connector would be occupied by the PSone itself. And of course, I would need a female version of that connector.

By the way, I'm also interested in playing imports (non-PAL) in this system. I would prefer not to modchip it. I heard there's a bootdisc, the PSX-X-change, that should be able to boot imports. However, since imports will be NTSC, will them work in that screen? I heard that disc will even allow to play CDR, so maybe I could patch the games to PAL... Anyway I think that to use that disc I would need to do a little trick by making the PSone think the lid is closed all the time when I swap discs.

Any info or recomendation? Or do you know some better place to ask this things? Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Oh well, I just found this:



Anyway I don't really feel like doing a mod like that... Why wouldn't it be possible to just use the PSX IN connector?

I have used the PS-X boot disc and I would not recommend it. It is problematic with older ps1 releases : ie games where the info is stored on multiple tracks. The audio tracks will not play correctly when loaded with such a boot disc.

I'd recommend getting it modded, it's alot better in the long run.

I also tried the PS-X boot disc, and had no luck with it with Metal Slug Jap (horrible port, I know, which I no longer need thankfully). I wound up getting a modded PSX from E-Bay for a good price, and it works great with all imports I've tried. I believe mine has the Stealth mod chip.

I used the video in plug that it has. I found one of those cables that it said would be good for video cameras but the other side has the male RCA cables. I used a madcatz system connector where you can connect 4 systems at once. I hooked up the system to it and the camera cable in the TV out and I can play any game system on the LCD screen. But of course I keep it connected to the PSOne at all times.

Oh well, if I can find the PSX-X-change disc for cheap I'll give it a try. Also, with it, could you boot only original imports or CDR games as well? If not I'll consider installing (or have installed) a modchip.

Yes, I also find this mini-AV in port to possibly be the best solution, although I wouldn't have RGB this way. And I still don't know if this screen is capable of 60 hz anyway (and the PAL games I've tried all show horrible bars, I mean the screen is small enough for god's sake). I'll see if I can find a cable that has that connector and a regular RCA on the other end, then I can use my "scart thief" to connect video from another system there. Of course this would solve video, but what about the sound? Were you able to use the speakers on the PSone? Anyway another possible solution would be to get the sound from the "scart thief" itself to some earphones...

Thanks for the help.

Yeah I got perfect sound from the PSOne screen speakers and even the composite cables gave incredible graphics. I mean even N64 games looked incredibly bright and sharp. I got better video quality with just composite cables on the psone screen than with s-video on a regular tv.

Sorry, but how exactly do you input to the PSone screen speakers the sound from, say, the N64?

I'd recommend doing the RGB mod, especially since it's just 6 wires to solder.for one, that way you will never have a pal/ntsc problem, second, the quality is even better.

Oh well, I guess I would need some more details before doing it...

Doesn't the PSone get connected to the LCD screen via RGB anyway? I don't see how it can improve the video, plus removing the PAL/NTSC trouble (what about the 50/60 hz?). And then I still have the sound problem. Finally, after doing that mod, how would I plug the PSone back to the LCD? Also, it looks like the LCD needs to be connected to the PSone in order to work.

Thanks for the help

could you mod this screen onto a supergun via rgb like the picture above? if so, how would you wire it up for power? +5v? +12v?

sorry to pop up questions in your thread, but I have wanted to put a screen on a SG for a while.

This screen gets powered by its own 7.5V PSU, via the yellow plug you can see hanging at the left. The male plug there gets connected to the Psone at its turn, so the PSone gets power from it as well. The problem is that the screen itself doesn't have an on/off switch, when you power on the PSone it gets powered. I guess there's some trick somewhere to power it up on its own.

Amano Jacu said:

Sorry, but how exactly do you input to the PSone screen speakers the sound from, say, the N64?

Click to expand...

The AV in plug in the back will accept video and audio. I have a cable that has that plug for the AV in on one side and the other side has the red, white and yellow plugs for stereo sound and video so everything gets transmitted through. Perfect video and sound.

Hey amano I sent you an email with a pic of the cable I use.

Thanks, I didn't know that connector accepted sound as well, tomorrow I'll try to look for a cable like yours. I just got the pic, thanks again

care to toss it up for the rest of us?

NGT said:

care to toss it up for the rest of us?

Click to expand...

Do you mean to open it? I might do so, but not right now, sorry

OK, today I went shopping and found a miniAV cable just like kobilka's, it has the mini plug in one end and the 3 regular RCA males in the other. I like this design as it economizes a lot of space.

Well, I was able to connect my PAL GameCube to the PSone screen and it looked on sounded fantastic. Unfortunately, I could only play in 50 hz mode (the screen flickered in 60 hz).

I also bought that PSX-X-change disc, thanks to it I could boot an import game (USA Final Fantasy Tactics) in the PSone , but just as I expected the screen flickered as well . However, I also managed to boot a CDR copy of a PAL game and it worked fine, so I guess I could try to patch the games to PAL.

Another good news is that I noticed that the LCD screen is independent of the PSone when it gets an external video source through the miniAV IN. It just switches on itself when it gets the video in, regardless of the PSone being ON or OFF. It also worked unplugged from the PSone, but in that case it's hard to make it stand on the table on its own.

So Arakon, If I make that RGB mod, and connect my systems to it via RGB, will the image be better, and, more importantly, work in 60 hz without flickering? Since I use RGB from all my systems (including supergun ) through scart, I guess I could connect some wires to that points and in the other end put a female scart connector... Another possibility would be just using the video plug that connects the LCD screen to the Psone, that way I wouldn't need to open it. Of course I think the only possible way to obtain a female version of that connector would be sacrificing a PSX... I saw in a Cash Converters second hand ones for 24.90€, and actually they had one PSX console case (without the guts) on exposition, that still had that part, so I might be able to buy it for even lower.

That way I would also get rid of that annoying PAL borders on the screen...

Sony+PAL=Death

Because...

"I swear to God, that never again will I play with borders and slowdown!"

Do you mean to open it? I might do so, but not right now, sorry

Click to expand...

No... I just meant show us the picture of the cable so that we might be able to look for it is well

Oh well, sorry, I didn't know what you meant.

This is the pic kobylka sent me, I bought a cable that looks to be basically the same:



If you want I'll post a better pic of my own one. The other end are male RCA's, if you want to connect them to other male RCA's you need something like a switch-box, or RCA gender changer, a small connector with both ends female (I bought 3 of them as I need them for some of my systems).

I just tried my DC on the PSone screen, and the picture blew away the Treamcast one. The only problem is that it was 50 hz, but still it was extremely clear. For some reason it didn't work through the "scart thief" as the Cube did, but it worked using the RCA connection of my DC VGA box.

Anyway, I also tried a NTSC PSX game in the PSone, connected at the same time to my screen and to my TV (that is 60 hz and NTSC compatible of course), and in the TV it worked OK, but it flickered in the LCD. So I think the LCD is just not 60 hz compatible, and I strongly doubt that if I did that RGB mod it would work in 60 hz.

Can anybody tell me some way to make that screen work in 60 hz? I think Arakon suggested it would via the RGB mod pictured, but I don't see it clearly. Thanks.

thanks! that picture is fine

hopefully I can grab one of those screens soon and mess with it

I just thought that if I connected a PSX scart RGB cable to the output connector in the back of the screen, and the scart end into my "scart thief", and another system through a scart RGB cable in the "scart thief", I could have that other system displayed in the screen. This would work if the OUT in the back worked as IN too. Well, I could HEAR the other system through the speakers, and the screen turned on, but it remained black. Oh well, what a pity.

Today I tried what I said, that is, to use a female PSX output port and female scart to construct an adaptor to use any of my systems that outputs RGB through a male scart to the psone LCD. Well, the result was the same as my last experiment (read previous reply): I heard the sound from my system and the screen turned on, but no image on it.

I used the PSX pin-out found here http://www.gamesx.com/avpinouts/psxav.htm (by the way, according to my testing 2 should be left audio and 4 right, opposite as it says there, but I might be wrong), and the regular European scart pin-out. My conclusion is that this PAL screen just might not support RGB, that would explain why it doesn't support NTSC games.

Any other suggestion?

Get an import LCD screen. 60hz will be supported.