Well, just registered and heres my first post ! I've got a question for you guys in this forum concerning a Playstation debugger. Well, I've just got one I think. A blue NTSC/J one with the model number DTL-H1000. Now, I remember reading somewhere on this forum that genuine debuggers do not display the SCEI text when the game boots up. But lo and behold, mine does. So does that mean I've just got a blue colored modded Playstation instead of a debugger ? While its really not a huge factor personally, I mean that blue shell looks pretty nice by itself. I would really like to know for sure if its a debugger or a modded Playstation. So any thoughts on how to tell if its a modded one ? Aside from opening the whole thing that is. One other thing that kinda makes me suspicious about the thing is that the laser seems to be brand new. I mean, I've been testing it with various games both genuine and back-ups and it plays them all without a hitch. Thats kinda unexpected considering this is supposed to be almost a decade old by now and my old Playstations barely play anything if at all at this point. And since this Playstation has an S-Video port at the back, so that supposedly is only found on the very first Playstations right ? So any thoughts anyone ?
I'm not the best person to be replying to this, but I'll do my best. As far as the SCEI text, I don't know. The laser was probably replaced at some point, especially if it looks new. As for the S-Video port, I only remember those being on the very first model NTSC/J Playstations. How that applies to a debug unit I'm not sure. Welcome to the boards, by the way .
Well thanks for the reply, but after some more searching and stuff. It really seems to be just a modded Playstation underneath that nice blue casing ! Its been unanimous in the various threads I've just read that if the console so much as displays either the SCEI, SCEA, or SCEE text when it boots up, bingo !, its a modded retail motherboard somewhere in there. I was kinda hoping there was an exception to the rule somehow, but that isnt the case here. Well at 50 bucks, it wasnt too much of a ripoff at least. Plus its in real good condition considering the price. I mean both of my old Playstations, which are from the later models, are in far worse shape than this one ! In fact, its kinda strange how this blue Playstation happens to be so "clean". As far as I can tell, there's barely any sign of wear and tear. And the laser does appear to be new though. As much as I want to open the console up and check, I've learned that there are games out there that can tell if a mod chip is present so I'll be looking in to those in the meantime. Now, and this is just a thought, assuming that the presence of an S-Video out at the back is an accurate indicator of the console's age. ( And you're right about the S-Video thing only normally found in the earliest Japanese retail Playstations ) Then that would mean the motherboard inside should be an SCPH-1000 one doesn't it ? I hear those models are virtually region free by default, but I'm not sure. Thanks for the welcome by the way :smt045.
Here's my take on it: With a serial number like DTL-H1000, at least the CASE belonged to a debugger at some point. By S-video out, do you mean composite? I don't recall early model Playstations having S-video built-in, but then again I've only seen early US models and a modded model puchased in Thailand - not sure if it was an Asian or Jp release tho. The laser could be easily explained - as the debugging units were built off of much the same hardware as the first-gen consumer units, the lasers are extremely prone to failure, so it was most likely replaced at some point in its past ownership. Think of it as the past owner doing you a favor. This is probably a ridiculous question, but have you tried booting games from other regions on it? Does anything change about the bootup logo? Other than that, the only real way to figure out what you have is to crack that baby open. The PSX is pretty simple to take apart, and it would give you a good excuse to clean it out (something I'm obsessive about when buying new consoles). It's been a while since I've cracked my PSX open, but I almost want to say that they have the model number printed on the motherboard somewhere. If not, just look for a chip that looks out of place with a bunch of sloppy wires soldered to it - most likely on the bottom side of the mainboard. And welcome to the board! Though now that you're properly introduced, it might be a good idea to continue this thread in the Video Gaming forum - you'll get more people seeing it there, and most of them are far more helpful than myself on matters such as these. Plus, this forum is mainly for the introduction of new members or announcements about member events. So now that you're properly introduced, dive into the fray with everyone else!
Hi there ! Well, yeah it is an S-Video out, I can plug in a regular S-Video cable in it. Its in between the yellow composite video out and the A/V multi-out. Basically the now-empty space in my old Playstation ! All the text at the back is in Japanese. I do remember seeing somewhere some pics of the launch Japanese Playstations and they do have the S-Video out at the back, and I also remember that they were gone as soon as the next revision came out. And I just couldn't resist and due to my friend's nagging I finally opened her up. Its been a long while since I've done this, but thankfully it was pretty straightforward as I remembered it ! The laser is without a doubt fairly new, its the only component inside without a somewhat thickish layer of dust ! Yeah, I think that explains it. Other than the laser unit, the rest of the stuff inside is covered in dust, a hair or two, and some other fibers bunched up in various nooks and crannies. Thought it was a clean example before, now I think otherwise. Well, I've tested it with my friend's originals and CD-R backups since the only Psone games I have are all import Japanese ones, and they all work. As for the boot-up screen, whats interesting is that nothing changes in mine. My friend's modded Playstation's "Under Liscensed by Sony Computer Entertainment" text changes depending on the disc's region as expected. Mine always displays the " Under Licsensed by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. " text regardless of the disc's region. It still displays the "SCEI" text at the bottom though, so does my friend's "SCEA" on his. And as for the motherboard, well as far as I can tell, there doesn't seem to be a chip out of place there. And definitely no errant wires and such. I've took some photos and I may post them once I know how or if its important to do so. But if you ask me, there doesn't seem to be any mod chip inside afterall . Couldn't find any model numbers or serial numbers in there though. Thanks for the tips too, yeah I may try to post this on the Video Gaming section. But seeing as I've now seen the innards and there doesn't seem to be a mod chip in there and it plays my JAP and my friend's U/C games plus his CD-Rs, I think its fairly reasonable to think that well, . . its very likely a debugger after all . Looking forward to whatever stuff to happen around here. I've visited the main site for a while but only recently knew about the message boards. Most of the stuff I've seen on so far are real jaw-dropping to say the least ! I remember seeing the blue debug PS on a TV show years ago where some guys were interviewing some game programmer and I spotted a blue Playstation on a desk in the background and I just got to get me one of those. Suffice it to say no EB or Comp USA sold the thing . Well now, I know better where to look !
Where did you get this information? I'm not sure if it's correct or not, but it does sound pretty interesting. BTW, if you want, I can send you an ISO with my PSXdiag program that verifies the presence of a Rev. B GPU (only found in first-batch JP PSXs), as well as the amount of RAM (should be 2mb anyway but the ISA boards have 8) and the BIOS version... though it's gonna take a while to dig up. And welcome to the board, we're always happy to provide a resting place and source of knowledge for wary travellers ;-)
Hello, Well, I really can't remember the specifics actually, but I remember one issue of a video gaming magazine ( likely EGM ) mentioned that the absolute first batches of the Japanese Playstation shipped sans region protection. Some text files I've seen in the web ( dealing with the aforementioned protection scheme ) also mentioned this, though I haven't seen any concrete evidence that its true I'm afraid. Anyway, as the story goes, Sony haven't finalized the region protection scheme by the time they released the Playstation in December to counter the earlier release of the Sega Saturn. Supposedly, it would have taken a few more weeks to do so, and Sony didn't want that and so it goes. Practically all SCPH-1000's ( so called "Rev. A" ? ) models were affected by this business decision or so they say. Part of the rumor also include the info that you won't find any "NTSC/J" markings anywhere, incluing the box it came in and the included manuals. Supporting the story that the scheme wasn't finalized yet. All in all, the information is as vague as they come so I really don't have much of anything to go by . Bout the ISO, sure that would be nice. I just have to burn it with Nero or something and let the Playstation do its thing right ? Anyways take your time, I'm in no hurry myself. I'm assuming you'll send it via e-mail so I would have to PM you with the e-mail address beforehand right ? And thanks for the welcome AntiPasta !
welcome on the assembler's forum, hope you like your stay. don't forget to post in the introduction thread! cahaz _
