Just got a DTL-H30001 (PS2 TEST Kit)

So i managed to acquire a DTL-H30001 (Debugging station) today, i know how it works in the sense you can play "Master discs" on it put i was wondering since this is an NTSC (US) console will it play a PAL import without an issue (Assuming the disc is mastered and have the appropriate TV) or should i try and acquire a PAL TEST kit as well?

 

Test PS2s should be able to play retail games from any region, you could also burn a "master" copy of the game and it would work too.

 

I'm sure they can "play" them per se, but would the game play identically as if it were on a PAL TEST PS2 or would the game play slightly differently?

 

I don't think that's true, I was under the impression only some models can.

 

Nice find. Any region will work if its master patched in my experience.

 

Those should be the early sets, with the explanation that the specs for the other regions was not finalized back then. The newer models should be fully capable of playing games from all regions.

The only problem with a DEX unit is the PlayStation driver, which only emulates a PS console from the given region. If you run an out-of-region game, then the video output may be strange (video not fitting the screen well and frame rate may be incorrect).

 

I thought it was the opposite. I've had a few DTL-H10000 models and they all ran PAL Australian games just as well as NTSC/J Japanese games on my TV.

 

I thought it was only the NTSC-J (DTL-H1xxxx) models that suffered from this.

Would a DTL-H50001 suffer the same issues as you mentioned?

 

It only affects PlayStation games. Did you notice if the screen was cut off at the bottom?

Yeah.

Other than the PS driver, nope.

 

So in essence any PS2 game from any region will work flawlessly as intended by the dev, correct screen placement/framerate, but a PS1 game will only work correctly (screen placement/framerate) in accordance with the consoles region. (NTSC-U for me)

 

Yup, unless I am wrong about the PS1DRV program on the DEX being the same as the one from the CEX. AFAIK, none of them had a mechanism to automatically determine the video mode that the game expects. The closest that I have ever seen, is the universal driver from the SCPH-75000 series, which customizes the user's experience based on the ROMVER file (i.e. NTSC-U game patches and NTSC video mode, for American consoles).

The PS2 doesn't have this problem because the game can specify the video mode to use.

 

Ah, yes of course SYSTEM.CNF tells it to run in PAL or NTSC.

Thanks for your help regarding this, saves me from grabbing a PAL TEST (At least for PS2 games!)

 

That setting isn't used in a meaningful way, from how I can see games are made. Games will explicitly specify the video mode desired, so it is likely that the VMODE (and the version) parameter was for a planned (but unimplemented) feature.

 

I see, so the game itself sets the video mode when the game starts running (The ELF, SLxx_xxx.xx) I guess you learn something new everyday.

 

Does the PS2 suffer the same problem as most PS1 do for out of region games? Where unless you have both the NTSC/PAL crystals (i.e. Yaroze) then you get timing errors in Dance Dance Revolution etc.

 

For PlayStation games, yes. PlayStation 2 games are another story because they can specify the video mode and all the PlayStation 2 consoles are capable of the same basic video modes.

 

I've been playing all regions inc. our Australian PAL titles without any issue. saying that never played the dance title though
I use the Component cable to my old Plasma PC Monitor.

 

PS1 games specific the video mode too. It's just that the 60hz mode on a PAL console is not 100% exactly the same as a 60hz mode on an NTSC console, because each one has a very slightly different clock. It's good enough for a TV to display, but it's not good enough when you're trying to sync with audio.

 

How works the debug features of a TEST PS2 ?

 

It has no debugging features, on its own. Originally, it was meant as a console for testing PlayStation 2 software on retail-like hardware.
Eventually, they released the TDB-startup card, which gave the later DEX consoles some debugging features... but it is no substitute for the TOOL. However, the earliest units (including the one that the OP is referring to) are not supported.