Sony PSX DESR range query

A note of caution on this one - google/nifty translation shows it listed as a junk item. That on its own isn't necessarily the end of the world, since it basically implies that the seller wont take returns & isn't an absolute statement that the item is broken. However, the images & (I think) the text also indicate that screws on the back panel are missing & that the unit may have been disassembled at some point. I wouldn't necessarily expect the unit to work out of the box, but it might be an interesting project/good for spares.

BTW, UJ - thanks for the link to the update discs. From the look of the form it takes you to, it looks like its intended for folks with Japanese addresses, but I might try and contact them anyway & see what happens.

 

Sorry to raise this topic up again, but i am also interested in these DESR- units..

I know that they are region coded DVD (R2) which is fine for us UK/Europe peeps but i was also interested to know if they can be chipped like a regular PS2 to allow use of non-NTSC-J games?

Is it just a glorified PS2 with a HDD built in and such?

 

Seems like the sold it on amazon.com at one point: http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-PSX-DESR-7000/dp/B00093Z7HY

But they do still sell them on the japanese amazon site tho:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/SONY-PSX-DESR-5000-160GB-HDD%E6%90%AD%E8%BC%89DVD%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%80%E3%83%BC/dp/B00011D1UY

 

The amazon Japan one works out to £172..... :love: bu they wont ship outside of japan, thats cool though i have a friend over there at present who i am sure i can bribe to forward to me..

Are they much cheaper used in the regular retail stores over in Japan?

 

Not entirely. They have DVR (digital video recorder) capabilites built-in & a UI that's the forerunner of the PSP XMB (cross media bar). They also look pretty damn cool in with your normal AV stack of components.

I've never seen any information about chipping one, though there are pics of a dissassembled one on the web somewhere (I'll see if I can find them later).

Do they even still sell these retail in Japan? They weren't exactly a mammoth success, so I assume that there may still be units in the retail chain...

 

hmm if they can be chipped then that would make them far more appealling (not that they arent already!) and also, is it possible to change the language as an option or do i have to learn Japanese and fast?

 

No option to the change the XMB language that I'm aware of, but the menus are reasonably easy to work out without extensive knowlege of Japanese.

 

About two year ago, I know stores like Bic Camera sold NIB 7700s and 5700s... The year before that I think they sold the 7500 and 5500...

CF

 

Hmmm... but does it have enough video RAM to playback PAL discs? I.e. the Panasonic Q does NOT playback PAL discs out of the box, you have to solder in extra RAM...

As for chipping. I am tempted to get one just to test. Maybe PS2 discs work, maybe they don't, as the BIOS patching the PS2 modchip does might work a little different on these models. Who knows. But the PS1 part of i.e. a Ghost 2 chip should probably be able to boot PS1 CDRs, as patching the SCEx signal requires no BIOS patching AFAIK.

CF

 

Actually, come to think of it, the 7700/5700 were still up on Sony's website last time I looked, so I guess they're still being made. I don't remember seeing that many in shops the last time I was in Tokyo (couple of years ago), but then again, I wasn't really looking at the time.

Regarding the ability to play R2 PAL DVDs, I'll try one later tonight to see.

 

Awesome!! I am pretty excited about this. If it works I don't know how long I can resist the temptation...

CF

 

]

Indeed!

ray:

 

I just tried out a couple of PAL discs on my DESR-5000 - it doesn't look like that'll work, unfortunately. It comes up with a different message than you get when you put a US/NTSC disc in, so I think it's objecting to the disc being PAL standard, rather than the region. I'll a have a go at translating the message later, but no joy at this point. :-(

To be honest, my unit is sitting next to a couple of DVD players, both of which I'd already set to all-region via remote button combos, so I never use the PSX to play DVDs.

 

Oh well.. its left to the possibility of a chip now....