I hate to rag on Sony, but...

[shadow460]

PSIO sounds like an awesome idea!

 

I installed a new laser unit into my SCPH-1001. It didn't even fit right until I cut away part of the top case in the CD well. I also had kind of a rough time calibrating it until I figured out that the new laser unit itself wasn't calibrated right. It still skips and pops on Colony Wars's videos, but it played through the intro video on FF8 just fine. I'm gonna try FF7 next. Colony Wars looks and sounds horrible on it. Even the in game voices and the in game music skip like no other. The unit managed to put a nice ring scratch on the first Colony Wars disc until I finally got it seated correctly in the console.

That laser unit came from Rich's PSX Part out of Virginia Beach. I don't mind calibrating the console to the laser, but sending out an uncalibrated unit that doesn't even fit the console it's listed for is ridiculous. I won't be buying the more expensive PS2 laser from them, but I might purchase another $20 PS1 laser for my other console.

PSIO sounds great. one or two 32GB SD cards ought to hold my entire PS1 collection, save for the demos.

 

Oops, I spoke too soon. The PS1 console is still not reading all my games, even with the new laser unit. It won't even try to load FF7.

Edited October 21, 2012 by shadow460

[Mockduck]

I've never had any problems with Sony game products! In fact, I've long thought them to be among the better quality products on the game market. I'm still using my original PS1 with no problems...of course, any electronics device will have a certain fail rate, but I'm surprised to hear about Sony experiences. Microsoft, on the other hand...loves to sell you many consoles. The same console, I mean, over and over again...

[shadow460]

For what it's worth, I did get both of my PS2s running again. All they needed was to have the DVD drive cleaned out and lubricated, then the skew adjusted. One needed the CD laser voltage increased. Looks like I need to go ahead and order another laser unit so I'll have it when the one with the higher voltage finally gives up.

[Ace_1]

Aside from my four original-model PlayStations (all different revisions: SCPH-1001, SCPH-5501, SCPH-7501, SCPH-101 PSone) and an SCPH-39001 PlayStation 2 I gave a friend, I've never had Sony systems give me problems. The first PlayStation is the most unreliable of my old CD-ROM based consoles. Every single one of the consoles I mentioned has varying problems with the laser. The SCPH-5501 has a modchip in it and while it's okay with original discs (with the occasional skipping), if I put a burnt game in the console, there's a high risk the game will lock up unless I turn the console upside-down. The SCPH-7501 skips all kinds and the PSone only starts to skip when the console has been on for 15 minutes (playing a burnt game, I haven't checked original discs yet). The SCPH-1001, though, is a nightmare. I used to use a swap trick to get burnt games running on that console using a GoldFinger cartridge, but this thing has an EXTREMELY hard time reading burnt games. That manual bias adjustment is a pain; either burnt games work or original discs work. I could never get the two working, and personally, I prefer to use the SCPH-1001 model. As it is right now, the system does have some skipping in the opening FMV of V-Rally 2, but that happens on every PlayStation I've put the disc in (but it doesn't skip on a PlayStation 2).

 

My big problem with the PlayStation is how much a finicky b****** it is with games using CD-XA format. Those kinds of games seem to be the most highly prone to skipping, and a lot of PlayStation games I play use this format. It drives me nuts, especially since Gradius II in Gradius Deluxe Pack will not run correctly on a PlayStation 2 (the first two stages play at half speed). At this rate, I feel like I'd be better off ripping all my PlayStation discs into custom EBOOTs for the PSP and use my PSP-3000 for PlayStation games instead of an actual PlayStation (minus games with analog controls as it seems the PSP's PlayStation emulator doesn't support analog controls).

 

As for the PlayStation 2, that one blew two fuses, one which I believe was on the 5V rail, and the other which provided rumble for the controllers. It didn't take much to get it back up and running again, quite unlike the 4 PlayStations that have given me hell.

Edited October 24, 2012 by Ace_1