PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Includes PS2, Xbox 1, GameCube (but not the Phantom Game Console)

Moderator:Moderators

Fluffy
Posts:32
Joined:Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:06 am
PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Fluffy » Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:18 am

Hi all, I've figured out how to permanently fix the green tint issue between the official Sony PSX 5" screen and the slim PSTwo. As of this writing, mine has been running for 2 hours 12 minutes, and exhibits NO problem.

First off, a little background... I personally have seen the green tint issue, and on the exact same PSTwo and PSX screen used in this example, the effects were noticeable after 20-30 minutes of play. I've read segasonicfan's thread, which had eastsider_1's fix for connecting the R and B lines to +5v, and segasonicfan's revised method of jumping R and B together, which did help me, but I found that a bit annoying and figured I could do better.

I started looking at the screen's PCB last week, checking datasheets for the main IC's and tracing signals. I was interested to find that the LCD signal processor (Panasonic AN2526NFH) required only a 1uf capacitor on each of the RGB lines, but that Sony had thrown in a bunch of other components - extra caps, IC's, signal switches, resistors, transistors, etc. I figured part of that was to be able to switch between RGB and te external composite input, but of course I didn't need that. I found 3 SMD capacitors, marked as CV53, CV54, and CV55. These are inline with the red, green, and blue lines, respectively, and are rated at 10uf.

Basically, at this point I thought, "why not bypass all the extra crap?" so I did, and it works! As of this writing, mine has been running for 2 hours 21 minutes, and exhibits NO problem.

Now for the important part: how you can do it too! All that's required is to find those 3 capacitors, lift one end up (the end that doesn't connect to the signal processor), and connect 3 wires from the input connector directly to those 3 caps! I didn't touch the sync signal at all, and I didn't disconnect the RGB signal from the original circuit, save for lifting the 3 caps.

So far, I've played 75 minutes of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, and didn't notice any extra green tint. I switched it off and ate dinner at this point. I then switched over to Persona 4 for 20 minutes, and after deciding that wasn't quite colorful enough, I played Okami for 2 hours 21 minutes straight. NO GREEN TINT! The only downside is that the signal is very bright. I've turned the screen's brightness down all the way, and the picture is still a bit bright for me; however, the improvement is more than worth the tradeoff. Perhaps I'll throw a resistor on each line to tone it down a bit...

Now for pictures:

All pictures were taken with fixed white balance on my Canon EOS 300D. Raw format, no retouching afterward, except for a tad of brightness adjustment. Resized to 800x600, then saved as a jpg, compression level 8. On my monitor, the colors shown accurately represent what was shown on the Sony LCD.

These are the 3 caps in question. Basically, I've removed them and resoldered them upright, so as to only connect on one end. I then soldered the 3 wires to the PCB input connector. Note that I've lifted the lower side of the cap up, so that it's standing only on the upper connection of the footprint.
CRW_1370.jpg
CRW_1370.jpg (174.67KiB)Viewed 30065 times
Here's the other end of those wires. I used 30ga insulated magnet wire for this, but you can use whatever you want. On the input connector, pins 4, 5, and 6 (counted from bottom up) correspond to red, green, and blue.
CRW_1371.jpg
CRW_1371.jpg (137.98KiB)Viewed 30065 times
More pics after the jump...

*edit* minor changes, additions, title change - for clarity
Last edited by Fluffy on Thu Aug 27, 2009 7:54 pm, edited 6 times in total.

Fluffy
Posts:32
Joined:Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:06 am

Re: PSTwo with Sony PSX screen - green tint permanent FIX!

Post by Fluffy » Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:22 am

More pictures:

Nocturne, after about 1 hour 15 minutes.
The attachment CRW_1366.jpg is no longer available
Okami after 1 hour 30 minutes.
CRW_1398.jpg
CRW_1398.jpg (102.9KiB)Viewed 30064 times
I started this save file on this setup, and played for the time shown. It's still running now, after 2 hours 43 minutes, and no green tint...
CRW_1412.jpg
CRW_1412.jpg (98.15KiB)Viewed 30064 times

Also, anyone have any idea how to get these images to show as a thumbnail, rather than full size?

User avatar
collinE
Posts:891
Joined:Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:07 am
Location:Salt Lake City, Utah
Contact:

Re: PSTwo with Sony PSX screen - green tint permanent FIX!

Post by collinE » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:16 am

I have no idea about the thumbnails, but it looks great to me. Thanks so much for this!
It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.

Ridonkulous

User avatar
64M320N3
Posts:790
Joined:Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:27 pm
Location:Ft. Collins

Re: PSTwo with Sony PSX screen - green tint permanent FIX!

Post by 64M320N3 » Mon Aug 24, 2009 2:28 pm

Wow, the fix was really that simple?
Hmm... maybe I should actually read the datasheets next time.
Making stuff with my new beautiful CNC machine!
Would you like a professional looking custom case for your portable? I may be able to help you. Check out this link:
http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=32724

Fluffy
Posts:32
Joined:Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:06 am

Re: PSTwo with Sony PSX screen - green tint permanent FIX!

Post by Fluffy » Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am

Yeah, I didn't think it'd be quite this simple either. I was a bit surprised that my first test worked :D

User avatar
Kyosho
Portablizer
Posts:338
Joined:Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:38 pm

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Kyosho » Sun Aug 30, 2009 3:23 pm

This is probably silly, but would you be willing to try a DVD movie in it and confirm that there's no green tint there either?

Fluffy
Posts:32
Joined:Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:06 am

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Fluffy » Sun Aug 30, 2009 5:00 pm

Kyosho wrote:This is probably silly, but would you be willing to try a DVD movie in it and confirm that there's no green tint there either?
The issue with DVD playback is that Sony decided to make the PSTwo switch over to component video from RGB whenever a DVD is playing, because analog RGB doesn't support Macrovision copy protection. The Sony PSOne screen (and Zenith and Verge LCD's) only accept composite and RGB video, and so far nobody's figured out how to make it support component. Technically, the LCD signal processor IC can handle component, but the mode selection is set by an I2C bus from another chip, and that's beyond most people's ability (including mine) to do something about. You're best off hooking a composite signal into this screen with a switch, which should enable/disable the composite input.

Also, I can't try a DVD, since I don't have a DVD drive in my PSTwo anymore (Hard drive instead).

User avatar
Kyosho
Portablizer
Posts:338
Joined:Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:38 pm

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Kyosho » Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:04 pm

Oh right right. Sorry, it's been about 2 years since I built my PS2p and for some reason I thought the two issues were the same. Now that you mention it, I do in fact remember having a switch for composite. My PS2p died so quickly after I built it, I sort of blocked a lot of that stuff out. I was so angry. Hah.

Fluffy
Posts:32
Joined:Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:06 am

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Fluffy » Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:00 am

Man, that must've sucked. I would've mentally blocked that too! Thankfully I at least have a few spare parts if I kill anything, though I only have 1 screen so I gotta be careful with it (not that I have been).

User avatar
Kyosho
Portablizer
Posts:338
Joined:Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:38 pm

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Kyosho » Tue Sep 01, 2009 6:26 pm

Yeah, it sucked. Only the PS2 fried. The screen survived, thankfully. And if I ever get another PS2 slim, I still have the case too.

Also, I was just re-reading the stickied thread, "PS2 RGB...If you've done it please come here!" and I totally forgot how involved I was with this stuff back then. Hah.

Anyways, if any moderators read this, could you perhaps edit the first post of that stickied thread and link to this one? There's enough other good stuff in that thread that I wouldn't want it de-sitckied, but this thread definitely seems to solve the issue that that sticky thread is all about.

Edit: Awesome, thanks mods. Also, thanks Fluffy. I'm sure lots of people will get good use from this.

Fluffy
Posts:32
Joined:Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:06 am

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Fluffy » Wed Sep 02, 2009 2:39 pm

Yay! Thanks mods!

Now, can or has anyone else tried this? I know mine works, but I wanna know whether it's a universal fix or not. I know there are a few PCB variations for the screen and the PSTwo.

FWIW, the PSTwo I used was a model SCPH-70001 (No modem, separate EE and GS chips). I'll try it on another one, a SCPH-70011 (Has a modem, and the combined EE+GS chip), and see what happens.

User avatar
Kyosho
Portablizer
Posts:338
Joined:Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:38 pm

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Kyosho » Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:47 pm

I'm totally broke, but I'd love to try this. I might ask around with some friends to see if anyone's got a Slim laying around (nearly everyone I know has moved on exclusively to the 360/PS3).

Fluffy
Posts:32
Joined:Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:06 am

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Fluffy » Wed Sep 02, 2009 5:02 pm

I love my PS2 ('s)! So many games for them. I just beat Persona 4.

I do have a Wii and 360, and the roommate has a PS3, but I won't play them as often until they get a large amount of good RPG's. I know there are some, but nowhere near the list for PS2.

Back on topic, the other PSTwo has been running the screen for a half hour, and hasn't gone green yet. As this one is more similar to newer slims, it looks promising!

*edit* Been going more than an hour now. If anybody has one, I'd like to see if a 90000+ series works as well.

User avatar
Kyosho
Portablizer
Posts:338
Joined:Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:38 pm

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Kyosho » Sun Sep 06, 2009 8:08 pm

Just in case I get my PS2 working (which would be fricken incredible), got a question. You mention lifting up the capacitors that you connect your RGB lines to. I assume by that, you mean you're severing the connection to that extra unneeded circuitry you discovered. Anyways, what would happen if I were to just solder wires to those points and not sever the connections?

The reason I ask is that my PS2, assuming I get it working, is probably in a pretty fragile state and I would want to do as little modifying as possible to it, for fear of frying it or something by accident.

Fluffy
Posts:32
Joined:Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:06 am

Re: PSTwo/Sony 5" LCD/RGB/green tint - Here's the complete FIX!

Post by Fluffy » Mon Sep 07, 2009 1:42 am

Yeah, lifting one end of the caps up disconnects them from the extra circuitry. It was the first thing I tried, so I don't know if soldering the wires in without lifting the caps would work. I'll try at some point though...

This mod only changes anything on the screen PCB, not on the PSTwo itself. I'll assume that the PS2 you mention is partly built into a portable; if so, then if it's easy enough to remove the screen, this mod should be easy at that point.

Now that I think about it, part of the extra circuit being bypassed may have had something to do with external composite input, which may make playing DVD's on a portable PSTwo impossible without the "other" green tint issue. I'll check into that in the morning (a bit late for me right now).

Post Reply