There is quite a diverse set of TVs and sound equipment being used to play PS2 and PS3 games, but are you getting the best picture and sound out of the electronics you are using? If you said, "Yes!", ask yourself truthfully, "How do I know, for sure?" Just because you spent a few hundred, or even a few thousand, dollars on new technology? This page will help you adjust your picture and sound equipment to the best of your abilities and the best of your equipment's abilities, with a recognised standard set of tests.

Always near the forefront of PlayStation gaming, Gran Turismo 4 is one of only a few PS2 games capable of displaying a high definition 1080i image. So long as you have a TV capable of using this screen format, you can lessen or eliminate some of the complaints players have with the game, such as "screen shake" and moire patterns. Other games which have had compaints about PS2 graphics, such as ToCA 3, can also be improved, at least to the best of the abilities of your hardware and software, using the techniques described here, too .

First Things First

Protect your expensive computer and entertainment electronics by using either surge protectors (for non-critical components) or a UPS for the equipment that requires one: the console/PC (anything with a memory storage device in it), audio/video hardware (TV and sound equipment) and any on-line equipment (modems, routers, etc.) The $10 Monster PS600 surge protector, shown below, includes protection for your Ethernet cable and helps to indicate whether your electrical outlet is wired properly, too, but it isn't enough to keep you on-line on its own, during a dip in power. It was made for the PlayStation2, but more modern surge protectors will do their job even better and you should be able to find ones that have more lightning protection for both Internet and TV input cables. A UPS needs to have enough reserve to keep all of the right hardware working properly when writing files to the hard drive (PS3 and a few PS2s) or to mem-cards (PS2 & PS3), and to keep your Internet connection working if you are playing on-line, including sound and video. Running a GT4 endurance race, which could mean the console is left on for a number of consecutive days, can also expose you to another headache - having to restart after putting in a few hours of racing, just because of a blip in the power supply! A surge powerbar plugged into one of the UPS outlets can help keep power cables in control, within the limits of the UPS, so don't overload the UPS. Any break in power will cause problems for most of your gaming equipment, one way or another. With no surge protection at all and also power loss, you run some pretty serious risks, so the small expense for a UPS is worth every penny you invest in one compared to the inconvenience and costs of having to replace damaged hardware.


Before you start adjusting things, make sure your PS2 console is set up properly by turning it on with no disc in its tray and go to the Configuration menu. Use the Up/Down arrows to find the aspect ratio and set it to the right one (16:9 or 4:3) for the TV you will be adjusting. Check the output cable type and set it to the kind you use, RGB (composite or S-video) or component. Set the sound to Optical, if you can use the PS2's optical output port with your audio system. If you are using a PS3, then follow its own set-up procedure.

Monster has a simple diagram describing most ways of wiring a PS2 to other equipment. It shows duplicate wiring, so pick the one you use.


Your HD Television

Before you buy a high definition TV, make sure you know what you are actually buying and if you will be sitting in a viewing position where you will actually benefit from all those tiny pixels. For PS3 consoles, it takes a native resolution of 1920x1080 to truely display 1080p (i.e. 1080 lines of resolution), otherwise the TV will display 1080i, 720p or less. At the moment, for consumers, 1080p is as good as it gets, and TVs capable of displaying 1080p tend to be 40" or larger - the smallest 1080p TV I have seen was 32" (Sharp Aquos - LC32D62U). Typically, smaller LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs use 720p because 1080i is not a native resolution for LCD screens. The first value (1920) defines how many dots per scan line are used across the screen; the second value (1080) defines how many scan lines there are, stacked from the top to the bottom of the screen. If your TV doesn't have that native resolution of 1920x1080 (and ignoring upscalers), your TV is changing the HD 1080p output to 1080i (if it even has this resolution), or scaling to 720p or less, or the CRT screen may use 1080i, which is a native CRT HD format. It's just that CRT screens rarely have all of the scan lines you really need to get the full benefit of 720p or higher resolutions. If you have a 4:3 TV screen shape driven by a PS3, there is no way to see the full HD advantage because that beautiful, wide-screen, 16:9 Blu-ray movie image, for example, is being mapped physically over a smaller set of pixels (something not equal to 1:1 with 1080p) or CRT dots than what the full image normally requires to see everything. Remember that your extensive DVD library is only in 480p, too, so let me ask you a question. If your TV is actually bumping any 1080 resolution image down to 720p (many TVs must do this) or even to 480p (as the current PS3's frequently must do), when are you ever going to see a real HD 1080p image? The PS3 can feed the HD image to your TV, but you will only see it if, and only if, your media is high definition and TV is capable of using it fully. Having said all of that, though, an LCD displaying 720p will be difficult for the untrained eye to see the difference compared to 1080p, at a normal sitting distance for casual viewing. Part of the reason for this is that LCDs can deliver more pixels per given screen size than any other current display technology and smaller LCD screens can have smaller pixels making them look very good compared to some larger screens. The PS2 can output up to 1080i, too, but only a few PS2 games, such as Gran Turismo 4, supply this resolution signal and, if your TV doesn't have the right resolution, you can't use it, either.

To fully take advantage of the HD image, you need a native, progressive 1920x1080 display. How does a 1920x1080 screen compare in size and shape to smaller, standard TV formats? Keep in mind that this chart does not show the 1080i shape, which is close in size to 720p.


THX Optimizer

To set up an audio (HTS, stereo or receiver, etc.) and video (TV) system properly, you need to start with a test system, most commonly a test DVD. You could buy a high quality test system, but you might already have a useful one now in your DVD library. If you have some of the 322+ THX DVD movies, you do have the free THX Optimizer set of tests, which is the main subject of this page. Even big electronic companies, such as Pioneer, have used this test system for adjusting their own TVs before running a TV comparison, therefore, you should feel comfortable that this is a respectable set of exclusive tests from Lucasfilm Ltd. Check your video library now to see if you can find a movie that has the THX Optimizer on the DVD. Look for the THX Optimizer in the list of "Special Features" or in the fine print near the bottom of the back cover. Example movies that have the Optimizer are TRON, Terminator: 2 (the Extreme 2-disc edition), Pirates of the Caribbean (2-disc edition), Titanic and some of Pixar's more recent movies, such as Cars. The Incredibles and Toy Story have an advanced THX Optimizer version, but these enhanced tests are not described here, since they have different instruction sets and they are not as well distributed yet.

To do the complete set of THX colour tests, you must also order the THX's test glasses for a $1, plus shipping. You can get away with not using these glasses with some tests, but... if you want the best results, just order one as soon as you can. Some TVs fed by component signals won't allow you to use the colour tests that require the glasses, though, so check your TV controls first, to see if they are all operational. If you can't adjust the colours, such as hue, you may not be able to make use of the glasses with that TV driven by component cables. The glasses help you adjust colours better than without using them, though, so use them if you can.

The use of the standard THX Optimizer tests with an NTSC PlayStation 2 console will be described here, to get the TV set up best with just the console. You can, obviously, use your normal DVD player to do the same tests, but use the PS2 or PS3 here, just to be sure you are setting the TV and sound system up properly for use with the console first, especially if you have a PS3 and especially if your console is going to be used exclusively with one TV. There were some differences found when using the test with difference DVD players, including the PS2, so you may have to choose which video player to use as your testing "standard".

THX Audio Tests

You have some background questions to answer before you start. Through what equipment will you broadcast sound? Will sound be sent through the TV's speakers, headphones, speakers attached directly to the PS2 console or will you connect through something like a home stereo or home theatre system? Are the speaker wires fixed with RCA connectors or were they connected manually with some sort of colour-coded plug or screw connector to the speakers? If they were connected manually, maybe by yourself, there is a larger risk of a polarity error. How many speakers does your system have (2, 2.1, 5.1 or more)? Are the speakers really where they should be? This includes whether you are using the correct speaker distances from the central point of where people will sit the majority of the time. Good Home Theatre Systems allow setting individual distances for each speaker, except the subwoofer. You may be able to set the volumes for individual speakers and you may also be able to use the A/V system to equalize the sound output to match the room. Some A/V receivers have different "hall" modes that give a certain "space" of feeling to the sound. You might want to skip some auto-tuning or auto-calibration by the A/V receiver, for instance, if you have a sound level meter and know how to use it, or if you find the auto-adjusted sound is too bright. Read your AV equipment manuals and check all of this before you start the THX Optimizer audio tests.

Because the PS2 is Dolby Prologic II enabled, it can feed a set of 5.1 speakers, the .1 speaker being the subwoofer. Proper placement of the speakers will enhance your experience, so use the guide below to locate each speaker the best you can within your environment. You may also have to experiment with the height of the corner speakers, too, but the Centre speaker is "hard set" to be in the centre, near your TV, because many movies concentrate dialogue there. As much as you are allowed, try to point or focus the small speakers towards your main sitting area (for the enjoyment of the majority of listeners) because, otherwise, your ears may not pick up all of the very directional high frequencies well. The subwoofer can be placed and pointing almost anywhere because its sound is omni-directional, but it is still recommended to place it near no obstructions and, of cource, in open air. If you have a way of elevating the subwoofer off the floor or if you can use coned (pointed) feet if it is sitting on the floor, people in other rooms of the house (or in other apartments) may appreciate hearing less rumble.


An observation: when you change the PS2's sound output configuration to Optical, output through the RCA connectors still is supplied by the video cable. This means sound output can be available from the two PS2 sources, at the same time. You might want to control this extra output.

While you are waiting for the THX test glasses to arrive, let's deal with your system's sound. (I'll use the TRON DVD. All THX tests on this DVD are found in the [System Set UP] menu.) Load up the THX Optimizer in the PS2 and press X. (To navigate through the PS2's controls with a DS2 controller, press the Select button for the PS2's DVD controls. Press Select again to reposition the controls lower and press it again to make them disappear.) Select the Optimzer menu item. You will then be presented with 3 button choices: Audio Tests; Video Tests; or the Main Menu. The THX Audio tests are pretty simple, but there are a few things to clearly understand. Select the Audio Tests button, then Play Test, on the right side. All but the last audio tests repeat until you tell the program to advance.

These audio tests have certain limitations. None are designed to deal with volume levels, for example, so, to be really precise with speaker volumes, either use the auto-calibration system built into your home theatre system, if there is one (find your manual about using this), or use a sound level meter at your seated position. You can buy these sound meters at RadioShack, for well less than $100, or other good electronic supply stores. Otherwise, if the feature is not available, you will have to set the distance for each speaker in the home theatre system's configuration menu and sit in your viewing position, to check the volume levels manually.

Test #1: Speaker Assignment (Position)

Play audio test #1. This basic test allows you to check the placement of each speaker. It helps determine if each speaker is getting sound from the right source. If the noise sound is not coming from the same speaker position as highlighted on the screen, then rewire or rearrange all speaks til they do correspond to the proper positions. The THX program has no idea what equipment it is played on, so if you are using the TV's speakers or 2.0, 2.1 or 4.x speakers, 5.x or any other combination not shown (7.1), then the test may seem a bit odd testing speakers that don't exist on your system, but use some logic and work with it. OK?

Let's move on. Press R1.

Test #2: Speaker Phase

Some people don't understand what goes on with this test because the instructions don't fully explain how to use the test if you don't know how out off phase speakers sound. To be "in phase" means that the speaker is wired correctly: positive wire to positive terminal; negative to negative. It is either right or wrong. Look at the back of your speakers, to see what kind of connector was used. If the wires have soldered male banana plugs or RCA connectors on them, for example, then chances are that the manufacturer soldered everything together properly, but the test will prove whether that assumption is correct. If you wired the speakers yourself with cut wires or with coloured connectors, check again to be sure the positive (light colour - red or white) wires and negative (dark - black) wires are connected to the proper posts, at both ends of the wires, before you start. If nothing else, this exercise is a good education. Stand evenly between the speakers, in the middle of them all, and play audio test #2. There are actually 4 speaker-pairs tests.

Again, you hear 5 second bursts of white noise from pairs of speakers, this time. If the polarity of each speaker is set correctly, then the noise will have a certain "feel" to it. First, the sound should feel "centred" and it should sound like it has a full range, with a good bottom end. If one or more speakers are out of phase, when they should be in phase for each test, the sound will feel more dispersed and the sound will be thinner with much less low frequency noise. Compared to speakers being in phase, sound from out of phase speakers will sound weaker, spread out or "not as good as" the in phase speaker sounds. Because the tests alternate between sound that is in phase and sound that is out of phase, one way or another, each pair of speakers will get tested with both types of sound. You will be able to hear the difference, but it may take a while to understand which is which. Take your time because out of phase speakers will taint your sound. If you think a speaker is not wired properly, follow the instructions on-screen and reverse the wires for the speaker marked with red, and continue the test until that pair is right. If each pair of speakers is OK, then move on. Press R1 to advance to each pair of speakers. After testing the last pair, pressing R1 advances to the next test.

Test #3: Subwoofer Crossover

If you are not using a subwoofer, press R1 again and you can advance to the THX Video Tests section. Doing this test without a subwoofer will prove nothing, but it will give you an idea of how low your system can go, frequency-wise, or approximately how low you can actually hear the lowest frequencies your system produces. You might be surprised.

Otherwise, follow the screen instructions and lower the system's volume. Start the test. You will hear a partial frequency sweap out of your front speakers and sub only til sound naturally stops at the lowest frequency you can hear or that your audio system can produce. Pay close attention because it only plays once and then the whole audio test finishes automatically.

To use this test, listen for any breaks in the frequency sweep. If you are using a subwoofer and your crossover works properly, then there will be no perceptable gaps in the sweap signal. If there is a gap in sound output, you need to deal with this, probably through the manufacturer's customer or warranty services, because your system is not working properly - your system is not sending out all of the sound data given to it.

THX Video Tests

Find your TV's remote control, if it allows you to adjust the video settings. It will make life easier during these tests. From the THX Optimizer's main menu, load the first video test. You may have to repeat some of these tests after you have gone through the complete video set of tests once.

Test #1: Contrast/Picture Set-up

This test helps you adjust the TV's contrast. You are presented with a white box with 8 squares of 4 different shades of white. Adjust the contrast until you think you have it "right" or what you think is bright enough without washing out the distinctions between the different shades.

What I tend to do is adjust contrast down til I don't see any more changes in the black area around the screen edges. I figure that, if I am not making the blacks any blacker, it doesn't need to be adjusted lower; any higher and the blacks get lighter. On a few of the various TVs I've adjusted, this tends to be near the middle of the contrast setting, anyway.

When you think you have it right, press R1 to get the next test.

Test #2: Brightness Set-up

Read and follow the on-screen instructions. Start the test. There are a few things to look for, to get full benefit from this test and from your TV. If your DVD player is capable of displaying a drop-shadow (in this case, yes, the PS2 can display a drop-shadow to our CRT TVs but some LCD TVs cannot use it), adjust the brightness till the drop-shadow of the central "THX" logo just disappears. Another way of doing this test, especially if your DVD player can't display a drop-shadow, is to use the rows of ten shaded boxes, top and bottom. Adjust the TV's brightness til the seventh lightest box disappears, then increase the brightness til you can just barely see the 7th box.

If you will also use this TV for watching movies, you might want to error a bit on the lighter side of brightness, not darker. I find on my various TVs that what seems "good" during these tests ends up being a bit too dark and the details in shadows in movies have disappeared. Use your best judgment here - you may still need to fiddle with settings regarding Tests #1 and 2, even after the whole set of video tests are over, so be patient.

Note: Recent LCD and plasma TVs are very, very bright! If you are always sitting closely to the screen, you should probably turn brightness down a lot.

When finished with brightness, Press R1.

Test #3: Color & Tint Set-up (with the THX glasses)

If you use component cables, your LCD TV may ignore some adjustments during this test, so use a PS2 S-video cable, if you have one (or just use the normal composite cable, if you don't), as a starting point. My CRT TVs allowed using this test, but more than one person has found that their LCD TV did not.

Test #4 can be used to adjust colour, too, only without the THX glasses, so you do have a back-up colour test you can use. If you have not received your THX blue filter glasses yet, you cannot make use of this test, so press R1 and advance to the next test, to set up the TV's colour without them.

If you do have your THX glasses, put them on and follow the on-screen instructions. Depending on your levels of patience and attention to detail, you should be able to match the letter colours pretty closely, but maybe not perfectly. It is fairly tricky to get them all exactly matched. You will very likely see some differences, no matter how hard you try to match them all. If you are not using component cables during this test, but you would use them during normal use, then you will also be using different TV circuits, so you will have to use test #4 anyway. When you think you have adjusted the letter colours as closely as you can, press R1.

Test #4: Monitor Performance (without the THX glasses)

This is a multi-part test. Users who did Test #3 can still adjust sharpness with this test.

Users without the special THX glasses can use this test to adjust the TV's colour settings. If you used the THX glasses for Video Test #3, there is less need to adjust colour settings now, unless you are going to use component cables with some TVs, otherwise, follow the on-screen instructions, at the top of the page, and Press R1 to individually set up Red, Cyan (light blue) and Magenta (purple).

Next, use the Sharpness control along with the bar of lines (the one with two large white arrows pointing at it, on the instructions page) to adjust the video til the fine lines become "edgy", then back the adjustment off until the lines look "better", not overly-enhanced. If you make it "fuzzy" enough, a CRT will blur the fine lines into a solid gray mass, so sharpen the display until you see the most separated lines on the right side. This test alone can make a poorly performing CRT TV look as if it came alive again! On our LCD screen, there were a few messed up fine lines (on the far right side) when the sharpeness was scaled higher or lower. Don't leave the setting adjusted with any non-straight lines. Colour CRT TVs especially will show a bunch of moire colour patterns in the middle of the fine black and white lines. That is not unusual (it's a mechanical problem with CRT screens), but if you can lessen the moired "colour" effect with the Sharpness control, then do so.

When finished, press R1.

Test #5: 4:3 Aspect Ratio Check

Read the on-screen instructions. Normal CRT TVs should have no trouble with this test. Look for a perfect circle and straight edges to the outer rectangles. All of the outer rectangle should be visible. Now is the time to make sure the rectangular lines are centred both left/right and up/down, if your TV can adjust this now. If not, and you think it really needs adjusting still, you may need to consult your TV's manual or a TV technician, to see what is possible.

Some 16:9 LCD TVs may not have a 4:3 setting and you may not be able to use the test fully with them.

Test #6: 16:9 Aspect Ratio Check

Read the on-screen instructions. Normal CRT TVs should have no trouble with this test. Look for a perfect circle and straight edges to the outer rectangles. All of the outer rectangle should be visible. Now is the time to make sure the rectangular lines are centred both left/right and up/down, if your TV can adjust this now. If not, and you think it really needs adjusting still, you may need to consult your TV's manual or a TV technician, to see what is possible.

Remember that 16 / 9 = 1.78, therefore the greatest benefit of centering the rectangular box will be displaying the greatest amount of image from games or movies with this exact ratio. Any ratio larger than this, such as 2.40:1, will result in having larger black bars above and below the image, even on wide-screen TVs, especially if the movie has not been reformatted anamorphically.

When ready, press R1.

Test #7: Final Test

Read the on-screen instructions. You can safely skip this test, as it only shows you a sample clip from the feature movie on your disc. Tron has such an enhanced colour scheme that the sample clip is useless as a test. Instead, play a DVD movie that has a lot of naturally lit scenes and watch for loss of detail in shadow areas and for natural skin-tones. If the TV that is connected to this PS2 will also play movies through other DVD devices, then you may, at some point, have to compromise with the settings, for one source or another.

After you have finished all THX Optimizer tests, you can be reasonably assured your video and audio equipment is adjusted to more accurate and more appropriate settings. If you feel something still isn't quite "right" yet, you now have the test system, knowledge and experience and to go back and make it right.

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