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Edits

  1. I have accidentally used the word composite over component, but after testing it with an RGB cable and an S-video cable, the results are the same.
  2. I've been told to mention that my PVM is NTSC-J and not NTSC. It's a learning process for me, and I'm figuring out things as I go.

I'll start with the question what could cause this coloring issue and how can I fix it?

Prerequisites

  • I live in the EU and have a Sony PVM from Japan (PVM-14M1J, NTSC).
  • It's connected to a 220-110V converter.
  • My PlayStation 2 is connected directly to the wall and is a PAL system.
  • Connecting the PS2 to the PVM via a composite (yellow) cable, yields colors that are off (the starting PS2 screen should be blue, but it appears red).
  • The same issue is happening through all the connections on the PVM, here is a list of everything I've tried:
  1. Composite PlayStation 2 cable
  2. VGA => RGBHV (with only the H connected and CRT Emudrive)
  3. VGA => SCART active adapter => SCART RGBS cable
  4. HDMI => HDMI composite active adapter => Composite (used two separate models, one with S-Video)

Testing

  • I've tried using an NTSC game with the PlayStation 2 (Rayman 3, Sonic), and although the PVM detects the signal as NTSC, it still displays incorrect colors (Sonic appears red).
  • Connecting to every port of the PVM did not change anything.
  • Changing the PS2 settings did not do anything, but I haven't used an RGB cable with the PS2.
  • I made my own VGA cable just to make sure it's not a faulty cable I have, same result.
  • For the Sonic image, I took it into Photoshop and changed the hue globally (for all channels), and Sonic returned to his original colors. It seems to be a hue shift problem.
  • I have checked my PS2/PS3 with an RGB cable, same result.

Images

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15
  • 1
    How did you connect the Y, Pb, Pr cables? Is your PS2 set to output YPbPr or RGB in the menu?
    – Justme
    Commented May 3 at 5:35
  • Is your power converter grounded through, or isolated?
    – Jon Custer
    Commented May 3 at 13:17
  • Can you measure the hue shift you need to fix colours, and see if it's the same for all colours, or if it's different for red/blue versus green/yellow? The differences between PAL and NTSC are in the phase of the colour burst signal, and the phase alternation between lines (which can be used to correct phase offsets).
    – Simon Farnsworth
    Commented May 3 at 14:38
  • 1
    @TaiAlt PAL and NTSC are colour encoding methods for composite video. They have nothing to do with RGB. I think pipe was just telling a joke about what NTSC and PAL mean, though the latter is Peace At Last.
    – Justme
    Commented May 4 at 13:01
  • 2
    @TaiAlt NTSC-J is just NTSC without pedestal like PAL is without pedestal. It will not have any effect on phase. Your NTSC-J monitor will just show slightly brighter picture which can be compensated by turning down the brightness to remove the pedestal offset and then turning up the contrast to apply gain to get bright enough white. Plus, it will likely have only effect on composite and S-Video, unlikely to have any effect on component or RGB input.
    – Justme
    Commented May 7 at 9:52

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
5

Swapping the R-Y and B-Y connections in a component video connection will yield a picture where red and blue are swapped, which sounds like what you're seeing. Component video connections that use discrete RCA plugs are generally consistently colored to facilitate correct connections, but I'd try swapping the red and blue cables at one end of the connection to see if that sets the colors to what they should be.

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2
  • If this were the case, Sonic's feet would be blue instead of green.
    – mm201
    Commented May 7 at 13:42
  • 3
    I hadn't noticed any mention of Sonic's feet being green, but I had seen reference to Sonic being red. Looking more at the pictures, I wonder if the monitor might need to be degaussed.
    – supercat
    Commented May 7 at 15:00
3

Try the following to diagnose this issue: (This was written in response to a previous draft of the question referring to component video, not composite video.)

  • Ensure the component cable is fully seated in both the console and TV.

  • Verify you haven't missed out or swapped any of the many leads used in component video.

  • Boot the PS2 without a disc inserted and go into the System Configuration menu. Go to Component Video Out and cycle between the various settings to see if one works with your display.

enter image description here

  • Verify that your set works with other video sources using the same inputs.

  • Try using a different cable. PS2 cables you find will be a huge mixture of age and provenance now.

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2
  • 2
    From the look of your screenshots, you may have a modchip installed - try to find the documentation for your modchip. I'm finding various mentions of settings and calibration screens and options for different modchips when I research PS2 colour issues.
    – knol
    Commented May 2 at 21:59
  • 1
    The same thing is happening with my Nintendo Wii. I don't think it's related to the PlayStation 2, but rather to the PVM itself.
    – Tai Alt
    Commented May 3 at 9:18
1

Note: I'm still working on completely understanding the problem.

Solution (RGB)

I've managed to partially solve this issue only for the RGB channels by connecting each cable to the corresponding connection on the PVM and observing the color that appears on the screen.

For me, the results were as follows:

  • RED is GREEN
    meaning when I insert the red cable to the RED connection on the PVM the color on the screen appears green
  • GREEN is BLUE
  • BLUE is RED

Now, I've simply used this to determine which cable to connect to which connection (connecting red to green, green to blue, and blue to red).

I still have to test the PS2 RGB cable and determine why the Composite is not showing the correct colors.

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5
  • So the next question is if Composite will have the same color swap. If yes, then the first guess would be that somehow the monitor is at fault (color mask de-adjusted?).
    – dirkt
    Commented May 19 at 9:14
  • Has someone swapped some internal cable between mainboard and CRT? Have you restored factory default settings to get rid of any custom swapping of color channels?
    – Justme
    Commented May 19 at 9:22
  • @dirkt How could I check if the color are swapped in the same way on Composite, is there a way to do it without braking open the PVM?
    – Tai Alt
    Commented May 20 at 8:41
  • @Justme That's a good question. As far as I know, the PVM was never opened, but it's not guaranteed. I am planning on cleaning it up and testing for old capacitors; I will check for correct cable alignment there. Other than that, how can I restore factory defaults? Do you mean software or hardware-wise?
    – Tai Alt
    Commented May 20 at 8:45
  • 1
    @TaiAlt somehow produce a screen with a dominant color of red, then green, then blue, connect with composite, write down the dominant color you actually see on the screen.
    – dirkt
    Commented May 20 at 9:49

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