Sony Wega 36XBR250 and GT3 - HELP!! (1 Viewer)

[Kanwar Sandhu]

Let me begin by saying that I wasn't sure where to place this thread, but I figured that since I'm discussing a t.v. hardware issue, I could place it here. I'm sorry if it's in the wrong area!!
I heard a few months ago that GT3 had a 16:9 option in the game, and the person that was talking about it said that the game was outputting an anamorphic widescreen signal. Since I have a Wega 36XBR250, I was looking forward to playing the game in the 16:9 mode because I knew my t.v. vertically compresses all anamorphic widescreen movies. I assumed it would do the same for GT3.
After selecting 16:9 in the game, I started to play, but unfortunately my t.v. did not vertically compress the picture; everything was stretched out. I then tried to change the PS2s aspect ratio setting in it's system config to 16:9 (thinking that this may be the problem), but that didn't fix the problem either.
I've tested anamorphic widescreen DVD movies in my PS2, and they have all been vertically compressed. I don't think the problem is my PS2...
Has anyone else out there with the same setup as me tried to play GT3 in 16:9 mode? Have you got it to work? If so, what am I doing wrong? Is the Wega not picking up the signal from the PS2 or something?
I would really like to play this game in 16:9 mode. All help is appreciated!!
Thanks.
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..|..Kanwar Sandhu..|..

 

[DanSt]

I have an XBR400 and I had to manually tell the unit to do the vertical squeeze. The PS2 games don't have the flag to tell the tv to switch.
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...transmission terminated...
Anubis
[email protected]

 

[Kanwar Sandhu]

Ahh, crap. Okay, thanks for the info. I was afraid that that was the problem.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Don't all the Wegas with 16:9 have a manual setting to force the mode in the menus? Even the ones that 'auto detect'?

 

[Kanwar Sandhu]

No, the 36XBR250 and the 32XBR250 do not have a manual switch to turn on/off the vertical compression. The year 2000/2001 Wegas that have the vertical compression feature DO have this manual switch, which is selectable through the user menu.
The 1999 XBR250's don't have this feature, unfortunately. It's okay though - not a big deal. It just would have been an extra bonus to be able to play GT3 in widescreen mode on my Wega.
I guess I'll have to buy a 16:9 RPTV sooner than later! HAHAH...

 

[Tim Markley]

I'm having the same problem with my Panasonic Tau 32HX40. It can only be set to Auto or 4:3 mode, no 16:9. Since the PS2 isn't telling the TV to switch modes, it stays in 4:3. I was hoping to check this out in 16:9, but it looks like I'll have to wait until I replace my RPTV.

 

[John Morton]

I run my 36FV15 in 16:9 compressed mode via the service menu hack (VZOM=1, EHT?=15, VSIZ=2,ASPT=0). The VZOM may be in the xbr250, xbr400, and xbr450 as well, and if so, will enable you to force the setting, BUT, I'm not sure. I'll look tonight in my service manuals and post later.
Funny thing, the Aspect ratio setting down to 0 REMOVED ALL SCAN LINES and the picture looks incredible. The service manual setting says to leave it at 47 (yucky scan lines!).

 

[John Morton]

READ AND USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!! I AM NOT AN EXPERT. I AM JUST PRESENTING INFORMATION, SOME OF WHICH IS KNOW AND TESTED, SOME OF WHICH IS STRICTLY THEORY BASED ON READING THE SERVICE MANUALS. YOU CAN RUIN YOUR WEGA IF YOU DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING (DON'T BLAME ME).
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Here's the quick and dirty for use of the service menus. View a 16:9 formatted DVD and mark the top/bottom of the image with masking tape to be used as a reference for adjustments. WRITE DOWN ALL SERVICE MANUAL SETTINGS BEFORE CHANGING ANYTHING!!!! To enter service menus, turn TV OFF, then on the remote control press:
DISPLAY 5 VOLUME + POWER
Numbers 1 and 4 scroll through the different settings. Numbers 3 and 6 change the value of the settings. When you are finished making changes, power off the TV and then power it back on. If you mess up, UNPLUG the power for a minute or 2 and the settings will revert back to what they were before you started. If you want to save them permenantly, press: MUTE ENTER and cycle power.
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There ARE service manual settings for all of the Wegas, but they change from one year to the next with advancements in technology. I ordered my service manual for the xbr450 but it hasn't arrived yet, so I can't comment on this model.
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The xbr250 uses the same service manual as my 36fv15 and the 36fs10s (actually, it looks like all Wega models from that year used the same manual? The front cover lists 22 different models from 32 - 38 (36 viewable) inches in size and multiple countries). I have these set in my 36fv15 and they work great (with the exception of a horizontal line just above the squezed picture area=deal with it or adjust the vertical position so that the line is off the top of the screen=I just deal with it). Basically this is the 16:9 squeze trick that you can read about on some web sites, but the ASP setting really helped MY scan lines disapear. I can't speculate if you'll experience the same success. Other settings MAY apply. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
VZOM=1 16:9 CRT Z Mode on/off (forced 16:9 format)
EHT=15 VRT Hight Volt Correction (black bars at top/bottm
ASP=0 SM recommends 47, but use 0 to reduce scan lines
VSIZ=? stretch the screen to masking tape afte ASP change
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There are something like 456 service menu settings for the XBR400 and the manual is specific for only the xbr400s and the 38DRC1s. I also did NOT see anything that mentioned Scam Velocity Modulation, so I'm not so sure this set came with it? My GUESS is that the settings above OR these below MIGHT be usable for the newer non-xbr models, but you'll have to experiment to verify. I HAVE NOT TRIED THESE, BUT THEY WOULD BE MY BEST GUESS for a 16:9 forced squeze on the xbr400s:
NSDS=0-3 Selection for standars/non signal processing
LIND=0-63 DRC-M line double setting for non-standard signals. This setting is used for non-standard signals such as Play Station signals.
IDSW=0 or 1 Switch for activating the selection #26 DATA
DATA=0-2 Selection of geometry-forced vertical compression modes
ZOOM=0 or 1 Zoom switch
MDL0=0 or 1 Model selection 0 (0=16:9, 1=4:3)
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Again, We're all learning and I'm not an expert. USE THIS INFORMATION AT YOUR OWN RISK. I would be very interested to hear if it helps you though. I TRY to keep up with HTF, but you can also email me at [email protected]
Good luck!!
John

 

[Kanwar Sandhu]

Wow!!!! Thanks a lot, John!!!! I'll make sure to give this a shot. It's worth trying out at least once, but I doubt I'll do it every time I play GT3.
Again, thanks for the info. It's very much appreciated!

 

[John Morton]

Very welcome!!!!
It's real easy to change the settings back and forth once you do it a few times. Just wait till you see how nice a DVD looks in this format too!!!!
I couldn't remember (last night) the web site where I found this trick. If you're interested, you can find more information at: www.keohi.com
Good luck!
John

 

[Kanwar Sandhu]

The reason why I bought the 36XBR250 in August 1999 was because of the vertical compression feature, so I know just how good anamorphic widescreen DVD movies look on this set.
I wouldn't watch a DVD movie any other way (unless of course I had a 16:9 RPTV)!
I was just hoping that it would work with GT3 as well, but now that you've given me the service menu settings that need to be changed to play GT3 in 16:9 mode, I can try it out. It's really just an added bonus...as good as the game must look in 16:9 mode, I'm still having a blast playing it in 4:3.
thanks for your help.