TERM
description

PSX
Technical Term For A Playstation
MOD CHIP
Allows you to play imports and backup CDR's
SCPH 1xxxx
This is a number located on the back of your PSX - this helps you to 'Chip' your station
CDR's
These are commonly referred to as 'Gold Disks' - they are what people who are fortunate enough to have a CD Writer / Recorder, use to make copy's of other CD's e.g. PSX games. They are basically the same as an original CD except: 1. They scratch easier 2. They use heated ink to store there information (1's and 0's) instead of actually burning the CD as Microso*t do. 3. They may run a little slower that original CD's 4. They are gold on top of the cd hence their name, and a green color on the underneath.
DISK SWAPPING
This was an early way of betaing the 'country lockout'. It involved quite a bit of skill and practace to get it right. This method only really worked on the oldest of old Playstations as the newer Playstations had to have numerous swaps. To use this method 1st you need at least 1 origional game for your specific Playstation (NTSC, JAP or PAL), 1 origional import or copy / backup game (NTSC, JAP or PAL) the game can be from any country. Then you need to fool the Playstation into thinking that the lid is shut - this can be done quite easily with a bit of Blue-tac, sticky tape or a screw. At the back right hand side of your Playstation you will find a little micro-switch connected to a sensor, that tells the Playstation the lid is closed, and to spin / read the CD. If you are having trouble locating this find the long spike on the right hand side of the lid, slowly close the lid and watch as the sipke touches the micro-switch in question. Now you know what i am talking about? Ok open the lid and attatch your Blue-tac or whatever you are using, to the micro-switch. Now put your origional game into your Playstation and leaving the lid open watch it boot into the game. You will notice just as the black PS logo screen appears your CD will slow down for a few seconds .This is where the swap must take place. Reboot your Playstation untill you get what i mean. When you have it worked out follow these instructions. 1. When the CD slows down QUICKLY whip out that nasty origional and insert your backup / import. If you used the Blue-Tac you can now shut your lid. And thats it. If the game still won't load then skip down the page a bit to the 'Disk Swapping Instructions' for some more ways to beat da system.








R3000A
32 bit RISC processor
Clock- 33.8688MHz
Operating performance - 30 MIPS
Instruction Cache - 4 KB
Data Cache - 1 KB
BUS - 132 MB/sec.



Data Transfer Rate (DMA TO RAM)
150 KB/sec. (Normal)
300 KB/sec. (Double speed)
Maximum Capacity - 660 Megabytes


  • Features
    Audio CD play
    XA Interactive Audio



    NTSC Display Resolution

    MODERESOLUTION


    0
    1
    2
    3
    4    		 (H x V)
    (non-interlaced)
    256x480
    320x480
    384x480
    512x480
    640x480
    MODECOLORS
    4
    8
    15
    24    		 3D polygon transformation:
    TypePer second
    Flat shaded1.5 M
    Gouraud, textured and light sourced500 K

    GTE performs high speed matrix multiplies

    DATA DECOMPRESSION ENGINE(MDEC)

    • Operating performance - 80 MIPS
    • Dir>Sound RAM: 512 Kilobytes
    • CD ROM buffer: 32 Kilobytes
    • OS ROM: 512 Kilobytes

    SOUND PROCESSOR

    • 24 Channels
    • 44.1KHz sample rate
    • PCM audio source
    • Digital effects include:
      Envelope
      Looping
      Digital Reverb
    • Load up to 512K of sampled waveforms
      Supports MIDI Instruments

    SPRITE AND BACKGROUND GRAPHICS

    Virtually Unlimited:
    • size (up to 256 x 256)
    • number of sprites on a line
    • number of sprite images
    • number of CLUTs

    SPRITE SPECIAL EFFECTS

    • Rotation
    • Scaling up/down
    • Warping
    • Transparency
    • Fading
    • Priority
    • Vertical and horizontal line scroll










    There are four methods which allow you to use almost ANY PlayStation CD in ANY PlayStation, regardless of origin. I have yet to hear of any hardware damage using these methods although this doesn't mean that it hasn't happened.

    The four methods are detailed below (one very easy, two quite easy and one difficult.)





    The Audio Menu [very easy but slow]
    ------------------------------------------------
    Works on : Very early Japanese, European and American machines.
    Success : 80%
    Problems : Music is often corrupted. FMV is often jumpy and the screen can be in the wrong resolution.

    • Power up your PlayStation WITHOUT a game or demo CD in it.
    • Select the CD player menu.
    • Get a local CD that matches the country of the machine you have. (ie a Japanese game for a Japanese PlayStation etc.)
    • Find some tape, Blu-Tak or something similar. Several people I know have found the corner from a cornflake packet works well .
    • Open the lid and look at the top right of the bottom section, near where the hinge is. See the small circle in the groove? Good. This is the lid sensor.
    • Insert your local CD.
    • Put the tape, Blu-Tak or whatever over the sensor and *gently* push it down. The CD will now spin for a few seconds.
    • When the CD has finished spinning take it out and replace it with the import / backup /copy game you wish to play.
    • Now shut the lid and exit the CD Audio menu. The game should now work fine (see above for exceptions.)
    • When you have finished playing, open the lid and remove the tape, Blu-Tak etc from the sensor. This will stop the CD.

    Notes:

    • Try and get a local CD with as many tracks on it as you can. The local CD must have at least as many tracks as the import / backup / copy CD or you won't get all the music. Depending on the boot CD the import / backup /copy game may give poor results or even crash.
    • Unfortunately the number of music tracks is NOT the only deciding factor (the length of the data track is another) and you may find that you are unable to get your import / backup /copy game to work satisfactorily with the choice of boot CDs you have. See the other methods, they may give better results.
    • Owners of Japanese SCPH-1000 (later batch), SCPH-3000 machines and later European/US models will find that this method does NOT work. Sony has removed this particular loophole in the latest ROM revision.
    • You can ONLY run NTSC (american) games on PAL (europe) and vis-versa machines if you have an RGB cable (not s-video, composite or ANYTHING else.). In Europe this problem is easily solved by investing in an import spec RGB/SCART cable as sold for use with Japanese/US PlayStations. In North America, Australia etc you will need to look into the options available to you (an old or expensive monitor, probably.)



    The Black Method [Quick and easy (once mastered)]
    ----------------------------------------------------
    Works on : All early machines, see above for meaning of "early".
    Success : 90%
    Problems : Most games will work albeit sometimes with music glitches
    or unexpected crashes.

    • Follow the Audio method with a local CD in your machine. The lid should be up and the lid sensor held down.
    • When the black PlayStation appears (after the white Sony one) QUICKLY lift the original game out and replace with the import / backup /copy one. You have a few seconds to do this and it soon becomes second nature.
    • If you must have the music working 100% or have a really stubborn import / backup /copy game then try the White method detailed below.





    The White Method(s) [ but tricky]
    -----------------------------------------------------------

    Works on : The same very early models that can do the Audio method.
    Success : 100% (once mastered)
    Problems : Not supported by all models.

    • Switch on your machine and count 1..2..3..4 and THEN swap discs. You need to do this *JUST* before the white Sony screen appears. The timing is tough, you want the PS to read the country code but NOT the TOC so don't expect to get it right every time.
    • Another variation is to use a hybrid Audio Menu swap trick: remove the boot CD and replace it with the "import / backup /copy" game just after the original country code is read and before the TOC. Some people find this method easier then the original White method.





    The Double Swap Method [slow and pretty tricky]
    --------------------------------------------------------------------

    Works on : All PlayStations to date, including the latest models.
    Success : 100%
    Problems : Do not kid yourself, this method is difficult. The end result is well worth it (especially if you have no other options.)

    Note: 1x and 2x refer to the CD motor speed (single speed and double speed), watch a few of your games boot up with the lid open and you can easily see and hear the "gear changes".

    • Insert your local CD.
    • Remove the local CD when the motor changes to 2x and replace it with your import / backup / copy CD.

      [If you did this right, you *SHOULD* see the black PS screen now.]

    • Watch and listen to the CD motor. It will slow down and then speed back up to 2x.
    • After a few seconds, the CD motor will slow down again. Replace with your local CD once again.
    • After another half second or so, the local CD will speed up again. Finally replace your import / backup / copy CD.




    And if all this gets on yer nervez just purchase a PROFIT FREE chip from us and get perfect results every time.