The Beginner's Guide To DVD, PS2 Style Special @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on June 07, 2001

Special: Inlcuding DVD; the best feature since the rotating PS2 logo!

For a lot of people the Playstation 2 will not just be a great game console, but will be their DVD player too! And what can you do with a DVD player? Why watch DVD movies of course, but I'll bet if you're like me, you don't quite know what's up with some of the things your new PS2 DVD player can do. So I'm here to answer those nagging questions.

What is DVD? DVD stands for digital videodisc or digital versatile disc depending on who you talk to. But, no one really cares because no one refers to it as digital videodisc or digital versatile disc; it's always DVD. And what is does is let's you watch movies off of discs with better picture and sound quality than on a VCR and a whole slew of other extras.

What are those black bars? If you've watched a DVD movie, odds are there were black bars on the top and bottom of the screen. Don't panic, your PS2 is not broken those bars are supposed to be there. They allow the movie to be shown in it's original format on a rectangular TV. Because movie theater screens are much wider than TVs, the black bars have to be added for the movie to be shown in it's original format. Just look at these side by sides of Tomorrow Never Dies. The picture on the left is what you see on VHS. But the picture on the right is what you see on DVD. Isn't that better?

Why does the movie pause like that sometimes? Again, if you've watched a DVD movie on your PS2, you've probably noticed that slight pause around the middle of the movie. That is what's known as a "layer change." You see when DVDs are made they are basically two discs glued together. This doubles the amount of information they can hold from 4.5 gigs to 9 gigs. But to read the different layers, the laser has to be at different angles. That's where the little pause comes in, it's the layer readjusting itself. You can get a high end stand-alone player that costs $700 that won't pause at the layer change, but do you really want to?

Why isn't Star Wars out on DVD? This is a sore spot for DVD owners. George Lucas says he wants to release them all at the same time after all three prequels are finished to make the best set possible. I just think he wants to bleed us fans dry on buying the endless VHS re-releases.

What else can my PS2 do? Well DVDs have lots of other options. For one, DVDs let you skip right ahead to your favorite scene, just like CDs do for music. Some movies give you the option of listening to commentary while watching the movie. Like on Scream, you can hear what Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson thought about making Scream. A lot of movies include deleted scenes. And on some very rare DVDs you can use the Angle option to look at a scene that was shot in different angles. But realistically you'll rarely find this on regular movies, it's mostly found in porno movies.

What can't my PS2 do? Now there are a few things your new PS2 DVD player just can't do. One of them is that the Dual Shock controller makes a really bad DVD remote. There's no markings on what any of the buttons do, you'll have to constantly be looking in the instructions. I say spend the 20 bucks and get a separate PS2 DVD remote. They work much better. But when it comes right down to it, there is only two things your PS2 can't do that a regular DVD player can. One is play the movie in super slow motion. The other is run the programs on the DVD that are meant to run in a DVD drive on your computer. But other than that, the PS2 DVD player is a great deal for those new to DVD.

Enough of this, what movies should I get? OK, no need to get hostile. If you really want to push the limits of your new PS2 and see what's possible out there, then I suggest you start with these three movies and go from there:

Ghostbusters -One of the funniest movies ever lets you do some wonderful things on the DVD. You can see and hear "live commentary" Mystery Science Theater 3000-style from director Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis (Egon). Four different features on the behind the scenes stuff and special effects. Deleted scenes. And my personal favorite feature, the ability to have Ghostbusters trivia pop up during the movie if you want. All DVDs should ahve this feature.

Mallrats - Kevin Smith's "forgotten" movie. This stacked DVD has over an hour of deleted scenes. Behind the scenes pictures. A commentary from director Smith and other cast members. And Mallrats is one of the few regular movies that lets you use the Angle option.

Terminator 2: Ultimate Edition - Besides featuring three different versions of the movie (Theatrical Version, Director's Cut, and Extended Director's Cut) T2 has a whole separate disc of what is called "Terminator 2 Film School." Everything you ever wanted to know about the Terminator 2 world and movie is on this disc. Plus that metal DVD case is just damn cool.

I'll see you next time, and until then, the recliner is closed.