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CNET reviews the Xploder PS2 HDTV player
Were you thinking that you could put off purchasing one of the spiffy HD DVD or Blu-ray players by recycling your old PS2 player with Xploder's PS2 HDTV player? Think again. According to CNET, the piece of software comes with a nice component cable but besides that, it doesn't do much. Sure, it outputs a high-def resolution but that doesn't alone make a HD picture HD. All this earned the player a terrible 2.7 out of 10 proving that if you want quality HD playback from your PS2, you ain't going to get it. Pony up and get an up-conversion DVD player or a next gen-player if you want the real thing.UPDATE: Link fixed
Xploder PS2 HDTV upscaler reviewed
While there's plenty of options for upscaling all those non-HD DVDs you're not ready to give up just yet, there's not a whole lot you can do to improve how your collection of past-gen video games look on your spiffy HDTV, apart from simply using a good component cable. Video game accessorizer Xploder is trying to rectify that situation somewhat, however, releasing its "HDTV Player" for the PS2, which the folks at Reg Hardware recently got a chance to test out. While they seems to have had better results than some of the other earlier reviews, they weren't without their share of problems, with the boot CD that tweaks the PS2's resolution requiring a few tries before it got going, and some games reportedly looking "like they'd been blown up in Photoshop" when they tested 'em on a 32-inch LCD. On the whole, however, they found that most games did "look a little sharper," and they seem to have been particularly taken with the metal tin the whole lot comes in. Whether that's enough to justify the $40 price tag or not, you'll have to decide for yourself.
Xploder HDTV Player for PS2 reviewed
We were skeptical about Xploder's HDTV Game Player package for the PS2 back when it was first announced, and IGN's review has done nothing to convince us otherwise. The kit includes a disc that must be inserted every time the PS2 is hard-booted, component cables, and manual to enable setting your PS2 to output games at 480p, 576p, 720p, or 1080i. It's not that the PlayStation 2 didn't support these resolutions, but most games did not include them as an option. IGN didn't have any problems when setting things for 480p, and did notice a slight improvement in quality, however they got distortion and stretching not unlike TNT's "HD" broadcasts when using 720p and 1080i. Apparently, 576p is supposed to avoid some of these scaling distortions but their display could not accept that resolution. All in all, it seems if you really need 480p in games that didn't support it -- for example to avoid gaming lag -- this might be worthwhile but its not suddenly going to turn your PS2 into an HD-pumping beast.
Xploder HDTV Movie Player for PS2 converts DVDs to...EDTV?
We're not quite sure what is so HD about 480p upconverted DVDs, but Xploder has followed up its HDTV Game Player for PS2 announcement with the the HDTV Movie Player for PS2. While we took the news that a set of component cables and a memory card setting could suddenly improve the resolution of your Playstation 2 games beyond their original capabilities with a grain of salt, this is even more confusing. Every Playstation 2 since the SPCH-50000 revision three years ago is capable of progressive scan 480p DVD playback when equipped with component cables already. That makes this product totally unnecessary for many owners, and of course we have to question if it will work properly with older model PS2's that didn't support 480p for movies, only for gaming.I remember trading in my PS2 immediately in 2003 when the SPCH-5000 came out for progressive scan DVD support, you can check the model # to see if yours is supported, or just look at the front. If it is missing the FireWire port you should be all set for 480p with the right cables and a change of a setting. With all the attention the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are giving to the HD Era, this may be an unfortunate grab to turn some of that attention into sales of unneeded stopgap hardware.
Xploder to make your non-HD Playstation 2 games into high-def
We don't know how we feel about this one. Xploder claims that their device will turn your non-HD Playstation 2 games into high-def via its HDTV Game Player software. This piece of software is installed onto a users memory card and somehow that allows all those 480i games you have laying around to become gorgeous high-def; just like that. We don't totally know how this thing works, or if it works at all, but one thing is for sure, and that is, if you want high-def gaming, this thing is a whole lot cheaper then a Xbox 360 or PS3. For some reason we think these games are going to be high-def in the same way you 'beat' all those Nintendo games thanks to The Game Genie.
Xploder cheat saves for your DS
For those of you out there who enjoy taking the easy road, Xploder has just announced the release of their newest product the Nintendo DS Xploder Gamesaves. The product doesn't just limit you to cheating, however, as it offers a fully-functional game save management system that is controlled through their PC application and an included USB cable that hooks into your DS. So now you can archive game saves safely to your PC and delete saves you no longer need. There is also a built in RSS Feed to update you on the latest uploaded game saves online. [Thanks Chris!]
