Sony PSX DESR range query

[Parris]

The large PSX unit has fascinated me since it came out, but I can't find much information on it. The wikipedia details refer to the fact that it "might" be possible to connect it to a PS3, but it is rather vague on this matter. What advantage could this possibly afford? Surely very little?

Does anyone on these boards own a PSX? I might be looking to purchase one and the only units I can see are in Japan. Does anyone know of any European sellers?

I realise there are a number of different versions (presumably the main difference being the HDD size), but how much should I expect to pay?

Thanks!

[unclejun]

A place to start:
http://www.psx.sony.co.jp/

[DevL]

AFAIK XMB initially came from PSX :)
but nowadays .... strange , collect money for ps3 dev kit :)

[limey]

The large PSX unit has fascinated me since it came out, but I can't find much information on it. The wikipedia details refer to the fact that it "might" be possible to connect it to a PS3, but it is rather vague on this matter. What advantage could this possibly afford? Surely very little?

Does anyone on these boards own a PSX? I might be looking to purchase one and the only units I can see are in Japan. Does anyone know of any European sellers?

I realise there are a number of different versions (presumably the main difference being the HDD size), but how much should I expect to pay?

Thanks!Parris, I own one of these (a DESR-5000), so feel free to ask questions - I'll answer what I know. :)

AFAIK, the PS3 thing has been a red-herring. The PSX is essentially, a PS2 with a tuner+HDD+DVR built in - I think one of the ideas floating around, was that the PS3 would be able to connect to the PSX & use it's multimedia hardware.

The principle differences in the various models are, as you thought, the HDD size, but also in the firmware - I think the later models came with things like mp3 playing turned on, whereas that was a downloadable firmware update on the original models.

There are usually a couple up on ebay & they tend to go for about $400-500, but since they're most often located in JP, the shipping tends to add another $80-100 to the US. A US located one recently went for under $300, but it wasn't mint (front door panel was missing & 0 feedback seller) - still a good price IMHO.


AFAIK XMB initially came from PSX :)That is correct - the XMB orginated on the PSX, travelling later to the PSP & PS3.

I really like the unit, since it can sit in with my hifi gear without looking out of place. :icon_bigg I just wish I could find an Engrish translation of the manual, as I've resisted playing with some of the settings until I have a better idea what they do! :rolleyes:

[unclejun]

There are a lot of those on yahoo japan.
limey, can't you use the update discs to uprgade the firmware?

[limey]

There are a lot of those on yahoo japan.
limey, can't you use the update discs to uprgade the firmware?Yes, you can. Unfortunately, I don't possess those discs. :-( Actually, I'm not sure whether a later firmware version is available for mine - it's hooked up to the net & could pull updates from Sony's servers (I believe they're still running) - the language barrier has stopped me from investigating further, as I don't want to brick/mess up my unit. I may break down & start translating the manual myself eventually, but my translation skills are only so-so - it'll take a looooooong time... ;-)

[unclejun]

I have 4 update discs, version 1.10 to 2.10 or something, with the manuals.
In the latest version, you can access the psbbn channels.

[limey]

I have 4 update discs, version 1.10 to 2.10 or something, with the manuals.
In the latest version, you can access the psbbn channels.Oooo.
You have a PM coming. :)

Do you know whether there is a web browser in that last update? I thought that one of the PS2 PSBBN updates had a rudimentary browser. The version my box is currently running does have access to the channels, but there is no browser than I can find.

[unclejun]

What version do you have?

[Parris]

Nice! I have never even set eyes on one of those units beyond images I have found on the Internet. Great to find someone on here that has one (not really surprising really), but the language barrier is definately something I am wondering about as although UJ kindly pointed me to a Japanese site I donit speak a word and the translator service is shocking in most instances.

I loved the look of the unit and noticed the GUI looked vaguley PSPesque!

Are these units region free for PS2 gaming? I also noticed it was a slot loading job, so have you ever opened it up? Just wondering what drive mechanism and laser assembly has been used?

Can the HDD be swapped out do you know? I mean if I managed to obtain a cheap lower spec machine can you simply upgrade the unit yourself?

What's the audio / video output like? Better than the standard PS2?

Really curious about this unit.

Price wise, I am looking to get a decent unit, nothing missing. Wished I could read blasted Japanese and just use Yahoo Japan. :DOH:

[unclejun]

I don't speak japanese either, it hasn't prevent me from buying stuff on YJ.

No they're not region free...
As for the rest, I'll let people who owns one answer.

[limey]

Are these units region free for PS2 gaming? I also noticed it was a slot loading job, so have you ever opened it up? Just wondering what drive mechanism and laser assembly has been used?

Can the HDD be swapped out do you know? I mean if I managed to obtain a cheap lower spec machine can you simply upgrade the unit yourself?

What's the audio / video output like? Better than the standard PS2?

Really curious about this unit.
They are not region free - NTSC-J discs only to the best of my knowledge. A couple of folks here have asked about modchips, but I've never come across any info on that. I actually bid on that other unit I mentioned, with the intention of opening it up & doing some internal investigation, but somebody else noticed the auction & wanted it more than me! Video capabilites are the same as a PS2, with the difference that there are built in in/out RCA/din connectors for composite/s-video/audio & a D2 connector that I get component output from. Quality seems equal to component out on my regular PS2.


Price wise, I am looking to get a decent unit, nothing missing. Wished I could read blasted Japanese and just use Yahoo Japan. :DOH:I use one of the deputy bidding services to get stuff from Japan - you can usually figure out most of the auction details via one of the translator services - but the shipping costs for one of these would be kinda frightening, I imagine...


What version do you have?I'm not sure, since I tend to back out of that part of the config menu, once it starts asking questions. I'll poke around in there later & see if I can find a version number. When I brought it, the previous owner indicated that it had been updated at some point & it has the PSBBN channels, so it must be one of the later versions, I'd guess.

[unclejun]

What's the weight of your DESR?

[Parris]

Well, I once attempted a Japanese auction and backed out because between the seller and buyer (moi) we couldn't make ourselves 100% understood and I was a bit worried about losing cash. UJ you are clearly braver than me to tackle Japanese and get away with it. However knowing my luck the DESR would arrive in the condition your two PS2 Tools arrived in :-(

Are they alive and kicking again, or did you strip one for those spare parts?

There's actually a French listing for several units, which now that you have confirmed the sort of price you would expect to pay, then his seem a little bit high, however we can atleast commuicate without any issues. He'd ship the units in from Japan, so I guess he uses Yahoo Japan or something.

Thanks for the info. Shame it's not region free, but then again it's not essential.

[unclejun]

UJ you are clearly braver than me to tackle Japanese and get away with it.
Well, I found stuff that never shows up elsewhere, like the new ps2 linux beta kit :)

[limey]

What's the weight of your DESR?It's HEAVY! According to the manual, the DESR-5000 weighs in at 5.7kg, which my back would tend to agree with! :nod: My unit came from a Californian seller, so the shipping was only about $25. However, as a comparison, my PS2 JP Linux beta, which weighs a hell of a lot less than the PSX, was sent EMS from Japan, which cost over $60. I could have used SAL, but the price quoted really wasn't much lower & I didn't want to use SEA as it's so slow & there's no tracking...

Interestingly, the 250Gb model, the DESR-7000 is shown as 5.8kg - not sure if the HDD would weigh 100g more, or if there's some other physical difference - they look identical to me, but I've never seen anything other than my own unit close-up.

[Parris]

It's HEAVY! According to the manual, the DESR-5000 weighs in at 5.7kg, which my back would tend to agree with! :nod: My unit came from a Californian seller, so the shipping was only about $25. However, as a comparison, my PS2 JP Linux beta, which weighs a hell of a lot less than the PSX, was sent EMS from Japan, which cost over $60. I could have used SAL, but the price quoted really wasn't much lower & I didn't want to use SEA as it's so slow & there's no tracking...

Interestingly, the 250Gb model, the DESR-7000 is shown as 5.8kg - not sure if the HDD would weigh 100g more, or if there's some other physical difference - they look identical to me, but I've never seen anything other than my own unit close-up.

5.7kg..... ouch! I can see a hole appearing in my back account, plus VAT to be added on as import duty. Damn, I might have to re think this. I'm back at college so need to keep costs to a minimum. Ho hum, I might have to wait until something turns up in UK.

Thanks for the information. I'll have to do some further reading and see whether an English manual / site exists. If I find anything that might assist I'll pass it on!

[unclejun]

The International Mail rates based on the weight of the package:
http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/fee/intel/ems.html

The link to order the upgrade discs:
http://www.psx.sony.co.jp/support/upgrade_info.html

[Gilgamesh]

Hello

DESR-7000 :

http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b78674393

[Parris]

Hello

DESR-7000 :

http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b78674393

Hello back! Thank you for pointing that out to me. I'm going to struggle with any Yahoo Japan stuff.

Back in a bit to have a better look, but what a fantastic looking item. Looks solidly built and clearly the additional weight means robust chassis etc.

Nice!
:thumbsup:

[limey]

Hello

DESR-7000 :

http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b78674393A note of caution on this one - google/nifty translation shows it listed as a junk item. That on its own isn't necessarily the end of the world, since it basically implies that the seller wont take returns & isn't an absolute statement that the item is broken. However, the images & (I think) the text also indicate that screws on the back panel are missing & that the unit may have been disassembled at some point. I wouldn't necessarily expect the unit to work out of the box, but it might be an interesting project/good for spares.

BTW, UJ - thanks for the link to the update discs. From the look of the form it takes you to, it looks like its intended for folks with Japanese addresses, but I might try and contact them anyway & see what happens.

[Festerfly]

Sorry to raise this topic up again, but i am also interested in these DESR- units..

I know that they are region coded DVD (R2) which is fine for us UK/Europe peeps but i was also interested to know if they can be chipped like a regular PS2 to allow use of non-NTSC-J games?

Is it just a glorified PS2 with a HDD built in and such?

[port187]

Seems like the sold it on amazon.com at one point: http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-PSX-DESR-7000/dp/B00093Z7HY

But they do still sell them on the japanese amazon site tho:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/SONY-PSX-DESR-5000-160GB-HDD%E6%90%AD%E8%BC%89DVD%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B C%E3%83%80%E3%83%BC/dp/B00011D1UY

[Festerfly]

Seems like the sold it on amazon.com at one point: http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-PSX-DESR-7000/dp/B00093Z7HY

But they do still sell them on the japanese amazon site tho:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/SONY-PSX-DESR-5000-160GB-HDD%E6%90%AD%E8%BC%89DVD%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B C%E3%83%80%E3%83%BC/dp/B00011D1UY

The amazon Japan one works out to £172..... :love: bu they wont ship outside of japan, thats cool though i have a friend over there at present who i am sure i can bribe to forward to me..

Are they much cheaper used in the regular retail stores over in Japan?

[limey]

Sorry to raise this topic up again, but i am also interested in these DESR- units..

I know that they are region coded DVD (R2) which is fine for us UK/Europe peeps but i was also interested to know if they can be chipped like a regular PS2 to allow use of non-NTSC-J games?

Is it just a glorified PS2 with a HDD built in and such?Not entirely. They have DVR (digital video recorder) capabilites built-in & a UI that's the forerunner of the PSP XMB (cross media bar). They also look pretty damn cool in with your normal AV stack of components.

I've never seen any information about chipping one, though there are pics of a dissassembled one on the web somewhere (I'll see if I can find them later).

Do they even still sell these retail in Japan? They weren't exactly a mammoth success, so I assume that there may still be units in the retail chain...

[Festerfly]

hmm if they can be chipped then that would make them far more appealling (not that they arent already!) and also, is it possible to change the language as an option or do i have to learn Japanese and fast?

[limey]

hmm if they can be chipped then that would make them far more appealling (not that they arent already!) and also, is it possible to change the language as an option or do i have to learn Japanese and fast?No option to the change the XMB language that I'm aware of, but the menus are reasonably easy to work out without extensive knowlege of Japanese.

[ConsoleFun]

Do they even still sell these retail in Japan?About two year ago, I know stores like Bic Camera sold NIB 7700s and 5700s... The year before that I think they sold the 7500 and 5500...

CF

[ConsoleFun]

I know that they are region coded DVD (R2) which is fine for us UK/Europe peeps but i was also interested to know if they can be chipped like a regular PS2 to allow use of non-NTSC-J games?
Hmmm... but does it have enough video RAM to playback PAL discs? I.e. the Panasonic Q does NOT playback PAL discs out of the box, you have to solder in extra RAM...

As for chipping. I am tempted to get one just to test. Maybe PS2 discs work, maybe they don't, as the BIOS patching the PS2 modchip does might work a little different on these models. Who knows. But the PS1 part of i.e. a Ghost 2 chip should probably be able to boot PS1 CDRs, as patching the SCEx signal requires no BIOS patching AFAIK.

CF

[limey]

About two year ago, I know stores like Bic Camera sold NIB 7700s and 5700s... The year before that I think they sold the 7500 and 5500...

CFActually, come to think of it, the 7700/5700 were still up on Sony's website last time I looked, so I guess they're still being made. I don't remember seeing that many in shops the last time I was in Tokyo (couple of years ago), but then again, I wasn't really looking at the time.

Regarding the ability to play R2 PAL DVDs, I'll try one later tonight to see.

[ConsoleFun]

Regarding the ability to play R2 PAL DVDs, I'll try one later tonight to see.Awesome!! I am pretty excited about this. If it works I don't know how long I can resist the temptation... :-)

CF

[Festerfly]

Awesome!! I am pretty excited about this. If it works I don't know how long I can resist the temptation... :-)

CF]

Indeed!

:pray:

[limey]

Awesome!! I am pretty excited about this. If it works I don't know how long I can resist the temptation... :-)

CFI just tried out a couple of PAL discs on my DESR-5000 - it doesn't look like that'll work, unfortunately. It comes up with a different message than you get when you put a US/NTSC disc in, so I think it's objecting to the disc being PAL standard, rather than the region. I'll a have a go at translating the message later, but no joy at this point. :-(

To be honest, my unit is sitting next to a couple of DVD players, both of which I'd already set to all-region via remote button combos, so I never use the PSX to play DVDs.

[Festerfly]

:( Oh well.. its left to the possibility of a chip now....