How to hook up your SONY PlayStation 1 – HDMI

This page will show you how to connect your original SONY PlayStation with the latest HDTV’s using a HDMI Cable.

SONY PlayStation – Original Model

Ports and Connections

SONY A/V MULTI OUT:

This is the AV Port that you will use to connect the HDMI Cable.

AC IN:

This is the power supply port for the SONY 2-Prong Power Cord.

METHOD – HDMI

What you will need:

SONY PlayStation

(SCPH-1001/5001/9001)

SONY 2-Prong Power Cord.

AC Power Supply

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SONY PS1 HDMI Cable

HDMI Cable

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USB Charger Box

5V 1Amp

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This method will give you an awesome chrisp picture on your HDTV.

STEP #1

Attach the SONY HDMI Cable into the AV MULTI-OUT port.

STEP #2

Attach the other end of the HDMI to your TV. You could have multiple HDMI inputs available like on the diagram. You can place it in any one that is not in use (except the OUT if you have one).

STEP #3

Plug the SONY 2-Prong Power Cord into the SONY PlayStation 1.

STEP #4

Plug the SONY 2-Prong Power Cord into the wall.

STEP #5

NOTE: This step MAY be optional. The box on the HDMI requires power. It may be able to get power by just being plugged into the SONY PlayStation 1. But in most cases will require the Micro-USB cable to be plugged into the box and into a seperate USB Power Supply (like the one used with cell phones). You can tell if your HDMI cable is getting power by the red LED on the box.

Plug the small end of the Micro USB cable into the box on the HDMI cable.

STEP #6

Plug the USB Charger into the wall outlet.

NOTE: This little USB Plug is not included with the HDMI Cable. You can use one that you have laying around the house, or we have them available by themselves and combined in a pack.

STEP #7

Plug the Micro USB cable into the USB Charger plugged into the wall. This is the standard USB sized plug at the other end of the Micro USB cable.

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STEP #8

Set the switch on the HDMI box to either 4:3 or 16:9 to set the ratio. Do this before you power on the system. You can find out more about the ratio settings below.

STEP #9

Plug in a game and turn on the game system on, even if you don’t see it on the TV yet. You should see the power light on the SONY light up (a good sign) and the power light on the HDMI cable. Doing this first will help you the right TV settings. When you’re searching for the right TV Input and you see the game, you’ve got it right!

NOTE: If you don’t see the RED LED on the HDMI cable lit up, then plug in the Micro USB cable included if you haven’t done so already.

STEP #10

Turn your TV to the appropriate VIDEO SOURCE. You probably have several INPUTS available from VIDEO 1 2 & 3 and so on. In the diagram above you would need to change your TV to HDMI 1. To change to these different video signal options, you usually have an INPUT or SOURCE button on your remote or television.

STEP #11

Enjoy some High Definition SONY PlayStation 1!

Well, those are the basics. If you have any additional questions, feel free to send us an email. The Trog is always happy to help!

How the new HDMI Cable works:

Being able to connect your classic console to new HDTV’s using a HDMI cable was not possible for a long time. These systems were released long before HDMI and HDTV’s were ever thought of. That being said, some clever engineering has now made the unthinkable, possible. Let me show you what to expect when hooking your retro system up to a HDTV using HDMI.

Aspect Ratio

You may have heard about aspect ratio of TV’s. 4 by 3 (written 4:3), 16:9, widescreen, standard definition and so on. I wont go to much into it but will give you a quick overview.

At the end of the classic CRT / Tube Television era, widescreen was starting to become the thing. As such there were a few high-definition, widescreen CRT’s right before flat screens took over the world. Before that, every TV was in 4:3 ration. The 4 refers to the width of the screen and the 3 to the height. So 4:3 is a little wider than it is tall. For example, for every 1 inch of height you would have 1.33 inches of width. New HDTVs have a ration of 16:9. This works out to 1.79 inches wide for every 1 inch in height.

So why does this matter? Because almost every game system was built to display in a 4:3 ratio until around the original XBOX and Playstation 2. There are a handful of titles for the SEGA Dreamcast and original SONY Playstation that support widescreen, but not many. And when you’re talking about the SNES or SEGA Genesis, you can forget about it. When you connect a retro system up via HDMI it will not show you more of the map for instance than you could see before on a 4:3 TV. It will have “black bars” on the left and right of the 4:3 image, which gets centered on your 16:9 TV. This is completely fine and normal, but there are some options if you want it to fill the screen.

Widescreen 16:9 vs. Standard 4:3

Crash Bandicoot – on good-ole 4:3 tube TV

Crash Bandicoot – on Widescreen TV

Normal, Full and Fill Screen

When presented with an old 4:3 signal, most new widescreen TV’s give you a few options on how to display it. The first method is to maintain the aspect ratio and leave the image 4:3. This will have the black bars on the right and left of the image.

The next method is the stretch the image. The TV will take the 4:3 image and stretch it left and right to fill the screen. This will distort the image some. So Sonic or Mario will appear fatter and circles will be more like an oval. After playing for a few minute you will probably not notice.

A third option often available is to Fill the screen. This will not stretch the image, but instead enlarge the whole image until it reaches the left and right sides of the TV. In doing this it will end up cutting off the top and bottom of the screen. So this method should almost never be used as you are often unable to see scores, lives, platforms or whatever else if off screen.

Normal – on 16:9 widescreen TV

Full – on 16:9 widescreen TV

Fill – on 16:9 widescreen TV

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