Dealing with PS1/PS2 underscan... is this a safe method?

[Flak Beard]

As many of you may know, a majority of PS1/PS2 games underscan the image to save on processing power. On most CRT TVs you'd never notice since the TV overscans about 10% of the image. Unfortunately, my CRT SDTV (27" JVC AV-27S33) only does about 5% or so. This causes there to be black lines (about 1/4 inch) on the sides of the image when playing on my PS1 or PS2. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but since it's not a flat screen, the lines looked warped and can be jarring. Also they fluctuate in width according to how bright the current image is.

I've gone into my TV's service menu, but the only option that helped was adjust the horizontal position. Many of the other adjustments are locked out for some reason (horizontal size, geometry, etc). I wanted to stretch the image slightly to make it go into the overscan area more, but it looks like it won't be an option.

So I've been thinking about masking the edges of my screen, possibly with black tape that 1/4"+ in width. That way the edges would appear to be even. Would this be safe for the TV considering I use low tack kind like electrical tape? Or would this cause problems?

Any other ideas or suggestions are welcome.

[Mozgus]

So I've been thinking about masking the edges of my screen, possibly with black tape that 1/4"+ in width.

...Do you have some kind of OCD with televisions? What's so incredibly horrible about seeing black edges?

[marurun]

If you add masking tape you'll just have a different kind of edge. Maybe you should get a picture to share so we can see how horrible your scenario is.

[Flak Beard]

I wouldn't care if I was playing on a flat panel LCD. My SD television though is a curved screen, so the black bars are "pinched" and different on each side because of geometry. It wouldn't be an issue if the PS1/PS2 didn't automatically under-scan it's image signal. I figured the tape would just add an evenness to the edge of the picture.

[lordofduct]

wow dude, if you are that OCD man... I think the tape might end up annoying you even more! And what about when you aren't playing games that do this? Now you've got tape hiding parts of the image you might want to see... driving you insane the other way around.

Anyways, CRT? Stick tape to it? No it won't hurt. The electrical tape might become gunky after awhile... but some vinegar (white mixed 50/50 with water) and a rough spunge will clean it right up.

[Flak Beard]

I can probably learn to ignore it with time, but I don't think I'm being that OCD. I've read a lot of complaints about the deliberate underscanning used in PS1/PS2 games (some have it worse on their TV). Like I said, most TVs hide it because they automatically overscan the image by 10% or so. I happen to have a TV that tries to show as much image as possible, but ends up biting me in the ass when using a PS1/PS2. I guess Sony thought most people would never see it, so the machine outputs a slightly smaller image to save on processing power.

[Haoie]

It's a quarter of an inch, dude.

Learn to look at the bigger picture.

Literally!!

[Flak Beard]

You guys are right. I guess I just have a habit of trying to fix little inconsistencies when it comes to my audio/visual setup for gaming. I once played with the settings on my HD set for about two hours before getting that "perfect" picture I wanted.

Screw it. I'll just try and ignore the bars.

[ott0bot]

I think you should build and eloborate decorative box out of jamaican rosewood that would over lap the edge of the tv and mask the black bars. Then you can hand enamel your favorite video characters on the ouside. I would add gold leaf to several areas so they outlines POP! It should only cost around 2 or 3 thousand.