PCSXR plays .BIN but not .ISO images - why?

Question

I'm running pcsxr on Ubuntu Bionic (18.04) which works great. However, I notice that it will play .BIN images but not .ISO images. Pcsxr has the option to play games either from CD (File -> Run CD) or from an image file (File -> Run ISO).

Is the "Run ISO" option in pcsxr not suitable for ISO images but only for BIN images? What is the difference between the two?

Similarly, I have tried to burn an ISO image to a CD to play it on my wife's vintage PSX (the very first clunky model!) but this end in a black screen with no activity just like it does on the pcsxr emulator. Is the CD format used by the PSX actually an ISO9660 file system?

On a different note, is there still a support forum with recent and frequent activity somewhere? I haven't been able to find anything except years old forum archives.

All suggestions appreciated!

Answer 1

The difference between an ISO file and a BIN is minor what the emulators are usually looking for is the CUE file and which provides CD track information. Many CDs contain multiple tracks and a CUE file will contain the track name, start time and duration. On the PS1, the first track was always data and music on the rest. Some games played the background music from these tracks without the PS1 processor working on the audio playback.