PAL question
- Thread starter aaron
- Start date
It actually kinda depends on the game really...
Assuming you have the ability to boot imports (cart or whatever), most PAL games are actually best played in NTSC. This is because a large amount of games suffered really bad NTSC-to-PAL conversions when they were made, and resulted in a boardered, slower game when they came out in PAL form. Running them in NTSC (60Hz) fixes this. This is why so many PAL users get 50/60Hz switches installed!
This does not apply to all games however... some games were 'fixed' when they came out in PAL format to be full screen and full speed, so in NTSC mode, they are too big and too fast. These titles are very rare though... usually most first party Sega titles that came out in the earlier half of the Saturn's life (Sega Rally, Virtua Fighter 2...). You'd need a switch to run these games in 50Hz to play theser games properly.
I wouldn't bother with the switch though if I were you... for the very few PAL games that don't work properly, just get the US equivelents.
Assuming you have the ability to boot imports (cart or whatever), most PAL games are actually best played in NTSC. This is because a large amount of games suffered really bad NTSC-to-PAL conversions when they were made, and resulted in a boardered, slower game when they came out in PAL form. Running them in NTSC (60Hz) fixes this. This is why so many PAL users get 50/60Hz switches installed!
This does not apply to all games however... some games were 'fixed' when they came out in PAL format to be full screen and full speed, so in NTSC mode, they are too big and too fast. These titles are very rare though... usually most first party Sega titles that came out in the earlier half of the Saturn's life (Sega Rally, Virtua Fighter 2...). You'd need a switch to run these games in 50Hz to play theser games properly.
I wouldn't bother with the switch though if I were you... for the very few PAL games that don't work properly, just get the US equivelents.
okay, that does help. thanks. what i am wanting to do is get the games that were released in PAL-land only (Z, formula karts, 3D Lemmings, etc). do you know of any that will run super poorly? my backup of Formula Karts SE was too big and ran really quickly after i changed the region to NTSC using satconv. it seemed like i was missing pieces of the screen. like my TV wasn't tall enough.
hm..
edit: after rereading your post, i think i'll just get a 50/60 Hz switch installed to fix my Formula Karts problem. thanks!
hm..
edit: after rereading your post, i think i'll just get a 50/60 Hz switch installed to fix my Formula Karts problem. thanks!
If Formula Karts runs too big, it's been PAL optimised and needs a switch.
3D Lemmings should work fine in NTSC mode, I don't think any Psygnosis games got proper optomisation (although the intro movie to WipEout 2097 does de-sync).
Can't comment on Z.
A switch is a nice idea if you can do it. Be sure your TV can handle a PAL signal though.
I'd say about 90% of PAL TV's can handle an NTSC signal, but I'm told the other way around is significantly lower...
3D Lemmings should work fine in NTSC mode, I don't think any Psygnosis games got proper optomisation (although the intro movie to WipEout 2097 does de-sync).
Can't comment on Z.
A switch is a nice idea if you can do it. Be sure your TV can handle a PAL signal though.
I'd say about 90% of PAL TV's can handle an NTSC signal, but I'm told the other way around is significantly lower...
A NTSC Saturn will always output NTSC even if you´re playing a PAL game, I have a TV that's incompatible with the NTSC norma but compatible with 60Hz frequency so when I play JP games with my JP Saturn the picture is gray even when I play PAL games using that Saturn. The problem is that certain PAL games will run alright on a NTSC Saturn but others may run with all sort of problems.
Which is why he was talking about a switch.
Running PAL optimised games correctly on an NTSC Saturn would require the use of NTSC50 (NTSC, but 25 frames - 50 half frames - per second). I don't know about the popularity of that format - it could be hit and miss.
I do know, however, that 60Hz PAL (PAL60/PAL 4.43) is becoming more widely supported and new consoles offer a choice of 50/60Hz, so us Europeans are getting some luck in this respect at last!
Formula Karts must be one of the optimised games, as has already been said.
Anyway, good luck!
I do know, however, that 60Hz PAL (PAL60/PAL 4.43) is becoming more widely supported and new consoles offer a choice of 50/60Hz, so us Europeans are getting some luck in this respect at last!
Formula Karts must be one of the optimised games, as has already been said.
Anyway, good luck!
I was under the impression that the Saturn could not output either NTSC-50 or PAL60... the switch would allow straight PAL, or straight NTSC, and that's it.
Nah, PAL Saturns always send PAL colour carrier signals, and vice versa with NTSC. The 50/60Hz switch will just change the scanning frequency; the actual colour carrier type is controlled by the video processor, and cannot be changed from PAL to NTSC or the other way round, unless of course you feel like transplanting a video chip.
Wow; I'm surprising myself! I hardly know anything about the Saturn or TV types, but I feel really clever now!
Wow; I'm surprising myself! I hardly know anything about the Saturn or TV types, but I feel really clever now!
It's the encoder that controls color encoding, not video processor. The particular chip is the Sony CXA1645, and it's located near the output connector. It can output either PAL or NTSC, but I think some of the external components are different values for PAL and NTSC, so I doubt you can just tack a mode pin high/low and have it work right.
My mistake there; thanks, ExCyber. Hopefully, I almost got it right!
What I meant to put across was the point that there is no easy way to change between PAL and NTSC - a switch would just control the scanning rate.
It's actually easier for Europeans to fit a 50/60Hz switch in their Saturn, from what I gather - PAL60 is more popular and supported than NTSC50, is it not?
What I meant to put across was the point that there is no easy way to change between PAL and NTSC - a switch would just control the scanning rate.
It's actually easier for Europeans to fit a 50/60Hz switch in their Saturn, from what I gather - PAL60 is more popular and supported than NTSC50, is it not?
I'd say 95% of todays TV's in the UK support PAL60...
And about 90% support NTSC as long as it's running through a decent connection like RGB SCART.
You'd be *very* unlucky to end up with a TV that doesn't support PAL60 or NTSC.
And about 90% support NTSC as long as it's running through a decent connection like RGB SCART.
You'd be *very* unlucky to end up with a TV that doesn't support PAL60 or NTSC.
Yeah I know. I don't know the technical side of it all, I just know using an RF lead or AV cable to display NTSC on a PAL TV generally leads of a black and white or rolling display, which is fixed by picking up an RGB Scart cable.
Similar threads
