I am looking to have some more complete information than what I currently found floating around on the internet. 1. Is there any kind of markings on the unit (internal or external) to determine NTSC/PAL? I do not have the box or paperwork but I do have some pictures attached of the hardware in my possession. 2. Providing the one in my possession is a Japanese unit would it play VCDs on my US 3DO (assuming on the grounds that they are both NTSC)? The adaptor does get recognised as it will display the Video CD icon and take me to a VCD player screen. Problem is I get either an indefinitely blank screen or immediately returned to the menu screen when attempting to play one. I do not have a legitimate known working VCD to test it and have instead resorted to burning some. I have tried burning VCD (v1 and v2) but either the 3DO shares the same (Video) CD-R compatibility issues with older model DVD players or I am just doing it wrong. Either way I would like to rule out user error. 3. Do all fz-fv10's support VCD v2.0 or is there a special revision similar to the fz-fv1a?
I can only say from my experiences with my Goldstar 3DO's game compatibility, the system has NO REGION lockout, and if this unit is being recognized there should be no reason for it not to play VCDs. I tried burning my own VCDs and running em off my hi-Saturn, but like you, I'm sure I'm doing it wrong since it freezes my system up with a black screen, however when I insert Back To The Future II and this other very filthy Japanese VCD porno, everything runs smoothly.
FV-10 This is an MPEG2 decoder. All 3DOs have an expansion port on the right hand side that this device connects to. It was intended for playback of VCDs in a pre-DVD world. If you load up the 3DO guide cd that comes packaged with the systems you will find a reference to the expansion port and the ability to play "Future Video Discs".
UPDATE: I finally got a hold of a working VCD 2.0 7 disc set of Tenchi Muyo from ebay. What is odd is that it is English subtitled AND dubbed. One of the markings says it was distributed by a company in Malaysia so maybe it is not as odd as I think it is. Anyway, it plays fine on the 3DO so apparently I was doing something wrong when trying to burn my own.
How is the quality on the 3do? When I owned a 3do was always interesting in getting one for the curiosity sake.
Honestly, it was not nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be. Imagine a very well preserved VHS movie but except for the occasional light amount of "snow" there would be some slight pixelation. The feel was very nostalgic. Mind you this was S-Video on a 60" Hitachi Ultravision projection SDTV that I use for pre-Dreamcast consoles. The imperfections would probably go unnoticed on a 32" or smaller SDTV.
