Can a hardware modded SCPH-9002 (PAL PS1/X) Play NTSC-U/J Games correctly

I have a hardware modded SCPH-9002 (Not sure of the mod chip installed, I've had it since i was a little kid and i have never disassembled it, sentimental value mentally stops me from opening it.) I have a NTSC-U demo disc that boots on the system fine (Supposedly), however i want to buy some imports, the TV says NTSC 4.43 when i play said demo disc as the video mode which is different to a NTSC PS2 debug/test system i have (Simply shows NTSC when playing the same PS1 demo disc) (Yes, i know i can play NTSC PS1 games on my NTSC PS2 debug/test system but i wanna save the laser on it, plus playing on exact hardware feel 'right' don't ask me how i think that way, i just do.)

So my question is the 4.43 part a concern or is that applicable to native NTSC PS1 units too. And does it have ANY effect on how the game would run?

If the games do indeed play differently on my PAL unit will a NTSC U PS1 debug play any region fine (Obviously NTSC-U at least would be fine, and probably JAP titles too) as i can acquire one cheap if need be, or would it be better to get a retail NTSC U and J PS1 (For the same price as the debug) and slap a mod chip in them?

TL;DR

Can a modded PAL PS1 Play NTSC U/J PS1 games or am i better off modding a NTSC U and J unit or getting a debug PS1.

 

It depends on how picky you are. A modified PAL unit will boot NTSC:U/C or NTSC:J games with no problem, but the video timing is very slightly off (about 1%) - the same applies to running PAL games on a modified NTSC unit.

NTSC:U/C and NTSC:J have no speed differences, but there is a slight shift in the black levels (US NTSC has the black reference at 7.5% of peak white, Japanese NTSC and PAL have it at 0%) - you can compensate for this simply by adjusting the brightness, though.

Getting a debug unit won't help with either of these issues - they have the same video hardware as the retails, and are also designed to work correctly in only one video mode. In fact, the only publicly version that Sony ever made that could run both PAL and NTSC titles 100% correctly was the Yaroze. There were also some special trade show units that typically had grey cases and both reference oscillators installed (and hence generated correct output in both PAL and NTSC modes), but they appear to have been internal use only.

If you are getting imports, then there are a few other things to be aware of:
1) No Japanese PlayStation (retail or debug) except the early versions of the SCPH-1000 and DTL-H1000 will boot discs that don't have a Japanese boot sector unless you use a boot disc or a cheat cartridge.
2) Some early NTSC consoles (Some SCPH-1001, SCPH-3000, SCPH-5000, DTL-H1200, DTL-H1201) will lock up if you try to switch to PAL mode
3) Anything before the SCPH-700x series generates entirely broken composite output in the "wrong" mode.

 

You over looked that you can install the dual oscillator setup on some boards. This is ideal if you want it to all be correct

 

Just bought myself a NTSC-U SCPH-9001 for $20 & shipping, i'll just soldier a mod chip onto that for my NTSC U/J games, now please, don't call me an idiot for asking this but when you say "adjusting the brightness" would i need to turn it down or up (My guess is down when playing NTSC-J judging by what you said, correct me if I'm wrong) when playing a NTSC-J game on my soon to be NTSC-U PS1.

And say, even if i didn't touch the brightness, if the game was identical except one was made for NTSC-J and the for NTSC-U would both games play exactly the same in an NTSC-U PS1? If so, it would bear little impact on the majority of NTSC-J games overall. (I think)

 

The short answer to your question is that if you are using a US NTSC source on a display that's not designed for them you need slightly lower brightness, as you thought. But the software you are running has nothing to do with this - a NTSC:U/C console will produce 7.5IRE black no matter if you run NTSC:U/C, NTSC:J or even PAL software on it. Similarly, a PAL or NTSC:J console will produce 0IRE black no matter what software you run on it. This is a factor of the console hardware, not the games.

So if you have the correct black level on your NTSC:U/C console running a US game, it will also have the correct black level if you boot a NTSC:J game on it. If you swapped the console out for a PAL or NTSC:J one, then the black levels would shift - but would still remain consistent no matter what game you were running, or what territory it came from.

Since I assume you're in a PAL territory, then it's very likely that your TV is expecting video with a 0IRE black level even in 60Hz mode (unless you have something like a PVM, where you can select 0IRE or 7.5IRE in the menu). So basically, you only have to have any concern about this at all when you swap over the consoles, not when swapping between NTSC:U/C and NTSC:J on the NTSC unit.

 

I always wondered if the setup level was indeed different in the hardware.
If it is, how do they achieve it? Different components around the DAC / encoder?

 

On the older models, different video DACs - the Japanese and EU models used a Phillips part and the US ones a Motorola part with the same pinout.

On the later models (PU-20 and up), there don't appear to be any hardware differences, so I assume that the boot ROM twiddles something in the GPU to turn the offset on, although I have never actually investigated this. You can see it pretty clearly if you feed the output into a waveform monitor, though. It's also interesting that a HK market SCPH-9003 has that 7.5IRE offset despite booting Japanese software - probably because it's using a US boot ROM.

 

Thanks TriMesh!
I haven't actually noticed the offset with my single NTSC-U console but next time, I'll look for it

 

Yes, i am indeed in a PAL territory, my TV accepts NTSC and PAL without a hitch, It's not a CRT but a rather modern TV that seems to accept anything i throw at it with no noticeable issues, i don't intend on removing my PAL unit from use but rather having both coexist (Yes, I'm using a step down for the NTSC-U/C system so it won't blow up ) So in an ideal world what region game should i be playing on what console if i never get a NTSC-J system for the best experience.

My guess is PAL for PAL (Shocker there) and NTSC-U for US and JP games with little need to tinker with the brightness playing any NTSC game as the the 7.5 IRE black i think bears no difference in gameplay and simply optimized for US TVs back in the day. While NTSC-J was optimized for JP TVs, so it's possible an NTSC-J exclusive will look slightly weird without tinkering the brightness on a modded US PS1 as it's development revolved around NTSC-J only. Or am i just confusing myself? (I think i am)

 

You got it right, @RAPTOR115X
Honestly, you probably wouldn't even notice it if you played all your games on the PAL unit.

 

Well, at least i have 2 PS1 units now in case one ever fails, but my current one runs like the day i got it (When it was no more than 3 years old) so I'm not too concerned that at least my PAL unit (And probably my NTSC-U unit, will have to see when i get it) will not break for a long time.

 

They are very reliable machines - about the only thing you could reasonably expect to fail is the CD drive assembly - and even that was pretty good in these later units.

 

Yeah, exactly why i got a 9000 series as i know it's probably gonna last a while, including the laser as my PAL unit has never had trouble once since i got it, that includes reading discs, and it got very heavy use from me back in my younger years but is still used fairly regularly today, albeit not as much as it used to, and if the laser ever craps in either, a repair job should be relatively straightforward.

 

Alrighty, it arrived, it seems the console doesn't like my step down unit (Constantly resets itself booting up and in-game, probably the power frequency doing it, console is rated for 60hz and my region uses 50hz and my step down might not be doing that part perfectly (Strangely my PS2 debugs don't care about this) i had a video from the seller s/n matched with the unit i have that showed it indeed worked for a 10 minute play session in his possession, the seller lives in an NTSC country so his power grid is native to that console, it takes no more than 2 min for the console to reset, mostly before the game even boots) so is there anything stopping me putting a PAL PS1 PSU in an NTSC ps1 as i believe once it goes through the psu it's all DC instead of AC so fundamentally should be the same once past the PSU.

So my plan is to get a busted PAL ps1, SCPH-9002, identical to my existing PAL system (With it's PSU working at least) and stick it in my NTSC SCPH-9001 console so it can work straight off my native power standard. (Plus the bad PS1 can always be useful in parts)

Here's some shots of the NTSC-U PS1 i got and my personal (working) PAL unit (I got the guts to open it finally ) the plug no. connecting the mobo to the PSU on both the PAL and NTSC console's mobo are identical (CN602) and so are the cable colors (Probably of little meaning beyond ground, negative and positive for DC) leading me to believe they're likely the same plug with the same requirements.

(Sorry for the hi res images, but it's the only way you can see the text on the PCB)

My new NTSC System:

Mobo



PSU/Mobo



My existing PAL System:

Mobo



PSU/Mobo



Am i batshit crazy for considering this or is it likely this would work without a hitch, if you need more shots of the PCB of the Mobo or PSU, let me know.

EDIT: Updated bad image links.

 

It will likely work fine, as it's just the input voltage that's different (110v vs 220v) on these PSUs. Swapping in a PAL PSU will make it work fine on your country's power grid. (which is 220V)

 

That power supply is shot. That's why it is resetting. Have the large capacitor replaced URGENTLY and the diodes are overheating due to the faulty capacitor. Have the diodes checked, too.

That's why the board is darker near the power cable connector.

Very likely the power supply was zapped with a brief, straight connection to 220v mains. It doesn't blow right away but the capacitor starts to boil inside, overheating. Eventually it will vent, releasing white smoke and fluid.