decided to get myself a dreamcast.. i) is there a specific model slightly regarded as better than the others, that i should keep a look for? ii) how do i get the best image quality on a lcd (curious about crt also)? iii) how much is a jp launch model, with the orange box and pre-order bonus, worth? sure, there's always google, but thought i'd ask here. mods; feel free to move to another category if posted in the wrong one.
hi mate, i) dreamcasts dated before october 2000 allow you to boot the older audio/data selfboots whereas the ones after that play only data/data selfboots, i dont think it really matters tho as you can convert audio/data format games to data/data ii) install a VGA socket into the DC for the best image quality as far as i know, looked great when i did it, http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/dc-vga.htm iii) not sure but theirs a price check section on here i would try that hope that helps
NO buy one that was made before october of 2000 and it will play backups. If you're on a mac I advise using liquid cd it isn't perfect but it will burn most dreamcast roms. As for windows use Discjuggler best dreamcast game burning software. And if you're on linux I advise setting up a duelboot same for freebsd. Best of luck chap.
Btw all of the sega sports edition dreamcast were made before october of 2000 so if you're worried just buy one of those and I guarantee it to work
thanks. interesting.. so a pre october 2000 plays them just like that without any kind of boot-cd or whatever? and if i get one post october 2000, then a modchip is mandatory, correct?
As Mystical said, post 2000 console can also play backup but the cd has to be in data/data instead audio/data. audio/data cd can be converted in data/data. I think the advantage of the before 2000 DC is that you will be able to play both format. (Except some disc on the 1st jap DC with metal heat pipe on motherboard, ex: dreamshell). To avoid conversion and compatibility problèmes, I would look for a DC before 2000 but not the jap model with metal pipe (early model from 1998 if I am correct). On the other side, it is said that those models with heat pipe are immunized against heat problems...... Compatibility list The dreamcast does not need modchip at all to read cdr games (all model). If you are on mac, Mystical said you could use liquid cd to burn games..... Well, I am on osx since long time and have tried many different way to burn DC cd-r. Liquid cd is absolutely not the solution. It works correctly very seldom! If you are on mac and never burned DC cd-r before, do not try with this because you will be frustrated producing waste.... Set up a virtual machine running windows and use discjunggler at first (the most used format on DC). Then later if you feel adventurous, try the very few solutions for osx and you will understand !
hi mate, let me elaborate a little a dreamcast manufactured before october 2000 will play ALL backups regardless of the selfboot format, if it was manufactured after that date you will only be able to play data/data selfboot formats, but ALL dreamcasts can run backups a Dreamcast modchip does not allow you to boot backups, they are to run imports only, the chip overrides the Region control in the DC and does NOT affect the ability to run CDR discs the reason you can play DC games without a modchip is because of the Mil-CD format that the DC supports, its the way the games are burnt which allows them to boot so no need for a modchip
thanks for the help. forgot to mention that i'd prefer a pal system, unless it is somehow incredibly gimped compared to the ntsc or -j. i) which pal systems feature a metal/heat pipe (heard they make less noise), and do they also suffer these "compatibility problems" mentioned above? ii) so instead, a modchip is the ONLY way to play imports, or can i change region before burning, or any other exploit?
i) as far as i know its the early jap models that have that heat pipe problem but not 100% sure ii) few options for imports: - modchip - the utopia boot disc allows you to boot imports i think - you can also get a self bootable image of DC-X, or you can install a very simple mod that you can use to flash the region of the DC, you MUST use a switch when installing tho as leaving the wire connected will apparently kill the DC http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/dc-region.htm - Installing a new Bios chip and flashing the DEV Bios http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24880
thanks a lot. how does this sound? http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36373 now it's only a question whether all my details are correct, such as if there exists pal systems with a metal heat pipe that plays both audio/data & data/data, and if the pal lacks some nice features that are unknown to me..
well firstly you want vga output not input but thats nitpicking lol you basically want: A PAL Dreamcast Manufactured before October 2000 + Internal VGA Modification OR a VGA Box + Modchip OR Region Mod Hack OR CD-X Disc + Utopia Boot Disc (dont ask for this use google) having a PAL Dreamcast should not limit you in anyway but make sure you use the latest version of the Utopia Boot disc Not all games support VGA, the PAL Resident Evil Code Veronica is one i think however the Japanese version does support VGA (or vice versa its been a while since i checked), you can alter the game executables to add this to some games but not all i think I have done the VGA mod a couple of times and it looks very crisp when viewing on a monitor or LCD TV, have never used a VGA box tho so can't comment on them Edit: Forgot to say i would personally not bother with a modchip, you really dont need it as you can boot 99% of stuff with the various Utopia boot discs, DC-X disc (which is downloadable the same as the Utopia boot disc) and its just wasting money in my opinion
thanks a lot for making it much easier, very appreciated. will probably not get a hold of such a system, but it's worth a try. now i know at least what i'm looking for, and worst case being having to mod one myself, which is not bad at all.
If noise is a concern you DON'T want a console with heatpipes. Because they DO A HELL OF A FUSS with their noisy metalic fan. :shrug: Also they usually come with the Yamaha drive (using NEC lens) and that drive is also more noisy. :lol: Also it heats a LOT more than newer units. Get an PAL unit (there's no PAL units with heatpipes) and mod it to NTSC (You can flash it an different region setting and DISC region is separated from video system, so you can have a NTSC dreamcast with a blue swirl... lol) if you require. I particularly own a Tec Toy Dreamcast which was formely a PAL unit Tec Toy changed to PAL-M and NTSC U/C game disc region (red swirl). I fitted the region free BIOS, modified it's video system to NTSC and changed the game region back to PAL for keeping the swirl blue, matching then the controller and CD lid. Nifty
Really? I can't vouch for burning DC games proper -- perhaps that's more difficult -- but I've burned a bunch of emulator CDs on the Mac, using Mac Dream Tool. It's not that hard, really; you just need Toast and some decent instructions. Of course that's if you're rolling your own SBIs, which I've done for NES, SNES, and SMS/SG-1000/GG. Most downloadable images are in formats that are only Windows-friendly, but that applies to most disc systems anyway. BIN/CUE is a beautiful thing.
It sure is... BIN/CUE was the original native format for the DAO software package (1994), also from Golden Hawk. Sadly DAO stands to "Disc At Once" and you simply can't burn a DAO disc for Dreamcast. It MUST be multisession if you want it to be an MIL-CD (autoboot) compatible disc. The reason things like DiscJuggler were popular for burning Dreamcast CDs is because it can produce and burn images from/for multi session discs. It was something pretty nonstandard back then, because before the Dreamcast appeared, the only use one would have to multisession discs was append data do existing non closed discs. So there were no need for people make carbon copies of multisession discs. Hope I was able to explain what's going on here. :nod:
Sure, you can burn some things like emulators as you said or some old cdi image... But if you try to use CDIrip on recent .cdi image, you will see that this app is out to date and cant exctract new cdi image (and use this with toast titanium). Thats the problem on the Mac.
