Guess the unknown rf shield from a console or home computer

I'll bring out the soldering iron later and try it out.

My converter can also output PAL when it is selected. I tried it multiple times and every time it's in PAL mode, the HDTV says "Mode Not Supported". Since the converter is outputting at the true PAL format, I thought the Genesis might be outputting NTSC50 over composite.

Would the 32X output true PAL video if I set it to PAL mode or would that just affect the refresh rate and the region?

I thought about picking up a PAL SNES one day so I could try that over composite when I get one. Anyone know where I can get a PAL SNES for under $100?

UPDATE: The SCART Hood is glued shut so I can't open it. I don't have a Composite to SCART adapter but I have two SCART Cables that I might consider soldering RCA jacks to instead.

 

Right. Color is a separate mod. Setting the Genesis to 50hz won't get PAL, nor setting the 32X to receive 50hz from the Genesis.

If the converter set to PAL doesn't work when the Genesis and 32X are 50hz, using RGB, it could be your TV doesn't accept 50hz via HDMI.
But all that is still ever-so-slightly different from a real PAL setup. PAL Mega Drive has adjusted CPU timing.

 

I got a temporary solution to this that works. I took my NTSC SNES (oh the irony) RGB SCART cable, desoldered the RGB select resistor, desoldered Composite video, desoldered video ground, and soldered an RCA jack to the Composite video and video ground pins on the SCART end.

I plugged my 32X composite cable into the RCA jack and flicked the Genesis into 50Hz mode. Sonic 1 and the 32X were not seated right and the converter said it is PAL. So after reseating it, I tried again. This time, the converter displayed an unstable black and white picture that causes the converter to freak out.

But the real kicker is what video format it says it is. It says it is SECAM video. Not NTSC. Not PAL. SECAM.

What the heck? The converter's manual only listed PAL and NTSC as supported formats over SCART. It says nothing about SECAM. It also has no mention of S-Video support even though it does support it. I wonder if this thing can do Component over SCART or even Sync-on-Green (RGsB).

Well I'll remove the jack tomorrow and revert the cable back to it's NTSC SNES RGB state. Before that, I'll do a video of it and post it here (or a YouTube link).

 

I did not see your post before my last post. The TV does not accept PAL over HDMI. It's an American NTSC/ATSC HDTV. The post above has my findings.

 

Maybe your TV is weird? SECAM is very rarely supported by game consoles as it's limited to just a few countries in Europe, Africa, and most of former USSR countries. Africa did't have much of market for video games and former USSR had tight control on import so I doubt there were Nintendo or Sega systems made available there. I can probably count the number of game systems with SECAM support with just one hand.

Do you have access to a different TV to check your setup to make sure your main TV wasn't screwing with you?

 

The TV isn't the issue, the SCART/HDMI to HDMI converter is converting PAL/SECAM to NTSC 1080p 60Hz so I can use it on my American NTSC/ATSC HDTV. I don't have access to another SCART converter and I did try the console via a composite to Coax RF modulator on an old RCA Colortrak CRT, which had weird results (same effect as PAL devices on American NTSC CRTs). This happens because the Genesis doesn't have the PAL color fix mod since I normally use RGB SCART.

I'm just trying to figure out if it is NTSC50 or not when using Composite video without the PAL color fix mod.

When the Genny is in 50Hz mode hooked up with an RGB SCART cable to the converter, the converter says it is PAL and everything runs normally (except for the fact its the PAL version of Sonic and runs slower).

 

NTSC Genesis set to 50hz, has no choice but attempt NTSC50 in composite. It lacks the crystal used to generate PAL.

RGB is a separate format. Involves no NTSC, PAL, or SECAM encoding or decoding.
Though the obvious myriad of other interoperability issues like hz and sync on green remain.

Have you actually tried a native 50hz HDMI device? (one that isn't a converter from something else)

 

I tried my laptop with 720x576p at 50Hz selected and it said "Mode Not Supported". I bumped it up to 720x576p at 60Hz and the TV displayed it as 800x600.

My TV doesn't display what the video format is being displayed. Just the current input selected, custom input name, time, Resolution, and Refresh Rate.

The converter by itself outputs an image when there is nothing coming in. It shows "No Signal" in white text moving around the screen with a black background. It does allow me to change the output video format (NTSC or PAL), output resolution, and input device (HDMI or SCART) via the buttons on the back of it.

 

Okay that's a good sounding test.

I'm not so lucky, my TV does not inform me of the resolution or even refresh rate.
Though I know 50hz works from HDMI and component. Tried the former with XRGB Mini, the latter from a modded Gamecube.

 

I wish I had an HDTV that supports PAL and has RGB SCART inputs. I guess TV manufacturers don't expect Americans to be using PAL video game consoles to play games not released here.

 

It's not that great heh. No SCART, s-video, or 240p component.

The fun part is no format details popping up, means a casual observer would be utterly unaware whether they're seeing 50hz, 60hz, 720p, 1080p...

 

Some countries (like the one I am in) use PAL color encoding on a 60Hz TV system. That mindset of thinking PAL only exists in 50Hz form is so bad that most MIL-CD Dreamcast games fail on a Brazilian Dreamcast because the EEPROM says it uses PAL color system (which it does indeed use).

So we end with the Dreamcast configured to European PAL but running 60Hz video. Image becomes Black and White. And, lame that is.

Enough rant for the night. (I always flash Tec Toy Dreamcast consoles to NTSC U/C when I have the chance).

 

My HDTV also lacks SCART and S-Video but it does support 240p over component. I'm not sure how well it processes 240p because I lack a component modded Genesis to test it with. PS1 games on PS2 work great though.

That sucks. Can you do the very simple NTSC/PAL fix on those units like on American/Japanese Dreamcasts or will it not make a difference?

 

RGB should help, but that isn't really used in Brazil either.
I haven't tried a PAL game on my chipped US Dreamcast to speak from experience.

PAL-M and PAL60 are incompatible offshoots of a similar concept. PAL based color, NTSC based resolution and refresh rate.

 

The main issue is that PAL color carrier is 4.6MHz and PAL-M is 3.57.

It's so to allow for taking advantage of USA made TV transmitter equipment (so the cut off filters can be used without modification).

We use M system here (remember NTSC is actually NTSC-M).

 

Would that mean that PAL60 works on American NTSC TV's? I really want a PAL Mega Drive Model 1 now so I can test these things out. I think I will get one once Christmas comes around and/or I get enough money. I'll definitely do the 50/60Hz mod to it and the color fix to both the Mega Drive and my Genesis model 1.

That all makes sense now. I do remember reading that we Americans use NTSC-M (after all, we did invent NTSC). I heard Japan uses a slightly different NTSC standard that lacks a black level but I'm not sure if it is actually called NTSC-J or not and if there are other differences between NTSC-M and NTSC-J.

Seeing you live in Brazil, I had a question about the Mega Drive and the games down there.

I heard there is some Guitar Hero-like game in Brazil that just got released for the Mega Drive along with a guitar controller. Is that true? I wonder how good (or bad) it is.

What Mega Drives do you guys use, NTSC systems or PAL systems? How much different are the Tec Toy Mega Drives from the Sega versions?

I think I might start a new thread for determining the true video formats of the Mega Drive/Genesis when using Composite video. As Lum pointed out earlier (and thank you for clearing it up), RGBS on these consoles do not use NTSC or PAL. Maybe it is whatever arcade monitors use?

 

NTSC-J only differs from NTSC-M at the aerial broadcast standard (carrier frequencies for video and audio and channel numbering as Japan has channel 1 and USA don't) and on blanking level voltages. Even the slight difference on blanking level stuff only result on a brightness difference on the resulting image.

About our Mega Drive consoles, they're PAL-M modified SEGA Genesis motherboards assembled into European Mega Drive casing, with just the white ring changed with the red Genesis one and gray reset button.

The guitar hero clone game and the plastic guitar do exist but it was never released as cartridge. It was released into a system which has a bundle of games built in. I sadly don't know the details about that one.

 

Ah ok, thank you for clearing that up.

So they basically they took a Genesis, did the PAL color fix mod (is it still 60Hz or is it 50Hz?), put it in a European case, changed the white ring to red, and added a gray reset button? I think now I'll try to track down the European Mega Drive and the Brazilian Mega Drive in the future. Do your Mega Drives play American games, European PAL games, or Brazilian-specific games?

Oh ok. I'm curious about it now and if it could be ported to cartridge. I'm really just curious if it takes full advantage of the Genesis/Mega Drive sound hardware to get near CD-quality audio. Of course if it does, then this means that a very large cart or the Sega CD/Mega CD would be required to hold the music.

 

Actually, Mega Drive consoles which are not "DOMESTIC"(Japan or Asia) have gray RESET and START buttons. So does the SEGA Genesis.

About making cartridges from the Guitar Hero clone, I don't think it's even dumped. I know it exists but I have never seen it being played.

 

Maybe someone can dump it one day or someone can post videos of it here so we can know how much audio power it uses. I don't have much money right now and the money I'm receiving later this month is going towards GTAV on PC. How much do actual Brazilian Mega Drive Model 1s go for nowadays?