CO21698 Antic + NTSC 800XL = PAL Software is running

[Xebec]

First - Thanks to those who have posted here on Atariage about the ANTIC chip swap - it works great!

 

I just wanted to report a success at installing a CO21698 PAL ANTIC in my 800XL. The 800XL is stock except for the Newell technologies 256KB upgrade. Using a SIDE 2 cartridge, the "Near" by Agenda demo (a favorite of mine) plays great on my old color tube monitor. This demo crashes half way through on a 'pure' NTSC machine, and flickers long before that.

 

(Again thanks to others here), I know this isn't a complete PAL conversion. The system will use the NTSC color palette, and software that checks the ROM for "is this NTSC or PAL" may complain or not work.

 

I'll be running more demos and software in the future (Last V8 is next...).

 

 

[Kyle22]

I did the same thing, but my monitor didn't like it. What monitor are you using?

[Xebec]

I did the same thing, but my monitor didn't like it. What monitor are you using?

 

Amdek Color 300

 

The flicker first made me think I was using an Atari ST...

[Rybags]

The main issue with modern Pal only software is on NTSC there's not enough cycles per frame.

Few software titles actually bother checking the PAL register. One example is Bounty Bob Strikes Back and that was a case of region locking with nothing to do with combatibility issues.

 

But yeah, the main barrier for running the other system will be if your monitor can handle it. Sometimes the display will work but no colour since the colour encoding is different.

 

You don't get an exact clone either since the master clock speed is slightly slower on Pal but the difference is so small that you'd never notice.

[Kyle22]

I'll keep my eyes open for an Amdek then. I've read that some Commie ones work too.

[Gunstar]

commodore monitors like the 1702 and 1084 are xcellent for this too. I use a video to vga converter (see sig) and it also accepts the hybrid signal and I can use any VGA TV/monitor with it. But I can only say for sure that my Ambery converter can do this, and I can also say for sure that the cheap Chinese converters won't work, at least not the one thats all the rage on AA.

[+mytek]

Also with a slightly modified Sophia, an Atari SC1224 will also work, giving you probably the best picture of them all. Well at least the JVC version of the SC1224 works with PAL and CSYNC (I'll be testing a GoldStar version hopefully pretty soon). And of course a 'stock' Sophia will drive any number of other RGB monitors, including the Commodore 1084.

 

And this Chinese S-Video to HDMI converter also works with either an NTSC or PAL input, with best results being fed from Bryan's UAV. It isn't as good as the Ambery as previously mentioned, but it works pretty darn good when converting PAL video (link). However it will not properly support apps like flickerterm, so you will see offset scan lines every other row.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/236810-inexpensive-s-video-or-composite-to-hdmi-video-up-converter/page-2?do=findComment&comment=3794481

 

 

- Michael

Edited August 16, 2017 by mytekcontrols