PAL TVs?

[simonsunnyboy]

I wonder..is the 2600 sensitive to the TV set you use?

I have two PAL consoles according to the bottom sticker (2600jr), and I have two cartridges in my possession which depend on the TV set if they display a proper picture.

On the large end 90s TV set of my sister they work fine, this set also supports 60Hz PAL with my ST(e). On my older early 90s vintage TV set, they display some sort of rolling picture, e.q. 3 frames in one, compressed. It doesn't do 60Hz on my ST(e).

The cartridges are "Galaxians" and "Missile Command". Oddly I have another "Missile Command" cartridge which works fine on my TV, however I can't spot a real difference on the cartridges.

 

Is there a chance to tell whether a cartridge is PAL or NTSC?

[Rybags]

I can remember seeing some 2600 cartridges with PAL printed on the boxes or even with little stickers randomly placed in the manual and/or the box, way back in the 80s.

 

To my knowledge, there is no way a computer/console can tell if a TV set is PAL or NTSC. You can tell if the TV is "online" or not (like many modern graphics cards with Video Out), but I doubt many consoles ever used detection techniques since they default to TV anyway.

[A.J. Franzman]

Most Atari brand cartridges will have a "P" (or rarely, the "PAL" acronym) on them somewhere in the PAL version: the model number ("CX-1234P"), the end label ("Kangaroo P"), an ink stamp on the main label, or a small sticker on the main label or the back side.

 

From your description, I believe that the two games you have problems with on the older TV are most likely NTSC. Aside from the presence/absence of the "P", or rolling picture on incompatible TVs, one other way to tell the difference is by the colors. Due to the way the different consoles are designed and a simple random chance, some games of the opposite region will display grossly wrong colors, while others will only have subtle or nearly undetectable color differences. Generally speaking, PAL appears to me to be deficient in yellow and orange hues, and has an excess of red-purple-blue hues. See TIA Color Charts for differences. Also, it's possible to run the PAL and NTSC binaries on an emulator and change the color settings to see what they would look like when played on a console and TV of the opposite region.

Edited March 29, 2008 by A.J. Franzman

[simonsunnyboy]

Ok..then I'll have to buy a 60Hz capable TV set

Does this also imply that I can play NTSC cartridges on my PAL console as long as the TV copes with it?

 

I made a photo of the two Missile Command cartridges, to the left the one not working on a 50hz only TV.

(The topside label has been copied from another photo below the large one)

 

 

Now I have spotted the P on the top label of the right, working, one. As the label is damaged on the left one, I didn't miss it.

Maybe I should take care for this in the future...

 

The Galaxians cartridge has no P markings..some of my other cartridges have small "p" stickers on the backside attached.

 

Thanks for making clear