2600 NTSC/PAL Mod

[Ed Siegler]

Has anyone ever come up wth a way to modify or add a vertical hold control into a 2600 so PAL games could be played on an NTSC system/TV with no existing vertical hold adjustment knob?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Paul Slocum]

I'm pretty sure there's no way to do that. I think you just have to get a PAL/NTSC converter.

 

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?q...C+PAL+converter

 

-Paul

[benjam138]

So, what is the best way to go about doing this (playing PAL games on an NTSC machine). What type of converter do I need? Sorry, I just didn't really understand your reply.

[Paul Slocum]

I know very little about those converter boxes, but my understanding is that they'll strip off the extra 50 or so scanlines so it doesn't roll on your NTSC TV. Maybe someone with more experience can give more information or a better solution.

 

I use an old Commodore monitor with V-HOLD to play PAL games.

 

-Paul

[benjam138]

Aw, come on Paul I thought you knew everything. j/k Maybe I'll look for an old monitor or TV the next time I go to the thrifts. Thanks for the info! -Ben

[Ed Siegler]

I just asked a question of the guy who is selling that converter if it would work with the Atari signal. I'll post when I get a reply.

 

I can play the PAL ones just fine on my little 13" color screen, but who wants to do that when you could possibly play it on a larger screen???

 

Plus, it would also help with the Klax dilemma.

[Paul Slocum]

Something to be aware of is that an NTSC Atari 2600 and a PAL Atari 2600 have slightly different clock speeds. So the TV signal you get from a PAL cart in an NTSC console isn't timed exactly the same as a PAL cart in a PAL console. I tend to doubt that this would affect a converter, but you might want to talk to someone who really knows their stuff first.

 

-Paul

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Have you tried using a VCR tuner?

 

It worked for me the orther way around (NTSC carts on PAL TV).

[Paul Slocum]

My big TV rolls with PAL games too, and the VCR tuner trick didn't work for me. Based on my limited experience, it's easier to get NTSC games to work on a PAL TV than t'other way round.

 

Just about every NTSC game I've tried works on my PAL Atari and little PAL TV. Although I'm not sure if it has that color fading problem since my PAL TV is black and white.

 

-Paul

[Thomas Jentzsch]

My big TV rolls with PAL games too, and the VCR tuner trick didn't work for me.  Based on my limited experience, it's easier to get NTSC games to work on a PAL TV than t'other way round.  

99% of the new VCRs in Europe support NTSC. How about the VCRs in the US? Do they support PAL?

[Paul Slocum]

Ah, I didn't realize that. No, VCRs that support PAL are a kind of a specialty item here.

 

-Paul

[Thomas Jentzsch]

No, VCRs that support PAL are a kind of a specialty item here.

That's just another point that proves the egocentric philosophy of the US.

[+Mitch]

Newer TV's that don't have a v-hold use what is called "service mode" to change these types of settings. Do a search on Google for your TV model and service mode, you should be able to find something. One note, you can really screw up your TV if you start randomly changing settings in service mode.

 

Mitch

http://atari7800.atari.org

[DeV0]

Ive tried to get an NTSC tv to play pal games before and the response was the same wherever i asked. It is easy to get NTSC to work on a pal tv as the lines are already there, But the other way around?. Most tv manufacturers of tv's for the US wouldnt bother with PAL, i mean who would want this option?? It is very very costly to get an ntsc tv to show the extra lines Properly. My experience with cheap coverters is the proper colours but some of the screen missing all together.

 

Otherwise a 50/60hz switch on the atari would be ideal???

[Xot]

Ive tried to get an NTSC tv to play pal games before and the response was the same wherever i asked. It is easy to get NTSC to work on a pal tv as the lines are already there, But the other way around?. Most tv manufacturers of tv's for the US wouldnt bother with PAL, i mean who would want this option?? It is very very costly to get an ntsc tv to show the extra lines Properly. My experience with cheap coverters is  the proper colours but some of the screen missing all together.

 

Otherwise a 50/60hz switch on the atari would be ideal???

 

 

I have not had a single problem playing PAL 2600 games on my NTSC tv. I have several carts that are the same game, different formats, and the color is usually almost exactly the same but the game plays at a noticably faster speed.

 

FWIW, I have a new (~6 months old) Phillips 27" television. ALL of my PAL carts work flawlessly. Even my This Planet Sucks cart, which rolled on my old TV, doesn't roll on this television. Oddly enough, both of my NTSC Artillery Duel carts roll.

[Ed Siegler]

I guess it boils down to TV manufacturer and if the tube can self correct for the PAL format.

 

We are gonna order a Klax in PAL. I can use it on the 13", but I'm trying to help out my brother as his TV doesn't have the adjustment. I just figured there would be some kind of adaptor that could be used in between the system and the tube.

 

The atari version of BMX airmaster works and looks perfect on my 13" TV. I cannot tell a difference between that and the TNT version.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

FWIW,  I have a new (~6 months old) Phillips 27" television.

That's an European quality product! Maybe Philips makes them very similar worldwide.

 

Oddly enough, both of my NTSC Artillery Duel carts roll.

Artillery Duel is the 2600 cart with the least lines (241 vs 262 NTSC standard). Probably your TV can't sync that high (65 Hz) framerate anymore.

[DeV0]

Xot

 

You indeed have a high quality tv set which i bet you automatically picks up 50/60hz, My Pal tv does but my ntsc one is just that, NTSC.

 

Frankly i cant see any difference expect the speed, However a friend of mine from Brown city Michigan? was telling me while visiting here that the tv quality was excellent. I was rolling on the floor with laughter because i thought he meant the australian tv shows

 

Anyway, good luck in your quest TheGreatOne, ive been through this and it ended up costly!

[DeV0]

Xot

 

You indeed have a high quality tv set which i bet you automatically picks up 50/60hz, My Pal tv does but my ntsc one is just that, NTSC.

 

Frankly i cant see any difference expect the speed, However a friend of mine from Brown city Michigan? was telling me while visiting here that the tv quality was excellent. I was rolling on the floor with laughter because i thought he meant the australian tv shows

 

Anyway, good luck in your quest TheGreatOne, ive been through this and it ended up costly!

[Mayhem]

My big TV rolls with PAL games too, and the VCR tuner trick didn't work for me.  Based on my limited experience, it's easier to get NTSC games to work on a PAL TV than t'other way round.  

99% of the new VCRs in Europe support NTSC. How about the VCRs in the US? Do they support PAL?

 

It isn't proper NTSC though... it's PAL60. The VCR changes the colour frequency (from 3.58Mhz to 4.43Mhz) so that the picture doesn't appear in black&white. It doesn't alter the picture in any other way. So it's kind of like a hybrid between the two standards.

 

I just received a woody 6 switcher yesterday so I could play "Marble Craze" properly (my PAL 7800 doesn't like it!). Found that it was less tolerant of NTSC carts I have than said 7800 is. Colours flickering all over the place, where on the 7800 they were stable. Especially on "Combat Rocks"... guess the 7800 will be used to play that in the future