Best way to convert PAL M to NTSC?

[StoneAgeGamer]

What's the best way to convert Brazil's PAL M format to NTSC?

[Reaperman]

What's the best way to convert Brazil's PAL M format to NTSC?

PAL M is an odd duck. It'll display fine in black/white on NTSC, but color's the trick. Even my fairly nice video upscaler won't handle it. I did find a couple converters (link to one) but it's so close to ntsc that there has to be a real easy way to do this.

 

I'm a bit curious as to why you're asking. TecToy stuff for the shop?

Edited December 28, 2009 by Reaperman

[StoneAgeGamer]

Yeah I wanted to get some TecToy stuff. Have a guy I know in Brazil that can send me some. He said that they have cheap NTSC to PAL M converters down there, but obviously not the other way around. I have found things that will convert, but they are always ridiculously expensive (like you linked).

 

I figured there had to be someone on these forums that knew of a cheaper solution. There are a bunch of PAL to NTSC converters out there, but I have yet to find one that does PAL M to NTSC. Maybe because there not much of a market to make such a converter.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Just want to bump this one last time and see if anyone else may have a cheap solution.

[Reaperman]

looking again, this transcoder (halfway down) seems to do it, and looks to be about the most basic unit I've seen that will. *if* I read it right, it translates to $59, but ordering looks primative.

 

seems like the only websites that care about PAL-M are on the brazillian side, and I don't think enough of us speak the language here.

 

does tectoy sell things on plain genesis/megadrive carts? at least euro/us are fairly compatible in my experience.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Reaperman

[StoneAgeGamer]

You'd think so, but he said there's not many things like that. They have cheap NTSC to PAL-M, but not the other way around. Would a universal RF modulator work?

[coleconut]

Reviving this topic in case members have more current feedback on the topic. I see cheaper converters on Ebay now as low as about $12 CAD from far east but don't want to buy one if they just don't work. Any one got a Brazilian PAL-M console they use in N. America on an NTSC TV with some inexpensive converter?

thx

[kikenovic]

Good idea to necropost now that Tectoy is "reviving" the Megadrive. Apparently not many use Barzilian hardware in North America. Depending on the console it may not be that bad to play in B/W ie the Dactar.

[CatPix]

You can alway try to set your TV to "automatic" if it's a multistandard. Some TV also autocorrect/use the right video standard if needed.

I had the surprise once, to feed a PAL source to a RF transmitter (not a converter, it doesn't convert color standards) set to SECAM L The TV should have displayed the pciture in B&W since it was receiving PAL L (which does not exist) but it displayed it in colors.

I saw once a TV displaying a crystal clear picture from a color NTSC nintendo Pong despite being tuned with PAL B/G (the sound probably wouldn't work, but as it was a Pong, it didn't mattered).

Check online to fidn the service manual for you TV. There is a slight change you can unlock more TV standards if your TV is compatible with PAL and NTSC.

[NinjaWarrior]

I have a PAL Master System 2, I would like to Convert the RF to NTSC, I know there might not have PAL to NTSC...Even if I have to play it on UHF Ch. 34...It's PAL-I System

[Great Hierophant]

You may wish to try something like this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6Z72E73297&cm_re=pal_ntsc_converter-_-9SIA6Z72E73297-_-Product

 

You can get one cheap on ebay.

[NinjaWarrior]

That's for Converting PAL Composite to NTSC, I'm taking about RF

[+phoenixdownita]

That's for Converting PAL Composite to NTSC, I'm taking about RF

Maybe he was responding to the necrobumber ... just maybe.

 

Regarding RF to NTSC for SMS2 your best bet is either mod internally and bypass RF + PAL->NTSC converter, you can get SVideo easy out of an SMS2 (that's what I did) or directly expose the RGB signals (they are all there on the MB just no connector) or try a multi-standard VCR if you can find it and see if that does the trick.

[leods]

People do know this new tec toy mega drive is just another clone console, right? There is no effort I know about of making it any better than previous mega drive clones.

[fisher]

Well... sorry to answer to a really old thread, but I just want to help clarify some points:

 

Most PAL-M stuff is really easy to modify to NTSC.

Normally, there's an IC before the RF and the composite video output that is responsible to encode the console's video output to composite then throw this signal on the composite and RF outputs.

Just get this IC's name and ask in the forum or Google it. You'll sure find many ways to make it work in NTSC.

 

The exception for this rule are some consoles like Atari 2600 and NES.

The first outputs video in chroma and luma and the later straight to composite video.

 

On the Brazilian's Atari 2600 you need to exchange the crystal, add a capacitor and remove a circuit.

On the NES you need to exchange the crystal and the PPU.

 

TecToy's stuff usually only needs to add a color subcarrier crystal (3.579545 Mhz for NTSC) on the encoder IC or change the main clock circuit to correct this frequency (on PAL-M it's 3.575611 Mhz).

For this, divide the main crystal's frequency by the PAL-M color subcarrier and them multiply what you get by the NTSC one.

 

If TecToy's really smart, they'll add an option to change the new console's color system on some menu.

Edited February 2, 2017 by fisher

[ryoma234]

I haven't signed into Atariage for quite some time. I do greatly apologize for the Necrobump, however, I do have a valid answer for this. For many, many years, I have used a Shinybow 3690 unit that might range around $100~$200 USD depending on if used or perhaps new. I use it for my TecToy Zeebo video game console which is of course PAL-M. Seems to do a great job on PAL-M and I don't seem to experience lag problems, but then again, the Zeebo is a watered down Wii system basically. I've tried 2D and 3D games from Double Dragon to one of the Quakes. Some cheap converters right now that you can get (Ebay) mainly from China tend to leave artifacts in weird areas or something may not process as intended or if you read closely, it'll say up to a 3 second lag. That's fine when playing movies and such, but it's not great for video game systems ideally when you need movements to match controller input. You don't exactly want cheap chips.

 

I kind of wanted the Shinybow 3690A version for some years since it has HDMI out but it has always been absurdly expensive (towards $400~500 USD I think) and I know it can't cost that much to build, especially with technology upgrading every year, so you know for a fact that Shinybow and similar are just banking on the fact that pretty much no one else seems to make exactly what they make, kind of like the film reel to digital converting machines by Wolverine.

 

This website has items from ComWorld/Com World. They might be Shinybow's replacement and seem much more affordable. I'm checking out ComWorld's stuff and much of it seems like Shinybow's stuff but available and better prices. I'm attempting to research the CMD-HZD9000 Professional PAL NTSC HDMI model but I can't find PAL-M listed so I'll have to shoot a question over.

https://www.world-import.com/

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by ryoma234
Missing information

[ryoma234]

Ok, so all of the devices can be found on this page and there's a very good variety:

 

https://www.world-import.com/samar.htm

 

It was difficult for customer service to tell me any manual information as to what signals the device works with so either they didn't have access at that time or they/that particular representative was being lazy and just reading descriptions of the products from the website perhaps not knowing that there's more information inside the manual. Normally, most products have enough information in their description, so as of the moment, it's somewhat wrong for me to fault the representative and it was via email. The two models that stood out the most to me were:

 

https://www.world-import.com/Com_World_NTSC-RF1080p_HDMI_Video_Converter_with_NTSC_Tuner.htm

(which has a coaxial input mind you)

and

https://www.world-import.com/comworld-cmd-hzd9000-pal-to-ntsc-video-converter.htm

(which does NOT have a coaxial input)

 

After reviewing information about the model from another website, the CMD-HZD9000 is supposed to work with all of the signals. I have placed the order for this unit and should receive it in a week. I will post again letting everyone know how it goes, but the only thing I have to test on it is my PAL-M Zeebo unit, and I will compare it to the Shinybow 3690 (no HDMI out) I have. If I'm satisfied, I will post back to the world-import site and tell them to add some information because not only is it very useful, but they are losing a lot of sales because of not having the detailed signal compatibilities listed. The pricing and availability of Com World items is by far superior to that of Shinybow's expensive and always out of stock/discontinued items.

[ryoma234]

I've been busy and the post is late, but I can definitely say that I would normally NEVER order from Com World. You seem to never get what you ordered... well... you may get something similar, and it doesn't matter what it is. The item I ordered was not what I received and didn't look remotely like what the item was supposed to be. It was similar in video converting functions, lacked some connections, but it did at least function to work with PAL-M and the quality and timing looked to be the same. There's not much out there you can get your hands on but if you're dead set on getting something that does work the other PAL variations, then I guess try for it. Online consensus is that you get not what's being ordered, so just keep that in mind.