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2600 vs. CV Expansion Module #1


bluejay

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I have both the 2600(heavy sixer)and the CV expansion module.

Which one is "better"?

I guess the CV lacks the "authenticity" and the and the feeling of playing on a genuine atari, but does it have any positive sides? Or should I just leave it alone to collect dust and play on my atari?

What would you prefer?

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EM1 was made to be a demonstration of how CV is your all-in-one gaming solution. It's useful if you play both CV games and 2600 games since you don't have to switch consoles, just plug in the module. On the other hand, from a technical standpoint it's kind of silly. It doesn't integrate with the CV hardware. It shuts off most of the internals of the CV and replaces them with its Atari-compatible electronics, only using the RF modulator and power rails from the CV. Both are almost identical hardware, other than the CV one using Synertek ICs instead of MOS. The schematic of the EM1 is 1:1 mappable to the 2600's.

 

In all though, I guess use what's convenient for you.

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The ColecoVision adapter uses a reverse-engineered clone TIA chip. I understand there are some games that have some minor compatibility issues or don't quite display as expected. I may be completely mis-remembering what I have read, but I think Imagic's COSMIC ARK is one of those. The infamous twinkling starfield effect is due to a bug in the TIA that wasn't replicated properly in some of the clone TIAs out there.  So if you have that cart (it's pretty common) you should try it on you EM1 and see if I'm completely out to lunch on this. :)

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On 6/19/2019 at 8:07 PM, DrVenkman said:

The ColecoVision adapter uses a reverse-engineered clone TIA chip. I understand there are some games that have some minor compatibility issues or don't quite display as expected. I may be completely mis-remembering what I have read, but I think Imagic's COSMIC ARK is one of those. The infamous twinkling starfield effect is due to a bug in the TIA that wasn't replicated properly in some of the clone TIAs out there.  So if you have that cart (it's pretty common) you should try it on you EM1 and see if I'm completely out to lunch on this. :)

I should try this with the Inty System Changer 

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I would say the 2600 Jr is the only one you could really say is "better"  The JR has a better RF output than the older systems.

Although I have to say I especially like Heavy Sixers.  I have a Telegames Heavy Sixer and it's especially cool seeing modern games work on a 77 model.  They are just much higher build quality than any other version.  Not even close.

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On 6/19/2019 at 6:07 PM, DrVenkman said:

The ColecoVision adapter uses a reverse-engineered clone TIA chip. I understand there are some games that have some minor compatibility issues or don't quite display as expected. I may be completely mis-remembering what I have read, but I think Imagic's COSMIC ARK is one of those. The infamous twinkling starfield effect is due to a bug in the TIA that wasn't replicated properly in some of the clone TIAs out there.  So if you have that cart (it's pretty common) you should try it on you EM1 and see if I'm completely out to lunch on this. :)

As fate would have it, I have both my 2600 and EM1 set up. The starfield appears to twinkle and spasm in the same way in both, at least in attract mode. My display setup is lame though: RF -> VCR -> composite -> LCD, so neither had a particularly clean signal.

 

It's quite possible the effect could be more subtle (or obvious!) than I could see.

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35 minutes ago, christo930 said:

I would say the 2600 Jr is the only one you could really say is "better"  The JR has a better RF output than the older systems.

Although I have to say I especially like Heavy Sixers.  I have a Telegames Heavy Sixer and it's especially cool seeing modern games work on a 77 model.  They are just much higher build quality than any other version.  Not even close.

I say this all the time about the Jr. 

 

I also use both a Heavy Sixer and Colecovision with Expansion #1. 

(With the new Colecovision Power to USB adapter, and my ColecoVision's Composite Mod, that picture display is VERY nice - comparable to other S-Video modded systems I have.)

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11 minutes ago, hoserama99 said:

As fate would have it, I have both my 2600 and EM1 set up. The starfield appears to twinkle and spasm in the same way in both, at least in attract mode. My display setup is lame though: RF -> VCR -> composite -> LCD, so neither had a particularly clean signal.

 

It's quite possible the effect could be more subtle (or obvious!) than I could see.

Good to know! I don't have any of the clone systems. I know I've read of compatibility issues with some of them but it's quite possible I've mis-remembered which systems were affected and which titles. I probably heard details in Ferg's podcast, or perhaps a Youtube video interview from programmers who worked on commercial titles BITD. 


Thanks for checking though! Nice to clear out any wrong info rattling around my head. :) 

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