PAL vs. NTSC

[doctorclu]

Hey Jag fans (and haters who have Jags) while there is a difference of frame rate between PAL and NTSC for some games, is it possible that there might be a difference of game play speed on a PAL Jaguar verses a NTSC Jaguar?   Could a game (like say "Bubsy"), run a bit quicker on a PAL Jag?

 

[also, was there a specific NTSC Jaguar release that differed for Japan?]

[eightbit]

Good question, but if I were to guess it would be opposite. PAL games run slower. I am not sure this affected Jag titles as I have never owned a PAL Jag to test, but it would be interesting to hear a PAL owner chime in!

[phoenixdownita]

13 hours ago, doctorclu said:

Hey Jag fans (and haters who have Jags) while there is a difference of frame rate between PAL and NTSC for some games, is it possible that there might be a difference of game play speed on a PAL Jaguar verses a NTSC Jaguar?   Could a game (like say "Busby"), run a bit quicker on a PAL Jag?

 

[also, was there a specific NTSC Jaguar release that differed for Japan?]

I don't know about this "Busby" you are talking about, is it an homebrew?

 

Anyhow I have a 50/60Hz switch on my NTSC console and I can tell you at 50Hz I can play a much better game of Trevor McFur .... I don't know if the game compensates automatically for 50/60Hz variations or not.

 

Not sure if during the Atari Jaguar lifetime devs did compensate on the same codebase (NTSC or PAL) to account for more pixels but less frame and thus resync the gameplay so to speak, I know it did happen on other consoles but on separate releases (Sega Rally for the Saturn PAL is a tuned version and arguably better).

[Zerosquare]

It depends on the game:

- some play the same, some play faster and/or smoother in 60 Hz.

- some games had a distinct "E" release optimized for 50 Hz.

- on some games, switching to 60 Hz removes black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Zerosquare

[doctorclu]

23 hours ago, eightbit said:

Good question, but if I were to guess it would be opposite. PAL games run slower. I am not sure this affected Jag titles as I have never owned a PAL Jag to test, but it would be interesting to hear a PAL owner chime in!

That would be interesting to find out.  Thanks for chiming in.

 

22 hours ago, phoenixdownita said:

I don't know about this "Busby" you are talking about, is it an homebrew?

 

Anyhow I have a 50/60Hz switch on my NTSC console and I can tell you at 50Hz I can play a much better game of Trevor McFur .... I don't know if the game compensates automatically for 50/60Hz variations or not.

 

Not sure if during the Atari Jaguar lifetime devs did compensate on the same codebase (NTSC or PAL) to account for more pixels but less frame and thus resync the gameplay so to speak, I know it did happen on other consoles but on separate releases (Sega Rally for the Saturn PAL is a tuned version and arguably better).

Hey since you have a 50/60 hmz switch can you plug in "Bubsy" and see if there is any noticable difference in the two modes?

 

 

12 hours ago, Zerosquare said:

It depends on the game:

- some play the same, some play faster and/or smoother in 60 Hz.

- some games had a distinct "E" release optimized for 50 Hz.

- on some games, switching to 60 Hz removes black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.

 

And that is an interesting list of what is different between the two mode.  Thanks.

 

Now I kinda wish I had a Pal Jag.  ?

[+CyranoJ]

13 hours ago, Zerosquare said:

It depends on the game:

- some play the same, some play faster and/or smoother in 60 Hz.

- some games had a distinct "E" release optimized for 50 Hz.

- on some games, switching to 60 Hz removes black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.

 

 

It's also possible a game coded for PAL will run much slower in NTSC.

 

There are more CPU cycles/frame available in PAL (because only 50 frames/sec instead of 60 - each frame is 'longer')

 

If a game uses 100% of the PAL cycles, then does a vsync it'll run at 50fps on pal, but will overshoot on NTSC and drop to 30fps.  Usually noticable on non-frame locked things, like 3D renderers... so it is quite likely that any polygon based title would run faster in PAL if its waiting for vsync.

[agradeneu]

4 hours ago, doctorclu said:

That would be interesting to find out.  Thanks for chiming in.

 

Hey since you have a 50/60 hmz switch can you plug in "Bubsy" and see if there is any noticable difference in the two modes?

 

 

And that is an interesting list of what is different between the two mode.  Thanks.

 

Now I kinda wish I had a Pal Jag.  ?

I have a 50/60 switch mod and I rarely use 50 Hz. There are some 3D games where PAL has better framerate but for most games I prefer the much faster 60 Hz, especially 2D games. However you got more framedrops with some games: e.g. Attack of the Mutant Penguins, Defender Plus.  Generally 60Hz is preferable on any console, e.g. SNES,Dreamcast/PS2.

Edited May 1, 2020 by agradeneu

[phoenixdownita]

On 4/30/2020 at 8:30 PM, doctorclu said:

...

Hey since you have a 50/60 hmz switch can you plug in "Bubsy" and see if there is any noticable difference in the two modes?

...

... I am not sure when I'll have the time, due to COVID19 the closet hosting all "ye clunkers" has been commandeered and became my "home-office" and "ye clunkers inside tupperware" are now the legs of my work table (the top of which is a particleboard I usually use to solder) ... and going thru Bubsy to see what changes (if anything) between 50Hz vs 60Hz is an exercise I may need some preparation for, Bubsy not being exactly my cup of tea.

[doctorclu]

On 5/3/2020 at 12:03 AM, phoenixdownita said:

... I am not sure when I'll have the time, due to COVID19 the closet hosting all "ye clunkers" has been commandeered and became my "home-office" and "ye clunkers inside tupperware" are now the legs of my work table (the top of which is a particleboard I usually use to solder) ... and going thru Bubsy to see what changes (if anything) between 50Hz vs 60Hz is an exercise I may need some preparation for, Bubsy not being exactly my cup of tea.

I understand.   Be interesting to see what you find out.