Murf Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Hello. I am in Australia so run PAL hardware/software. Was using a CRT TV with my Harmony Cart no problem, but now when I try using it with a new digital TV I get a message that the AV channel is running SECAM and the screen appears as in attached photos. I thought I might need to update the driver on the Harmony Cart itself but when plugged into my PC the Harmony Cart isn't recognised. I have followed all previous driver update steps but no luck yet. Anyone else come across this problem using PAL digital TVs before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Sorry, this is likely a problem with your TV. The Harmony has no control over the actual color carrier output of the console (I.e that is the difference between PAL and SECAM) as this is in the circuitry of the 2600 and not the carts. Also, There is nothing different about the NTSC Or PAL60 BIOSes but the color of the spinner. the PAL 50 is slightly different (runs at a 50hz frame rate.) So in short I don’t expect the BIOS to change anything. But your greatest chance is with PAL50. I can post some files later if you want to try an update through the menu rather than through USB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murf Posted September 24, 2020 Author Share Posted September 24, 2020 Hi Batari. Any help would be most appreciated. Just one thing to note is that when I put an ordinary cart in the console everything works fine on the new TV which is PAL60. We don't run PAL SECAM in Australia, hence my initial hunch, but more than happy to try PAL50 files. Can you include a quick how to in regards to updating through the menu? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 If ordinary carts work, I would guess that your TV may using some heuristics to "detect" SECAM, and something do to with the menu makes this detection fail to detect PAL properly. I would guess the black screen with just a spinner in the center, or the black screen with just menu text. If that is the case, there is not much that can be done. But it is worth trying PAL50. Here are two files to copy to the root directory of your SD card: bios_updater_NTSC.cu hbios_106_PAL50_beta5.bin Then boot Harmony, select the bios_updater from the menu, and it will flash the PAL50 BIOS. Make sure there are no other files on the SD starting with "hbios" but the one above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Have you checked to see if you are able to select the format manually, via setttings on the TV itself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murf Posted September 24, 2020 Author Share Posted September 24, 2020 1 hour ago, batari said: If ordinary carts work, I would guess that your TV may using some heuristics to "detect" SECAM, and something do to with the menu makes this detection fail to detect PAL properly. I would guess the black screen with just a spinner in the center, or the black screen with just menu text. If that is the case, there is not much that can be done. But it is worth trying PAL50. Here are two files to copy to the root directory of your SD card: bios_updater_NTSC.cu 32 kB · 2 downloads hbios_106_PAL50_beta5.bin 133 kB · 3 downloads Then boot Harmony, select the bios_updater from the menu, and it will flash the PAL50 BIOS. Make sure there are no other files on the SD starting with "hbios" but the one above. The hbios PAL50 file isn't being accepted. Message on screen 'unrecognised file type' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Sorry if it wasn't clear, but you select the bios_updater_NTSC.cu from the menu. The NTSC is only the TV format of the updater itself, not the BIOS (and this doesn't matter, really). The updater will use the PAL50 file for the update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.