Megadrive/Genesis, PAL/NTSC?

[Krook]

Hey guys.
I'm thinking of getting myself a Sega Mega Drive II aka Genesis in the US. But i've got one question.
Can I play NTSC games on my PAL console?

Ehm, make that two questions.
Does the Mega Drive/Genesis have some kind of A/V out or is it just a RF-unit?

[otoko]

Two parts.

1. It depends.. Some have a lockout chip that makes games from other countries unplayable on the console, but you can get a region mod fairly easily.

2. Yes one of two ways.
A. You can get the A/V cord (rampantly common on eBay)
B. Once again you get the thing modded to have A/V inputs directly put into the Mega drive itself

[Krook]

Two parts.

1. It depends.. Some have a lockout chip that makes games from other countries unplayable on the console, but you can get a region mod fairly easily.

2. Yes one of two ways.
A. You can get the A/V cord (rampantly common on eBay)
B. Once again you get the thing modded to have A/V inputs directly put into the Mega drive itself

Alright, thanks for the info!
I'm probably getting a Mega Drive II soon :)

BTW, i should get a Mega Drive/Genesis II instead of a Mega Drive/Genesis I right?
They look alot better and they take up less space :p

[otoko]

Alright, thanks for the info!
I'm probably getting a Mega Drive II soon :)

BTW, i should get a Mega Drive/Genesis II instead of a Mega Drive/Genesis I right?
They look alot better and they take up less space :p

I agree I have two of the three mainstream US versions. two is much better.

[SnowKitty]

Two parts.

1. It depends.. Some have a lockout chip that makes games from other countries unplayable on the console, but you can get a region mod fairly easily.

2. Yes one of two ways.
A. You can get the A/V cord (rampantly common on eBay)
B. Once again you get the thing modded to have A/V inputs directly put into the Mega drive itself
there is no such thing as a lockout chip for the genny, it used region jumpers. the protection is in the rom of the game itself, later games would check to see what the jumpers were set to.

Alright, thanks for the info!
I'm probably getting a Mega Drive II soon :)

BTW, i should get a Mega Drive/Genesis II instead of a Mega Drive/Genesis I right?
They look alot better and they take up less space :p

ugh. no, no, and fuck no. the model 1 is superior to the model 2 because it has better sound quality and is cake to mod for imports (sega cheaped out on the later versions) just make sure it says stereo sound on the top of it if it's PAL or high definition graphics if it's american. if it doesnt give the "produced by or under license by sega" copyright screen when you turn it on it's even better. sure it's bigger than the model 2 but it's all about functionality. if you dont mind the difference in sound quality and having that fugly square thing sitting on your TV get a model 2. but if you want the best sound quality and a VERY easy to region-mod console the genny model 1 is for you (the jumpers on it are easier to get at and put switches on than a model 2) you will have to use the headphone jack if you want stereo out of a model 1 though, unfortunately the AV port is mono only but the headphone jack is stereo.

[sigflup]

There actually is no lock out chip exactly. The graphics chip in the sega genesis can produce both pal and ntsc. What happens is there are region bits in the rom as a header. Major regions include Japan USA and Europe. The console refuses to play carts of an invalid region. (You can have multi region carts!) There also is a pal/ntsc bit in the 68000 address space to indicate to carts whether they're running on ntsc or pal. It's the carts responsibility to set the vdp registers to pal or ntsc.

So it's mixed. The console CAN produce pal or ntsc depending on the cart. BUT the region bits may be invalid for you console.

I know this because I program the genesis. here (http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=61478)

[theclaw]

Originally the regions were for speed and language. That feature inherited from Master System, likewise a Genesis region mod applies to backwards compatibility.

Based on your profile location you'll probably be using RGB via SCART. A strong recommendation when practical. The system is known for poor video encoding.

[SparTonberry]

I tried making a region code for Golden Axe III because the code online wasn't working for me (I later found it's because I forgot to turn the switch on the Game Genie to the ON position). I did something wrong and ended up with the game running but with some disco filter. :P (I only guess I made the game think it's on a PAL console when it was on a Genesis connected to a NTSC HDTV).

[Gameguy]

Just a heads up, the link in the post that "sigflup" made leads to some website that my browser warns against being mallicious. Don't click on the link. I'm guessing that's the reason this new person with one post bumped a 5+ year old thread. I did report that post last night but I guess nothing was done about it.

More relating to this thread and previous posts, there is a lockout chip in later versions of the Genesis. Only it doesn't have to do with region coding, it's to prevent unlicensed games from running.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

[In response to the suggestion that one should buy a model 2 MegaDrive as its superior to the model 1]

ugh. no, no, and fuck no. the model 1 is superior to the model 2 because it has better sound quality and is cake to mod for imports (sega cheaped out on the later versions) just make sure it says stereo sound on the top of it if it's PAL or high definition graphics if it's american. if it doesnt give the "produced by or under license by sega" copyright screen when you turn it on it's even better. sure it's bigger than the model 2 but it's all about functionality. if you dont mind the difference in sound quality and having that fugly square thing sitting on your TV get a model 2. but if you want the best sound quality and a VERY easy to region-mod console the genny model 1 is for you (the jumpers on it are easier to get at and put switches on than a model 2) you will have to use the headphone jack if you want stereo out of a model 1 though, unfortunately the AV port is mono only but the headphone jack is stereo.


THIS. Listen to this man. He could save your life!

[Tron 2.0]

THIS. Listen to this man. He could save your life!
This is a old thread not to mention snowkitty passed away sadly enough.Just thought i mention it,in case any one is expecting a response from snowkitty sadly enough :(

[Leo_A]

The upcoming Retron 5 looks likely to be the easiest way for NTSC gamers to enjoy the many PAL exclusives (And vice versa and also Japanese software). No voltage standards to worry about, no PAL or NTSC issues to worry about, and no region differences to worry about. Of course the quality of the hardware and emulation remains to be fully seen, but it looks promising and the system is set to release in both North America and Europe.

The AtGames products with cartridge slots (And those with SD slots for playing rom images) also play PAL software like Super Skidmarks just fine and output NTSC video. But of course they have significant audo issues with earlier products and their newest round from 2012 still have less annoying audio inaccuracies that detract from them. And I don't know if they have European counterparts though.

They have new products planned for 2014 though so hopefully they get their audio over the last hurdle and it becomes a viable alternative to easily and cheaply enjoy Genesis/MegaDrive software from across the world for North American gamers at least.