The Variants of Sega Genesis Model 1! "HIGH DEFINITION GRAPHICS" RED LOGO WHITE LOGO?

[arcadecup]

Hello, looking to get a model 1 genesis with the early "HIGH DEFINITION GRAPHICS" text on it... It is indeed a genesis not a mega drive, however from the pictures provide (angle) I could not see if the "HIGH DEFINITION GRAPHICS" text was on the system. The guy said yes, it says "HIGH DEFINITION GRAPHICS" in "RED" bold text... RED!!!??? I thought this would be white txt for the genesis... Anyone hear of this before? and if so what am I looking at exactly?.. Just another variant of the first release model 1's?
Thank you... Sounds strange never heard of it appearing in red txt...

The model 1 I have now has terrible stereo sound... hissing etc... Apparently it’s known for the motherboard revision I have. va7

[Greg2600]

Although I've never felt the various Genesis models had discernible sound or video differences....I ask....Are you using the AV jack for sound or the headphone jack? Have you made sure its not the wire, or your TV or input box, etc.?

If not, then "supposedly" yes the earlier versions which say high definition graphics have cleaner sound. However, Mega Drives in Japan had that writing in red, on the lower half of the "circle." European and North American units had the writing in white on the top half. On NA Genesis, the writing is very large, very bold, and very white. Also very unlikely it would get worn off. The ones without were sold later on, prior to the model 2, and like the later SNES, featured weight/cost reductions and likely inferior hardware pieces.

[tomaitheous]

OMFG, RED TEXT!1!!11 (sorry, couldn't resist :) )

[arcadecup]

Headphones are hissing.. hard to tell with rf through tv..

So its a Sega Genesis not a mega drive and the guy claims the HIGH DEFINITION GRAPHICS" logo is in BOLD RED and not white.. is he lying?

[Gameguy]

I've never heard of a system with red text like that, if it's possible ask for better pictures.

I should point out that even if a system has the "High Definition Graphics" on it, it could still be a later revision of the console. Besides actually testing the unit, you can tell if it's an early model based on the FCC code that's on the bottom.

[Oldskool]

Now if I recall correctly, all of the "High Definition Graphics" Genesis' have the Yamaha YM chip, and should sound good, whether it's TMSS or not.

I know mine is TMSS and it has the Yamaha YM chip and the Sony CX chip as well.

I think you are basically safe buying any "HD Graphics" consoles.

About the red text, that is odd. I've never seen a USA version with red text.

[tomaitheous]

Now if I recall correctly, all of the "High Definition Graphics" Genesis' have the Yamaha YM chip

You mean separate, non-integrated yamaha chip? That's a big NO. I have at least one (maybe two) "HD" units with integrated yamaha chip. The reason I know this, is that I took apart all my model 1 Genesis' (I have like 4 or 5 of 'em) looking for the standalone chip so that I could desolder/remove it.

[arcadecup]

Ok now he says it’s a white logo... pics coming in and fccid...
Now I’m confused, tomatheious what are you getting at?
You are saying if the hdg logo is present I should be good... but now you are saying the majority that you have don’t have integrated chip which is a big no?.. I guess I just want to be sure I am getting one with good sound and cleanest video.

[portnoyd]

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7796

[arcadecup]

Thanks for the link however its conflicting now with what others are saying here. thanks for your time everyone.. will post fccid # shortly when i have.

[tomaitheous]

Ok now he says it’s a white logo... pics coming in and fccid...
Now I’m confused, tomatheious what are you getting at?
You are saying if the hdg logo is present I should be good... but now you are saying the majority that you have don’t have integrated chip which is a big no?.. I guess I just want to be sure I am getting one with good sound and cleanest video.

That was a big no to his "all" statement. I honestly don't know the ratio of the desired model 1 boards to the so-so boards, for model 1's that have the HD logo. For me, it was 1 out of 2 IIRC (the rest of my model 1's don't have the HD logo). With the 1 being the desired board. Like him, I assumed all HD logo model 1's had the desired board (board with a separate YM2612 and such). Before I found one(some) that weren't the case. It's been a while, sorry. I dunno, maybe the Genesis model 1 (or two of them) with the HD logo were board swaps at one time, before I owned them. As in repairs by Sega or people swapping the board out. Dunno. All I know is what I saw (which annoyed me).

[Oldskool]

Does it really matter is the YM chip is swappable or not? I mean, isn't it the same chip regardless? Why would one want to remove it anyways? And what do you mean by swappable? Aren't all IC Chips swappable? Do you have pics of the differences?

[arcadecup]

Fccid: Fj846eusasega is what im getting..
ill report what comes of it.. should be a young run board.

[Oldskool]

"Sound circuitry/sound quality: The High Definition Graphics Genesis Model 1 uses 2 separate sound circuits for Mono and Stereo sound. Those circuits filter the sound a little, producing very high bass. The quality of the sound output is phenomenal."

So like I was saying, if you want good sound either of the Genesis 1 HD models should be fine.

[tomaitheous]

Does it really matter is the YM chip is swappable or not? I mean, isn't it the same chip regardless? Why would one want to remove it anyways? And what do you mean by swappable? Aren't all IC Chips swappable? Do you have pics of the differences?

One has the 'real' YM2612 chip on it. It's a separate chip like almost all Yamaha synth chips of that time. The versions have the chip included inside an ASIC. There are known differences between the two. But the biggest difference is that the boards with the separate 2612 chip have better stock audio amp and mixing circuit. That's the biggest difference. Anyway, you're the one that brought it up. (And I removed it to use it for a home made project - non genesis related) Also, are you confusing what I said about swapping the board for repair, with swapping the IC?

[Gameguy]

Fccid: Fj846eusasega is what im getting..
ill report what comes of it.. should be a young run board.
That's the good one, the early version. The system should be fine.

[Greg2600]

Isn't a simpler tell whether the model 1 has the serial port in the back?