60 Hz vs. 50 Hz... not which is better, but a speed question

[Querjek]

Ok... so let's say that I have "Game X" that is PAL formatted, and I play it on my NTSC "System A" with a convertor. Does that mean that the game will run at 60 Hz, and therefore run 20% (1/5) faster? Or does it not work like that? I'm just curious because some games, like F-Zero GX, could be used in a method similar to this and slowed down by ~17.67% (5/6), possible making the game easier.

[Ed Oscuro]

Back in the old days most games were programmed in NTSC and played slower on a PAL system along with big borders. Reprogramming for PAL would most likely be a nightmare, as not only do you have to back into your codebase (hopefully you've got the same team working on the PAL version!) but you have to program for a bigger screen updating faster.

Now some games were reprogrammed well for PAL, but even some big name titles weren't. I have a PAL Revenge of Shinobi and it plays at normal speed on a US Genesis - I assume it plays too slowly on a PAL system.

Today most games are converted for PAL, but the results aren't always good. In any case, NTSC-to-PAL ports are becoming the standard, so it's not as much of an issue as it used to be for most games. Still annoying though, and you still have to compromise somewhere if you're running at full capacity on the hardware in NTSC...

[Ed Oscuro]

http://www.atariage.com/common/video_key.html

OK, you'd do well to look at that, just as I did. P_p

(Dunno why I thought PAL was 60Hz refresh and NTSC 50Hz o_O)

[anagrama]

As Ed said, the vast majority of older PAL games run 17% slower on a PAL console than the equivalent NTSC version (and usually have a squashed up image with borders). Some games were PAL-optimised, but these are usually few and far between.
Running an non-optimised PAL game on an NTSC console will play the game at the correct speed, while a PAL-optimised game on an NTSC console will run 17% fast (PAL Mario Kart on a US SNES is the classic example).

The Dreamcast was the first PAL console to offer a 60Hz mode on (almost) all games, which basically is the NTSC game (since all modern European TVs will accept either 50 or 60Hz signal. In fact, every TV I've had since about 1990 has been able to accept a 60Hz signal, but it took the games publishers 10 years to catch up :angry: ).
The XBox has an internal 50/60Hz option, and most Gamecube games have one aswell. The PS2 is the worst current offender, but I *think* some games now offer the option.

[Gast]

The bad thing about the PS2 (and also PS1) is how you have to use RGB to get color in 60hz Mode. Same with my NTSC-SNES, which is pretty strange since my TVs accept Composite NTSC-Signals from DVD-Players, VCRs and my Dreamcast + GameCube o.Ô

[dreamcaster]

The XBox has an internal 50/60Hz option....

This is still software dependant though. Switching on the 60Hz mode on the Xbox main menu will only tell the software to load in 60Hz if it supports it.

For example, I've found that with Halo and Need for Speed Underground, even if the 60Hz mode is on, they will still only play in 50Hz.

[anagrama]

The XBox has an internal 50/60Hz option....

This is still software dependant though. Switching on the 60Hz mode on the Xbox main menu will only tell the software to load in 60Hz if it supports it.

For example, I've found that with Halo and Need for Speed Underground, even if the 60Hz mode is on, they will still only play in 50Hz.

I know it was acknowledged as an oversight that Halo only runs properly in 50Hz and can be slightly buggy in 60Hz. Hadn't heard about NfS though.

[dreamcaster]

The XBox has an internal 50/60Hz option....

This is still software dependant though. Switching on the 60Hz mode on the Xbox main menu will only tell the software to load in 60Hz if it supports it.

For example, I've found that with Halo and Need for Speed Underground, even if the 60Hz mode is on, they will still only play in 50Hz.

I know it was acknowledged as an oversight that Halo only runs properly in 50Hz and can be slightly buggy in 60Hz. Hadn't heard about NfS though.

Buggy? Mine just won't support 60Hz at all. It always runs in 50, even if 60Hz switch is on. :o