HomeForumsWhat's newResources 
 
 
American saturn on pal TV
bruce lee - Mar 18, 2005

 1  2  Next> 

  bruce lee Mar 18, 2005
I live in the uk and I recently got an american saturn which was just the base unit,

I then had to buy the other parts separately like leads, and a step down adaptor for it.

Everything loads up perfectly, but my real issue is the fact that everything is in black and white. I'm using a european saturn scart lead to connect the saturn to my tv.

I didn't think there would be a problem with an american system working on a pal tv, and I know my tv supports 50hz and 60hz

My ps2 and dreamcast, all work perfectly when in 60hz mode.

So my question is how do I get my saturn into full color on my tv?

Do I need a different cable, or tv?

Any help would be great thanks.

 nights000 Mar 18, 2005
your tv needs to be ntsc compatible as well as 60hz compatible im not sure if the euro scart cable matters but i run mine through a phono/s-video cable and it works fine how old is your tv

 it290 Mar 18, 2005
Hmm, weird. I've heard of that when using RF, but not SCART. Are you sure it's using RGB through the SCART cable?

 bruce lee Mar 18, 2005
I really don't know that much about all the different tv settings,

how do I know if it running through rgb?

have you a standard saturn scart cable as opposed to the phono/s-video cable, so you could test it to see if yours runs in black and white.

Also do you think if I got a phono/s-video cable cable for my us saturn, it would be in color?

I just can't figure it out

Thanks for replying.

 nights000 Mar 19, 2005
i think its most likely the tv check in its manual if it supports ntsc

i did use my american saturn with a euro scart cable a while back and the picture flickers and warped but it was in colour

 bruce lee Mar 19, 2005
I don't have my tv manual to check if it supports ntsc, but I noticed that

as soon as I flick the power off button, the screen suddenly appears in color, and then when i turn it on it does the same. But then it shifts itself into black and white, after being in color for a split second.

Its like an automatic switch that turns it into black and white.

 nights000 Mar 19, 2005
does it go into black and white after the saturn logo or before that finishes as the saturn logo might be able to display in pal or ntsc format but the games are coded to run in nstc mode im not 100% sure why not call the tvs manufacturer or go to their website to check as you dont have the manual

 Quakester2000 Mar 19, 2005
Most Televisions sold today in Europe are NSTC comptabile its only the older televisions that dont support NSTC.

 bruce lee Mar 19, 2005
yeah it displays in black and white , even with no game loaded up.

I thought that if a tv could support 60hz it could easily support ntsc.

 Twillinx Mar 19, 2005
Not necessarily I'm afraid, my TV supports 60hz Pal but can't display ntsc in color. But there are NTSC -> Palconverters that go for very little money. I recently looked into it myself since I got the idea that I should really get myself a PcEngine, and on a sidenote... anyone know of any NTSC->Palconverters that has inputs for standard RF (since I'm planning on getting the first version of the PcE).

 it290 Mar 19, 2005
But if the TV can do 60hz, shouldn't it be in color if using an RGB cable?

 nights000 Mar 19, 2005
no ntsc uses a diffrent colour system to pal

 ExCyber Mar 19, 2005
And if using an RGB cable, you are using neither NTSC nor PAL's system. It sounds like his TV is grabbing a composite signal.

 bruce lee Mar 19, 2005
These NTSC -> Palconverters would they give me the same picture quality as a scart cable does?

Also even if i did get one of these, would my american saturn have the games playing fullscreen and not in those crappy pal boarders?

Or if I wanted good picture quality should i just buy a new tv and make sure it supports ntsc.

Or would I just need a new cable, or scart cable to enable color

thanks for replying guys

 Twillinx Mar 19, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			And if using an RGB cable, you are using neither NTSC nor PAL's system. It sounds like his TV is grabbing a composite signal.


Wow, shows how little I know about all this. The only US-hardware I've tried on my TV this far is the Atari VCS (2600), and that was in black and white.

I can play NTSC-games on all my consoles using either S-Video or RGB, but I've always figured that there was no way around the NTSC-compability (or rather noncompability) if it was in fact an NTSC-system.


  
	
	

		
		

			These NTSC -> Palconverters would they give me the same picture quality as a scart cable does?



Also even if i did get one of these, would my american saturn have the games playing fullscreen and not in those crappy pal boarders?


Doesn't seem like there's any reason (for anyone) to get an NTSC -> Palconverter (unless you're planning on getting an older console for a crappy TV).

You can always force the TV to 60hz if it doesn't recognize it automaticly. Just as you can now if you have pal boarders.

Just get an RGB-cable and you'll be fine, I guess, maybe I shouldn't even post under this topic, I know nothing.

 bruce lee Mar 19, 2005
Since the picture when the saturn is on is stable and not rolling, I basically need something just to shift it into color.

I already have a saturn scart cable but that displays in black and white.

So whats the best cable I should get to overcome this black and white problem?

Should I just get a s-video cable, would that do the trick? if so which one?

I'm trying my best to avoid having to buy a new tv just to play my saturn in color. :/

Sorry for the questions but I'm really stumped as what to do :sigh

 it290 Mar 20, 2005
First thing to do is check if your TV accepts RGB through the SCART connection. If it does, make sure that you've got it connected to the right port. I've heard of some TVs that only accept SCART on one connection, and the other is supposed to be used with a VCR or the like. Also, verify that your cable actually has the RGB lines connected. It should, but it's possible that it doesn't. If your TV doesn't support RGB then I'm not sure what your course of action should be, although you will get much better quality with an RGB connection.

 lordofduct Mar 20, 2005
first Id like to say I saw someone write that PAL and NTSC use different color systems??? they both use RGB...

Is this cable 3rd party? Or what I like to call 4th party or off of ebay or something? If so it could be the plug you bought. If I can't find a plug by a company name I actually know I wont buy itbut instead build it. To many times have I had this same problem where the color was only black and white and it was because of faulty wiring in the plug.

 bruce lee Mar 20, 2005
So your saying its probablty the actual power plug, and not the scart cable?

I have two scart cables for the saturn, and they are both official scart cables.

I know they work perfectly because I tried them on my friends european saturn which displays full color on my tv, but they both come out black and white on my american saturn using the same tv.

But the step down converter plug I use I did get off ebay, its the plug that enables ntsc voltages to play on european plug sockets. would that be the cause of it shifting into black and white?

Damn now I'm really confused :/

 ExCyber Mar 20, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			first Id like to say I saw someone write that PAL and NTSC use different color systems??? they both use RGB...


The TV decodes them both to RGB. In the actual signal color information is encoded into different color spaces (nominally YIQ for NTSC and YUV for PAL). Without getting into the gory details, the biggest difference is in the modulation of the color signals, particularly in the way that the transmitter and receiver synchronize the transmission of the color signals.

 1  2  Next>