Thank you for this, I've been wondering about some of those PAL/NTSC issues and couldn't find a straight answer. May just be trying to track down an NTSC system then. Also having these same PAL/NTSC issues with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. It sucks, haven't yet found a way to get it going. Need a PAL TV dangit
LOL! I was watching the vid when I made my comment, when you mentioned the mouse to access the NTSC/PAL select. Yeah I used to do that with my A1200 which the cd32 mostly is internally with a few additions (like the AKIKO chip and updated rom to boot CD) anyway great vid as usual!
Hey there! I'm not sure if you know this already, but you can buy New Old Stock boxed NTSC CD32s from China on eBay. All the stock that was meant to be delivered and sold in USA was kept in warehouses for over a decade until they started to be sold off to wholesalers and now appear on auction sites. Also, you can get adapters that convert PAL/NTSC S-Video to VGA from China too, so these might work with your PAL CD32 and a PC monitor.
perhaps but here's a little info PAL is higher in resolution (576 horizontal lines) than NTSC (480 horizontal lines), but NTSC updates the on-screen image more frequently than PAL (30 times per second versus 25 times per second). What does this mean in practice? NTSC video is lower in resolution than PAL video, but because the screen updates more frequently, motion is rendered better in NTSC video than it is in PAL video. There is less jerkiness visible.
Also, I recently moved to the US from the UK - and I've noticed that standard definition, digital cable (PAL/NTSC) picture quality is vastly superior in the UK. Comparing Virgin Media SD to Comcast SD. Every time I've seen NTSC it's always been soft, and muddy picture quality. PAL was always very crisp and vibrant.
Of course if you just want to display/play it there are great options to hook up to a old svgs/vga pc monitor, a little pricey though. GOGGLE for : Indivision CD32
Best bet would to be to track down a broadcast monitor used by news and tv stations. Most of them support pal(it will state it on the front of the tv). While there are ways to find some here in the states, not sure how hard it would be in canada.
I'd recommedn you try and get one of the multi game discs for this with 200, 400 or 800 Amiga games as there's not really many CD32 specific games that are worth picking up :(
Since 1990s it's common in Europe to have a TV & VCR that accepts both PAL & NTSC so they can play our NTSC tapes but we can't play their PAL tapes (not fair). I finally got an European model VCR & TV so not only that I can now play their PAL VHS cassette from Europe, I can also play our local NTSC VHS cassette as well on that same VCR & TV. Fortunately today, most HDTV are multi system which accepts NTSC, PAL & SECAM.
NTSC is 29.97 FPS, and that's purely because of the 60Hz electricity in North America. The same with PAL at 25 FPS due to the 50Hz electricity. Interlaced screens are thus 50Hz and 60Hz. Movies are filmed at 24 FPS... and even PAL CRT Tvs in the past 10 years have featured 100Hz refresh.
@Jivemaster2005 now that is interesting, I would like to get hold of a duel format Video recorder to add to my AV collection , are they still available to buy? and what is the AC power standard in Sweden? 220v? 110v? etc... thanks,
Stupid question, when you select NTSC on the ealry startup screen you ARE then clicking run and NOT hitting the reset button right? Because I would have thought that it WOULD change the display output, it did on the AMIGA 1200 and I am pretty sure it does on my NTSC CD32 (when I select PAL it does not display right on my TV)
There are also some games that boot in PAL but allow you to change the screen to NTSC, although I'm not sure if this NTSC signal will be compatible with your screen. Try Super Street Fighter II Turbo (just watch it though, the gameplay sucks in the CD32 version). Also, if you plug in an A4000 (or A2000 with AT-PS/2 adapter) keyboard in and go to the early boot menu, pressing a key will switch between PAL and NTSC in real-time, allowing you to test if the NTSC output is compatible.
Nice video. I was wondering though I am looking at either the Amiga CD32 or a Atari jaguar which one would you recommend getting. Thank you for your time.
I thought that most tv's these days let you choose between ntsc and pal. Both of mine do and they're both different brand, sizes and they were made almost 10 years apart.
It's very weird that you can't find a TV that supports PAL, I'm a UK retro game enthusiast and my LG TV will play pretty much any format/system I throw at it, NTSC or whatever.
Bear in mind that there's more than one PAL system. You have PAL-B, PAL-N, PAL-M. I'm sure UK systems use PAL-B, but u should check it out before getting a converter/adapter or a new used tv. regards
I am very surprised your monitors don't accept PAL. My old 1084 monitor did? Great system but yeah in Canada/US PAL support is crap unless you have an old Commodore monitor or someway to convert the PAL signal to NTSC. Mine is an NTSC model also but some PAL titles don't display right or run properly in NTSC. You probably know an Amiga mouse in 2nd port if you hold down both buttons when you turn it on you get an early startup screen (like the Amiga 1200) here you can choose PAL or NTSC mode.
are there many ntsc games for it ? seeing as it was never released in N america... I am in the UK A have a cd32 & that little mouse trick is very interesting , thanks! I want to try it out but have no ntsc software,,also wouldnt it be very easy to go buy a duel PAL/NTSC TV? as practically all new TVs in UK are set up like that.. I think its very mean to software restrict yor TV to NTSC only..BAH HUMBUG!
I'm sure you are more knowledgeable than I am and this won't help a bit, but have you tried Dscaler or KMPlayer? I usually use either of the two and I find just about every signal listed, though maybe that's my card? Also, sometimes everything isn't supported on x64, if you are using it there...
ive played CD32 discs on my 1200, i have over 20 games for this console, the 3rd party add ons are known to go faulty, ive never had a problem with this console, but had bad controllers also the power supply is a 1200 to be honest just a round plug instead of a square plug on the 1200, if you have no psu for this just get a 1200 psu and just rewire to a round plug
I'd say the majority of TV's since 2000 in Europe have supported both PAL and NTSC, remember TV's starting to be advertised as NTSC compatible around that time :) 576i > 480p :D
You could simply import PAL TV set and purchase voltage convertor for it. Today's flat TV's eat about 150-220 watts. Such convertors go for between $25-$90. Why go with an ancient RCT display when you can get cheapo 4:3 flat PAL display panel...
your pc video capture card must be PAL compatible, also the latest CRT tv's are multisystem. If you have an lcd or plasma tv you wont have any trouble trying to play the games...
Dude! it might be pal-60? if the picture jumps its probably pal-60. Some tvs support it lots dont! The best way is to buy an tv tuner that supports it like the winfast PVR3000 i think mine was called. Works awesome. And no input lag!
Sent you a PM, also can comment here. Might want to look out for a MULTISYNC monitor, they are awesome. Most automatically take the signal and process it. Not all of them, but many. 5/5, hop you get a display for it!
hi buddy this has a cxa1645 smd chip some genesis 2 had these chips and ntsc output could be done for the colour i can rgb mod these. these are getting harder to find a prices are going up like crazy good job i one well i helped adam k on youtube get one.
@jowrab Actually, there would be a difference: games would run better on the actual Amiga computer than on the CD32 (Gloom is the worst offender: choppy an blocky on the CD32, smooth and definite on an Amiga computer), so the CD32 was completely unnecessary. Commodore should've just released an official add-on for Amiga 1200, which is what users asked for, instead of this console.
thats not necessarily true. If you compare both systems side to side you'll realize that pal is superior. I used to live in the uk and noticed the difference.
PAL is not your pal, why does europe have to be different with their "scart connectors" and "arial leads"? NTSC is superior to PAL, come on europe get with the times!
Thank you for this, I've been wondering about some of those PAL/NTSC issues and couldn't find a straight answer. May just be trying to track down an NTSC system then.
Also having these same PAL/NTSC issues with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. It sucks, haven't yet found a way to get it going. Need a PAL TV dangit
LOL! I was watching the vid when I made my comment, when you mentioned the mouse to access the NTSC/PAL select. Yeah I used to do that with my A1200 which the cd32 mostly is internally with a few additions (like the AKIKO chip and updated rom to boot CD) anyway great vid as usual!
Good decription of the mouse BIOS trick man. Everyone describes that different. Good to know what it finally does!
VCR's are still available, some stores still have like one ubscure model for sale.
We use 220/230V here in Europe
Hey there! I'm not sure if you know this already, but you can buy New Old Stock boxed NTSC CD32s from China on eBay. All the stock that was meant to be delivered and sold in USA was kept in warehouses for over a decade until they started to be sold off to wholesalers and now appear on auction sites.
Also, you can get adapters that convert PAL/NTSC S-Video to VGA from China too, so these might work with your PAL CD32 and a PC monitor.
perhaps but here's a little info
PAL is higher in resolution (576 horizontal lines) than NTSC (480 horizontal lines), but NTSC updates the on-screen image more frequently than PAL (30 times per second versus 25 times per second). What does this mean in practice? NTSC video is lower in resolution than PAL video, but because the screen updates more frequently, motion is rendered better in NTSC video than it is in PAL video. There is less jerkiness visible.
Also, I recently moved to the US from the UK - and I've noticed that standard definition, digital cable (PAL/NTSC) picture quality is vastly superior in the UK. Comparing Virgin Media SD to Comcast SD. Every time I've seen NTSC it's always been soft, and muddy picture quality. PAL was always very crisp and vibrant.
Very fair commentary on the system. Shame it did not take off globally.
I just got one today, very happy!
Great video, hope you get a working set-up for this soon!
Of course if you just want to display/play it there are great options to hook up to a old svgs/vga pc monitor, a little pricey though. GOGGLE for : Indivision CD32
Best bet would to be to track down a broadcast monitor used by news and tv stations. Most of them support pal(it will state it on the front of the tv). While there are ways to find some here in the states, not sure how hard it would be in canada.
@CaptainPoovabladoo I did say it's a DE-9, not DS9.
Did you put the power supply video on unlisted / private...?
I'd recommedn you try and get one of the multi game discs for this with 200, 400 or 800 Amiga games as there's not really many CD32 specific games that are worth picking up :(
Since 1990s it's common in Europe to have a TV & VCR that accepts both PAL & NTSC so they can play our NTSC tapes but we can't play their PAL tapes (not fair). I finally got an European model VCR & TV so not only that I can now play their PAL VHS cassette from Europe, I can also play our local NTSC VHS cassette as well on that same VCR & TV. Fortunately today, most HDTV are multi system which accepts NTSC, PAL & SECAM.
The FM-Towns Marty was the first i386 video game? I did know know that.
NTSC is 29.97 FPS, and that's purely because of the 60Hz electricity in North America. The same with PAL at 25 FPS due to the 50Hz electricity. Interlaced screens are thus 50Hz and 60Hz.
Movies are filmed at 24 FPS... and even PAL CRT Tvs in the past 10 years have featured 100Hz refresh.
i wonder if you can pull the denise chip out of the amgiga 500 and put it in the amgia 32
@Jivemaster2005 now that is interesting, I would like to get hold of a duel format Video recorder to add to my AV collection , are they still available to buy? and what is the AC power standard in Sweden? 220v? 110v? etc... thanks,
Stupid question, when you select NTSC on the ealry startup screen you ARE then clicking run and NOT hitting the reset button right? Because I would have thought that it WOULD change the display output, it did on the AMIGA 1200 and I am pretty sure it does on my NTSC CD32 (when I select PAL it does not display right on my TV)
There are also some games that boot in PAL but allow you to change the screen to NTSC, although I'm not sure if this NTSC signal will be compatible with your screen. Try Super Street Fighter II Turbo (just watch it though, the gameplay sucks in the CD32 version).
Also, if you plug in an A4000 (or A2000 with AT-PS/2 adapter) keyboard in and go to the early boot menu, pressing a key will switch between PAL and NTSC in real-time, allowing you to test if the NTSC output is compatible.
Nice video. I was wondering though I am looking at either the Amiga CD32 or a Atari jaguar which one would you recommend getting. Thank you for your time.
I thought that most tv's these days let you choose between ntsc and pal. Both of mine do and they're both different brand, sizes and they were made almost 10 years apart.
It's very weird that you can't find a TV that supports PAL, I'm a UK retro game enthusiast and my LG TV will play pretty much any format/system I throw at it, NTSC or whatever.
Bear in mind that there's more than one PAL system. You have PAL-B, PAL-N, PAL-M. I'm sure UK systems use PAL-B, but u should check it out before getting a converter/adapter or a new used tv. regards
Oh, I used to surf the net on an Amiga 500. Way back in the day. LOL
@DevilMaster but yes BBSs seems right, but I also had freedom to go where I wanted to.
i miss the good old amiga systems :(
Yep a few made it over here into Canada, not a whole lot though........
@DevilMaster Well geocities, e-mail. gamesages. I used a PP account and if I messed around a bit I could see a pic or 2 but it was so coming up.
I am very surprised your monitors don't accept PAL. My old 1084 monitor did? Great system but yeah in Canada/US PAL support is crap unless you have an old Commodore monitor or someway to convert the PAL signal to NTSC. Mine is an NTSC model also but some PAL titles don't display right or run properly in NTSC. You probably know an Amiga mouse in 2nd port if you hold down both buttons when you turn it on you get an early startup screen (like the Amiga 1200) here you can choose PAL or NTSC mode.
are there many ntsc games for it ? seeing as it was never released in N america... I am in the UK A have a cd32 & that little mouse trick is very interesting , thanks! I want to try it out but have no ntsc software,,also wouldnt it be very easy to go buy a duel PAL/NTSC TV? as practically all new TVs in UK are set up like that.. I think its very mean to software restrict yor TV to NTSC only..BAH HUMBUG!
wow thats cool i have never seen this system before.
not a bad system, pretty advanced for the time too, like the early 90's version of the playstation.
I'm sure you are more knowledgeable than I am and this won't help a bit, but have you tried Dscaler or KMPlayer? I usually use either of the two and I find just about every signal listed, though maybe that's my card? Also, sometimes everything isn't supported on x64, if you are using it there...
Lol all our teles from about 2002 onwards play NTSC consoles.
Anyway it looks good, nice vid :)
FM townsy upgrade their system to a 486 I think. There's a gray model and a white model.
Didn't they used to ship the CD32 in Canada?
@lordquasar You mean you used to access BBSs with it, don't you?
looks a lot like a model 1 genesis, but the circle is flipped around
ive played CD32 discs on my 1200, i have over 20 games for this console, the 3rd party add ons are known to go faulty, ive never had a problem with this console, but had bad controllers also the power supply is a 1200 to be honest just a round plug instead of a square plug on the 1200, if you have no psu for this just get a 1200 psu and just rewire to a round plug
I'd say the majority of TV's since 2000 in Europe have supported both PAL and NTSC, remember TV's starting to be advertised as NTSC compatible around that time :)
576i > 480p :D
Things like that are what programs like winuae snes9x fusion etc are for
It's DE-9, not DB-9. DB-9 is an Aston Martin car, DE-9 is a D-Subminiture connector.
You could simply import PAL TV set and purchase voltage convertor for it. Today's flat TV's eat about 150-220 watts. Such convertors go for between $25-$90. Why go with an ancient RCT display when you can get cheapo 4:3 flat PAL display panel...
use a composite to vga converter?
your pc video capture card must be PAL compatible, also the latest CRT tv's are multisystem. If you have an lcd or plasma tv you wont have any trouble trying to play the games...
Dude! it might be pal-60? if the picture jumps its probably pal-60. Some tvs support it lots dont! The best way is to buy an tv tuner that supports it like the winfast PVR3000 i think mine was called. Works awesome. And no input lag!
Well that sucks man I hope you get something that will let you play it.
The Amiga CD32 was never released in the USA. Something about a patent problem.
a small hd tv would display the console regardless of region maybe you should get one
It was my dream when i was 20 years old :D
TV's here in Sweden are also PAL/NTSC...even the last VCR's
Also find it weird why there should be NTSC only Tv's in USA? (que?) :-P
Sent you a PM, also can comment here. Might want to look out for a MULTISYNC monitor, they are awesome. Most automatically take the signal and process it. Not all of them, but many. 5/5, hop you get a display for it!
i had one of these...
dunno where it is though!
Acutally - PAL is higher resolution and has much better colour modulation than NTSC.
3 things:
1: this looks like a backward genesis
2: do u like do a whole lot of research on these systems?
and 3: i love the way you say out!
I will buy the system off you because I live I the UK
it's 8:53 am in vancouver
did u ever get the issue sorted?
hi buddy this has a cxa1645 smd chip some genesis 2 had these chips and ntsc output could be done for the colour i can rgb mod these.
these are getting harder to find a prices are going up like crazy good job i one well i helped adam k on youtube get one.
@jowrab Actually, there would be a difference: games would run better on the actual Amiga computer than on the CD32 (Gloom is the worst offender: choppy an blocky on the CD32, smooth and definite on an Amiga computer), so the CD32 was completely unnecessary. Commodore should've just released an official add-on for Amiga 1200, which is what users asked for, instead of this console.
thats not necessarily true. If you compare both systems side to side you'll realize that pal is superior. I used to live in the uk and noticed the difference.
MN12BIRD ftw!
We're more lucky in Europe. All our new TV's can handle both PAL and NTSC (AFAIK)
if you have the cash get a PAL to NTSC converter... i dont know how much they cost but a real collector would not be bothered by the price lol
Even though its 32 bit the 3D is terrible to none existent I can remember they had it at comet near me when I was a kid.
I like my CD32 :)
Who killed the company Called Commodore?
You wanna know what's the answer?
*THIS CONSOLE*
Pm sent
PAL is not your pal, why does europe have to be different with their "scart connectors" and "arial leads"? NTSC is superior to PAL, come on europe get with the times!