PAL Amiga 1200 in N.America....

[tihi]

I recently got european version of Amiga 1200 (PAL). Is there any way I can connect that Amiga to the standard N.American TV (NTSC)?

[utri007]

There is NTSC/PAL swicth on back side

[tihi]

Ok. There is a switch on RF modulator, but I'm not sure that I can switch between modes just like that. :confused

[Drake1009]

I know that some TVs can take both.

On my TV here if I try to watch something in PAL it comes out black/white and all distorted. But if I hook up my PC playing DVD to the tv in the living room and set it to output to NTSC (Which on my Tv yields the same result as I mentioned) then everything works fine.

Darn annoying. I want that TV.

[tihi]

My picture is black & white, distorted. If I hold mouse buttons, I'm able to switch between modes but that's only software emulation of modes - picture is still b&w.TV is Samsung 3 years old.

[Akira]

There is NO WAY you'll get a nice picture with your TV. if it looks distorted, it means your TV cant sync at 50Hz (most TVs here and in europe now sync in both 50Hz (PAL) and 60Hz (NTSC)). And even if it did, you'd still be getting a B/W picture. You'll need a PAL transcoder to look at it properly.

Let me tell you, a transcoder will cost you your balls. So my advice is: get a 1084 or better Amiga monitor. You can then connect your Amiga through RGB (no more PAL/NTSC problems), get a color and undistorted picture (it syncs to 50 and 60 Hz)

Look at eBay, you can get a good one for 30 bucks MAX.

It's strange how all TVs today work at both PAL and NTSC, except those in the States.

[MartinHenke]

Hello tihi,

don't listen to Akira, he is wrong.

First there are two things to know:

a) The Amiga is able to send the appropriate number of lines and the correct vertical frequency.
If you haven't installed the NTSC monitor driver you find it on your hard drive Storage/Monitors or on the Storage floppy disk.
Copy (or move) this driver to DEVS:Monitors and double click it (or reboot). Now open the Screenmode preference program and select NTSC: HiRes and click on "Save".

Now the picture should be stable.

If you don't have colors you connected it either with an antenna cable or with a cinch cable to your TV. What you would have to do now is to get yourself a RGB cable to connect your Amiga to your TV, but make sure that your TV has an RGB input (cheap ones usually don't have one).

Interested in the technical stuff?

Well there are two technical details to consider:

1. What the number of lines and the vertical frequency are independent
from NTSC or PAL. In Germany for example, we have PAL B/G.
PAL defines the colour norm (only that), while B/G defines 625 lines 50 Hz.
In the North America you have NTSC M. NTSC is the color norm and M defines
525 lines 60 Hz. This is what the custom chips of the Amiga generate.

2. Amiga outputs several signals:
- RF signal (Radio Frequency signal for antenna cable connections)
- CCVS signal (Color Chrome Video Signal for cinch connections)
- RGB signals (Red Green Blue signals for monitor connections)

As explained in 1. Amiga's custom chips don't care about a TV norm, but
just about the standard (M for North America). The RF signal and the CCV signal
are both generated by a modulator, which is built in the desired TV norm.

It is possible to make changes to it (i.e. replace the IC or add circuitry),
but it is in my opinion more work and requires knowledge on those things.
Either use a monitor or a TV with RGB input to get best results.

Kind Regards,

<akira>
No direct signature allowed, use your UserCP (http://eab.abime.net/usercp.php?s=) instead
</akira>

[tihi]

Thanks to all who replayed. Spec thanks to Martin => You are right - I connected Amiga using video IN (cinch cable). As well as majority number of TV's in N.America, my TV doesn't have RGB input. So, is there any interface or anything else on the market I can use to get colors? Another option I have is to use SVGA Monitor (I have Samsung 753df). I was trying to find scandoubler made for Amiga, but it's either extremly expensive or it is not avaiable. Finally, I came across product called VGA box which is not that expensive (50$). I'm also thinking about using TV tuner card capable of both NTSC/PAL - Does anybody have any experience in using something like that to display amiga screen on PC monitor?

Thanks

[TikTok]

I connected my Amiga to my TV card once and didn't like it. The picture was average for an RF connection (i.e. not that good), but the difference in resolution between the Amiga and the PC made the picture blocky and stretched :(.

If you are thinking of spending money (e.g. a scan doubler), I would do as Akira recommends and get a 1084 or similar. It could well be cheaper and will be a better picture too I would imagine.

Putting the NSTC driver in DEVS might work, but only for Workbench applications, not games.

[tihi]

Does anywhone have any experiece/ever tryed using
"VGA BOX multi-AV Convertor" http://store.yahoo.com/a-sonic/vgaboxmulcon.html
or" Como cheese box"
http://www.como.com/english/p_cheese.htm?

Thanks

[Akira]

Originally posted by MartinHenke
don't listen to Akira, he is wrong.


No, I am not. Your method will work with his Workbench setup and give him a stable picture, but it won't give him colors and he won't be able to play any games. Not games that are not workbench based.


from NTSC or PAL. In Germany for example, we have PAL B/G.
PAL defines the colour norm (only that), while B/G defines 625 lines 50 Hz.
In the North America you have NTSC M. NTSC is the color norm and M defines
525 lines 60 Hz. This is what the custom chips of the Amiga generate.


Here you are confirming what I said... He needs a transcoder to convert his B/G color code to M color code. Unless he does that, he ain't getting color from an RF or A/V connection.


Either use a monitor or a TV with RGB input to get best results.


That's what I said :P

Tihi: VGA boxes use to be of very bad quality, I wouldn't recommend you that. If you don't mind forking out 250 dollars on an excellent piece of hardware, I suggest you to buy an XRGB2 device. This will let you connect any A/V and RGB device to your VGA monitor, and it will even simulate scanlines. It's a great investment for all the machines you might have (you could even build a Supergun rig with it)

[MartinHenke]

Hello Akira,

you are wrong again! There are games, which i.e. use NTSC LoRes resolutions (i.e. Star Trek 25th Anniversary does). Other games might work with screen promotors, if they use OS routines properly. So it doesn't have to be a Workbench game to run.
But of course, this won't work for games which access the custom chips directly (i.e. Biing!).

Merry Christmas,

<akira>
No direct signature allowed, use your UserCP (http://eab.abime.net/usercp.php?s=) instead
</akira>

[Akira]

How many games are you talking about? 10? 20? most hit directly the custom chips, so no contest.

Merry xmas to you to, please stop using direct suignatures.

[tihi]

Just to let you guys know - I bought a PC VGA Box for 59$US and I'm pretty pleased with it. It has 4 channels and picture quality is like on TV. The reason I haven't look for 1084 or similar monitor is that I don't have enough space to fit two monitors on my desk and xrgb-2 was too expensive (229$)...

Thanks for all suggestions!