Just bought an Amiga 500, but there is a possible problem

[one1]

When I play a game, it dosnt fill the whole TV screen, only like 7/10 of it. It's also not centered in the middle, but all the way to the top-right.
Is that normal or is there somthing wrong with the machine, if so is there a way to fix it?


Thanks.

[Amiga1992]

Are you 100% suire it is not a problem in your TV set? have you tried with other TV sets? And with an Amiga monitor?

[one1]

Hi,
I'm pretty sure it's not my TV. I have tried 2 different ones, one of them was used for my old Amiga I had years back (& I don't remember having problems back then).
I don't have an Amiga monitor, or know anyone with one, so I can't try that.

Thanks for your reply.

What Workbench are you running?

If you are using WB 2.0 or above, you can use the Overscan Prefs (in the Prefs Drawer) to adjust your screen.

If it is WB 1.2 or 1.3, you're best off to have a monitor on which you can adjust the Vertical and Horizontal Size and Position (an Amiga monitor like the 1084 always gives a much better picture anyways....)

Just thought of something else: Are you playing an NTSC Game on a PAL Amiga? That might account for the missing bit at the bottom (NTSC Low Res Screen is 320x200 pixels while a PAL Low Res is 320x256)....

I'll have to pull out the old A500 and hook it up to a TV to check how it works...it's been awhile!

[one1]

It's version 1.3.

The screen is like that with all the games, I doubt they are all NTSC, but is there any way to check?
Also, do you know how can I see if my Amiga is PAL or NTSC?

Thanks.

I'm in Canada, so I've only ever used an NTSC Machine. AFAIK, North America and Japan use NTSC, while Europe and just about everyone else uses PAL. So most likely you are using a PAL Machine because you are in Denmark....(although it is always possible that someone imported your machine). I'm not sure how to check an older (WB1.3) Machine....

I may be leading you down the wrong path with this line of thought...I wish I knew more about it.

I'll see if I can dig out the old A500 in the next couple of days, and try hooking it up to the TV....

How did you hook it up to the TV? Did you just use the "mono" port, or do you use some kind of adapter like the A520?

Another Question for you: Does the screen do the same thing when you boot into WorkBench? or is it only when you play Games?

[one1]

I use the RF out on what I think is the A520 adapter you were talking about (I don't know so much about it).

When I boot up workbench (the white screen with the hand holding a disk right?), it looks to be ok, because there is no black around the picture.
But it's the same thing when I start up some games. For example when I start "North & South" & the infogrames logo comes up on a white background, there is no black around the picture either, but you can see the logo is pushed a bit to the top-right, so my guess is that the black space is still there but it's just white instead.
It could be the same thing with work-bench, it looks to be centered fine, but I'm not 100% sure.

Hope can you understand.
Thanks again for the help.

[Severin]

It sounds like you might have a faulty A520, if it was an NTSC one your picture would be greyscale with vertical lines through it, unless your TV supports NTSC.

Is there a jumper inside to set pal/ntsc or was that only in the big box miggies?

[one1]

I have tried 2 different A520 adapters & it's the same, could still be that of course.

I'm not sure what a "Jumper" is (i live in Denmark).
If it's some kind of switch then there is one. It think it's some custom made one though & it's probably not the one your thinking off. I have tried turning it on/off but it dosnt seem to change anything.


Thanks for the help.

[one1]

There is some kind of switch inside the A520 adapter though, it can switch between "L" & "H".. is that it?

Thanks.

Originally posted by one1
When I boot up workbench (the white screen with the hand holding a disk right?), it looks to be ok, because there is no black around the picture.

Actually, that hand holding the disk shows that you are kicking from KickStart 1.3 ROM Chips, but the WorkBench is actually Software that boots up from a Floppy Disk. Basically, the picture is telling you that you should put a Disk (either WorkBench or a self-booting Game) into your Drive. If ALL your Games do the same thing, then WorkBench probably would do it too.

If you think the problem is your A520, you could try hooking the TV RF cable directly to the A500 "mono" port (right next to the Video Port). If I remember correctly, this should give you a shitty Black & White picture on the TV...but you could play the same games and see if the screen position improves. If it is better, than the problem is probably your A520 adapter.

A jumper is 2 or 3 copper pins sticking out from the actual circuit board of your computer, which you can connect / disconnect to each other with a small connector called a "jumper". (You have to pull the case apart to see the circuit board - Severin likes to take things apart )

Some newer model Amigas had jumpers on the motherboard that allowed you to choose NTSC or PAL but I'm pretty much positive that the A500 does NOT have that option...

[Amiga1992]

Could you be able of taking a picture of the problem? That would be excellent for troubleshooting.

I have noticed some Amigas (for istance, my 1200) push the display a bit to the right. This is normal.

I think you might be looking at games that use 320x200, and leave a big black border below the screen. This is to cater for NTSC Amigas. Have you tried a game like Project X?

[one1]

zaqwsx:
Oh Ok. I don't have work bench then.
I tried the "Mono" thing, however the picture never really showed up properly, so it's impossible for me to tell.
Thanks!



Akira:
I just tried Project X & it does NOT have the black border under the picture... strange! However the picture was pushed a bit to the right like you said. But top-bottom looks fine.
I could try & get a picture but would have to borrow a digital camera first.
Thanks!

[Overdoc]

I think what you mean is normal on every Amiga 500. Most games don't use the full screen, but only about the upper 3/4 of it. They are only resolution 320x200, but the whole screen is 640x256. This leaves the lowest 1/4 of the screen black.
Also the problem that the screen is not 100% centered is normal. I think it also depends on the game itself. I am not much of a software guy, but I think the window can be centered by software. At least different games show it differently centered on my A-500.

The mono port on the A-500 is not a RF ( Antenna-in ) port, but a black/white video port ! This means you have to connect it to a video-in on your TV ( if it has one ), or build a cable to the SCART connector. There is a video-pin on it, which is also used by the VCR. Remember video signal is different from RF signal !

Also, there is a jumper inside the A-500 ( at least in Rev. 6A, but I think in all revisions ) that is for PAL/NTSC. But it isn't a jumper like has been described, but just 2 solder pads which can be closed by a solder blob.

[one1]

Ok. I guess that's it then.
I had an Amiga years back, but thought it was supposed to use the full screen. Also I've noticed now that a few games does use the full screen like Project X & Space Crusade. I guess that also proves there is nothing wrong?

Thanks for all the help.

[Amiga1992]

Heh I knew it. You have absolutely no problem then...

This space left empty was to cater for NTSC Amigas, because they display at 320x200. And sometimes it was just because of performance reasons.

[one1]

Ok, good to know there is nothing wrong.
Thanks again.