skooter Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 I have an Atari 2600 with Longhorn S-Video/Composite mod. The yellows are kind of greenish on it. See picture below: This is using Composite output on CRT TV. Things get worse when I use S-Video output on Framemeister and LCD TV: And this is from another Atari 2600 I have, with RF: It looks better, but also not quite right. I already adjusted the tint trimpot on both of them, but it won't help. Is there anything else I can do to make them better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Does adjusting the tint on your TV help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skooter Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 No, it doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skooter Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 Here is some video footage I made after trying new cables. Notice the rainbow on the Activision logo. It has a greenish tone where it should be yellow. https://youtu.be/_vtskrb_h-4?t=5m7s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 There can be a very strong lean towards green for the Atari consoles under a modern display, unfortunately. The adjustment for "more red/less green" on the display may need to be quite significant to obtain a palette closer to a CRT; a comparison example has been posted. The pot inside the 2600 is not a tint/hue control; rather, it adjusts the number of degrees separating the various hues and is highly sensitive. If you own a Harmony cart, the easiest way to set this pot (if misaligned) is to utilize the Color Bar Generation from VideoSoft. The ROM image is attached to this post. Within the first minute or two of powering on a cold (Powered off for at least 45 minutes) console, ensure the bottom border color matches the top border color. Color Bar Generator.bin When the border match is achieved, the degrees of separation is ~25.7, and the Hue 1 range (very closely) matches the Hue 15 range. In turn, the console then is displaying a palette of 120 colors. Some additional console warm-up will occur thereafter*, resulting in a degrees shift that is slightly greater. Ideally, a setting between ~25.7 and ~27.7 degrees. That setting places Hue 15 between the hues of 1 (Gold) and 2 (Orange), as described in the Stella Programmer's Guide, a 'Light Orange', ultimately providing a 128 colors palette for the console. *NOTE: This can be observed by continuing to run the Color Bar Generator image, the bottom border will become a darker/richer brown color than the top portion automatically. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_79 Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Would it be possible to adjust the color pot in a PAL 2600 following the same principle? That is, are there 2 hues in the PAL palette that behave in a similar manner so that an hack of the "Color Bar Generator" could be used for the same purpose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 At no time for a PAL console is there an instance where two entire hue ranges are (near) exact and should match. Although there is a warm-up and shifting of colors that does occur for both regions, the hue order and number of colors is substantially different between an NTSC and PAL Atari 2600 console. There is not an equivocal NTSC Hue 15 for PAL. There is an additional 3 'rows' of grayscale values, for a total of 4 'rows' under PAL, as opposed to just 1 'row' under NTSC. The color test program from Eckhard Stolberg (attached) displays the color palette for either the PAL or NTSC system. Color Test (26-09-2002) (Eckhard Stolberg).bin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skooter Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 Thanks, Trebor. I've applied your method on my S-Video modded Atari 2600, which is on the LCD TV. Then I left the console off for about an hour and tried the Color Bar Generator again to see if it was right. I don't think I got it right yet because it took around a minute until the borders matched, and then the bottom one started getting brown. Also, the red looks a little too magenta. I got all this on a video I'll upload later. Now I'll wait until the console gets cold and try to adjust it again. It's difficult to get it right because it has to be done in only half a minute. Also, I'll try the same with the unmodded console on the CRT TV tomorrow. I didn't mention it before, but the unmodded one is PAL-M. Perhaps the palette isn't the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skooter Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 Now I think I got it right. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y0UpMw-iuGw?rel=0 The other console has more problems. The top bar on the Color Bar Generator is brown instead of green, no matter what I do on the trimpot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Studio Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Be curious to see if you can fix this. My modded 2600 has the same issue, I can never get the yellow to look quite right using the adjustment pot and the controls on the mod board. Sorta gave up on it, been wondering if a modded Colecovision 2600 adapter has the same issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skooter Posted March 17, 2017 Author Share Posted March 17, 2017 I'm giving up on this. While my modded NTSC Atari is too green, both my PAL-M Atari are too brown and the pot won't help either. I guess the RGB Mod is the only way I can get a proper palette, but I don't have the skills to install one myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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