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NTSC compatibility for PAL consoles (via FPGA)


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Hi, I have a question. I have a PAL Atari 7800 and a problem with prototypes or homebrew games, they run too slowly or the colors are wrong. GameDrive is based on FPGA with AV output. Could it be possible to add NTSC compatibility for PAL consoles? A MiST(er) core automatically recognizes PAL/NTSC, the games always work correctly. Regards - MiC

Edited by MiCV2
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Just be aware that not all NTSC games will run correctly or at all on a PAL console, Robotron for example will not work. I discovered this the hard way as I had a PAL console and then purchased an NTSC console. Always play the official PAL roms and homebrew on a PAL console and vice versa. I would recommend getting an NTSC console.

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And also the 7800GD is not simulating the 7800 in it's entirety on the cartridge, just the AV portion. So there's no way I can make a PAL machine an NTSC machine. All I can do is interpret the data on the bus and translate it into AV output. If you want PAL or NTSC specific compatibility you will need to buy the appropriate console.

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59 minutes ago, Hasan Coskun said:

Just be aware that not all NTSC games will run correctly or at all on a PAL console, Robotron for example will not work.

@RevEng provided a hack of the NTSC only release of Robotron: 2084 that works under PAL consoles. 

 

Here's the ROM for convenience: Robotron 2084 (PAL Hack) (20210428) (73BF0B76).a78

 

It is a part of the PROPack archive collection as well.

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Thank you for the answers. It's a real shame, my PAL console is in very good condition, but an NTSC has clear advantages here. It's a shame that you can't emulate NTSC with the FPGA. Thanks anyway, the GameDrive is great 👍✌️

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Posted (edited)

I once asked the user @tmp here in the forum whether his AVGCART could also emulate a memory extension. The answer was no. Months later, a firmware update came out, and 1MB RAM is now freely available. I still have hope that there will be PAL/NTSC compatibility with the FPGA. It's crazy, everyone is now looking for an NTSC A7800, and the good PAL consoles are disappearing into the basement forever.

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Edited by MiCV2
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Not planned and physically impossible are two different things. Hehe. 😆

 

Sadly it's really not possible. All I do is take the bus activity driven by Maria or Sally and turn it into video and audio. I don't drive the bus in any way. If you use the GD on an NTSC machine then it will act as an NTSC Maria, but on a PAL machine it can only act as a PAL Maria. There's just no options.

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I understood it and learned about the technology behind it, thank you very much. Now I just have to figure out how to make the music available to Rikki & Vikky. I bought the ROM through Steam. I'm really excited about GameDrive, despite my PAL console. For NTSC - if something doesn't work, I still have the MiST FPGA 👍

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Hi, I have two questions..

 

1. I wanted to play chess with the A7800, but I only found „Video Chess“ for A2600. But why is it red and not blue? I tried PAL&NTSC, both have a red background.

 

2. I'm missing a hardware reset on the GD7800 cartridge. Sometimes NTSC or A2600 programs hang and I have to turn off the A7800 console. A real reset button would protect the hardware. Can I do a real reset in the console (mainboard) that works 100%?

 

Best regards

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Edited by MiCV2
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