Pal Gamecube => NTSC output

[FragZero]

I have some trouble with my television and my pal gamecube

Television => 34" CRT HD with component/composite/svideo only ntsc

Gamecube => Pal dol-001 connected with the composite lead.


Since i wanted to play my pal games on my ntsc tv i ordered a Xeno GC modchip which should allow me to force ntsc output.

Force NTSC display mode - Press X button during disc load.
Force PAL display mode - Press Y button during disc load.

But after installing i can't get my games to output NTSC, pressing X at boot does nothing, pressing Y results in a black screen.

Burned a NTSC version of ZTLP, pal output => X makes the game crash Y does nothing. the game boots so the modchip works.

Then i tried burning a GCOS disc to force my games.

Burned a multidisc V3 copy, start it, swap a pal disc in , force Pal => Black screen

Burned a multidisc V4 copy, start it, swap a pal disc in , force Pal => Black screen but booting this version with the Y button pressed does change the "bios version" display from pal to NTSC. So it seems x<=>y are swapped on a pal gamecube.


So i still can't play pal games on my NTSC tv. Isn't this possible on my pal gamecube and will i need a NTSC cube? (expensive since i live in europe) (Or a component cable)

[Alchy]

Burned a multidisc V4 copy, start it, swap a pal disc in , force Pal => Black screen

If you force PAL output on a TV that's NTSC-only you should still get a flickery black and white image. Something's wrong in software.

With that said, why are you trying to force an NTSC TV to display a PAL signal? You want a standard 60Hz NTSC signal. All you should need to do is hold down X as the console boots.

So it seems x<=>y are swapped on a pal gamecube.

No, they aren't. Y is always on the top regardless of region.

(Or a component cable)

Good luck with that - they're ridiculously expensive.

[mooseblaster]

Since i wanted to play my pal games on my ntsc tv i ordered a Xeno GC modchip which should allow me to force ntsc output.

Force NTSC display mode - Press X button during disc load.
Force PAL display mode - Press Y button during disc load.

But after installing i can't get my games to output NTSC, pressing X at boot does nothing, pressing Y results in a black screen.

Sounds like something might have gone wrong whilst installing the modchip. Does anything happen if you don't press any buttons?

Also, if I remember correctly the modchip doesn't let you force it into NTSC, more that it lets you force it into 60Hz 480p, still in PAL (which only would work on component anyway, not composite).

Essentially, the easiest way of getting colour is, sadly, to buy the component lead. I can't think of another way of running a PAL GameCube on your TV.

[shuffle2]

NTSC and PAL retail cubes have wholly different video DACs. I don't think there's really a good solution for what you're trying to do (which modders and importers found out wayyy back when the GC was current-gen :p ).

[FragZero]

Seems you misunderstood my question (blame my english!)

If you force PAL output on a TV that's NTSC-only you should still get a flickery black and white image. Something's wrong in software.

With that said, why are you trying to force an NTSC TV to display a PAL signal? You want a standard 60Hz NTSC signal. All you should need to do is hold down X as the console boots.

This is the problem, can't get this to work

No, they aren't. Y is always on the top regardless of region.
Not the buttons offcourse but the modchip functions bound

Good luck with that - they're ridiculously expensive.

Sounds like something might have gone wrong whilst installing the modchip. Does anything happen if you don't press any buttons?

The modchip works like it should, booting the ntsc backup and gcos disks. Other functions work aswell

Also, if I remember correctly the modchip doesn't let you force it into NTSC, more that it lets you force it into 60Hz 480p, still in PAL (which only would work on component anyway, not composite).

Okay, this might explain the modchip problem but can't GCOS force NTSC output?

Essentially, the easiest way of getting colour is, sadly, to buy the component lead. I can't think of another way of running a PAL GameCube on your TV.

I guess i'll have to buy some component cables which should give improved quality, those cables still work with games that do not support progressive scan right? (480i, my TV should be able to handle that)

[splith]

Hijacking this a bit;
I've not got my GCs in pieces to look but wouldn't it in theory be possible to open a pal GC and remove the DAC, and replace it with a generic one that can output NTSC and whatnot? Obviously the pins would need re-arranging.

[shuffle2]

oops :)

[mooseblaster]

Okay, this might explain the modchip problem but can't GCOS force NTSC output?

I don't think it can. Much like with the Nintendo 64, the graphics chip used in the console only supports PAL, as far as I know.

I guess i'll have to buy some component cables which should give improved quality, those cables still work with games that do not support progressive scan right? (480i, my TV should be able to handle that)

Games that run in 60Hz will run in 480i on component. In the case of games that only run in 50Hz PAL, usually they will run in 576i, so it'll be a case of whether your TV will accept that, and whether your modchip will force it to run in 60Hz.

My concern regarding component cables is they can be expensive - more than an NTSC console in some cases, but then I suppose that if you can't fix the problem you can get an NTSC GameCube that is supported and still have component cables!

[FragZero]

I don't think it can. Much like with the Nintendo 64, the graphics chip used in the console only supports PAL, as far as I know.



Games that run in 60Hz will run in 480i on component. In the case of games that only run in 50Hz PAL, usually they will run in 576i, so it'll be a case of whether your TV will accept that, and whether your modchip will force it to run in 60Hz.

My concern regarding component cables is they can be expensive - more than an NTSC console in some cases, but then I suppose that if you can't fix the problem you can get an NTSC GameCube that is supported and still have component cables!

Okay, my tv does not support 576i so i'll have to get a cheap ntsc console, hope shipping won't be too bad :crying:.

I was under the impression that it was possible with a gamecube, same hardware different settings which required a modchip or softmod too change, like the xbox i have here which outputs ntsc after modding.

Or maybe RGB => Component? Seems like the arcade solutions are affordable (little bit cheaper then component cables) but will they work with the rgb out of my Pal gamecube?Or worst case scenario => A wii using component video.

[Matt]

Sorry if this is a stupid question or something that has already been explained, but I have a problem that is somewhat similar to this. I want to play Doshin the Giant (PAL version) on my NTSC gamecube. My TV is a viewsonic television/monitor and also NTSC. I've tried many different ways of booting the game with different GCOS versions but the game is always in black and white. I found out that the game does not support the 60hz option like other PAL games when you hold down "b" and it will ask you if you want to run it in 50hz or 60hz. So my question is: Is it possible to somehow play this game in color with the equipment I have now (NTSC Gamecube, NTSC TV, and PAL Doshin the Giant)? Or do I need to have other things and what are those things?

Thanks,
Matt

[Alchy]

If the game doesn't support 60Hz and can't be forced to do so, and you absolutely must use this disc rather than just burning off a copy of the NTSC game (I'm not advocating piracy, but you own the game already)... then you'll need a PAL-NTSC converter box. These are pretty cheap - should run you £20 or so. Not sure how much a US copy of Doshin would set you back.

[Matt]

If the game doesn't support 60Hz and can't be forced to do so, and you absolutely must use this disc rather than just burning off a copy of the NTSC game (I'm not advocating piracy, but you own the game already)... then you'll need a PAL-NTSC converter box. These are pretty cheap - should run you £20 or so. Not sure how much a US copy of Doshin would set you back.

That's the issue. It was never released in the US, only in Europe and Japan. But I can't find a copy of the Japanese game at all. Of course if I did get the Japanese version it would be in color, but in Japanese, so I wouldn't be able to read it. So I guess I'll try to find the PAL NTSC converter box. The PAL version is supposed to run fine on an NTSC Wii using NeoGamma backup launcher an setting it to force video as NTSC, but is that because the wii has the component cables?

Thanks for the help.

[Alchy]

I don't suppose you've got any means of using RGB? If you could that would avoid this issue.

[mooseblaster]

Matt: The only option is to buy a component cable. Due to the way composite (as in yellow-white-red) works, getting colour between the NTSC-PAL regions requires a compatible TV. With either the RGB SCART cable (if your TV is compatible) or Component, the problem should go away.

[Barc0de]

there's no US version of Doshin the Giant last time I checked. I have the first two original releases on the DD, the GC JP and the GC PAL versions.

[Matt]

Matt: The only option is to buy a component cable. Due to the way composite (as in yellow-white-red) works, getting colour between the NTSC-PAL regions requires a compatible TV. With either the RGB SCART cable (if your TV is compatible) or Component, the problem should go away.

I'm not sure if my TV supports RGB SCART and I'm not at my house right now to check. But I'll check when I get home. I also don't have a gamecube that supports the component cable. So it's looking like I won't be enjoying a color version of Doshin the Giant in english unless my TV supports the RGB SCART. Or if I try the converter box that was mentioned earlier. Thank you very much for the help guys. I'm new to this kind of stuff. I've always just played games US games that work on my systems and never had an interest in anything else, so I'm still learning about some of these things.

[Matt]

Okay so I must be pretty stupid because yesterday I loaded GCOS 1.5 and when I loaded Doshin the Giant I forced the video as NTSC instead of PAL and it was now in color! I was overlooking that for like a whole week.

I did just buy an gamecube and the component cables online for 29 dollars. I was looking around and the component cables alone were going for around 60 dollars used on ebay, so it looks like a good deal.