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Hi There

Hopefully this has not been answered but I searched and didn't find quite what I was looking for.

I recently got an SMS2 PAL that i'd like to try here in N America (NTSC).
I'm not technical enough to jump into the modding thing - do I have any options? I see some PAL/NTSC switches on Amazon but i'm not sure if those will work.

What are the least technical options?

Thanks in advance!

It's hard, you only have RF out and it's pretty much impossible to get a US TV to show it. Anything else is going to be technical. Maybe import a TV?

Maxim wrote

It's hard, you only have RF out and it's pretty much impossible to get a US TV to show it. Anything else is going to be technical. Maybe import a TV?

Bummer, but thanks. I see a number of scattered info sites - some not even around anymore. Is there a single place for modding instructions that’s considered the best / most up to date?

Not really - I'd like that place to be here. Basically your best bet is to mod for RGB and 60Hz, and then do what it takes to display that in the USA, which seems surprisingly tricky.

You could composite video mod it and convert it to NTSC.

Doesn't require many parts and is easy to perform if you know how to solder.

Otherwise the least technical way is to buy an RF to composite converter box.

These work well and will accept the PAL RF signal from the console and output it to composite video. They work with both PAL and NTSC signals.

Composite is still PAL vs NTSC, only RGB is free of special carrier frequencies.

True but as you said, RGB in the US is difficult.

I'd speculate that an RGB to YUV converter would be the best way to utilise an RGB output as most US sets have component.

Those RF boxes do happily accept either NTSC or PAL signals, not sure what options there are for output.

Another option is use an old VCR. This will tune in the PAL RF signal and output an NTSC composite signal. I use this method for old RF based Japanese consoles such as the Famicom.

In Australia our TVs happily accept PAL or NTSC, for the most part. Seems that in the USA they only cater to NTSC.

Frank_fjs wrote

True but as you said, RGB in the US is difficult.

I'd speculate that an RGB to YUV converter would be the best way to utilise an RGB output as most US sets have component.

Those RF boxes do happily accept either NTSC or PAL signals, not sure what options there are for output.

Another option is use an old VCR. This will tune in the PAL RF signal and output an NTSC composite signal. I use this method for old RF based Japanese consoles such as the Famicom.

In Australia our TVs happily accept PAL or NTSC, for the most part. Seems that in the USA they only cater to NTSC.

2 follow up questions:

1. The old VCR method sounds very doable - would this really be all I needed? Anything special to look for in a VCR?

2. Could I also do this:
SMS2 -> RF to RCA converter -> PAL to NTSC converter -> NTSC TV?

Author	Message
ctholin Joined: 09 Apr 2018 Posts: 3	SMS2 PAL/NTSC capability question Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:59 pm
ctholin Joined: 09 Apr 2018 Posts: 3	Hi There Hopefully this has not been answered but I searched and didn't find quite what I was looking for. I recently got an SMS2 PAL that i'd like to try here in N America (NTSC). I'm not technical enough to jump into the modding thing - do I have any options? I see some PAL/NTSC switches on Amazon but i'm not sure if those will work. What are the least technical options? Thanks in advance!

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14735 Location: London	Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:14 am
	It's hard, you only have RF out and it's pretty much impossible to get a US TV to show it. Anything else is going to be technical. Maybe import a TV?

ctholin Joined: 09 Apr 2018 Posts: 3	Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 2:52 am
ctholin Joined: 09 Apr 2018 Posts: 3	Maxim wrote It's hard, you only have RF out and it's pretty much impossible to get a US TV to show it. Anything else is going to be technical. Maybe import a TV? Bummer, but thanks. I see a number of scattered info sites - some not even around anymore. Is there a single place for modding instructions that’s considered the best / most up to date?

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14735 Location: London	Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 4:39 am
	Not really - I'd like that place to be here. Basically your best bet is to mod for RGB and 60Hz, and then do what it takes to display that in the USA, which seems surprisingly tricky.

Frank_fjs Joined: 19 Aug 2011 Posts: 115 Location: Australia	Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:50 am
	You could composite video mod it and convert it to NTSC. Doesn't require many parts and is easy to perform if you know how to solder.

Frank_fjs Joined: 19 Aug 2011 Posts: 115 Location: Australia	Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 6:01 am
	Otherwise the least technical way is to buy an RF to composite converter box. These work well and will accept the PAL RF signal from the console and output it to composite video. They work with both PAL and NTSC signals.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14735 Location: London	Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 6:41 am
	Composite is still PAL vs NTSC, only RGB is free of special carrier frequencies.

Frank_fjs Joined: 19 Aug 2011 Posts: 115 Location: Australia	Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 1:33 pm
	True but as you said, RGB in the US is difficult. I'd speculate that an RGB to YUV converter would be the best way to utilise an RGB output as most US sets have component. Those RF boxes do happily accept either NTSC or PAL signals, not sure what options there are for output. Another option is use an old VCR. This will tune in the PAL RF signal and output an NTSC composite signal. I use this method for old RF based Japanese consoles such as the Famicom. In Australia our TVs happily accept PAL or NTSC, for the most part. Seems that in the USA they only cater to NTSC.

ctholin Joined: 09 Apr 2018 Posts: 3	Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 3:11 pm
ctholin Joined: 09 Apr 2018 Posts: 3	Frank_fjs wrote True but as you said, RGB in the US is difficult. I'd speculate that an RGB to YUV converter would be the best way to utilise an RGB output as most US sets have component. Those RF boxes do happily accept either NTSC or PAL signals, not sure what options there are for output. Another option is use an old VCR. This will tune in the PAL RF signal and output an NTSC composite signal. I use this method for old RF based Japanese consoles such as the Famicom. In Australia our TVs happily accept PAL or NTSC, for the most part. Seems that in the USA they only cater to NTSC. 2 follow up questions: 1. The old VCR method sounds very doable - would this really be all I needed? Anything special to look for in a VCR? 2. Could I also do this: SMS2 -> RF to RCA converter -> PAL to NTSC converter -> NTSC TV?

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