Getting PAL PS1 games to work in U.S.
I specifically have the gnarly challenge of trying to get a couple PAL PS1 games to work, but considering i'm also somewhat interested in owning a PAL SNES and PAL Mega Drive in the future, I'm just generally curious about the easiest route to get PAL consoles/games working in the U.S.
I guess my best idea for the PS1 problem is to buy a PS1 PAL console, plug it into a power converter in the wall, then plug the A/V cables into something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAL-NTSC-SECAM-to-PAL-NTSC-MINI-Bi-directional-TV-System-Converter-for-Video-/141743413783?hash=item210090da17:g:Sv8AAOSwjVVVyv-S
or
http://www.amazon.com/Composite-Converter-Supporting-NTSC3-58-NTSC4-43/dp/B0152INSCG/ref=cm_wl_huc_item
Right now I just have an HDTV at my disposal (old CRT's at parents) so I'd prefer the second converter, which seems to convert and upscale the PAL signal into native HDMI. Anyway, I guess my question is, would this work ok? The followup question would be would this general idea work with the PAL SNES and PAL Mega Drive down the road?
I guess my best idea for the PS1 problem is to buy a PS1 PAL console, plug it into a power converter in the wall, then plug the A/V cables into something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAL-NTSC-SECAM-to-PAL-NTSC-MINI-Bi-directional-TV-System-Converter-for-Video-/141743413783?hash=item210090da17:g:Sv8AAOSwjVVVyv-S
or
http://www.amazon.com/Composite-Converter-Supporting-NTSC3-58-NTSC4-43/dp/B0152INSCG/ref=cm_wl_huc_item
Right now I just have an HDTV at my disposal (old CRT's at parents) so I'd prefer the second converter, which seems to convert and upscale the PAL signal into native HDMI. Anyway, I guess my question is, would this work ok? The followup question would be would this general idea work with the PAL SNES and PAL Mega Drive down the road?
Comments
get a codebreaker its region free
PS1 games still want to output in PAL format on a North American console.
Also composite to hdmi will not look good,you would be better off with a scart to hdmi upscaler.
You'll still need need a way to force 60hz or receive 50hz.
you can emulate pal games though!
I guess another question. I've frequently played PAL games on my PS3/PS4 before just fine on my HDTV (and only on an HDTV, didn't work when I had my PS3 hooked up via component cables on a CRT once before). Does that mean my HDTV can accept 50hz?
I have tried emulating these particular PAL PS1 games and it works ok, at least I've been able to try them. I'm a bit of a hobbyist/purist though, I'd enjoy having the natural feel of getting these running via the original console. I can't imagine the headache and cost in acquiring a PAL TV on top of everything just to do that (though I'm sure someone somewhere has gone to that trouble).
When it comes to hdmi,ntsc and pal don't exist so don't worry about that.
For 50hz sometimes it will say it on the back of the tv but if you emulated pal games to run at 50hz on your tv than your tv supports it.
A scart to hdmi would be the best option,if you could go the crt route,a sony pvm/bvm supports 50hz or a sony KD-32FS170 will do 50hz in color over component and its a standerd US model crt.
I'm not sure if my TV has a 50hz setting, but if it does, I've never used it and the handful of PS1 games and PS2 games we do have run fine. I'd certainly notice, too, because a number of them are shooters.
You'll also need an adapter to plug the PS3 into an American outlet.
For pal ps2 using component it might work with a upscaler but ps1 games would mostly wont even run and there 240p.
When it comes to hdmi,ntsc and pal don't exist so don't worry about that.
For 50hz sometimes it will say it on the back of the tv but if you emulated pal games to run at 50hz on your tv than your tv supports it.
A scart to hdmi would be the best option,if you could go the crt route,a sony pvm/bvm supports 50hz or a sony KD-32FS170 will do 50hz in color over component and its a standerd US model crt.
I actually had just emulated the PAL games on my laptop without trying a TV hookup, I'll test that and see. Otherwise a PAL PS2 Scart-to-HDMI would be the way to go on a HDTV?
That Sony KD-32FS170 looks great as far as CRT's concerned, I have a Sony Trintron at my parent's place that I'll eventually take back when I move into a house - I would wonder if those have issues output 50hz. I miss that TV!
First-generation PAL PS3s with the backwards compatibility work well. However, you'll have to have a component cable for PS2 and PS1 games.
I'm not sure if my TV has a 50hz setting, but if it does, I've never used it and the handful of PS1 games and PS2 games we do have run fine. I'd certainly notice, too, because a number of them are shooters.
You'll also need an adapter to plug the PS3 into an American outlet.
So you have a "fat" PAL PS3 hooked up to an HDTV and it plays PAL PS1 games ok through the component cable? I assuming your TV then just auto-sets itself to 50hz while running the game...
First-generation PAL PS3s with the backwards compatibility work well. However, you'll have to have a component cable for PS2 and PS1 games.
I'm not sure if my TV has a 50hz setting, but if it does, I've never used it and the handful of PS1 games and PS2 games we do have run fine. I'd certainly notice, too, because a number of them are shooters.
You'll also need an adapter to plug the PS3 into an American outlet.
So you have a "fat" PAL PS3 hooked up to an HDTV and it plays PAL PS1 games ok through the component cable? I assuming your TV then just auto-sets itself to 50hz while running the game...
No clue on what the TV does. It's the most bare-bones LCD that RCA sold at Wal-Mart years ago. I was a poor college student and it's what I could afford. Aside from the inputs and channels, the only options it has are the same ones you tend to see on budget computer monitors. Stuff like contrast and brightness and whatnot. No game mode, no 50/60hz selections, nothing.
And yes, I have the fat PS3 hooked up with a component cable, and it seems to run totally fine. Aside from the adapter for the plug, we didn't have to buy anything else or mod anything.
We initially had to hook it up both HDMI and component, so that we could set the display settings to component (it was displaying HDMI), but after that we didn't need to do anything. But that's something that could easily happen with USA PS3s as well.
get a codebreaker its region free
PS1 games still want to output in PAL format on a North American console.
oh. yeah didnt think of that..
Originally posted by: weekendroady
Originally posted by: Pikkon
For pal ps2 using component it might work with a upscaler but ps1 games would mostly wont even run and there 240p.
When it comes to hdmi,ntsc and pal don't exist so don't worry about that.
For 50hz sometimes it will say it on the back of the tv but if you emulated pal games to run at 50hz on your tv than your tv supports it.
A scart to hdmi would be the best option,if you could go the crt route,a sony pvm/bvm supports 50hz or a sony KD-32FS170 will do 50hz in color over component and its a standerd US model crt.
I actually had just emulated the PAL games on my laptop without trying a TV hookup, I'll test that and see. Otherwise a PAL PS2 Scart-to-HDMI would be the way to go on a HDTV?
That Sony KD-32FS170 looks great as far as CRT's concerned, I have a Sony Trintron at my parent's place that I'll eventually take back when I move into a house - I would wonder if those have issues output 50hz. I miss that TV!
This would work great on ps2,snes and megadrive.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scart-HDMI-to-HDMI-720P-1080P-HD-Video-Converter-Monitor-Box-For-HDTV-DVD-STB-EK-/321892504686?hash=item4af249d46e:g:4RAAAOSwA4dWHPVx
If you get a pal ps2 I would suggest a slim model with the external psu as there universal.
Well I'm thinking now I could go the PAL PS2 route instead, perhaps the component output on the PAL PS2 would play nicer with HDMI conversion and I can then play PAL PS1/PS2 games. I'm not really familiar with SCART output on PAL PS1/PS2 - I really only a familiar with the term, but not the challenges in converting SCART video to work in an NTSC/HDMI environment. So its really up to my TV being able to accept 50hz (is there any easy way to figure that out? Is that a commonly listed attribute for TVs?)
I guess another question. I've frequently played PAL games on my PS3/PS4 before just fine on my HDTV (and only on an HDTV, didn't work when I had my PS3 hooked up via component cables on a CRT once before). Does that mean my HDTV can accept 50hz?
I have tried emulating these particular PAL PS1 games and it works ok, at least I've been able to try them. I'm a bit of a hobbyist/purist though, I'd enjoy having the natural feel of getting these running via the original console. I can't imagine the headache and cost in acquiring a PAL TV on top of everything just to do that (though I'm sure someone somewhere has gone to that trouble).
Some monitors and TVs might accept modes not in their documentation.
To find out on a PC, you'd need to set the GPU to output 50hz somehow (for instance by setting a custom resolution in Nvidia Control Panel)
I'm not sure of the specifics but my understanding is Sony required all PS3 games include 60hz for HD modes, while it was optional for SD modes.
I do know PAL support is limited on NTSC PS3s. Certain things are blocked by the system with an error message.
Well I'm thinking now I could go the PAL PS2 route instead, perhaps the component output on the PAL PS2 would play nicer with HDMI conversion and I can then play PAL PS1/PS2 games. I'm not really familiar with SCART output on PAL PS1/PS2 - I really only a familiar with the term, but not the challenges in converting SCART video to work in an NTSC/HDMI environment. So its really up to my TV being able to accept 50hz (is there any easy way to figure that out? Is that a commonly listed attribute for TVs?)
I guess another question. I've frequently played PAL games on my PS3/PS4 before just fine on my HDTV (and only on an HDTV, didn't work when I had my PS3 hooked up via component cables on a CRT once before). Does that mean my HDTV can accept 50hz?
I have tried emulating these particular PAL PS1 games and it works ok, at least I've been able to try them. I'm a bit of a hobbyist/purist though, I'd enjoy having the natural feel of getting these running via the original console. I can't imagine the headache and cost in acquiring a PAL TV on top of everything just to do that (though I'm sure someone somewhere has gone to that trouble).
Some monitors and TVs might accept modes not in their documentation.
To find out on a PC, you'd need to set the GPU to output 50hz somehow (for instance by setting a custom resolution in Nvidia Control Panel)
I'm not sure of the specifics but my understanding is Sony required all PS3 games include 60hz for HD modes, while it was optional for SD modes.
I do know PAL support is limited on NTSC PS3s. Certain things are blocked by the system with an error message.
That would answer the mystery about PS3 PAL games would work on HDMI connections and not Component. I always wondered that. I had International Cricket 2010 and it ran fine, I loaned it to a friend and he said it didn't work - he had it hooked up to a CRT via component though...
For pal ps2 using component it might work with a upscaler but ps1 games would mostly wont even run and there 240p.
When it comes to hdmi,ntsc and pal don't exist so don't worry about that.
For 50hz sometimes it will say it on the back of the tv but if you emulated pal games to run at 50hz on your tv than your tv supports it.
A scart to hdmi would be the best option,if you could go the crt route,a sony pvm/bvm supports 50hz or a sony KD-32FS170 will do 50hz in color over component and its a standerd US model crt.
I actually had just emulated the PAL games on my laptop without trying a TV hookup, I'll test that and see. Otherwise a PAL PS2 Scart-to-HDMI would be the way to go on a HDTV?
That Sony KD-32FS170 looks great as far as CRT's concerned, I have a Sony Trintron at my parent's place that I'll eventually take back when I move into a house - I would wonder if those have issues output 50hz. I miss that TV!
This would work great on ps2,snes and megadrive.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scart-HDM...
If you get a pal ps2 I would suggest a slim model with the external psu as there universal.
OK - I'm officially going to try this. I found a decent deal to get a PAL PS1 shipped with a SCART cable and controller (I assume any region's controllers work but I wanted to be absolutely sure I had one that was marketed for PAL regions just in case). A slim PAL PS2 may be in the cards in the future if this rig actually works out ok - I just am more interested in the particular PS1 titles and I don't think those slim's are backward comp. right?
What kind of ps1 did you get,a normal one will require a step down transformer.
It's cool to see someone interested in pal games,I have a pal snes with some games,it's pretty cool to collect for.
Awesome.
It's cool to see someone interested in pal games,I have a pal snes with some games,it's pretty cool to collect for.
I almost feel that PAL exclusives are practically forgotten in the NTSC world, just because of the huge amount of difficulty in getting it all setup. Its hard enough now for a hobbyist to do it in the age of ebay, amazon and all these tech gadgets we can play with. Well imagine when these consoles were in production, almost nobody had that kind of access, and few had the knowledge of these games existences unless you traveled overseas and saw for yourself.
An early childhood memory of mine was visiting a gamestore in Iceland of all places back when I took a family trip to Norway when I was 8 or 9. I remember my dad purchasing me a PAL B version of Mario Bros (Arcade) for NES, the guy guaranteed it would work on my console. It, of course, didn't. Sadly, my dad went to the massive trouble of returning the game (via mail) to this store in Iceland and I wish I would have had that copy now (I think its quite valuable, esp. with the box, and I always kept everything nice).
Anyway, I have a handful of PAL games for my hockey collection and a few others I just wanted to try out for fun (and kinda like being one of the "few" to own/play these here in the states)
I've been interested in getting into PAL PS1 games recently as well. I have a cheat device that boots them on my US console, but I don't have a way to get them to display properly on my TV. I was thinking of trying something like the converter on eBay you linked to in the OP.
I'll let you know how it goes. I purchased the SCART to HDMI converter that Pikkon linked me to (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scart-HDMI-to-HDMI-720P-1080P-HD-Video-Converter-Monitor-Box-For-HDTV-DVD-STB-EK-/321892504686?hash=item4af249d46e:g:4RAAAOSwA4dWHPVx&rmvSB=true). Unfortunately I had a step-up converter, so I did have to purchase a step-down converter ($30 on Amazon for a quality one that does both up and down conversions). The PS1 I ordered off ebay from the UK took less than a week to arrive, so I already have it - not sure how it took that fast for such a cheap purchase (I got it for $30 shipped). I have a couple PS1 PAL games already but can't do any testing until I get the both the video and current converters. This shall be interesting...
So yeah, the whole rig cost about $92 I figure - but hopefully its all I need to do to get any possible future acquisitions (PAL SNES/PAL Mega Drive) to work...
I've been interested in getting into PAL PS1 games recently as well. I have a cheat device that boots them on my US console, but I don't have a way to get them to display properly on my TV. I was thinking of trying something like the converter on eBay you linked to in the OP.
I'll let you know how it goes. I purchased the SCART to HDMI converter that Pikkon linked me to (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scart-HDM...). Unfortunately I had a step-up converter, so I did have to purchase a step-down converter ($30 on Amazon for a quality one that does both up and down conversions). The PS1 I ordered off ebay from the UK took less than a week to arrive, so I already have it - not sure how it took that fast for such a cheap purchase (I got it for $30 shipped). I have a couple PS1 PAL games already but can't do any testing until I get the both the video and current converters. This shall be interesting...
So yeah, the whole rig cost about $92 I figure - but hopefully its all I need to do to get any possible future acquisitions (PAL SNES/PAL Mega Drive) to work...
Have you had any success with this?
I've been interested in getting into PAL PS1 games recently as well. I have a cheat device that boots them on my US console, but I don't have a way to get them to display properly on my TV. I was thinking of trying something like the converter on eBay you linked to in the OP.
I'll let you know how it goes. I purchased the SCART to HDMI converter that Pikkon linked me to (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scart-HDM...). Unfortunately I had a step-up converter, so I did have to purchase a step-down converter ($30 on Amazon for a quality one that does both up and down conversions). The PS1 I ordered off ebay from the UK took less than a week to arrive, so I already have it - not sure how it took that fast for such a cheap purchase (I got it for $30 shipped). I have a couple PS1 PAL games already but can't do any testing until I get the both the video and current converters. This shall be interesting...
So yeah, the whole rig cost about $92 I figure - but hopefully its all I need to do to get any possible future acquisitions (PAL SNES/PAL Mega Drive) to work...
Have you had any success with this?
I got it all hooked up and running, but unfortunately the disc reader for the PS1 I ordered wasn't functioning correct, it couldn't boot up either of three three PAL games I had. It started up just fine and the SCART --> HDMI worked wonderfully, but I could only play around on the menu screen...Got most of the cost refunded, kept everything so I could have all the hookups. So I'm still in search of a working PAL PS1 and all I need is literally the console itself. I'll probably probe around for another one here in a week or so, I had held off for a bit. I'm convinced I got a working setup once I just get a fully functional PAL PS1 in there...