Does Koryuu work with PAL-M?
- This topic has 7 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated August 10, 2024 at 7:59 PM by
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Yes! I just tested with my MiSTer after buying an S-Video/Composite adapter (which I set to PAL mode with it’s internal switch, and I also changed mister.ini to setup PAL-M), because I have no real PAL consoles. I do have the European Zero Wing cartridge, though, and this game image I’ve shown was copied from it with the OSCR (Open Source Cartridge Reader). While the OSSC Pro’s display and OSD show the input from the MiSTer is PAL-M by the vertical refresh rate of 49.70Hz, I am still using the OSSC Pro’s Scaler mode with it to make it my projector’s clean output.
That got me thinking I should test my projector with PAL-M, and wouldn’t you know it, it works! My projector reports it as being “576i” and that makes perfect sense, so I’m glad. I set the OSSC Pro to Pure Line Multiplier (Passthru) mode so it really is doing 288p, in case that helps. It’s the final picture.
I hope that helps! 🙂
Ah, I’m sorry! I thought PAL-M was just not PAL60 until you posted that and I read wikipedia’s entry on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL-M. The European Zero Wing isn’t PAL-M, it’s PAL and that’s why I got 50Hz from it.
I used Brazil’s Duke Nukem 3D to test it this time. Anyway, now that I’ve properly tested it, I think that it may work because my projector interprets it as 480i, and it displays as monochrome, and Wikipedia suggests that should happen on NTSC displays.
It’s interesting, though, that using my MiSTer’s RGBS SCART cable directly into the OSSC Pro does show color on my projector (still interpreted on it as 480i). It may be that the OSSC Pro is decoding its Component input differently from its SCART, but likely, instead, the Koryuu is making the difference. I will test this later, as I have a shinybow RGB SCART to Component adapter…
I have a RetroTink 2X (Not Pro), so I tested it too, but not through the OSSC Pro’s HDMI-In because that would’ve added another variable to the path. I set up the RetroTink 2X in passthrough, without its smoothing mode and, sure enough, it’s still shown as monochrome, detected as 480i by my projector.
EDIT 2024-08-09: I made a big mistake in the testing of it because I’d forgotten to set MiSTer.ini to use S-Video like I had in the first test. Now that I remembered to, I am getting color! Another issue I may have been having is an iffy VGA connection from the MiSTer to the S-Video adapter board. Even using the good MiSTer.ini S-Video settings I can get monochrome, but I’m now sure it’s not intended. On my newer posts below you can see the result.
Koryuu Pictures:
RGBS SCART Pictures:
RetroTink 2X Pictures:
So I have some Brazilian PAL-M Mega Drives that I want to use on NTSC CRTs. I currently connect them to a RetroTink 2X-Pro which supports PAL-M and convert the HDMI output to component. And it mostly works and decodes the color, but there’s one distracting problem, it creates all these chroma dots on vertical edges.
I tried on multiple TVs, including just going from HDMI out on the 2X to an HDMI in on an HD CRT. And I tried on multiple Brazilian Mega Drives.
From what I’ve read the Koryuu uses the same comb filter chip. The notch filter setting on the 2X-Pro looks better and has less rainbowing than the comb filter setting, though from what I read the Koryuu doesn’t have a notch filter option.But yeah, I was wondering if the Koryuu would have the same chroma dot issue when decoding PAL-M? Based on your post, if you’re getting black and white then it sounds like it’s not decoding the color correctly. I also have a Kramer 401D composite to S-Video converter but it doesn’t support PAL-M so the output is black and white.
EDIT: You must be using composite from your PAL-M MegaDrive to need the comb-filter right? Sorry, I should have read your last post better. What follows are pictures of S-Video from the MiSTer to the Koryuu to the OSSC Pro and finally my projector. The next chance I get, I’ll get some pictures of Composite from the MiSTer to the Koryuu to the OSSC Pro and my projector. The MiSTer S-Video adapter I’m using has both ports.
I couldn’t find the Streets of Rage game you took pictures of, but hopefully this is enough. I used Duke Nukem 3D, as before for consistency and its many vertical lines, and “10 Super Jogos” because it has a Streets of Rage version that is definitely PAL-M.
The refresh rate is 59.92Hz and the OSSC Pro is set to passthrough:
For the rest, I switched the OSSC Pro into scaler mode, to hopefully get better defined lines with my projector’s more native output. I made sure to turn off the OSSC’s scanlines, which I like in these low-res modes when visible from auto scanlines, but are not good for consistency:
I hope that’s helpful, and sorry again for the MiSTer configuration mistake.
Alright, I finally have what you need, I think! One caveat is that when I set MiSTer.ini’s “vga_mode” setting to “cvbs”, I had to turn my projector’s contrast up from 0 to its max of 32 to make it as close to comparably bright as I could. This is a known issue, apparently, with the MiSTer’s Y/C cvbs setting: https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?p=69338#p69338. Also, I tried my Extron YCS 100 to decode the Composite into S-Video, but like your device, it isn’t compatible with PAL-M either, because it outputs it in black and white. One thing about using Composite is the noticeable S-Video dithering everywhere and the vertical lines in Duke Nukem 3D blurred away nicely. 🙂
Using Composite with the OSSC Pro set to passthrough mode, I noticed rainbow affects on my projector, but not really your comb issue. Using the OSSC Pro to scale it cleaned up the rainbows, but caused a bit of a strobe of the rainbow coloration changing every other field. Here we go, with way too many images again:
OSSC Pro set to Pure Line Multiplier Mode (& x1 for Passthrough):
This one I took during a field transition, whoops:
Moving rainbows on the top part of the track curve:
Scaler Flicker instead of Rainbows:
The rest of the Scaler Pictures for better pixel clarity:
Sorry for so many pictures, but I hope at least some help you decide if it’s worth getting a Koryuu for PAL-M.
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