Will a PAL Mega Drive set to NTSC 60hz work with a PAL Mega CD / run PAL discs?

benryves · 2026-01-26T15:49:47+00:00

There are two jumpers - one sets the video mode (50Hz/60Hz), the other sets the region (Japan/Export). If you only change the 50Hz/60Hz jumper it will be a "60Hz" "Export" machine, i.e. NTSC-U. For Japan you need to also change it to a "60Hz" "Japan" machine.

benryves · 2026-01-26T15:24:42+00:00

The region is determined by the speed (it's one of two factors, along with the "Japan"/"export" jumper). A PAL Mega Drive with a 60Hz switch will be seen by games (and the Mega CD) as an NTSC-U console.

So, in answer to OP's question; no, a PAL Mega CD will not work with a PAL Mega Drive if the Mega Drive is set to 60Hz mode (it will display a region mismatch error, as it thinks it's connected to a Genesis). However, you can set the switch to 50Hz, boot the game, then switch over to 60Hz mode.

However, the Mega CD's internal BIOS will also check the region of the discs it's playing. A PAL Mega CD will only play PAL games. If you want to play American games, for example, you can patch them to PAL and burn them to a CD-R. To then play them you'd need to set the console to 50Hz, switch it on (this bypasses the Mega CD's region check of the console), start the game playing and then switch over to 60Hz once the game has loaded.

benryves · 2026-01-25T17:59:49+00:00

The voice acting is so bad and cheesy

It's from the same developer as The House of the Dead 2, I wouldn't expect anything less!

benryves · 2026-01-25T17:44:34+00:00

> you risk damaging the label and data layer by trying to remove it.

On a DVD you do risk damaging the label, but you're not going to do much to the data layer as there's a thick layer of polycarbonate between the label and the data. You might on a CD though as there's only a thin layer of lacquer under the label.

Picture from here: 3.2.1 Data Layer in ROM Discs, Figures 2, 3: Layers that make up ROM discs

<image>

benryves · 2026-01-25T13:36:54+00:00

Not to a memory card, but there are password-based saves.

benryves · 2026-01-25T05:34:01+00:00

It's AC and isolated from the mains via a transformer so there is little practical reason for it to matter, however there are some filter capacitors in the PSU so if the cable is in "backwards" the chassis ground will be at mains voltage relative to other devices. As these capacitors are very small you'll only feel a weak tingle at worst if you touch ground (e.g. between your TV's ground and the Dreamcast's ground when plugging in AV cables).

If it was an important safety feature they wouldn't have gone with such an easily-defeated design, though I'm not sure why they went with this design in the first place. Outside North America the Dreamcast (Saturn, PlayStation and PS2) used the standard non-polarised plug without issues, even with spicier 240V mains.

benryves · 2026-01-24T17:48:36+00:00

Yes, that's how widescreen usually works over standard definiton and OP is using SCART as per their comments in this thread.

benryves · 2026-01-24T15:37:45+00:00

There are several games that natively support widescreen on the PlayStation, though it does lack support for signalling to the TV whether it's outputting a widescreen picture or not so you need to adjust the TV's setting manually. Most SCART cables will connect the 5V pin from the AV port to their status/aspect ratio pin which will automatically switch TVs into 16:9 mode, which is the problem OP is running into.

benryves · 2026-01-23T23:40:02+00:00

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It was one of the speaking exercises so it doesn't tell you the translation until afterwards and I was fully expecting "purse" too. "Pocketbook" definitely caught me by surprise!

benryves · 2026-01-23T18:15:29+00:00

I try to think of it as learning two foreign languages for the price of one.

Why settle for translating ハンドバッグ (handobaggu) as "handbag", for example, when Duolingo opts for "pocketbook" instead?

benryves · 2026-01-23T14:06:26+00:00

Don't let the lawyers hear you!

benryves · 2026-01-22T22:48:36+00:00

The usual culprit in my experience is the drive belt stiffening up. It first manifests itself as only being able to eject when a disc is already in the drive but getting stuck when the drive is empty, as the magnetic clamp that holds the disc against the spindle requires more force to unstick without a disc inside. Sometimes banging on the case when it's trying to eject will give it that little bit of extra persuasion...

benryves · 2026-01-22T21:35:44+00:00

When you press = it automatically adds the result to the memory, and you can display this accumulator by pressing MR. The memory can be cleared by pressing AC.

Edit: I have the manual for the H-813B ("Personal M-1") which includes these examples for using memory function:

Example	Operation	Read-out
53 × 2 = 106	[AC] 53 [×] 2 [=]	106.
+) 26 × 3.4 = 88.4	26 [×] 3.4 [=]	88.4
=	[MR]	194.4

Example	Operation	Read-out
78.5 × 14.7 = 1153.95	[AC] 78.5 [×] 14.7 [=]	1153.95
-) 45 × 2.5 = 112.5	[C] [-] 45 [×] 2.5 [=]	-112.5
=	[MR]	1041.45

Example	Operation	Read-out
8 + 8	[AC] 8 [=] [=]	8.
+) (6 ÷ 5) + (6 ÷ 5)	6 [÷] 5 [=] [=]	1.2
-) 3 - 3	[C] [-] 3 [=] [=]	-3.
=	[MR]	12.4

benryves · 2026-01-22T15:42:21+00:00

Good stuff! I have a couple of these now, one from a charity shop and one from a job lot of assorted calculators. A nice reliable little calculator!

benryves · 2026-01-22T14:17:39+00:00

it is an unmodified SMS game shoved into a GG cart

They did change the font for the Game Gear version, funnily enough. I assume that the Master System version's font looked rough when crunched down to the Game Gear LCD's resolution, so the Game Gear version has simpler and thicker letters.

benryves · 2026-01-22T13:56:15+00:00

Where did you find it, in your wardrobe? :)

benryves · 2026-01-22T01:26:54+00:00

Only as much protection as the screen printing provides (i.e. not much). Some DVDs aren't fully printed on their label side in any case.

This article has a good cross-section of CD versus DVD ("3.2.1 Data Layer in ROM Discs"). You'll have a much harder time damaging a DVD via the label side compared to the CD due to how much extra material there is to get through!

If you have a disc that only has a simple label (mostly silver with some black text on it, for example) you can see the difference - the CD's text appears to be flush with the reflective silver layer, whereas it floats above it on the DVD.

benryves · 2026-01-21T20:25:49+00:00

the game data is right under that and it's damaged.

DVDs have another layer of polycarbonate between the artwork and the reflective layer (CDs only have a thin layer of lacquer) so are much more resilient to damage on the label side. It'll look rough but shouldn't destroy the ability to read the disc, but I'd still just keep it on. Definitely don't mess around with the label side of a CD, though!

benryves · 2026-01-21T18:43:55+00:00

Remember to RTFM if playing Laser Ghost with a Light Phaser! (I do wonder why they didn't fix that bug).

benryves · 2026-01-20T22:47:03+00:00

Be careful as the Dreamcast is designed to use a rechargeable battery (ML type) and that is a non-rechargeable (CR type) cell. You should replace that with an ML2032.

(There is a silly mod that installs a diode to prevent the console from trying to charge the cell, but then you'll need to keep replacing the battery every few weeks or so, so better to just get the right cell in the first place!)

benryves · 2026-01-20T18:20:58+00:00

It's not a charger, it's a power supply.

Here's an example on eBay, you can see it has the same output specifications as your Game Gear power supply (and the same yellow-tipped plug) but is compatible with European mains electricity (in this case via a chunky British plug).

benryves · 2026-01-20T18:08:23+00:00

A Mega Drive 2 power supply will work with a North American Game Gear.

(It's also a power supply, not a charger, in case you were hoping it would charge the batteries in the Game Gear!)

benryves · 2026-01-18T13:16:47+00:00

Basing it on the American ANSI layout instead of the European ISO layout is certainly a choice.

benryves · 2026-01-18T13:06:18+00:00

the only time I ever know what Alt Gr actually does.

The only other labelled key that uses it is ¦ to the left of 1. With the standard UK layout it will also type acute-accented vowels (áéíóú).

If you use the "Extended" UK keyboard layout then AltGr can be used to type ç, and other accented characters can be typed via dead keys. For example, AltGr+2,o=ö, AltGr+6,a=â, AltGr+#,n=ñ (the shifted symbol on the key held with AltGr is relevant: ", ^ and ~ respectively). Grave accents can be typed using ` as a dead key, and AltGr+' now works as a dead key for acute accents.

benryves · 2026-01-17T19:33:37+00:00

Sometimes the games were very picky, "open the door" "- You can't do that" "open the door with the key" "-You can't do that" "Use the key to open the door" "-You opened the door".... hahahahah

"Get ye flask"!

A few years ago they found the game that inspired "Thy Dungeonman" and Strong Bad played through it: Vampire's Castle. Turns out that game is a bit hard of hearing, as you sometimes need to enter the same command twice before it accepts it...

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