Consoles: NTSC vs PAL

[randombs]

Sony could be a problem though. A large majority of PS2 titles are still 50Hz only, and it remains to be seen what they plan to do with the PS3.

i was gonna say that but thought i'd get cussed considering they'll be at HD res's just like 360 games are.

tbh if you're using a 360 on a telly that doesn't do 60Hz there's something very wrong there...

[EvilBoris]

Yes, that's right. I played a PAL version of Halo 2 and was absolutely shocked at how slow it was. (Can this game not run in 60hz for people with European consoles?)

Did you mean Halo 1?

That was fecked for pal release


Halo 2 is region free and identical across all regions.

[Brats]

The NTSC vs PAL issue has virtually disappeared now. The only difference is regional, with some games appearing earlier in some regions than others. Although the US got RRVI and Dead Rising before the UK, you can bet that we will get Pro Evo way before they get their version of Winning Eleven (plus it will be edited with US teams).

[theledge]

Halo 2 runs in 60hz, atleast it's smooth as silk for me on my PAL xbox. Halo 1 however only runs well in 50hz, becomes very choppy in 60hz due to the PAL optimisation I think.

Do you think we can expect to see this type of PAL optimisation with future titles?

Where is the best website for buying a US 360 console and games?

[randombs]

Halo 2 runs in 60hz, atleast it's smooth as silk for me on my PAL xbox. Halo 1 however only runs well in 50hz, becomes very choppy in 60hz due to the PAL optimisation I think.

tbh i've no idea why they messed up the 60hz mode as the game is originally american anyway, hence designed in 60hz, so pal60 shouldn't require anything to be done to the game in any way whatsoever. i'm wondering if maybe it's messed up because they optimised it for pal50, then derived the 60hz mode from that? sounds bananas i know, but it just doesn't make sense. i don't think anyone's ever cocked up the 60hz mode in a game before...

[Concept]

As Brats mentioned the PAL/NTSC divide (which will still exist some way into next-gen before HDTVs enter the mainstream) is slowly disappearing and most likely in less than a decade there won't be PAL or NTSC - it'll be region coding, a la DVD.

Now of course, this will make the horrendous waits for certain Japanese releases (usually on the PlayStation) in the UK when US versions are identical in every measure to the version we receive... somewhat exasperating.

[Mr Fujisawa]

ohhh ok cool.



shots like this had me confused that's all

1080i @ 50z

[Sane]

tbh i've no idea why they messed up the 60hz mode as the game is originally american anyway, hence designed in 60hz, so pal60 shouldn't require anything to be done to the game in any way whatsoever. i'm wondering if maybe it's messed up because they optimised it for pal50, then derived the 60hz mode from that? sounds bananas i know, but it just doesn't make sense. i don't think anyone's ever cocked up the 60hz mode in a game before...

I think 60hz just wasn't put in at all if you know what I mean. The game acts similar to some other 50hz only PAL titles, for instance Stranger's Wrath or most EA games. Set your xbox to 60hz and you'll get a choppy mess when playing those.

[randombs]

ahh, so kinda like running certain pal saturn games in 60hz with the switch?

so i'm assuming it's an issue because bungie simply didn't disable pal60? i've played a couple of xbox games that don't have a 60hz mode (the pal60 option in the dash is simply ignored), like 007 AUF, and forcing them into 60hz causes graphical problems...

1080i @ 50z

just found an faq about british hdtv, and it's saying it'll be 720p/1080i at 50/25fps.

also this (regarding hd-ready certification)

"It must accept 720p50, 720p60, 1080i25 and 1080i30 input signals"

if that's true then that pretty much sums it up

i wish i had a way of testing my telly for this capability, as it doesn't carry the logo but it does things like hdcp over dvi, but is 19" (the minimum for hd-ready was 23" i believe) so that's probably why it doesn't carry the logo.

[Wools]

At the end of the day, it's just better to buy NTSC consoles from the get-go, and not have to put up with hideous release dates, if we get the game at all, and praying they will feel us worthy of 60Hz...

Dont agree with that as it's all about taste is it not?

I can't think of a single game I wanted to play that was not ported to PAL.

Stick with PAL, it's easier to purchase and if you live in the UK it's in it's native tounge.

[randombs]

personally there are times i wish i'd never found out about 60hz and importing

like my cousin said to me a few years ago, "i wish you'd never shown me jap tekken - after that i hated how slow the uk ones were!"

but yeah wools fair point - it is a matter of taste, and if you can see past refresh rates then it's all good (and you usually save a tidy sum in the process!)

each to their own i guess, but i also kinda disagree with jake somewhat, in that i much prefer buying pal consoles and modding them, than getting actual ntsc machines. i only have one ntsc machine and that's my dc, but only cos you have to get a jap/us one for full compatibility (and also cos it has a uk psu in so no bother there). all my other consoles are uk/pal but play imports and that's just how i like it.

[sj33]

each to their own i guess, but i also kinda disagree with jake somewhat, in that i much prefer buying pal consoles and modding them, than getting actual ntsc machines. i only have one ntsc machine and that's my dc, but only cos you have to get a jap/us one for full compatibility (and also cos it has a uk psu in so no bother there). all my other consoles are uk/pal but play imports and that's just how i like it.

I just prefer the ease of simply importing from the start. Even for PAL titles, we get situations like Dead Rising.

[Kongster]

Europe gets screwed over in terms of release dates. With the advent of the internet, importing has become a lot easier and a lot cheaper, so there is no reason not to import.

[charlesr]

I notice lots of people are buying Japanese 360s because asian games are in English and half the price they are over here (presuming you don't get stung for import tax). Certainly, I found it cheaper to import GC and PS2 games than to get them over here. And only took 1 or 2 days more to turn up (and usually 4 months earlier).

[Brats]

Europe gets screwed over in terms of release dates. With the advent of the internet, importing has become a lot easier and a lot cheaper, so there is no reason not to import.

It works the other way too though. Pro Evo and Outrun 2 are two stellar games that took months to find their way to the US. Pro Evo lost its online mode too. On XBox PSO, the US version was only playable on the US servers.

Some games (like Mashed and Doshin) were never released in the US at all.