No PAL VERA... Then why Worry ?

[schristis]

I almost bought a $15 TV set last week...
While I'd like to check for overscan; The X16 is NTSC...

In my experience, you can adjust a CRT monitor; to see the entire screen.
You can't adjust an old TV set like that, and are designed to have "overscan"...

I can't just "take out the TV" and check for overscan....
I'd have to ask someone in the U.S. to check..... Ummmm Why worry about something I cant do anything about ??

In our corner of the world (Australia)... we have 240v 50Hz PAL TV's , so mostly are completely without even a setting.

In David's last video, no mention of future PAL VERA boards... But maybe a "Radio Card" (that I'd like) that has overscan on a TV..
I think if we're not bothering about PAL.. Then we're already making decisions on our set-ups not to have TV's...

My set-up, cannot have a TV (Without complicating it)
Developers are Developing, when they have to ask other's for overscan?

And people are getting set-up, with what they have... so they have already gone in direction, to avoid buying another Vera.

Gen 2, or NEXTGen is wanted to be all surface-mount, to be cheaper... so are we going to have 2 types ? PAL & NTSC?
It feels like..... only NTSC...

Are people in Australia (and half the world), are going to have the "next Gen" only on Monitors, not TV's ?

Do we even know what that, anything we Develop will look like, until its tested on "real hardware"?

I'm only a novice, & X16 enthusiast... I might have the wrong Idea.... what do you think ?

[The 8-Bit Guy]

It's unlikely you'll ever see a PAL version of the Vera due to the timing needed for 50 hz.

The overscan isn't really an issue. The problem is with the program I showed in the video is that the author didn't take composite mode into account when writing the program. But as it was just a proof of concept anyway, I didn't give him a hard time about it. But generally, part of our QA process is to try all software in composite mode, and if it has issues, I contact the author and ask them to correct it.

[schristis]

That's why I posted "Then why Worry" I am real happy with whats happening with the development of the X16, and looking forward to more... I really liked your video and am real happy, and appreciate what I have.... There's nothing like it !

I think most people are happy with a monitor than a TV anyway... (I am)
It's bought back memories, of using a C64 on a TV... or my 2600.... for that retro-feel.....
But this project is fantastic for what it is becoming.

Best regards
Shaun Christiansen

[Wavicle]

I've spent a few days thinking on this. A PAL VERA is probably possible, but it will be a substantial amount of work.

I looked at the scan timings, and they can definitely be accommodated by the existing hardware. The resulting VERA would have a 50Hz refresh rate and would not work with any programs which depend on that refresh. Audio pitch would be unaffected, but music timing would be unless the program is using either the VIA or the YM timers.

However, I don't completely understand how PAL encodes color. It looks similar to NTSC with a 180 degree phase shift between even and odd lines. I'm not clear if that is lines of the same field or if the second field quadrature is 180 degrees shifted from the first field. One big uncertainty I have is whether or not the higher color carrier frequency would be a problem. My gut says no, but I'm not sure. I would need access to someone with PAL expertise to ask questions and someone with PAL test equipment to check the result. It would be a lot of work. Much more so than when I added 240P for Adrian.

[Edmond D]

I would need access to someone with PAL expertise to ask questions and someone with PAL test equipment to check the result. It would be a lot of work. Much more so than when I added 240P for Adrian.

I'm sure there is a few enlightened Europeans who can help out. Perhaps Adrian could be a tester on those side of the pond.

Ideally you'd get a PAL capable display to develop and test "in-house."