pal nor ntsc saturn

[shaddow085]

My first japanese saturn starts to show it's age. The laser starts to make some more or less serious problems. So I I am considering getting another one.  Getting a japanese saturn again would be the best thing,because they are rather cheap. But are these models able to play pal games without any problems, when you have the action replay?

[themanfromsaturn]

Yes, using an Action Replay cartridge you should be able to play PAL games on your Japanese Saturn.

However, be aware that some PAL games are designed/optimised to run at 50Hz and your Japanese Saturn will be running at 60Hz, which could cause problems when playing certain games.

One way around this would be to add a 50/60Hz switch to your Japanese system so you can set the frequency, but this involves some soldering work.

You mention your Saturn has issues with the laser? If it is no longer reading discs, have you thought about just replacing the laser assembly? If its the JVC optima laser, these can be picked up relatively cheaply (far cheaper than a replacement Saturn!).

[shaddow085]

No have not considered yet repacling the laser, but if it is not that difficult I could consider it. It can still read discs most of the time, hut sometimes after playing for a longer time, the console sometimes switches to the main menu, like new disc is inserted. And sometimes the screen gets black during playing and you can only her the in game music. So I am worried the laser will spoil completly soon.

[themanfromsaturn]

Replacing the laser is not too difficult, but it sounds like there could be an issue with the PSU too?

I did have a similar issue with one of my PAL consoles where after being switched on for some time, then power cycling it, it wouldn't boot games and just crashed to the CD player saying that the drive was empty. Turned out to be the voltage regulator on the PSU was faulty.

[davyk]

If getting a JPN Saturn (which I recommend) then be aware that PAL games such as Sega Rally, VF2 etc. would glitch at 60Hz. However the JP equivalents of optimised PAL games are cheap. I ended up just replacing them with JP games.

I still have a PAL console and keep some PAL games like Rally etc. but it's more for sentimental reasons.

If thinking about replacing the laser then why not just replace it with a solid state solution? I think that's what I will end up doing when/if that happens.

[bultje112]

Nov 14, 2018 17:36:58 GMT shaddow085 said:

No have not considered yet repacling the laser, but if it is not that difficult I could consider it. It can still read discs most of the time, hut sometimes after playing for a longer time, the console sometimes switches to the main menu, like new disc is inserted. And sometimes the screen gets black during playing and you can only her the in game music. So I am worried the laser will spoil completly soon.

spray silicon spray on the rails moving the lens.

[shaddow085]

Thanks for the further information. That helpa a lot and will lead to a decent solution for my problem.

davyk In most cases I prefer the japanese versions anyway. They are easier to get which is good from a collectors point of view. Unfortunately I never had a Saturn back then. was more the n64 and them from 1999 onwards a playstation guy. So I missed all of the great saturn games.

For arcade type games the language barrier is a not big issue and I do not mind playing in Japanese but for the few story driven games this not so good. Then a Pal or NTSC U version would be a better choice.

But in general I am big fan of the games in Japanese.

[zyrobs]

I almost never use my PAL Saturns anymore due to scalers being iffy with anything that isn't 59.94Hz NTSC signal. However I hate how Japanese models always get yellowed.

I ended up buying a spare Japanese motherboard and put it in the case of one of my broken PAL units, with the bios chip replaced with a region free PAL one.

[buckoa51]

That's more the fault of modern TVs than the scalers.

[shaddow085]

I will try to fix the Saturn but wanna get another japanese Saturn anway just in case the first one breaks. Have lots of games to play I missed back then so It is always good to have a replacement console.

Is it worth to hunt down a specific Saturn model 1 or model 2 or is that Thing not important and any Saturn is good?

[slicer1000]

Nov 14, 2018 11:43:14 GMT shaddow085 said:

My first japanese saturn starts to show it's age. The laser starts to make some more or less serious problems. So I I am considering getting another one.  Getting a japanese saturn again would be the best thing,because they are rather cheap. But are these models able to play pal games without any problems, when you have the action replay?

I'll provide a link to Saturn Hz guide thread I posted, which can be found in the list and guide section of this board:

segasaturngroup.proboards.com/thread/9582/sega-saturn-guide-games-60hz

There are a lot of PAL optimised titles even in just a small way, some PAL games are rendered unplayable on a NTSC console.