[request] Saturn HDTV

[Dr.Wily]

In Sega documention I read the saturn support HDTV and 31 Khz progresive scan signal. But with which cable ?

Anyone have info on this ?

[benzaldehyde]

While legend has it that the Saturn had available VGA modes, none were ever implemented. Thus, it is (I suppose ) impossible to get from the Saturn; an XRGB or some other upscan converter will have to suffice.

[Dr.Wily]

No is't not a "legend". In official dev doc It's write :


http://dr.wily.9online.fr/sega.jpg

And games like Athlete King, Radian or Thunderforce 5 use this mode. I see a PAL Saturn with a unknow specific cable (BNC) plug in on a proffessional video projector (Sony).

The LCD screen on this projector indicate 31 Khz with this games (I try myself)

[NFG]

With all due respect, no.  There's not a single shred of documented evidence that any commercially released games supported this high-res mode.  Keep in mind the Saturn didn't have a lot of RAM to waste, and using a non-interlaced display will use 2-4x more VRAM than a low res one.  No games would trade off a lack of texture and sprite RAM for a frivolous hi-res mode six people would use.

Also according to that document you only get 8 bits per pixel, which means (for the math declined) a 256-colour screen.  How many games use 256 colours?  (hint: None, probably).

Also there's the fact the AV port doesn't have any sense lines, so the output never changes no matter what cable you use.  C-video, C-sync, Svideo and RGB are always on, unlike more modern consoles (DC, Xbox) which change the output based on the cable.

The Saturn's video output modes are software-selected, and that's pretty much all there is to it.  Even if you're running some special or dev system the software will probably not present you with any other options.

It's also worth noting that the Saturn dev docs refer to about ten different regions for software, but later cut this number to four.  In addition what you see in the dev docs may not be publishable for consumer hardware, Sega's rules were very strict concerning what could be allowed to be published.  Things like title screen loop order, logo presentation, demo modes, start-button behaviour and other trivial details were strictlycontrolled by Sega - I'd be willing to bet "secret non-interlaced low-color TV-frying video outputs" were verboten.  

In short, no!

[Dr.Wily]

But I try and see on a Sony VPLFX51. Games like Daytona ou Guardian heroes is in 15 Khz but with few game I tested (Athlete King, Radian and Thunderforce) iamge is in 32 Khz.

I try this in an event on virtual reality on a sony vplfx51 projector. The cable is compose of 4 BNC, plug directly on the projector. When Sega Saturn logo start the signal is 15 Khz. When the game start the signal change.

Sorry but I see this. I do not know if the cable is official or not, but it was rather artisanal.

[NFG]

Sounds more like it's in interlaced mode, which is hi-res but NOT 31kHz.  Your display may be incorrectly reporting the signal.  

4 BNC connectors would be R, G, B + CSync, which is an easy thing to make.

[Dr.Wily]

The guy who demonstrate the Saturn game at this event made the comparison between TV 15 khz and projector 31 khz. TV image is flickering not projector image.

And why only certain games are in 31 Khz on the projector ? Game like Daytona for example is in 15 Khz whereas Athlete King is in 31 Khz ? I does not understand, is for that that I ask you here.

[dj898]

having CartDevRev.B with manuals but haven't opened them yet can't sure who's right or wrong. But I had similar dilemma not so long ago and at the end I bought RGB-YUV transcoder and modified HG RGB cable from YJ seller. The intention was to hook up Saturn to Plasma screen via YUV connection but sadly family issue took the priority and to this day haven't had time to test this theory. One of these days I'm going to test out this theory...

Yes DevSaturn has the rotary switch at the side with about 10 region codes... Having no real use for DevSaturn I'm not sure whether to keep this one or not.. there's buyer very keen on getting my setup but S/H would be killer given its bulk...

cheers