Sonic The Hedgehog: 50hz vs 60hz

Differences between 50hz Sonic and 60hz Sonic. I modded my MegaDrive 1 with a 50/60hz mod so I could play most PAL games as an NTSC game.
Benefits of using 60hz:
- No more horizontal bars on top and at the bottom of your screen.
- No more 15-20% loss of speed in gameplay and music on PAL games.

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• 50/60
• Sonic
• Megadrive
• Modding
• Videogame
• Genesis
• Pal
• NTSC

[jimmyjimbo72]

I don't remember my PAL Mega Drive playing Sonic this slowly. Are you sure the non-60Hz hardware doesn't compensate for the 10Hz difference?

[subcultural]

@jimmyjimbo72 Absolutely not! Sonic 1 played like that before I did the mod. Setting the switch at 50hz sets it back at standard pal megadrive speed, so there's no doubt about it.

Maybe you confused sonic 1 with sonic 2 or 3? Sonic 2 and 3 play at normal speed on PAL megadrive. Sonic 1, does not.

[gguru1]

I dont know how Sega managed to market a game that was supposed to be seen as "high speed" and "hip" compared to Mario and then have the music sound like an elevator soundtrack at this slow speed in the PAL version. IMO it ruins the entire soundtrack for this game.

[subcultural]

@gguru1 Well, most PAL games back then were slower. Slower PAL games were still present on the Playstation! Nintendo had it as well with Castlevania on the NES. Super Mario Bros actually ran faster on PAL than NTSC!

[MaidenFan24568]

I dont supose u know anyone within the Derbyshire region of England where i can get the 50/60hz mod done do you?

[subcultural]

Sorry, man can't help you with that.

But I modded my MegaDrive myself. I never soldered before in my life. I went pretty okay, so you should be able to fix it yourself as well.

[AtmaQuestion]

any serious gamer knew the 50Hz fiasco :) Something people could live with until... someone showed him the switch :) . You can't lack something you don't know :) Thanks for the video :)

[Reigam4]

Does somebody know if Sonic 2 has the same issues?

[kokaiini]

No wonders Americans are violent and abusive :P Thank God for 50 Hz 8)

[nopoet406]

I prefer the faster version of the music and gameplay. I'm from the UK, so I grew up with the 50Hz version and I always felt it seemed a bit slow for a game about a high-speed hedgehog. Loved the game though, Sonic was a watershed in my life :)

[retrogamingcables]

*Dont forget to get yourself an RGB Scart cable for your Mega Drive if your gonna *carry out the 60Hz mod, otherwise you will get a black and white picture. By the way *we sell them on our website. retrogamingcables.co.uk

[Dylstew2]

@subcultural

Also on PS2 and gamecube,wich pisses me off because I wanted to play final fantasy X along with a let's player BUT His game was much faster so I couldn't keep up xDD

[BigDog91527]

And you think they would compensate us for this shit? No, we also get less games AND pay more for them.

[Dylstew2]

@subcultural

Also PS2 and gamecube..... tough half of them have the option to go 50 or 60 hz.

[Adam060756]

@subcultural Sonic 2 on Master System and Game Gear also runs faster in PAL 50hz. It's slightly slower in NTSC 60Hz.

Michael Jackson Moonwalker on Master System was another game that ran slightly faster in PAL 50Hz.

[sumo73]

@FilMarck > It's not just the UK that drives on the other side of the road (see Japan, India.. for example) and it's not because they want to be different. You should check out car history for that. Back to the point when PAL was being developed it was about the TV designers thinking about the quality of picture as PAL has some advantages over NTSC such as better colour/color tone shifting under poor transmission conditions. As a video gamer myself I prefer 60hz or PAL60.