Two questions - About SEGA Saturn and Dreamcast

Deleted User · Feb 25, 2020

1. Can a PAL Dreamcast play NTSC games fine? I guess it does because it plays CD backups, anyway.

2. Is it hard to mod a Saturn to play backups? I have a PAL system and I'd like to make it play backups.

Extra question - Can a PAL Saturn play NTSC games without issues?

Thanks.

Alexander1970 · Feb 25, 2020

Boesy said:
1. Can a PAL Dreamcast play NTSC games fine? I guess it does because it plays CD backups, anyway.
Thanks.

Yes,that works fine.

I think the only Limitatons:

- your GD-Rom is still in good Shape
- the Dreamcast Model/GD-Rom (not all can play Backups properly)

But if your Dreamcast plays "backup" CDs then of course it can play NTSC Games.

*Vendor Mode ON*
Have you ever considered an GDemu ?
The Prices are actual not so high.
Amazon/EBay/Aliepxress for Example.
You no longer need to worry about a deteriorating GD Rom.
*Vendor Mode OFF*

Thank you.

Deleted User · Feb 25, 2020

alexander1970 said:
Yes,that works fine.
I think the only Limitatons:

- your GD-Rom is still in good Shape
- the Dreamcast Model/GD-Rom (not all can play Backups properly)

But if your Dreamcast plays "backup" CDs then of course it can play NTSC Games.

*Vendor Mode ON*
Have you ever considered an GDemu ?
The Prices are actual not so high.
Amazon/EBay/Aliepxress for Example.
You no longer need to worry about a deteriorating GD Rom.
*Vendor Mode OFF*

Thank you.

I looked up GD Emu on eBay and a fitted one costs nearly as much as a Switch Lite. What!

I have so many games to choose from that I'm happy with what I have already, but a hacked DC would be nice to have. A Saturn one too, but I'm guessing it's pricey to get it chipped as well.

Alexander1970 · Feb 25, 2020

Boesy said:
I looked up GD Emu on eBay and a fitted one costs nearly as much as a Switch Lite. What!

I have so many games to choose from that I'm happy with what I have already, but a hacked DC would be nice to have. A Saturn one too, but I'm guessing it's pricey to get it chipped as well.

Where you have looked,my Friend.

It costs around 60-70 Euros.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=gd+emu&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

On Aliexpress more cheaper 40-50 Euros:

https://www.aliexpress.com/af/gdemu...gdemu&catId=0&initiative_id=AS_20200225102937

Tom Bombadildo · Feb 25, 2020

For the Saturn, you have a few options. You can get a modchip, called the Phantom Universal, which is like $30 or so on eBay. Super easy to install, just pull apart the Saturn, solder a power wire to an appropriate 5v, and then plug in some ribbon cables. This will let you play burned discs.

The second option would be to get a Pseudo Saturn Kai, this is basically a Saturn cartridge that's flashed to allow you to play CD-R backups as well. It may be a bit more expensive and possibly harder to get a hold of depending on your location, but it requires no hardware modifications and is just a plug and play solution.

Both methods let you play any region games you like, however PAL Saturn's are hardware locked to 50hz, so you will need to mod the Saturn to support 60hz which will involve some soldering. There are various guides around the internet that you can look up, most of them involve using a switch so you can swap between the two whenever you like.

Deleted User · Feb 25, 2020

alexander1970 said:
Where you have looked,my Friend.

It costs around 60-70 Euros.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=gd+emu&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

On Aliexpress more cheaper 40-50 Euros:

https://www.aliexpress.com/af/gdemu...gdemu&catId=0&initiative_id=AS_20200225102937

Oh, I looked up on eBay and when I meant "fitted" it was. DC with GDemu already installed.

Btw, Tom, thank you very much. Not sure I might bother too much with Saturn then, at least for now.

Edit: The cartridge is fairly easy to find and only about $25 so not too expensive. But the deal breaker really is that the console is PAL and I read the PAL versions of Saturn games were awful.

shano · Feb 25, 2020

All NTSC games will run at 60hz on a PAL Dreamcast with a VGA cable but when using Composite/S-video/SCART some NTSC games will run at 50hz. You can also install a region free bios into the Dreamcast if handy with soldering to completely avoid 50hz.

As mentioned with the Saturn you can get a modchip or cartridge to play backups. But you should look into region modding the Saturn so you can switch between PAL/NTSC-U/NTSC-J.

Two questions - About SEGA Saturn and Dreamcast

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