Mega Drive/CD Onscreen Flickering

[TidalTempest]

I recently aquired a Mega Drive I and Mega CD I combo and hooked it up to my LCD TV and I've noticed a lot flickering on screen when I play games. It is especially evident in high action games like Sonic. In Ecco CD, the flickering occurs when at the top of a level when jumping out of the water, but in lower sections of the level, like the caverns, it doesn't occur. I haven't noticed it on Keio Flying Squadron through.

I've tried multiple games. I've tried two different LCD TVs. I've tried the Mega Drive on its own and hooked up a different Mega Drive to the TV, both with the Mega CD and without it, and it still occurs. I've tried both RF and Composite connections, and it remains the same. although is possibly slightly less via RF.

Can anyone help me figure out what the problem is? Is it a faulty system that I should send back? Or is it just some bizarre effect of using a Mega Drive on HD TVs?

[MEGADRIVE Jeroi]

I recently aquired a Mega Drive I and Mega CD I combo and hooked it up to my LCD TV and I've noticed a lot flickering on screen when I play games. It is especially evident in high action games like Sonic. In Ecco CD, the flickering occurs when at the top of a level when jumping out of the water, but in lower sections of the level, like the caverns, it doesn't occur. I haven't noticed it on Keio Flying Squadron through.

I've tried multiple games. I've tried two different LCD TVs. I've tried the Mega Drive on its own and hooked up a different Mega Drive to the TV, both with the Mega CD and without it, and it still occurs. I've tried both RF and Composite connections, and it remains the same. although is possibly slightly less via RF.

Can anyone help me figure out what the problem is? Is it a faulty system that I should send back? Or is it just some bizarre effect of using a Mega Drive on HD TVs?

With flickering you mean picture goes nuts or those small dots appearing on bottom of the screen? Can you provide picture of the flickering?

Most likely if it has problem, it is faulty of bad cap. One of the caps dont always charge enough and gives image flickerin.

Repairind bad caps is easy task if you have soldering iron. Altho there is a lot of caps for video side in Megadrive 1. Caps dont cost a lot and recuires a few hours of work to change.

[TidalTempest]

With flickering you mean picture goes nuts or those small dots appearing on bottom of the screen? Can you provide picture of the flickering?

Most likely if it has problem, it is faulty of bad cap. One of the caps dont always charge enough and gives image flickerin.

Repairind bad caps is easy task if you have soldering iron. Altho there is a lot of caps for video side in Megadrive 1. Caps dont cost a lot and recuires a few hours of work to change.

The picture goes nuts. Horizontal lines flicker across the screen.

I don't have my camera on me at the moment, but I'll see if I can post a picture or video of the flickering effect at a later date.

As for working inside the console, how would I identify the faulty cap? By the way, I'm terrible at soldering and would likely make the problem worse.

Would the problem be with the Mega Drive or Mega CD though? Given that it occurs with two seperate Mega Drives, both with or without the Mega CD system. Is it likely that both Mega Drives have bad caps?

[Guntz]

It sounds like interference to me. Do you have any other appliances/electronics nearby?

[Chilly Willy]

Sounds like your LCD TVs don't handle 240p displays. Not all LCD TVs can handle that mode. You might check your TV options for special modes that don't try to deinterlace the video, and do less processing. There's a number of threads here about which LCD TVs work at all or "best" with old consoles like the Genesis.

[TidalTempest]

It sounds like interference to me. Do you have any other appliances/electronics nearby?

Aside from my LCD TV and HiFi, I normally have it set up with my other consoles (Dreamcast, PS1, N64, Wii, Xbox and Saturn. Normally only the Saturn and XBox are plugged in when I'm using the Mega Drive/CD. Would being next to a large subwoofer and speakers effect it at all?

Also, my wireless router is sometimes on when I'm gaming, so I turned it off and tried without it on, but I still had the problem.

Sounds like your LCD TVs don't handle 240p displays. Not all LCD TVs can handle that mode. You might check your TV options for special modes that don't try to deinterlace the video, and do less processing. There's a number of threads here about which LCD TVs work at all or "best" with old consoles like the Genesis.

I'm sure I never used to have this problem on my Sony Bravia LCD TV. It's only since I added the Mega CD that the problems seem to have started.
In fact I believe this wasn't an issue for a few days recently until I moved the console to another place. But you could be right.


Okay, here's a video of the problem I'm having:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh5JP3Wql6k

Please let me know if you know what the problem is.

[evildragon]

thats not an interlacing/deinterlacing problem.

could be a capacitor issue actually, i think..

[Chilly Willy]

With TWO different MDs doing it? No, it's not a capacitor. Read the OP again - he tried it with another MD, both with and without the MCD and it still does the same thing. It's a TV problem, not a MD problem.

Well, it's POSSIBLE that a cap could have gone bad on both MDs at the same time, but highly unlikely.

[evildragon]

He did not say he tried two MDs. He said he tried two TVs.

I still stand behind bad caps.

[Chilly Willy]

He did not say he tried two MDs. He said he tried two TVs.

I still stand behind bad caps.

Read again -

I've tried the Mega Drive on its own and hooked up a different Mega Drive to the TV, both with the Mega CD and without it, and it still occurs.

[evildragon]

whoops i totally missed that on post 3..

[TidalTempest]

Thanks for your suggestions.

I tried the MD/CD system on a third TV and it seems to be working fine. So it must be the TVs I tried initially.

[evildragon]

are the two tvs of same make?

samsungs work great with 240p systems, they automatically detect it..

[TidalTempest]

I've tried it on a Sumsung 50" and a Panasonic and Sony, which are both 32". The systems work great on the latter two, and horribly on the Samsung. I'd say they look best on the Panasonic Viera.

[tomaitheous]

You say MD and MCD. Are these PAL systems or Japanese NTSC systems?