- The 16-bit generation is considered by many to represent the pinnacle of 2D gaming. The platformer was polished nearly to perfection, and RPGs had begun to tell complex stories with memorable characters. Gamers and developers alike began to consider the next step: could more powerful hardware bring us even more incredible 2D games, or were we finally ready to be dazzled by the third dimension? In the early 1990s it was obvious that disc-based technology and 32-bit processing had a lot to offer for the future of home console gaming. Sega famously expanded the power of the Genesis with a number of stop-gap upgrades. But Sega brought both CDs and a 32-bit processor to the core of their new flagship console with the Sega Saturn. This is RGB 209. All about the Sega Saturn and getting the best picture from it. (theme music) (fantasy based adventure music) - Sega released the Saturn in Japan in November of 1994. Defined by its dark grey color and oval shaped buttons, it was originally designed to be a 2D powerhouse. One that could efficiently handle the sprite-based games that Sega had built its reputation upon. But a year out from its release, Sega rushed a redesign of the hardware in order to compete with Sony’s PlayStation console. The changes to the architecture were a challenge for developers early on, making it very difficult to wrangle its true power when it came to 3D graphics. However, developers who capitalized on the Saturn’s hardware strengths created some of the most impressive 2D games ever made. After a successful launch in Japan, the Saturn was released in North America and Europe in spring and summer 1995. The surprise North American launch is particularly infamous, with a lack of advance notice upsetting retailers, it has generally been considered an ill-advised move to beat Sony’s console to market. The Sega Saturn displays most games at 240p, a progressive resolution compatible with consumer CRTs that works extremely well for low-res sprite-based games. This was also the norm for previous console generations. However, the Sega Saturn and its contemporary consoles also marked the beginning of regular use of 480i, which was the “intended” resolution for NTSC televisions. 480i uses interlaced fields to use the full resolution of a CRT television, but the downside is that you might notice a flicker effect. 480i was most prominently incorporated in some of the more polygon-heavy games, especially 3D fighting games like Virtua Fighter. Some games even combine the two resolutions, with the main game displaying at 240p, while title or menu screens might run in 480i? which can cause some headaches when playing on modern displays, and we’ll get to that a bit later. The Saturn has a minimum horizontal resolution of 320 pixels wide. This caused a few issues when developers ported games over from other consoles, Such as adding borders to Mega Man X3, and doubling every fourth pixel in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. In addition, the Saturn builds its 3D worlds using rectangular polygons, as opposed to the standard triangle-based polygons, Which give the Saturn's 3D games a decidedly different look compared to its competitors. For a deeper look at what the Saturn hardware can do, Low Score Boy on YouTube has an excellent series of videos on the subject. The Saturn plays its games from optical CD ROM media, but it also has a cartridge slot. The slot was primarily used for save game backup and Extended RAM carts that were available in two flavors: 1 or 4 Megabytes. This might sound a lot like the RAM Expansion Pak for the Nintendo 64, but no games were ever designed to use these carts for alternate video modes. Instead, it was mainly used for additional frames of animation and faster loading. A great alternative to the official Extended RAM are Action Replay carts, they are readily available on Amazon and eBay, and combine save game backup, cheats, and Extended RAM capabilities. The Action Replay also lets you play games from other regions, which is a boon for gamers outside of Japan because the Saturn’s Japanese game library is simply incredible, and generally a lot less expensive. Finally, one more expansion slot is hidden away at the back of the console, inside the battery bay. Inserting an optional MPEG card allows the Saturn to play back VCDs, a pre-DVD video media that was popular in Asian regions. Several games, like Lunar the Silver Star Story, used this card to display higher quality full motion video. Most recently, a hacker by the name of Professor Abrasive has exploited this port, opening a path to flash carts. All versions of the Saturn can display composite, S-Video, and RGB using a single round AV port in the back of the unit. That’s means no modification is necessary to achieve the results you'll see in this episode. Over time, the internals of the console in each region were tweaked and optimized resulting in numerous revisions of the motherboard. Despite this, each revision provides approximately the same results from region to region. Well, that should make our job a little bit easier, so let’s get started! - While the Saturn’s internals might be a bit complex and over-designed, Sega certainly didn’t cut any corners in terms of the system’s video output. Let’s start with the infamous yellow wire, composite video. Sega’s earlier consoles have the unfortunate distinction of outputting some of the absolute worst composite video of any console, but thankfully, the Saturn does not exhibit the same issues that hinder composite quality on the Master System or Genesis, and presents a? well, pretty nice-looking composite signal. Sure, the telltale rainbowing and dot crawl are present, but hey, whuddaya expect, its composite! It’s just about the best results you could hope for, given the signal’s limitations. Compared to Genesis composite, it's a huge improvement. By the mid 90s, S-video was becoming a more common feature on CRT televisions, so it makes sense that Sega saw fit to include it for the first time on one of their home consoles. By separating the chroma and luma signals, S-video provides a significantly cleaner image compared to composite. In fact, I like to think that composite to S-video is the single biggest jump in quality in the entire video realm. And Sega nailed it. The Saturn’s S-Video is superb, but y’know, considering that the Saturn’s composite signal isn’t as bad as it could be, the jump to S-video may not seem as huge as it can be for other consoles. If you’re in North America and have a nice consumer CRT or older HDTV, then chances are that this is the simplest way you can get a great image out of your Saturn without dealing with upscalers or RGB to component converters. But before we get to that? it’s time for a little PSA! - Greetings. Clint from LGR here with an important notice. Did you know that the Sega Saturns AV port schematics online have been incorrect for years? I sure didn't. Now it's nothing too serious but it is annoying. The left and right audio pins are reversed! Which means if that have a third party set of AV Cables for your Saturn, there’s a chance that your sound channels are flipped! But it also means the solution is really simple: just plug your audio into the opposite inputs, and you’re good to go! Hooray for the Saturn! - And with that out of the way, it’s time to get to the good stuff! All regions of Sega Saturn can output RGB video, that’s the highest quality signal you can get out of it, but North American consumer TVs were never equipped to handle it. All the same, if you use the correct cable for it, and have the right sort of device to plug it into, your Sega Saturn is ready to go! And I’m happy to confirm that the Saturn continues Sega’s legacy of excellent RGB output. It’s hard to find any real flaws with a signal this vibrant and razor sharp. I mean, just look at it! It’s gorgeous. We've also found no visible evidence of the jailbar issues that can plague Master System and Genesis consoles to varying degrees. Just in case you’re new to the whole RGB thing, the cables that we normally use for RGB are called SCART, it’s a European style connector, but it works just fine with NTSC consoles. If you don’t have access to SCART on your TV, you can plug it into a SCART to BNC adapter for a PVM or BVM, those are professional CRTs that do support RGB. Or, you could use it with any number of upscalers for HDTVs such as the Framemeister or Open Source Scan Converter. Another option for RGB cable is the Japan-centric JP-21 connector. If you use this standard, then Solaris Japan sells a nice cable for the Saturn that they call “Retromeister.” It’s always important to remember that even though SCART and JP-21 connectors look identical and work with any region’s console, they are wired up differently inside and can potentially damage to your equipment if mixed. And if you’re new to buying RGB cables, you might be a bit overwhelmed when you see options such as Sync-on-Composite, Sync-on-Luma, and CSYNC. CSYNC is a pure sync signal that in theory provides the best results, while sync-on-composite relies on a composite video signal in the cable to pull the video sync signal from? Of course there are certain displays out there that can only use CSYNC, but note that the CSYNC pin on the Saturn’s AV out port is only available on NTSC consoles. This signal is absent on PAL consoles and is replaced with a 9V power line. If you need CSYNC with a European Saturn, you'll have to use a sync separator circuit. Be sure to buy a cable that is specifically designed for your console’s region to avoid any damage or issues. We think that Sync-on-luma is perhaps the safest choice for the Saturn. The cable will work easily with any region’s console, and the end result should look just as perfect as CSYNC. In a side-by-side comparison of the RGB Saturn cables that we have, it’s really hard to tell any difference at all, but of course it’s possible that sync-on-composite could appear much worse if your cable is not adequately shielded. For more information on sync, check out RGB 103. Earlier in the video, Coury mentioned how the Saturn outputs 240p most of the time, but on occasion it will use 480i. And sometimes it will use both resolutions within the same game. The switch is seamless on CRT televisions, but if you’re relying on an HDTV or external upscaler, well, they may not take so kindly to it. Different upscalers or digital TVs might handle this switch faster than others, but you can expect a delay of several seconds while waiting for the image to come back on screen. The resolution switch issue is not exclusive to the Saturn. A few 240p PlayStation games have 480i menus, and the N64 also dabbles inconsistently with 480i in some cases. With the Saturn, however, there are several situations where sync drops occur in a more unusual manner. For instance, some games, such as Die Hard Arcade, have some sort of disruption in video output whenever the game fades to black. Unless you’re playing on a CRT, you’re likely to miss crucial seconds at the start of every single scene. If you’re using a Framemeister, this issue can be especially troublesome, since it takes a bit longer to re-sync. However we’ve found that turning the Sync Mode to OFF seems remedy this issue in most Saturn games we’ve tested. If your game is just dropping sync like crazy, give it a try but note that you may see some occasional stutters in the action. However, for general use, Sync Mode is best set to AUTO for a smoother experience. The Open Source Scan Converter or O. S. S. C. may be able to handle re-establishing the connection slightly faster, but it really depends on your TV. Some makes of TVs handle this handshake much faster. Cheaper upscalers that incorrectly handle 240p as if it were 480i might not have the issue at all? but the downside with those is that 240p doesn’t look as crisp as it should. While this whole signal disruption issue might be a bummer when it gets in the way of your favorite games, don’t let it dissuade you from trying to play Saturn with an upscaler if a CRT is impractical for your setup, because it shouldn’t cause you any problems with most games. OK, but that aside, it seems pretty straightforward, right? You can get composite, S-video, and RGB without modifying your console whatsoever. But if you’ve been thinking, “Hey, that doesn’t look like my Saturn!” then things may not be quite as clear cut. - Two years after launch, the Saturn underwent a minor redesign in all territories that changed the cosmetics of the outer shell while optimizing the internals. Usually denoted by its round power and reset buttons and lack of access LED, this version of the Saturn is generally referred to as the “Model 2.” In Europe, the power, eject, and reset buttons were colored a light gray. Straight to the point, the quality of RGB and other video output is fairly consistent across all of the model 1 and model 2s that we tested, although some might appear slightly brighter than others, but that could be due to any number of reasons, not necessarily because of the design of the console. Of course, we aren’t able to test every single motherboard revision from every region, but we have no reason to believe that they would provide any meaningful difference. With the right cable, any Saturn is ready to provide reference quality RGB. But that’s not to say there is perfect parity in every facet between models. There has been a bit of discussion online about issues with model 2 consoles when using RGB cables equipped with CSYNC. Because the sync signal in most CSYNC cables sold online haven’t been properly interfaced, various issues can manifest in different consoles. Bob from RetroRGB.com reported a weird color banding issue when using CSYNC on some model 2 Saturns, an issue that plagued his tests for years. Unfortunately we could not recreate these issues in testing of multiple model 2s. It’s recently been discovered that this very specific issue can be remedied by adding a specific capacitor and resistor to the internals of the SCART cable, bringing the sync signal down to proper levels without affecting the internal operation of the Saturn itself. Making this tweak to the cable fixed Bob's color banding issues. We’ve checked with both major SCART cable sellers, retro_console_accessories in the US, and Retro Gaming Cables in the UK, and they have informed us that they have already implemented the correct capacitor and resistor in their newest designs for Saturn CSYNC cables. This fix is also the correct configuration for a model 1 Saturn, although we’ve never heard of any similar issues cropping up with that version of the hardware in the first place. But you know, if you’d just rather not have to even think about any of this CSYNC stuff, we recommend simply going with a Sync-on-Luma cable? that’s what I personally prefer to use. It’ll work with any Saturn console, and you shouldn’t see any quality difference at all. For those of you that might prefer a component option, HD Retrovision, the creators of those plug-and-play RGB to YPbPr cables for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo have you covered. By using this simple dongle that they developed, you can easily adapt your Genesis component cables for use with your model 1 or model 2 Saturn. The dongle has been designed in such a way that it expects the brightness switch to be turned ON. Otherwise, it’s far too dark. The HD Retrovision cables look absolutely great upscaled through the Framemeister and OSSC, providing nearly identical results to the RGB. The only difference is that YPbPr signals may require a bit of manual adjustment on your upscaler or TV to match RGB color levels. Because this adapter uses luma for sync, it will work on any Saturn console, from any region. These cables also do wonders if you want to forgo all that upscaler business and just plug them directly into your HDTV. Results may vary? the 240p progressive signal is not handled quite perfectly by most HDTVs. But regardless, the image is gonna look worlds better than it would with composite. It should be noted that there were a number of minor tweaks to the cable since the first batch shipped. As far as we can tell, these changes have absolutely no effect on image quality. For more information on what exactly these changes were, check out HD Retrovision’s website. If you have trouble getting your hands on a set of these cables, you can also use a SCART to Component transcoder to achieve similar results. Just make sure your cabling on both the SCART and Component ends are of decent quality. Over the years, Sega licensed their Saturn technology to different manufacturers, resulting in Japanense exclusive variants by Victor and Hitachi. The V- Saturn had model 1 and 2 versions, and we were able to take a look at a model 1 version thanks to Drew Littrell from This Olde Console. Despite having some cosmetic alterations and a slightly different bootup screen, video output remains equal to other models. It really goes to show just how close many of these models can be. The Hi-Saturn had a similar situation, but we weren’t able to look at either revision. Based on our finding so far, we feel it’s safe to assume that results will match what we’ve seen so far. There is a third version of the Hi-Saturn known as the “Game & Car Navi” that was designed for automobiles. It included a detachable LCD screen. It would have been awesome to take a look at it, but alas a complete version sells for around 2,000 dollars in today’s market! Whoa! Now This is COOOOOL! The super sweet-looking Skeleton Saturn was the final version of the system to be released in Japan. We were able to take a look this variant, with its smoky translucent plastic, thanks to My Life in Gaming viewer Shaun Murphy. Par for the course, this unit is identical to the normal model 2 in terms of clarity, although it does appear to be a touch brighter! However, this could be due to any number of factors, such as capacitor health. Alright, after all that I think it's safe to say that no matter which revision of the console you have, you’re gonna be pretty happy with the results. - If original hardware just isn’t an option for you, well we decided to take a peek into the state of Saturn emulation. The Saturn was notorious for a very long time as being difficult to emulate, with the hardware complexity causing plenty of challenges when it comes to acceptably recreating the game experience through PC software. Well, color me surprised, but it turns out that Saturn emulation has actually progressed fairly steadily in recent years. We tried out two emulators, SSF and Yabause, or however you say it, both which seem to work decently. I actually played through the entire Saturn Bomberman campaign in co-op through Yabause? It’s worth noting that you can use these emulators to run real Saturn games directly from your PC’s disc drive. However the emulators do require a ROM of the Saturn BIOS. Sprite-based 240p games are definitely where it’s at in terms of game smoothness. If you’re playing a heavier 3D game, like Panzer Dragoon 2, expect some slow down here and there using both emulators, even on beefier systems. The 480i stuff is where things get a bit trickier. The interlaced video mode can cause some serious combing, but honestly, that’s just the nature of running raw interlaced content to progressive output. Thankfully, SSF does offer a deinterlace mode that works wonders to fix this, although that can cause a serious hit to how well the game might run. Currently, Yabause does not have this feature. Compatibility seems pretty good across both emulators, although don’t be surprised if some games might not load beyond the title screen. Hopefully this will improve with continued development.. SSF offers vastly more options, such as a scanline filter? which is of course always welcome. That said, both emulators are absolutely worth trying out, but neither offers quite the perfect playback of original hardware. But y’know, always fun to toggle the different processor emulation, which gives you a sort of behind the scenes look at how the Saturn hardware functions And lastly, if you want to play a few Saturn games but don’t want to resort to emulation, Are there any good ports out there? Well despite having such a uniquely awesome library, many Saturn games remain confined exclusively to the system. But let’s check out a few that did eventually make it to other consoles. (Soaring Adventure Music) - The Saturn went on to become Sega’s best-selling console ever in Japan, while failing in a very public manner in other regions. Nonetheless, it’s well-loved for its arcadey action titles and wealth of hidden gems. As with Sega’s earlier consoles, the Saturn delivers a mostly hassle-free way of achieving a great looking picture, no matter what model you have. And that means that you’ve got more time to spend enjoying one of the most unique and exceptional libraries that exists for any console. (credits theme)
