Fernseher aus Berlin - Nr. 5

Well, I've been in Berlin for over three weeks now and I've already got too much too report... already falling behind with sharing my discoveries here.

I've collected five SCART TVs so far but I'm not going to start my Berlin with TV #1. Instead, I'll start where I'm currently working...

I picked up this (apparently) defective Loewe for it's tube only. This is a 100 Hz television and you're about to see why 100 Hz processing sucks dogs balls when it comes to retrogaming. However, the tubes used in the later model Loewes are stellar when combined with an older, analog chassis.

Before I gut this unit and chunk all but the tube, I figured I'd take the opportunity to show exactly why 100 Hz is so damn awful.

Before we get to the nasty stuff, here are some details on the unit in questions:

Loewe. Profil 3570 Z
100 Hz/Blackline
Chassis type: Q4400

Tube sticker

Tube type: A66EAK552X54

Also, I should mention that the collection of this SCART television was rather memorable. I turned up at Micheal's house (the eBay seller) with my hand cart, ready to cart this thing back on the subway. Instead, Michael loaded the TV, my trolley and myself into his car and drove me across Berlin back to my apartment. What an awesome guy!

Okay, now let my try to explain the worst that 100 Hz processing has to offer...

Red on Black

This is probably the most obvious place to start when going on a 100 Hz hate fest.

In the following example, I photographed the Taito logo from Rainbow Islands with 9 different color settings (i.e. the color balance setting in the TV's picture menu). I started with color at minimum (value of 0) and worked up to the maximum (value of 63) in steps of 8. As you'll see, the greater the color intensity, the greater the visual distortion of the Taito logo.

Note: I placed a small sticker on the glass of the tube and focused my camera at this point for each image. You can see the sticker stays in focus, assuring you that my camera wasn't simply out of focus in the later images.

Color = 00

Color = 07

Color = 15

Color = 23

Color = 31

Color = 39

Color = 47

Color = 55

Color = 63

Ouch! What a mess!

Now, did you notice how the white "CORPORATION" text stayed crisp while the red became over saturated and distorted? It took me a long time to realise that the artifacts created by by 100 Hz processing where exacerbated by the color balance setting. Later I discovered that the color balance on most SCART TVs doesn't have any effect on the incoming RGB signal. In my mind, this is a good thing. The signal passes untouched.

So, with the color set to a low value, the image is sharp and not too distorted. The problem is, of course, that then the image looks washed out and loses that classic CRT vibrancy.

When I first started out with an 80+ cm Loewe unit with a Q4400 it was very frustrating to see these artifacts. I thought maybe my my particular unit was defective or there was something wrong with my homemade VGA to SCART cable. As it was pointed out to me on a forum, the problem lies with the 100 Hz processing.

Further examples

Next, let's check out a random assortment of gruesome 100 Hz pixel murders, starting with a bunch of Rainbow Island examples:

Note the "Focus!" sticker... it's sharp! Also, white stays true.

Red on Black = Disaster

Everything is going wrong here...

Oh my... look at the ghosting!

Compare the clarity of the white text compared with the manic colors

Notice the random lines coming from the A and D characters?!

More icky red text

Check out the color distortion in the text!

Observe the distorted rainbow

Willow's title text suffering from 100 Hz processing

Check out the edges of the "Game Over" rectangle...

Street Fighter II loses its crispness

We could go on all night finding more disastrous examples of this kind of built-in image processing. It's a real shame because the focus, stability and overall clarity of this TV is amazing.

Conclusion

100 Hz. Don't do it! Unless the 100 Hz television your neighbor is giving away also has a VGA port (which would most likely bypass this digital processing debacle) or has a tube your want to plunder, say "thanks but no thanks". It's just not worth the disappointment.

And, it gets worse. The images I've shown are bad enough but seeing what this processing does to animation is just awful... I'll see if I can capture some video for a future installment.

Q: The ultimate MAME/SCART television? A: Quite possibly...

I've been trying to wind up my SCART hunting activities this year. It's been a fun adventure over the last couple years but I've been feeling that it's time to put my energies into my other pursuits (namely music)...

However, when you're sipping your first coffee in the morning a mint condition golden era Blaupunkt IS 70-101 VT M (with a Grundig CUC 6851 chassis) comes on eBay, well, what can you do? Click "Buy It Now" of course!

OMG!

This unit is the most startling SCART television I've ever seen. The original owner bought it back in '94 and it's still in mint condition. Did I say "mint condition"? Well, believe me, this things looks like it's straight from the shop! Absolutely incredible!

Image wise, the colours are amazing, the focus is sharp and there is zero jitter.

Internally, it's the SCART hunters dream: analogue pots! The chassis type is Blaupunkt FM 512.60 and it has plenty of trimpots inside. This is what I've found so far:

1. Vertical size
2. Vertical position
3. Horizontal size
4. Pincushion
5. Trapezium

There doesn't seem to be a control for horizontal position but I think it's a compromise worth making given how sweet the rest of the deal is! Also, the trimpots are on their own separate PCB. This thing would be so easier to modify! Simply remove the board to patch in the external pots! Way easier than the CUC 5360 board I modified:

Image adjustment board

The rest of the chassis is extremely clean! I can hardly believe it's this clean even without attacking it with an air compressor:

Clean chassis!

Also of note is the use of a 2-way speaker system, something I haven't seen in a Blaupunkt before:

2-way stereo speaker system!

The tube is an A66EAK which is not my favourite. However, with the contrast filter the results are actually pretty breathtaking (as the screenshots show):

Philips A66EAK220X01 tube

Another awesome thing is the input section: 2 SCART ports, 1 S-Video port and also composite input! Pretty handy for running multiple consoles:

The original owner was incredibly fastidious. He really looking after this baby. Check out how clean the remote is!

No sticky fingers here!

Even more amazing is the inclusion of the original receipt!


Check out the screenshots! These were taken using GroovyMAME on the "arcade_ex" monitor definition:

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (World 910522) (Capcom, 1991)

384 × 224 @ 59.6 Hz

Robocop (World revision 4) (Data East Corporation, 1988)

256 × 240 @ 57.4 Hz

R-Type (World) (Irem, 1987)

384 × 256 @ 55 Hz

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (World 4 Players) (Konami, 1989)

320 × 224 @ 60 Hz

Mortal Kombat (rev 5.0 T-Unit 03/19/93) (Midway, 1992)

399 × 253 @ 54.8 Hz

Rolling Thunder (rev 3) (Namco, 1986)

288 × 224 @ 60.6 Hz

Metal Slug - Super Vehicle-001 (Nazca, 1996)

320 × 224 @ 59.2 Hz

Golden Axe (set 6, US, 8751 317-123A) (Sega, 1989)

320 × 224 @ 60.1 Hz

Bubble Bobble (Japan, Ver 0.1) (Taito Corporation, 1986)

256 × 224 @ 59.2 Hz

Shadow Warriors (World, set 1) (Tecmo, 1988)

256 × 224 @ 59.2 Hz

As you can see, this is a pretty sweet unit indeed!

Here are some more goodies:

Blaupunkt IS 70-101 VT M (chassis FM 512.60)

Program display

Manual... in pristine condition!

The original newspaper ad

Original receipt! $2,000!

Repair receipt

Just to further empahsise how freakin' awesome this TV is, check out the following close ups:

Up close with Chun Li & E. Honda

Up close with Turtles & Foot Soldiers

That's it... this is the ultimate SCART TV! I'm finished!

Here are the original eBay photos:

Front

Front

Side view

Power switch

Top

Back

Back

Left side

Right side

Remote control

Rear connections

Back sticker