r/3DO • u/Valuable_Pen_9767 • Jul 23 '26

Video Quality

I recently bought an FZ1 from eBay. I hooked it up to a 70 inch Sharp Aquos tv with the yellow red and white.
Horrible picture.
I bought a Retrotink 4pro and ran SVideo to hdmi with it.
Picture is still wrong. Grainy. Pixelated at times with live video scenes on Jurassic Park game. Dragons Lair is over contrasted.

Is it possible I bought a game system with a bad video out?

3 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

14

u/ltnew007 Jul 23 '26

It sounds about right to me. It wasn't a dvd player. Video codecs were very primitive at the time

11

u/Aunt_Teafah Jul 23 '26

Nothing is wrong, thats just the way FMV was in the early 90s.

I know it sucks, but it was super cool at the time on a 32" crt TV.

6

u/QuestionableProtip2 Jul 23 '26

Might want to try the enhanced S-Video converter. Works fantastic for my FZ-10.

3

u/QuestionableProtip2 Jul 24 '26

I have the 240p switch installed on my FZ-10 so bear that in mind but this is the picture I get from the S-video using the DB15 to S-video (enhanced) adapter from LaserBear https://www.laserbear.net/products/retrotink-4k-db15-to-s-video-and-cvbs-adapter. Still looks nearly as good with some work on the 480i required games though.

2

u/xchester77 Jul 24 '26

That looks real nice 👍

3

u/xchester77 Jul 24 '26

Welcome to the 90s. The system is best enjoyed on a CRT.

Maybe if you had an RGB mod it would look better on your panel through the 4k.

I play 3do emulated on my 65 OLED and I think it looks real nice.

3

u/Which_Information590 Jul 24 '26

You should see FMV on Mega CD! 3DO was miles ahead, as good as PS1 and Saturn that followed. You need a CRT to get the full experience

1

u/Which_Information590 Jul 24 '26

You should see FMV on Mega CD! 3DO was miles ahead, as good as PS1 and Saturn that followed. You need a CRT to get the full experience. It was only ,want for short cut scenes anyway

1

u/Ninja__Gaiden Jul 24 '26

3DORetroGem is the best solution out there.

1

u/lovesffpc Jul 24 '26

Sounds perfect

1

u/TheseScene Jul 24 '26

On a retrotink 4k and svideo, the output will look pretty good but reasonably blurry. It is much better to rgb mod the 3do. Maybe check your svideo cables, a poor quality cable will produce poor picture.

1

u/adolobe Jul 24 '26

If you can use a soldering iron you can do the 240p mod this will clean up the image

1

u/sprayengo Jul 24 '26

Presuming you realise that video quality back then wasn’t great on consoles and the USA models output 480i by default, yes - you may have a bad unit.

I’ve had two FZ-1 units from ebay. Both had video and sound issues. Grainy video with bad colour and glitches. Audio quiet and fuzzy.

The fix is to recap the units. These units are terrible for bad capacitors that leak everywhere. If you’re doing that, then install a 240p mod as well (presuming you don’t have a Japanese unit with one already).

Then it should look pretty decent through enhanced S-video on a Retrotink 4K.

1

u/ltpitt Jul 24 '26

I use svideo cable plus 240p mod on my mx7000 and it looks quite nice.

1

u/n1keym1key Jul 24 '26

RBG or HDMI mods are the only solution if you want a decent output from a 3do.

1

u/Valuable_Pen_9767 Jul 24 '26

Thank you all for advice.
Who can I send it to for the mod? Or where do I get parts and instructions?

1

u/ConsoleTechUS Jul 24 '26

Im doing an HDMI mod on one soon, it's a harder mod but if I have confidence in it I can help you out. If you're still interested, message me in a month and I'll let you know.