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Topic: UK Game Boy Player with Component Cables

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Yetii

Hi everyone,

I posted here a little while ago about playing Pokemon games on a monitor, and I've come to a pretty good conclusion: play the games using a game boy player for the gamecube. However, I'm now trying to get the signal from the gamecube to component/HDMI.

My next question, for the few who may be able to answer it due to its obscure nature, is if using a component cable with a UK Gamecube will provide a good output? I've read that the component calbe is very good, but according to the wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_GameCube_games_with_480p_and_16:9_support), the PAL GC will output 576i or 480i. Although it'd be easier to view on a monitor using the component wire, it may be cheaper to get an RGB SCART to HDMI converter. I also have the option of getting a US game boy player disc and using a freeloader to play it, which might yield 480p?

Anyone got any experience with this, or can tell me that the extra few pounds (hopefully only about £15 more for the component cable) would be worth it?

Thank you to anyone who replies!

Yetii

KingMike

Isn't the GBP itself universal, so there's no point in buying a US boot disc if you have a UK player?
I have an orange GBP for my US console. I bought it used on ebay, but from what I've read it's most likely a Japanese import (pretty sure the GBP was only sold in black in the US). (even though it has a FCC warning sticker on it, despite that the FCC is of course a US regulatory commission, so their regulations are meaningless to Japanese users.
I looked again and saw a Japanese seller listing a Japanese GBP and indeed it did have the same sticker on it.)
Still works fine with my US console with a US boot disc.

KingMike

Yetii

KingMike wrote:

Isn't the GBP itself universal, so there's no point in buying a US boot disc if you have a UK player?
I have an orange GBP for my US console. I bought it used on ebay, but from what I've read it's most likely a Japanese import (pretty sure the GBP was only sold in black in the US). (even though it has a FCC warning sticker on it, despite that the FCC is of course a US regulatory commission, so their regulations are meaningless to Japanese users.
I looked again and saw a Japanese seller listing a Japanese GBP and indeed it did have the same sticker on it.)
Still works fine with my US console with a US boot disc.

Yes, it is universal (e.g. the hardware will work with any other hardware), but the disc is region locked (e.g. must match the gamecube)

The main question I have is if I get a GBP (any region), and then purchase a US/JP disc, will I get 480p output through a component cable? As I said before, the UK GC (when PAL games are being played) outputs 576i or 480i, and I'd like 480p, and I wanted to make sure that this information was correct

Yetii

RadioShadow

All region Gamecubes can output a PAL (576i or 480i) or NTSC (480i or 480p) signal. What the "Freeloader" or "Action Replay Cheat Device" does is force the Gamecube to use a NTSC signal, if a Japan or USA game is detected, while a PAL50 signal will be forced, if the game is Europe (can change to PAL60 if game supports it, which most do).

If the Gamecube is:

  • Using an NTSC signal (using the freeloader, AR or a mod chip)
  • The component cable is connected
  • Game supports 480p (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_GameCube_games_with_480p_and_16:9_support)
    then the option will appear asking to activate NTSC 480p. If this is the first time doing this, you have to hold the B button. Afterwards, this is detected automatically.

I have read people saying the "Start-Up GBA Disc" does not work with the freeloader, but I have just tried it on one of my repair Gamecubes (no mod chip) with the Freeloader (V1.06) and the Action Replay, and it booted both the Japan and US Start-Up disc (I recently got a Purple GBA Player (JP) + US & JP Start-Up disc for £24, BARGAIN! ). So ignore what the people have said on the forums.

So to answer your main question, using the US/JP start-up disc will work, if you have the component cable and can force the Gamecube to use a NTSC signal.

I can say that the Component Cable does make a lot of difference. With the Gameboy Player, using Sonic Advance, the image was crystal clear and hardly any blur, especially when the screen moves. I can take some pictures, although without seeing it for yourself, you will have to take my word for it. I would recommend you use the GBA to GCM cable with a Gameboy Advance, to act like a controller. On some games like F-ZERO: GP Legend, the Gamecube controller does not work very well.

I will say games like F-ZERO GX (which I picked up for £4, not bad since I already had the PAL version) and Soul Calibur 2 look fantastic when using the component cable.

Donkey Konga pretty much removes the blueness when the beats move. Super Monkey Ball 2, I noticed the differences straight away. The water textures look really good and the text font was readable (very blurry in 480i).

Some like Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the improvements were not noticeable (but then this was a port of a Dreamcast game) and I would have just stuck with my PAL copy. Mario Kart: Double Dash, again, didn't notice much difference besides a cleaner image.

Timesplitters: Future Perfect (the only PAL game to have the NTSC 480p on the disc) in fact made the textures look worse. Sure the image was sharper, but didn't make things better. To me, it felt like the 480p was an afterthought.

If you would like, I can take some pictures and provide a better opinion of the images outputted for the US Games I have. If you use your Gamecube a lot, the component is worth it.

Edited on by RadioShadow

RadioShadow

Twitter:

Yetii

RadioShadow wrote:

All region Gamecubes can output a PAL (576i or 480i) or NTSC (480i or 480p) signal. What the "Freeloader" or "Action Replay Cheat Device" does is force the Gamecube to use a NTSC signal, if a Japan or USA game is detected, while a PAL50 signal will be forced, if the game is Europe (can change to PAL60 if game supports it, which most do).

If the Gamecube is:

  • Using an NTSC signal (using the freeloader, AR or a mod chip)
  • The component cable is connected
  • Game supports 480p (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_GameCube_games_with_480p_and_16:9_support)
    then the option will appear asking to activate NTSC 480p. If this is the first time doing this, you have to hold the B button. Afterwards, this is detected automatically.

I have read people saying the "Start-Up GBA Disc" does not work with the freeloader, but I have just tried it on one of my repair Gamecubes (no mod chip) with the Freeloader (V1.06) and the Action Replay, and it booted both the Japan and US Start-Up disc (I recently got a Purple GBA Player (JP) + US & JP Start-Up disc for £24, BARGAIN! ). So ignore what the people have said on the forums.

So to answer your main question, using the US/JP start-up disc will work, if you have the component cable and can force the Gamecube to use a NTSC signal.

I can say that the Component Cable does make a lot of difference. With the Gameboy Player, using Sonic Advance, the image was crystal clear and hardly any blur, especially when the screen moves. I can take some pictures, although without seeing it for yourself, you will have to take my word for it. I would recommend you use the GBA to GCM cable with a Gameboy Advance, to act like a controller. On some games like F-ZERO: GP Legend, the Gamecube controller does not work very well.

I will say games like F-ZERO GX (which I picked up for £4, not bad since I already had the PAL version) and Soul Calibur 2 look fantastic when using the component cable.

Donkey Konga pretty much removes the blueness when the beats move. Super Monkey Ball 2, I noticed the differences straight away. The water textures look really good and the text font was readable (very blurry in 480i).

Some like Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the improvements were not noticeable (but then this was a port of a Dreamcast game) and I would have just stuck with my PAL copy. Mario Kart: Double Dash, again, didn't notice much difference besides a cleaner image.

Timesplitters: Future Perfect (the only PAL game to have the NTSC 480p on the disc) in fact made the textures look worse. Sure the image was sharper, but didn't make things better. To me, it felt like the 480p was an afterthought.

If you would like, I can take some pictures and provide a better opinion of the images outputted for the US Games I have. If you use your Gamecube a lot, the component is worth it.

Firstly, thank you! That must have taken a while to type up and I really appreciate the information!

My main use of this is going to be for the Game Boy Player, which I'll be feeding through an Elgato Game Capture HD (currently on offer on Amazon, yey!) so I have a HDMI output (and can also be captures, but for now I just want to have a HDMI output for S-Video and component ). However, saying that, by the sounds of the quality, I'd be tempted to get some Zelda games and play them, too

So, as a quick tl;dr, and to make sure I've read it correctly:

I can purchase a GBP from any region and use it on my UK gamecube
This will support (only) the same region disc, unless I use a Freeloader, in which case I will be able to load any disc, which will also change the region (e.g. a UK GBP with a UK Gamecube, a US disc and a Freeloader will output a 480p signal)
The component cable is totally worth it, and I'll just have to wait for a cheaper one to show up somewhere

Assuming all of this is correct, could you do me one final favor and link me to the "Freeloader" you're recommending, just so I can some research so I know I'm buying the correct one?
Also, where'd you get that GBP for so cheap from?!

Again, thank you!

Yetii

RadioShadow

The Gameboy Player add-on is region free. So it will work on any region Gamecube. You just need the disc. Unless you use a freeloader, action replay or mod chip, you can only use the same region disc.

The freeloader / action replay does not change the BIOS (region). It just bypasses the "check region game" option and forces the game to run in NTSC (480i) or PAL (576i). If the game supports 480p and is running in NTSC, then 480p can be used. Most PAL games have an option to run in PAL (480i), in fact Metorid Prime PAL Version forces a PAL60 option).

Now the freeloader I use looks like this:
Untitled
There are two versions of it. V1.06 only works on older models (has Digital Output) while V1.06B works on older and later models (the ones with no Digital Output).

However, good luck finding one. There don't appear to be any on ebay and they can go for high prices (from memory, but still worth checking now and then).

They did release an updated version that could be used on the Wii & Gamecube:
Untitled
Unlike the previous one, thise one has three versions (for each region) and you can still get hold of the PAL version (£10), I've heard that they don't force a NTSC signal, which could mean the 480p will not work. Without owning a copy however, I can't give any more details.

The Action Replay however does the same job as the old freeloader. Just you can use cheats. In fact, I've seen copies of this on ebay, like this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GAMECUBE-ACTION-REPLAY-5-TOP-GAMECU...
Untitled

The other option is to mod your GameCube. Since NintendoLife are a bit "over-protective" on this topic, I'll send PM on details on what I did, if you're interested.

As for where I got my Japan GBP (Purple) from, ebay. To be honest, I was surprised I got it so cheap (lady luck must have been on my side) since I've seen just the US disc go for £38 and the GBP with no disc goes for £30+. 0_0
All I did was search ebay and found a auction for a purple GBP. I don't think many people realized that the US / JP discs were included , since it was only mentioned in the description. Still, great bargain!

Hope this helps out.

Edited on by RadioShadow

RadioShadow

Twitter:

Yetii

RadioShadow wrote:

The Gameboy Player add-on is region free. So it will work on any region Gamecube. You just need the disc. Unless you use a freeloader, action replay or mod chip, you can only use the same region disc.

The freeloader / action replay does not change the BIOS (region). It just bypasses the "check region game" option and forces the game to run in NTSC (480i) or PAL (576i). If the game supports 480p and is running in NTSC, then 480p can be used. Most PAL games have an option to run in PAL (480i), in fact Metorid Prime PAL Version forces a PAL60 option).

Now the freeloader I use looks like this:
Untitled
There are two versions of it. V1.06 only works on older models (has Digital Output) while V1.06B works on older and later models (the ones with no Digital Output).

However, good luck finding one. There don't appear to be any on ebay and they can go for high prices (from memory, but still worth checking now and then).

They did release an updated version that could be used on the Wii & Gamecube:
Untitled
Unlike the previous one, thise one has three versions (for each region) and you can still get hold of the PAL version (£10), I've heard that they don't force a NTSC signal, which could mean the 480p will not work. Without owning a copy however, I can't give any more details.

The Action Replay however does the same job as the old freeloader. Just you can use cheats. In fact, I've seen copies of this on ebay, like this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GAMECUBE-ACTION-REPLAY-5-TOP-GAMECU...
Untitled

The other option is to mod your GameCube. Since NintendoLife are a bit "over-protective" on this topic, I'll send PM on details on what I did, if you're interested.

As for where I got my Japan GBP (Purple) from, ebay. To be honest, I was surprised I got it so cheap (lady luck must have been on my side) since I've seen just the US disc go for £38 and the GBP with no disc goes for £30+. 0_0
All I did was search ebay and found a auction for a purple GBP. I don't think many people realized that the US / JP discs were included , since it was only mentioned in the description. Still, great bargain!

Hope this helps out.

So I've got a few options then!
I'm looking for the best output, which I'm guessing would be NTSC. Can I get a US/JP GBP with the correct disc, use it on a UK GC and receive an NTSC (480p) output?

If you can send me an information via PM, then that'd be really useful Maybe a form of IM if you're willing to help me figure out what I should be ordering, once and for all

I'll keep looking on eBay then; I'm sure a good deal will come along some time!

Yetii

RadioShadow

Yetii wrote:

So I've got a few options then!
I'm looking for the best output, which I'm guessing would be NTSC. Can I get a US/JP GBP with the correct disc, use it on a UK GC and receive an NTSC (480p) output?

That is correct. I forget to mention that your TV must be compatible with NTSC as well, which most TVs nowadays do.

I just realized NL has no PM function. In a nut shell, you can get the GameCube Mod chip for £3 and if you like, I can install the chip for you (the only thing you would have to pay (by PayPal) for is the shipping on the item to me and back to your address, estimate £8 in total).

If you want to go for that option, send me an e-mail to: [email protected]

Edited on by RadioShadow

RadioShadow

Twitter:

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