Turbografx Startup Screen Color?

[djkcel]

I have three Turbografx consoles, and each one displays a different color upon starting up:

1 - Whitish pink

2 - Brilliant pink (almost magenta)

3 - Blue / purplish

The games seem to look the same on all of them, but now I'm getting paranoid.  Is there a certain color that should display on every Turbografx startup screen?

[Arkhan Asylum]

you mean like the big blank screen before the game actually starts?

No, that is pretty irrelevant.

[ccovell]

Charles MacDonald points out in his SGX tech doc that on power-up, VCE palette entries contain random entries with most of the bits set, making the resultant colour white, pink, yellow, etc.

[TheClash603]

I never knew this before.  Best bit of TG16 trivia I've heard in a while.

The funny thing is, no matter what color the screen is at the start, JJ & Jeff still is pretty lame.

[Arkhan Asylum]

I never knew this before.  Best bet of TG16 trivia I've heard in a while.

The funny thing is, no matter what color the screen is at the start, JJ & Jeff still is pretty lame.

lol.

What I like is when you get that new hucard off yahoo.jp thats been sitting in someones closet for a decade that wont start up, every time you flick the switch you get new colors!

[Tatsujin]

yeah, I always get randomized colors (mostly pink or blue or black and also white) with games that won't start up. Lol, pretty irrelevant.

[esteban]

yeah, I always get randomized colors (mostly pink or blue or black and also white) with games that won't start up. Lol, pretty irrelevant.

You guys forgot the best part! Depending on the color, the CRT tube will "scream" a different tone.

Question to the technical gurus: is this noise emanating from the speaker, or is the hardware itself singing to us?

[Arkhan Asylum]

I think its just garbage doodley data nonsense being picked up by the PSG before system is sent into maximum turbob mode.

[nat]

That's the "Higher Energy" you're hearing.

[ccovell]

Question to the technical gurus: is this noise emanating from the speaker, or is the hardware itself singing to us?

It's both.  The composite video signal will often leak into the audio signal (and come out the speaker), even on the best TVs, leading to 60hz buzz, and other noise.  On top of that, there's a constant 15khz whine from the CRT during its horizontal sweep, which changes depending on the intensity of the picture and colours being displayed (3.5 MHz colour clock overtones.)

In conclusion, RGB is best.   

[Arkhan Asylum]

I dunno, I find the nice bzzznrrrrzzzzrzrnrrrrrr noise to be pretty soothing at 3am when its time to OBEY

[esteban]

Question to the technical gurus: is this noise emanating from the speaker, or is the hardware itself singing to us?

It's both.  The composite video signal will often leak into the audio signal (and come out the speaker), even on the best TVs, leading to 60hz buzz, and other noise.  On top of that, there's a constant 15khz whine from the CRT during its horizontal sweep, which changes depending on the intensity of the picture and colours being displayed (3.5 MHz colour clock overtones.)

In conclusion, RGB is best.   

Aha. Thank you. I've always wondered about that. I have pretty good hearing and I hear the "whine" that a lot of electronic devices generate, for various reasons.

RGB is, as you say, the best when it comes to "purity", but I suppose I like things messy . Unfortunately, it sounds perverted when I phrase it that way.

Of course, I have my limits: I can tolerate a certain level of "messy"--but cross that line and I'll be frustrated. For example, I don't mind hearing vinyl records occasionally "crackle and pop" when I listen to them, but a skip will piss me off.   

I dunno, I find the nice bzzznrrrrzzzzrzrnrrrrrr noise to be pretty soothing at 3am when its time to OBEY

I'm with you. That "bzzznrrrrzzzzrzrnrrrrrr" makes me feel warm and cozy.

[blueraven]

I have three Turbografx consoles, and each one displays a different color upon starting up:

1 - Whitish pink

2 - Brilliant pink (almost magenta)

3 - Blue / purplish

The games seem to look the same on all of them, but now I'm getting paranoid.  Is there a certain color that should display on every Turbografx startup screen?

Try opening the system up and cleaning the hucard slot with a q-tip and some 70-30 rubbing alcohol.

Or did I miss the joke?

[esteban]

Try opening the system up and cleaning the hucard slot with a q-tip and some 70-30 rubbing alcohol.

Or did I miss the joke?

This behavior is a normal part of the startup routine. Really, it is. A very brief flash of color: solid, full-screen.