Nintendo 64 Brightness problem

[bubbles]

Hi guys,
I recently got a n64 off ebay only to find that i have this brightness issue. Essentially, any white part of a game becomes overly bright and overpowers all the other colours. For example on mario kart, the race track sherbet land is basically impossible because the walls and floor look exactly the same and the only thing you can make out is the difference between the water and ice. There is no problem with blurring or anything else, just this crazy brightness issue.
It affects all games, and no matter how much I change the tv settings, still the same problem.
I've tried on different TVs (both HD, but shouldn't be a problem right?) and get the same problem.
I've tried different av cables, and the one i have is new.
So i figure it must be a problem with the n64 console.
I've got the security bit for n64, so i could open the thing up and have a look round, but the problem is, i'd have no idea what i'm looking for! haha
Any suggestions?

Cheers for any help

[Duane Dibbley]

Did you try changing the brightness settings on the TVs?

[flojocabron]

I take it you are in england or austrailia?

does your console match the region its from?

Check the brighness settings on your tv or see if there are preset viewing modes. Other tv settings may be ready for consoles.

Maybe your HD tvs capable of switching regions? All that 50/60 hertz stuff you hear is related to this. Very few HDtvs can change to either.

There are some tvs that make noises/interference if brighness is too high. And sadly there are some HDtvs that have a hard time with anything from pre ps2 consoles. This especially happens with RF cords.

Get a classic Crt TV (tube tv). You may get better results.

[bacteria]

Issue is Nintendo put in a resistor from composite to ground, 38ohm resistor to be exact. If your A/V cable doesn't have that then your video image will be washed out as you say.

If you have the ability to open your console you can easily wire pin 11 to ground on the A/V port, or you can do it by opening up your video wire on your cable if not, to put in a resistor. A resistor makes the video image darker by reducing the luma level. This 38ohm resistor is relevant for the GameCube, N64 and I think, SNES.

[Oge]

Composite Sync (CSYNC) is oftenly an issue when it comes to N64 and SNES consoles. Do as bacteria suggested or add a 47 Ohm resistor directly to CSYNC.

Too bad that I've not seen a single user opening its official SNES RGB Cable in order to check what resistors are used. Not that it would help a lot since results vary from a TV to an another one..


Cheers,
Oge

[theclaw]

Issue is Nintendo put in a resistor from composite to ground, 38ohm resistor to be exact. If your A/V cable doesn't have that then your video image will be washed out as you say.

If you have the ability to open your console you can easily wire pin 11 to ground on the A/V port, or you can do it by opening up your video wire on your cable if not, to put in a resistor. A resistor makes the video image darker by reducing the luma level. This 38ohm resistor is relevant for the GameCube, N64 and I think, SNES.

He hasn't specified his location, the console version, or what type of av cable is being used. I don't think NTSC market Gamecube, N64, or SNES, use a resistor in either composite or s-video.

It seems like the problem could be trying to use an NTSC cable with a PAL console.

[bacteria]

47 ohm resistor will make the image too dark 38 ohm is what Nintendo put in their cables for the N64.