TV Tuner
From Sega Retro
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| Made for: Sega Game Gear | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT), Zegetron (GR), Tec Toy (BR) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: Miscellaneous | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The TV Tuner is a Sega Game Gear accessory which allows users to watch analogue television on the system's built-in screen. A revised version with an automatic tuner was released as the TV Auto Tuner (ＴＶオートチューナーパック), and was only sold in Japan.
Contents
Hardware
The TV Tuner plugs into the Game Gear's cartridge slot, and has a mono 3.5 mm A/V input. This means that if required, a VCR, camcorder, or a video game console can be connected and played off the system - it essentially turns the Game Gear into a small color television. There is also another mono 3.5 mm input for an external antenna, with the Japan-only Game Gear Car Antenna being the only official product to use it.
TV Tuners also differ depending on the television standard. For example, the Japanese and US models use NTSC, whereas the European model uses PAL. On top of this there are several different types of PAL - the United Kingdom for example uses PAL-I and so had a different TV Tuner to Germany. France and other countries using the SECAM standard are not thought to have officially received the TV Tuner.
History
Sega were keen to advertise the TV Tuner shortly after the system's launch for two distinct reasons, firstly because handheld televisions were still a relatively new invention and were still quite pricey in the early 1990s, and secondly because in order to cope with a color television signal, you would require a color screen - something Nintendo's Game Boy lacked, and which Sega were happy to point out at every given opportunity.
Unfortunately due to the short battery life of the Game Gear, the TV Tuner is a largely redundant accessory unless the system is connected to an AC adapter. The battery life will be drained much faster with the TV Tuner than playing Game Gear games as it uses the Game Gear's 34V rail to power the tuner inside. In modern times, the TV Tuner is largely useless for watching television as many countries have switched over from analog to digital broadcasting, which the TV Tuner is incompatible with. Majesco Game Gears are also not compatible with the US TV Tuner.
At around the same time, NEC also had the TurboVision, a TV tuner for their rival handheld, the TurboExpress. Unofficial TV tuners would also show up for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS in the years that followed.
Production credits
Magazine articles
- Main article: TV Tuner/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
Patents
US5161803
Photo gallery
US model
JP Auto Tuner model
DE model back
KR model
KR model back
Physical scans
| Game Gear, JP (older) |
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   Cover
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| Game Gear, JP (Auto Tuner) |
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  Cover
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| Game Gear, US |
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  Cover
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 Manual |
| Game Gear, EU |
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 Cover
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| Game Gear, UK |
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   Cover
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 Manual |
| Game Gear, PT |
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  Cover
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 Manual |
| Game Gear, GR |
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| Game Gear, BR |
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      Cover
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| Game Gear, KR |
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 Cover
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| Game Gear, AS† |
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External links
- Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): Game Gear
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_television_transition
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://sega.jp/fb/segahard/gg/tuner.html (Wayback Machine: 2013-02-08 08:04)
- ↑ Mean Machines, "January 1992" (UK; 1991-12-27), page 15
- ↑ Sega Power, "March 1992" (UK; 1992-02-06), page 15
- ↑ ABC, "Ročník 37, 16" (CZ; 1993-04-24), page 31
- ↑ Sega Game Gear - Gry Komputerowe 5/1995 page 11
- ↑ https://jglobal.jst.go.jp/detail?JGLOBAL_ID=201103066743544441
- ↑ Game Champ, "xxxx" (KR; 199x-xx-xx), page 154
- ↑ Game Champ, "xxxx" (KR; 199x-xx-xx), page 148
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