3DO ZONE Forums

I'm sure some of us around here are aware of this, but I thought I would post some pictures and list some details regarding some cosmetic differences in the FZ-1 consoles.

In the picture below, a stark contrast in the design of the top half of the FZ-1 shell can be seen.
The late model FZ-1 is on the right and has a very shiny smooth mirror-like finish with very fine dark speckles.
The earlier model FZ-1 on the left possesses a dull non-reflective surface peppered with larger white speckles.








In addition to the obvious differences on the top of the units, the front of the two units also hold minor changes.
In the picture below, the glossy topped FZ-1 is on top.
Immediately apparent when the units are sitting in front of you is that the gold "Panasonic" badge on the CD loading tray projects about 1/2 millimeter out from the surface of the tray on the glossy topped FZ-1. The gold "Panasonic" badge on the dull, white-speckled FZ-1 has been molded into a shallow recess such that the badge is flush with the surface of the tray.
Another difference that is more obvious in the below picture is that the silkscreen labeling appears more bold in the glossy-topped FZ-1, and the lettering "READY", "ACCESS", and "FZ-1" are clearly larger.






FOR ALL PICTURES BELOW, THE EARLY MODEL FZ-1 WITH A WHITE SPECKLED TOP IS PICTURED TO THE LEFT. THE LATE MODEL FZ-1 IS PICTURED TO THE RIGHT.


The two pictures below show the two units with only their top plastic half-shell removed.
A difference in the amount of shielding can be seen in the power supply section. There is also an additional hole in the shield over the CD tray in the late model FZ-1.






Below is a shot of the back of the two units with only the top plastic half-shell removed. The way in which the two units secure the shielding to the CD drive differs as well. Circled in the two pictures for clarity, it can be seen that the early model FZ-1 has its shielding screwed into place, while the late model FZ-1 drive shielding has tabs tucked under teeth.






Below are pictures of the CD drives for the units. The early model FZ-1 disected for these pictures had a drive unit with a manufacture date of May 1994 while the late model FZ-1 had a drive unit with a manufacture date of September 1994.






After removing the shielding over the CD drive, removing the CD drive itself, and then removing additional shielding under the CD drive, the motherboard is revealed.
To the right of the CLIO and MADAM IC's there is a patch of silkscreening on the two boards that reads "1993" for the early model FZ-1 and "1994" for the late model FZ-1.
There are also some minor circuit revisions made to the late model FZ-1 and a corresponding change in board layout to accomodate those changes.

I wonder if there is technical differences between the two internally from cost cutting measures?

I don't know why I find stuff like this so interesting... I apparently have the newer version.

You're not alone, I love exploring these kinds of differences. Tomorrow I will try to post some pictures of the internals as there are some subtle changes inside as well.

If you get nice pictures of the mobo.... the freedo team was looking for pictures of the chips on the mobo. They might be looking into differences of these. Not sure why they need the pictures really. Might want to contact them or post pictures on their board.

I just edited in some shots of the two FZ-1's internals.

BryWI wrote:If you get nice pictures of the mobo.... the freedo team was looking for pictures of the chips on the mobo. They might be looking into differences of these. Not sure why they need the pictures really. Might want to contact them or post pictures on their board.

Hmm. I would be surprised if they didn't already have this information, but I'll check their site to see if they still need it.

May i add the fz1 test station mobo

It's different. That BT6 whatsit chip is different. Weird. Cool. Thanks!

3DO kid.

when doing the rgb mod i have seen 2 types of video chips (bt9101 bt9103).
svideo on bt9101 works good after the mod.
svideo is dark and useless for the most part with bt9103.

wish i had the data sheet for them. the only guy i know with them is a 3do emulator programmer and will not share it

Whats the best way for connecting a 3do overall? Is it S-video? Is the RGB mod better?

Just wondering is all

CrimsonGlory wrote:Whats the best way for connecting a 3do overall? Is it S-video? Is the RGB mod better?

Just wondering is all

3do rgb post
http://3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/viewtopi ... 7fd803ac55

rgb is the best any system can do. (other than true digital video out dvi, hdmi)
i upscan all my rgb systems with an xrgb2 plus and hook them up to my vga port on my dlp.
awsome picture for every system.it cant get better.

as far as i have seen rgb and component looks a little better than svideo on analog sets. 10%-15% better

rgb is very important to any one that wants to hook up a pre 480p system to a modern HD tv.
if you just run the svideo or any interlaced video to the set you will get some lag loss of color and atifacts as the tvs internal circuits convert it.
set.

forget using a device like the xrgb 2 plus to up scan anything other than rgb or 480i component video. composit and svideo looks very bad .
some reason 3do and cdi svideo look the worse of all system when run into the xrgb 2 plus.

Well, it is nice to see the two generations of this machines insides again. Been years since I have seen an original FZ-1 disassembled. What we need though is a look at the way the Goldstar is put together. If more people see that machine, they may finally stop asking why it breaks so easily and might even opt out of buying one. It scares me that some people I used to know actually went out of their way to pick one up because Goldstar used to be a quality compnay. Scary.

And here is finally the arcade version of the FZ-1!!

I had the early FZ-1 with RGB rebuild / upgrade: A selfmade hole in the
back with cables going through. But this was also the
reason it died. I throw it away. Next month I'll try to buy the early FZ-1 somewhere, somehow.

Woa dude don't trash it, send it (or just the case) to me. I've been wanting to do a chop job on one and putting something else in the case. PM me if you haven't tossed it out yet

3DO Experience wrote:Woa dude don't trash it, send it (or just the case) to me. I've been wanting to do a chop job on one and putting something else in the case. PM me if you haven't tossed it out yet

What are you going to put in it?

A DVD player. LOL

Haha, nice... Be sure to show off pictures when you're done.

3DOExperience, I'm so sorry.
It's gone, into electronic garbage. Yesterday.
(this may destroy my "reputation"...)
Well, that's how I am.

The question is, what the allmighty 3DOKid thinks of this sacrilege

Wait, so the dark/glossy version came after the dull version? I'm very confused o_o