Typical noobish questions from a first-time MSX buyer!

Welcome bobrocks95,

Quick answer about your last question: OSSC works very well with my MSXs here (even the interlaced modes if you configure it correctly).

MSX2 Will be a good starting point. There are many European models that also had the disk drive (which only became more mainstream later on in Japan). Philips VG8235 or NMS8245 are nice all-in-one machines and were very popular over here in the Netherlands. The VG8235 has a 360kB drive but can easily be upgraded to 720kB (which includes an upgrade of the Disk ROM). You can write images from a flash cart with several tools back to disk (and it is needed in some cases where emulation of the disk drive from flash cart fails). A Japanese equivalent would be the Sony HB-F1XD. Also a very well build all-in-one which came with a direct driven floppy drive (but those can still fail). Also they have bad caps on the video board which need replacement. The European machines came with 128kB RAM where the Japanese mostly had 64kB, not a big deal when using a flash cart with 512kB or more . I recommend changing the main ROMs on a European model to the new 2.2 release (msx2newdrv by FD’s). That way you can set the default frequency to 60Hz.

MSX-Audio is nice but not actively supported in games (mostly in demos from Europe). SCC will be in the original game cartridge (like VRC6/7 on Famicom). Flash carts support the SCC well, for Snatcher / SD Snatcher it will help to have a working disk drive because compatibility of these games is best when the flash cart is put in SCC+ only mode.

Getting a 100V stepdown or 230V step up (depending on whether you go Japanese or European) converter is a good idea. You’ll find many suitable models on Amazon.alternatively you could have the internal transformar rewound, I read someone had this done on a turbo R and it worked very well. This should work on both European and Japanese models.

You’ll get the best picture through RGB, most Japanese models feature an 8 pin RGB output (but some have the RGB21 pinout or something more obscure). European models have SCART output. 15kHz analog RGB monitors will work nicely (if it works with a Super Famicom or Mega Drive on RGB it should work with MSX as well). OSSC is great for MSX but may require some tinkering in the settings to get everything working perfectly. A CRT will accept all signal variations without issue.

Hope this helps!

Here's my POV on the topics you asked. Others might think differently:

• MSX2 vs MSX2+: There are very few MSX2+ software, and the community doesn't care to much to support it either. The main advantage is that the majority of MSX2+ models come "with everything on top": MSX-Music, Floppy drive, Kanji driver, easier internal RAM expansion etc. If you get an MSX2, be sure to get a Flash cart that has most of these features (and SCC+)
• MSX-Music and SCC+ are a must. There were ubiquitously supported. Having an MSX without those is like having a retro MS-DOS PC without a SoundBlaster compatible card. Note: Many flash carts feature a SCC+ reproduction chip inside.
• MSX-Audio: A lot of 90's European software only supported this extension. On the Japanese side, nearly all software that support it also support the MSX-Music
• Step-down converter to 100V: It's not necessary for the majority of MSX brands (specially the trio Sony/Panasonic/Sanyo), since they were built with a larger tolerance in mind. But there's one exception to this rule: Machines from Toshiba are very picky with the voltage. DO NOT USE them over 100V or they will overheat. In fact, they already tend to overheat even at the nominal voltage.
• Resolution: All MSX models use 15kHz. All Japanese games are 60Hz (aka NTSC), and most of European games are 50Hz (aka PAL). Any MSX2 or higher can switch between 60Hz or 50Hz by software. MSX2 or higher will mostly use 240p, with some games/demos/PixelArt using static screens at 480i. You can plug it to any CRT and the OSSC will run fine too. The RGB connector pinout is standard in the majority of machines, with the few exceptions listed on [url=https://www.msx.org/wiki/RGB_(8-pin_DIN_45326)#Mitsubishi_.28Japan.29.2C_National.2FPanasonic_.28except_the_FS-A1WSX.29.2C_Sakhr.2C_Sony_and_Yamaha_computers_.2B_Sanyo_MSX2.2F2.2B_computers]this article[/url].

Some other questions that you didn't ask, but are frequently asked:

1) Recap: Japanese machines were built with excellent quality capacitors, so they rarely need to be replaced. But there are some notable exceptions that need some specific caps to be replaced ASAP:

• Any MSX that has the famous HIC-1 video daughterboard. The FS-A1 is listed there, but the info was incorrect. It doesn't have the HIC-1 inside
• Sanyo MSX2+: floppy drive SMD electrolytic capacitors
• Sony MSX2+: Nichicon PTH mini-elcos (present on the FM sound circuitry)
• As a rule of the thumb, any SMD capacitors and PTH mini-elcos should be replaced. Normal size PTH capacitors are fine

2) Battery

Some MSX2 models feature a NiCad battery inside to keep the Real Time Clock data settings. If you don't see an AA battery compartment on the machine, it has an internal NiCad battery that must be removed ASAP.

On the machines that use AA batteries for the RTC, they're not strictly necessary for playing games. That said, IMHO it's a PITA to lose your settings every time you turn the machine off. My approach is to use USB rechargeable Lithium batteries. But be sure that they're really Lithium and no NiMh. Lithium batteries do not leak. One on these charge lasts a long time, so I also use them for other devices like the Playstation remote controller. These batteries made by Etinesan have excellent quality and I've been using them for many years now. I also have the ZNTER brand and they're also very good. There are many other brands, but I don't know anything about their quality.

Some MSX cartridges (as well as some Sony MSX2/2+ machines) have a Lithium coin battery inside. These never leak, but if they have no charge, the cartridge will loose its settings. On Sony MSX2/2+ machines these coin batteries have a dual purpose: They keep the Kanji Driver settings, and also keep the RTC settings for some minutes, while you replace the main AA batteries.

3) Other hardware problems and fixes

Engineers are not perfect, so some MSX models are known to have design mistakes. I compiled a list of hardware fixes in this page.

4) Region Lock / differences

Any MSX is capable or running any software from any region without problems. There are some nuances though:

• The only game that is really region locked is the original Metal Gear 1 cartridge. But there are patches to fix this.
• MSX1 machines can't switch between 60Hz and 50Hz video. This causes European machines to run Japanese software 16.6% slower than it should. Just like it happened with many consoles of the era, like the Megadrive (aka Genesis), SNES, SMS, NES etc
• MSX2 or higher machines can switch between 60Hz and 50Hz by software. Most MSX2 or higher games will set the correct mode, and most European software have an option to allow the selection. SofaRun also allows you to set this per-game.
• European and older Japanese MSX models don't have the Kanji ROM inside. Some games that require this will show garbage characters on screen, but it's not common. An external Kanji cartridge can be used for such cases.

Whatever computer you buy, if you want to enjoy the MSX world as much as possible, the minimun recommended specs are an MSX2, 128kB of RAM, MSX-MUSIC, SCC and a combo (mass storage) cartridge like MegaFlashROM SCC + SD, Carnivore2, GR8NET, etc.

You can even buy a simple and cheaper MSX2 computer (without FDD nor 128KB RAM) and add the missing hardware via a combo cartridge or with the real cartridge expansion (remember that there are only 2 cartridge slots available in most cases! ). Try to find the solution that best suits your wallet.

Oh my gosh so many posts to read through, thank you all so much! I will try to respond to all of these later today but I think everything's been covered! I didn't win the Yahoo Japan auctions I woke up early for, but I will keep looking!