This document is useful for playing vertical scrolling shoot 'em ups like Gunbird 2 for the Dreamcast that have a "vertical arcade mode".

In order to play these full-screen vertical arcade modes you offcourse need to rotate your tv.(otherwise with your tv in a "normal" horizontal position and a game in "vertical arcade mode" the result will be a horizontal scrolling game) When you rotate your tv/monitor to a vertical position when the power is connected the colors will be distorted in the corners (blue becomes green etc.).

I now have, without moding your tv, developped a technique to change between horizontal and vertical positions without altering the colors!
No more distortion!
I used to think it couln't be done with normal tv's and computer monitors and that I'd have to buy a specific model that could be rotated without distorted colors.
No more, save your hard earned cash,

I figured it out!


In order to rotate your tv/monitor with perfect colors you'll have to go through these few steps.
In have a Grundig ST-55-550 tv which I rotate when playing the mentioned games on this site. I also own a AOC 4Vlr (Spectrum series) computer monitor on which the following rotation tchnique also works.

First and foremost; make sure your tv is in a secure position (the floor is the safest) so it doesn't fall on the floor because that leaves a mess on your floor and in your wallet. Also I don't like you paying old gipsy women to put a curse on me if it falls.

The following instructions work on my tv as well as on my monitor and thus I think it will work on most tv's/monotors.
I know everybody including me hates this but: print this document!


1) -First of all assuming my tv/monitor is in a normal (horizontal) position disconnect the power cord. Just putting it on "standby" doesn't work in my case, maybe because the particles in the tv tube need to be without electricity or something. To be safe: disconnect the power cord, most tv's ofcourse have a dedicated power switch, but that might not allways work!
2) -Wait for 4 minutes (7 minutes for computer monitors) while leaving it in that normal (horizontal) position.
3) -After this period rotate your tv/monitor in the desired playing position.
4) -Reconnect the power cord.
5) -Power on and voila>>>>>>> perfect colors on a vertical mode screen.
Note that you really have to let the tv rest in order for the technique to work! If you don't let it rest long enough you'll might still have a minor degree of color distortion.
Note that you can also rotate your tv right after you power down, but that it is not advisable due to the fact that tv's are not to be moved right after you power them down. I'm just saying that the technique still works when you rotate it right after power down. It's not the end of the world. Still,..... it's best for your tv to only handle your tv after a couple of minutes of rest.
Also note that you needn't disconnect the RGB-cable/RF-cable/Video-cable even if the console is turned on, because the technique will still work.


Now go on and load your favorite shooter and select the "vertical arcade mode".
If it doen't work the first time experiment, maybe your tube needs longer to stabalize or something.
If you have succeeded in rotating your tv/monitor and you want to get it back in a horizontal position because you want to watch Felicity, reverse the steps by disconnecting power while leaving it in a vertical position for 4 to 7 minutes, rotate to a horizontal position etc.
This technique works for tv's as well as pc/mac monitors and probably for arcade monitors as well.
Note that the power down period can be less than 4 minutes, but to be on the safe side do 4 minutes, at least the first time you try this technique.
After you have familiarized with this technique you can experiment at heart with the amount of minimal power down time that is needed.
But experience tells me that the patience is a virtue (just wait 4 minutes).

However, if something goes wrong and the colors get distorted after rotating your t.v. and you don't know what to do: don't panic! described below are the steps to deal with this problem! To get you tv back with normal colors simply:
1) -leave your tv powered down for 4 minutes while in any position with or without color distorion.
2) -Put your tv in the desired position and power on.
This has to work!

If anything in this document is unclear or doen't work it is either my shortcoming in explaining the technique or you might have missed a step somewhere.
In either case I hereby offer my help to anyone who has problems.
Mail me! No Sweat! Mail me.




I got this e-mail from David who really knows how it works:

If the screen gets magnetized, the electrons shooting out from the back of the tube will bend and hit the wrong bit of phosphor behind the screen (you know how there's little bars of red, green, and blue all across the screen when you look very close?)- a electron intended to hit the tiny bar of red phosphor will bend and hit the green one instead, for example, making it glow.
Anyways, the screen is very easy to magnetize- the earths magnetic field will even do it- if you put your tv on the floor facing up and spin in around, sometimes the colors will change drastically just from magnetic north's influence on it.
Of course, you've probably seen what happens if you take a magnet and hold it hear the screen- the same thing. This also happens when you switch it from horizontal to vertical.
There is a thick wire containing a coil (an electromagnet on an AC current so it changes polarity very quickly) that wraps around the perimeter of your tv screen- when it's active, it thoroughly demagnetizes the screen. It's called a degausing coil.
The catch is, this wire gets very hot very fast. So they have it connected to a little part called a thermistor which only lets it stay on for about 3 or 4 seconds and then shuts off the power to it as it heats up. The degausing coil turns on right when you turn on the tv and is usually all the way off by the time the picture comes in.
Then, like you figured out, the thermistor won't let it activate again until it's cooled. Some tv's take 15 or 20 minutes for this! But most are just 3 or 4 like you found.
Anyways, some monitors have a degaussing button that you can press to activate the coil at any time (have you seen it? it makes the screen go all wiggly for a second). Also, you can use an external degauser, too. A bulk cassete tape eraser will work or any other devise that's made to demagnatize things. I've got one of those wire's that I've taken out of an old TV and just attached it to a plug and a switch and I use that sometimes- it gets hot after a couple seconds! I use it for arcade stuff.
Also, and most importantly, sometimes your degausing coil in your tv will break or wear out. If that happens and you get funky colors that seem permanent, you can degauss it externally like I described, or, do it the poor man's way--- take a mildly powerful magnet (like from a small speaker or something) and wave it like a wizard in front of the screen.
You can actually "brush" the bad colors away! Of course, if you move the television to a different position, they'll come back.

THANX TO DAVID PAYNE FOR THE LOWDOWN.



Also a while back I received this e-mail from Bob:

TV sets have two (sometimes more) coils of wire strapped across the back of the tube, these are known as degaussing coils.
When the TV is turned on from cold (or after a rest), AC power is diverted into these coilds for a second or so, and the electricity de-magnetizes the tube, making the colors even again.
This is usually on a timer (using a thermister) so it doesn't occur all the time.
Also, during WW2, a similar technique was used on battleships to stop magnetic mines sticking to them.

THANX TO BOB FOR THE EXPLANATION