What's the deal with the additional scanlines in a game? By default, the emulators always have a resolution of 256x224, cutting off the top and bottom eight rows:
When I choose PAL emulation, then those lines are re-inserted, giving the game a resolution of 256x240:
So, the initial suspection might be that an NTSC TV cannot display those top and bottom rows while a PAL TV can. But when I watch the Angry Video Game Nerd playing "Super Mario Bros.", the TV clearly shows all the scanlines and you are able to see two whole rows of blocks at the bottom, not just one and a half:
So, if NTSC TVs are able to display all 240 pixel lines, why does that emulator option to cut the first and last eight rows away even exist in the first place? And why is it always enabled by default? What relation does that emulator feature have to a real NES and TV?
When I choose PAL emulation, then those lines are re-inserted, giving the game a resolution of 256x240:
So, the initial suspection might be that an NTSC TV cannot display those top and bottom rows while a PAL TV can. But when I watch the Angry Video Game Nerd playing "Super Mario Bros.", the TV clearly shows all the scanlines and you are able to see two whole rows of blocks at the bottom, not just one and a half:
So, if NTSC TVs are able to display all 240 pixel lines, why does that emulator option to cut the first and last eight rows away even exist in the first place? And why is it always enabled by default? What relation does that emulator feature have to a real NES and TV?