Welcome to LDDB vt4000!
Yup - and the composite on the 606 is passed through the comb filter, so mistakes it makes (and being a 2D filter, it does make tons on S&W!) can be passed onto the composite output. Add that to the inherent noise of the 504-type models, and you've got artifacts galore. The TBC is not fully precise so the vertical lines can trigger the comb filter more, too.
Also the right green button adjusts sharpness. Is that a version of the god-awful "HQ" circuit, or something done by the comb filter*? The original HQ option has two levels (on and off), this has off, 1, and 2.
It's a real shame that Pioneer brought over the 606 and not the R7G - it would've made a nice "706", and the 606 comb filter is already on a separate board even though there's space for a comb filter on the main board. As it is - from a modern perspective - the comb filter on the 606 is an anti-feature.
If you have a choice, the 406 is better with modern equipment, but when a 606 crops up at a thrift store for much less than the (original) price difference between them, take it
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I was just about to post about the 606 myself, I got a 'non-working' one for $10 on Tuesday at the local thrift, and when I first tried to eject it only made clunky sounds, and then when I took the cover off it started working (it 'came with' a 1992 Technidisc pressing of "First Blood"). Weird. Anyone have that happen before? krbahr?
EDIT: * - I just checked the service addendum for the 606, and it controls an analog 'picture enhancement' circuit ( datasheet here: http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet- ... 2209S.html) - I would presume the main difference between a 505/6 and the 606 is this circuit and the removal of karaoke features.
Edit2: Looking at the schematic more - If I understand the analog mux they put in correctly, level 1 activates the Y video enhancer circuit, and level 2 activates a two-transistor color circuit (haven't worked out exactly how that works, but I assume it's a chroma sharpener of some sort)
Edit3: The TBC analog output the 406 used is listed as non-connected - and almost certainly brought out from the chip - so if anyone actually cared it would probably be relatively easy to add a direct composite mod which would basically work like a 406 with CLV memory.
TL;DR - the 606 is a 406 with digital memory, a 3-line adaptive 2D comb filter, and analog picture sharpener circuits - basically optimized for a tube TV that has S-Video in and a 1-line or otherwise demented comb filter.
I didn't think it would work without sync insertion. And it should apply to all the 504-based players and probably even DVL's, although they use a PAL/NTSC TBC. It's easier on the 504-type since the direct composite is brought out from the pin to support a 406-style player.
