MVS Hardware - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What does MVS stand for?
A: MVS Stands for Multi Video System

Q: What is a Multi Video System?
A: It is an arcade game that has a motherboard with single or multiple slots that use games in a cartridge format.

Q: How many slots do the motherboards have?
A: They come in 1,2,4 or 6 slots, and there are multiple versions of the 1 slot board. There may be more.

Q: How many versions of the 1 slot board are there?
A There are 6 that I am aware of. MV-1, MV-1A, MV-1F, MV-1FZ, MV-1C, MV-1B.

Q: What are the differences?
A: See the PCB Guide

Q: Will the motherboards work in a JAMMA cabinet?
A: They will all work, but are not 100% JAMMA compliant

Q: What does that mean?
A: The 1 slot boards are the closest to JAMMA, but have the addition of a 4th button. Some of the 1 slot boards have an external connector to run Stereo sound instead of the mono JAMMA sound.

Q: What about the other boards?
A: The 2, 4, and 6 slot boards are wired to what I would call the MVS standard. It is almost the same as JAMMA, but have the additional 4th button, a select button, and Stereo sound out of the harness instead of an external connector. The test switch is also in a different location than the JAMMA test switch.

Q: Can I use an AES Home cart in a MVS motherboard?
A: No.

Q: Can I use the same Memory Card from my AES Home system in the MVS system?
A: Yes, if the motherboard supports a Memory Card reader.

Q: Which boards support the Memory Card reader?
A: The 2 slot board has a Memory Card reader built in. The MV-1 1 slot, 4 slot and 6 slot boards support the MV-IC Memory Card reader

Q: Are the motherboards language or region specific?
A: Yes, there are English-US, English-Euro, and Japanese.

Q: Can I change the language?
A: Yes, you can change the system BIOS or add a multi-BIOS

Q: What are the differences besides the languages?
A: There are some title differences, and some games have more blood or "bounce" in Japanese or Euro.

Q: What does the multi-BIOS do?
A: It allows you to switch between the MVS and AES BIOS as well as English or Japanese language

Q: AES BIOS?
A: Yes, the chips on the MVS carts are the same as the AES carts and vice versa. By changing the BIOS you can access the features of the AES games in a MVS cabs.

Q: Such as?
A: Practice mode, etc.

Q: What is a "Dedicated" cab?
A: A Dedicated cab is one that came from the SNK factory as a MVS cab. It is wired for the MVS standard and was designed to play the MVS games.

Q: What is a "Conversion" cab?
A: A Conversion cab is a game that was manufactured to be one game, and has been converted to play another.

Q: What is a "Candy" cab?
A: A Candy cab is a Japanese sit down type cabinet. There are many different ones made by SNK and other manufacturers.

Q: Can I plug other JAMMA PCBs into my dedicated MVS cab?
A: Maybe. The MVS wiring does not have a -5V line, so if your PCB requires -5V it won't work

Q: Can I add a -5V line to my MVS harness without harming my MVS PCB?
A: Yes, see the Project section.