(All) Sega Mega Drive 1/Genesis models suffered from faulty RF Out ports and RF switches. Old Mega Drive 1 RF switches would have to be wriggled in the RF Out port to obtain a clear enough signal. The picture often had scanlines, ghosts and static onscreen.
Unlike the Mega Drive 1/Genesis, the Mega Drive 2 had a much better RF system that displayed a stronger and clearer signal.
The A/V in the model 2 port is now one custom multi-out port for picture and sound. This port had stereo sound capability built-in, unlike the model 1 digital port's support for mono sound only - stereo sound coming from the headphone jack.
Contrary to popular belief, the model 2 console is not missing the Z80 chip.
The model 2 is in fact the better-built, most durable model.
Panzer_Zwei
I highly agree with the most durable part. My mother tried to break my model 2 when I didn't clean up my room. She banged it on my desk and actually cracked the bottom of the case, but it still ran great despite this. But my friend who had a model 1 dropped it when moving and it didn't work again. Though I'm not sure if this is the kind of durability you were talking about. 
Log in to comment