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Retro AV Club Thread 2: Classic Gaming Done Right!

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JDH

Member
Looks like there's a small number of OSSC unit left from last batch, so numbers in between 1751 and 1771 should be able to grab one.

Also, Bucko said the new firmware - the one that will introduce the Profiles feature - is going through beta testing. Shouldn't take too long for it to be released, I guess.

Ahhh so close. 1778 here :p
 
Do you know which revision added 240p? I thought HDMI compliance was supposed to be pretty strict.

Edit: yikes apparently supported day one due to being in CEA-861

240p defined as 720x240 with either a 8:9 or 32:37 PAR, yeah that sounds correct.

OK so 240p is optional according to the older CEA-861-B spec. That solves that mystery. I can't tell for sure but it looks to be optional in CEA-861-D as well.

Now I just need to find if there's an easy way to just check what formats are supported by a display over HDMI connected to a PC from the EDID data.

Selling my used-ass XRGB mini for $10k (shipping not included), PM for details

I seriously considered selling my broken one as junk/for-repair just to see how much someone would be willing to pay right now.
 
Now I just need to find if there's an easy way to just check what formats are supported by a display over HDMI connected to a PC from the EDID data.

Turns out it's actually really easy to see what a display supports via EDID. However, they lie. My LG TV doesn't list 720x240 as a supported resolution. I thought I might be able to use the horizontal scan rate since that's listed, and other monitors/TVs will report a minimum of 30khz or 15khz. Of course this TV says it's minimum is 30khz. Which I guess is true since pixel data is supposed to be doubled in 240p HDMI according to the CEA spec I posted earlier.

I also tried looking at other EDIDs for TVs posted online and I haven't found one that willingly lists 240p as a valid resolution.

So, to recap. A lot of TVs seem to support 240p HDMI, and it's an optional part of the HDMI spec, but there's no way to know for sure if your display handles it other than testing it.
 

catabarez

Member
You can be very accurate if you simulate everything.

You know that a lightgun is based on two signals. The first is the trigger button, which asks the console to send a white picture. The second is sent once the beam reaches where the light guns points at. the time difference between the two signals gives the console a pixel accuracy to where the gun is pointing at.

By disconnecting the trigger button from the white flash, you can do: trigger button asks for X,Y coordinates; a processor translate X,Y into the corresponding time value; the gun sends two pulses with that specific delay to the console. The screen still flashes in between, but that specific information isn't used. The console then decides what to do depending on the aim and the frame it just drew.

The main problem with that is lag. How long does it take to compute everything? given the modern LCD has lag of its own, is the target currently displayed on it still in that position for the computer? It isn't a new problem though.

Incidentally, I don't know how one could simulate the NES zapper. The much simpler construction of simply detecting any light to know whether it hit something, without any regard for its spatial position, may be much more difficult to implement.

I'm pretty sure this was based on this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzIPGpKo3Ag

It's open source and looks like he got it to work on all major consoles. I just want one that works with PS2 and NES that looks like the Dreamcast one. Hopefully since it's open source someone will take care of it.
 

Jockel

Member
So I've got two ROB units over the last few months. Both had stuck gears and corrosion in their battery compartments and were repaired by me. Still, both won't react to the signals sent by their games. I'm using an RGB modded AV Fami over a Sony PVM. Now I was wondering if the RGB mod could interfere with the way colors are generated, thus making ROB unable to see them correctly. So my question is, did anyone get it working on an RGB setup?
 

D.Lo

Member
So I've got two ROB units over the last few months. Both had stuck gears and corrosion in their battery compartments and were repaired by me. Still, both won't react to the signals sent by their games. I'm using an RGB modded AV Fami over a Sony PVM. Now I was wondering if the RGB mod could interfere with the way colors are generated, thus making ROB unable to see them correctly. So my question is, did anyone get it working on an RGB setup?
ROB works perfectly with RGB, so it sounds like your ROBs are vision impaired.

I mean you can try composite too anyway?
 

Jockel

Member
ROB works perfectly with RGB, so it sounds like your ROBs are vision impaired.

I mean you can try composite too anyway?
Nah, I gave up on composite to have CSYNC on both my Famicoms. I should probably get out the multimeter and check. Are there common problems with their cameras that are fixable?
 

D.Lo

Member
Well they're not so much cameras as light guns. They're pretty sturdy, I've repaired a bunch of ROBs and Famicom Robots and never had one not have the eyes work (usually motors die first).

Try various positions, brightness settings etc.
 

ToastyFrog

Inexplicable Treasure Hate
Have you tried using the light filter that came with R.O.B.? Could be there's too much ambient light interference.
 

purdobol

Member
Anybody got full PS2 pinout of AV port from the motherboard side?

fetch.php


I'm getting ghosting/ringing. Very subtle on TVs (probably it's filtered out) and unbearable on PC monitor (480p with RGsB).
I assume it's because sync on composite is used instead of clean one. So want to try sync on luma first before making sync stripper.

Basically looking for luma, grounds (all three) and +5 Volt line (in case i need to make sync stripper).
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
No.

Only grab component on GCN if you also have Gameboy Player needs. Then it may be worth it.

But I think many Wii systems output a picture that is as clean as GCN. I cannot see a difference between the two in any of my setups (and I've tried repeatedly).

You can tell the difference if you load up test patterns. Other than that I'm not sure why people complain about Wii's component output.

The useful thing about GC component cables is for use with GB Player / GBI, but s-video is good enough and way cheaper.

Im just using RGB for the GB Player, and i think that looks excellent. The component-cables are nowhere near worth it imo.
 
Anybody got full PS2 pinout of AV port from the motherboard side?

fetch.php


I'm getting ghosting/ringing. Very subtle on TVs (probably it's filtered out) and unbearable on PC monitor (480p with RGsB).
I assume it's because sync on composite is used instead of clean one. So want to try sync on luma first before making sync stripper.

Basically looking for luma, grounds (all three) and +5 Volt line (in case i need to make sync stripper).
If your monitor does RGsB, why are you using sync on composite?


In any case it's a lot easier to crack open a cable than to do whatever you're trying to do inside the case.
 

purdobol

Member
If your monitor does RGsB, why are you using sync on composite?

It's connected to rgb matrix. RGB from motherboard, and CVIDEO from normal cable. Audio goes to seperate amp. So it'll be easy to switch between TV and monitor on case by case basis (480i, 480p).

The problem is (i assume) that the only ground comes from CVIDEO cable heh. Which is to noisy hence the ghosting.

Didn't want to wait for RGB cable, and the cosnole costed 8 bucks so i'm not to worried about it.
 
It's connected to rgb matrix. RGB from motherboard, and CVIDEO from normal cable. Audio goes to seperate amp. So it'll be easy to switch between TV and monitor on case by case basis (480i, 480p).

The problem is (i assume) that the only ground comes from CVIDEO cable heh. Which is to noisy hence the ghosting.

Didn't want to wait for RGB cable, and the cosnole costed 8 bucks so i'm not to worried about it.

Depending on the model, taking apart and especially putting back together a PS2 can be really annoying. Most of the larger size ones have an insane way of handling the cabling into and around the DVD unit.

I'm not really sure I follow your setup. If it's a PC monitor, what kind of connectors are you using? A dsub15 has a metric ton of ground pins. And the type of noise you tend to see from composite video interference isn't consistent with ghosting and ringing... I used to get that with just plain VGA from a PC to a monitor. Maybe your cables aren't very well shielded?
 

harz-marz

Member
Hey all!

Apologies if this has been covered to death already, I am trying to suss out the best way to emulate all of my old SNES/Genesis/etc games.

I have an Nvidia Shield TV and have been able to emulate games fine on individual emulators etc but I find having to open lots of apps quite confusing and tricky. I have tried to use Retroarch but find that it isn't very user friendly at all and I quickly get frustrated with configuring it.

I have seen things like Retropie on the Raspberry Pi 3 that look simple and have all of the emulators etc in one program with artwork etc. There are bundles on eBay with the Pi 3 already configured with Retropie and I have thought of selling my Shield and using the cash to get one of these. Perhaps I am mad to do this when the Shield is already more than capable? Is there a similar way of doing this with the Shield and if so what is the best option?

I very much want it to be user friendly and easy to set up etc so any guides or advice would be much appreciated!

Also, I have noticed that there is some input lag when using the bundled Shield controller, is this normal? Is it due to it being wireless? I tried to put my TV into game mode and the issue persisted, I noticed it also happed with my NES Classic so maybe its an issue with the TV.

Thanks in advance!
 
Emulators in general have some input lag. That combined with a modern TV is typically a recipe for a bad experience with any game that requires a lot of precision. I used to think I was terrible at SHMUPs but now I'm just bad at them.
 
Also, I have noticed that there is some input lag when using the bundled Shield controller, is this normal? Is it due to it being wireless? I tried to put my TV into game mode and the issue persisted, I noticed it also happed with my NES Classic so maybe its an issue with the TV.

TVs usually introduce quite a bit of lag but so do emulators. The ones you would use on Android are notoriously bad for that, but ones for Raspberry Pi aren't much better.

My preferred way to do emulators (which I don't use often any more) is on a Wii outputting at 240p. The official VC emulators and I think Retroarch on Wii are pretty minimal, around 1 frame of lag. Then the rest is scaler or TV, and if it's direct to a CRT you get zero lag and a retro image. Even a Wii at 480p is pretty good as well and would be more compatible with HDTVs.
 

purdobol

Member
I'm not really sure I follow your setup.

All goes through RGB matrix switcher. Which outputs to 4 screens.

Outputs:
1. PC monitor. BNC to VGA cable (RGB and CSYNC connected)
2. TV 28" BNC to SCART (RGB + CSYNC + external power source 12V and 5V with resistor)
3. TV 20" in tate mode. BNC to SCART (RGB + CSYNC + 5V with resistor)
4. Widescreen TV. BNC to SCART (RGB + CSYNC + 5V with resistor + 12V)
Inputs:
1. PC. VGA to BNC cable (RGB + HV sync --> sync combiner --> CSYNC --> switcher)
2. Wii U. (RGB + CVIDEO) + HDMI to PC monitor (but that's not important).
3. PS2 (RGB + CVIDEO)

The ghosting only appears when CVIDEO is used for sync (there's none on PC input wchich has clean sync). On TVs it's barely noticeable. Wouldn't notice it until i've checked 480p on PS2. Now i can't unsee it. Tried terminating unused outputs on the switcher but this didn't solve the problem. My guess is that this switcher does not cope with CVIDEO very well, and it needs clean sync.

All the cables are shielded properly.
 
All goes through RGB matrix switcher. Which outputs to 4 screens.

Outputs:
1. PC monitor. BNC to VGA cable (RGB and CSYNC connected)
2. TV 28" BNC to SCART (RGB + CSYNC + external power source 12V and 5V with resistor)
3. TV 20" in tate mode. BNC to SCART (RGB + CSYNC + 5V with resistor)
4. Widescreen TV. BNC to SCART (RGB + CSYNC + 5V with resistor + 12V)
Inputs:
1. PC. VGA to BNC cable (RGB + HV sync --> sync combiner --> CSYNC --> switcher)
2. Wii U. (RGB + CVIDEO) + HDMI to PC monitor (but that's not important).
3. PS2 (RGB + CVIDEO)

The ghosting only appears when CVIDEO is used for sync (there's none on PC input wchich has clean sync). On TVs it's barely noticeable. Wouldn't notice it until i've checked 480p on PS2. Now i can't unsee it. Tried terminating unused outputs on the switcher but this didn't solve the problem. My guess is that this switcher does not cope with CVIDEO very well, and it needs clean sync.

All the cables are shielded properly.

Does you still get this without the matrix switcher? Like PS2->RGBSCART->BNC->VGA alone? If so you might just have a problem with the length of your setup. Even well shielded VGA cables can only go so far.

And no sorry I don't know of any pinout of the PS2 board side. :)
 

Jockel

Member
I don't have em, unfortunately. Thanks for the heads up about the ambient light, though. Will try it in the dark tonight.

So I did try it in the dark (with Robot Block), still no dice with both units. Is the LED supposed to go on after I switch them on? Because both LEDs stay off. Batteries are OK ;)
 

Peltz

Member
Im just using RGB for the GB Player, and i think that looks excellent. The component-cables are nowhere near worth it imo.

I'd assume those are equal or better in quality for 240p gaming anyway. I don't think NA GCNs are compatible with SCART output though.
 

Peagles

Member
I'd assume those are equal or better in quality for 240p gaming anyway. I don't think NA GCNs are compatible with SCART output though.

A PAL cube with a Xeno chip and RGB cable is still a fraction of the cost of a component cable though, hehe.
 
Game Boy Interface (ULL) works great with my NTSC Gamecube and S-video FWIW. On my PVM I don't really notice the difference between svid and component for GBA games (yeah, I compared using a friend's component cable). Heresy, I know.
 

televator

Member
shouldn't be, since you'll still have the typical green line for the sync to hitchhike on to. Don't see any reason why it would be different from using, say, luma sync for RGsB. the luma line just isn't ever looked at.

I though so, but was hoping someone would concur. Thanks for your input!
 

Psxdad

Member
Are we any closer to having a solution for light gun games on LCD screens? Way to trick the game or emulate the device?
 

lepo

Member
Has anyone had experience with a psp go + ossc using a dual shock controller via bluetooth ?

I'm mostly interested in how bad is the controller input lag and if you can get the scanlines to look right when playing psone classics

Thank You!
 
Hoping someone can help me with my Framemeister. Basically, I can't get audio to play through the low input lag hdmi port on my Vizio. Plugging the FM into the other hdmi ports work fine. The only thing that I can think of is I had my PC hooked up on that low-lag input over DVI with Audio piped through SPDIF so I'm wondering if the TV is expecting audio over some other channel that the FM is doesn't have. I went through all the audio settings on the tv and FM and nothing works. The FM worked for a while on that input flawlessly. I even messed with the EDID settings on the FM. Is there some sort of setting to get the FM and TV to re-handshake for the HDMI stuff? It's bizarre because my other consoles and PC work fine on the low-input port, The FM works fine on any other input, its just the FM that won't send out audio on the port that I want since all the other inputs introduce noticeable lag. I ordered an HDMI switch since I needed one anyway to have everything on the good input, but if the switcher is just gonna pass through I'm worried it won't correct the issue.
 

catabarez

Member
Are we any closer to having a solution for light gun games on LCD screens? Way to trick the game or emulate the device?

We were actually talking about this a few posts up:

I'm pretty sure this was based on this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzIPGpKo3Ag

It's open source and looks like he got it to work on all major consoles. I just want one that works with PS2 and NES that looks like the Dreamcast one. Hopefully since it's open source someone will take care of it.

Someone is currently making one for the Dreamcast. Same guy makes wireless Dreamcast controllers.
 
So i'm debating moving almost entirely to OPL via an HDD for my PS2 collection. Figure I should downsize a bit more. Got a kindle for christmas and despite my great love of physical books, the convenience is really wonderful. Thinking I'll do the same with my PS2 collection.

However, I haven't really explored the various options that homebrew like GSM offers. Anyone have a good resource for those things, or feel competent enough to explain the various perks of that homebrew and how I should use it with OPL? Additionally, any quirks to OPL that you think I should know before going hard and ripping all my discs?

PM me if you're not sure the resource you have is gaf-safe. I realize a bunch of homebrew stuff sometimes treads the line. Hope that's alright.
 

JDH

Member
Is retrogamingcables always frickin' sold out of their stock? Every time they have one item back in stock another goes out of stock. I am looking to order enough to make shipping worthwhile (Canada here)

Gah!!!
 
Is retrogamingcables always frickin' sold out of their stock? Every time they have one item back in stock another goes out of stock. I am looking to order enough to make shipping worthwhile (Canada here)

Gah!!!
she closes her store when she's not working either for vacation or if she's off for a weekend or what. just follow her store so you get a notification.
 

JDH

Member
she closes her store when she's not working either for vacation or if she's off for a weekend or what. just follow her store so you get a notification.

Sorry I meant the UK one - not eBay seller.

Maybe they've gotten more popular. When I ordered mine I got like 4 or 5 cables at once.

I wonder if it's because of the recent tweets (last page) that they are sold out? I'm new to RGB, so not sure if this is normal or not - but it IS frustrating :/
 
I wonder if it's because of the recent tweets (last page) that they are sold out? I'm new to RGB, so not sure if this is normal or not - but it IS frustrating :/

What are their recent tweets?

They're a small company I think like 2 maybe 3 people tops doing everything. So they're not going to have huge inventories of cables and such at any given time. Unfortunately none of this stuff is really super mass produced, there just isn't the market for it.
 
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