I'm in NYC and it's still extremely rare.
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Upscalers, CRTs, PVMs & RGB: Retro gaming done right!
- Thread starter IrishNinja
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I'm in NYC and it's still extremely rare.
SOME-MIST
Member
I'd hop on it for $100 tbh...
sure it might be slightly overpriced, but I still think PVMs are hard to come by (even in Chicago). some even try to sell the pvm14m2u for $100..
I was shocked when I came across the two 20L1s I bought.
Later Alligator
Member
do bvm's not support 480p over component?
i hooked up my wii today and when its set to 480p the picture is cut in half. changing it to 480i fixes it so im guessing it wont work, just curious if i am missing a setting or something
i hooked up my wii today and when its set to 480p the picture is cut in half. changing it to 480i fixes it so im guessing it wont work, just curious if i am missing a setting or something
It depends of the screen. To do 480p your screen need to be able to switch to VGA mode (31kHz horizontal scan) from TV mode (15kHz). TVs usually have it fixed and only vary the vertical scan frequency to get 240 or 288 lines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multisync_monitor
I would add that as PVMs are getting more and more rare, you shouldn't be afraid to have to pay an amount that people online (who probably bought their PVMs a while ago) will tell you is too high.
Guys, I got a PVM-20M2U for $100 just now. I brought it home, and my games look so good on it that I think my quest is over. I don't think I'll ever top this. Impressions:
-Scanlines are perfect thickness
-The 20" size hits that perfect sweet spot.
-Geometry is flawless.
-And the guy who sold it to me told me the monitor was never really used. And I believe it based on how pristine the IQ appears. The colors are deeper and richer than on any other display I own.
The only thing that is missing is 480p support. Other than that, I feel like I'm living my dream.
-Scanlines are perfect thickness
-The 20" size hits that perfect sweet spot.
-Geometry is flawless.
-And the guy who sold it to me told me the monitor was never really used. And I believe it based on how pristine the IQ appears. The colors are deeper and richer than on any other display I own.
The only thing that is missing is 480p support. Other than that, I feel like I'm living my dream.
theSlacker
Member
Grats, and enjoy!
The Mageling
Member
Jelly. Make sure you post some pics in the other thread. Congrats!
sixteen-bit
Member
Congrats!
theSlacker
Member
Good price for a good unit if you are fine with 14". As always it's value depends on how worn out it is though. Only reason to buy a pvm/bvm is their superior video quality so if there are any issues with that there is no reason to buy it.
The Mageling
Member
I paid double that for mine and don't regret it one bit. I'd buy 10 at that price.
sixteen-bit
Member
Go for it!
Fox Mulder
Member
You have flea markets?
I got my 29 inch Sony pvm for $20 at a shitty flea market buried with crappy tvs and microwaves. People don't really know what these are and there's mountains of crt tvs out there. I'll always look around an old tv section while I'm out.
PassiveObserver
Member
Picked up a Sony Trinitron Wega 20" (KV-20FV12) today for $15 to replace an Insignia set I got off the curb. Currently only have a Dreamcast and no S-Video cable, but it already looks better than what I was rocking earlier. That flat screen is such an improvement over the curved tube of my older set. Still, it's composite and leaves something to be desired.
Here's some pics
Anyone have recommendation for Dreamcast S-Video cables? The ones I saw on Amazon have shaky reviews.
Here's some pics
Anyone have recommendation for Dreamcast S-Video cables? The ones I saw on Amazon have shaky reviews.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
1st party cables are out there, but be prepared to cough up about the same amount of money as a VGA box to get one.
On that note, considering that there are VGA boxes out there with S-video out, I'm not sure if there's a reason to just not go that route instead if you need S-video.
Awesome. You're lucky you don't have the "RGB lines on top" problem that mine has. But I guess it's to be expected if it has very low operating time.
PassiveObserver
Member
Price would be my main concern. So wanted to see if anyone could vouch for the generic $7 s-video cables, but $20-30 would be too much to spend.
RGB lines? Do you have any pics which depict what you're talking about?
baphomet
Member
I thought people may want to see this. This is showing both the DVDO iScan vp30 upscaling 240p content and the XRGB Mini upscaling 240p content. This is without the ABT102 card installed. I'm still messing with them and if I can get everything up and working correctly I'll probably show some samples of both deinterlacing as well.
I picked the vp30 up for $40 and for that price I think it does a pretty decent job. It's not perfect by any means, but if you don't want to spend multiple hundreds it's probably not a bad choice.
Mini on top vp30 on bottom
Edit - I just got the abt102 card working and game2 mode actually comes pretty close to the mini. Unfortunately I can't get it to sync with my extremecap u3 to take a picture of it.
I picked the vp30 up for $40 and for that price I think it does a pretty decent job. It's not perfect by any means, but if you don't want to spend multiple hundreds it's probably not a bad choice.
Mini on top vp30 on bottom
Edit - I just got the abt102 card working and game2 mode actually comes pretty close to the mini. Unfortunately I can't get it to sync with my extremecap u3 to take a picture of it.
That's not bad. I'd certainly like to try it out for that price. Can you get your hands on any more of those?
IrishNinja
Member
yeah, that looks great for the price! cool to see another option out there
baphomet
Member
Unfortunately one is already spoken for of the 2 I picked up. I got a really good deal on them though. Especially with the abt102 cars in there. That alone goes for over $100 normally.
Using the card gives some more picture options include game 2 which gives a really great picture. I took some pictures off screen because it wouldn't sync with my capture device.
These are game mode 2. It causes some issues because its treating the input as 480i, but it gives the best picture from the vp30.
Using the card gives some more picture options include game 2 which gives a really great picture. I took some pictures off screen because it wouldn't sync with my capture device.
These are game mode 2. It causes some issues because its treating the input as 480i, but it gives the best picture from the vp30.
I just picked up Sony PVM-20M2U off of craigslist for the sweet sweet price of free and am amazed at the image quality. So far I have only been able to connect via SVIDEO but it it looks nearly as good as rgb through component on one my larger Magnavox crt.
Anyway, it has an issue with 3 lines running through the top of it. Its not super noticeable unless the screen is dark, but I cant really complain since it was free. The person giving it away was told there is a somewhat easy fix but could not remember what it entailed. Does anyone here know how to fix this. Here are some pics.
EDIT-NVM-problem WAS easily fixed
Also, for anyone interested, the person giving me the monitor gave me some leads on people and groups getting rid of some. If you are in the DC metro area, pm me and Ill give you the info.
Anyway, it has an issue with 3 lines running through the top of it. Its not super noticeable unless the screen is dark, but I cant really complain since it was free. The person giving it away was told there is a somewhat easy fix but could not remember what it entailed. Does anyone here know how to fix this. Here are some pics.
EDIT-NVM-problem WAS easily fixed
Also, for anyone interested, the person giving me the monitor gave me some leads on people and groups getting rid of some. If you are in the DC metro area, pm me and Ill give you the info.
Those must be the "RGB lines" someone mentioned earlier. Try degaussing?
I just had to go into service mode and adjust the v. blanking. I used this guide.
Worked like a charm!
Again, Im blown away by how much better it looks via s-video than my other crt. I will promptly be ordering a scart to bnc adapter. Its going to interesting comparing it to my XRGB.
Thanks for posting this; hopefully it works for antibolo! I believe all monitors have these lines right at the top by design so it makes sense that you'd adjust vertically to put them back where they should be.
baphomet
Member
Yea, they're there by design as far as I know, but ive never seen them actually interfere with the picture like the dkc shot above. The only time I ever see them is in 16x9 and I believe they also show up if I underscan the picture.
Yeh I've never seen them creep down that far either, and same deal as yours for my monitors with underscan; pretty interesting!
Yep, for the record this is the exact thing I also did to get rid of them. You basically raise the OSD so the lines get hidden in the overscan. Note that this doesn't help with 16:9 mode though, you're still screwed in that mode because you have no overscan to work with.
This problem is caused by a known defect in that model where one of the capacitors tends to burn out due to being the wrong strength. It's possible to repair but I certainly wouldn't try it myself.
Yeah, I was reading that. Ill probably not have much reason to go into 16:9 mode and as long as this corrects the issue, Ill refrain from replacing the capacitor.
I will soon receive a framemeister, and I have a little question.
I've always used european scart cables, even on my japanese and american consoles (I live in Europe).
I read that I can't connect a european scart cable to the framemeister scart adapter, and I'd probably have to buy a new adapter to connect the european scart cable on it.
What will happen if I use a japanese console with a european scart cable connected to a new adapter? Will there be some conflict? Shouldn't I instead order a native japanese scart cable for my super famicom?
Sorry in advance if the question sounds a little bit messy.
I've always used european scart cables, even on my japanese and american consoles (I live in Europe).
I read that I can't connect a european scart cable to the framemeister scart adapter, and I'd probably have to buy a new adapter to connect the european scart cable on it.
What will happen if I use a japanese console with a european scart cable connected to a new adapter? Will there be some conflict? Shouldn't I instead order a native japanese scart cable for my super famicom?
Sorry in advance if the question sounds a little bit messy.
Of course. Possibly pick up all three.
Just buy this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Ninte...620?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item259d05bfb4
Then buy a Euro SCART to XRGB Mini 8pin adapter. I'd link you to it because the same seller offers this adapter... but she's currently out of stock. Just hang tight. She's good about replenishing her sold out items.
I don't know much about the JVC but the 14L1 I think only has composite and s-video, while the 1354Q has RGB too,
So this is weird... I got my PVM on Friday from a TV studio and told the owner a bit about how I plan on using it and even tested it out using my consolized MVS in front of him. I also explained why 240p stuff looks "incorrect" on fixed pixel HD displays and showed him the scanlines some of us covet so deeply. He was pretty fascinated by all of this but wasn't a gamer himself.
So, today he gave me a call and wants to set up a meeting with me to kick around ideas for TV show about retro gaming enthusiasts/collectors. I'm not really sure what to tell him... I'm also a bit hesitant to publicize our hobby too much because I'm sure it'd only make any 2nd hand stuff featured that much more expensive. Thoughts?
So, today he gave me a call and wants to set up a meeting with me to kick around ideas for TV show about retro gaming enthusiasts/collectors. I'm not really sure what to tell him... I'm also a bit hesitant to publicize our hobby too much because I'm sure it'd only make any 2nd hand stuff featured that much more expensive. Thoughts?
That is kinda cool. Last time I picked up a PVM the guy asked what I was gonna do with it and when I told him he pretty much laughed me out of his workshop, like eww why would you want to play that old crap? Lol.
So pardon my ignorance but just wanting to make sure with a handful of questions -
For example - I could buy an RGB-modded SNES off ebay. Buy a framemeister Hook it up to a framemeister, and hook said framemeister to my HDTV via HDMI out.
Would this be feasible? Would I have any negative input lag (besides what is already present on an hdtv as is)? Are there any steps I'm missing? Is there any reason to not do this? I'm not looking to be too crazy with anything, I just want to have my retro systems hooked up to my hdtv without looking like ass/without causing input lag.
For example - I could buy an RGB-modded SNES off ebay. Buy a framemeister Hook it up to a framemeister, and hook said framemeister to my HDTV via HDMI out.
Would this be feasible? Would I have any negative input lag (besides what is already present on an hdtv as is)? Are there any steps I'm missing? Is there any reason to not do this? I'm not looking to be too crazy with anything, I just want to have my retro systems hooked up to my hdtv without looking like ass/without causing input lag.
SNES doesn't need to be modded for RGB out unless it's an SNES Jr. There is some input lag, but it may actually speed things up because the FM may scale faster than your HDTV. And it's fairly short input lag at that.
Thanks for the reply. I already have a few of these RGB scart cables, why would I need this one in particular, is it any different?
PassiveObserver
Member
I would love to watch a TV-quality show about this topic.
The greater risk is it not being properly represented or it getting lost in translation in the effort to bring it to Television. That being said, go for it! If you don't, somebody else will...
She makes the best ones.=p
Do it. But know we will hate you like we hate Mike Matei.
Lol. Or create a show of misinformation? Like talking about how they have no monetary value but you love them sentimentally, and stuff like that.
Oh I still use 16:9 mode on my PVM whenever I'm watching a widescreen DVD. The RGB lines are visible but they show up above the picture so it's not a big deal, I forget about them after a while.
RoryDropkick
Member
My 36 inch Trinitron XBR has bitten the dust. It will turn on, and you can hear the degauss, but then it'll turn right off 
I've looked up how to fix it, but it seems a bit complicated. On the bright side, a friend of mine is getting rid of his 27in Trinitron and says I can have it
I've looked up how to fix it, but it seems a bit complicated. On the bright side, a friend of mine is getting rid of his 27in Trinitron and says I can have it Can the picture quality really differ between different RGB cables? Are there some comparisons screens somewhere if there are indeed differences?
I remember I had to buy a very expensive modded RGB cable for my japanese gamecube back when it was released, it would be interesting to see how it works.
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