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Upscalers, CRTs, PVMs & RGB: Retro gaming done right!

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S

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
IrishNinja said:
ah, that's good to hear - again at the time, the dude made it sound like my purposes would require Kuro + Kenzai, so if that somehow changed closer to release (?) then cool.
Click to expand...
The Kenzei is a sync combining device specifically built for connecting a VGA source to the Framemeister's RGB input. You'd need it as a supplement to most VGA boxes, Kuro included.
 
Kawika

Kawika

Member
How is the wii virtual console on a sony pvm? I am thinking about getting a wii for that purpose as many of those games have become so hard to get or require modded hardware to output rgb to the pvm.

I am in the process of getting a 14" pvm and the only console I have capable of outputting rgb or component is a PS2. So before I start hitting up people on craigs list and ebay for nes, snes, and genesis hardware I was hoping someone here would have some advice on "how to do it on the cheap"
 
S

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Kawika said:
How is the wii virtual console on a sony pvm? I am thinking about getting a wii for that purpose as many of those games have become so hard to get or require modded hardware to output rgb to the pvm.
Click to expand...
Many Wii VC games can be output in original 240p mode, so as far as emulation services go, the VC offers a more "authentic" look than most, and doubly so on CRTs.
 
T

televator

Member
Sixfortyfive said:
New XRGB-3 firmware dropped in the past week, btw. Get hype.

I haven't looked up what's new yet, though.
Click to expand...

Awww yiss! I want them to improve Scanlines in 1080p.

Speedwagon said:
Well I have 2 VGA boxes... The cheap clear one

and one that looks similar to this


You're saying they might not be compatible with the Kenzei?
Click to expand...

Ah, I wasn't sure which devices we were talking about anymore. lol I guess those should work with the Kenzei.

Now it makes me question if the Kenzei outputs 15/31 khz over scart now though... Goddam, I wish this was spelled out more. Ugh.
 
Huggers

Huggers

Member
Kawika said:
How is the wii virtual console on a sony pvm? I am thinking about getting a wii for that purpose as many of those games have become so hard to get or require modded hardware to output rgb to the pvm.

I am in the process of getting a 14" pvm and the only console I have capable of outputting rgb or component is a PS2. So before I start hitting up people on craigs list and ebay for nes, snes, and genesis hardware I was hoping someone here would have some advice on "how to do it on the cheap"
Click to expand...

The Wii VC looks amazing on my BVM. Definitely worth hooking up
 
T

televator

Member
baphomet said:
Kenzei outputs 15/31khz over scart.
Click to expand...

Sweet! So a Kuro VGA out --> Kenzei Scart out --> Famemeister ought to work in both 15/31 khz (?)

I can get rid of my old plasma!

IrishNinja said:
*edit: wait does the Kuro support RGB as well? because the guy taking preorders on assembler made it sound (at the time) like you'd have to buy another adapter/thing with it to do that, which was another factor in my decision to pass on it
Click to expand...

That's been a source of confusion for me too, but if I understand 645 and bapho correctly, it looks like RGB Scart and 480p Scart is doable with Kuro + Kenzei

Edit: OMG, their new website is much better for details. It's pretty much spelled out for the the Toro.
15KHZ / 31KHZ MODE SELECTION SWITCH
Both RGB and VGA modes supported for full compatibility! XRGB can be fed with 15/31khz through Scart...
Click to expand...

So yeah, 480p or RGB 15khz to the Framemeister over scart. Shit, I have to be broke right now...
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
Kawika said:
How is the wii virtual console on a sony pvm? I am thinking about getting a wii for that purpose as many of those games have become so hard to get or require modded hardware to output rgb to the pvm.

I am in the process of getting a 14" pvm and the only console I have capable of outputting rgb or component is a PS2. So before I start hitting up people on craigs list and ebay for nes, snes, and genesis hardware I was hoping someone here would have some advice on "how to do it on the cheap"
Click to expand...

Wii VC on a PVM looks really good. It's comparable to real hardware.
 
B

BTails

Member
I got my Toro in last week, and can confirm that it can output both 480i and 480p to the Framemeister. Looks great too, though I'd love to see if anyone has any settings for 1080p they'd like to share, besides changing the V_SCALER to 5 (sharper upscaling on diagonals).

Also, I can't wait to see what that new XRGB firmware does! Hopefully 1080p scanlines are fixed, and I'd love an easy way to mask overscan on the Genesis.
 
G

georgetheplushie

Member
I acquired a PVM-20M2U earlier this week and am looking to jump into the RGB bandwagon.

Would it be possible to get by with a single scart cable for my SNES, and hypothetically RGB-modded AV Famicom and N64? It seems like everywhere I look is either just saying go ahead and get whatever, or they're saying stuff like the AV Famicom needs a Gamecube scart cable (probably something to do with the resistors in the SNES scart cables?) or that the console won't necessarily output CSYNC after the mod unless wired up to do so.

Somebody give me peace of mind and tell me which of these three to get basically:
http://www.ebay.com/itm//201284360714
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161569281372
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161548189620

Also, suppose I wanted to simultaneously capture the video signal for recording/streaming. I'm not exactly looking to drop $300+ on a Framemeister, but I can say with some confidence that my capture card doesn't accept 240p over component. Is there a decently priced HDMI upscaler that won't look like shit? Something like this? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QK1SIYS/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 
Bar81

Bar81

Member
Sixfortyfive said:
The Kenzei is a sync combining device specifically built for connecting a VGA source to the Framemeister's RGB input. You'd need it as a supplement to most VGA boxes, Kuro included.
Click to expand...

Could you do HANZO->VGA/HDMI CONVERTER->FRAMEMEISTER without needing a sync combiner like the Kenzei?
 
Ban Puncher

Ban Puncher

Member
I'm still mad that the Hanabi Festival release of Gleylancer on Wii VC was 50Hz.

They had to put work into making it worse.


Aside from that, Virtual Console is pretty decent.
 
Bar81

Bar81

Member
Man Puncher said:
I'm still mad that the Hanabi Festival release of Gleylancer on Wii VC was 50Hz.

They had to put work into making it worse.


Aside from that, Virtual Console is pretty decent.
Click to expand...

??? They game was only ever released in 60hz. So they "optimized" it for no reason at all?
 
S

SavoryCade

Member
I've got a Mitsubishi MegaView monitor I picked up a few years ago that I've been super lazy about buying/making an RGB cable for, but I'm finally gonna do it. I had made a cable for my old PVM a long time back and have pretty much forgotten everything I learned about RGB and now I'm totally confused about sync again.

This is what the back panel of the MegaView looks like. Do I need a separate sync line for horizontal and vertical or would I be OK with something like this using only the composite sync line? I'll be running everything through a Bandridge SCART selector (Genesis, Saturn, Master System, SNES, PS2).
Nyx1tpV.jpg
Click to expand...
 
P

Peltz

Member
Bar81 said:
Don't do Scart and don't want to buy another Selecty21 in any case.
Click to expand...

In that case, have you considered just going S-Video -> Framemeister? I would think it's better than VGA -> HDMI converter -> Framemeister.

It's far cheaper and more "natural".
 
T

theSlacker

Member
georgetheplushie said:
I acquired a PVM-20M2U earlier this week and am looking to jump into the RGB bandwagon.

Would it be possible to get by with a single scart cable for my SNES, and hypothetically RGB-modded AV Famicom and N64? It seems like everywhere I look is either just saying go ahead and get whatever, or they're saying stuff like the AV Famicom needs a Gamecube scart cable (probably something to do with the resistors in the SNES scart cables?) or that the console won't necessarily output CSYNC after the mod unless wired up to do so.

Somebody give me peace of mind and tell me which of these three to get basically:
http://www.ebay.com/itm//201284360714
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161569281372
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161548189620
Click to expand...

I'm honestly not sure what would be the best cable for an AV Famicom. I think they have the same input as the SNES and N64 but not sure if it can do csync or sync on luma without additional modding, someone else will have to answer that. The N64 requires another step in it's RGB modding to do csync that you would have to have specified to the modder. The sync on luma cable will worth with it without that extra step I believe. SNES should work with that (sync on luma) as well, but not sure if it or the csync cable would be better for it.
 
Bar81

Bar81

Member
Peltz said:
In that case, have you considered just going S-Video -> Framemeister? I would think it's better than VGA -> HDMI converter -> Framemeister.

It's far cheaper and more "natural".
Click to expand...

Based upon the S-Video output versus VGA output from my official VGA box, S-Video is a very significant downgrade - that would be a last option.
 
G

GayForMaster

Banned
Sixfortyfive said:
I can't speak for PSP-specific options, but I'd probably take a good GBA emulator over the GBP when it comes to playing those games on a TV.
Click to expand...

I can only guess you prefer an emulator over the GBP because of the stuttering, right? I don't know but I don't usually feel it all the time. I'll notice it every here and there but it doesn't bother me and it's not enough to make a game feel like shit.

IrishNinja said:
nice! i literally just got done updating my XRGB firmware today, also no idea what it did, haha. i mostly just check in at SHMUPs to make sure the newest ones are stable.
Click to expand...

Will you test it on games like Silent Hill please, and let us know if resolution timeouts are horribly long?
 
P

Peltz

Member
Bar81 said:
Based upon the S-Video output versus VGA output from my official VGA box, S-Video is a very significant downgrade - that would be a last option.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it is, but do you know of a good VGA to HDMI converter? Because I've never really seen one that wasn't shit.
 
Huggers

Huggers

Member
So I'm getting a custom unit built for my consoles and CRTs. Just can't find anything pre-made that is exactly right. Lets talk about cables. What is the best method of reducing/eliminating the spaghetti junction situation. It's a bit unsightly
 
G

GayForMaster

Banned
IrishNinja said:
yeah, i should really clean up my cables somehow too, but....$180? fuckouttahere



...yeah, that really is weird, damn



no
nothing's gonna be as troubling as SOTN on saturn anyway
Click to expand...

Well I guess it doesn't have to be Silent Hill heh, but any game subject to resolution changes. I think it's pretty important since it renders a game annoyingly unplayable sometimes.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
okay so i don't have sixfour's fancy measuring tape and whatever
but i just tested all the games and they take between nine and thirty four minutes to change menus, on average
looks great tho
 
R

russian box

Member
Filben said:
Strech it to you desired aspect ratio. You won't get rid off those borders, so strech the image until they disappear (while maintain the 4:3 ratio, of course. Those black borders, for obvious reasons, you will not get removed).

I prefer the old games in 4:3, too. Although some work well with a streched widescreen look.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, I will scale it up! but I think i'll add a border like i do with the game boy videos, such as this one Super Mario Land - Game Boy
 
Huggers

Huggers

Member
Not sure how well this comes across but I just plugged an NTSC Snes into my BVM for the first time and the full screen 60hz picture is insanely good

K3ZeIt1.jpg
 
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