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

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So I've posted around a bit, but without much luck. Starting to lose my mind looking for a good SCART cable for my PS2. Quoting myself from the PS2 Thread:
My search for a PS2 JP21/Scart cable continues. Can anyone give me a more confident yay or nay for the generic ones coming out of hong kong such as THIS or THIS?

Also: is there any reason why I would want a SCART cable with the red and white audio AV cables for use with an XRGB mini?
Would someone take pity and please help me out with this? I feel like I've run out of places to look and nothing looks particularly good.
 

Pinewood

Member
So... hauling a 21" CRT from one end of town to the other. By foot. How crazy does that sound? Im contemplating getting a used CRT to play games, but I dont have a car here and I dont want to bother my roommates, cos the drive would be like 30+ km.

There is also a 14" Trinitron, but that is 3 times more expensive and in the same region, so...
 

KC-Slater

Member
So... hauling a 21" CRT from one end of town to the other. By foot. How crazy does that sound? Im contemplating getting a used CRT to play games, but I dont have a car here and I dont want to bother my roommates, cos the drive would be like 30+ km.

There is also a 14" Trinitron, but that is 3 times more expensive and in the same region, so...

This does not sound at all realistic. Can you at least taxi/use public transportation?
 

Huggers

Member
So... hauling a 21" CRT from one end of town to the other. By foot. How crazy does that sound? Im contemplating getting a used CRT to play games, but I dont have a car here and I dont want to bother my roommates, cos the drive would be like 30+ km.

There is also a 14" Trinitron, but that is 3 times more expensive and in the same region, so...

You'll have quads of steel by the end of that
 

Pinewood

Member
This does not sound at all realistic. Can you at least taxi/use public transportation?

Yeah, forgot to mention Id use public transport. Its like 400m from the bus stop to where I live. The metro station is across the road from where I get on the bus (but you have to use the tunnel). I dont know how far these TVs are from the bus stations though. I looked at the TV in this district too, but those were either way overpriced or way too big to even consider carrying one.
 

Peltz

Member
Yeah, forgot to mention Id use public transport. Its like 400m from the bus stop to where I live. The metro station is across the road from where I get on the bus (but you have to use the tunnel). I dont know how far these TVs are from the bus stations though. I looked at the TV in this district too, but those were either way overpriced or way too big to even consider carrying one.

Can you grab a cab or uber that?
 

Pinewood

Member
Can you grab a cab or uber that?

I just found from an other site a Sony KV-21LS30K thats in the same district as me. I will contact the seller tomorrow(hopefully he/she speaks english) and maybe we can arrange something.

Dont know about Uber in Budapest tbh.
 

Bancho

Member
Spent a bit more time with the Sony PVM 20M4E tonight. Got the geometry a lot better looking now and messed with a few settings. Really starting to fall in love with the screen now.

I removed my 14m2e off my mobile retro centre but i think the 20" is just to big for it. Not so mobile now lol.

IMG_6069.jpg


Oh and this...LAWD! I love this game (and yes its a repo!)

IMG_6034.jpg
 
Spent a bit more time with the Sony PVM 20M4E tonight. Got the geometry a lot better looking now and messed with a few settings. Really starting to fall in love with the screen now.

I removed my 14m2e off my mobile retro centre but i think the 20" is just to big for it. Not so mobile now lol.

[ig]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/hive81/IMG_6069.jpg[/img]

Oh and this...LAWD! I love this game (and yes its a repo!)

[ig]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/hive81/IMG_6034.jpg[/img]

Man that PVM is nice. Jealous.
 

Peltz

Member
Spent a bit more time with the Sony PVM 20M4E tonight. Got the geometry a lot better looking now and messed with a few settings. Really starting to fall in love with the screen now.

I removed my 14m2e off my mobile retro centre but i think the 20" is just to big for it. Not so mobile now lol.

IMG_6069.jpg


Oh and this...LAWD! I love this game (and yes its a repo!)

IMG_6034.jpg

It's still cool looking.

I'm actually going to order a small little cart thing for my PVM 20M2U so that it (hopefully) integrates nicely with the rest of my gaming setup, but with wheels so I can drag it around. Wish me luck on my search.
 

Pinewood

Member
I just carried one of those down my stairs! It killed me! Fuck carrying that even a few yards! Couldn't you get a taxi!?

Yeah, I carried my parents 21" Trinitron that fell down! from the wall mount and broke down to the car to take to utility. And I hear the flat ones are heavier. But beggars can't be choosers I guess. I sent him a message about his location, it might be really close tho. But taxi fares inside the district will be managable too I guess. I was just not down to pay 30 euros just to transport a 10 euro TV back home (the taxi firms seem to run a cartel here. All the fares are quite expensive compared to back home. And they dont really differ from one company to another.)
 

D.Lo

Member
I use a cheap PS1 RGB cable and it's fine.

Really for anything except Sega consoles I haven't found a need for 'ultra' quality cables, just 'decent' quality ones work well without interference.

The big issue with scart is video noise (rare) and audio interference from video channels (common). Seems there are only garbage or super quality Sega cables, but you can get 'decent' ones for Nintendo and Sony consoles.
 

Khaz

Member
So I've posted around a bit, but without much luck. Starting to lose my mind looking for a good SCART cable for my PS2. Quoting myself from the PS2 Thread:

Would someone take pity and please help me out with this? I feel like I've run out of places to look and nothing looks particularly good.

The second one is a cheap one. I can't access the first link.

They're cheap in the sense that they are not properly shielded and can catch interferences. I've yet to witness interferences from outside, but crosstalking between wires is common and results in a distracting audio buzz. RGB signals are much more robust though and you should not notice any picture degradation.

I'd say for use with an XRGB you can go for the cheap cables. Because the upscaler doesn't pass sound (iirc), get a cable with audio out at the console end, which should eliminate the buzzing. Or even better, use your S/PDIF.

sl-4412-bk_rgb_001.jpg
 
The second one is a cheap one. I can't access the first link.

They're cheap in the sense that they are not properly shielded and can catch interferences. I've yet to witness interferences from outside, but crosstalking between wires is common and results in a distracting audio buzz. RGB signals are much more robust though and you should not notice any picture degradation.

I'd say for use with an XRGB you can go for the cheap cables. Because the upscaler doesn't pass sound (iirc), get a cable with audio out at the console end, which should eliminate the buzzing. Or even better, use your S/PDIF.

sl-4412-bk_rgb_001.jpg

I'm not sure what S/PDIF is, but you're saying I should get a cable with external LR audio cables? like THIS? Also what do you mean the emulator doesn't pass sound? as in it doesn't play sound when given just an RGB connection?
 

Khaz

Member
I'm not sure what S/PDIF is, but you're saying I should get a cable with external LR audio cables? like THIS?

http://uk.playstation.com/ps2/suppo.../item240534/Get-the-best-audio-from-your-PS2/

PlayStation 2 features a Digital Out (Optical) connector, which allows you to connect to your digital audio equipment using an optical digital cable (also available at any good specialist audio, electronics or cables store). For reference, the cable is also known as an optical S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) or TOSlink cable.

The middle one. Connect it to your amp and you will get a much better sound out of your PS2.

I assumed the XRGB was just upscaling the picture and didn't pass the audio through. Apparently it does, according to the pics I'm seeing. My advice is still valid though, get your Audio out of your cable as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary interferences.
 

KC-Slater

Member
Yeah, forgot to mention Id use public transport. Its like 400m from the bus stop to where I live. The metro station is across the road from where I get on the bus (but you have to use the tunnel). I dont know how far these TVs are from the bus stations though. I looked at the TV in this district too, but those were either way overpriced or way too big to even consider carrying one.

You should order a pizza to that guy's house, and then wait around for the pizza delivery-person to arrive, and just bribe him/her to drive you home with the PVM.
 

Khaz

Member
I had to carry a car battery (22kg) for about 2km once. Never again.
And it was small with handles, so I could take frequent breaks without ruining my back, change hands, etc. I would never consider carrying a TV for even half that distance.
 

antibolo

Banned
Yeah, don't do it without a cart or something. 750m is a lot longer than it seems when you're carrying a 20 inch CRT. Don't overestimate your badassness.

When I bought my PVM I had to carry it a mere 50m to my friend's car parked at the street corner, and it was not a fun experience.
 
Yeah, don't do it without a cart or something. 750m is a lot longer than it seems when you're carrying a 20 inch CRT. Don't overestimate your badassness.

When I bought my PVM I had to carry it a mere 50m to my friend's car parked at the street corner, and it was not a fun experience.

I have yet to carry any of my monitors. Always bring someone bigger and stronger to do so as I believe I would just crumble under them.
 

D.Lo

Member
I used to carry my 27" CRT around by myself, every time I moved student residence.

Do some push-ups between shoot-em-ups nerds!

;)
 

Huggers

Member
Maneuvering my BVM could easily be an event on the worlds strongest man. The thing is ridiculous. It's sits in the corner of my room arrogantly knowing it's territory is safe as it's never getting moved again
 

Madao

Member
i once almost wrecked my body when i bought my last CRT waaay back in 2003 and that was just bringing it from the car to my room and it was a 29" size. that thing was really heavy.
 

antibolo

Banned
With all that said though, if it's a consumer TV then it's probably not as heavy as a PVM. Not that it changes my advice though.
 

Peltz

Member
It's online for me. And yea, that's true... I also can't solve washed out colors with an external solution.

Edit: Nevermind, the KDL series does have component inputs. I ordered the Sony KDL55W800B. I couldn't justify going any bigger considering I only sit about 7.5 feet away, and the 60W850B costs $500 more for what will probably be too large at that distance.

When it arrives, I'll post some impressions on how it handles 480p and 480i via component.

UPDATE:

So I actually didn't get the KDL 55. I actually did buy the Sony kdl60w850b :)

Anyway, my impressions:

For consoles with 1080p output, it plays like a dream. The response time feels almost like a CRT. And it looks just as good as my old Panasonic Plasma, but with even less input lag. I didn't realize how far LED technology had come until I experienced this for myself. Of course, it doesn't hold up as well in a pitch black room at night, but that's to be expected. The daytime picture is perfect though. The 24ms of input lag (according to the input lag database) feels imperceptible to me and is indeed very fast, even for twitch-based games.



For 480p content, unfortunately, I felt some very tangible input lag in comparison. Switching off all of the preset filter-bullshit only helps to minimize the feeling, but the controls definitely feel too "mushy" for my tastes. And the actual image at 480p is quite soft as well, especially with the filters turned off. Unfortunately, my Panasonic Plasma handled such content far better. The upscale appears to add some very significant frames. And most frustratingly, the HDTV does not appear to have a "game mode" for its component input.

At this point, I'd rather play my Gamecube at 480i on my PVM so that at least the controls feel good. This is especially important because my GCN is mostly set up for F-Zero GX and SSBM these days, so timing is very important. Plus 480i on the PVM simply looks more aesthetically pleasing than 480p upscaled via the KDL's internal upscaler (bleh). I will continue to play with the options on my KDL at 480p... hopefully there's some preset that I'm missing that can cut out a few more frames of input lag.

Overall, it's a great HDTV, but I'm disappointed with the upscaling.

P.S. Do you even lift bro?
 
you guys are soft :)

i carried my 20" bvm ~300m to my car, and into my house down 2 flights of stairs. the handles make it easier

i'm just playing though, dont haul it across town by yourself. its a bitch... get someone to help if you can
 
750m, so almost half a mile? It doesn't seem far, but it is with that PVM weighing you down. Definitely get one of those ramp things on wheels. It'll feel silly but your journey will actually be something you can accomplish if you must do it on foot.
 

Kawika

Member
Managed to score a PVM-14M2U and I am arranging to pick it up this weekend. Right now I only have my unmodded NES and PS2. I am still in the starting stages of this retro thing you guys got me into.

Will I be able to still hook up both consoles to my new TV before I get a RGB modded NES? I do have RCA to BNC adapters.

Thanks for helping a noob.
 

antibolo

Banned
All this talk about lugging CRTs just reminded me that I once bought a bookshelf at IKEA and didn't want to bother asking car-owning friends to help me so I lugged it back home myself.

I remember being at the self-service area and lifting up the package to gauge its weight and my ability to carry it. "ok, I think I can do this...??" I hesitantly told myself, and bought it.

I took a bus but still had around a kilometer to walk. On a moist, 36 C summer day.

My arms hurt a lot the following day.
 

KC-Slater

Member
Managed to score a PVM-14M2U and I am arranging to pick it up this weekend. Right now I only have my unmodded NES and PS2. I am still in the starting stages of this retro thing you guys got me into.

Will I be able to still hook up both consoles to my new TV before I get a RGB modded NES? I do have RCA to BNC adapters.

Thanks for helping a noob.

I have the same PVM, and yes you will (provided you have RCA to BNC adapters) but not both simultaneously, if I recall. It also supports S-Video if you have a PS2 cable.
 

Peltz

Member
I have the same PVM, and yes you will (provided you have RCA to BNC adapters) but not both simultaneously, if I recall. It also supports S-Video if you have a PS2 cable.

You can do both simultaneously. The composite input is separate from the RGB/Component inputs. Skip S-video if possible and use either a 1st party PS2 component cable or a decent RGB cable. In this case RGB>Component on that 14" PVM. S-video should be the 3rd and last resort for PS2.
 

Bancho

Member
Think i'm sorted now with my Screens. I'd love to add a BVM to the selection but i'm cheap as hell and can't bring myself to splash the cash! This is what £46 got me in the end.

14m2e (600 Lines) 20m4e (800 Lines) & JVC BM-H2000PN-K (750 Lines)

Well happy with each one of them. Still think the JVC is my favorite mind :)

Displays.jpg
 
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