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[BTails]

I can't wait to try out the new firmware for the XRGB Mini when I get home; there's reports that resolution switches are quite a bit faster now - time to try out Silent Hill and see how it reacts.

 

[Mercutio]

I can't wait to try out the new firmware for the XRGB Mini when I get home; there's reports that resolution switches are quite a bit faster now - time to try out Silent Hill and see how it reacts.

I'm pretty excited too... SOTN's menu switching on the Saturn is such a pain in the neck.

 

[fvng]

You're not really listening though, are you? You're just looking at the price and assigning a value to what you feel like you should get from it.

The point is:

There aren't alternatives / competing boxes that do something similar.

What the XRGB Mini does at its pricepoint is actually quite good. It uses a rather expensive processor to do it, and is purpose built for what we need here.

All I said it would be good if a competing box was built, that was on the same level of quality, because competition is a good thing. Why are you taking issue with that? I'm not even disputing the fact this device does what it does well.

 

[Mercutio]

All I said it would be good if a competing box was built, that was on the same level of quality, because competition is a good thing. Why are you taking issue with that? I'm not even disputing the fact this device does what it does well.

I'm taking issue with the mindless and uneducated repeating of "$300 is a lot for this thing." The rest of it I agree with. If someone made a cheaper version of a thing that is the same quality, of course we'd all buy it.

But that's just ignoring the reality of the situation, and I won't discuss it any further.

 

[NormalFish]

If people didn't notice, New firmware has the option to save profiles. The delay in switching to or fro. 480i/240p is apparently reduced as well.

 

[Mercutio]

If people didn't notice, New firmware has the option to save profiles. The delay in switching to or fro. 480i/240p is apparently reduced as well.

Oh whoa, so would it conceivably let me save my sync settings for various consoles? As is, I have a notepad next to my TV that has everything. Super annoying.

 

[baphomet]

$300 is pretty steep. I think if there were alternative or competing boxes that did something similar you'd see the prices drop down a bit but they enjoy being the only game in town that does what it does specifically for this purpose.

$300 is pocket change for this. When other similar scalers cost 2 or 3 times the cost of the mini, for similar or worse performance you realize how good of a deal it is. Not to mention I paid $380 for a used mini like 2 years ago or so, and it still technically costs the same price in Japan.

 

[SegaShack]

I thought this would be a good place to ask. I have a Sony PVM 20L5, Super Nintendo (w/ Super Gameboy) and a Gamecube with the Game Boy player.

I have RGBs on my SNES. However, I do not have component cables for the GameCube. I was wondering what is the best way to play Gameboy games on the TV? Thanks.

 

[Mercutio]

I thought this would be a good place to ask. I have a Sony PVM 20L5, Super Nintendo (w/ Super Gameboy) and a Gamecube with the Game Boy player.

I have RGBs on my SNES. However, I do not have component cables for the GameCube. I was wondering what is the best way to play Gameboy games on the TV? Thanks.

Regular Gameboy? They look better through the Super Gameboy, and have more options than they do on the GBA player. I'd venture to say that even with RGB cables and a Gameboy Player on my Gamecube, I'm not wild about how the games look.

 

[antibolo]

I thought this would be a good place to ask. I have a Sony PVM 20L5, Super Nintendo (w/ Super Gameboy) and a Gamecube with the Game Boy player.

I have RGBs on my SNES. However, I do not have component cables for the GameCube. I was wondering what is the best way to play Gameboy games on the TV? Thanks.

For vanilla Game Boy games, the Super Game Boy 2 (Japanese-only revision with correct timing) is probably the best.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

If people didn't notice, New firmware has the option to save profiles. The delay in switching to or fro. 480i/240p is apparently reduced as well.

Pretty awesome that those were the two things people were calling for most in the next hardware. Good timing. Hoping mine arrives this week. Can't way to check it out.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

$300 is pocket change for this. When other similar scalers cost 2 or 3 times the cost of the mini, for similar or worse performance you realize how good of a deal it is. Not to mention I paid $380 for a used mini like 2 years ago or so, and it still technically costs the same price in Japan.

I know the rest of you have already gone off the deep end on this stuff and I agree that for the functionality available it's well priced but for most people $300 for a bit better image quality isn't really worth it. I guess if you're already buying Earthbound for that much or CIB MMX3 or something then it doesn't seem like that much, but then I'm also not going crazy on spending on games.

I'm probably just going run my new Genesis through svideo to the crummy ebay scaler I have. Yeah it's not perfect but it's not worth $300 to me to get it any better. Hell I could probably get something to do SCART to component but I also just don't want anything to do with SCART cables. They're huge, ugly, and getting them in Canada is kinda annoying. There's just some lines I don't want to cross.

If anything I'd rather buy a used trinitron for $20. I've told my wife to stop me from doing this cause I really don't want a CRT in my house again (heat, space, squeal, power use, weight, take your pick), but still. $300 is a lot.

 

[fvng]

I'm taking issue with the mindless and uneducated repeating of "$300 is a lot for this thing." The rest of it I agree with. If someone made a cheaper version of a thing that is the same quality, of course we'd all buy it.

But that's just ignoring the reality of the situation, and I won't discuss it any further.

I already dropped that a few pages ago. You're harping on something I dropped. I understand it's worth the price. I merely mentioned it'd be nice for there to be competing devices that are of comparable quality. Yes, don't discuss it any further.

 

[Bodacious]

Yodobashi sells it in store. There's a stock indicator on their website (on the right hand side under the shopping cart button). If you're in Tokyo just drop by the one in Shinjuku, it's right next to the train station, they'd have it for sure.

Price seems to be a bit higher than I've seen it lately though, not sure what that's about. Oh also if you're a foreigner you should be able to get the tax back, so that would be a bit of a discount.

Thanks! But yeah, that price (41,900) doesn't make any sense. That's higher than Micomsoft's retail price. We'll be staying in the middle of Kyoto most of the time and there'll be Bic Camera, Yodobashi, Yamada Denki, Sofmap, etc all nearby. And like I said, I'll be in Den Den Town for one day. Just hoping to find somewhere I can go where I KNOW they'll have it at the 'street price' of about 32,000. Otherwise, I'll just wait and buy it online later this year.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Thanks! But yeah, that price (41,900) doesn't make any sense. That's higher than Micomsoft's retail price. We'll be staying in the middle of Kyoto most of the time and there'll be Bic Camera, Yodobashi, Yamada Denki, Sofmap, etc all nearby. And like I said, I'll be in Den Den Town for one day. Just hoping to find somewhere I can go where I KNOW they'll have it at the 'street price' of about 32,000. Otherwise, I'll just wait and buy it online later this year.

Keep an eye on the price closer to June; it was less last time I looked.

The nice thing about bigger stores like Yodobashi is they usually have English speaking sales people available and make it pretty easy to get the tax back (8%). I think Bic does it too but if you buy with a foreign Visa card you can get another 5% back.

 

[Peltz]

I already dropped that a few pages ago. You're harping on something I dropped. I understand it's worth the price. I merely mentioned it'd be nice for there to be competing devices that are of comparable quality. Yes, don't discuss it any further.

As an owner of the mini, I am not quite as enthusiastic about it as most people are in this thread. For $300, I expected way better build quality and faster/snappier menus.

Yes, it's worth $300 for what it does, but it's does not feel like a $300 device. It's a no-frills piece of equipment that is far from perfect, despite the wealth of options and things to configure. It still feels like a work in progress.

It's the only thing within the ballpark of $300 that does the job properly, so we let it slide. But it's not a very polished device from an end-user perspective.

 

[Mercutio]

As an owner of the mini, I am not quite as enthusiastic about it as most people are in this thread. For $300, I expected way better build quality and faster/snappier menus.

Yes, it's worth $300 for what it does, but it's does not feel like a $300 device. There's a difference between the two. It's a no-frills piece of equipment that is far from perfect, despite the wealth of options and things to configure.

It's the only thing within the ballpark of $300 that does the job properly, so we let it slide. But it's not a very polished device from an end-user perspective.

I'm actually pretty with you on the construction of it. I was fairly disappointed in the build of it when I first got it. Crappy little plastic box with limited inputs; you pretty much have to invest in SCART switchers to get your money out of it, or you're stuck yanking plugs constantly. I'd much prefer the build of the XRGB 3, but the Mini functionality.

 

[NormalFish]

Oh whoa, so would it conceivably let me save my sync settings for various consoles? As is, I have a notepad next to my TV that has everything. Super annoying.

You can save profiles to MicroSD. I assume they include every setting. You can swap between them pretty simply.

Pretty awesome that those were the two things people were calling for most in the next hardware. Good timing. Hoping mine arrives this week. Can't way to check it out.

Yeah, I'm pretty stoked. Seems like a positive indication of what's to come.

 

[dallow_bg]

You can save profiles to MicroSD. I assume they include every setting. You can swap between them pretty simply.

Yeah, I'm pretty stoked. Seems like a positive indication of what's to come.

Unlimited profiles?

 

[NormalFish]

Unlimited profiles?

I'm not sure. Someone over at shmups is testing but I've heard nothing about a limit. There's an 8 character limit for the profile names, but otherwise you're pretty unrestricted in the profiles. I imagine you're only limited to either the size of your microSD card, or the amount of options the XRGB can display.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm not sure. Someone over at shmups is testing but I've heard nothing about a limit. There's an 8 character limit for the profile names, but otherwise you're pretty unrestricted in the profiles. I imagine you're only limited to either the size of your microSD card, or the amount of options the XRGB can display.

AAAAAAAAA YOU CAN NAME THE PROFILES

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

LONG HAVE I DREAMED OF THIS DAY

 

[fvng]

As an owner of the mini, I am not quite as enthusiastic about it as most people are in this thread. For $300, I expected way better build quality and faster/snappier menus.

Yes, it's worth $300 for what it does, but it's does not feel like a $300 device. It's a no-frills piece of equipment that is far from perfect, despite the wealth of options and things to configure. It still feels like a work in progress.

It's the only thing within the ballpark of $300 that does the job properly, so we let it slide. But it's not a very polished device from an end-user perspective.

terrific. I appreciate your feedback.

 

[Peltz]

terrific. I appreciate your feedback.

I mean, don't get me wrong... I wouldn't waste my time or money on anything else. If you intend to play 240p games on an HDTV, you really should own a Framemeister.

It's just not the end-all-be-all like a PVM 20L5 would be.

 

[NormalFish]

I mean, don't get me wrong... I wouldn't waste my time or money on anything else. If you intend to play 240p games on an HDTV, you really should own a Framemeister.

It's just not the end-all-be-all like a PVM 20L5 would be.

Unfortunately even the highest quality CRT monitors have a whole host of issues as well. Size, capacitor squeal, scarcity, and lack of 480p and greater resolutions (though it is true some CRTs can do this) are all issues that can be deal breakers for folks.

 

[Peltz]

Unfortunately even the highest quality CRT monitors have a whole host of issues as well. Size, capacitor squeal, scarcity, and lack of 480p and greater resolutions (though it is true some CRTs can do this) are all issues that can be deal breakers for folks.

Plus, each one needs to be checked for geometry, dying phosphors, diminishing contrast, overscan, and other issues. CRTs are way more finicky than modern sets.

Nothing is perfect.

 

[televator]

Unfortunately even the highest quality CRT monitors have a whole host of issues as well. Size, capacitor squeal, scarcity, and lack of 480p and greater resolutions (though it is true some CRTs can do this) are all issues that can be deal breakers for folks.

Geometry was my deal breaker. I looked upon the holly Grail that is the XM29 and I could only scoff at the geometry being so off.

 

[antibolo]

I personally have no interest in a Framemeister now, but I sure am glad that they exist in case I ever end up in a different life situation where owning a PVM will no longer be an option.

 

[Friend of Sonic]

Thanks! But yeah, that price (41,900) doesn't make any sense. That's higher than Micomsoft's retail price. We'll be staying in the middle of Kyoto most of the time and there'll be Bic Camera, Yodobashi, Yamada Denki, Sofmap, etc all nearby. And like I said, I'll be in Den Den Town for one day. Just hoping to find somewhere I can go where I KNOW they'll have it at the 'street price' of about 32,000. Otherwise, I'll just wait and buy it online later this year.

I'm travelling to Japan in August, so please do let me know what you find out. If I can get a decent discount on one, I'll probably pick one up too.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

I'm just going to go ahead and purchase an XRGB.

Now this is probably and old and tired question, but should it be the mini, or XRGB3?
And what's/who's the best place to order them from?

Read the comparison linked in the OP. Fudoh does a good job at narrowing down the comparison criteria.

I would personally never buy a Framemeister for any price. I am adamant in my belief that an upscaler built specifically for gaming should never have more than 1 frame of lag, but other people tend to not be as picky.

 

[Peltz]

Read the comparison linked in the OP. Fudoh does a good job at narrowing down the comparison criteria.

I would personally never buy a Framemeister for any price. I am adamant in my belief that an upscaler built specifically for gaming should never have more than 1 frame of lag, but other people tend to not be as picky.

I don't think we'll see an upscaler that is that fast unless it's a simple line doubler up to 480p.

Sixfortyfive, your particular set has 17ms of input lag. If you add the 24ms created by the Framemeister, you get 41ms of input lag.

That's a very playable speed unless you're playing single-frame-sensitive fighting games at a very high level of play. It will still feel good, even if not CRT-level.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Sixfortyfive, your particular set has 17ms of input lag. If you add the 24ms created by the Framemeister, you get 41ms of input lag.

That's a very playable speed unless you're playing single-frame-sensitive fighting games at a very high level of play. It will still feel good, even if not CRT-level.

I literally just used my XRGB-3 + CRT combo for a Super Smash Bros tournament on Saturday.

There are standards that I need to meet.

 

[Peltz]

I literally just used my XRGB-3 + CRT combo for a Super Smash Bros tournament on Saturday.

There are standards that I need to meet.

Well, as a fellow Smasher, I can certainly understand that. There's no way I'd play any of the Smash Bros. games on my upscaler. That's one series where I really care about minimizing input lag as much as humanly possible.

Why even use the XRGB3 at that point then? Why not just plug it directly into the CRT?

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Why even use the XRGB3 at that point then? Why not just plug it directly into the CRT?

CRT VGA monitor, bro. Way more crisp than any old tube TV that I've seen people drag to these events, and it's probably easier to lug around than a PVM.

I've also seen that combo give even better latency results than CRT TVs by themselves.

 

[Timu]

CRT VGA monitor, bro. Way more crisp than any old tube TV that I've seen people drag to these events, and it's probably easier to lug around than a PVM.

I've also seen that combo give even better latency results than CRT TVs by themselves.

This is why I want a XRGB3.

 

[Peltz]

CRT VGA monitor, bro. Way more crisp than any old tube TV that I've seen people drag to these events, and it's probably easier to lug around than a PVM.

I've also seen that combo give even better latency results than CRT TVs by themselves.

But.... scanlines :'(

J/k. I already know you don't care about them. That image reminds me of the first time I've ever booted up a Genesis emulator on my PC. I think I had the same exact monitor.

 

[NormalFish]

Apparently 1080p scanlines work now with Smart_1X or Smart_2X modes.

The INT_<X> options are for the Smart modes, and the DEC_<X> options are for the other modes. the DEC_ ones don't work so great, but apparently the INT_ settings work pretty well at 1080p.

Oh, and I think I forgot to mention before: Thanks to the way the saved configurations work, you can easily distribute them. I look forward to seeing what magic people can set on their FM without having to personally fiddle around with it for 3 hours.

 

[televator]

By "work" do you mean they look good or that they just function and look shit. I'd love an update that makes 1080p scan lines look good.

 

[NormalFish]

By "work" do you mean they look good or that they just function and look shit. I'd love an update that makes 1080p scan lines look good.

personally haven't tried them much, and there seems to be some conflicting feedback. I'd think 720p is still the way to go, but 1080p is now an option if you like thinner scanlines.

 

[Shadow Hog]

On that note, this is probably the only thread on NeoGAF where I can say that I've been using a CRT monitor with an old computer and am really digging how it handles low resolutions just as crisply as high ones, and probably not get laughed at. I kind of want to use it on my current-era rig too; shame my desk has no room for it.

 

[NormalFish]

On that note, this is probably the only thread on NeoGAF where I can say that I've been using a CRT monitor with an old computer and am really digging how it handles low resolutions just as crisply as high ones, and probably not get laughed at. I kind of want to use it on my current-era rig too; shame my desk has no room for it.

I remember watching a video of someone using a CRT monitor to play TF2 and being super impressed. I've thought about picking one up but I don't really have the space or patience to look for/set one up.

 

[IrishNinja]

welp, time to check that thread in the SHMUPs forums for impressions on the firware!

CRT VGA monitor, bro.

now that is a sexy shot

 

[NormalFish]

welp, time to check that thread in the SHMUPs forums for impressions on the firware!



now that is a sexy shot

yeah, I've just been crossposting the big stuff from over there. The thread's moving slow but there's already quite a bit of information.

 

[televator]

I got Nintendont working on my WiiU and its fucking brilliant! Colors got dat pop!

Seriously though picture quality is fantastic. I can force 480p which the WiiU upscales to 1080p.

 

[SegaShack]

Regular Gameboy? They look better through the Super Gameboy, and have more options than they do on the GBA player. I'd venture to say that even with RGB cables and a Gameboy Player on my Gamecube, I'm not wild about how the games look.

For vanilla Game Boy games, the Super Game Boy 2 (Japanese-only revision with correct timing) is probably the best.

Thank you both for the great responses. Looks like I'll just stick to the Super Gameboy for now, unless I run into GC Component Cables in the wild (will never happen).

As for the Super Gameboy 2. Besides the timing fix, does it add anything to picture quality?

 

[Teknoman]

I think i'd get my N64 RGB modded first before eventually upgrading my NES and PC engine Duo.

So with the N64 or NES being RGB modded, I'd just use whatever RGB cable I already use for my SNES right?

 

[televator]

I think i'd get my N64 RGB modded first before eventually upgrading my NES and PC engine Duo.

So with the N64 or NES being RGB modded, I'd just use whatever RGB cable I already use for my SNES right?

Same cable worked for me, so probably.

 

[Teknoman]

Same cable worked for me, so probably.

Cool, first on the upgrade line needs to be the 64 then.

Serial is good too.

 

[theSlacker]

I think i'd get my N64 RGB modded first before eventually upgrading my NES and PC engine Duo.

So with the N64 or NES being RGB modded, I'd just use whatever RGB cable I already use for my SNES right?

Depends. N64 mod isn't csync enabled by default so if your SNES cable is csync you will have to make sure the modder does the extra steps to enable that. For the NES only the AV Famicom will have the Nintendo multi out as the standard output. The thing that is used with modding a frontloader or NES toploader is actually a genesis 2 plug. Depending on the modder of course. It will normally cost extra to get a Nintendo multi out input as it is either harvested from a SNES or 3d printed. The 3d printed ones can look nice on a toploader since it basically prints out an entire new back panel, but for the frontloader since they have to cut out the exact space it can look a little worse then using the Genesis 2 input since that is a drill hole.

 

[Teknoman]

Depends. N64 mod isn't csync enabled by default so if your SNES cable is csync you will have to make sure the modder does the extra steps to enable that. For the NES only the AV Famicom will have the Nintendo multi out as the standard output. The thing that is used with modding a frontloader or NES toploader is actually a genesis 2 plug. Depending on the modder of course. It will normally cost extra to get a Nintendo multi out input as it is either harvested from a SNES or 3d printed. The 3d printed ones can look nice on a toploader since it basically prints out an entire new back panel, but for the frontloader since they have to cut out the exact space it can look a little worse then using the Genesis 2 input since that is a drill hole.

Well the SNES cable I use is one from that classic game accessories seller on Ebay from awhile back (SCART cable with stereo audio plugs) and use that to a converter to plug to the TV via component.

In other words, i'm not sure lol. At any rate, I sent Baphomet a PM, so just waiting to see what he says.

 

[Huggers]

Hi chaps. I'm after a multi scart switch. I have 8 consoles. All RGB and my current scart switch only accepts 3 inputs. Any not overly expensive options you know of? Should I buy another of what I have and daisy chain them?