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[NormalFish]

Got my Framemeister yesterday.

Is there any way to make the scanlines not look terrible at 1080p? I'd probably rather turn them off than run at 720.

Depends on what you mean by terrible. they tend to be either too thin/dark or be uneven. If the former, it's hard to fix. You can try setting your scanlines so they look kind of nice and then messing with zoom, since scanlines and zoom interact in funny ways (you need to do zoom AFTER, i find). If you've got uneven scanlines, this is probably because you're using scaling settings that are uneven and some way and the framemeister doesn't know how to figure it out.

 

[baphomet]

There is no reason to be cutting the composite video trace in an n64 rgb mod.l

 

[brainpann]

There is no reason to be cutting the composite video trace in an n64 rgb mod.l

I probaly mispoke. I used a mod I found at assemblergames, but the site is still down. I know whatever I had to cut put my composite video in black an white, so I wired a switch whenever I needed to use.

 

[flyover]

Is there any way to make the scanlines not look terrible at 1080p? I'd probably rather turn them off than run at 720.

Depends on what you mean by terrible. they tend to be either too thin/dark or be uneven. If the former, it's hard to fix. You can try setting your scanlines so they look kind of nice and then messing with zoom, since scanlines and zoom interact in funny ways (you need to do zoom AFTER, i find).

Yeah, I'm still learning the ropes with Framemeister settings, but I haven't had much luck getting 1080p + scanlines to look decent. I wish there were a way to force a windowboxed 960 on a 1080 display. That would be perfect for 240 and 480 content. Maybe there is, and I don't know it yet...

Putting the Framemeister on 720p does make a 960 line windowbox on one of my TVs, so that's what I usually use (since I'm just playing Genesis and PS1 games, mostly).

But on my other TV, the one I originally wanted to use with the Framemeister (a Sony Bravia W600), I could never get a good picture. The TV would stretch the image and automatically override my overscan settings, no matter what I did -- making scanlines looks horrible and uneven at any resolution setting. So you may have to watch out for that. Make sure your overscan is off and stays off.

 

[Danchi]

For anyone in the UK who has the official Wii SCART cable, is it branded/does it have any distinguishable features? Looking at the listing on Amazon, the SCART end seems to be darker (the third-party ones seem to all be grey) and it doesn't have the composite add-on on the lead that you sometimes see.

My local CEX apparently has 3 of them in stock priced at £1. I doubt they're the official ones like they say though.

 

[IrishNinja]

Got my Framemeister yesterday.

Is there any way to make the scanlines not look terrible at 1080p? I'd probably rather turn them off than run at 720.

i did 720p with them for years, but the FW 2.0 allowed profiles and i installed one (guy just added GC and game-specific ones like F-Zero GX), and one of his SNES ones i wanna say makes em look great by me. i couldn't do it on my own though.

 

[Khaz]

For anyone in the UK who has the official Wii SCART cable, is it branded/does it have any distinguishable features? Looking at the listing on Amazon, the SCART end seems to be darker (the third-party ones seem to all be grey) and it doesn't have the composite add-on on the lead that you sometimes see.

My local CEX apparently has 3 of them in stock priced at £1. I doubt they're the official ones like they say though.

The photo is too bright and the reflections don't help. The cable is grey and the Scart plug is black, the Wii plug is grey with a black tip. The Scart plug is more squarish than the usual (you can see it on the picture) and Nintendo is written on one side, upside-down.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

i did 720p with them for years, but the FW 2.0 allowed profiles and i installed one (guy just added GC and game-specific ones like F-Zero GX), and one of his SNES ones i wanna say makes em look great by me. i couldn't do it on my own though.

I ended up running at 720p with scanlines for most of the day and I think it's pretty OK. I'd just rather scale once and be done with it. I'll take a look for the profile later.

Also is there any specific reason people don't seem to like component on the Framemeister? I've heard that it's "noisy" but it looks totally perfect with 240p on my PS2. I've been playing the Tales of Phantasia fan translation on my PS2 via disc swap until my PS1 modchip arrives and I think it looks basically perfect. I set it up with the recommended settings on that wiki page and switched back and forth between the same screen on the JP untranslated version via RGB and the translated version via PS2 component and I can't really tell the difference.

 

[Hobby]

Got my Framemeister yesterday.

Is there any way to make the scanlines not look terrible at 1080p? I'd probably rather turn them off than run at 720.

Smart_x2 seems to render scanlines properly at 1080p, but you need to upgrade the firmware to 2.0 for that, I believe.

I do have a question for people who use monitors. Scanlines are fine at a distance, I've found, but I play exclusively on my second 24" monitor and that means I sit relatively close to the screen and the scanlines are very visible as a result. I've tweaked the settings a bit so that they aren't quite as prominent, but it's still not ideal. I'm just curious if anyone else who plays on a monitor feels the same way about this, or if you just don't use scanlines at all.

 

[NormalFish]

I ended up running at 720p with scanlines for most of the day and I think it's pretty OK. I'd just rather scale once and be done with it. I'll take a look for the profile later.

Also is there any specific reason people don't seem to like component on the Framemeister? I've heard that it's "noisy" but it looks totally perfect with 240p on my PS2. I've been playing the Tales of Phantasia fan translation on my PS2 via disc swap until my PS1 modchip arrives and I think it looks basically perfect. I set it up with the recommended settings on that wiki page and switched back and forth between the same screen on the JP untranslated version via RGB and the translated version via PS2 component and I can't really tell the difference.

FM's component input IS noisy. But I think most people agree it isn't noisy enough to matter much of the time. if you want the best image quality, RGB > Component, but component is by no means bad.

 

[moltonasty]

Well this is weird..I tried running some games natively on my N64 and Genesis through RGB into my Sony PVM, but there's this weird effect...color bleeding I guess? It's like the colors don't stay within the lines, it's hard to explain, kind of blurry. But when I run the same games on my Wii through component, they look really crisp, and quite fantastic by comparison. Is this normal, since it's being emulated? Or does it sound like there may be a problem with my scart cables? I'm using the Genesis and SCART to BNC cables from Retro Gaming Cables btw.

I prefer using the real hardware, but when the games just look better to my eyes being emulated then IDK.

 

[sixteen-bit]

post a pic if you can

 

[Khaz]

I'm betting it's displaying Composite.

 

[Ramune]

Yeah, must be a composite RGB cable. A true RGB signal is way more crisp, especially the Genesis/Mega Drive. If there's any "bleeding" it's the phosphor glow of the CRT. And in person, it STILL looks crisp despite that.

On a side note, a search for 21ピンRGB on Yahoo JP Auctions brings up some interesting CRT displays being sold.

Fujitsu FMDPC231D

NEC PC-TV454 15-inch

Sony KV-21DA75

Sony KV-14AF1

You appear to have vaseline on your camera lens.

Nah, that's just a combo of very crappy cell phone camera + dark room at the time. It can do pretty decently though on occasion

I've since upgrade to a new cell phone, but have yet to take any CRT shots with it as I'm moving soon.

 

[speedlolita]

You appear to have vaseline on your camera lens.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

FM's component input IS noisy. But I think most people agree it isn't noisy enough to matter much of the time. if you want the best image quality, RGB > Component, but component is by no means bad.

Maybe the adjustment I made to the A/D level as described here has helped minimize it. It really looks perfect. I didn't think the framemeister could do any better than my component to HDMI box for component sources but especially with scanlines on it looks reaaaaaaaly good.

 

[NormalFish]

Maybe the adjustment I made to the A/D level as described here has helped minimize it. It really looks perfect. I didn't think the framemeister could do any better than my component to HDMI box for component sources but especially with scanlines on it looks reaaaaaaaly good.

That certainly helps. Oddly enough, I've noticed that some games are noisier than others and I haven't really figured out why that is. Megaman X4 through my PS2 is way noisier than Ghost in the Shell, for example, through both component and scart.

I like how some Sony TVs in Japan straight up had a Playstation multi AV input

That avatar sure is a change of pace.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I like how some Sony TVs in Japan straight up had a Playstation multi AV input

 

[speedlolita]

For the purest of connections.

Yeah I saw some of those when I was looking into a SCPH-1050 on import, before I came across a flurry of affordable SCPH-1052.

I've seen people use PlayStation multi out for other consoles too, maybe for this reason? Might install one in the MVS I'm planning.

 

[Mercutio]

I like how some Sony TVs in Japan straight up had a Playstation multi AV input

And sweet sweet D Terminal. God I wish we had D Terminal on everything instead of Component.

 

[speedlolita]

How come? The only difference is the connector.

SCART would be a healthier addition.

 

[Mercutio]

How come? The only difference is the connector.

SCART would be a healthier addition.

But it's one nice big cable instead of RCA style jacks. I dunno. I just think D Terminal is crazy sexy.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

RCA jacks were and are nice because you can just reuse old cables. No need to go and rebuy everything.

 

[Peltz]

But it's one nice big cable instead of RCA style jacks. I dunno. I just think D Terminal is crazy sexy.

This thread is the only place where cable formats are acknowledged for their sex appeal.

 

[CoachKevin]

Picked up a Commodore monitor today, seems there is an issues with the picture jumping. Any idea what is going on?

Here is the video. Pretty sure it is not a V Hold issue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nQtmYH0i5U&feature=youtu.be

 

[Jockel]

Picked up a Commodore monitor today, seems there is an issues with the picture jumping. Any idea what is going on?

Here is the video. Pretty sure it is not a V Hold issue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nQtmYH0i5U&feature=youtu.be

Probably some issue with sync or ground pins? Try another cable / console and see if the problem persists.

 

[CoachKevin]

Probably some issue with sync or ground pins? Try another cable / console and see if the problem persists.

Hmm, seems to hate my AV famicom and Super Famicom. Modded Famicom seems OK as does the PC engine...

 

[Khaz]

Every console should have a Scart socket at the back. Like the super successful Amstrad GX4000.

 

[moltonasty]

Hmm didn't realize there was a difference between the cables. How can I know if it's displaying correctly? and is that a cable issue or something with the settings? I notice I can change the PVM settings from composite to RGB but everything is green lol. Am i doing something wrong? Forgive my SCART ignorance, it's all relatively new to me.

 

[Peagles]

Hmm didn't realize there was a difference between the cables. How can I know if it's displaying correctly? and is that a cable issue or something with the settings? I notice I can change the PVM settings from composite to RGB but everything is green lol. Am i doing something wrong? Forgive my SCART ignorance, it's all relatively new to me.

Photos of each for comparison?

 

[dhonk]

If I got an XRGB mini / RGB modded N64 is there any clear advantage to using that upcoming N64 HDMI instead? Besides the convenience of having HDMI built in.

And Im talking image quality strictly, the other features of the HDMI mod dont matter a whole lot to me.

 

[Coda]

I may try to snag that NEC monitor. It looks great.

 

[Ramune]

I may try to snag that NEC monitor. It looks great.

Yeah, if you can afford the shipping, it looks like a good 15/24/31hz monitor. Good luck!

 

[Madao]

If I got an XRGB mini / RGB modded N64 is there any clear advantage to using that upcoming N64 HDMI instead? Besides the convenience of having HDMI built in.

And Im talking image quality strictly, the other features of the HDMI mod dont matter a whole lot to me.

to me it looks like an alternative for those that don't want to go the XRGB + RGB mod route.

i'm considering it as long as there's no input lag in the mod. if it lags more than XRGB + RGB mod, then it's out of consideration. my TV adds a little more than 1 frame of lag and it easily gets over 2 with the XRGB.

 

[moltonasty]

I'll upload some pics ASAP

 

[CoachKevin]

Ah! Seems like I just needed to have both audio channels mixed into one. Seems to work great now.

Hell of a picture through composite. Think I am going to keep this hooked up over the 14" Sony PVM. 17" monitor is a great size for the space.

Also holy shit is that speaker on the 1701 awesome. Amazing sounding even.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Good shit Kevin. I think those monitors do S-video as well, but not through the standard mini-DIN cable (you'd need the chroma/luma jacks in the back instead).

 

[speedlolita]

Surely they do RGB too? Why settle for less?

 

[CoachKevin]

Surely they do RGB too? Why settle for less?

Just does S-video but I have to build a S-video adaptor that will accept a split signal.

 

[CoachKevin]

Weird the issues just popped back up again. Then I switch to the PC engine and now everything is fine.

Any idea what is going on with this 1701?

 

[vilmer_]

After testing out the settings of the Framemeister, I think this might be the best possible picture that I can get right now out of the composite cables (until the RGB cable arrives). Crash 2 looks pretty rough :lol

This is a direct capture from the SC-512N1-L at 1080p. I also tested out the N64 and Super Famicom as well (S-Video) and the Super Famicom looks fantastic. Conker also looks pretty decent. I will need to test some more settings out in the meantime.

 

[Coda]

Just went ham and picked up a Mega Drive and SCART cable for it on eBay.

Also picked up Alien Soldier and Dynamite Heady as my first games.

It wasn't cheap but I'm so ready to rip through these games.

 

[NormalFish]

Okay so in my struggle to find the perfect IQ set up with a PS2 through Framemeister, I've learned that using the "Movie" mode over "Natural" mode for PS2 RGB completely destroys colors and adds a ton of noise. I've seen this setting recommended by multiple reliable people, but I'm guessing they were only testing with component, as the issue is definitely not present there.

If someone could shine some light on why this may be I'd be appreciative. To be perfectly honest, most of the image mode settings go over my head.

I think this may also account for the fucked up colors in my RGB/Component comparison a while back. Will have to see if this is apparent on my capture card and edit this post.

Comparison done. It does capture, though it's even more apparent on my monitor. Noise absolutely everywhere and the colors look like they've gone through some nasty compression or something.

And another one for kicks...

The background is ever so slightly different, but that hardly matters.

 

[Huggers]

Every console should have a Scart socket at the back. Like the super successful Amstrad GX4000.

My friend collects for this for nostalgia reasons. The good news is he grabbed a brand new sealed console for £40. The bad news is it's still quite shit

 

[geniusbits]

In Japan for a couple of weeks and thinking about what to possibly pick up. Question: is it easier to region mod a U.S. Genesis to play Megadrive carts or a Megadrive to play Genesis?
How about SNES vs. Super Famicom?

 

[Sixfortyfive]

In Japan for a couple of weeks and thinking about what to possibly pick up. Question: is it easier to region mod a U.S. Genesis to play Megadrive carts or a Megadrive to play Genesis?

I believe a JP console will fit US/PAL cartridges, but not the reverse.

Modding the system to get around the software region lock is basically the same in either case.

 

[MikeHattsu]

In Japan for a couple of weeks and thinking about what to possibly pick up. Question: is it easier to region mod a U.S. Genesis to play Megadrive carts or a Megadrive to play Genesis?
How about SNES vs. Super Famicom?

Mega Drive is easier than Genesis.

SNES is easier than Super Famicom.

When it comes to fit the carts in the console.

 

[BONKERS]

For those still if ever looking for the SNES style AV connectors, Assembergames is back up under a new format without Vbulletin

http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/f-s-nes-top-loader-snes-style-multi-a-v-socket.50494/page-11

 

[sixteen-bit]

I believe a JP console will fit US/PAL cartridges, but not the reverse.

Modding the system to get around the software region lock is basically the same in either case.

There is a cartridge locking mechanism that collides with western cartridges when you attempt to turn the Japanese Mega Drive on. That's why JP MD games have a notch on the left side. The only ones that don't interfere are smaller sized 3rd party carts like EA or Codemasters, or the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge which has the left notch in all releases.

I wonder if it's an issue with the MD2 tho...

 

[Khaz]

Well, I got myself a nice 29 inches Trinitron yesterday. I have to say I'm most happy with it! It's a cool upgrade from my old failing 21 inches tube. The beast weigh 48kg though! and damn I was on my own carrying it all the way to the second floor (3rd floor you Americans). I almost dropped it when I arrived and my arms are still burning today.

Spoiler

Totally worth it.

(how do you guys take so nice pictures of your screens?)

The only thing I'm slightly disappointed in, is that Scart doesn't switch the monitor on. That's the second TV in a row that I get that doesn't do it. All my other screens, bought by my parents back in the day, had that cool feature