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[Mega]

I only have S-video for Gamecube, but I think GBI ULL's 240p looks better than both the GB Player's 480i and standard GBI's 480i. It's still not what I would consider great due to the blur and color bleed of s-video, but I can't justify $240+ for that damn Component cable.

RetroRGB has a few comparison images up on their site. http://retrorgb.com/gameboyplayer.html

Swiss 240p looks significantly better than GBP 480p (blurry). Super Gameboy 240p is still superior to both.

 

[Peltz]

Okay, so I figured out that my PVM's aperture and brightness settings were set to max (I had guests over and I think someone was messing with it).

Now that I viewed everything with the proper settings, GBI looks fantastic. GBA, GBC, and GB games all look phenomenal on it in genuine 240p. It's much better than 480i or 480p.

Sorry about the confusion. (My bad everyone). The messed up settings were causing everything to look super blurry and all the pixels were bleeding into each other. Now, it looks razor sharp. This is the way GB Player should have been out of the box!

I'll edit my previous two posts to make sure there's no confusion.

 

[Mega]

I would love to know the answer to this as well. But I'd assume that those games won't necessarily look right at those low resolutions. Not everything was designed with 240p in mind... not even modern "retro" titles.

I had a chance to try this out yesterday and it works but it is game dependent. I had to play around with custom resolutions. I set resolution first then start up the game. Shovel Knight and Freedom Planet look amazing in 240p. Same for Retro City Rampage. Axiom Verge looks very good except some small type is a bit distorted. Super Time Force Ultra always starts up in 480i but looks perfectly fine.

I'm not sure why but Shank, Mark of the Ninja and Rayman Origins have a weird hazy look. I was trying to run them in a 240p res. They may look fine in 480i.

A few games like LaMulana won't start up properly. Generally, games that don't seem to have a full screen mode don't look right. Freedom Planet started windowed but improved as soon as I toggled to full screen. All or most of the games looked like crap until I put in low resolutions analogous to 1920x1080p. 426x240 gives good results. I'll post more photos later or in the scanlines thread.

 

[Peltz]

That pic of Shovel Knight looks amazing.

 

[sixteen-bit]

That pic of Shovel Knight looks amazing.

Agreed.

Any way to play the 3DS version on a TV? That one's 240p as well.

 

[Funky Papa]

Shovel Knight looks too damn good on anything with scanlines.

 

[entremet]

I had a chance to try this out yesterday and it works but it is game dependent. I had to play around with custom resolutions. I set resolution first then start up the game. Shovel Knight and Freedom Planet look amazing in 240p. Same for Retro City Rampage. Axiom Verge looks very good except some small type is a bit distorted. Super Time Force Ultra always starts up in 480i but looks perfectly fine.

I'm not sure why but Shank, Mark of the Ninja and Rayman Origins have a weird hazy look. I was trying to run them in a 240p res. They may look fine in 480i.

A few games like LaMulana won't start up properly. Generally, games that don't seem to have a full screen mode don't look right. Freedom Planet started windowed but improved as soon as I toggled to full screen. All or most of the games looked like crap until I put in low resolutions analogous to 1920x1080p. 426x240 gives good results. I'll post more photos later or in the scanlines thread.

How do you get these games to such low res?

 

[Peltz]

Agreed.

Any way to play the 3DS version on a TV? That one's 240p as well.

That's why it's the only version I really like. With the XL's pixel density and Shovel Knight's pixel art, it reminds me of a GBC or GBA game on their original screens.

AFAIK, 3DS video-out mods are 100% digital via HDMI. I have no clue whether it's possible to jigger it to native 240p on a CRT. It uses USB from the 3DS to a PC running custom software. Then you can theoretically output the signal from PC to another display however you'd like.

It sounds like a headache though.

 

[entremet]

That's why it's the only version I really like. With the XL's pixel density and Shovel Knight's pixel art, it reminds me of a GBC or GBA game on their original screens.

AFAIK, 3DS video-out mods are 100% digital via HDMI. I have no clue whether it's possible to jigger it to native 240p on a CRT. It uses USB from the 3DS to a PC running custom software. Then you can theoretically output the signal from PC to another display however you'd like.

It sounds like a headache though.

The money and time we go through for scanlines lol.

 

[Peltz]

The money and time we go through for scanlines lol.

 

[entremet]

Anyone heard about the HDMI N64? Apparently it blows away RGB plus Framemeister, which wasn't that amazing on the N64 anyway.

I learned about it from the MLiG guys during one of their live streams.

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

Man I need to play shovel knight on my pvm. What's a good way to get pc output to rgb/component/s video?

 

[Peltz]

Man I need to play shovel knight on my pvm. What's a good way to get pc output to rgb/component/s video?

A lot of old PCs and laptops have S-Video out.

 

[blast processed]

I'm getting tired of composite through my CRT. I have a component input on the back and was wondering if it's worth going RGB scart cable to AV scart to component?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201309414919?rmvSB=true

http://www.amazon.com/SPECIALTY-AV-SCART-Component-Converter-Genesis/dp/B004XSSDPO

I keep my Retro and modern consoles in separate rooms, so I don't want to drop the cash on a XRGB mini. Is this option worth it?

 

[drhankmccoyphd]

A lot of old PCs and laptops have S-Video out.

Yeah good call. I'm going to keep an eye out for a cheap PCI video card with s video out.

 

[NormalFish]

Anyone heard about the HDMI N64? Apparently it blows away RGB plus Framemeister, which wasn't that amazing on the N64 anyway.

I learned about it from the MLiG guys during one of their live streams.

I thought they were pretty comparable from what I've seen. Not sure how expensive the HDMI mod is, but depending on your set up it might be superior.

 

[Madao]

That's why it's the only version I really like. With the XL's pixel density and Shovel Knight's pixel art, it reminds me of a GBC or GBA game on their original screens.

AFAIK, 3DS video-out mods are 100% digital via HDMI. I have no clue whether it's possible to jigger it to native 240p on a CRT. It uses USB from the 3DS to a PC running custom software. Then you can theoretically output the signal from PC to another display however you'd like.

It sounds like a headache though.

it looks easier to output your PC signal to a FM and add scanlines to get scanlines on 3DS games lol.
i could do it but since i'm not a fan of scanlines i'm not gonna try .

Anyone heard about the HDMI N64? Apparently it blows away RGB plus Framemeister, which wasn't that amazing on the N64 anyway.

I learned about it from the MLiG guys during one of their live streams.

it's been mentioned several times here. it does look better at a glance but for me the things that could make or break the deal are input lag and price.

 

[catabarez]

Does retro console accessories make SCART cables with custom pinouts? I have a PC Engine Duo R with RGB through an 8 pin din port, similar to a model 1 Genesis. However, the pinout is different than other consoles with a similar port. I was hoping to get a coax cable made for it.

 

[Mega]

How do you get these games to such low res?

I used CRT Emudriver, which requires Windows XP or 7, and a Radeon HD 4000 series card or older (edit: not HD 5000). Emudriver allows a PC to run low resolutions. It works superbly with Groovy Mame at auto switching in-game resolutions instantly to match the selected arcade game's native res. But none of that applies to running PC games. The driver package comes with a program for generating custom resolutions and another for manually switching desktop resolution.

I just found out Shovel Knight is 400x240 and will try that later. I had a setting that was above 400 and noticed it looked a bit stretched but it still pretty good to my eyes. I got Shantae in full screen (alt + enter!) but I need to look up the native res because every res on my list for it looks hideous.

 

[Peltz]

it looks easier to output your PC signal to a FM and add scanlines to get scanlines on 3DS games lol.
i could do it but since i'm not a fan of scanlines i'm not gonna try .

Sounds like that's for the best. That setup sounds like a real lag-fest to be honest. I heard there's perceptible input delay anyway with the 3DS mod without the FM.

I'm very curious as to what resolution is being output via HDMI from the PC though. If anyone has the mod, I'd love to hear the details of your experience and all of the technical details. Any insight would be cool to have.

 

[psylah]

Is $275 too much to pay for a 20 inch BVM?

 

[NormalFish]

Not sure how I feel about those shovel knight images. I'm of the mind that early 3D games and NES games benefit so much from scanlines due to the chunky pixels and specific style of pixel art respectively. Not a huge fan of them outside of those things. Shovel knight might use a really restrictive pallet, but it looks like modern pixel art, so I don't really see a need for scanlines.

 

[Teknoman]

I'm getting tired of composite through my CRT. I have a component input on the back and was wondering if it's worth going RGB scart cable to AV scart to component?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201309414919?rmvSB=true

http://www.amazon.com/SPECIALTY-AV-SCART-Component-Converter-Genesis/dp/B004XSSDPO

I keep my Retro and modern consoles in separate rooms, so I don't want to drop the cash on a XRGB mini. Is this option worth it?

Yes! Very much so! Saturn and Genesis benefit the most, but yeah, you'll never go back.
The one you posted from Amazon is what I use.

 

[Mega]

It really depends on the game and sometimes individual pieces of in-game art. There are some standout games for me so far. Others look fine, they're just okay and I wouldn't fuss with them on a CRT much (Retro City, Hotline, Lone Survivor). And some really do look awful with scanlines (Gianna, Rayman, Shank).

But to my eyes, Shovel Knight, Axiom and Freedom Planet look better WITH scanlines and CRT phosphor glow. I have a good camera that has taken dozens of shots and none truly do the live picture justice. Most shots are either blown the hell out, the opposite: dim, flat and not as colorful, or off focus.

The same games look flat, boring and sterile on my plasma 15 feet away.

What I saw on my CRT looked way better than this flat, pixelated HD shot:
http://images.eurogamer.net/2015/usgamer/AxiomVergeSpot2.jpg

And there was some ominious ox skull/skeleton thing in the room before this boss. I stared at it for a while because it looked awesome.

 

[Khaz]

I'm getting tired of composite through my CRT. I have a component input on the back and was wondering if it's worth going RGB scart cable to AV scart to component?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201309414919?rmvSB=true

http://www.amazon.com/SPECIALTY-AV-SCART-Component-Converter-Genesis/dp/B004XSSDPO

I keep my Retro and modern consoles in separate rooms, so I don't want to drop the cash on a XRGB mini. Is this option worth it?

Very much. Don't forget you need something for the audio too, something like that to get the audio out. Most Scart to Component adapters don't output audio for no reason.

http://www.asia.ru/en/ProductInfo/1118090.html

Or if you are using a Scart switch box, it may have audio out already and is probably a better option.

 

[Peltz]

Is $275 too much to pay for a 20 inch BVM?

Not if it's in truly great condition.

 

[Friend of Sonic]

Not if it's in truly great condition.

And it should have an hours counter. If I saw one in nice working order with low hours, I wouldn't hesitate.

 

[psylah]

Not if it's in truly great condition.

And it should have an hours counter. If I saw one in nice working order with low hours, I wouldn't hesitate.

I saw this sale on craigslist, but it's nearly a 2 hour drive from my house into New York:

https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/ele/5232436686.html

It's a long drive for me to pay a lot of money and pick up a piece of equipment I'm not sure I want or need. If anyone in that area is interested, there you go.

Love the Beta equipment, though. Hot stuff.

 

[blast processed]

Yes! Very much so! Saturn and Genesis benefit the most, but yeah, you'll never go back.
The one you posted from Amazon is what I use.

Thank you

Very much. Don't forget you need something for the audio too, something like that to get the audio out. Most Scart to Component adapters don't output audio for no reason.

http://www.asia.ru/en/ProductInfo/1118090.html

Or if you are using a Scart switch box, it may have audio out already and is probably a better option.

& Thank you

This seller has both Audio Extractor & Scart to RGB Is there anything I need to look out for when ordering the genesis cable? I have a Genny model 2. The seller I listed above has this listed.

 

[geniusbits]

I saw this sale on craigslist, but it's nearly a 2 hour drive from my house into New York:

https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/ele/5232436686.html

It's a long drive for me to pay a lot of money and pick up a piece of equipment I'm not sure I want or need. If anyone in that area is interested, there you go.

I've been looking at that CL listing too. There is no reason they shouldn't be able to tell you the hours and check that it at least turns on. You might be able to get them to test minor stuff like making sure there are no serious problems on the built in test screens.

 

[Peltz]

I saw this sale on craigslist, but it's nearly a 2 hour drive from my house into New York:

https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/ele/5232436686.html

It's a long drive for me to pay a lot of money and pick up a piece of equipment I'm not sure I want or need. If anyone in that area is interested, there you go.

Love the Beta equipment, though. Hot stuff.

I'm in the area... BVMs don't come along very frequently even in NYC. But, I'm not feeling the desire to bite right now. Any 480p-ready monitor that I buy would need to be in 16:9 aspect ratio at this point. I've 4:3 covered with a perfectly fine 480i set and don't feel a real need to upgrade just to get a progressive scan signal at that price.

It would be better than the PVM I have, but not $275 better. If I could play all of my Wii and Xbox widescreen games at native res without letter boxing, then yea, I'd deem it worth the price at that point for me, personally.

Edit: Good to see NYC GAF looking into the same listings as me. It makes me feel better that perhaps other gaffers got the sets that got away from me.

 

[Khaz]

This seller has both Audio Extractor & Scart to RGB Is there anything I need to look out for when ordering the genesis cable? I have a Genny model 2. The seller I listed above has this listed.

The cable is just a plain Scart cable, meaning it's male Scart at both ends. The only reason for you to get this kind of cable is if you had a switch box, to connect it to your adapter. And even then, I would suggest you to get something better, this is crap. I don't know why he put console names in the title of the advert, it's title bait imo.

Get your (coax) Genesis cable from retro_consoles_accessories, she makes good cables.

 

[blast processed]

Yeah, that's what was confusing me. Thanks.

 

[Mega]

I'm in the area... BVMs don't come along very frequently even in NYC. But, I'm not feeling the desire to bite right now. Any 480p-ready monitor that I buy would need to be in 16:9 aspect ratio at this point. I've 4:3 covered with a perfectly fine 480i set and don't feel a real need to upgrade just to get a progressive scan signal at that price.

It would be better than the PVM I have, but not $275 better. If I could play all of my Wii and Xbox widescreen games at native res without letter boxing, then yea, I'd deem it worth the price at that point for me, personally.

Edit: Good to see NYC GAF looking into the same listings as me. It makes me feel better that perhaps other gaffers got the sets that got away from me.

20E1U isn't 480p. You need the D or A series for 480p and higher res. 20E1U is 1000 TVL. Far as I know that's the one big difference between it and the 20F1U with 900 lines. G = 800 and has less slots for video cards.

I saw the same listing too since I'm very close by. It's been up a while and reposted a few times. I recently got a perfectly fine 20G1U so I could not justify it, maybe if it was the D20 and in good condition.

The scanlines on the E must be crazy. Probably a bit too much of a good thing.

 

[DracoBlade]

I think its time guys, I think I'm gonna do it. I've waited this long, conceeding to myself "Nah its not worth it, you can handle it, the 50$ SCART upscaler isnt that bad (still isnt)"

But I think its time to accept reality..

Im going to buy an XRGB-Mini

But I have a few questions:

SInce I already Have a variety of European SCART RGB cables from retro cables UK and gaming accessories, will I need a CSYNC adapter or can I get away with just a passive adapter?

Can I anticipate needing a voltage adapter as well or am I under the right impression we and JP share the same socket power?

Anything else I should know before jumping in?

 

[rothgar]

I'm about to get my hands on a SVGA CRT monitor. Are there any good upscalers that will convert Svideo or component to VGA? This would be as a backup display since I do have a CRT TV with those inputs.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Are there any good upscalers that will convert Svideo or component to VGA?

XRGB2+ or 3 should work for this, but it goes without saying RGB would be ever better than S-Video for the source video.

 

[DracoBlade]

Also for playing ps2/ps1 sd/pixel based games, what is the best recommended cables to use on my backwards compatible ps3 to the XRGB? Component to HDMI? Or buy a SCART cable to use on my ps3?

 

[Madao]

Sounds like that's for the best. That setup sounds like a real lag-fest to be honest. I heard there's perceptible input delay anyway with the 3DS mod without the FM.

I'm very curious as to what resolution is being output via HDMI from the PC though. If anyone has the mod, I'd love to hear the details of your experience and all of the technical details. Any insight would be cool to have.

i've had the 3DS capture mod for 3 years now and it's got a few kinks.

first, it's better to play from the 3DS itself and use the capture display to record. there's lag in the capture most of the time. there's ways to reduce it to playable levels but it doesn't look like you can play with 0 lag (it does reach FM levels so at least it's playable casually and for games that don't require precise reflexes)

second, 3DS games blown up never look good. the pixelation is just bad (for 3D games especially) so you still get better IQ by just using the 3DS itself or keeping the window 1:1 (though you'll need to be very close to your PC to see well). some games look fine but it's few of them.

regarding both types of 3DS capture (those in the know should know there's 2 popular makers of them), Loopy's Capture mod is the best one but he's not making them atm so you can only actually get one from Katsukity (which is not as good due to a few extra kinks unique to him)
there's also the fact the Loopy model only exists for the original 3DS so you have to give up any kind of N3DS-exclusive features if you want to record and use that card. Katsukity does make cards for N3DS so the option exists but it comes with the extra kinks of getting a capture mod from him.

the 3DS software displays 1:1 so you get a 400x240 window if you're viewing the upper screen by itself on your PC (with 2 screens combined it's a 400x480 window). it's gonna look pretty tiny if you're using a 1080p monitor. you can resize it with other software (i use Xsplit and resize there and then record everything with Xsplit). if you have Loopy's capture mod, his software provides raw recording, letting you use other software to edit the video later. Katsukity's software doesn't record so you'll need an external software to record but it does provide some scaling options and a few things to enhance the resizing. i haven't messed much with it though.

 

[blast processed]

Just ordered everything. I'm sure I'll fall in love how my Genesis looks through RGB that I'll have to convert my other consoles over. Dat rabbit hole seems deep.

 

[Timu]

Just ordered everything. I'm sure I'll fall in love how my Genesis looks through RGB that I'll have to convert my other consoles over. Dat rabbit hole seems deep.

Once you go RGB you don't go back...I learned that when I got my scart cable for my Genesis.

 

[Madao]

Just ordered everything. I'm sure I'll fall in love how my Genesis looks through RGB that I'll have to convert my other consoles over. Dat rabbit hole seems deep.

better start saving because RGB will break you (both financially and in joy)

 

[catabarez]

Soon you'll be buying RGB-modded consoles just because of dat RGB (four of my consoles are RGB modded, two I did myself and I bought my PC Engine Duo mainly because it was already modded.)

 

[DracoBlade]

I think its time guys, I think I'm gonna do it. I've waited this long, conceeding to myself "Nah its not worth it, you can handle it, the 50$ SCART upscaler isnt that bad (still isnt)"

But I think its time to accept reality..

Im going to buy an XRGB-Mini

But I have a few questions:

SInce I already Have a variety of European SCART RGB cables from retro cables UK and gaming accessories, will I need a CSYNC adapter or can I get away with just a passive adapter?

Can I anticipate needing a voltage adapter as well or am I under the right impression we and JP share the same socket power?

Anything else I should know before jumping in?

Also for playing ps2/ps1 sd/pixel based games, what is the best recommended cables to use on my backwards compatible ps3 to the XRGB? Component to HDMI? Or buy a SCART cable to use on my ps3?

Anyone?

 

[sixteen-bit]

Anyone?

If you're playing PS1 and 2 games on PS3, it's already upscaling. Just plug the HDMI from the PS3 directly into your TV.

 

[NormalFish]

you really don't want to be using the XRGB's upscaling with a PS3. that's like 5 frames of input lag or some shit.

Also the passive adapter is enough for basically everything. I think the Genesis and maybe a couple other Sega consoles are a bit finicky with sync, which is the primary utility of the powered adapters.

 

[Mega]

Soon you'll be buying RGB-modded consoles just because of dat RGB (four of my consoles are RGB modded, two I did myself and I bought my PC Engine Duo mainly because it was already modded.)

Or asking someone to make you one! I found out about consolized MVS and it was too intriguing for me to pass up. One more week of waiting I think.

I just got the Duo-R from the post office this morning and set it up tonight. Sweet looking system and the RGB output looks fantastic on the one game I have so far, Racing Spirits. I'm going to be swimming in fun shooters soon.

 

[HaL64]

I have a couple of 1-chip SNES's in good condition. I posted them in the BST thread.
I know some people are here were looking for some. I'm willing to ship overseas.
Msg me if interested!

 

[catabarez]

Or asking someone to make you one! I found out about consolized MVS and it was too intriguing for me to pass up. One more week of waiting I think.

I just got the Duo-R from the post office this morning and set it up tonight. Sweet looking system and the RGB output looks fantastic on the one game I have so far, Racing Spirits. I'm going to be swimming in fun shooters soon.

If you're interested in role playing games Cosmic Fantasy 2 isn't bad. A bit grindy, but still fun. I've never owned a TurboGrafx so I'm excited to play all these games.

I have a couple of 1-chip SNES's in good condition. I posted them in the BST thread.
I know some people are here were looking for some. I'm willing to ship overseas.
Msg me if interested!

If I didn't already RGB mod my SNES mini I would definitely buy one of these.

 

[TheWraith]

A shop here in Hong Kong offers HDMI installment on almost any console for around 60USD, with good customer feedback. I'm not really interested as scanlines are essential to me, but I'm surprised you don't see this kind of mod elsewhere?