• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

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

Status
Not open for further replies.
If I get a Sync on Luma PS1 cable, it seems like I need to get a powered sync stripper for the SCART to XRGB Mini end. Is this true? I currently have a passive adapter from SCART to XRGB Mini.

Why is this topic ridiculously confusing to me?

You don't need a sync stripper for sync on luma. It's probably confusing because there's all this jargon being thrown around. Afaik taking sync from luma doesn't mess with the picture at all, and you may still need the luma signal? Is chroma + luma info carried on the R, G and B pins? I've watched a lot of videos and read a lot of stuff online and have yet to come across a good comparison of the video signals being split up by RGB vs. S-video (separate luminance and chrominance). But the way to hook up PS1 for RGB is the sync on luma cable and that's all you need to hook it up to the mini or to *most* pro monitors.
 

Kawika

Member
Anyone have any idea what's going on with retro_console_accessories on eBay? I know she periodically takes down her store, but it looks like she hasn't sold very much since before Christmas. http://www.ebay.com/sch/retro_conso...lete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2046732.m1684

She still has one item up, maybe she's just taking a break until she starts up again this year.

She shipped me my Scart to XRGB Mini and PS1/2 Scart cable right after Christmas. I don't know if they are going to restock soon but she has sold stuff since.
 
EDIT: After a lot of reading, I just went with the Sync on Luma PS1 cable. We'll see how all that shakes out in a month or so after I get the cable and a PSOne/game to test it with! Thanks.

This is all you need. Sync on Luma SCART cable -> SCART to 8 din mini adapter is all that's needed.
 

elmalloc

Member
Thanks! I ordered the Sync on Luma for PS1. Then I ordered a clean PS1 and Genesis Model 1 off eBay. Life is good, for now.

As to retro_console_accessories, she was on vacation and she said she's building a lot of cables this weekend and will list them on eBay this week.
 

Mega

Banned
You don't need a sync stripper for sync on luma. It's probably confusing because there's all this jargon being thrown around. Afaik taking sync from luma doesn't mess with the picture at all, and you may still need the luma signal? Is chroma + luma info carried on the R, G and B pins? I've watched a lot of videos and read a lot of stuff online and have yet to come across a good comparison of the video signals being split up by RGB vs. S-video (separate luminance and chrominance). But the way to hook up PS1 for RGB is the sync on luma cable and that's all you need to hook it up to the mini or to *most* pro monitors.

Sometimes you do. The Extron switches require csync and I have heard of monitors that are picky about sync type. I have a PS1, PC Engine Duo R and N64 with sync on luma scart cables. Had to get a retrogamingcables BNC breakout adapter with sync stripper to get these consoles working with the switch.
 

baphomet

Member
Just wanted to let you guys know I've got 2 RGB N64s for sell. Probably 7.5 or 8/10 condition-wise. Console only $70 shipped in the states.
 

elmalloc

Member
For what it's worth, it's very simple to swap out N64 internals. I have my RGB modded N64 inside of my Pikachu console, even though the original internals weren't capable of RGB.

I'm looking to UltraHDMI mod mine, but I like the Pikachu console. Was it originally a Japanese Pikachu or USA? There was a color difference.
 

elmalloc

Member
I can post some pictures up later. There's no major scrathes or anything on them.

I can also do the ultra HDMI mod, but keep in mind you're looking at nearly $300 for one.

Do you have the Ultra HDMI kit on hand? I'm waiting on 3 other installers and none have it in stock, but they were supposed to have it last week.

Thanks! Pictures would be appreciated.
 

TheBear

Member
Hey guys, my awesome girlfriend got me this for my birthday:

12524078_10156453383700301_1065260888122120412_n.jpg


It's a MAME cabinet with a Sony CRT monitor. A mate of mine built it, and it has a fairly shitty DELL computer as it's only PC he had that had an S-Video out. My concern is that the computer sounds like it's on it's last legs and could crap out at any time. He has a better PC he can put in it, except we can't find a compatible GPU with S-Video out.
What are my options here? Are GPU's still being made with S-Video? Are there any other ways of connecting modern GPU's with old TV's? As far as I am aware, the TV only had S-video, no RGB or SCART.
Would appreciate any help. Cheers.
 

elmalloc

Member
Hey guys, my awesome girlfriend got me this for my birthday:

12524078_10156453383700301_1065260888122120412_n.jpg


It's a MAME cabinet with a Sony CRT monitor. A mate of mine built it, and it has a fairly shitty DELL computer as it's only PC he had that had an S-Video out. My concern is that the computer sounds like it's on it's last legs and could crap out at any time. He has a better PC he can put in it, except we can't find a compatible GPU with S-Video out.
What are my options here? Are GPU's still being made with S-Video? Are there any other ways of connecting modern GPU's with old TV's? As far as I am aware, the TV only had S-video, no RGB or SCART.
Would appreciate any help. Cheers.

Holy Moly, that's expensive as HELL!
 
Hey guys, my awesome girlfriend got me this for my birthday:

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xla1/v/t1.0-9/12524078_10156453383700301_1065260888122120412_n.jpg?oh=768392649be0152f2114328c6b333e43&oe=570989E0 [ /IMG]

It's a MAME cabinet with a Sony CRT monitor. A mate of mine built it, and it has a fairly shitty DELL computer as it's only PC he had that had an S-Video out. My concern is that the computer sounds like it's on it's last legs and could crap out at any time. He has a better PC he can put in it, except we can't find a compatible GPU with S-Video out.
What are my options here? Are GPU's still being made with S-Video? Are there any other ways of connecting modern GPU's with old TV's? As far as I am aware, the TV only had S-video, no RGB or SCART.
Would appreciate any help. Cheers.[/QUOTE]
I have nothing to offer you, unfortunately, but this is cool as shit.
 
Damn what an awesome girlfriend, thing must way a couple hundred. I've been kicking around the idea of building a bar-top cab or go for the full size. Whatever I do I'll probably go the Raspberry route.
 

elmalloc

Member
Hi,

I finally have my Framemeister hooked up to my SNES Mini CSYNC! I noticed when I was fiddling with the profiles (I'm using the pixel purists 5x profile), or playing with some of my TV's settings - the image started to flicker very fast. To fix it, I either reset the resolution of framemeister or switched TV inputs.

Is there a problem with my TV, the framemeister, or is this known? I tried to determine if it was because I was playing with the TV's aspect ratio, but it didn't happen again. It's happened twice so far, once while playing Super Mario World, another while playing TMNT4 now. It seems like I'll have to beat TMNT4 now to see if I can go an hour or so without that problem happening again.

Is it related to "SYNC"?

EDIT: It's happening again. The screen is flickering fast. I'm using a Panasonic 60ST50 Plasma. The SCART cables are from RetroGamingCables.co.uk.

Thanks!
 

baphomet

Member
Only 1 n64 left.

Do you have the Ultra HDMI kit on hand? I'm waiting on 3 other installers and none have it in stock, but they were supposed to have it last week.

Thanks! Pictures would be appreciated.

I doubt many people keep stock of them considering theyre like $170 each.
 

elmalloc

Member
Only 1 n64 left.



I doubt many people keep stock of them considering theyre like $170 each.

Well, I guess that's my question, since I have 3 other installers saying they would have stock last week but they didn't get it. Not sure what Marshall is doing...oh well. Not the end of the world.
 

baphomet

Member
Well, I guess that's my question, since I have 3 other installers saying they would have stock last week but they didn't get it. Not sure what Marshall is doing...oh well. Not the end of the world.

My apologies. I forgot to answer the actual question. No I don't keep them in stock. That goes for most things (NES RGB and so on). If someone wants it done I'll order them in for someone, but don't keep them on hand.
 

Peltz

Member
She shipped me my Scart to XRGB Mini and PS1/2 Scart cable right after Christmas. I don't know if they are going to restock soon but she has sold stuff since.

She's restocking this month. I asked her when she'd have more Sega Saturn cables about 2 weeks ago.

Also: Guys, I'm getting a Saturn!
 

elmalloc

Member
So it looks like SYNC_LEVEL 20 is roughly what my SNES needs. TMNT4 was having all sorts of problems every 10 minutes or so.

I tried sync level 0, sync level 25-26 causes major flickering. I played about 30 minutes of Super Mario world at SYNC_LEVEL 20 and seems to have no problem. The default is SYNC_LEVEL 9.

I wonder how games would look/work if the sync was off, would I have this problem?

Could Sync issues occur game by game, or is it more of a per console setting?
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Hey guys, my awesome girlfriend got me this for my birthday:

12524078_10156453383700301_1065260888122120412_n.jpg


It's a MAME cabinet with a Sony CRT monitor. A mate of mine built it, and it has a fairly shitty DELL computer as it's only PC he had that had an S-Video out. My concern is that the computer sounds like it's on it's last legs and could crap out at any time. He has a better PC he can put in it, except we can't find a compatible GPU with S-Video out.
What are my options here? Are GPU's still being made with S-Video? Are there any other ways of connecting modern GPU's with old TV's? As far as I am aware, the TV only had S-video, no RGB or SCART.
Would appreciate any help. Cheers.

Wow, you have an amazing girlfriend!

Just wanted to let you guys know I've got 2 RGB N64s for sell. Probably 7.5 or 8/10 condition-wise. Console only $70 shipped in the states.

I actually just bought myself an RGB N64 last week, but very nice of you to offer it here in the retro-threads!
 

Peagles

Member
Hi,

I finally have my Framemeister hooked up to my SNES Mini CSYNC! I noticed when I was fiddling with the profiles (I'm using the pixel purists 5x profile), or playing with some of my TV's settings - the image started to flicker very fast. To fix it, I either reset the resolution of framemeister or switched TV inputs.

Is there a problem with my TV, the framemeister, or is this known? I tried to determine if it was because I was playing with the TV's aspect ratio, but it didn't happen again. It's happened twice so far, once while playing Super Mario World, another while playing TMNT4 now. It seems like I'll have to beat TMNT4 now to see if I can go an hour or so without that problem happening again.

Is it related to "SYNC"?

EDIT: It's happening again. The screen is flickering fast. I'm using a Panasonic 60ST50 Plasma. The SCART cables are from RetroGamingCables.co.uk.

Thanks!

I had this exact same problem a couple pages back. I turned sync to off to fix it.
 

elmalloc

Member
I had this exact same problem a couple pages back. I turned sync to off to fix it.

Thank you, friend!

I guess with sync off, it won't lock the frame rate, and we might see some artifacts or jittering in the vertical while scrolling. I'll try that if my Sync Level 20 doesn't seem to be a permanent SNES fix. I read Genesis and some other consoles are sensitive to the SYNC level...
 

Mega

Banned
Hey guys, my awesome girlfriend got me this for my birthday:

It's a MAME cabinet with a Sony CRT monitor. A mate of mine built it, and it has a fairly shitty DELL computer as it's only PC he had that had an S-Video out. My concern is that the computer sounds like it's on it's last legs and could crap out at any time. He has a better PC he can put in it, except we can't find a compatible GPU with S-Video out.
What are my options here? Are GPU's still being made with S-Video? Are there any other ways of connecting modern GPU's with old TV's? As far as I am aware, the TV only had S-video, no RGB or SCART.
Would appreciate any help. Cheers.

Read up on CRT Emudriver and Groovy MAME.
http://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/viewtopic.php?id=65

You will need a compatible Radeon video card from their list, Windows XP/7, and a VGA to RGBS cable to connect the PC to CRT (assuming it has RGB).
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
Okay, I apologize for all the confusion yesterday. I was out of town most of the day and I couldn't really get super detailed in my posts because typing on a phone is annoying as hell.

So here's the rundown:

About two weeks I had the sudden urge to get back into Retro gaming. I still have my NES from my childhood which I received in '89 along with a SNES and N64 that I got in the early 2000s.

For the last few years I've been wanting a Famicom, which I largely attribute to my Game Center CX marathons. I love the look of the system and the idea of owning a bunch if import carts sounds fun and unique.

Well last week I did it, I snatched up a original model Famicom which had been modded for AV out, as the original Famicom only supported RF. It should be arriving sometime this week or early next week.

Since there are no CRTs left in the house I figure I'll need to get one, as these old consoles look like garbage on all the flat panels I've tried them on.

Ideally I'd like to get something small. Something between 10" and 20" that I can easily put onto a bookshelf and move around myself if necessary.

Since CRTs aren't exactly sold new in stores anymore, I hit every thrift store in the area this weekend. To begin with, I'm not seeing a whole lot of small sets, so that alone is annoying. On top of that, the handful of small CRTs I do find are fairly feature-stripped. Typically it's composite only, and sometimes not even that.

So it looks like the set I'm getting only has composite on it, which is why I asked about a good cable, as it looks like all the Nintendo Multi-AV cords I have look like this:

snes-svideo.jpg


Meaning they won't work.
 

Mega

Banned
Check your PMs, I sent some recommendations last night.

You may know this already: that's a S-video cable and will be a nice first step in the right direction if you use it with SNES, N64 or Gamecube paired with a good CRT. It's a big upgrade from composite.
 

TheBear

Member
Damn what an awesome girlfriend, thing must way a couple hundred. I've been kicking around the idea of building a bar-top cab or go for the full size. Whatever I do I'll probably go the Raspberry route.

Yep she's pretty awesome! And it's about as heavy as it looks holy shit. Struggled to get in the house with 4 guys it's going to be fun getting it out!

Read up on CRT Emudriver and Groovy MAME.
http://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/viewtopic.php?id=65

You will need a compatible Radeon video card from their list, Windows XP/7, and a VGA to RGBS cable to connect the PC to CRT (assuming it has RGB).

Do you mean something like this?

images


Am I losing any image quality? Is it better/worse than the current S-Video connection?
 

elmalloc

Member
Okay, I apologize for all the confusion yesterday. I was out of town most of the day and I couldn't really get super detailed in my posts because typing on a phone is annoying as hell.

So here's the rundown:

About two weeks I had the sudden urge to get back into Retro gaming. I still have my NES from my childhood which I received in '89 along with a SNES and N64 that I got in the early 2000s.

For the last few years I've been wanting a Famicom, which I largely attribute to my Game Center CX marathons. I love the look of the system and the idea of owning a bunch if import carts sounds fun and unique.

Well last week I did it, I snatched up a original model Famicom which had been modded for AV out, as the original Famicom only supported RF. It should be arriving sometime this week or early next week.

Since there are no CRTs left in the house I figure I'll need to get one, as these old consoles look like garbage on all the flat panels I've tried them on.

Ideally I'd like to get something small. Something between 10" and 20" that I can easily put onto a bookshelf and move around myself if necessary.

Since CRTs aren't exactly sold new in stores anymore, I hit every thrift store in the area this weekend. To begin with, I'm not seeing a whole lot of small sets, so that alone is annoying. On top of that, the handful of small CRTs I do find are fairly feature-stripped. Typically it's composite only, and sometimes not even that.

So it looks like the set I'm getting only has composite on it, which is why I asked about a good cable, as it looks like all the Nintendo Multi-AV cords I have look like this:

snes-svideo.jpg


Meaning they won't work.

Can you take pictures of the inputs of the CRTs you're looking at, or at least a picture of the brand/model number, so we can look up information for you to help.

Thanks!
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
Check your PMs, I sent some recommendations last night.

You may know this already: that's a S-video cable and will be a nice first step in the right direction if you use it with SNES, N64 or Gamecube paired with a good CRT. It's a big upgrade from composite.

I did see that post, and I really appreciate the legwork.

I did a bit of eBay searching on my own and came across a JVC TM A13SU, which is a bit similar to the ones you sent me. They're local, so I'm gonna send them a message and ask if they'd allow me to pick it up instead of shipping it.
 
Hey guys, my awesome girlfriend got me this for my birthday:

12524078_10156453383700301_1065260888122120412_n.jpg


It's a MAME cabinet with a Sony CRT monitor. A mate of mine built it, and it has a fairly shitty DELL computer as it's only PC he had that had an S-Video out. My concern is that the computer sounds like it's on it's last legs and could crap out at any time. He has a better PC he can put in it, except we can't find a compatible GPU with S-Video out.
What are my options here? Are GPU's still being made with S-Video? Are there any other ways of connecting modern GPU's with old TV's? As far as I am aware, the TV only had S-video, no RGB or SCART.
Would appreciate any help. Cheers.
Sorry I can't be of help with the S-video out problem but do you have access to the plans used for that? I've been working on plans to build both a stand up unit like yours as well as a sit-down arcade cab and am curious as to others designs.
 

elmalloc

Member
Sorry I can't be of help with the S-video out problem but do you have access to the plans used for that? I've been working on plans to build both a stand up unit like yours as well as a sit-down arcade cab and am curious as to others designs.

MAMERoom (http://www.mameroom.com/webstore_home.asp) is very close to me (geographically), they built my MAME cocktail cabinet. My jpac board is busted on it now though (sad), I need to fix it at some point. Browse their site, they might have plans. They also sell just the parts needed that you can assemble yourself vs. the fully assembled ones (which are significantly more expensive).
 

Mega

Banned
I did see that post, and I really appreciate the legwork.

I did a bit of eBay searching on my own and came across a JVC TM A13SU, which is a bit similar to the ones you sent me. They're local, so I'm gonna send them a message and ask if they'd allow me to pick it up instead of shipping it.
Newish model and has S-video. Looks like a really solid option. Ask in advance if the monitor has any burn-in, color impurities or any other distortion. Better yet if he has a pic with the screen on. Hope it works out!

Do you mean something like this?

images


Am I losing any image quality? Is it better/worse than the current S-Video connection?
That's component, don't buy it. The compatible video cards will output RGBHV via its main output. The main output on some cards is DVI and you can't directly use the secondary VGA. In that case get a cheap DVI-to-VGA adapter (you may have some lying around if youaroundC hardware). Connect the VGA end of the RGBS cable to that adapter. This cable has 4 BNC plugs (H and V sync combined). If your monitor supports RGBHV (eg. Sony PVM-20M4U), you can get a 5 BNC cable.


As elmalloc suggested, check the inputs on your monitor. If it doesn't have RGB, I'm not sure you can proceed without making things complicated. Maybe you will need a converter in order to change the signal to something your monitor accepts. In that case, you would have to research converters and which whichs you will need from PC to converter and from converter to monitor.

For 240p arcade games, there should be no image quality loss between VGA, RGB and converting to Component.

If this seems like a hassle, it kind of is... but it's the only way to get 100% accurate Arcade emulation on a PC and it's totally worth it.
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
So assuming my JVC purchase goes through, it looks like it only has mono audio.

Does anyone know of a RCA switch box of sorts that I could plug multiple RCA inputs into and output to a 3.5mm jack for a set of speakers?
 
Okay, I apologize for all the confusion yesterday. I was out of town most of the day and I couldn't really get super detailed in my posts because typing on a phone is annoying as hell.

So here's the rundown:

About two weeks I had the sudden urge to get back into Retro gaming. I still have my NES from my childhood which I received in '89 along with a SNES and N64 that I got in the early 2000s.

For the last few years I've been wanting a Famicom, which I largely attribute to my Game Center CX marathons. I love the look of the system and the idea of owning a bunch if import carts sounds fun and unique.

Well last week I did it, I snatched up a original model Famicom which had been modded for AV out, as the original Famicom only supported RF. It should be arriving sometime this week or early next week.

Since there are no CRTs left in the house I figure I'll need to get one, as these old consoles look like garbage on all the flat panels I've tried them on.

Ideally I'd like to get something small. Something between 10" and 20" that I can easily put onto a bookshelf and move around myself if necessary.

Since CRTs aren't exactly sold new in stores anymore, I hit every thrift store in the area this weekend. To begin with, I'm not seeing a whole lot of small sets, so that alone is annoying. On top of that, the handful of small CRTs I do find are fairly feature-stripped. Typically it's composite only, and sometimes not even that.

So it looks like the set I'm getting only has composite on it, which is why I asked about a good cable, as it looks like all the Nintendo Multi-AV cords I have look like this:

snes-svideo.jpg


Meaning they won't work.
Have you tried looking around for yard sales in your area? I know around here thrift stores straight up stopped taking CRT TVs a while ago. If it's the same case in your area that might be why there is such a small selection.
 

Mega

Banned
So assuming my JVC purchase goes through, it looks like it only has mono audio.

Does anyone know of a RCA switch box of sorts that I could plug multiple RCA inputs into and output to a 3.5mm jack for a set of speakers?

Most monitors have no speakers or only mono audio, and you shouldn't use internal audio anyway. Any decent external audio solution would sound better. Anyway, get this if you're getting an S-video monitor:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032ANC8M/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It's a video and audio switch for up to 4 devices (4th input is on the front). Supports S-video, composite and RCA stereo.
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
Most monitors have no speakers or only mono audio, and you shouldn't use internal audio anyway. Any decent external audio solution would sound better. Anyway, get this if you're getting an S-video monitor:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032ANC8M/?tag=neogaf0e-20


It's an video and audio switch for up to 4 devices. Supports S-video, composite and RCA stereo.

And I assume I can just use a female 3.5mm to male RCA cable for the speakers on that output there?

41RlMj2ScmL._SX425_.jpg


Got a S-Video cable for my N64 and SNES, and the Famicom (or NES) is going to be composite, so I guess now I'm just looking for a s-video cable for the dreamcast. To Amazon!

Edit: Fantastic, three or four listings on Amazon and they all say the cables are garbage.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom