sixteen-bit
Member
Any recommendations on a Euro-style SCART switch?
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Upscalers, CRTs, PVMs & RGB: Retro gaming done right!
- Thread starter IrishNinja
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patrickthehedgehog
Member
I think I'm having sync issues with my Model 1 Genesis running to the Framemeister through EuroSCART to the RGB input. The picture flickers every once and a while. If I mess when the sync settings I can make it less horrible, but it never completely stops. My SNES works fine with it's EuroSCART RGB cable.
Should I have bought this cable with the sync stripper to avoid this problem?
Should I have bought this cable with the sync stripper to avoid this problem?
I use this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0015YYN1W/
Works great so far. I may buy a second one eventually as I already filled up this one.
There's also an automatic version, but it's almost twice the price (and I don't trust automatic switches anyway).
If you buy it from Amazon UK and you're not in the UK make sure to pick a seller with a better price on international shipping, the default one is not the best price once you add shipping.
sixteen-bit
Member
Thanks for the suggestion. Should I worry that it's not externally powered? Any signal degradation or lag due to that?
Not really, since it's not an automatic switch, the act of switching is entirely done using mechanical pushbuttons, so it's fully passive. There is a pointless red LED on the front that is wired to the +5V line so it lights up whenever there is an input signal, but that's the whole extent of its power usage.
I bought this switch after recommendation from the system11 forums. Some people have performed signal degradation tests on them, and didn't find any problems.
IrishNinja
Member
a 5x switch without signal degredation is indeed pretty attractive, hadn't seen that option prior...reviews seem high too. i'm up to 8 SCART cables soon, with at least two more (master system & MVS) down the road, so i might have to checkt his out - thanks antibolo!
I'm up to 4... I think. Maybe 5. SNES and Gamecube can use the same (NTSC), Gamecube and N64 can use the same (PAL - don't know why both work with Gamecube...), Mega Drive has its own (and my Mega Drive is also my Master System), Saturn has its own, and soon I'll have the NES one too. I should really check if the N64 can use the PAL cable too, then all three can share that one.
Gonna cost me about $80 NZD to get one shipped here. Hovering now...
Gonna cost me about $80 NZD to get one shipped here. Hovering now...
I use a 4 way scart switch I bought from Argos for a tenner.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1078701.htm
Works brilliantly. And considering each console scart cable was like, £3 each via eBay, my entire RGB set up cost me damn near nothing.
....aside from the framemeister that's on it's way of course.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1078701.htm
Works brilliantly. And considering each console scart cable was like, £3 each via eBay, my entire RGB set up cost me damn near nothing.
....aside from the framemeister that's on it's way of course.
Shadow Hog
Member
That switch sounds like a must-have, but I've never ordered anything from a foreign Amazon site (just the US one).
Okay, that's kind of confusing. I thought the only way you could get RGB SCART to work with the Gamecube is to have a PAL Gamecube, as NTSC GCs eschewed RGB support entirely in favor of component output. You're saying you have an NTSC Gamecube that supports RGB anyway?
baphomet
Member
As far as switches, i use any of those hama clones. They support 3 inputs, so thats kinda shitty, but you can easily link up more. Ive got 10 consoles using scart, soon to be 11 (PAL gamecube 
) i got them off neo-geo.com from a guy that goes by broken.
Just stay away from non-powered automatic switches. They did some crazy shit. Powering consoles that werent hooked into the wall through the scart output on the back.
If shipping isnt too much i might have to get a few of the ones rich posted above.
) i got them off neo-geo.com from a guy that goes by broken. Just stay away from non-powered automatic switches. They did some crazy shit. Powering consoles that werent hooked into the wall through the scart output on the back.
If shipping isnt too much i might have to get a few of the ones rich posted above.
Sorry I didn't explain it so well. The GameCube is PAL. I've got two Nintendo multi out RGB SCART cables though. One is NTSC (sorta I guess, it has capacitors) and the other is sorta PAL (had to remove the capacitors to get it to work on my PAL SNES) but both work on my GameCube for some reason.
If money is no option, I think a Gamecube with official component cables was supposed to be the best. Of course with GC components being so expensive now...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XSSDPO/?tag=neogaf0e-20
But you'd need for the cables to have a separate audio lead. Its what I use anyway.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
IIRC, you get the best quality from
- component for 480p capable games
- RGB for anything less
quick question about the Framemeister:
is there any difference between the HDMI and DVI output options other than the resolutions offered? say, if i pick 1920x1080 (the resolution that matches my TV to avoid any upscaling on the TV), is there anything done differently by picking DVI instead of HDMI?
is there any difference between the HDMI and DVI output options other than the resolutions offered? say, if i pick 1920x1080 (the resolution that matches my TV to avoid any upscaling on the TV), is there anything done differently by picking DVI instead of HDMI?
According to tracking, my xrgb left Tokyo at 9pm on Tuesday - which means it would have arrived here in the UK around 1am or so today. as long as things don't get held up at customs (sent via air mail, declared as £12), I should have it in two days.
I live in a world where it takes under a week to get an item delivered from the other side of the world to my doorstep. That always amazes me, especially considering it takes longer than that to get an item delivered from a company based in fucking england
I live in a world where it takes under a week to get an item delivered from the other side of the world to my doorstep. That always amazes me, especially considering it takes longer than that to get an item delivered from a company based in fucking england
isn't Gamecube games through Wii Mode homebrew on Wii U + HDMI the absolute best a GC game can look in non-emulated enviorments?
when i recorded some videos with that setup, the games looked clearer than ever before.
Yep, indeed it is.
Decent scaling, 100% accurate colours and a clean digital output via HDMI that surpasses the Gamecube component.
it's gonna be fun when a Wii U is cheaper than GC component cables. those cables seem to get more expensive as years go by.
IrishNinja
Member
first i'm hearing of that, anyone have any comparisons?
Searched for XRGB, and it was expensive as shit. Is it worth the 400$ price tag?
I don't think I am willing to pay that much for my old games. I am going to settle with a nice set or S-video cables for my SNES, and component for GC/Wii.
Also, does wii home brew work on the wii u still? I thought Nintendo patched that out.
I don't think I am willing to pay that much for my old games. I am going to settle with a nice set or S-video cables for my SNES, and component for GC/Wii.
Also, does wii home brew work on the wii u still? I thought Nintendo patched that out.
IrishNinja
Member
you can get it for closer to $300 now (price kinda came down) but SNES over s-vid and component for GC/wii is pretty good too. i hook up a lot more systems than that - and ones i think benefit more from RGB, like Genesis, Turbo, N64 etc - so you gotta weigh in both what works for you & what you'd use it for, i think.
What is XRGB mainly used for? I would like to listen to a mini review if possible please
It's an upscaler.
When you plug in a retro console into your TV directly, it stretches it to shit into a blurry fucking mess.
The XRGB upscales it into a pixel perfect image. It is as good as you're ever gonna get. And if you're in America, your TV will not support RGB SCART- the xrgb is the only way other than a PVM to get a true RGB image.
Us here in the UK have RGB SCART support on all TV sets and RGB cables are dirt cheap here too, so the benefit here is the crystal clear upscaling.
sixteen-bit
Member
Okay, that's great to hear. I'll probably get this one. Thanks for your help!
metsallica
Member
Thanks for this, hadn't heard of the company. Right now (part of) my setup is Euro SCART from Saturn to a Retro Console Accessories SCART/JP21 converter with audio breakout, to FM's JP21 cable to FM (with audio from the converter routed into a receiver and the FM routed directly into the TV via HDMI). Since then I've gotten the bug; my SNES has already joined the party (SCARTy? Sorry) with my NES and N64 hopefully joining soon... Laziness will inevitably trump switching cables and I'd already been looking for a good selector; they're pretty hard to find these days especially in the US.
If anyone wants a scart adapter for cheap, you can always use GAF EXPRESS for shipping (paypal me the money, I buy it from my local Argos or b&q and send it via post)
Hell, we even have them in my local hardware store here. A little tiny shop. Scart switchers are cheap and common.
Hell, we even have them in my local hardware store here. A little tiny shop. Scart switchers are cheap and common.
I may have to take you up on that... Are they very big packaged up? I even have a UK address I can use but I get charged by volumetric weight so those times when Amazon ship a tiny thing in a huge box end up costing me big time, lol.
7DollarHagane
Banned
Does using an rgb-YUV converter affect the picture quality? Otherwise this is my best solution as the HDTV I now have has unacceptable levels of input lag, so xrgb is not as ideal as a CRT.
I found it didn't degrade the picture quality noticeably for me on a CRT. My HDTV didn't accept 240p over component so all I got on there was a black screen.
IrishNinja
Member
for real? where are you located, if you don't mind my asking? i'd be in no hurry, but i + a friend might be down for one, depending on price
lemme give my own answer since no one asked:
- CRT + RGB offers no lag, best visuals, just smaller screen size
- good HDTV (see: plasma) + XRGB offers fantastic visuals plus options for tweaking (great if you're a PC fan who digs that) with much bigger screen options, but up to 1.5 frame lag on the unit (negligible for me/most but if you're running say a fighter tourney a serious consideration) plus whatever the set introduces (other downside: no light gun games, IR shit like say power glove etc)
- emulation is never 100% but you can get bonuses like cleaner graphics (if that's your thing), likewise options and even savestates
TL;DR not to bring phenomenology into this too much but literally everything you do in life regardless of how you feel about it is done via approximation; like every other decision you make, you decide what's best for you & find happiness in it or doom yourself to an imperfect life of complaining on the internet
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Analog video cables are always going to be susceptible to signal noise to some degree.
Emulation is never going to be 100.000000% accurate to original hardware.
It really just boils down to implementation and preference.
Emulation is never going to be 100.000000% accurate to original hardware.
It really just boils down to implementation and preference.
metsallica
Member
Count me as also interested!
I have that switch, and it's been nothing but problems for me. For one, the switch does not like any scart cables with extra circuitry inside of them (like a sync cleaner). I had to get a new cable for my Genesis, because I previously had a cable with a lm1881 chip inside. That aside, I had only two consoles hooked up (a snes and a genesis), with normal scart cables, and I would frequently get waves of interference on my video. It would get worse if the two inputs were close to each other (like input 1 and input 2). Separating the inputs farther away sort of fixed it, but there was still interference.
I don't use it anymore. It's a piece of junk as far as I'm concerned, and I just go back to manually switching out the scart cable myself. Perhaps one day, I'm going to buy a Shinybow scart switch, but that's like $180.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Did they ever fix the thing with the Framemeister where it takes forever to lock onto a signal when the resolution changes? Maybe that's something they can't fix on the device as it currently exists...
haha wasn't expecting this kind of response. either way, I've got this one: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1078701.htm - no shipping with that, as I can just pick it up from the store. I would be against ordering the one from amazon, as it includes extra shipping costs.
Shipping to the USA would be £6 (including packaging). I'd test each one via a Framemeister to ensure it all works well. Bear in mind, you may need a cable like this if you're using a scart multiplug:
http://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/...ni-adapter--euroscart-with-sync-stripper.html
So all in all, it'd be like....$30. I don't know if that's worth it. I have no idea what the costs are for equivalent items from in the USA or via a store with overseas shipping.
Did you use the switch in vertical position? I tried that at first and I was constantly having connection problems because the cables did not hold well enough. Never got any problems in horizontal position, and it's currently filled up.
No idea about cables with built-in sync cleaners, I don't own any. Maybe it's due to both the activity LED and LM1881 tapping power from the same line and not playing well with each other.
This is a bit confusing. So I want to use get 480p with PS2, but not via component (as I read it doesn't look good)..so I am left with getting 480p through RGB, and I read about needing a sync device for that setup.
Can any who has done it give me some information on how to set that up please? I love the Mini and I don't want to miss out on the 480p games.
Can any who has done it give me some information on how to set that up please? I love the Mini and I don't want to miss out on the 480p games.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Pretty sure there's no way to get 480p over SCART with the PS2.
I was reading something on Shmups that an Extron192 can be used to interface with the Mini to get 480p. But looking at the Extron, seems like it only has component inputs....
indeed. SCART maxes out at 480i
technically, it CAN handle higher resolutions, but nothing has ever supported that via SCART. If you want 480p, you have to go with component, unless your set or scaler can deal with an interlaced image.
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