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

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Khaz

Member
Those ebay cables, if you open them (the scart area), will be plugging cables into the right spots but will be missing the resistors on red, green and blue.

Thank you, yeah, that's what I thought. I actually found that diagram earlier and opened the scart to see there was nothing in there. The seller advertised it as "brand new", but nowhere it said it was just homemade. I assumed it came from a factory, not a guy soldering in his basement (pretty obvious when you look at it). I could have done a better job honestly. I'll just ask for a refund as, on top of that, it has some heavy humming due to terrible audio grounding.
 

STG!

Member
Shmup people sure are dedicated. I mean to their specific genre of games. Sure I may have a ton of monitors and games around but I don't think I would ever have one set up to only play one specific kind of game that is within an already narrow genre. It must be nice to love one specific thing that much.

I wouldn't have it any other way!

Rotating one CRT monitor, especially any of these professional/broadcast monitors which are even heavier, all the time is just annoying. Too much work. Plus, having a whole bunch of vert PCB's helps justify having a dedicated vert setup. ;-)

Highlight is definitely that supergun and dodonpachi PCB.

Voltage LED on the front of that supergun is classy. I'd like to install one of those on my gun, one of these days...

It's a great room that guy put together, certainly one I'd feel very comfy in! Thanks for posting that up sixteen-bit!
 
I wouldn't have it any other way!

Rotating one CRT monitor, especially any of these professional/broadcast monitors which are even heavier, all the time is just annoying. Too much work. Plus, having a whole bunch of vert PCB's helps justify having a dedicated vert setup. ;-)

Oh yeah, I'm not criticizing doing it and understand why it is done, just saying that there is no game genre that I am dedicated to enough to make a full setup just dedicated to that, and I kinda envy the people that are that dedicated to something.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
Oh yeah, I'm not criticizing doing it and understand why it is done, just saying that there is no game genre that I am dedicated to enough to make a full setup just dedicated to that, and I kinda envy the people that are that dedicated to something.

Pick one genre and go with it! More fun! His dedication is admirable! Even having a little dedicated Dodonpachi Maximum (best Dodonpachi game, btw).
 

Timu

Member
Your Saturn is fine, Saturn cables have no signal adjustment. Mega Drive though, has, otherwise image will be brighter and colors will posterize due to it.

Buy cables from Retro Gaming Cables or retro_console_accessories.Not normal.

D1Wz7mZ.gif


Original is crappy ebay PoS. The other is one from one of the stores I just gave you. Same TV, same settings and same user, same complaints you have too.
Seeing this makes me glad I'm buying my cables from retro_console_accessories.
 

fester

Banned
I'm super excited that I found this today at a local Goodwill for $1. It's an KV-27FS100, which wasn't the exact model I've been looking for, but for the price I wasn't about to pass it up. Got home, tested it out and worked flawlessly.

XaqN3x3l.jpg


Next up was to see what the rest of the family thought:

sqIyjXOl.jpg


This was the very same SNES that my brother and I played together in 1991. There's something special about passing on traditions. :)

I was seriously considering getting an XRGB-mini to use with our 50" plasma, but $350 was a tough pill to swallow. This Sony CRT has enough inputs to hook up the NES, SNES, and PSX and look great doing it.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Not bad. I haven't been satisfied with any of the CRTs I've found second-hand around here, but I sure wouldn't have passed some of them up for $1. Everything halfway-decent here is ~$75 and not in good enough condition to justify that kind of price. :/
 
Nice grab on that set!

I was troubleshooting my buzzing/hum issue further and saw that the N64 works perfectly fine using a S-video cable. So, my grounding issue is either with the BNC-> Scart cable, the bandbridge box (I stopped daisy chaining them but noticed no difference) or the cable for the N64 itself. The latter I could test further by trying out my SNES cable to see if it makes a difference. But, is there anything I could do to test it further? I trust retro_console_accessories' cables to be properly grounded, and I suspect the banbridge boxes are of a high quality (although I don't know, it could certainly have a grounding issue) My suspicion is that it's the cable for Scart-> BNC that I got off of eBay, which arrived defective (Coach Kevin's did too) Is there anything I could look for myself to see where the grounding issue may lie?

EDIT: Tried with my Hama switch box too, same result. Is there an alternative source for the BNC-> Scart cables I could try aside from Wookie's cables on eBay?

EDIT 2: Removed the BNC cable from the setup and did audio to my receiver. Same buzz. From the sounds of it, it just sounds like scart cables can have an audio buzz.
 

Khaz

Member
Buy cables from Retro Gaming Cables or retro_console_accessories.Not normal.

Those ebay cables, if you open them (the scart area), will be plugging cables into the right spots but will be missing the resistors on red, green and blue.

Well the eBay seller immediately offered to send me another cable with the necessary modifications. I know he will solder the things as it's easy to do but I'm not sure how he will get rid of the audio humming if he uses the same cable, as there is no shielding at all in it. I asked him for the correct resistors and capacitors, and individual shielding for each wire. He agreed to it and will send it Monday.

I thought about getting a cable from the UK shop but their cables seem awfully thin and there is no mention of shielding in the description. I'll probably get one of theirs if the second cable fails me too. You eBay seller is making great cables but they are way too expensive to send over the ocean. I still don't get how chinese sellers can offer free shipping on $1 items yet american sellers have to pay like $15 to send a postcard.
 

baphomet

Member
My retro gaming cables Genesis 2 scart cable buzzed as well. I wouldn't recommend them unless retro console accessories was out.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Three weeks from today, I'm going to be streaming a local tournament that includes Saturn Bomberman as one of the games. The setup will consist of one Saturn console, two multitaps, 10 controllers, and an RGB cable connected to an XSYNC connected to an XCAPTURE connected to an XRGB-3 connected to a VGA splitter connected to up to 4 LCD monitors that will all be displaying the game feed simultaneously.

I went through a test run for all of the hardware tonight, and damn was it a pain. For some reason the XRGB just would not cooperate unless I changed its input setting to composite sync... even though the feed is separate H/V sync... because that's the whole purpose and function of an XSYNC (a c-sync separator). Took about half an hour of randomly switching out components and flipping through menus to figure it out. Sheesh.
 
I remember I went to a game convention a few years ago and the complete 10P Saturn Bomberman setup had like 3 folks playing simultaneously tops. Made me sad :/
 
Does anyone know how to make Gameboy Gamecube Player look good? I've tried firstly: Component straight to my TV and with that the colours are off and the pixels aren't perfect (I'd understand why). I tried shooting the component into my framemeister and there really isn't a difference there. I was hoping I could achieve the same pixel perfect quality of SNES or any other 240p consoles that go into the framemeister with my GBP but I can't do it.

Should I be buying a 144p downscalar for my gameboy player or something?

I'm super excited that I found this today at a local Goodwill for $1. It's an KV-27FS100, which wasn't the exact model I've been looking for, but for the price I wasn't about to pass it up. Got home, tested it out and worked flawlessly.

XaqN3x3l.jpg


Next up was to see what the rest of the family thought:

sqIyjXOl.jpg


This was the very same SNES that my brother and I played together in 1991. There's something special about passing on traditions. :)

I was seriously considering getting an XRGB-mini to use with our 50" plasma, but $350 was a tough pill to swallow. This Sony CRT has enough inputs to hook up the NES, SNES, and PSX and look great doing it.

I'm a bit mind fucked right now... as that TV was the exact model I had, and the stand under it is the exact same stand I had as well. I left that TV and stand at my old place (I used to live in Mississauga right near Brampton in Canada). Did you by any chance get it from a goodwill near that area? No regrets by the way, I wish I had space at my new place to fit that TV but I couldn't :(
 
Does anyone know how to make Gameboy Gamecube Player look good? I've tried firstly: Component straight to my TV and with that the colours are off and the pixels aren't perfect (I'd understand why). I tried shooting the component into my framemeister and there really isn't a difference there. I was hoping I could achieve the same pixel perfect quality of SNES or any other 240p consoles that go into the framemeister with my GBP but I can't do it.

Should I be buying a 144p downscalar for my gameboy player or something?
Problem is Game Boy player is 480i or 480p only. There are ways to force Gamecube games to output 240p via homebrew, but no solution exists for the game boy player specifically.
 
Problem is Game Boy player is 480i or 480p only. There are ways to force Gamecube games to output 240p via homebrew, but no solution exists for the game boy player specifically.

So my best bet would to either buy a superior 480p upscalar, or use a SCART cable for my gc to the framemeister? Although I'd need a PAL gamecube for RGB I guess... well this sucks.
 

Randomizer

Member
So my best bet would to either buy a superior 480p upscalar, or use a SCART cable for my gc to the framemeister? Although I'd need a PAL gamecube for RGB I guess... well this sucks.

You could also use a downscaler like you originally suggested. Check the bottom of this guy's post . He used a Super Emotia to output GB player games @240p. It looks decent but you'd be spending a lot of money. I would advice against it unless you would have other uses for it like downsampling Xbox360 shooters or virtual console games that don't have a 240p option.
 
It's too expensive for GBPlayer specially because they seem to be close to being able to force it to 240p.

Problem seems to be a multi .dol structure going on that will boot as a new program (also happens in Zelda OoT+Master Quest compilation and the Zelda Collection one) nuking the "forced" settings. This was also a problem in Wii compilations like Metroid Prime Trilogy and the Raving Rabbids collection with cheats, forced settings and loaders but has since been resolved. If they solve it (and the solution should be implementing the same solution employed there) and if the only appliance for that downsampling equipment is GBPlayer then it'll be $200/$300 down the drain.

I have every intention of investing in a chain like that at some point, but I don't even have a GBPlayer as of now it's for a broader reason.
 
I got that cable supplied with my NTSC GameCube when i bought it, think i paid about £20 for the cable back then....wonder how much they go for now a days
I'm jelly.


Probably £100 if one is lucky, never less than that.


I hope the community finds a way to clone/manufacture GC digital video out cables soon, the thing needs a VGA box or something like that... a "box" that plugs onto the digital out and lets you use rgbs, dsub, component and vga instead of having to have a cable for each. There's duplicated hardware on every cable, not just the plug. Plug has chips.

... Nintendo dudes saved costs on the console by putting the DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) encoder on the beginning of the cable. This made the console *slighly* cheaper because it didn't have that going on inside, but makes them expensive to manufacture and non-standard as hell, the start of the cable is technically an extension of the console hardware... like a daughter board. Freaky!

Makes as much sense these days as Polaroid having batteries stored within the film cartridge. What the fuck were they thinking.
 

antibolo

Banned
I hope the community finds a way to clone/manufacture GC digital video out cables soon, the thing needs a VGA box or something like that... a "box" that plugs onto the digital out and lets you use rgbs, dsub, component and vga instead of having to have a cable for each. There's duplicated hardware on every cable, not just the plug. Plug has chips.

I'm pretty sure that nobody is motivated enough because apart from the Game Boy Player it's easier and cheaper to just use a first gen Wii with off-the-shelf component cables instead.

The Gamecube digital out outputs a raw format that is not directly compatible with anything, which means any solution built from scratch would have to be very specific to it, which would be complicated and expensive for very little gain.
 
I'm pretty sure that nobody is motivated enough because apart from the Game Boy Player it's easier and cheaper to just use a first gen Wii with off-the-shelf component cables instead.

The Gamecube digital out outputs a raw format that is not directly compatible with anything, which means any solution built from scratch would have to be very specific to it, which would be complicated and expensive for very little gain.
I can understand that, but every console can have it's own dedicated following, and GC has it, just not on the building hardware for it front.

I don't think it ends there, Wii video out is considered to be balls compared to the quality Gamecube provided, and the price component cables soar to (last time I checked it was like 120 dollars?) indicate there's probably a market there albeit perhaps in limited quantities.

If you take the time to do something premium chances are it sells if people are paying more than 100 bucks for a cable. I'd pay 50, easily.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
Real nice! Why did you hook up feet on your jamma connector?

Always loved the look of those Sigma sticks, and adjustable built-in autofire is a real nice feature.

Yeah, those sticks are tanks! Pretty much the perfect stick other than the hollow feel. I've got two of them.

The feet on the jamma connector came like that when I got my Sigma. They facilitate easy release of the tight connector. Actually a very cool idea and very practical!
 

STG!

Member
Yeah, those sticks are tanks! Pretty much the perfect stick other than the hollow feel. I've got two of them.

The feet on the jamma connector came like that when I got my Sigma. They facilitate easy release of the tight connector. Actually a very cool idea and very practical!

That's a pretty good idea, I just looked at my connector and never even noticed there were holes there. I got plenty of extra feet so I might have to give that a try once I find some slightly longer screws.
 

Peagles

Member
I can understand that, but every console can have it's own dedicated following, and GC has it, just not on the building hardware for it front.

I don't think it ends there, Wii video out is considered to be balls compared to the quality Gamecube provided, and the price component cables soar to (last time I checked it was like 120 dollars?) indicate there's probably a market there albeit perhaps in limited quantities.

If you take the time to do something premium chances are it sells if people are paying more than 100 bucks for a cable. I'd pay 50, easily.

I'm pretty sure it's been attempted many times to no avail. I think someone even got hold of the same chip but reverse engineering the chip and the way the Gamecube talks to it was just way too complicated.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
That's a pretty good idea, I just looked at my connector and never even noticed there were holes there. I got plenty of extra feet so I might have to give that a try once I find some slightly longer screws.

Yeah,

Be sure to also put some lock washers on there! You know how those little feet like to loosen up quick-like and flop around. The feet on my connector or rock solid! This one has a spacer washer then a lock washer:

F3250275-E795-4105-A608-64F37D642F1E_zps08btqdfn.jpg
 

baphomet

Member
You could also use a downscaler like you originally suggested. Check the bottom of this guy's post . He used a Super Emotia to output GB player games @240p. It looks decent but you'd be spending a lot of money. I would advice against it unless you would have other uses for it like downsampling Xbox360 shooters or virtual console games that don't have a 240p option.

Its not worth hacking a $150 cable to VGA to use the super emotia. I have everything to do it, but the outcome isn't worth the means. Now I've considered a component to VGA to see how the super emotia treats it, but I'd rather wait for 240p support through swiss. I'm sure the quality would be better than any other option as well.
 

STG!

Member
Yeah,

Be sure to also put some lock washers on there! You know how those little feet like to loosen up quick-like and flop around. The feet on my connector or rock solid! This one has a spacer washer then a lock washer:

Looks real good, I never thought about using the lock washers to stop the feet from moving around (I know that all too well), wonder if it would work with nylon spacers as I like to have a couple different games at my disposal. :)

spacers_zps4d40b4ba.png
 

fester

Banned
I'm a bit mind fucked right now... as that TV was the exact model I had, and the stand under it is the exact same stand I had as well. I left that TV and stand at my old place (I used to live in Mississauga right near Brampton in Canada). Did you by any chance get it from a goodwill near that area? No regrets by the way, I wish I had space at my new place to fit that TV but I couldn't :(

I wish I could say your TV + stand ended up with a fellow retro-GAFer, but it seems like just a coincidence. I picked them at a Chicago-area Goodwill.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
Looks real good, I never thought about using the lock washers to stop the feet from moving around (I know that all too well), wonder if it would work with nylon spacers as I like to have a couple different games at my disposal. :)

spacers_zps4d40b4ba.png

Pretty hot!

I'm sure it would work.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
Earlier I also set up my VGA PGM for 360 in one corner. I'm in the process of finally finishing my barracks with all my stuff since my twin is visiting late august. This is one of my PGM 2950s, aka Fudoh-vision, since I got it in Munich a couple years back when I visited Fudoh. Love this display for 360 and DC.

021135CD-AAD8-434A-AE19-B77E0072E630_zpsepknv4r6.jpg
 

IrishNinja

Member
maaaan seeing ya'lls setups, i do wish i could find a good (31" like that is straight!) sized monitor/high quality CRT that i could make accept RGB one day too
 

antibolo

Banned
jp6tUrD.png


I came across a 19" PVM and this is the picture the guy sent me of the inputs. What are those?

LINE A and LINE B are composite video (BNC) with mono audio (RCA).

Not sure about VTR IN but it's most likely for some proprietary Sony recording equipment.

That's definitely not the whole input panel, there's no point in having EXT SYNC alone like that. Unless it's linked to the VTR IN but I doubt that.
 
does the ps2 mini not output rgb properly?

i'm getting no blue in my output, and hoping it isn't a bad cable. works fine via composite

got the cable from retro_console_accessories on ebay
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
does the ps2 mini not output rgb properly?

i'm getting no blue in my output, and hoping it isn't a bad cable. works fine via composite

got the cable from retro_console_accessories on ebay
Make sure the RGB/YPbPr option in the system menu is set correctly.
 

Faithless

Member
How would you guys recommend taking photos off-screen on a Sony PVM? Is there a shutter speed I should lock my camera at?

I can't find what the refresh rate of the monitor is, and I want to take rich, gorgeous photos of these pixels.
 

dock

Member
I have an NTSC Gamecube RGB Cable, and a regular GC Component Cable. My RGB cable doesn't get used any more but I've been sitting on it until the day I get a nice upscaler or something similar. That said, 480p output looks pretty amazing on my TV.
 
I have an NTSC Gamecube RGB Cable, and a regular GC Component Cable. My RGB cable doesn't get used any more but I've been sitting on it until the day I get a nice upscaler or something similar. That said, 480p output looks pretty amazing on my TV.

Is that RGB cable a modded digital port cable? NTSC gamecubes can't output RGB from the AV multi-out.
 
thanks, for some reason i assumed it would autodetect

that did the trick :) warcraft 2 has never looked so good

That one definitely throws people for a loop. I'm curious, do systems like PAL Wiis that are capable of outputting RGB and YPbPr from the same port do it automatically, or is it a manual setting like on PS2?
 
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