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Retro AV Club Thread 2: Classic Gaming Done Right!

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B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I'd even go as far to say that the demand for modding outweighs the supply. Plenty of people struggling and even failing to find a modder for this or that project.

I'd invite others with soldering skills to get into the game.
 
N

NormalFish

Banned
BocoDragon said:
I'd even go as far to say that the demand for modding outweighs the supply. Plenty of people struggling and even failing to find a modder for this or that project.

I'd invite others with soldering skills to get into the game.
Click to expand...
Honestly I don't think it's just a lack of supply, it's that people are disinclined to purchase from modders who people don't recommend en masse. The gameboy scene seems to have more or less broken this curse with places like /r/gameboy or /r/gameboymarketplace, and I've bought from a couple modders whose work I only knew through reddit posts. But I don't know of other boards that facilitate that sort of discourse and leg up for new modders as effectively.
 
socksfelloff

socksfelloff

Member
The majority of console mods are incredibly easy. I would say we have a lack of people willing to learn opposed to a lack of people willing to charge for the work.

I've often thought of doing it on the side as it's something I thoroughly enjoy however the money just isn't there IMO.
 
NOLA_Gaffer

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
My AVS and Everdrive came in yesterday (Thanks again to Mr. Parish) but it dawned on me that I don't have any spare SD cards (or SD card reader) lying about.

Looks like I'll be making a store trip soon.
 
K

Kiddy Dong

Member
Einhandr said:
Has anyone here had any work done by Voultar before? Seems like a real reputable and awesome guy.
Click to expand...

No, but he's my favorite guy on the Retro Roundtable podcast. His extremely technical explanations into hardware modding makes me want to learn electrical engineering.

Speaking of which, has anyone else been watching the Retro Roundtable? It's still somewhat new, and I think most of us who are subscribed to this thread would find it interesting. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa9vTKgLCIlUV-QM3HGr08A
 
E

EmiPrime

Member
BocoDragon said:
I'd even go as far to say that the demand for modding outweighs the supply. Plenty of people struggling and even failing to find a modder for this or that project.

I'd invite others with soldering skills to get into the game.
Click to expand...

It's difficult to get enough work to make it your profession especially when starting out and if you just want to do it on the side, paying customers expect a decent turn around regardless making it hard to put things off if you feel knackered after work or want a weekend away.

You also have to deal with the nightmare that is the post office and with parcels going missing or taking a hammering in transit. Then there's Paypal chargebacks...

I do my own mods but I have no interest in getting my skills/professionalism up to the level necessary to charge for them. I don't want that kind of aggro and I am probably not alone on this: I want my hobby to stay my hobby and not be a job.
 
F

Fuzzy

I would bang a hot farmer!
Kiddy Dong said:
No, but he's my favorite guy on the Retro Roundtable podcast. His extremely technical explanations into hardware modding makes me want to learn electrical engineering.

Speaking of which, has anyone else been watching the Retro Roundtable? It's still somewhat new, and I think most of us who are subscribed to this thread would find it interesting. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa9vTKgLCIlUV-QM3HGr08A
Click to expand...
I feel sorry for people who don't get his humour because he's hilarious.

They're (sans Voultar) doing a live edition tomorrow at Festival Retrogaming de Montréal. Too bad it's too far for me to go for a day.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
Fuzzy said:
I feel sorry for people who don't get his humour because he's hilarious.

They're (sans Voultar) doing a live edition tomorrow at Festival Retrogaming de Montréal. Too bad it's too far for me to go for a day.
Click to expand...

I'm close enough to go for the day but something about this just doesn't look worth 2-3 hours each way:

DSC_0160.jpg
Click to expand...

Maybe they change up the format from last year, IDK.
 
F

Fuzzy

I would bang a hot farmer!
A little news from the latest MLiG video.

My Life in Gaming said:
Hey everyone! Just to give an update on where things are at on some of our more anticipated episodes. Our big Night Trap documentary is finished, but we can't release it until an embargo is lifted regarding some of the features in the new version. When is this? We don't know for sure yet! It might be a few weeks, it might be a month. We sure hope it won't be longer, but it's outside our control! Since we didn't have anything else ready, we made this episode to fill the gap! Up next, Coury is gearing up for going full-steam on the Saturn RGB episode, while Try is going to work on a couple of shorter episodes before moving onto working on the PS2 RGB episode in a couple of months!
Click to expand...
 
O

onimushroom

Member
Anyone here have any experiences with Wii SCART cables? I bought some cheap ones just out of curiosity, but I'm not sure if they're actually better than composite. My CRT tv doesn't show the signal as AV1-RGB (as it does with my PS2 luma RGB SCART).
The PS2 picture quality difference is quite noticeable for me with composite vs SCART, but with the cheap Wii cables it seems only slightly cleaner, if that. No colour options in the Wii menu, unlike the PS2, as well. I did check what's inside the SCART plug and there seem to be separate cables for the R, G & B colors, but my TV doesn't recognise the signal as RGB...
So I'm not sure whether it's the cheap cables or that's just the Wii experience. What would give my non-component CRT the best image quality out my Wii? Do official cables give an actual RGB signal? What would be the best alternatives a la RetroGamingCables?
 
T

televator

Member
onimushroom said:
Anyone here have any experiences with Wii SCART cables? I bought some cheap ones just out of curiosity, but I'm not sure if they're actually better than composite. My CRT tv doesn't show the signal as AV1-RGB (as it does with my PS2 luma RGB SCART).
The PS2 picture quality difference is quite noticeable for me with composite vs SCART, but with the cheap Wii cables it seems only slightly cleaner, if that. No colour options in the Wii menu, unlike the PS2, as well. I did check what's inside the SCART plug and there seem to be separate cables for the R, G & B colors, but my TV doesn't recognise the signal as RGB...
So I'm not sure whether it's the cheap cables or that's just the Wii experience. What would give my non-component CRT the best image quality out my Wii? Do official cables give an actual RGB signal? What would be the best alternatives a la RetroGamingCables?
Click to expand...

So you got a PAL TV and your Wii is also PAL?
 
O

onimushroom

Member
televator said:
So you got a PAL TV and your Wii is also PAL?
Click to expand...

Yes, everything is PAL.
I started to dig deeper with google and seems like the cable doesn't have the necessary resistor that tells the TV to switch to RGB mode.
I think I have the same cable as this guy but at least mine has the colors correctly. The other wires seem the same as on his picture. The missing stuff is related to the 16th pin. Still trying to make sense of it all...

Edit: If I understand it correctly, I just somehow need to force the TV to switch to RGB mode.
 
P

Peagles

Member
onimushroom said:
Anyone here have any experiences with Wii SCART cables? I bought some cheap ones just out of curiosity, but I'm not sure if they're actually better than composite. My CRT tv doesn't show the signal as AV1-RGB (as it does with my PS2 luma RGB SCART).
The PS2 picture quality difference is quite noticeable for me with composite vs SCART, but with the cheap Wii cables it seems only slightly cleaner, if that. No colour options in the Wii menu, unlike the PS2, as well. I did check what's inside the SCART plug and there seem to be separate cables for the R, G & B colors, but my TV doesn't recognise the signal as RGB...
So I'm not sure whether it's the cheap cables or that's just the Wii experience. What would give my non-component CRT the best image quality out my Wii? Do official cables give an actual RGB signal? What would be the best alternatives a la RetroGamingCables?
Click to expand...

I use cheap ones on my PVM and they do RGB, maybe it's your TV? Can you try another socket or another TV even?
 
O

onimushroom

Member
Peagles said:
I use cheap ones on my PVM and they do RGB, maybe it's your TV? Can you try another socket or another TV even?
Click to expand...

I tried two different TV-s with each's respectable RGB-SCART socket. Both accepted my PS2 signal as RGB, but not with the Wii.

Edit: To continue with my google investigons, I have reached such posts:

If you really want to do some wiring, and you happen to have some resistors around you could whip the plastic cover off the Scart cable and ......

Solder a 9K ohm resistor to pin 8, and a 3K ohm resistor to pin 18, then solder both of the other two ends of the resistors to pin 16.

You'll then be sending 3 / 12 ths of the voltage on pin 8 (which will be either 5-8 or 9.5-12 v (depends on 4x3 or 16x9) into pin 16. Both of these will fall within the 1 to 3 v range to enable RGB switching. Don't forget to snip the wire originally connected to pin 16.
Click to expand...

For testing, try this:
Disconnect any existing wire from pin 16 and insulate using PVC insulation tape.
Connect a 1.5V battery ("AA" size or larger will do) between pin 16 and pin 17 or 18 (or any or the other ground pins). The positive connection from the battery must be wired to pin 16.

This should force RGB mode.
Click to expand...

On Pin no. 16 at the SCART connector you need 1 to 3V, otherwise the TV won't switch into RGB mode. Either 12V or 5V should be connected to Pin no. 16 through a resistor, otherwise the TV simply won't switch into RGB mode.
Where did you get this strange Wii RGB cable, ebay?

You can also try to force the TV into RGB mode by enabling video text. That worked on many CRT TV's in the past.
Click to expand...

No idea what that last bold part means, but sure would like to force my TV to see the signal as RGB without any soldering :D
 
P

Peagles

Member
onimushroom said:
I tried two different TV-s with each's respectable RGB-SCART socket. Both accepted my PS2 signal as RGB, but not with the Wii.

Edit: To continue with my google investigons, I have reached such posts:







No idea what that last bold part means, but sure would like to force my TV to see the signal as RGB without any soldering :D
Click to expand...

Do you have Teletext? Ours stopped a few years ago. That's probably what they mean.
 
O

onimushroom

Member
Peagles said:
Do you have Teletext? Ours stopped a few years ago. That's probably what they mean.
Click to expand...

Aha, I think we lost it as well with the move to digital TV-signals.
I did push the teletext buttons when I first read that post and nothing happened with the SCART signal (just a blank teletext page 100), but maybe it could have helped during the analogue-TV days.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
Some cheap scart cables are actually just composite video that terminates in a scart head. That could be it. Are they actually RGB SCART cables?
 
T

Teknoman

Member
Is there a such thing as a powered s-video distributor as there is one for component video? I want to connect my Dreamcast to a capture device yet have it displayed on my TV at the same time.
 
C

catabarez

Member
BocoDragon said:
I'd even go as far to say that the demand for modding outweighs the supply. Plenty of people struggling and even failing to find a modder for this or that project.

I'd invite others with soldering skills to get into the game.
Click to expand...

I'm considering this. I've modded a few of my own consoles. I just need to practice more, especially with an NESRGB.
 
Kawika

Kawika

Member
Hopefully Mega or one of the other OSSC owners is here to help me.

I got my ossc last night. Good news, my Sony XBR43X800D (2016 4K TV) works with everything I tested it on (sorta).

My set up has a gscartsw3.3 iirc. I messed with the switches. I think one is for vga and the other is a sync stripper switch. Since I am flying blind here (i can't actually see the 2 switches from how I have it mounted under my console rack. I am switching one on and off and the other one and off to see if i get any results).

Whats been going on is, once I have the right configuration I've been able to play only in 5x mode for 240p signals. N64 and Gen seemed to be the 2 easiest consoles to get working.The SNES not so much. The PS1 and others I haven't messed with yet.

Here is my issue

Once I get the screen to actually accept what I am feeding it sometimes its off center. I didn't take images last night but I will tonight if I can't troubleshoot it. The image will start 25% down from the top of the TV screen. So I lose the bottom quarter of the screen. My tv has settings that allow you to move the image but whatever the OSSC does it does it in a way that doesn't let me adjust the position. I can't change the aspect ratio or anything. I can only make color adjustments but nothing regarding anything to do with screen aspect, pixel size or position.

I have it hooked up to game mode via HDMI 4.

If anyone knows anything how to help me figure out how to fix what I am feeding into the ossc or change what I am feeding into my sony 4k from the ossc let me know. I am just flying blind here.

Note: a couple time last night i actually got everything in the right spot but as soon as I went through a loading screen my tv stopped working right with it.

If anyone has an OSSC and they have a 2016-17 4K tv and have good results let me know. I am still in my return window until the 24th of this month. I really like this tv for my other gaming but I am willing to make the switch if I can have all my gaming devices run through one screen.
 
A

Azure Phoenix

Member
Hoping someone here can help. I ordered an RGB modded PC Engine Duo R which arrived today, over the AV cable provided it works fine, but over RGB all I'm getting is a rolling black and white picture and my TVs (1 CRT, 2 LCD) are acting like they aren't receiving a signal at all - info box never goes away or switches to say RGB - while one of the TVs in particular displays nothing.
76GCWjQ.jpg
Click to expand...

I took a look inside and the mod work seems fine, it's fairly tidy, and the seller seems very genuine - they even provided images of the unit plugged into a TV and working just before dispatch - so I'm not worried about that, but I don't really get why it doesn't work when every other imported system I own has no problems at all via RGB.
 
P

polyh3dron

Banned
Did it come from DoujinDance?

Also, that looks like a sync issue if I had to guess.. maybe you don't have it getting the sync from the right cable?
 
A

Azure Phoenix

Member
polyh3dron said:
Did it come from DoujinDance?

Also, that looks like a sync issue if I had to guess.. maybe you don't have it getting the sync from the right cable?
Click to expand...

No, I stayed far away from Doujindance as I'm aware of those horror jobs. I'm afraid I'm not that up on the technical side in regards to this sort of thing so I'm not sure what you mean about sync. I should probably specify I'm in the UK, but my TVs are all capable of taking NTSC signals, also the RGB Scart cable provided seems to be have been modified as the Scart end has been opened and glued back together. In case it helps I took a picture of the mod work inside the unit.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
Azure Phoenix said:
Hoping someone here can help. I ordered an RGB modded PC Engine Duo R which arrived today, over the AV cable provided it works fine, but over RGB all I'm getting is a rolling black and white picture and my TVs (1 CRT, 2 LCD) are acting like they aren't receiving a signal at all - info box never goes away or switches to say RGB - while one of the TVs in particular displays nothing.


I took a look inside and the mod work seems fine, it's fairly tidy, and the seller seems very genuine - they even provided images of the unit plugged into a TV and working just before dispatch - so I'm not worried about that, but I don't really get why it doesn't work when every other imported system I own has no problems at all via RGB.
Click to expand...

What brand TV is it? Is it LG?

The PC engine puts out a bit of an odd signal, it was the only system I couldn't get working via RGB on my old LG TV with direct input (through Framemeister everything was fine)
 
A

Azure Phoenix

Member
SheepyGuy said:
What brand TV is it? Is it LG?

The PC engine puts out a bit of an odd signal, it was the only system I couldn't get working on my old LG TV with direct input (through Framemeister everything was fine)
Click to expand...

Bush CRT and Samsung LCD both give the rolling black and white image, Toshiba LCD gives no image.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
K.

I don't particularly like the mod work (hand made board, dodgy caps, among other things) but I'll assume it's fine since it looks like a sync issue and it's just getting sync off composite video.

The other thing that seems likely is that in the cable itself in the scart head the wire connecting composite video to the sync pin is disconnected.

In any case I would contact the seller.
 
A

Azure Phoenix

Member
SheepyGuy said:
K.

I don't particularly like the mod work (hand made board, dodgy caps, among other things) but I'll assume it's fine since it looks like a sync issue and it's just getting sync off composite video.

The other thing that seems likely is that in the cable itself in the scart head the wire connecting composite video to the sync pin is disconnected.

In any case I would contact the seller.
Click to expand...

Already sent them a message, I just wanted to ask around and see if this is a known issue or there is something wrong with the unit/cable itself. I opened the Scart end of the cable up and none of the wires are loose, but I don't know if they are wired up correctly.

Edit: Ok, so after some assistance from the first post's section about RGB, Google Images and my dad it seems that the problem I have is that European and Japanese Scart are wired up differently and the cable I have here is a Japanese one. So, as far as I can tell, I need to buy this RGB Scart cable as it is wired up for EU televisions?
 
L

Like the hat?

Banned
I have an original square button Famicom. What is my best option for getting a good pic on a CRT that has component in? I'm in the US. Am I better off buying a clone?
 
P

Peagles

Member
Azure Phoenix said:
Hoping someone here can help. I ordered an RGB modded PC Engine Duo R which arrived today, over the AV cable provided it works fine, but over RGB all I'm getting is a rolling black and white picture and my TVs (1 CRT, 2 LCD) are acting like they aren't receiving a signal at all - info box never goes away or switches to say RGB - while one of the TVs in particular displays nothing.


I took a look inside and the mod work seems fine, it's fairly tidy, and the seller seems very genuine - they even provided images of the unit plugged into a TV and working just before dispatch - so I'm not worried about that, but I don't really get why it doesn't work when every other imported system I own has no problems at all via RGB.
Click to expand...

That picture is like something from a horror movie! 😨
 
A

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
I am continually amazed at how badly people advertise things on Craigslist. Currently looking for a CRT and half of the descriptions/titles are "TV" or some variant with no size/model number. May just slightly overpay for one on ebay.
 
L

Laevateinn

Member
alr1ght said:
I am continually amazed at how badly people advertise things on Craigslist. Currently looking for a CRT and half of the descriptions/titles are "TV" or some variant with no size/model number. May just slightly overpay for one on ebay.
Click to expand...

Everything on Craigslist is a murder honeypot.
 
A

Azure Phoenix

Member
After speaking to the seller he confirmed that the problem is that the cable provided is a JP21 RGB Scart cable and that EU cables are wired up differently, so I'll need to purchase one of those if I'm using it without an XRGB. Phew, I was super worried was wrong with the unit.
 
G

Galdelico

Member
Kawika said:
Hopefully Mega or one of the other OSSC owners is here to help me.

I got my ossc last night. Good news, my Sony XBR43X800D (2016 4K TV) works with everything I tested it on (sorta).

My set up has a gscartsw3.3 iirc. I messed with the switches. I think one is for vga and the other is a sync stripper switch. Since I am flying blind here (i can't actually see the 2 switches from how I have it mounted under my console rack. I am switching one on and off and the other one and off to see if i get any results).

Whats been going on is, once I have the right configuration I've been able to play only in 5x mode for 240p signals. N64 and Gen seemed to be the 2 easiest consoles to get working.The SNES not so much. The PS1 and others I haven't messed with yet.

Here is my issue

Once I get the screen to actually accept what I am feeding it sometimes its off center. I didn't take images last night but I will tonight if I can't troubleshoot it. The image will start 25% down from the top of the TV screen. So I lose the bottom quarter of the screen. My tv has settings that allow you to move the image but whatever the OSSC does it does it in a way that doesn't let me adjust the position. I can't change the aspect ratio or anything. I can only make color adjustments but nothing regarding anything to do with screen aspect, pixel size or position.

I have it hooked up to game mode via HDMI 4.

If anyone knows anything how to help me figure out how to fix what I am feeding into the ossc or change what I am feeding into my sony 4k from the ossc let me know. I am just flying blind here.

Note: a couple time last night i actually got everything in the right spot but as soon as I went through a loading screen my tv stopped working right with it.

If anyone has an OSSC and they have a 2016-17 4K tv and have good results let me know. I am still in my return window until the 24th of this month. I really like this tv for my other gaming but I am willing to make the switch if I can have all my gaming devices run through one screen.
Click to expand...
The fact it happens randomly, is what worries me the most. Unfortunately, I've never experienced anything like that (also, I don't own a Super Nintendo, and my N64 isn't RGB modded... I'm using the OSSC with completely different systems, basically), so the only suggestion I can give you is to head over VGP formus and repost your experience there. Otherwise, you can drop a message at SHMUPS formus too, since Marqs and Bucko hang around there quite regularly.

The only thing I feel familiar with are the blanked out video settings on my displays (I use PC monitors with the OSSC, though)... That happens when I select 'standard' or specific display/color profiles. Are you sure you can't configure a 'custom' one, where everything - from image centering to gamma correction - can be set up as needed?
 
Kawika

Kawika

Member
Galdelico said:
The fact it happens randomly, is what worries me the most. Unfortunately, I've never experienced anything like that (also, I don't own a Super Nintendo, and my N64 isn't RGB modded... I'm using the OSSC with completely different systems, basically), so the only suggestion I can give you is to head over VGP formus and repost your experience there. Otherwise, you can drop a message at SHMUPS formus too, since Marqs and Bucko hang around there quite regularly.

The only thing I feel familiar with are the blanked out video settings on my displays (I use PC monitors with the OSSC, though)... That happens when I select 'standard' or specific display/color profiles. Are you sure you can't configure a 'custom' one, where everything - from image centering to gamma correction - can be set up as needed?
Click to expand...

I've used it on a few consoles. Almost all my 240p content works like this (n64, gen, snes, and ps1). 480i and 480p component pass through works as does 2x on 480i iirc.

90% of the time I see nothing and if I do see something it looks like this.

20170516_232251.jpg


20170516_232242.jpg
 
Sapiens

Sapiens

Member
I live in North America. I have a JPN Megadrive 1 (which sounds crazy amazing through the headphone jack with Senheisers) and I want to buy a XRGB mini - what cable do I need to get?
 
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