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

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antibolo

Banned
So has anyone here tried to produce good PSP tv out quality?

It's not CRT output I know, but the PSTV runs PSP games pretty kick-ass well. It's nothing fancy but it's correctly full screen and all. Definitely prefer it to the TV-out on my PSP 3000. And of course being able to play with a DS4 is also a big plus.
 

brainpann

Member
A guy named airs on assembler just messaged me with a mod he discovered to output 240p from certain 3do models. I'm about to sit down and give it a go.


I was reading about his findings last week. Looks good and I hope airs is able to mess with the BT9xxx as well.
 

baphomet

Member
Oh shit, for real? Looking forward to your results.

It definitely works. However, on my fz-10 it won't boot into 240p. Easily fixed by adding a switch, booting into 480i, and then switching to 240p. I didnt get a chance to mess with it too much last night, but it was pretty obvious it looks significantly better in 240p.

I'll probably capture something tonight, and do some comparison screenshots between the two. If you guys have any specific games you want to see let me know, and if u have it I'll try and take a few shots.

Edit - it also works with the otaku store rgb board.
 

brainpann

Member
It definitely works. However, on my fz-10 it won't boot into 240p. Easily fixed by adding a switch, booting into 480i, and then switching to 240p. I didnt get a chance to mess with it too much last night, but it was pretty obvious it looks significantly better in 240p.

I'll probably capture something tonight, and do some comparison screenshots between the two. If you guys have any specific games you want to see let me know, and if u have it I'll try and take a few shots.


Edit - it also works with the otaku store rgb board.

Can you post pics of your modded fz-10?
 
It definitely works. However, on my fz-10 it won't boot into 240p. Easily fixed by adding a switch, booting into 480i, and then switching to 240p. I didnt get a chance to mess with it too much last night, but it was pretty obvious it looks significantly better in 240p.

I'll probably capture something tonight, and do some comparison screenshots between the two. If you guys have any specific games you want to see let me know, and if u have it I'll try and take a few shots.

Edit - it also works with the otaku store rgb board.

That's great to hear. I guess my request is fairly obvious; Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. One of the best looking 2D games on the platform and it might be worth busting it out again for 240p with that funky 3DO arrange soundtrack.
 

baphomet

Member
Can you post pics of your modded fz-10?

Of the console itself? Or like the wiring inside? Either way I can when I get home from work. I didnt have time to mount the switch last night so the console is still opened up. I'll finish up the mod and take some pictures for you.

And I'll definitely take some super turbo pics. This finally gives me a reason to try out my SNES to 3do controller adapter I found locally like a year ago. It would be pretty awesome if it mapped the buttons like the SNES street fighter games, but I'm kind of doubting it will.
 

brainpann

Member
Of the console itself? Or like the wiring inside? Either way I can when I get home from work. I didnt have time to mount the switch last night so the console is still opened up. I'll finish up the mod and take some pictures for you.

And I'll definitely take some super turbo pics. This finally gives me a reason to try out my SNES to 3do controller adapter I found locally like a year ago. It would be pretty awesome if it mapped the buttons like the SNES street fighter games, but I'm kind of doubting it will.

The wiring please. Im considering doing it to mine but I rarely play my 3do.
 

baphomet

Member
The wiring please. Im considering doing it to mine but I rarely play my 3do.

pmwIjrd.jpg

515weXB.jpg

Hkx5JFh.jpg

These are pictures I took when I initially did it. Wire maintenance could be better, but it works so its good enough for me. I can probably shoot some better ones when I get home.
 

Peagles

Member
Cables can be wired any way needed.

If youre trying to hook it up to something that accepts jp21, you buy a jp21 cable. If you need scart, you buy a scart cable.

Its as simple as that.

Edit - scart doesn't become jp21 by plugging it into a japanese console.

Yeh pmj this is what I was trying to say.

Don't be thinking you need JP21 for a Japanese console. If your setup takes RGB SCART then you stick with that. Sure you need the appropriately wired cable (such as the NTSC Saturn cable I linked you to) but don't confuse yourself with JP21 unless you're switching to a device that requires JP21 (and would require JP21 cables regardless of console region).
 
240p for 3DO? Oh that's excellent. Too bad mine couldn't be RGB modded. I have a super late model with a different mobo and no one knows how to use the Otaku RGB board on it.
 

Timu

Member
Thanks for that; appreciate your thoughts. I guess 1080p would be nice for capturing new systems but I'm not interested in capturing in composite or svideo. Although it says 1080p in the Amazon title I read it's not at 60fps which is what people are complaining about. How many modern games run at 60fps now though? Lol.

Oh and since I changed the shipping to the lowest it's now at $126! Might have to hit you up with some questions about the Sync Strike too as I haven't used anything like that before, no clue what I'd be doing with that!
I don't know why they list 1080p, I tried it with Xbox One and PS4 when both set to 1080p and the capture card refuses to detect the resolution as I get no signal.

And Sync Strike is pretty straightfoward, it acts as a converter from scart to vga.
 

Peagles

Member
I don't know why they list 1080p, I tried it with Xbox One and PS4 when both set to 1080p and the capture card refuses to detect the resolution as I get no signal.

And Sync Strike is pretty straightfoward, it acts as a converter from scart to vga.

How odd. I was looking at some Youtube vids yesterday that were apparently shot in 1080p with this card, but they could have been confused I guess. Even if they were 720p upscaled they looked decent. It won't be the main thing I use it for though anyway.

Cool, hey do you use a power adapter with your Sync Strike? They don't have an option for NZ so I feel a bit wary. Hopefully a UK adapter will work with a basic converter for plug shape.
 

Timu

Member
Cool, hey do you use a power adapter with your Sync Strike? They don't have an option for NZ so I feel a bit wary. Hopefully a UK adapter will work with a basic converter for plug shape.
Nah, I used the power from the scart cable, yep, there's a switch on the sync strike where you can use power from either a power adapter or a scart cable, and in most cases it should be from the scart cable so you don't have to worry about the power adapter at all.
 
It's not CRT output I know, but the PSTV runs PSP games pretty kick-ass well. It's nothing fancy but it's correctly full screen and all. Definitely prefer it to the TV-out on my PSP 3000. And of course being able to play with a DS4 is also a big plus.

I was in the same boat and just gave up on the PSP and got a PSTV instead. Since I'm only using mine to play PSP games, ideally I'd love to see it on my CRT, but even on an HDTV it's good enough to play the games.
 

Peagles

Member
Nah, I used the power from the scart cable, yep, there's a switch on the sync strike where you can use power from either a power adapter or a scart cable, and in most cases it should be from the scart cable so you don't have to worry about the power adapter at all.

Oh brilliant, that's great news thanks!
 
I was in the same boat and just gave up on the PSP and got a PSTV instead. Since I'm only using mine to play PSP games, ideally I'd love to see it on my CRT, but even on an HDTV it's good enough to play the games.
I wonder how pstv looks on one of those HD CRTs with HDMI inputs. I believe PSTV outputs both 480p and 1080i (as well as 720p, but most HD CRTs don't support that).
 

Peltz

Member
I wonder how pstv looks on one of those HD CRTs with HDMI inputs. I believe PSTV outputs both 480p and 1080i (as well as 720p, but most HD CRTs don't support that).

There are CRT sets with HDMI inputs? The only HD CRTs I've seen were component-based and supported 1080i.
 

IrishNinja

Member
that thread is sadly kinda boring, way too many people want this minimal look like their home should be an apple commercial...ive literally seen people post well organized collections of classic/modern games and people saying it's too cluttered, they should have them in closets or some garbage like that
 

antibolo

Banned
that thread is sadly kinda boring, way too many people want this minimal look like their home should be an apple commercial...ive literally seen people post well organized collections of classic/modern games and people saying it's too cluttered, they should have them in closets or some garbage like that

I agree.

Maybe we should start a spinoff thread dedicated to retro game setups?
 

Peagles

Member
that thread is sadly kinda boring, way too many people want this minimal look like their home should be an apple commercial...ive literally seen people post well organized collections of classic/modern games and people saying it's too cluttered, they should have them in closets or some garbage like that

Come to my apartment you'll love it - it's cluttered as fuck lol.
 
I went and picked up the TV last night that my friend offered me. It's a Sony Trinintron KV-27FDS210. Any opinions/tips/tricks for this TV that I should be aware of? It has 2 component, 1 composite, 1 svid input.
 

antibolo

Banned
I went and picked up the TV last night that my friend offered me. It's a Sony Trinintron KV-27FDS210. Any opinions/tips/tricks for this TV that I should be aware of? It has 2 component, 1 composite, 1 svid input.

Buy a scart to component adapter so you can enjoy the best possible quality out of it for old consoles. Especially those without s-video support.
 
Buy a scart to component adapter so you can enjoy the best possible quality out of it for old consoles. Especially those without s-video support.

Done and done, I've had mine for about a year now :) I have cables for my SNES/MD/Saturn. I apologize, let me clarify on my past post. Does the TV itself have any service modes/settings or quirks I should be aware of?
 

IrishNinja

Member
okay so the PVM buddy says the BNC SCART adapter i need is sold from a guy on ebay who's based out of Orlando (not far from here), anyone got a link or know which he's talking about?

Come to my apartment you'll love it - it's cluttered as fuck lol.

Lol, you should see mine. Its so stupid.

I thought it was just me, I never put up pics cause I figured I'd get laughed at, game room is pretty messy atm.

Maybe we should start a thread for disorganised messy gaming spaces, to oppose the other thread, lol.

I agree.

Maybe we should start a spinoff thread dedicated to retro game setups?

...this idea is quickly coming together, haha. i've moved but have my stuff mostly in order, plus there's bishopcruz's here as well so i'm totally down for this
 
okay so the PVM buddy says the BNC SCART adapter i need is sold from a guy on ebay who's based out of Orlando (not far from here), anyone got a link or know which he's talking about?

I don't know if he is based out of Orlando, but this is the guy that I have bought one from and have recommended to others. He makes a variety of female or male, scart or jp21, to bnc cables. Looks like he's even got a new one that is rgb to bnc but without the audio cables to use with a scart switch if you would prefer running the audio differently. If what you are looking for isn't listed there look at his sold listings. From what I remember he makes them in small batches and then restocks a little after they are sold.
 

Peagles

Member
I thought it was just me, I never put up pics cause I figured I'd get laughed at, game room is pretty messy atm.

I posted one once I had my retro systems finally set up in a very small space and yeh I got laughed at, haha...

...this idea is quickly coming together, haha. i've moved but have my stuff mostly in order, plus there's bishopcruz's here as well so i'm totally down for this

I'm game :p
 

Peltz

Member
I don't know if he is based out of Orlando, but this is the guy that I have bought one from and have recommended to others. He makes a variety of female or male, scart or jp21, to bnc cables. Looks like he's even got a new one that is rgb to bnc but without the audio cables to use with a scart switch if you would prefer running the audio differently. If what you are looking for isn't listed there look at his sold listings. From what I remember he makes them in small batches and then restocks a little after they are sold.

I also recommend that seller. Flawless quality.

P.S. I also am down for a cluttered-as-fuck-retro setup thread.
10980724_10100978607903820_424414940756279599_n.jpg

10959724_10100977169955480_1551311645717967672_n.jpg

This bar counter is where I play my retro games. It also serves as my kitchen table. There's nothing like lugging out the 20" PVM for an hour or two of gaming.
 

D.Lo

Member
Anyone know where to get cheap Sega din plugs and (especially) sockets? I can only find the C shape ones (Neo Geo etc), Sega uses the U shape.

There are plugs on eBay which are quite expensive, but I can't find any sockets.

I'm making an Mark III external RGB amplifier box with FM audio break-in. The break-in is easy as the FM unit is 5 pin. Using the G and 5V lines to power the THS7314 and a sync boost.

My current solution will be to literally slice the RGB cable in half and add the extra circuitry, but I'd prefer a plug-in solution.
 

televator

Member
So I got framemeister setup with new firmware, I hooked up my GC and am forcing 240p on the GBP... now all I need are scan lines... *squints at controller filled with Japanese text*

HALP! How do I get scan lines going? I NEED scan lines
 

IrishNinja

Member
^congrats televators! there's a button for scanlines on/off but you really should play with them in the settings, i'm assuming you've got those set to english? as for the remote, there's a dude on SHMUPs forum that sells english overlays on the cheap, they work perfectly too.

so i should be picking up this PVM this week, working on the RGB > BNC cable but it occurred to me that i have no idea how i'm getting sound out of this thing, mono or whatever it does...they don't usually have speakers, yeah? is there typically an audio out i could push to the receiver or how do they work?
 

Huggers

Member
^congrats televators! there's a button for scanlines on/off but you really should play with them in the settings, i'm assuming you've got those set to english? as for the remote, there's a dude on SHMUPs forum that sells english overlays on the cheap, they work perfectly too.

so i should be picking up this PVM this week, working on the RGB > BNC cable but it occurred to me that i have no idea how i'm getting sound out of this thing, mono or whatever it 8does...they don't usually have speakers, yeah? is there typically an audio out i could push to the receiver or how do they work?

The scart to bnc breakout cable will have red and whites for the sound. You can either plug those into an amp and speakers or get an adapter and plug in some PC type speakers. Obviously the amp will give you far better sound
 
so i should be picking up this PVM this week, working on the RGB > BNC cable but it occurred to me that i have no idea how i'm getting sound out of this thing, mono or whatever it does...they don't usually have speakers, yeah? is there typically an audio out i could push to the receiver or how do they work?

PVM's usually have some mono speaker, but that is less then ideal. You will have to get yourself better sound solution then that. As for getting that sound, you don't pull it from the TV, you take it directly from the systems themselves. The SCART cable that you buy for the system will carry the sound from the system to the SCART>BNC connector you get. Most SCART>BNC connecters (like the ones from the seller I linked to you sells) also have a breakout for left and right sound on phono plugs. You use them to connect to whatever speaker set up you choose to use.
 

IrishNinja

Member
The scart to bnc breakout cable will have red and whites for the sound. You can either plug those into an amp and speakers or get an adapter and plug in some PC type speakers. Obviously the amp will give you far better sound

PVM's usually have some mono speaker, but that is less then ideal. You will have to get yourself better sound solution then that. As for getting that sound, you don't pull it from the TV, you take it directly from the systems themselves. The SCART cable that you buy for the system will carry the sound from the system to the SCART>BNC connector you get. Most SCART>BNC connecters (like the ones from the seller I linked to you sells) also have a breakout for left and right sound on phono plugs. You use them to connect to whatever speaker set up you choose to use.

thanks guys - and yeah slacker, looks like yours is the guy i was pointed to as well.
because it's late & i wanna make sure i'm understanding it right: is there any reason said red/whites on the breakout cable wouldn't push sound directly into my receiver? that should work fine, yeah?
 
is there any reason said red/whites on the breakout cable wouldn't push sound directly into my receiver? that should work fine, yeah?

If your receiver has phono/rca inputs for left and right stereo sound then I don't see why that wouldn't work. You may need to buy some extensions for it, but that's not a problem. I would also say make sure you double check that you are buying the proper cable for what you want to use it for. Be it SCART or jp21, female or male. Also like I said in the post linking it, he seems to be selling a cable that doesn't carry the sound on the breakout cable along with 2 separate phono cables for people that want to run the sound from a SCART switch/directly from a console, so unless that is what you want, make sure to get one of his cables that have the 2 sound plugs as a part of the breakout cable.
 

televator

Member
^congrats televators! there's a button for scanlines on/off but you really should play with them in the settings, i'm assuming you've got those set to english? as for the remote, there's a dude on SHMUPs forum that sells english overlays on the cheap, they work perfectly too.

so i should be picking up this PVM this week, working on the RGB > BNC cable but it occurred to me that i have no idea how i'm getting sound out of this thing, mono or whatever it does...they don't usually have speakers, yeah? is there typically an audio out i could push to the receiver or how do they work?

Thanks for the info Ninja. I figured out how to turn them on. I'm not quite sure how to tinker with them though. Luckily, they are set to a pretty good thickness as it is and that's just the way I like 'em. :p

My initial impressions of the XRGB are as follows:
YnHG3gu.gif


I have my GameBoy player hooked up to it and forced to output 240p with Swiss home brew. I-I never imagined how good this would turn out. IMO, it's the definitive GBA setup. Say what you will about dropped frames... I don't notice them. All I see is beautiful vibrant colors and and image that, for my eyes, destroys the GBA screen on my plasma. I've go the Hori 2D controller connected and I'm playing Zero Mission. Oh how heavenly this is, indeed. I set my plasma to zoom while keeping the aspect ratio and it handles 480p+ like a champ so everything looks sharp.

The 100 step sharpness setting on the XRGB mini is kinda janky. If set to zero, the picture is awfully blurry. If set above 3, the picture has terrible ringing/ghosting. Luckily, 1-3 range looks great.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
I have my GameBoy player hooked up to it and forced to output 240p with Swiss home brew. I-I never imagined how good this would turn out. IMO, it's the definitive GBA setup. Say what you will about dropped frames... I don't notice them. All I see is beautiful vibrant colors and and image that, for my eyes, destroys the GBA screen on my plasma.
Further reinforcing my opinion that the Framemeister is better-suited for people who'd rather look at games than play them. :p
 
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