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Retro AV Club Thread 2: Classic Gaming Done Right!

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televator

Member
It does up to 1080i, but it when switching from RGB to Component the calibration goes out the window and I have to tweak the picture settings again, I still have to do it when playing Wii or GC.



You mean this one? http://www.firebrandx.com/framemeisterprofiles.html

It doesn't have per input settings? That sucks. It seemed odd that you'd bother watching movies via RGB SCART, but I guess I see why if your TV doesn't save component settings.
 

Madao

Member
i missed a few pages but i just wanted to share that my new Receiver ended up being worse than expected since it doesn't do a lot of what my old one did and that completely ruins my setup.
that has bummed me out for now and i don't feel like upgrading anything anymore for years in my setup until something breaks. i now have a $500 paperweight.
the only thing i still want to get is the OSSC and that's a maybe since i haven't used the FM much lately (running the Wii onto the old receiver directly to get lower input lag).
 
Managed to fry my Framemeister, along with (most?) of a Dreamcast, complete with smoke and an exploding ASIC. FM side there's some fried components near the RGB input and I get no status LEDs.

Here's a tip! Never open a Dreamcast and try to use it without completely reassembling it. The internal power adapter floats just barely above the motherboard, and if it slips at all you'll end up shorting 120vAC to the grounding plane. :(
 

Rongolian

Banned
Has anyone identified a quality power supply replacement for the XRGB Mini? I think mine is acting up (causing the XRGB Mini to lose sync/flicker periodically). I am in the US if that helps narrow it down for the power type.

Thanks in advance!
 

televator

Member
Managed to fry my Framemeister, along with (most?) of a Dreamcast, complete with smoke and an exploding ASIC. FM side there's some fried components near the RGB input and I get no status LEDs.

Here's a tip! Never open a Dreamcast and try to use it without completely reassembling it. The internal power adapter floats just barely above the motherboard, and if it slips at all you'll end up shorting 120vAC to the grounding plane. :(

You didnt put the non conductive plastic thing on? Christ! Took out the FM too?! What a shitty turn. Damn... condolences.
 

Madao

Member
And can't you return it?

i'm considering that but the return shipping would be close to $100. i think i'd lose less by selling it to someone in my country.

What did your old one do that the new one doesn't?

it's several things that add up. it's not the kind of things advertised in the box, which was why i didn't notice any of this from just researching online for prices and features.

here's the things my old receiver does that the new one doesn't and break my setup:

- no conversion of analog inputs to HDMI: my old receiver can output through the HDMI output signals coming from the composite and Component inputs. this is one thing that made it so convenient for me since i didn't actually need the FM or OSSC to have 480p component content over HDMI (i only wanted these devices for improved conversion and upscaling in the case of the FM). i only discovered this after looking deeply inside the manual when i couldn't find the option.

- not all inputs have their own input slot: this is probably the thing that made me agry the most. the receiver only has 8 inputs in the selection but it has more physical inputs. i had assumed that you could select every input on their own but some of them are locked to the same slot and you need to manually change what input goes to which slot, so i can't just use all inputs automatically. my old receiver had dedicated inputs for every physical input in the selector, which actually makes both hame the same amount total. my goal was to eliminate an external switcher but with the rew receiver i'd still need it.

- no audio over HDMI and speakers at the same time: this is probably the worst one for my current setup. for some reason, whoever designed this thing didn't think someone would need audio over the HDMI output that goes to the TV and the speakers at the same time. 99% of the users wouldn't have a problem here but i'm in the 1% that actually needs dual audio output because the audio that goes to the TV is the audio i pull to the capture card to be able to play and capture at the same time. to top it, the receiver doesn't have any other means of external audio output, so for me it's either i capture with audio and play without sound or capture without audio and play with sound. not a good deal here.

additionally, the thing can't convert analog audio over HDMI properly. i used the Wii2HDMI converter to plug the Wii and the sound was completely glitched. it didn't do that with digital sources. my old receiver had no trouble converting signals with this adapter over HDMI.

the receiver would be great for someone who only plays HD systems casually and watches 4K stuff but it fails for someone with my needs since these little things ruin the whole deal.

oh btw, this receiver is a Denon AVR-S920W. my old receiver (which was better than i thought and now i appreciate it a lot more) is a Yamaha RX-V571.
 

Galdelico

Member
"still waiting on units" says bucko.

Wow. Will this thing ever get normally purchasable?
I guess the DIY kits are selling well, because it seems odd to me they're even going through the effort of firmware/feature-updating, only for the benefit of the few hundreds who bought it back in spring/summer.
 

Vespa

Member
Managed to fry my Framemeister, along with (most?) of a Dreamcast, complete with smoke and an exploding ASIC. FM side there's some fried components near the RGB input and I get no status LEDs.

Here's a tip! Never open a Dreamcast and try to use it without completely reassembling it. The internal power adapter floats just barely above the motherboard, and if it slips at all you'll end up shorting 120vAC to the grounding plane. :(

Wow, that is such bad luck! Really sorry this happened. Any chance the Framemeister can be repaired?
 
You didnt put the non conductive plastic thing on? Christ! Took out the FM too?! What a shitty turn. Damn... condolences.
Yeah, I did. Didn't take much of a slip even with that in place.

Honestly I'm probably lucky I didn't cause a fire.

Wow, that is such bad luck! Really sorry this happened. Any chance the Framemeister can be repaired?
I don't think so. As far as I can tell the HDMI output chip inside still works (I get an HDMI unit connected on my TV) and probably other stuff but the pic32 inside is definitely taken out since that controls the pushbuttons and lights, and probably the FPGA as well.
 

Putosaure

Member
Could you use a Y-splitter? Never had cause to use one myself but it should funnel both channels of sound into one rather than single channel mono. (Link is just the first one that caught my eye in a search, not affiliated or able to confirm quality!)

Either way, if so I have to find another cable with SNES male mort. Are those region locked ?
 

Khaz

Member
Managed to fry my Framemeister, along with (most?) of a Dreamcast, complete with smoke and an exploding ASIC. FM side there's some fried components near the RGB input and I get no status LEDs.

Here's a tip! Never open a Dreamcast and try to use it without completely reassembling it. The internal power adapter floats just barely above the motherboard, and if it slips at all you'll end up shorting 120vAC to the grounding plane. :(

Ouch! I had to work on a live Saturn a couple of time, which has a similar construction. I would have hated it if I killed my TV like that. Sorry man :(
 
Wow. Will this thing ever get normally purchasable?
I guess the DIY kits are selling well, because it seems odd to me they're even going through the effort of firmware/feature-updating, only for the benefit of the few hundreds who bought it back in spring/summer.
They've said since the beginning that it's essentially just a couple guys doing everything. I'd you're one who can't deal with delays and sporadic scheduling, you can always wait.
 
Managed to fry my Framemeister, along with (most?) of a Dreamcast, complete with smoke and an exploding ASIC. FM side there's some fried components near the RGB input and I get no status LEDs.

Here's a tip! Never open a Dreamcast and try to use it without completely reassembling it. The internal power adapter floats just barely above the motherboard, and if it slips at all you'll end up shorting 120vAC to the grounding plane. :(

Yeesh, that sucks. It's not quite as bad, but I managed to jack the hdmi out on my framemeister the first day I had it. I think it may have been a busted cable but I just as easily could have yanked out the cable like a savage and done the damage myself. Luckily I found a local repair guy who fixed it for $80. A little pricey but I just chalked it up to idiot tax on my part.
 
Managed to fry my Framemeister, along with (most?) of a Dreamcast, complete with smoke and an exploding ASIC. FM side there's some fried components near the RGB input and I get no status LEDs.

Here's a tip! Never open a Dreamcast and try to use it without completely reassembling it. The internal power adapter floats just barely above the motherboard, and if it slips at all you'll end up shorting 120vAC to the grounding plane. :(

damn...
 

Vespa

Member
Yeah, I did. Didn't take much of a slip even with that in place.

Honestly I'm probably lucky I didn't cause a fire.


I don't think so. As far as I can tell the HDMI output chip inside still works (I get an HDMI unit connected on my TV) and probably other stuff but the pic32 inside is definitely taken out since that controls the pushbuttons and lights, and probably the FPGA as well.

What will you do next? Pony up for another or perhaps wait an eternity for OSSC? I've just got a soldering iron for mods/fixes but all this tinkering still scares me a little, I can see myself wiring something incorrectly and end up making things worse!
 
What will you do next? Pony up for another or perhaps wait an eternity for OSSC? I've just got a soldering iron for mods/fixes but all this tinkering still scares me a little, I can see myself wiring something incorrectly and end up making things worse!

I'm a little gunshy now, but I ordered a $3 BA6592F RGB->YPbPr component and I'm going to just add a FM-style 8-pin mini-din RGB input to my old YPbPr->240pHDMI box (works similar to the Wii2HDMI). This was my original plan before I said screw it and bought a Framemeister.

I actually think that thing is pretty good, it has zero lag, decent image as long as your TV scales it well (mine has a bit of ringing but otherwise OK). The thing I didn't like was it was only YPbPr (no scart, no s-video) and when I buy a new TV it would mean having to make sure it supports 240pHDMI, which nobody anywhere checks.

I might buy a new FM eventually, we'll see. Maybe I'll wait until I get a new TV.
 

dhonk

Member
BTW, the SC-512N1-L/DVI latest drivers everyone is mentioning an RGB 240p bug but I cant find out what that bug actually is. Anyone have some input on that?
 

Galdelico

Member
They've said since the beginning that it's essentially just a couple guys doing everything. I'd you're one who can't deal with delays and sporadic scheduling, you can always wait.

You're right, nothing much to do, but waiting.
It's kinda painful, though, as I genuinely can't wait to get one, and finally complete my retro setup.
 

dubc35

Member
I sent him an email months ago because I want the same mod. Haven't heard from him in a long time.
Hmm, I was wanting to wait until after thanksgiving since I have family coming that want to play NES. If figured it would be too short of a turn around before then but maybe I should start the process now.
 
Hey guys I have a question!

SO I've been rocking a Trinitron with component for awhile now (gorgeous picture) but for non component cable consoles (i.e. Saturn, etc.) would Scart> Component (if that exists) provide a better picture than Svideo? I already have scart cables for almost every console that uses it so might as well get more use out of it if possible!
 

Einhandr

Member
Bucko updated his twitter to report that units are incoming! I'm not sure if i'll make this batch, only if people don't pay and they offer to others down list. Report in if you get an email!
 

Khaz

Member
Hey guys I have a question!

SO I've been rocking a Trinitron with component for awhile now (gorgeous picture) but for non component cable consoles (i.e. Saturn, etc.) would Scart> Component (if that exists) provide a better picture than Svideo? I already have scart cables for almost every console that uses it so might as well get more use out of it if possible!

Yep, it exists and it's the preferred solution for people with Component input on a consumer SD CRT! Some models need to be opened to adjust their colours slightly, but you don't need more than a screwdriver for that. Many encoders only deal with video, you need an additional adapter to extract audio.
 
I'm kind of just getting started in this arena. I picked up an inexpensive composite/s-video upscaler, and I'm working on getting s-video cables for the consoles that support them.

I have no allusions that this upscaler isn't in the same ballpark as a Framemeister, but I'm not sure I can justify the cost at this point. So, what I'm wondering - is there another more reasonably priced unit that people like?
 
I'm kind of just getting started in this arena. I picked up an inexpensive composite/s-video upscaler, and I'm working on getting s-video cables for the consoles that support them.

I have no allusions that this upscaler isn't in the same ballpark as a Framemeister, but I'm not sure I can justify the cost at this point. So, what I'm wondering - is there another more reasonably priced unit that people like?
Honestly, no. The next step down is the OSSC and that's still pretty expensive and barely available. A lot of people just buy an old consumer CRT.

If your HDTV handles 240p over component sanely, I'd recommend getting a SCART to YUV component box which just transcodes and doesn't do scaling. You'd still need cables, though, and in cases like the NES pricey mods.
 
You're right, nothing much to do, but waiting.
It's kinda painful, though, as I genuinely can't wait to get one, and finally complete my retro setup.

BuckoA51 said:
WARNING: A big batch is approaching at full throttle. According to the data, it is identified as OSSC.

Be attitude for gains...

remain vigilant,
check to email,
beware spam filter...

NO REFUGE
.
 
Yep, it exists and it's the preferred solution for people with Component input on a consumer SD CRT! Some models need to be opened to adjust their colours slightly, but you don't need more than a screwdriver for that. Many encoders only deal with video, you need an additional adapter to extract audio.

Awesome! Are there any preferred converters I should look out for?
 
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