shmups.system11.org

my Samsung TV will sometimes de-sync with my Dvdo edge green and disable game mode/reset my picture settings. its annoying but it usually only occurs with some games that switch resolution modes alot, (VF4 on ps2). probably just the way HDMI handshaking works. (and a bug Samsung has never fixed)

to quickly fix it I just switch to to another HDMI input with the remote and then switch back. thats usually fixes it. (restores game mode and my settings).

it seems like the bug is caused by the TV trying to switch into a "PC mode" display setting that usually is reserved for DVI sources from a computer. (according to what i've read about this "feature").

Hi All.

I'm having a terrible time upgrading my firmware to 2.03 .

I am currently at firmware 1.08, which I have had since purchase.

I am using a 64GB microSD card, which I have repartitioned to 32GB and formatted FAT32 for compatibility.

I've followed the instructions for dropping the files on the SD card, unplugged the miniDC, inserted microSD, and replugged the mini's DC, but still no dice.

I confirmed that my power setting is set to standby. Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Well there's the obvious "your SD card might still not be compatible" but what's your file structure like? do you have a XRGBmini folder on the root, or do you have other folders?

The XRGBmini folder is on the root, no other folders are on the card (besides XRGBmini's children).

Are you using a Mac or a PC ?

If you're using a PC I suspect that the FM does not support SDXC based cards.

Hello everyone it's been a while since I last posted on this topic. Here is my current framemeister setup as of today:

NES: Composite (may not be planning to get the NESRGB mod for a while until I have the funds to do it)
Super NES: RGB
Sega CDX: RGB
PS1: RGB
N64: RGB
Dreamcast: Composite (planning on getting the Toro soon)
PS2: Connected directly to TV via component cable
Gamecube: Recently got the component cable (yes I am a purist), and the D Terminal to Component from Solaris Japan

The other two systems I have, the Xbox 360 and PS4, are connected directly to the TV via HDMI.

I've noticed that for several of the consoles that are connected to the framemeister, the screen is black during most of bootup. One example is the PS1 and Gamecube startup, missing most of the startup tunes. This also happens during certain screen transitions.

This is normal and can't really be avoided. The Framemeister unfortunately takes a few seconds to sync to the video source both, when you first turn on the console, and also when the video resolution changes (e.g. from 240p to 480i or vice-versa).

I would just hook the Gamecube directly to the TV if possible since you have the Component cable. The pros of 480p greatly outweigh the cons of 480i with that system.

I guess that will have to do. What is the recommended settings for the PS2 when connected to the framemeister?

You can get yourself a nice component switcher or just use RGB with the PS2 because honestly only a small portion of the library even supports 480p. The games that do support it do look nicer but have lots of jaggies due to the systems lack of Anti Aliasing.

I would just use FBX's PS2 profiles for best results. They look awesome and sharp even though personally I prefer perfect circles.

Yeah, the PS2 is my primary system and while 480p is great and offers a lot value particularly to fast paced games, the vast majority of the library doesn't support it, and I find most of those that support it have little need for it relative to the Mini's deinterlacing.

Between the Cube and the PS2, the former benefits far more from 480p compatibility.

I'd like to add my 2 cents that I recently got the Game Boy Player and an SD Media Launcher in order to play GBA games in 240p with the component cables. It actually looks quite good on the Framemeister. I'd say not quite as good as my 1CHIP-03 SNES, but pretty close.

Recently I bought an official RGB/SCART cable for the Dreamcast and was not too happy with the picture quality on the Framemeister. Subsequently I bought myself a "special" custom made RGB/SCART cable which is made to be exclusively used with the Framemeister. It has a switch to let you choose between 240p and 480p (requires console switch off/on in between). The picture quality improvement between the 480p and the normal RGB/Scart cable is staggering. I used FireBrandX's profile for the Dreamcast/Toro and it looks just perfect. Worth noting is the fact that the scanlines are very thin (but nonetheless uniform and nice looking), I would assume this is because of the higher than usual resolution. My cable is wired for European Scart although I guess, you could get one made for JP21 pinout.

Edit: I paid 39 Euro + shipping for the cable from a German dude (I am useless at soldering ), his contact email is info@videogamesreanimate.de

Interesting. I'm using the Toro into a standard RGB SCART cable and then 480p into the Framemeister. The only issue is the false contouring the Framemeister does to 480p, but otherwise my Code Veronica test looked perfect aside from that.

What's false contouring?

FBX: By the way, I am thinking of upgrading my FW to 2.03a - will that introduce any issues with your profiles and scanline settings? Thanks!

If you already have 2.03 than it's not worth it to upgrade to 2.03a. The profiles seem to be fine with the new firmware. One thing that did seem to change though is the scanlines. I can't quite put my finger on it but they just seem a little off now. I had to completely re-due the list of settings I have.

I was thinking about posting a list of them but now I'm not sure. It seems everyone prefers the sharp perfect pixel look or real scanlines.

Probably more of a file system compatibility issue. Use SD Card Formatter. And yeah, I would also avoid SDXC cards (any card above 32GB in size).

Contribution/input from other users is always appreciated and welcome!

I really like Framemeister scanlines - I am using some I found in this thread and they are perfect on the current FW I currently have (which is why I haven't upgraded FW yet).

So to summerize 2.03 changes:
1. No scanline-adapted profiles necessary anymore.
2. RGB=RGB output on all inputs, AUTO=YCBCR-output on all inputs
3. Improvements of SVIDEO, COMPOSITE and more (see official changelog)
4. Slightly changed scanline alignment (realized that as well but not sure to what extend changes were made)

Have new settings been posted yet? Thanks!

I am currently using these, but I am still on an older FW:

Not as of now...

Ah ok I'll wait then. I love my 70 INT LINE 81 INT SMOOTH

I was under the impression that FBX's profiles use the correct aspect ratio (i.e. scaling the picture to account for non-square pixels instead of just mapping pixels 1:1 like in smart x1/x2 or normal2). Don't take my word for it though as I usually use my own settings.

As far as I've seen using the "standard" screen setting on the XRGB Mini tends to use the correct aspect ratio in the majority of cases, even if you're losing out on the sharpness of the picture by narrowing the pixels slightly. Personally I'd take an aspect corrected image over a pixel-sharp image anytime.

Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't a pixel sharp image, by definition, automatically have the correct aspect ratio?

No, because pixels on old system were not usually displayed as exact squares. So, if, today you display non square pixels as exact squares the picture will look less wide than it should really be.

Can't say I've ever noticed a game that had non-square pixels... lol

The SNES is the best home console example at 256x224. The intended aspect ratio causes pixels to be rectangular in shape.

In the arcades, Capcom's CPS series was on the opposite extreme, where the 384 horizontal pixels have to be 'squished' inward to make a 4:3 image.




It an unfortunate 'feature' of the Framemeister that interpolates the horizontal edges of a 480p source image. Basically instead of a sharp pixel edge, you get a half-bright blended extra 'in-between' pixel that shouldn't be there. It effectively ruins sharp 480p imaging.

I wonder if Micomsoft know about this and if it can be fixed by a future firmware update.

Yeah, those are or should I say those were my old scanline settings. They looked pretty good on the previous FW but now they look slightly off (at least to me they do). So I've gone back and re-did all of them starting from 0 to 70 and made four different types. The results are very inconsistent this time and will vary greatly depending on your screen size and how far back you sit from it. I was also thinking about naming them Type 1, 2, 3, and 4 as generic as that sounds to avoid confusion because since there are many variables involved one setting may look good for me but not for you.

For example Even scanlines may look great for you but too thick for me or Thin scanlines will look Even for me but too thin for you.