Questions that do not deserve a thread

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Issac Zachary
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Issac Zachary »

strayan wrote:Does anyone know if there are any native 1080p displays (either TV’s or monitors) that will accept 4k signals?
No I don't know. But I am curious as to the use case for that.

I have noticed that I can send a 1440P signal to my 1200P monitors (Samsung SyncMaster T260) and they display just fine.
EnragedWhale
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by EnragedWhale »

bobrocks95 wrote:Any Super NT owners who were disappointed with it? Probably going to get one if they restock it this year, but Analogue has given up on funding firmware updates since a while back it looks like- any big remaining glitches or missing features?

I am disappointed to see it still has no option to output the original refresh rate without buffering. The unbuffered mode underclocks to hit 60Hz apparently.
I enjoyed mine. Had some garbled graphics on the map screens on FF6 but I believe that’s fixed now. Video settings are pretty bare bones when compared to the RT5X but the output is pristine. Ultimately sold mine due to no SuperCIC style region defeat mechanism but that’s only a problem if you are forcing region locked PAL games to 60hz. The SuperNT is their best product with the least amount of bugs imo.

Edit to add, I believe it will output at the original refresh without buffering if you use it with the DAC but certainly not using HDMI.
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Unseen
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Unseen »

strayan wrote:Does anyone know if there are any native 1080p displays (either TV’s or monitors) that will accept 4k signals?
Atomos Ninja V for example
shroom2k
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by shroom2k »

bobrocks95 wrote:Any Super NT owners who were disappointed with it? Probably going to get one if they restock it this year, but Analogue has given up on funding firmware updates since a while back it looks like- any big remaining glitches or missing features?

I am disappointed to see it still has no option to output the original refresh rate without buffering. The unbuffered mode underclocks to hit 60Hz apparently.
I'm quite happy with it.

The cartridge door gets stuck sometimes, but I have the SD2SNES plugged in all the time, so it doesn't bother me.

Scanlines settings are lacking compared to OSSC, but you can dial in something bearable.

Haven't noticed any major glitches, and I'm not bothered by 60hz output.

I sold my Mega SG as it was much worse. Games like Tiny Toon not fixed after 2 years, and 60hz output makes a more noticeable difference for Mega Drive to me. The product just doesn't feel as polished.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by EnragedWhale »

shroom2k wrote:I sold my Mega SG as it was much worse. Games like Tiny Toon not fixed after 2 years, and 60hz output makes a more noticeable difference for Mega Drive to me. The product just doesn't feel as polished.
Yeah the Mega SG was such a disappointment. Sold on the promise of playing all SEGA’s 8 and 16bit titles 100% accurately. Then took years for the cart adaptors to arrive, at which point they had to be bought as a set for 2.5 times the original estimated price with Analogue’s notorious shipping on top. The GG adaptor promptly broke my Mega SG and it was 3 months getting repaired. The firmware that added cart adaptor support broke compatibility with Sonic CD and Final Fight CD when used with real mega cd hardware. They left those broken for 18 months at least (might still be broken haven’t checked). Master system titles often have tearing or stutters. Sounds way worse than real hardware…..

Wow that turned into a bit of a rant :shock:

Basically Super NT good, Mega SG bad :lol:
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orange808
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by orange808 »

I wish Sega would have launched the console instead with an online store and a MD/Genesis cart slot. Hopefully, they'll eventually roll a machine out and find a partner for the backend.
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bobrocks95
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by bobrocks95 »

Sounds like they're severely behind on dev resources and aren't really committed to long-term support. Sad to hear and doesn't make me want to jump at supporting them, but I'd really like some simple SNES HDMI for the bedroom and the SuperNT is the best option right now. Thanks for the feedback everyone.
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Herr Schatten
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Herr Schatten »

So I had my PC-Engine/IFU/CD-ROM2 combo recapped recently. The guy who did it did a stellar job and he also replaced that one cog wheel in the CD-ROM2 unit that’s notoriously prone to breaking. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, the recapping did not fix the problem that made me having it done in the first place. That problem is redbook audio cutting off. Games load and play fine, but more often than not, I’m left with just the sfx, as the music either cuts off after some seconds or doesn’t play at all.

Interestingly, it seems that audio tracks aren’t all affected in the same way. For example, when playing Nexzr, the music cuts off some seconds into stage 1 most of the time. Stage 2 either works fully or not at all. Then from stage 3 on, everything is perfectly fine, as are all the boss tracks and the title and game over jingles.
Another example: Spriggan has no music during the intro, the caravan stage and stage one, but then works flawlessly from stage 2 onward.

Anyone experienced this issue too? What could be the problem?

I often see loose CD-ROM2 units on ebay, from japanese sellers who claim they are 100% working. Any idea what to expect from those? They aren't usually all that expensive, but I have little motivation for acquiring one only to have its capacitors fail on me shortly after.

Another thing I’ve thought about is Analogue's upcoming Duo clone, but I don’t want to buy any of their products until they fix the SMS's FM sound randomly dropping notes for no reason. So probably, never.
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Fudoh
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Fudoh »

Look for RGC's PCE/IFU restoration video. In the final one (I think it was a 3-part video) he had the same problem and he successfully fixed it by adjusting one of the potentiometers available just on the edge of the board, when opening the case just a little bit. I think he doesn't exactly show which of the three potis he's adjusting, but I'd be surprised, if we couldn't learn that from him in a heartbeat.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by jd213 »

The CD audio also cuts off on my recapped US Duo. Bratwurst mentioned that the opamps can fail, I haven't tried replacing mine yet though. viewtopic.php?p=1442347#p1442347
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Herr Schatten
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Herr Schatten »

Fudoh wrote:Look for RGC's PCE/IFU restoration video. In the final one (I think it was a 3-part video) he had the same problem and he successfully fixed it by adjusting one of the potentiometers available just on the edge of the board, when opening the case just a little bit. I think he doesn't exactly show which of the three potis he's adjusting, but I'd be surprised, if we couldn't learn that from him in a heartbeat.
Thanks, that was very helpful. In that video it looks like he’s tweaking the second potentiometer from the right. Now that I knew what to look for, some research confirmed that the two rightmost ones are indeed the potentiometers to adjust if you’re experiencing problems with redbook audio cutting off. The positions of my pots didn’t resemble any of the sources that I found online, so I knew I was probably on the right track, and that it was likely my potentiometers needed some adjustment.

In the next step, I tweaked them to resemble the most commonly found positions, but that improved things only slightly. The breakthrough came when I used the positions shown in this video as my starting place, as that improved things dramatically. From there I was able to tweak the potentiometers very carefully with the help of an Iron Maiden CD (Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, in case you might wonder) until skipping the tracks up and down didn’t produce any errors anymore.

Everything works flawlessly now, with every CD-game I’ve tried. As an added bonus, games even load a little faster now and the drive, which used to be quite noisy before, now is much more quiet.
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Fudoh
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Fudoh »

fantastic! And thanks for the feedback and that extra video link, as I got to do the same on one of my drives in the future as well.
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Kez
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Kez »

I have had to adjust the puts on a few CDROM2s in the past and had really good results following the steps in this guide.
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Jonpachi
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Jonpachi »

derp, wrong questions thread... my bad
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maxtherabbit
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by maxtherabbit »

Herr Schatten wrote:From there I was able to tweak the potentiometers very carefully with the help of an Iron Maiden CD (Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, in case you might wonder)
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strayan
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by strayan »

Unseen wrote:
strayan wrote:Does anyone know if there are any native 1080p displays (either TV’s or monitors) that will accept 4k signals?
Atomos Ninja V for example
I was hoping for a screen at least 27inches.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Steven »

Anybody know how much a Sega New Astro City weighs with the monitor removed? I've seen ~125lbs/~56kg, but that's the only number I've seen. I want to buy one, but I will have to lift it above the gas meter in my tiny hallway to get it inside my apartment and I'm not sure if I should summon an assistant or something to help me.

I will likely have to open its shipping box (the cabinet is likely too large to fit in the hallway inside its shipping box anyway, but it will fit if I disassemble it) and disassemble it in the parking lot outside, bring the monitor in separately to reduce weight, and then bring the cabinet itself inside and reassemble it, and I imagine the delivery dude or whoever will probably have some sort of schedule to keep and therefore probably won't be able to stick around as I disassemble the thing in the parking lot.
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VEGETA
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by VEGETA »

in my RGB modded Twin Famicom, there is a weird issue.

I need to keep plugging and adjusting the cartridge until it works, which is what all people do. However, even when it stays the way it is... if I power off the console then power it on, it doesn't work. and I would need to redo the thing again, while mere reset works fine. I tested it with 4 carts and all the same.

Yes it takes 2 minutes or so to make the game cart work which is not that big deal but still I want to know the real issue here and how to fix it.

I have ordered N8 Pro which means I don't need to power it off to change games, I guess in-game menu doesn't count as power off so as long as I got it to work it will stay so for the whole session.

Can anyone inform me on this matter? do you suffer the same?

EDIT: I checked with another Twin Famicom using composite on CRT and all carts work well when situated correctly.

EDIT 2: I noticed that I don't need to plug and unplug the cartridge again, just power on and power off until it works.
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bobrocks95
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by bobrocks95 »

There's the credit card with a thin cloth around it + alcohol trick I've heard of to clean a cartridge port. Could probably achieve the same results by dousing it in alcohol and popping a game in and out. Or if it's open, use a toothbrush and alcohol on it.

Or have you already tried cleaning the cartridge connector?
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VEGETA
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by VEGETA »

bobrocks95 wrote:There's the credit card with a thin cloth around it + alcohol trick I've heard of to clean a cartridge port. Could probably achieve the same results by dousing it in alcohol and popping a game in and out. Or if it's open, use a toothbrush and alcohol on it.

Or have you already tried cleaning the cartridge connector?
I cleaned all carts and the connector previously.

the thing is after plugging and unplugging it works... also powering off and on multiple times until it works. the issue is even if the cart is fitting 100% correct and works now... when powering off then on it doesn't, until I keep off and on until it does again.

therefore I concluded it is not about the connector.
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bobrocks95
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by bobrocks95 »

VEGETA wrote:
bobrocks95 wrote:There's the credit card with a thin cloth around it + alcohol trick I've heard of to clean a cartridge port. Could probably achieve the same results by dousing it in alcohol and popping a game in and out. Or if it's open, use a toothbrush and alcohol on it.

Or have you already tried cleaning the cartridge connector?
I cleaned all carts and the connector previously.

the thing is after plugging and unplugging it works... also powering off and on multiple times until it works. the issue is even if the cart is fitting 100% correct and works now... when powering off then on it doesn't, until I keep off and on until it does again.

therefore I concluded it is not about the connector.
Those kind of fuzzy sometimes a problem, sometimes not things can often be capacitors. Does it tend to work better after being on for a bit, after it's "warmed up"? Does your first cold boot for the day very rarely work? Console5 does have a relatively cheap cap kit available if you can get it shipped to you (I think you're in Jordan if I remember right?). https://console5.com/wiki/Twin_Famicom
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kitty666cats
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by kitty666cats »

https://aliexpress.com/item/3256803012524282.html

Anyone ever seen this before? Judging by the number of GPIO pins, it looks like it should be compatible with a Rasp Pi using the same dpi configs as the RetroTink Ultimate and the lotech 24bit VGA shield… maybe?
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VEGETA
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by VEGETA »

bobrocks95 wrote:
VEGETA wrote:
bobrocks95 wrote:There's the credit card with a thin cloth around it + alcohol trick I've heard of to clean a cartridge port. Could probably achieve the same results by dousing it in alcohol and popping a game in and out. Or if it's open, use a toothbrush and alcohol on it.

Or have you already tried cleaning the cartridge connector?
I cleaned all carts and the connector previously.

the thing is after plugging and unplugging it works... also powering off and on multiple times until it works. the issue is even if the cart is fitting 100% correct and works now... when powering off then on it doesn't, until I keep off and on until it does again.

therefore I concluded it is not about the connector.
Those kind of fuzzy sometimes a problem, sometimes not things can often be capacitors. Does it tend to work better after being on for a bit, after it's "warmed up"? Does your first cold boot for the day very rarely work? Console5 does have a relatively cheap cap kit available if you can get it shipped to you (I think you're in Jordan if I remember right?). https://console5.com/wiki/Twin_Famicom
I already got the cap kit installed properly and verified it and its solder joints thoroughly. I haven't power it on for a lot but it doesn't seem to be the case.

I noticed that when I keep trying to power off and on it works eventually, so it is not the cartridge connector.

I figured out it could be capacitor related issue but since I already switched them all, plus they are too many... it is impossible to know which one causes it. I mean it is weird.

EDIT: I tried running it correctly for an hour but the behavior didn't really change. I still suffer from wrong colors until it gets it good.. what capacitor can it be? could it be the power supply one?
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by svcoco »

Does anybody have experience with this Gefen scaler? How this compare to Gefen VGA to DVI Scaler Plus in terms of picture quality and input lag?
https://gefen.com/product/vga-to-dvi-scaler-converter/
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Steven »

Steven wrote:Anybody know how much a Sega New Astro City weighs with the monitor removed?
I now know the answer: way too fucking much.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by kitty666cats »

Anyone got a suggestion for a video processor one can find used that handles VHS and Laserdisc nicely? Output resolutions that’d be used are mainly 1024x768, 720p and 1080p. iScan HD+ can be found pretty cheap - how do those stack up against a Faroudja NRS with unlocked resolutions? Or, any others to look out for? i.e. the olddddd Lumagens, like the HDP and the DVI or the very first one?
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Fudoh
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Fudoh »

Faroudja all the way. SO much better than SiI503/4 or even the later ABTs (for that specific usage).

Faroudja DVP-1000 maybe ? That is basically an unlocked NRS.
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kitty666cats
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by kitty666cats »

Fudoh wrote:Faroudja all the way. SO much better than SiI503/4 or even the later ABTs (for that specific usage).

Faroudja DVP-1000 maybe ? That is basically an unlocked NRS.
Thanks, bud! Sometimes cheap Vidikron re-branded models appear on eBay; will keep an eye out for a later-era Faroudja 8)
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Fudoh
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Fudoh »

will keep an eye out for a later-era Faroudja
I would say 2001 to 2006 is when the best SD processing was available in Faroudja (or re-branded) machines.
Last edited by Fudoh on Tue Aug 02, 2022 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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NewSchoolBoxer
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by NewSchoolBoxer »

VEGETA wrote: ...
I already got the cap kit installed properly and verified it and its solder joints thoroughly. I haven't power it on for a lot but it doesn't seem to be the case.

I noticed that when I keep trying to power off and on it works eventually, so it is not the cartridge connector.

I figured out it could be capacitor related issue but since I already switched them all, plus they are too many... it is impossible to know which one causes it. I mean it is weird.

EDIT: I tried running it correctly for an hour but the behavior didn't really change. I still suffer from wrong colors until it gets it good.. what capacitor can it be? could it be the power supply one?
I believe the problem is not in the console but in the carts. Carts have capacitors too. Every SNES cart I've opened has contained at least one electrolytic. Liquid electrolytic caps will 100% fail due to age alone as they gradually dry out. Other types can fail due to a combination of hours of use + heat. On the way to failure, their ESR builds up and capacitance value drops out of spec. You can buy a relatively expensive ESR meter to measure in-circuit. I'd proactively replace electrolytics before spending the money on an ESR meter.

Since just blaming capacitors can mask the greater problem, I'd also clean the whole cart PCB with isopropyl alcohol. If no improvement with recap + cleaning cart, maybe you need to replace relevant ceramic caps inside the NES beyond what came with the recap kit. You said there are too many, well, research what parts need to work for game to bootup and recap those areas.

Else replace the NTSC or PAL timing crystal or tweak the nearby potentiometer, if it has one like SNES does. Unsure how RGB mod affects things but all timing is derived from that crystal and crystals build up drift over the years. Maybe some bootups, the frequency is within tolerance, others not. Should be able to measure the frequency with a true rms multimeter but you can use an oscilloscope and further see if the waves are distorted.

Else lifespan of critical chip(s) inside the NES is nearing the end. Not sure what's replaceable with modern forms and what isn't.
Last edited by NewSchoolBoxer on Thu Aug 04, 2022 12:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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