Cloning the Gamecube component cable

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Unseen
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Unseen »

Link83 wrote:Apologies if i'm mistaken, but can't the ADV7125 DAC add sync to any channel? At least thats what it looks like from the datasheet
The description of the /SYNC pin only mentions the green output: "Composite Sync Control Input (TTL Compatible). A Logic 0 on the SYNC input switches off a 40 IRE current source. This is internally connected to the IOG analog output."
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Link83
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Link83 »

Unseen wrote:
Link83 wrote:Apologies if i'm mistaken, but can't the ADV7125 DAC add sync to any channel? At least thats what it looks like from the datasheet
The description of the /SYNC pin only mentions the green output: "Composite Sync Control Input (TTL Compatible). A Logic 0 on the SYNC input switches off a 40 IRE current source. This is internally connected to the IOG analog output."
Ah well, thats explain it. Guess there really wasn't any good option to match the original Wii YPbPr/RGB pinout whilst still supporting RGsB.
Thanks for putting up with my questions citrus3000psi and Unseen :)
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Gara
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Gara »

Thank you all for the detailed explanations. Looks like we won't be having a cable change.
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citrus3000psi
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by citrus3000psi »

I've compiled the wiidual 1.1 3.0d with the commit changes that swap the channels back.

http://dansprojects.com/firmware/WiiDua ... 1_3.0d.zip

This is identical the master branch btw.
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Syntax
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Syntax »

Anyone interested in a Wii to VGA adapter?

I have a few prototype boards ill order soon, these will be perfect for using with VGA to BNC cables for broadcast monitors or BNC matrix/switches or VGA Extron matrix systems.
Has a 3.5mm jack for audio output.

Image
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Endymion »

I missed the boat on the Wiidual. Will it be making a comeback production or is it done with its lifetime run?
DatMonkey
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by DatMonkey »

I did some comparisons between carby component cables on a gc and a wii with a standard ("cheap") component cables and was very surprised by the results. The Wii is considerably sharper. I will try to upload pictures:

gc
Image

wii
Image

The first pic is the gc and the 2nd the wii. It looks like the pixels from the carby gc are shifted slightly vertically which blurres the image.

Look at the stairstep light blue shade on the left (gc first then wii):

gc
Image

wii
Image

I don't understand this. I was under the impression that the component output from a regular wii is subpar compared to a gcvideo solution. But this is quite the opposite. I do think, however, that the colors are a bit off on the cheap wii cable.
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bobrocks95
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by bobrocks95 »

Well one question is if you have the updated Wii that came in different colors and had improved component output.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by fernan1234 »

bobrocks95 wrote:Well one question is if you have the updated Wii that came in different colors and had improved component output.
I don't buy this idea anymore. I don't think any of the comparisons referenced online were rigorous enough. In my own limited personal experience, an early NTSC Wii via component, a late PAL Wii via RGB, a late NTSC Wii via component, and a late NTSC Wii via WiiDual (based on gcvideo) via RGB all look equally sharp to my eyeballs, only differences were, expectedly, in color and blacks due to ypbpr calibration differences. I only looked at and care about how they appear on a CRT though, didn't do any kind of scaling or digital capture. It could be that some outputs show up better when scaled or captured, but that's not the main reason to make these choices.

In any case, those issues DatMonkey is having should be due to something about the carby unit, not gcvideo itself, especially if it is up to date.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Extrems »

While I don't want to defend the Carby Component Cable, they've disabled deflickering on their Wii but not their GameCube.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by DatMonkey »

Extrems wrote:While I don't want to defend the Carby Component Cable, they've disabled deflickering on their Wii but not their GameCube.
Interesting, could you elaborate on this?

The Wii is running Nintendont, forcing 480p. Other than that, everything is using the standard settings of Nintendont. The Wii is a late-model PAL. The cube is running Swiss and enabling progressive output via the regular "press B"-button method.

Is there a way to disable the deflickering filter on the gamecube?
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Extrems
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Extrems »

Either force 480p (I'm not sure why you aren't), or set force vertical filter to 0.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by DatMonkey »

Ok great thanks.

Is there a way to force disable the filter for Wii games?
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Extrems »

It normally shouldn't be enabled when using progressive scan. But developers developers developers developers.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by fernan1234 »

DatMonkey wrote:Is there a way to force disable the filter for Wii games?
Even if just for kicks, try not forcing 480p. For me pretty much all Wii games as well as GC games (regardless of late or early model, gcvideo vs. stock) look sharper/better interlaced. But this is on a broadcast monitor tailored of course for broadcast (i.e. interlaced) material, so your mileage may vary if using a monitor that somehow does progressive better (rare), or only progressive (PC CRT). And I think my impression is also likely to bear out on a consumer SD CRT.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by DatMonkey »

I often prefer 480p over 480i, but not always. This is on a BVM. But for the OSSC 480p is way better - maybe the OSSC Pro will let us enjoy wii games in 480i upscaled to modern displays with awesome results though? Just a thought :)


Back to the flicker filter:
So Nintendont and Swiss can force-disable the blurry filter on most* GC games, is this right? So I am assuming the reason this isn't implemented on the Wii loaders is because that scene is almost dead? Because it just seems so integral in getting a good picture out of a Wii. I mean, people like us (on this forum/in this hobby) spend a lot of money on Wiidual/GCVideo+cables to get the most out of the GC/Wii but this software filter is destroying the picture quality to such an extent that the benefit of these (albeit awesome) solutions seems to be a bit of a waste when it comes to Wii games.

My crappy Wii component cables with the blurry filter off gave a much better picture quality than the carby component cables on the GC with the filter on. That was not even close. I am not saying anything bad about the GCVideo solutions, they are fantastic and I highly appreciate all the hard work that has gone into them. But this filter... :evil:

Would it be possible to reverse the effect with something similar to the N64 de-blur and incorporate it into GCVideo? So that we don't have to rely on a software solution I mean.
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Extrems
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Extrems »

It's not a blurry filter. It's your standard vertical low-pass filter for solving interline twitter in interlaced video.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by DatMonkey »

Yeah I guess that's true in technical terms, but to my eyes it just blurs the image when it is being applied to a progressive image. It makes no sense in progressive mode.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by bobrocks95 »

Still have no idea what the current best options are for Wii or Gamecube cables/mods. So the GameCube carby component cable has LPF in progressive mode that could have been disabled?
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Extrems »

It's not a feature of the Carby Component Cable. It's a feature of the GPU's EFB copy pipeline.

It's already filtered once it has hit main memory.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Stainomo »

I just received a GCPlug from aliexpress, it's a reference design adapter. It outputs fine, amazing quality, but the IR program button does not seem to work reliably. I have gotten it to work twice, i can press it fine (tried disassembling the adapter and pushing the little button using a toothpick) but no menu to program a remote.

Any idea what might be wrong? Maybe a firmwarebug? (it's running firmware 2.4c)

Update: Figured out what is going on, the adapter was not seated completely. Gave it a final push, it clicked and now the OSD works every time!
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Listai »

I was tempted to pick up the carby component cable as insurrection industries are doubtful they'll be reproduced ... but from what I'm reading these aren't the best option. I want to use these primarily for the GBI on my PVM20L2.

I'm tempted to just grab an RGB SCART cable as I have a PAL unit since I only have a 15khz display.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Kez »

Listai wrote:I'm tempted to just grab an RGB SCART cable as I have a PAL unit since I only have a 15khz display.
For 15khz I am sure this will be all you need, and for anything else.. HDMI would probably be preferable anyway.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by bahamutfan64 »

For the generic Aliexpress GCPlug units, which of the many 3.0-based firmwares would be best to flash?

Incidentally, when I tried to update my Wiidual install to 3.0d I was getting blown out whites; reverting back to 2.4c2 returned everything to normal. Would anyone know what the issue could be?
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by tesla246 »

tesla246 wrote:Hey guys and girls on shmups ;)
Extrems wrote:More work is needed to get this working, but it would look like this:

Image
If this is what I think it is colour me excited, especially when the future will allow for perfect integer scaling (8KTV).

I have been reading a bit through this thread and I was intrigued by the cube's output conversion of RGB to YUV 4:2:2. Would it be theoretically possible in anyway to circumvent that downgrade/conversion in image quality, for example by wiring directly to the GPU? And if so, would GCvideo be able be adapted or would that require a complete overhaul of the code, a more powerful FPGA or both among other things?

Very impressed with GC video and how it is still being improved upon; I have been using it for a few years and it works wonderfully (thanks unseen). However, Gamecube (even over HDMI) always looked i bit blurry (edges, text) in comparison to other consoles with high quality connections like Dreamcast over VGA and especially DCHDMI, which just looks a lot clearer, sharper and vivid.
Sorry to bother you guys, but could someone answer this? Would it be theoretically possible in anyway to obtain that RGB colour data (in the embedded ram?) before it is converted to 4:2:2 YUV?
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Extrems »

There are 3 possible ways:

1) A Hi Speed Port device and software patches.
This would conflict with the Game Boy Player, but enable 1280x720p native output for certain applications and make Adaptive Sync possible.

2) Make a new motherboard with an FPGA as a man-in-the-middle or another 60x bus master to peek into the embedded framebuffer.
This mod would cost thousands of dollars and likely underperform.

3) Remake Flipper in an FPGA and do nasty hacks.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by strayan »

I’ve got a gamecube with official component cables hooked up to a DVDO VP30 but I’m getting a some weird purple discolouration (horizontal purple line) showing up when forcing 1080i/540p (no issue at 480):

https://imgur.com/a/KpKKTJ2

If I bypass the DVDO the problem goes away. If I connect the gamecube to an Extron 301 scaler the problem goes away. If I connect the gamecube to my other DVDO (VP50) the problem returns.

Seems like a DVDO compatibility issue with the output from swiss yeah? Fixable?
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by tesla246 »

Extrems wrote:There are 3 possible ways:

1) A Hi Speed Port device and software patches.
This would conflict with the Game Boy Player, but enable 1280x720p native output for certain applications and make Adaptive Sync possible.

2) Make a new motherboard with an FPGA as a man-in-the-middle or another 60x bus master to peek into the embedded framebuffer.
This mod would cost thousands of dollars and likely underperform.

3) Remake Flipper in an FPGA and do nasty hacks.
So option 2 and 3 are out of question it seems.
And the first answer, am I right in assuming it would be a similar workaround to how GBI has a way for copying each pixel horizontally? So you would get a 1280x480 image? And then discarding that vertical row of pixels when the cube converts it to YUV 4:2:2? That way you would end up with RGB 640x480. Also, if it ever comes to it such a device wouldn't really conflict with the GBPlayer because such an option already exists because of the lowered resolution.

The cubes image output has hit a ceiling and is just too blurry and I thought the YUV conversion might be the culprit for that, so I wondered if it was possible. Thanks for entertaining this worthless thought of mine :D
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by Extrems »

I don't know how you went from "a device that plugs into the Hi Speed Port" to that. That's also not how that workaround or the conversion work.

Each YUYV copy would be split into 2 ARGB copies (as to not require additional memory), and a DMA transaction to our new device would be initiated for each halves (as it can't read our memory and we can't copy directly to it). The GPU would be blocked from doing any work during the first half.
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Re: Cloning the Gamecube component cable

Post by tesla246 »

Ah I was under the impression some other method was used, my knowledge is limited, but thanks for explaining.

Do you think such a solution is worth chasing and viable, maybe in due time, in terms of effort, cost, people of interest etc?
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