OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

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Harrumph
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Harrumph »

Dochartaigh wrote: No matter what the multiplier, the image should always be 4:3 ratio, right?
No the output is different like so:
X2 anamorphic 4:3/16:9, 720x480
X3 16:9, 1280x720
X4 4:3, 1280x960
X5 16:9, 16:10 or 4:3 for 1920x1080, 1920x1200, 1600x1200 respectively.

Of course, the actual game image in generic modes should be 4:3 (most of the time), the only exception is x5 1920x1080 mode where the image will look slightly wider since it has been vertically cropped. Optimized modes are a different matter though.
Edit: see below comment for further clarification.
Last edited by Harrumph on Wed Apr 24, 2019 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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orange808
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by orange808 »

That sounds potentially misleading.

Just for clarity, linex5 doesn't actually change the perceived aspect ratio at all when it crops a few vertical lines. Nothing on screen actually looks wider (to your eye) than it would in the other generic 4:3 line multiplication modes. It simply crops some lines of video.
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Harrumph
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Harrumph »

Exactly right, I guess my wording was ambiguous. I wanted to note it because I have seen people commenting in the past that the image is ”too wide” in lx5 mode 1080p. As you say, the aspect ratio is correct, but the viewable area is reduced vertically by necessity. So the ”viewport” is wider than 4:3, as it were.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Dochartaigh »

I'm going to do the same thing I did with my widescreen multiformat CRT - put little strips of tape where the 4:3 image is supposed to be (knowing the 5x may be a little wider) and see where the 4:3 area falls.

Now 5x, or the 1920/1600x1200 that was mentioned, how does that work on a 4K TV? The same way it does on a 1080p set? Seems like it also cuts off some pixels on the top or bottom, but the 4K set can technically display that full 1200px so I thought I'd ask.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by thebigcheese »

Dochartaigh wrote:I'm going to do the same thing I did with my widescreen multiformat CRT - put little strips of tape where the 4:3 image is supposed to be (knowing the 5x may be a little wider) and see where the 4:3 area falls.

Now 5x, or the 1920/1600x1200 that was mentioned, how does that work on a 4K TV? The same way it does on a 1080p set? Seems like it also cuts off some pixels on the top or bottom, but the 4K set can technically display that full 1200px so I thought I'd ask.
On my TCL, 1600x1200 displays with slight black bars on the top and bottom. To that end, it looks nearly like an integer scale to me. 5x is the sharpest setting on my TV and with 1600x1200, it's a perfect 4:3, at least compared to how my PVM is configured. Well, maybe not perfect, but when I took a picture and resized the PVM in Photoshop to compare, it was a near-perfect match.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by lettuce »

So i havent touched my OSSC for over a year so am out of the loop, have just updated it to FW 0.82 and tried it on my new Samsung UE49NU8000 TV along with my SNES Mini console, i understand going from firebrandx setting (http://www.firebrandx.com/OSSC/OSSC%20- ... Timing.txt) that what ever line mode im using (2x to 5x) i want to set the resolution to 'mode = 256x240 optim.' but in doing this a get a garbbled display on the TV.....

Image

here you can see the bottom part of the screen is still stuck on the title screen yet the top part is actual the attract mode of the game


Also anything other than 2x or 3x line modes results in a almost 16:9 image defo not a 4:3 image

any ideas why im getting these issues
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Kez
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Kez »

Have you dialed in the optimal timings for that display mode?
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lettuce
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by lettuce »

Kez wrote:Have you dialed in the optimal timings for that display mode?
tbh i didnt get down that far before i started noticing these issues. I need to use these right?....

Sampling opt. >

<Adv. timing > 256x240:

H. samplerate = 341
H. synclen = 25
H. backporch = 38
H. active = 256

V. synclen = 3
V. backporch = 15
V. active = 240
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orange808
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by orange808 »

lettuce wrote:
Kez wrote:Have you dialed in the optimal timings for that display mode?
tbh i didnt get down that far before i started noticing these issues. I need to use these right?....

Sampling opt. >

<Adv. timing > 256x240:

H. samplerate = 341
H. synclen = 25
H. backporch = 38
H. active = 256

V. synclen = 3
V. backporch = 15
V. active = 240
Pull up the 240p Test Suite and use the Green Hill Zone Scrolling Test. Unless it's been corrected in later firmware, you should see tearing with the SNES and NES on that display.

I would need video to believe it's not there. I'm 99.9% sure of it.

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lettuce
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by lettuce »

orange808 wrote:
Pull up the 240p Test Suite and use the Green Hill Zone Scrolling Test. Unless it's been corrected in later firmware, you should see tearing with the SNES and NES on that display.

I would need video to believe it's not there. I'm 99.9% sure of it.

Return it.
So theres an issue with the OSSC & Samsung TVs??
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by maxtherabbit »

lettuce wrote:
orange808 wrote:
Pull up the 240p Test Suite and use the Green Hill Zone Scrolling Test. Unless it's been corrected in later firmware, you should see tearing with the SNES and NES on that display.

I would need video to believe it's not there. I'm 99.9% sure of it.

Return it.
So theres an issue with the OSSC & Samsung TVs??
not all samsungs, it's 100% compatible with my old samsung plasma
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orange808
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by orange808 »

lettuce wrote:
orange808 wrote:
Pull up the 240p Test Suite and use the Green Hill Zone Scrolling Test. Unless it's been corrected in later firmware, you should see tearing with the SNES and NES on that display.

I would need video to believe it's not there. I'm 99.9% sure of it.

Return it.
So theres an issue with the OSSC & Samsung TVs??
With that model, I had issues with refresh rates that were too far away from 60Hz.

I did a judder test with the DVDO as well. I don't remember the supported range, but the NES and SNES were just outside of it. When the refresh rate went outside the refresh rate range, the television appeared to employ to some kind of frame rate conversion. The results were ugly.

I didn't test what it does with PAL, Neo Geo, or arcade PCB's Although, I imagine Neo Geo and arcade stuff would also have issues.

I have a thread about it somewhere on here.
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BazookaBen
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by BazookaBen »

I guess the best way for OSSC to get around the refresh rate problems is to adopt Variable Refresh Rate from the new HDMI spec. VRR seems like it's going to be widely supported in TV's and monitors in the coming years. The latency is usually way lower in VRR mode too.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Xyga »

Where does it say that HDMI VRR works with just any external source ? I've never read a description saying it does, no demo/proof, nothing yet.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by nmalinoski »

Xyga wrote:Where does it say that HDMI VRR works with just any external source ? I've never read a description saying it does, no demo/proof, nothing yet.
I haven't seen anything that says that VRR will work with any external source. As far as I can tell, both ends need to support VRR, which is what BazookaBen was suggesting.

In addition to VRR support, I think the OSSC could really benefit from QMS, which leverages VRR to eliminate the blackout/resync during mode changes. The way HDMI website describes QMS (here, towards the bottom), it will only apply to framerate changes, not resolution changes; so it wouldn't be a perfect solution to the video mode switches seen in 5th-gen consoles (line2x 240p and 480i, passthrough 480p might work fine, but probably not line3x/5x 240p + line2x/3x/4x 480i), but it'd definitely be an improvement (again, assuming it works).
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Xyga »

Whatever, how do you figure how to make non-HDMI 2.1 specced devices support HDMI 2.1 features like VRR ? is that possible ? (do you have to redesign from scratch or not)

For me this new HDMI smells like juicy licence and newer machines that can technically carry it, it's for manufacturers who can afford it, I'm not sure marqs could add that to the OSSC without a significant price increase, and I mean significant.

Don't know if that'd be worth it, the option of a switchable frame buffer may sound barbaric to some, but it might be much cheaper, simpler and universal in an hypotetical OSSC 2.

Why we started fantasizing about HDMI 2.1 and its VRR being like the savior for retrogamers when we actually don't know shit and it's likely just another FreeSync/Gsync, I don't remember.

@nmalinoski: there's a lot of interesting new techs shoved in 2.1 on paper, but I'm a bit worried at how many times they say 'auto/automatically' and like 'depending on your game box' or something.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by maxtherabbit »

Xyga wrote:Whatever, how do you figure how to make non-HDMI 2.1 specced devices support HDMI 2.1 features like VRR ? is that possible ? (do you have to redesign from scratch or not)

For me this new HDMI smells like juicy licence and newer machines that can technically carry it, it's for manufacturers who can afford it, I'm not sure marqs could add that to the OSSC without a significant price increase, and I mean significant.

Don't know if that'd be worth it, the option of a switchable frame buffer may sound barbaric to some, but it might be much cheaper, simpler and universal in an hypotetical OSSC 2.

Why we started fantasizing about HDMI 2.1 and its VRR being like the savior for retrogamers when we actually don't know shit and it's likely just another FreeSync/Gsync, I don't remember.

@nmalinoski: there's a lot of interesting new techs shoved in 2.1 on paper, but I'm a bit worried at how many times they say 'auto/automatically' and like 'depending on your game box' or something.
yeah all this "automatic" business is a red flag for me as well

"automatic" = "alternates between the wrong thing at the right time and the right thing at the wrong time"
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by nmalinoski »

Xyga wrote:Whatever, how do you figure how to make non-HDMI 2.1 specced devices support HDMI 2.1 features like VRR ? is that possible ? (do you have to redesign from scratch or not)

For me this new HDMI smells like juicy licence and newer machines that can technically carry it, it's for manufacturers who can afford it, I'm not sure marqs could add that to the OSSC without a significant price increase, and I mean significant.
Where the OSSC is concerned, I'm not sure it could be done without a board revision that includes an HDMI-2.1-compliant TX chip; and, even then, you'd need an HDMI-2.1-compliant display, and probably HDMI-2.1-compliant equipment in between (switchers, AVR, etc.).

An upgrade is not always necessary, however; my understanding of the PS4 is that its HDMI TX chip was only compliant to the 1.4 spec, but was later updated to 2.0b compliance with a firmware update.
Xyga wrote:Don't know if that'd be worth it, the option of a switchable frame buffer may sound barbaric to some, but it might be much cheaper, simpler and universal in an hypotetical OSSC 2.
I would think a switchable framebuffer would be inherently more capable than VRR and/or QMS. Like I said, QMS would be limited to framerate changes at the same resolution, whereas a framebuffer would be able to both resolution and framerate changes and perform scaling and conversion to a preset resolution and framerate.

Not sure if it'd have much applicability, but a framebuffer with scaler plus VRR/QMS would let you switch between something like a 576i50 (deinterlaced/scaled to 1080p50) PAL Dreamcast boot screen and 480p60 (scaled to 1080p) NTSC game, without dropping or resyncing.
Xyga wrote:Why we started fantasizing about HDMI 2.1 and its VRR being like the savior for retrogamers when we actually don't know shit and it's likely just another FreeSync/Gsync, I don't remember.

@nmalinoski: there's a lot of interesting new techs shoved in 2.1 on paper, but I'm a bit worried at how many times they say 'auto/automatically' and like 'depending on your game box' or something.
Yeah, everything in HDMI 2.1 that everyone is clamoring about is pretty much only going to be useful for future consoles. The only thing that has caught my eye so far is QMS, and even I'm not entirely sure of its applicability, because we don't have any retro-oriented equipment (OSSC, Framemeister, or otherwise) capable of leveraging it.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by maxtherabbit »

there is already an OSSC with a framebuffer, it's called the XRGB-mini
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Xyga »

maxtherabbit wrote:there is already an OSSC with a framebuffer, it's called the XRGB-mini
It doesn't give you the choice though, choice is what we need.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by H6rdc0re »

maxtherabbit wrote:there is already an OSSC with a framebuffer, it's called the XRGB-mini
Only if you prefer inferior image quality. OSSC is much sharper in Line 3x mode and higher, has better color accuracy and has no input lag.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by maxtherabbit »

H6rdc0re wrote:
maxtherabbit wrote:there is already an OSSC with a framebuffer, it's called the XRGB-mini
Only if you prefer inferior image quality. OSSC is much sharper in Line 3x mode and higher, has better color accuracy and has no input lag.
and yet here we have people trying to add some
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Xyga »

Again; only as an option, what don't you get about switchable ? it would be kind of like the XRGB-3 and its two modes.

Many people would be happy when dealing with a display that won't do beyond 2x, to be able to unlock the other modes at the cost of maybe just 1 frame.

Plus think about the other potentials like full deinterlacing, smooth modes switching as mentioned, rotation, etc.

win-win
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by maxtherabbit »

Xyga wrote:Again; only as an option, what don't you get about switchable ? it would be kind of like the XRGB-3 and its two modes.

Many people would be happy when dealing with a display that won't do beyond 2x, to be able to unlock the other modes at the cost of maybe just 1 frame.

Plus think about the other potentials like full deinterlacing, smooth modes switching as mentioned, rotation, etc.

win-win
I hear you, switchable wouldn't be bad - it just seems like a pretty sharp divergence from the original design goals of the device is my point
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Xyga »

Well the original would still be there, the new 'mode' or switch would only increase compatibility with displays and features.

Anyway that's all speculation, marqs never said he'd do a new design/ossc2.

Now I seem to remember that leaving features aside, if it's only for the compatibility with displays part then it might not need to be part of the OSSC's design, I think.
Could be a small external adapter-daughterboard, I've seen something like that somewhere but it was analogue.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by nmalinoski »

marqs has, however, said (or at least something to this effect) that adding a framebuffer and scaling capabilities would result in a device costing Framemeister money. For those who don't need a full scaler or don't want to spend that much (those who are buying the OSSC over the Framemeister now), there'll still be the OSSC 1.x hardware.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by bobrocks95 »

nmalinoski wrote:Where the OSSC is concerned, I'm not sure it could be done without a board revision that includes an HDMI-2.1-compliant TX chip; and, even then, you'd need an HDMI-2.1-compliant display, and probably HDMI-2.1-compliant equipment in between (switchers, AVR, etc.).

An upgrade is not always necessary, however; my understanding of the PS4 is that its HDMI TX chip was only compliant to the 1.4 spec, but was later updated to 2.0b compliance with a firmware update
Samsung's 2018 TVs supported VRR when HDMI 2.1 transmitter chips were not yet available. So the OSSC hardware should support it- software is the big question. The HDMI spec could make it as simple as setting a flag, or it could be a complete black box that requires an HDMI license to even know where to start.
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Xyga
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Xyga »

@nmalinoski: I'm probably among those who've said more features = higher price, the most.
Yet not everything you do in a modified or new design will have the same cost at the end.
I mean you're the ones mentioning the FrameMeister like an hypothetic OSSC v*.* or mk2 whatever would be the same machine, not me, that's not what I have in mind nor what I'd want, nor much people thought about when they mentioned things like that frame buffer idea.

Adding a switchable buffer mode only for output<>display compatibility might not be the same as seeking to feature 'full scaling capabilities'.
That and more like, 'yokotate', real deinterlacing, then other processing features, whatever, we're talking about different things, one after the other, it's not ONE single scenario, therfore not a single complexity and cost scenario either I believe.
Only marqs would be able to speak on possible reasonable designs routes, but surely he doesn't speak much on that topic (or he already did but the thread's old and big) so he won't have yet more people after him begging for features. :p
Anyway, would he in the future venture in adding features/specs that compare with the FM's other fields of competence, no doubt he would do so only rationally and reasonably...yet for what's doable, still do it better. 8)

After reading about what's coming for the next FW I think the device's gone much further than I had imagined it would, a number of additional suggested improvements are listed on the wiki (damn someone please scratch that mention of 'Scale2x/Super Eagle' it makes me sick lol)
There's definitely not everything we've mentioned in that list, but if it was updated/expanded surely some things would be in the realm of 'mmh...maybe' or 'maybe doable at some cost' or even 'please wake up'
bobrocks95 wrote:Samsung's 2018 TVs supported VRR when HDMI 2.1 transmitter chips were not yet available. So the OSSC hardware should support it- software is the big question. The HDMI spec could make it as simple as setting a flag, or it could be a complete black box that requires an HDMI license to even know where to start.
People who got 'FreeSync' or similar behaviour working on certain displays didn't actually make it work as 'it' iirc (haven't followed everything but it was funny), and that wasn't exactly easy nor working universally at all (outcome was that it made both AMD and nVidia look bad for a moment)
I doubt HDMI will have left the doors of their tech wide open anyway, black box and limitations sounds more like them.
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by BazookaBen »

In this scenario I don't think you even need a framebuffer to make the TV run in VRR mode. Because the OSSC just needs to trick the TV into switching to that mode, then provide a static refresh rate as it normally does.

The benefits of the OSSC running in VRR mode would be 1)The TV would be flexible with the strange refresh rates because it's not looking for NTSC/ATSC/VESA modes and 2)TV's and monitors tend to have much less input lag in VRR mode.

Basically, the TV would gladly accept the frames as they come in because they're within the Freesync range, it has no way of knowing if they're buffered beforehand.

...right?
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Re: OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

Post by Xyga »

Yeah those are two different things anyway, never said making it work with VRR would require a buffer, we're talking about plausible scenarios for improvements of the OSSC experience, that's one way, a buffer is another (not excluding each other anyway)
You say "just needs to trick the TV" making it sound like it's child play, but I highly doubt it is, and for me the buffer thing might be more doable feature, it's known tech after all.
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