AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

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Bahn Yuki
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by Bahn Yuki »

I pre ordered an akura for my second dreamcast. I'll try to do an ossc vs akura showdown

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CobraKing
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by CobraKing »

beharius wrote:Akura reviewed by Adam Koralik
https://youtu.be/zosZPMWQ_ZQ
@beharius, is the Dreamcast VGA output to the OSSC really that bad as Adam Koralik makes it to be? :?:
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Guspaz
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by Guspaz »

I haven't seen the video, but maybe he misconfigured it? In theory, the OSSC should produce better image quality because it's sampling all 720 columns of pixels instead of just 640 of them like the Akura.
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Fudoh
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by Fudoh »

@beharius, is the Dreamcast VGA output to the OSSC really that bad as Adam Koralik makes it to be?
DC through the OSSC looks lovely. The OSSC is the only analogue to digitial transcoder that will recognize the DC's full output resolution. How your display treats a 480p signal is another question though, so maybe Adam's display wasn't up to the task?

I haven't tried the Akura, but from what beharius mentioned it should look exactly like any other (solid) VGA to HDMI box, meaning it brings a bit of resolution loss due to its sampling for VESA resolutions and it won't work with the Elgato HD60 series of capture boxes and cards.
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BuckoA51
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by BuckoA51 »

@beharius, is the Dreamcast VGA output to the OSSC really that bad as Adam Koralik makes it to be? :?:
I wish he'd just asked me for some tech support before publishing that video, now we're going to constantly get questions/people saying "oh dude OSSC sucks for Dreamcast!!" when actually it's arguably the best solution out there (unless your TV really sucks at 480p scaling). Adam's a nice guy and has given us some good feedback in the past but he's not the most technical...you can tell from his video that he's confused/misunderstood some points. That said, there really isn't that much that you can miss configure, and I tested his OSSC before shipping it.
maybe Adam's display wasn't up to the task?
I asked him about that and he said he tested the Akura and OSSC on the same set, so it's not that.
OSSC Forums - http://www.videogameperfection.com/forums
Please check the Wiki before posting about Morph, OSSC, XRGB Mini or XRGB3 - http://junkerhq.net/xrgb/index.php/Main_Page
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Bahn Yuki
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by Bahn Yuki »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST3B83k ... pj3mpxw40k

I made that video the day after I got my OSSC way back in May 2016. When I get the Akura I can do a comparison. I find the OSSC to be remarkable and have posted on Adam's video that the OSSC is the best VGA output I've ever seen from the Dreamcast. If the Akura is as good I'll be happy since it's an easy solution that carries audio and is powered by the console.

I most certainly will note whether or not the Akura can do the proper aspect ratio where normal VGA scalers I have just do not.
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Larrs888
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by Larrs888 »

The original aspect ratio is something I really would like an answer for, I have used cheap VGA boxes, the TORO and a custom VGA cable and in all regards the aspect ratio gets squashed by my TV not recognising the proper 720x480 resolution the Dreamcast outputs. I currently use the TORO with my XRGB mini which is OK but I get overscan at 720p and really like the scanline look, therefore I would be very interested in the AKURA to give me a nice picture with even scaliness and the correct 640x480 within the 720x480 output of the Dreamcast. I have seen this question asked a few times between this thread and the one on Assember but no answer was provided. I love the TORO and would really like the AKURA as an option to get the correct aspect ratio out of the DC.

BBS can you please confirm how the AKURA handles the DC resolution all the videos posted have people stretching it to 16:9 which ruins the image in my opinion, I prefer retro games to be displayed how they are meant to look.

Many thanks in advance I hope this can be clarified and if it works properly i will definitely purchase on in the near future.
Last edited by Larrs888 on Sun Feb 26, 2017 8:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Fudoh
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by Fudoh »

the aspect ratio gets squashed by my TV not recognising the proper 720x480 resolution the Dreamcast outputs.
that's only half the problem. The bigger problem in regard to the DC's output signal is simply that it's a pillarboxed signal in the first place and as long you don't have either an analogue display (where you can adjust the horizontal size directly) or a scaler before your digital display (which allows you to apply a horizontal stretch), you'll always end up with the wrong aspect ratio.
I have seen this question asked a few times between this thread and the one on Assember but no answer was provided. I love the TORO and would really like the AKURA as an option to get the correct aspect ratio out of the DC.
it won't.
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Larrs888
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by Larrs888 »

Fudoh wrote:
the aspect ratio gets squashed by my TV not recognising the proper 720x480 resolution the Dreamcast outputs.
that's only half the problem. The bigger problem in regard to the DC's output signal is simply that it's a pillarboxed signal in the first place and as long you don't have either an analogue display (where you can adjust the horizontal size directly) or a scaler before your digital display (which allows you to apply a horizontal stretch), you'll always end up with the wrong aspect ratio.
I have seen this question asked a few times between this thread and the one on Assember but no answer was provided. I love the TORO and would really like the AKURA as an option to get the correct aspect ratio out of the DC.
it won't.
Many thanks Fudoh for taking the time to answer this for me it's much appreciated. I guess I'll keep to the TORO and XRGB combo for now but its not to say I won't get an Akura for convenience sake in the future, its nice to know what the caveats are in advance however.
Everblue
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by Everblue »

I own a GDEmu so I can run most (all?) games at 480p without issues. Should I get Akura and connect it directly to my TV, or the Toro and get a picture through the Framemeister? Which would give me the better picture (I guess with Akura I get less input lag)?

Thanks!
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Guspaz
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Re: AKURA Dreamcast HDMI Box

Post by Guspaz »

TORO with OSSC or XRGB will provide a better image because it will sample the full resolution of the image.
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