Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

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thetallguy24
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Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by thetallguy24 »

I'm having a problem with the SCART output on the new Kuro Plus I just recveived. When testing it with my OSSC it is not detecting the SCART in either VGA or RGB mode. It will briefly detect it for a split second in VGA mode as 525p but immediately loses sync. My SCART cable and OSSC works with other consoles, so I know its not a cable issue. Any ideas what could be causing this problem? Also, I'm not sure why its showing as 525i/525p rather than 480i/480p.

I've reached out to Behar (since I bought it from them) but wanted to see if I could get an alternative response.

Thanks
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TooBeaucoup
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by TooBeaucoup »

After plugging it in and powering on your console have you tried moving the Kuro or it's cable connected to the Dreamcast around a little bit? A few months after I got my Toro, picture would randomly drop. I found that moving the cable a bit would restore picture, but then it would sometimes go out again. I deduced it was a faulty cable (The actual cable that goes from the Dreamcast to the box) and I got a replacement cable from Beharbros. Unfortunately, my new cable started to have the same issue. Also, try wiggling the switches on the side of the side of the Kuro ever so slightly. On my Toro, if I wiggle the switch that switches between RGB and VGA, I will get an ever so slight screen flickering like there's something funny going on with the switch like it can't hold the proper video mode (Faulty switch, cheap switch, poor craftsmanship? I don't know). Mine did this with the OSSC and Framemeister, yet all of my other gear works just fine. I've seen other people complain about the cables connecting their actual boxes to the Dreamcast as well.

Also, although, I doubt it's directly related to your specific problem, I would take the top and bottom off of your Kuro and take a look at the solder joints. The ones on my Toro had cold solder joints everywhere and some of them were even starting to look like they were rusting and this was a few months after I got mine. Better to check when that thing is brand new. It only takes 30 seconds to unscrew the plastic housing.

I just don't think their products are built as well as I originally thought, unfortunately.
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Guspaz
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by Guspaz »

Does the Kuro Plus actually output a valid sync signal over SCART? Their Garo doesn't. It has an incorrectly designed sync combiner that many devices (including the OSSC) don't like. They supposedly redesigned the sync combiner in the new Garo, but people still report that it won't work on many devices, meaning their sync combiner is still incorrect, and that leads me to believe it's probably incorrect on all of their products.

From what they've said to customers, they blame it on the monitors/scalers ("There can be always some incompatibilities") rather than admitting they don't know how to design a valid sync combiner.
Dochartaigh
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by Dochartaigh »

Guspaz wrote:Does the Kuro Plus actually output a valid sync signal over SCART? Their Garo doesn't.
Their Toro doesn't work right in regards to sync combination either.



OP, I don't recommend ANY of their products, and depending on how much return shipping for you would be, I would return it since it's brand new.
thetallguy24
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by thetallguy24 »

Dochartaigh wrote:
Guspaz wrote:Does the Kuro Plus actually output a valid sync signal over SCART? Their Garo doesn't.
Their Toro doesn't work right in regards to sync combination either.



OP, I don't recommend ANY of their products, and depending on how much return shipping for you would be, I would return it since it's brand new.
If they will actually respond to me
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TooBeaucoup
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by TooBeaucoup »

Dochartaigh wrote:
Guspaz wrote:Does the Kuro Plus actually output a valid sync signal over SCART? Their Garo doesn't.
Their Toro doesn't work right in regards to sync combination either.



OP, I don't recommend ANY of their products, and depending on how much return shipping for you would be, I would return it since it's brand new.
What's the issue with the Toro? Mine seems to work fine in VGA and RGB aside from the faulty cable nonsense I mentioned. It seems like a lot of people bought the Toro a few years ago and I don't recall there being any kind of widespread outrage toward that product. That said, I'm not a fan of the shoddy craftsmanship I mentioned above. I bought a Dreamcast SCART cable from RGC.UK and never looked backed at the damn Toro.
Dochartaigh
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by Dochartaigh »

TooBeaucoup wrote:What's the issue with the Toro?
Same story as always with the sync combiner not working properly, and they tried to do EXACTLY as Guspaz just described above: they blame it on my equipment... despite me trying it on something like THREE different Dreamcasts, and ~SIX different PVM and BVM's (and consumer TV and video wall monitor), hooked up through an Extron Crosspoint or direct to the monitors.... somehow it was MY equipment, ALL of it, that was faulty, and not their Toro unit malfunctioning.

Turned the sync combiner off and had my Extron RGB 203 Rxi merge the sync and it worked fine = their sync combiner being faulty.
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Guspaz
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by Guspaz »

In the case of the Garo we solved it with a bypass mod by buffering the luma input and using that as the sync output, skipping the need for a sync combiner (which came from the output of the LMH1251 that does the YPbPr to RGB conversion being separate H/V sync) in the first place, but that doesn't help with a Kuro or Toro, where the input sync is separate. EDIT: Actually, I'm not sure if pin 10 on the dreamcast, composite sync, is active in 31 KHz mode. So maybe a bypass would be possible?

At least for the Garo we have the better option of the RetroTINK COMP2RGB, but for the Dreamcast, the HD Retrovision cable isn't out yet, and Retro-Access is impossible to buy from, TheFoo has disappeared, so Retro Gaming Cables is the only current option AFAIK.
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TooBeaucoup
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by TooBeaucoup »

Guspaz wrote:In the case of the Garo we solved it with a bypass mod by buffering the luma input and using that as the sync output, skipping the need for a sync combiner (which came from the output of the LMH1251 that does the YPbPr to RGB conversion being separate H/V sync) in the first place, but that doesn't help with a Kuro or Toro, where the input sync is separate. EDIT: Actually, I'm not sure if pin 10 on the dreamcast, composite sync, is active in 31 KHz mode. So maybe a bypass would be possible?

At least for the Garo we have the better option of the RetroTINK COMP2RGB, but for the Dreamcast, the HD Retrovision cable isn't out yet, and Retro-Access is impossible to buy from, TheFoo has disappeared, so Retro Gaming Cables is the only current option AFAIK.
I have the Retro Gaming Cables one, but haven't used it yet. Was there any glaring flaws on that one that people have complained about? While their stuff isn't perfect, I haven't experienced any product breaking flaws in the other stuff from that that I own.
thetallguy24
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by thetallguy24 »

So apparently its all my fault according to them

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Guspaz
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by Guspaz »

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Their standard operating procedure is to blame the customer for not only defective products, but defective designs.
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TooBeaucoup
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Re: Kuro Plus issues with SCART + OSSC 0.88

Post by TooBeaucoup »

Alright, not that there's any good reason for me to bump this, but I just had to add that I'm done with my Toro Box. I always thought it was, at least, ok for what it was. But, now I'm finding that despite having my switch set to VGA mode, it refuses to consistently output 480p. Sometimes when I boot into my GDEMU and game, the console will start in 480p, and half of the time it starts in 480i or 525i, whatever the OSSC sees it as. This is keeping in mind I never touch that VGA/RGB switch. There's no reason for that thing to be malfunctioning. What a piece of junk. Aside from the piss poor soldering job they did on the board that I had to fix, the damn switches have been finnicky since day one. I'm tossing this thing in the trash now that I have my Dreamcast Scart cable from RGC. Seriously, even my $20 VGA box that I got in 2008 works perfectly. Fk Behar Bros! LOL!
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