Windows 98 + Soft15kHz + PVM

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Catalyst
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Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2023 3:42 am

Windows 98 + Soft15kHz + PVM

Post by Catalyst »

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I have VGA to 5-BNC cable, ATI 9200SE and want to connect Sony 14L4 to Pentium II PC. I tried 640x480 and 320x240, but image is heavily distorted and something is wrong with colors, looks like broken composite or something...

https://www.retrorgb.com/rgbvideocard.html - AGP & PCI solutions – Compatible card + Soft15Khz
Last edited by Catalyst on Wed Mar 22, 2023 12:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Catalyst
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Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2023 3:42 am

Re: Windows 98 + Soft15kHz + PVM

Post by Catalyst »

Tried UMSA (Converts 15Khz RGBHV via a DSUB HD 15pin to 15Khz RGBS SCART signal.) No luck :( The same distorted image on PVM and nothing on TV
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Guspaz
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Re: Windows 98 + Soft15kHz + PVM

Post by Guspaz »

In your photos, you have no sync line connected to the PVM, so the distortion is to be expected. I'm surprised you're getting any image at all, for that matter. It also looks like you've set the PVM to YPbPr instead of RGB, which would explain the colours being off.

You need a way to combine the sync and feed it to the PVM in a format it supports, which the UMSA device does appear to do. But if you have the PVM set to YPbPr, it's going to expect the sync on the luma input (the green plug), not the external sync input, so you'd still have the wrong colours and no sync.

Connect your VGA cable to the UMSA, then use a SCART-to-RGBS cable from the UMSA to the PVM, using *four* BNC connections, red, green, blue, and external sync into the EXT SYNC input on the PVM. Set the PVM to RGB with external sync, not YPbPr or RGB internal sync, since neither the Radeon 9200 nor the UMSA supports sync-on-green.

You can in theory get away with the 5-to-4 BNC setup that Bob mentions in that post, which just uses a Y-splitter to connect the H and V sync together. This does not produce a valid sync signal, but the PVM will probably accept it. However, it will also produce a high voltage sync signal that the PVM can handle but most other devices will be damaged. However, you have the UMSA, so this should not be required.
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Fudoh
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Re: Windows 98 + Soft15kHz + PVM

Post by Fudoh »

Tried UMSA (Converts 15Khz RGBHV via a DSUB HD 15pin to 15Khz RGBS SCART signal.)
this should work (as Guspaz said the monitor needs to be set the RGB though for the colors to be right).

When connecting from the UMSA to the PVM you not only need to run a line for the sync signal, you also have to make sure whatever Scart to ... adapter you're using (like Scart to BNC) is made to match your required direction. The sync signal on Scart is (and hence the adapter) is one-way only, while the RGB signals are bi-directional. This is especially true since the UMSA has a female scart port and Scart/BNC cables with a male scart header are USUALLY wired to go from BNC to Scart and not the other way around.
Catalyst
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Re: Windows 98 + Soft15kHz + PVM

Post by Catalyst »

Thanks for advice!
Ok, I'm back with some new info!

I tried different Catalyst drivers, but nothing works with Soft15Khz.
Soft15Khz can be used as a simple free alternative to Powerstrip...
So, I installed Catalyst 4.3 and Powerstrip 3.30, added a custom 320x240p resolution, and it worked on my monochrome IBM 8503 monitor that seems to support 15kHz, BUT not with TV or PVM. There is no signal on the TV, and the very same dark, distorted, greenish image in RGB mode on the Sony PVM, I've connected an external sync, of course. Yes, I'm ignorant, and I don't have a deep understanding of video signals and CRT, but I think my first priority is to understand why there are no colors! :roll:

Here are two photos of PVM with Soft15Khz (it's the same with Powerstrip 320x240p):
This is VGA cable=>UMSA=>SCART-SCART(Male) cable=>(Female) SCART-4BNC cable
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And this is just VGA-5BNC cable without UMSA
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I mean both images looks very similar, so what's the cause here...?

Here are photos of FemaleSCART-4BNC cable and its wires inside:
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Maybe something is wrong with it? Like wrong wires, but it works like a charm with PS1/PS2
Catalyst
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Re: Windows 98 + Soft15kHz + PVM

Post by Catalyst »

First and foremost, there are should be colors, right? So it's not about Sync...
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