OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

[bw1]

should have my ossc in a few days, cant wait to test it out!

[Zappyraccoon]

I like that overlay

It's from an eBay listing. Judging by the custom OSSC case and the items location I think it's made by the owner of this arcade bar near me. Saw the same case on display at the retro convention. You could ask the seller if he sells them separately?

arcade_design is the seller name. Cheers!

[Blair]

I have tried to capture the unscaled 480p output from the OSSC, but unfortunately my capture device is unusable on native low-res content (not enough leeway for the crappy compression to go unnoticed)

what capture solution are you using?

I have an aver media LGX, but it's not compatible with OSSC above 2X (so I usually pair it with an upscaler). and a magewell hammerhead clone, that works with almost everything (except most Super Nintendo signals). I'm thinking about picking up one of those datapath solutions as some of the users on the forms have reported good luck with them.

what game where you using for testing? and how difficult is that screen to get to if I were going to make a comparison with my own set up?

[citrus3000psi]

It's from an eBay listing. Judging by the custom OSSC case and the items location I think it's made by the owner of this arcade bar near me. Saw the same case on display at the retro convention. You could ask the seller if he sells them separately?

arcade_design is the seller name. Cheers!

Thanks, just sent him a message. I'll update with his reply.

[Xer Xian]

what capture solution are you using? what game where you using for testing? and how difficult is that screen to get to if I were going to make a comparison with my own set up?

I'm using a Live gamer portable 2, and like yours, it doesn't accept anything other than 480p from the OSSC. It also subsamples to 4:2:0, which is why pre-upscaling is mandatory for me (I believe the LGX does better than that, but I really needed the PC-free feature of the LGP2).

Game is Super Fantasy Zone from the Fantasy Zone collection entry in the Sega Ages series for the PS2. As I learnt from Fudoh, later Sega Ages vols. let you select (in-game) one among several output options, making them great for your testing pleasure That particular screenshot comes from the first stage and contains lots of fine details, colors and text which imho are quite useful to test out the processing quality.

If you end up comparing the HD3000+OSSC combo to stand-alone HD3000 definitely let me know what are your findings! Thanks

[Tapeworm]

For folks running there OSSC to a CRT monitor...how are you liking it? I keep going back and forth. It looks very nice, sharp. But coupled with the scanlines, it often looks just like an emulator. I think I still prefer the look of my 240p JVC professional monitor.

[Xer Xian]

For folks running there OSSC to a CRT monitor...how are you liking it? I keep going back and forth. It looks very nice, sharp. But coupled with the scanlines, it often looks just like an emulator. I think I still prefer the look of my 240p JVC professional monitor.

I also have a setup consisting of an OSSC+VGA monitor.. I used to think there was something fundamentally different to simulated vs. real scanlines - with true 240p sometimes I could see bright colors slightly bleeding into the blank scanlines, making the picture a bit more vivid (you can read Nekoi's writeup on this over here). But why exactly should there be a difference between drawing 240 lines and 480 lines of which half of them are blanked out? When Blair mentioned he could get a similar look on his VGA monitor, I decided I'd try to compare native 240p vs OSSC's line-doubled 240p (with scanlines set at 82%) on a DT-V1710CG monitor:

http://image.ibb.co/hu32DG/1.jpg
http://image.ibb.co/goODLw/2.jpg

Not the same frame, but just for fun - can you guess which one is which? There's actually a noticeable difference, but it's not scanlines-related..

Edit: There, I've ruined the game I forgot I also took a picture of the OSSC's 240p passthrough, and this one is the exact same frame of the line-doubled output.. http://image.ibb.co/fOWEAw/OSSC_240p_Passthru.jpg

[RaphM]

Just a short follow-up on my Sony kdl55w755C - I finished building the DYI lag tester (you dont want to see my soldering ^^) and got the following results (game mode ofc): top left - 34ms, center - 30ms, bottom right - 27ms.

So as expected since its a "C" model its not super low, but still very ok (and it can run 5x mode ).

[Braca862]

Hello everyone,

I just got my OSSC in the mail this week. Judging by its configuration and setup, its going to take a while for me to get use to this device. Previously, I've been using the XRGB-mini Frameister for nearly two years and recently read about the OSSC. Here's what I have:

Sony XBR-49X700D 49" 4K TV
OSSC 1.6 (connected to TV via HDMI)
6:2 SCART Matrix Switcher
NES
Super NES
Sega CDX (Genesis/CD combo)
PS1
N64
Dreamcast (connected to OSSC via VGA Toro)
PS2 (connected to OSSC via component cable using component switcher box)
Gamecube (connected to OSSC via component cable using component switcher box)

The other two consoles, Xbox 360 and PS4, are connected directly to the TV via HDMI.

Here are some questions and issues pertaining to the OSSC:

-I'm having an issues with the SNES. Either there is no image or the screen flickers at 5x mode. Are there any solutions to this? (I tested this using my computer monitor and it worked perfectly. No black screen or flickers). Why is it that the SNES is the most difficult for the OSSC?

-On the PS1, only half of the startup sound is heard when booting up the system. Does it have anything to do with the sync drop? I want it to be like in this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvnbMG-N0jY

-How can I get the best possible quality on my consoles with the OSSC? Are there any settings such as brightness, saturation, and sharpness?

Any help would be appreciated.

[opt2not]

I just wanted to post a few recent shots of the OSSC handling my Nintendo Wii through via Component.
Scanlines are nice, and with the OSSC on a Benq Zowie Monitor, the lag is pretty much non-existent.

Here's Castlevania Rebirth and Gradius Rebirth on Wiiware. OSSC set to x3, scanlines enabled.

Avermedia Live Gamer Portable v.1 Capture:


Iphone camera:






Avermedia Live Gamer Portable v.1 Capture:


Iphone camera:

[Fudoh]

OSSC set to x3

doesn't matter in this case, does it ? Due to the 480i/p signal you feed, it defaults back to deinterlaced/transcoded 480p output anyway (as seen in your captures).

[opt2not]

OSSC set to x3

doesn't matter in this case, does it ? Due to the 480i/p signal you feed, it defaults back to deinterlaced/transcoded 480p output anyway (as seen in your captures).

Ahhhh, that's good to know. I'm still getting used to the OSSC. Coming from the XRGB Mini, the OSSC is less user-friendly in settings and input/output data. But I do like the OSSC for gaming a lot better than the XRGB Mini. I just wish it had an OSD interface with more statistic read-outs.

[Tapeworm]

For folks running there OSSC to a CRT monitor...how are you liking it? I keep going back and forth. It looks very nice, sharp. But coupled with the scanlines, it often looks just like an emulator. I think I still prefer the look of my 240p JVC professional monitor.

I also have a setup consisting of an OSSC+VGA monitor.. I used to think there was something fundamentally different to simulated vs. real scanlines - with true 240p sometimes I could see bright colors slightly bleeding into the blank scanlines, making the picture a bit more vivid (you can read Nekoi's writeup on this over here). But why exactly should there be a difference between drawing 240 lines and 480 lines of which half of them are blanked out? When Blair mentioned he could get a similar look on his VGA monitor, I decided I'd try to compare native 240p vs OSSC's line-doubled 240p (with scanlines set at 82%) on a DT-V1710CG monitor:

Thank you for that Nekoi link. That is exactly what I’m experiencing. I’ve calibrated my monitor (LaCie 22 III) multiple times, and it always just appears more ‘dim’ than its neighboring DT-V170CG and BM-H1900SU. If I turn down the scanlines, it gets brighter, but then gets more emulator-y.

I will still slightly toy around with the monitor, but this will make me sleep easier.

[BuckoA51]

If I am going to be assigning my OSSC to one of my Extron Crosspoint outputs, is there anything I should be aware of or anticipate on the Extron side of things? Do the dip switches in the back have an impact?

Well you should know Extron Crosspoint BNC outputs are TTL level, which is too high voltage level for OSSC (or any device) SCART input! You need to add extra resistor (470 Ohm) to the SYNC signal(s) to lower them to acceptable SCART levels to protect the OSSC SCART input.

More info: https://www.snailtoothgaming.com/articl ... nc-output/

This is very surprising, I am glad someone tested it (I had this on my to-do list for some time, trying to find someone with the equipment). Even the Crosspoint without the ADSP seems to mess with the sync. I will need to update my review.

Is this the overlay?

No but it's going to be similar to that (how different can an overlay be I suppose). Just waiting for the printers now.

[Xer Xian]

I’ve calibrated my monitor (LaCie 22 III) multiple times, and it always just appears more ‘dim’ than its neighboring DT-V170CG and BM-H1900SU.

I think that's due to higher-end VGA monitor having a very small beam size - they produce their own scanlines with 480p (and in the case of a 22 incher, maybe with 720p as well?). Try running it with Line4x240p and Line2x480p, the difference is noticeable.

Another element which imho takes away from an authenitic retro-look is the perfectly flat screen. If I were you I'd probably only use the BM-H1900 for everything up to 32bit. In fact I'm currently looking for an older pro CRT monitor with a screen that's curved both horizontally and vertically, like yours..

[BuckoA51]

Thanks to Markus' help I've manage to get 480px2 working on the VP50 Pro. Here's the settings you need to use.

H.samplerate=858
H.synclen=62
H.backporch=107*
H.active=640
V.synclen=6
V.backporch=4
V.active=512

*Adjust H.backporch as necessary to centre the image.

With these settings I get an image that's quite badly squashed on the vertical, but by using the vertical zoom control on the VP50 this can mostly be corrected. This does mean the scaling is not pixel perfect. 480p scanlines don't look too good, but I dug out my SLG3000 and paired it with my Dreamcast and, 240p scanlines as added by something like a SLG3000 look great. The checkerboard test (as featured in my early screenshot with the DVDO Edge on VGP forums) looks perfectly acceptable.

line4x-vp50 by videogameperfection, on Flickr

This is Zero Gunner on the Dreamcast using 480pX2 mode, Allow Upsample 2x on. No softening done by the VP50 Pro.

When I used 480p X2 mode before I pretty much dismissed it as not for me. The over-sharp sawtooth edges were just too much and not to my taste, but honestly it looks really great here (the iPhone camera doesn't do it justice).

I'm definitely a 480p X2 convert, I need to get my Edge down from the loft and see how that looks too.

[Xyga]

Nice! I'll have to try this with VP2 :p

[Fudoh]

but I dug out my SLG3000 and paired it with my Dreamcast

is this something that's safe to do when feeding an OSSC? The way the SLG3000 and other SLG units work, they create a zigzag voltage output and I've run into so many different behaviours when using all kinds of processors or converters behind a SLG3000, that I stopped doing that (from noticable creeoing current to the touch to invisible scanlines to brightness pumps on screen).

[BuckoA51]

is this something that's safe to do when feeding an OSSC? The way the SLG3000 and other SLG units work, they create a zigzag voltage output and I've run into so many different behaviours when using all kinds of processors or converters behind a SLG3000, that I stopped doing that (from noticable creeoing current to the touch to invisible scanlines to brightness pumps on screen).

Wasn't aware there were dangers to using scanline generators! I mean it seemed Ok but only used it briefly. 240p-sized scanlines over a 480p image is a requested feature for OSSC I believe.

Here's New Super Mario Bros Wii.. on the Wii (really?)

nsmbwii-480px2 by videogameperfection, on Flickr

For the Wii I had to put H.backporch to 98 to get the image to fit on screen.

*Here the sawtooth edges do get a little distracting as the game scrolls, but honestly I think I still prefer it to native 480p on the DVDO. A better 480p scaler like an Optoma or something would probably be more suited to this game (or play it on Dolphin )

(*To be fair, this problem happens in 480p passthrough/native too, it's just been a while since I played it)

[Xyga]

Got an LG 32MP58 IPS monitor today (no noticeable backlight leakage yay!), plus a new DVI>HDMI cable for the OSSC, gotta redo all sorts of tests and compare with the Samsung 32F351 VA.

First glance with a few minutes of MAME it's quite good;
. input lag (LB) top 2.9ms, middle 10.4ms, bottom 17.4ms
. response looks fast with balanced overdrive as expected of current AH-IPS, not sure it equals the HP 27xw and we're not at the level of the elite gaming IPSes, but no complaints at all, it's snappy-enough
. colors of course right-out feel slightly more natural than a VA's like the 32F351, the default settings seem better than tthe revision of the HP 27xw I had
. viewing angles as open as expected from an IPS of course
. there's IPS glow at an angle of course but I've seen much worse
. it is practically full glossy so the picture is pristine, don't expect to use it with anything bright in front of it of course, all sources of light and objects reflecting light a lot must stand behind the monitor
. damn bright at 100%, which is the stupid default of course, had to bring it down to 75% for playing with thick full-black fake scanlines, 60~70 felt right for desktop
. PWM-free (common thing now)
. a stupid and useless 'black stabilizer' is on by default, made the signal go berserk with the first black lines pattern I've sent it, just turn it off (slider to 0)
. black levels aren't bad, there's a bit of clouding but nothing noticeable in normal use, IPSes and in particular glossy IPSes don't do too bad in that area as long as there's no bleeding backlight and no exaggerated glow. of course it still won't be as comfortable as a VA for watching movies and play whatever dark~ish contents
. menu controls with yet another jog-button (manufacturers; stahp using those, they're shit) you can install an OSD for your pc desktop though
. glossy black frame of cheap plastic, flimsy stand and fragile AC plug, well what do you expect for 200 bucks?
. 200x100 VESA mount, well at least there's that!
. audio jack input to go with the VGA and volume controls... but there's no speakers wtf

That was a bit off-topic but to say that tomorrow I'll try the OSSC with it, fingers crossed it'll do well.

EDIT: and why not the good ol' XRGBs and DISPL as well, since it's got a d-sub/vga input (rather funny in 2017).
btw it seems the 32MA68 and newer 32MA70 are 'office' versions of the 32MP58 with added DP and USB, plus a screen splitting feature. This also suggests the onboard electronics might be different. Also contrary to what I thought before they're probably both glossy as well or very close.

[borti4938]

Hey,

I was a bit annoyed about the LCD backlight. It was too bright and has to be turned off every power cycle and turned on if I wanted to change something. Hence I decided to do something.

I implemented an automatic control:

• turn on backlight every time a button (either PCB or remote) is pressed
• first press does nothing in order to give the user a chance for orientation (where I am, is the menu still open, etc.)
• backlight is turned off after 30s after the last button detection

Everything is implemented in hardware. Advantage is that there is no code space of the software needed atm. Drawback is that the BL is turned on even if another compatible remote is pressed.

Here is a beta build if someone wants to test it out. https://www.dropbox.com/s/fyalimywdpm20 ... t.zip?dl=0

I also have an option in mind, which controls the timeout time: e.g. 15s up to 60s in steps of 5s and always on.

What do you thing? Small feedback is appreciated.

[jandrogo]

I just wanted to post a few recent shots of the OSSC handling my Nintendo Wii through via Component.

Awesome pics

[BuckoA51]

Speaking of the Wii, I noticed tonight as I was testing the 480p modes that if I have the Wii plugged in, and H. active set to 720 (the default), that I get two small vertical bars at the side of the image when using anamorphic widescreen.

If I set H. Active to 640 I can eliminate these.

Does the Wii have some kind of peculiar aspect ratio signal at 480p like the Dreamcast?

[Fudoh]

Looking at opt2not's WiiWare snapshots above the active Wii image seems indeed to be 640px only (or it was the programmer's choice).

[Syntax]

Hey,

I was a bit annoyed about the LCD backlight. It was too bright and has to be turned off every power cycle and turned on if I wanted to change something. Hence I decided to do something.

I implemented an automatic control:

• turn on backlight every time a button (either PCB or remote) is pressed
• first press does nothing in order to give the user a chance for orientation (where I am, is the menu still open, etc.)
• backlight is turned off after 30s after the last button detection

Everything is implemented in hardware. Advantage is that there is no code space of the software needed atm. Drawback is that the BL is turned on even if another compatible remote is pressed.

Here is a beta build if someone wants to test it out. https://www.dropbox.com/s/fyalimywdpm20 ... t.zip?dl=0

I also have an option in mind, which controls the timeout time: e.g. 15s up to 60s in steps of 5s and always on.

What do you thing? Small feedback is appreciated.

Got my ossc today. Will test and report back. Seems like a smart idea.

[borti4938]

Small update if you want to test it: I recently changed the download file.

I set the BL timeout to 45s, but one can turn off teh BL immediately by simply using the remotes LCD BL off/on button.

Download link is unchanged; source code is in my GitHub fork (atm in a separate branch)

[Blair]

Thanks to Markus' help I've manage to get 480px2 working on the VP50 Pro. Here's the settings you need to use.

H.samplerate=858
H.synclen=62
H.backporch=107*
H.active=640
V.synclen=6
V.backporch=4
V.active=512

*Adjust H.backporch as necessary to centre the image.

Spoiler

line4x-vp50 by videogameperfection, on Flickr

This is Zero Gunner on the Dreamcast using 480pX2 mode, Allow Upsample 2x on. No softening done by the VP50 Pro.

When I used 480p X2 mode before I pretty much dismissed it as not for me. The over-sharp sawtooth edges were just too much and not to my taste, but honestly it looks really great here (the iPhone camera doesn't do it justice).

I'm definitely a 480p X2 convert, I need to get my Edge down from the loft and see how that looks too.

wow BuckoA51, that's great news! do these settings also allow 480i 4x to work with the VP50pro? (would these also work with a regular VP50?)

[orange808]

(would these also work with a regular VP50?)

You're getting close to SXGA output and that's a VESA standardized signal, so the VP50 should also accept it.

[marqs]

(would these also work with a regular VP50?)

You're getting close to SXGA output and that's a VESA standardized signal, so the VP50 should also accept it.

Yes, I found out that out while using regular VP50.

[marqs]

Hey,

I was a bit annoyed about the LCD backlight. It was too bright and has to be turned off every power cycle and turned on if I wanted to change something. Hence I decided to do something.

I implemented an automatic control:

• turn on backlight every time a button (either PCB or remote) is pressed
• first press does nothing in order to give the user a chance for orientation (where I am, is the menu still open, etc.)
• backlight is turned off after 30s after the last button detection

Everything is implemented in hardware. Advantage is that there is no code space of the software needed atm. Drawback is that the BL is turned on even if another compatible remote is pressed.

Here is a beta build if someone wants to test it out. https://www.dropbox.com/s/fyalimywdpm20 ... t.zip?dl=0

I also have an option in mind, which controls the timeout time: e.g. 15s up to 60s in steps of 5s and always on.

What do you thing? Small feedback is appreciated.

LCD backlight timeout has been quite a while on wiki's wishlist so great to see someone implement it. I'll take a look into the code soon. It should be okay to handle part of the control in SW too, so that it'd only trigger on recognized button presses. A single menu option (timeout) shouldn't increase code footprint too much either.

Backlight brightness could also be changed via PWM (since it's LED-based), but that'd introduce a new high-frequency signal on the PCB which in theory could cause some noise on nearby traces (I didn't isolate that line at the time as it was assumed to be a DC signal).