XRGB-mini Framemeister

[Konsolkongen]

The Gamecube just isn't possible to use. It's a PAL system, obviously, as the NTSC Cube doesn't support RGB natively. Yet, the PAL system cannot support s-video so I'm trying to find some way to use the system.

Component or D-terminal? Both could end up getting pretty expensive though

[Joelepain]

So I managed to obtain an official Gamecube RGB cable (DOL-013) in an attempt to resolve the picture quality problems I've experienced with other cables. Unfortunately I only get a black screen and the XRGB stops accepting any remote input until I power off the Gamecube.

If I run an adapter in the middle I can pull an image from the composite line (which looks awful) but in RGB mode I see nothing.

The Gamecube just isn't possible to use. It's a PAL system, obviously, as the NTSC Cube doesn't support RGB natively. Yet, the PAL system cannot support s-video so I'm trying to find some way to use the system.

There must be a problem with your setup because a PAL Gamecube with an official RGB scart cable work really great with the xrgb mini. You just can't get progressive scan but that's the only flaw if you have some NTSC games.
Of course the best option for Gamecube is component but like Konsolkongen said, it's really expensive nowadays.
You should investigate on a problem of your setup because you already have the best way to use system (without selling a kidney).
Maybe a ground problem. (if I remember right, the ground on official nintendo cables is Pin 17 - composite ground)

[airs]

So I managed to obtain an official Gamecube RGB cable (DOL-013) in an attempt to resolve the picture quality problems I've experienced with other cables. Unfortunately I only get a black screen and the XRGB stops accepting any remote input until I power off the Gamecube.

If I run an adapter in the middle I can pull an image from the composite line (which looks awful) but in RGB mode I see nothing.

The Gamecube just isn't possible to use. It's a PAL system, obviously, as the NTSC Cube doesn't support RGB natively. Yet, the PAL system cannot support s-video so I'm trying to find some way to use the system.

Are you using a Scart switch? Perhaps there's a problem with the switch or with the cable that goes from your Scart switch to your XRGB mini?

You should snag a component or d-terminal cable though for 480p though, I picked up one up last week for $95 shipped from someone on AssemblerGames.

[moonlightaffair]

Just noticed some posts here about Framemeister scanlines at 1080p via firmware 1.10...setting ZOOM to 90....

I'm using a modified NES front loader, with NESRGB mod, what are optimal settings with and without scanlines?

Just picked up my Framemeister this weekend, out of the box, using fm 1.08, I used these settings from the Wiki:

for 240p sources
IMAGE_MODE = PICTURE
AUTO_SCALER = GAME
SHARPNESS = 0 or 1 (0 recommended)
Set output resolution to 720p if you want to use scanlines or 1080p if your TV supports it and you DON'T want to use scanlines

Any settings that look better?

Is there anyway to mask the sides? There is about an inch-width vertical bar on the right/left sides (showing the background color of whatever game is playing). Was this because of old tvs and the curved dome?

[RGB32E]

AUTO_SCALER should be set to OFF, and set the horizontal scale to 5 to get the sharpest picture. I've yet to find a source where the picture benefits from changing vertical scale from default, unless you want to blur or smooth the image.

[moonlightaffair]

AUTO_SCALER should be set to OFF, and set the horizontal scale to 5 to get the sharpest picture. I've yet to find a source where the picture benefits from changing vertical scale from default, unless you want to blur or smooth the image.

What about 1080p? Does it work with scanlines? Gonna update the fw tonight...

Btw, I like your Castlevania/Belmont avatar, its diagonal stretch is mesmerizing... I can't stop looking at it

[eightbitminiboss]

AUTO_SCALER should be set to OFF, and set the horizontal scale to 5 to get the sharpest picture. I've yet to find a source where the picture benefits from changing vertical scale from default, unless you want to blur or smooth the image.

What about 1080p? Does it work with scanlines? Gonna update the fw tonight...

Btw, I like your Castlevania/Belmont avatar, its diagonal stretch is mesmerizing... I can't stop looking at it

Scanlines still do not look correct at 1080p as of 1.10fw.

[RGB32E]

AUTO_SCALER should be set to OFF, and set the horizontal scale to 5 to get the sharpest picture. I've yet to find a source where the picture benefits from changing vertical scale from default, unless you want to blur or smooth the image.

What about 1080p? Does it work with scanlines? Gonna update the fw tonight...

I'm not really a fan of scanlines on displays that aren't CRTs, and prefer aperture grill scanlines to shadow mask scanlines. I normally do not enable scanlines and find that 1080p scanlines with zoom 90 on the latest FW are more appealing than 720p output with scanlines (720p output is too soft):

Btw, I like your Castlevania/Belmont avatar, its diagonal stretch is mesmerizing... I can't stop looking at it

IIRC I took that picture from my first NES I RGB modded with a RGB PPU running through a XRGB-3 in B0 mode at 1080p. I took the picture from an angle, and cropped it.

[austin532]

I know this has probably been talked about before in these forums but rather than search through pages upon pages, what would you say is the best way to hook up a Dreamcast? I was leaning toward using a VGA Box connected to a SLG 3000 and then connect that to the TV. The only downside I can see doing it this way is that I don't think the SLG 3000 upscales the image so it won't look the greatest.

I would like to hook it up to the Mini but there doesn't seem to be an easy way. Should I just stick to using S-Video from the VGA Box to the Mini? Any ideas or advice would be most grateful.

[CkRtech]

So 1080p on fw 1.10 with zoom 90 and scanlines looks decent? What about without scanlines?

I am still sitting on 1.08 and using 720p (240p * 3) without scanlines because it just seemed like a natural scaling resolution for a 240p source.

[Shining]

So 1080p on fw 1.10 with zoom 90 and scanlines looks decent? What about without scanlines?

They sure do, if you like very 'sharp' scanlines. It's perfect for games with black borders around the picture, like Final Fight for the SNES.

[airs]

Decided to...enlarge...my setup - 50" 720p Panasonic plasma I've had for a long time. Loving the mini even more! All my RGB scart systems look so clean on it. Next change will have to be TATE-ability.

Coming in the mail:

Hori D-Terminal Switch (5 ports)
Male to male D-Terminal cable
Hanzo
Kenzei

[opt2not]

Looks like a nice set-up, airs.

How are you handling audio from your consoles? Through the TV?

[IrishNinja]

^yeah, nice setup man - good use of space!

[airs]

Looks like a nice set-up, airs.

How are you handling audio from your consoles? Through the TV?

Yep, using the TV's built in speakers and the audio in the HDMI signal from the mini. I think it sounds pretty good actually! In my previous setup I had some Audioengine A5+ monitors but I don't miss them. Also, for some reason the noise I was hearing in my SNES audio has gone away. Maybe it was being caused by the scart to bnc/rca adapter I was using with the PVM, or maybe the PVM itself?

[chromium]

Decided to...enlarge...my setup - 50" 720p Panasonic plasma I've had for a long time. Loving the mini even more! All my RGB scart systems look so clean on it. Next change will have to be TATE-ability.

Coming in the mail:

Hori D-Terminal Switch (5 ports)
Male to male D-Terminal cable
Hanzo
Kenzei

Nice, I need something like this. I have consoles all over the floor at the moment
I also have way too many CRTs floating around.

[Sixfortyfive]

Nice, I need something like this. I have consoles all over the floor at the moment
I also have way too many CRTs floating around.

With how much hardware I'm constantly moving around, buying, and reselling, the majority of my "furniture" is currently made of Amazon.com boxes.

[broken harbour]

Decided to...enlarge...my setup - 50" 720p Panasonic plasma I've had for a long time. Loving the mini even more! All my RGB scart systems look so clean on it. Next change will have to be TATE-ability.

Coming in the mail:

Hori D-Terminal Switch (5 ports)
Male to male D-Terminal cable
Hanzo
Kenzei

That's awesome, what TV stand is that?

When I move to a house I wanted to split my setup and have one for my retro consoles in my spare room, and then all my HDMI consoles in the living room.

I see you also record music? Not many people have monitors on ISO pads.

[eightbitminiboss]

This is my setup:



Took it a few months ago, there's a PS4 in the upper right corner now.

Game storage however is another matter and still WIP with the space I'm currently dealing with...

[broken harbour]

Not that I want to derail the 'Framemeister Thread', but here's a bad iphone pic of mine:



This is in my living room, so there's a bunch of home theater stuff in addition to gaming stuff.

Yes I'm aware my 360S isn't in the best place for heat issues, I haven't actually used it since I moved it there, I'll prob move it to the top later.

Gotta find room for a future Wii-U, PS4, Jaguar and Genesis/CD/32x....

[Konsolkongen]

We should make a thread, if there isn't one already, to show off our collections and setups

[arovane]

Yes a thread to show off our collection would be a nice idea

I was wondering, is the picture quality REALLY better when using a Dreamcast with VGA box through the mini, instead of RGB scart through the mini? I actually don't see how it would be such a big difference, as the VGA signal has to be converted in RGB to go through the mini anyway... Has somebody here tried it?

[Fudoh]

VGA = 480p, double the vertical resolution of a standard RGB signal. So, yes of course, there's a difference.

When you attach a DC to the Mini, you just convert the sync (RGBHV to RGBs), but not 31khz to 15khz.

[arovane]

When you attach a DC to the Mini, you just convert the sync (RGBHV to RGBs), but not 31khz to 15khz.

Thanks for clarifying that. I was somewhat expecting that kind of answer, since everybody seems to be plugging their Dremacast to the mini through VGA... I've already ordered a UMSA scart adapter anyway, as some games like Street Fighter 2 X are not RGB compatible and has to be played in composite (puh...) or VGA. Will be interesting to see if those non-RGB compatible games will work with the mini though.

[arovane]

I'm thinking of plugging several consoles to the mini using the auto scart switcher from bandridge (have a couple of them here that I use with my CRT.

The Bandridge is a very nice switcher and works perfectly with CRT, the auto switch is absolutely mandatory when you have 10+ consoles plugged to 1 CRT. But does somebody know if I need a syncstrike to work correctly with the mini? Or if somehow, using a scart switcher will alter the signal? I guess you don't want to lose any information when you scale up a 240p signal, or 480p for that matter, onto a huge plasma screen

[airs]

VGA = 480p, double the vertical resolution of a standard RGB signal. So, yes of course, there's a difference.

When you attach a DC to the Mini, you just convert the sync (RGBHV to RGBs), but not 31khz to 15khz.

Fudoh, with a Hanzo and Kenzei you could do this though, correct? To play both 31khz 480p games, and 15khz 240p games through the mini?

[Fudoh]

yes (but I haven't tried the Kenzei sync combiner).

[beharius]

Yes it supports both 15khz & 31khz modes of the Dreamcast. Perfect match for the XRGB mini!

Fudoh, with a Hanzo and Kenzei you could do this though, correct? To play both 31khz 480p games, and 15khz 240p games through the mini?

[arovane]

Would you say that using a Hanzo and Kenzei is better than using a UMSA scart adapter? What's the difference in terms of results actually?

[beharius]

I can't talk about UMSA because I don't have one.
I designed Kenzei especially for the DC. It's optimized for the DC in mind. There is no loss in video quality, passthrough directly from Hanzo.