XRGB-mini Framemeister

[FerociousSwan]

Damn, if so I'm outa luck!!

[austin532]

Any recent US owners of the Framemeister? Did you guys buy an adapter or transformer of some kind? Doesn't take in 100v? Isn't that fine in NA?

The power supply that comes with it works fine in the US.

[eightbitminiboss]

Any recent US owners of the Framemeister? Did you guys buy an adapter or transformer of some kind? Doesn't take in 100v? Isn't that fine in NA?

Have had it for over a year and a half and have always used the stock adapter it came with.

[12345]

I ran into an issue with Tony Hawk 2 (NTSC) on the N64 (RGB) and I hope you guys can help me. As soon as I start the first level the screen completely blanks out and then the framemeister seems to try to sync with the game but somehow fails, as if the sync level had to be adjusted manually. Unfortunately, doing this doesn't solve the problem, only if I REselect the autosync option the game displays as it should. The interesting thing is though that this only happens when I start the game for the first time. When I exit to the menu and then enter again the xrgb mini changes resolutions just as it should.
Any hint for a permanent fix for this?

[teasea]

I have a couple of small Framemeister-related questions and I figure this is the best place to ask. So, I recently picked one up and so far I'm very pleased with the results on (almost) every console I've tried with it. However, last week I got an original XBOX (this one has a XBIT mod) and, as it only came with the composite/s-video cable, I also got a cheap component cable for it from eBay.

Using the XBOX over the s-video connection on the front of the Framemeister works fine, but when I try it over component (via my component switcher and a component to D-terminal converter - I also have my Wii and PS2 plugged into this and they work fine), I get just a black screen or very occasional flickers of the XBOX boot menu. I'm guessing this is a sync issue of some sort, but I'm not sure how to remedy it, given that I cannot seem to adjust sync levels etc. in this mode.

I did have a similar problem with my PS1 (over RGB SCART) until I replaced the Logic3 RGB cable I was using with the "sync on luma" cable from retro_console_accessories. Given that the problem with the XBOX occurs when I use component though, I'm not sure if this is relevant.


The other issue I have noticed is when I use my N64 (PAL unit with the "RGB for all" mod) - there is a strange kind of ghosting or interference at the edges of the screen that only occurs when scanlines are enabled. It shows up very obviously in Mario 64, if you run Mario around in circles on the path outside the castle. If I turn the scanlines off, the problem goes away. I also noticed that turning the SCAN_A setting up to around 118 seems to get rid of this issue. Any ideas as to why this is? It's only a minor annoyance but I'd prefer not to have to change settings every time I play that system.

If anyone can help me out with these little issues, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Windfish]

The power supply that comes with it works fine in the US.

Have had it for over a year and a half and have always used the stock adapter it came with.

Right? I am not sure why I thought I needed an adapter.

[eightbitminiboss]

The power supply that comes with it works fine in the US.

Have had it for over a year and a half and have always used the stock adapter it came with.

Right? I am not sure why I thought I needed an adapter.

It's not a bad thing to have an alternate adapter or step-down converter. Better safe than sorry I suppose. I just choose to accept the risk, if any.

[austin532]

I have a couple of small Framemeister-related questions and I figure this is the best place to ask. So, I recently picked one up and so far I'm very pleased with the results on (almost) every console I've tried with it. However, last week I got an original XBOX (this one has a XBIT mod) and, as it only came with the composite/s-video cable, I also got a cheap component cable for it from eBay.

There is no reason to ever by "cheap" cables. The picture will be bad and they cause nothing but problems. Since you now own the Frameister you should buy the best cables possible.

Using the XBOX over the s-video connection on the front of the Framemeister works fine, but when I try it over component (via my component switcher and a component to D-terminal converter - I also have my Wii and PS2 plugged into this and they work fine), I get just a black screen or very occasional flickers of the XBOX boot menu. I'm guessing this is a sync issue of some sort, but I'm not sure how to remedy it, given that I cannot seem to adjust sync levels etc. in this mode.

Your setup is very similar to how I had my XBOX, PS2, and Wii hooked up. I had all 3 plugged into a component switcher which then plugged into the Female Component to D-Terminal Male. Which switcher are you using? The buttons were touchy on mine and sometimes had to be pressed twice to get them working. I don't have a modded XBOX so I can't tell you for sure what it might be but I would get rid of those cheap component cables as they might be causing the problem. You can only adjust the Sync_Level when using RGB.

I did have a similar problem with my PS1 (over RGB SCART) until I replaced the Logic3 RGB cable I was using with the "sync on luma" cable from retro_console_accessories. Given that the problem with the XBOX occurs when I use component though, I'm not sure if this is relevant.

So you were having the same problem with the PS1 but when you replaced the cheap cables with "high quality" ones the problem went away? When does the problem happen? During the Boot Up sequence or during the Dashboard? Not sure if this makes a difference but what do you have your Dashboard set to? 480i or 480p? (You can set it to 480p by pressing both analog sticks and trigger buttons at the same time when using Component) Not sure if you know this but there are times when the Frameister goes black for 4-5 seconds. Usually during boot up of a system or when switching from Progressive to Interlaced and vice versa.

The other issue I have noticed is when I use my N64 (PAL unit with the "RGB for all" mod) - there is a strange kind of ghosting or interference at the edges of the screen that only occurs when scanlines are enabled. It shows up very obviously in Mario 64, if you run Mario around in circles on the path outside the castle. If I turn the scanlines off, the problem goes away. I also noticed that turning the SCAN_A setting up to around 118 seems to get rid of this issue. Any ideas as to why this is? It's only a minor annoyance but I'd prefer not to have to change settings every time I play that system..

Can't help you here as I don't have a modded N64.....yet.

If anyone can help me out with these little issues, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Rongolian]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a male-to-male SCART cable I could get within the US?

I need something to connect my SCART switcher to my XRGB mini.

I ordered one off of Amazon, but the sound and picture was bad when plugged in, and when I unplugged it the whole cable came apart!

[teasea]

There is no reason to ever by "cheap" cables. The picture will be bad and they cause nothing but problems. Since you now own the Frameister you should buy the best cables possible.

Of course, I try to always do that...unfortunately the official XBOX component cables seem nearly impossible to find and I don't know which third-party ones are good or not. Anyone recommend a decent one?

Your setup is very similar to how I had my XBOX, PS2, and Wii hooked up. I had all 3 plugged into a component switcher which then plugged into the Female Component to D-Terminal Male. Which switcher are you using? The buttons were touchy on mine and sometimes had to be pressed twice to get them working. I don't have a modded XBOX so I can't tell you for sure what it might be but I would get rid of those cheap component cables as they might be causing the problem. You can only adjust the Sync_Level when using RGB.

The component switcher I have is the AV Tool AVT-5831. I've had no problems with this so far and I have tried plugging the XBOX into a different input, just to make sure. Same result.

So you were having the same problem with the PS1 but when you replaced the cheap cables with "high quality" ones the problem went away? When does the problem happen? During the Boot Up sequence or during the Dashboard? Not sure if this makes a difference but what do you have your Dashboard set to? 480i or 480p? (You can set it to 480p by pressing both analog sticks and trigger buttons at the same time when using Component) Not sure if you know this but there are times when the Frameister goes black for 4-5 seconds. Usually during boot up of a system or when switching from Progressive to Interlaced and vice versa.

Yeah, with the PS1 the problem was less frequent, the picture would settle for a couple of seconds, then flicker, then settle again etc. With the XBOX though, this happens from the moment the console is turned on - I very rarely will see a frame or two of the dashboard but then it goes to a black screen again. I did try changing from 480i to 480p, unfortunately this didn't seem to have any effect. I can get a picture every time if I go straight to my TV's component input, even with these cheap cables, but obviously I would like to have everything go through the Framemeister.

[Konsolkongen]

There is no reason to ever by "cheap" cables. The picture will be bad and they cause nothing but problems. Since you now own the Frameister you should buy the best cables possible.

Of course, I try to always do that...unfortunately the official XBOX component cables seem nearly impossible to find and I don't know which third-party ones are good or not. Anyone recommend a decent one?

I have the offical Xbox component cables. One word of advice if you do manage to find it, replace the bundled cables immediately! Those are some of the worst component cables I've ever tried, you should expect heavy interference when using them. I have replaced them with Tech Link-cables now, and it looks really good, so the box itself is decent enough

[Fudoh]

I have the offical Xbox component cables. One word of advice if you do manage to find it, replace the bundled cables immediately

Microsoft released two versions: the first was the "breakout out" (Advanced HD Pack or whatever it was called), to which you connect seperate standard component cables. After that they released a more standard component cable (no more breakout box). The quality of the latter was great - real heavy duty cables.

[Konsolkongen]

I did not know that

[Fudoh]

Me neither before I bought the "cable" version a few years ago.

[austin532]

Same here, how can you tell the difference between the original version and newer version? I've been using the Monster Cable version and it looks good. Not sure if the official Microsoft branded ones are better quality or not.

[zakruowrath]

Here's an odd question, can the XRGB accept composite or S-Video signals from VHS and/or Laserdisc player? Being my television is so new it won't even accept composite video from a VCR, is there any risk on running them through an XRGB to be upscaled?

[austin532]

Your TV won't accept a Composite VCR signal or does your TV not have a Composite Video Input?

I don't see why there would be a risk in upscaling a video with Mini as I believe that's what the XRGB brand was originally intended for. Just make sure you have the right settings set.

[Fudoh]

Laserdiscs will be fine. VHS might be problematic once Macrovision is involved or when the player doesn't have a TBC.

[zakruowrath]

Your TV won't accept a Composite VCR signal or does your TV not have a Composite Video Input?

I don't see why there would be a risk in upscaling a video with Mini as I believe that's what the XRGB brand was originally intended for. Just make sure you have the right settings set.

My TV has one of those shared inputs that uses the green component video jack for composite, and yes when plugging in a VCR using composite video a message pops up and says unsupported video signal just like all my old game consoles. However, when plugging it into the antenna RF jack, it works, but the lowest possible signal on an HDTV doesn't look pretty at all and there's plenty of interference.

Laserdiscs will be fine. VHS might be problematic once Macrovision is involved or when the player doesn't have a TBC.

That's good to know, I have a few Laserdiscs that have never been put on DVD and outshine their VHS counterparts. Ask for the VHS side, I will be getting a VCR with TBC and most my tapes are ones I recorded myself, so no Macrovision to mess the picture up.

I was just a bit scared to use VHS as a source since it can be unstable sometimes and I know the XRGB Mini is met for older videogame consoles and computers. And being I'm investing in it, I didn't want to mess up that $400 little box.

[RGB32E]

This is interesting! Might draw new people to the scene:

http://kotaku.com/how-to-get-the-sharpe ... 1627089358

[Fudoh]

Excellent beginner video in the Kotaku article above: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43dzrCAfU3A

[blizzz]

The first comment on the Kotaku article: "I bought this about 3 months ago. Absolutely love it to pieces. Best £240 spent ever."
Meanwhile I bought it more than 3 months ago and still don't have it. *sigh*

The video is really well done though, saw it some days ago. BuckoA51 helped them with the information about the device.

[austin532]

3 months? Did it get lost in the mail? Are they bringing it to you personally by foot?

[pyrotek85]

Yeah who did you order it from? I can't imagine anyone taking that long to ship nowadays, even if it were backordered.

[juji82]

The first comment on the Kotaku article: "I bought this about 3 months ago. Absolutely love it to pieces. Best £240 spent ever."
Meanwhile I bought it more than 3 months ago and still don't have it. *sigh*

The video is really well done though, saw it some days ago. BuckoA51 helped them with the information about the device.

This is sad to hear. I can help You if You need, I live in Tokyo so I can contact solaris japan easily. I am also selling Framemeister with every kind of delivery service

[blizzz]

Thanks for the offer. I received a reply from Solaris this morning and it turns out they sent a replacement unit last Saturday as promised, but forgot to inform me. It's now in customs and I should receive it next week hopefully. They also marked it as a return delivery for a RMA case so I shouldn't have to pay import taxes again.

Edit: I'll be able to grab it tomorrow from the post office. That was faster than expected.

[blizzz]

Picked it up from the post office today and the picture is now stable

One thing I noticed is that I get very minor picture noise on solid blacks with my 230V PSU. When I use a step-down converter with the original PSU the picture doesn't show any noise on black.

Voltcraft SPS5-12W 2500 mA PSU < not recommended, adds some noise to the picture

[Shuco13]

What's just wrong with the mini's 480p processing? Now that I've done my first direct comparison today I can't believe how bad the 480p scaling of the mini seems to be. No matter which output resolution I choose it always looks worse than if I hook it directly to my TV. Smart x2 is somewhat acceptable but the screensize is not wide and to small for my taste. Even if I choose 480p as output the mini seems to screw up the signal. Am I doing something wrong or is there anything I can do to improve picture quality?
My settings for component:
Picture
H_scaler: 7
V_scaler: 5
Standard/normal2 for 720p
Smart x2 for 1080p
Color: as suggested

I furthermore think it's not my cable's fault because 240p input looks extremely good.

Edit: I suspect it hast something to do with the framemeister's wide mode, but I'm not sure. Can anybody confirm this?

[TheShadowRunner]

One thing I noticed is that I get very minor picture noise on solid blacks with my 230V PSU. When I use a step-down converter with the original PSU the picture doesn't show any noise on black.

Voltcraft SPS5-12W 2500 mA PSU < not recommended, adds some noise to the picture

Ah damn, I bought the same PSU in preparation for the mini, I could always return it but..
Could it be because it's a switched mode power supply rather than a linear one? The wiki says it's more prone to adding noise indeed.
Do you already have a plan for a replacement blizzz? There doesn't seem to be another good candidate on Conrad..

[austin532]

What's just wrong with the mini's 480p processing? Now that I've done my first direct comparison today I can't believe how bad the 480p scaling of the mini seems to be. No matter which output resolution I choose it always looks worse than if I hook it directly to my TV. Smart x2 is somewhat acceptable but the screensize is not wide and to small for my taste. Even if I choose 480p as output the mini seems to screw up the signal. Am I doing something wrong or is there anything I can do to improve picture quality?
My settings for component:
Picture
H_scaler: 7
V_scaler: 5
Standard/normal2 for 720p
Smart x2 for 1080p
Color: as suggested

I furthermore think it's not my cable's fault because 240p input looks extremely good.

Edit: I suspect it hast something to do with the framemeister's wide mode, but I'm not sure. Can anybody confirm this?

Yes, the Mini does not handle 480p very well plus Component is noisy on the Mini especially if your are using it with a PS2. Make sure to set Sharpness to 1. It does help. There's not much that can be done to fix this problem though and plugging directly into your TV is probably the best option.