Generic RGB Upscalers Etc. Share your Experiences

[RetroFixes]

I'm trying to build a list of Generic Upscalers that actually work.

I realize (and agree) that the XRGB mini is the great in terms of price, performance and quality.

Though I often receive questions about generic $50-$100 upscalers like the Panlong PL-SH2H.

If anyone has experience with a successfully working or disappointing non working upscaler please post you experience here.

Please also add info about your console and cables used.

International users welcome but my focus is on USA setups

Thanks!

[Fudoh]

What do you consider a "non working" upscaler ?

[RetroFixes]

"What do you consider a "non working" upscaler ?

You hook it up a no usable picture.

Or the lag is so bad it's not worth using for gaming.

[Fudoh]

The Panlong is fine for its price, although it applies adaptive deinterlacing to 240p sources. I've reviewed it on my page (just by a different name. HDV something I think....)

[RetroFixes]

The Panlong is fine for its price, although it applies adaptive deinterlacing to 240p sources. I've reviewed it on my page (just by a different name. HDV something I think....)

I will need to check out the review.

Thanks for the info Fudoh (you rock btw)

[Xyga]

I realize (and agree) that the XRGB mini is the best in terms of performance and quality.

Depends...if you'd rather have a scanlined 640x480p output as sharp as it gets with zero lag: the XRGB-3 is better.
Or if you're into arcade boards with really off-60Hz frequency: you'll be more comfortable with an XRGB-2, also combined with a vp50pro for upscaling and greater flexibility if your TV/monitor sucks at it.

[RetroFixes]

I realize (and agree) that the XRGB mini is the best in terms of performance and quality.

Depends...if you'd rather have a scanlined 640x480p output as sharp as it gets with zero lag: the XRGB-3 is better.
Or if you're into arcade boards with really off-60Hz frequency: you'll be more comfortable with an XRGB-2, also combined with a vp50pro for upscaling and greater flexibility if your TV/monitor sucks at it.

True but I should probably remove my opinion from the original post.

I'm simply trying to gather info on cheap $50-$100 upscalers.

[rugdoctor]

The Phillips FTR 9955 gets my vote. SCART RGB inputs and coupled with the SLG kills with line doubling.

https://youtu.be/-9Uvk397wfE

[Bahn Yuki]

The Phillips FTR 9955 gets my vote. SCART RGB inputs and coupled with the SLG kills with line doubling.

https://youtu.be/-9Uvk397wfE

I have a cheap rgb to hdmi scaler I picked up of Amazon for $50. It gets the job done, as fudoh stated earlier it will treat everything as interlaced. The lag isn't terrible but the motion blur can very annoying. not a terrible purchase and it's easy to use

[AndehX]

I have one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SCART-HDMI-conv ... B0092IAA3I

It works, but motion blur will be noticable on retro 240p games. Newer games, like N64/Dreamcast/Gamecube its ok as those are not pixel heavy games, but this scaler does introduce about 60ms of lag. That, on top of the 20ms or so lag that my LCD TV has as standard makes gaming through the scaler quite painful.
On the otherhand, if you're looking for a scaler just for capturing video or live streaming, then it's perfect. I would only invest in something like an XRGB-Mini if you actually want to game on your LCD. If you're happy gaming on your PVM or whatever, and just want to capture/stream, then the scaler I linked will do that just fine.

[Das Muel]

The Phillips FTR 9955 gets my vote. SCART RGB inputs and coupled with the SLG kills with line doubling.

https://youtu.be/-9Uvk397wfE

I've just taken the plunge on one of these from eBay. I think it's worth a shot for £30. It sounds like a good fit for my Trinitron PC CRT. Does it handle 480i-240p transitions okay in your experience?

[Das Muel]

Rug Doctor - This thing's genius! Rock-solid performer once it's unlocked through the service menu. 480i and 240p with no sync instability. Unfortunately I've got to go to work so I can't test absolutely everything now, but it's already outperforming my old XRGB2+ and XPC4 (for 240p, 480i at least). Thanks for the tip. Bargain.

[Fudoh]

There's a similar unit from Panasonic. Also meant as a companion to one of their older plasma panels. Rock solid 240p processing as well.

[FinalBaton]

Can this be used in NTSC territory? (specifically on a flat panel)

[rugdoctor]

Rug Doctor - This thing's genius! Rock-solid performer once it's unlocked through the service menu. 480i and 240p with no sync instability. Unfortunately I've got to go to work so I can't test absolutely everything now, but it's already outperforming my old XRGB2+ and XPC4 (for 240p, 480i at least). Thanks for the tip. Bargain.

You are welcome! FTR FTW!! And it outputs VGA resolution so It does not matter about video broadcast standards, heck, I threw an NTSC game at it and it was fine.

[FinalBaton]

Rug Doctor - This thing's genius! Rock-solid performer once it's unlocked through the service menu. 480i and 240p with no sync instability. Unfortunately I've got to go to work so I can't test absolutely everything now, but it's already outperforming my old XRGB2+ and XPC4 (for 240p, 480i at least). Thanks for the tip. Bargain.

You are welcome! FTR FTW!! And it outputs VGA resolution so It does not matter about video broadcast standards, heck, I threw an NTSC game at it and it was fine.

Well I got my answer

[werk91]

Wish I picked a Phillips FTR 9955 instead of GBS-8200+SyncStrike now. The results on this unit seems quite impressive :

http://kelvinsgamingheaven.blogspot.co. ... ction.html

Does anyone know if Philips FTR 9952 will give the same results when connected to a flat screen monitor/TV ?
There's a cheap one on ebay and one of the main differences I can see is the lack of component input.

[Das Muel]

I was a bit overenthusiastic in my last post, although the FTR9955 definitely beats the Gonbes/SLG combo I tested out briefly a few months back. It's certainly a very solid performer (480i/240p are rock solid and transition phases between the two are basically non-existent), but the basic output quality does leave something to be desired in my opinion. It's 480p output retains a somewhat 'processed' look to it, even after turning off all the sharpness, DNR etc in the menu. The colours are also very slightly washed-out to my eye, which makes me wonder what it's doing to the RGB signal. It also doesn't appear to take 480p over component for some inexplicable reason. It's not bad by any means, and it certainly beats the 480i processing of the XPC-4, and arguably the XRGB2+. 240p looks good when used with a scanline generator and is very stable. The quality's okay for using with a PC CRT, but I don't think I'd want to throw upscaling etc into the mix by using it with an LCD. It's certainly more than worth the £30 I paid for it though, and it's extremely well-equipped in terms of inputs.

[rugdoctor]

I can not remember the setting I done on my machine, need to double check, but it was solid on the PC LCD I tested. I think the quality is pretty good compared to the other generic scalers I have and given the native scart input and YUV (I think its up to 480i on this input tbh) its a no brainer. Did you use AV1 or AV2 for the scart RGB input? Also did you check the settings for RGB instead of the default settings?

[Das Muel]

Yeah like I say I think it's definitely better than the Gonbes, can't speak for the other generic scalers because I haven't used any. Both input 1 and 2 seem to have the same output - 4 seems to be wired for composite only and I don't think I got anything out of 3 with an RGB scart lead. Where are the settings for RGB? I had a good look around the menus but couldn't see any.

[rugdoctor]

the link is above...I forgotten I actually included the navigation in my blog so give that a go and see how you progress. Worst case is the machine is set to CVBS in the menu and it was not pulling the RGB signals.

[werk91]

So judging by your experiences my setup would benefit from this scaler. The only cons I can currently see are :

1. Its quite massive for me to just keep on my desk although I could squeeze it in the living room maybe..
2. On eBay UK there's 9952 for 40£ (but a model with a build in VHS which is huge ) and a 9965 for 57£ (roughly what I've payed so far for the Gonbes+SyncStrike combo).

I can't find information on whether the 9965 allows for the Pixel Plus technology @rugdoctor talks about on their blog to be switched off. I will be interested to see if those RGB settings vs CVBS make a difference for @Das Muel. Since I usually play on the PS2 most if it can handle 240p/480i and 480p in a good manner then I'm more or less sold.

[Das Muel]

Rug Doctor - I'd already set all the EXT to 'Game' as you mentioned in your blog. It's nowhere near shit enough to be CVBS - I'm pretty sure it's taking in the RGB, it's just doing some slightly unflattering processing on the signal. I'm extremely anal about colour reproduction - it probably won't bother anybody else and it's still better than the GBS in this regard. The motion is good as well, and I haven't experienced a single sync dropout. I'll have to try using it with an SLG300 as for some reason the SLG I'm using seems to lift the gamma somewhat (when used with the FTR9955).