XRGB-mini Framemeister

[opt2not]

New profile package update:

The "Toro" box for the Dreamcast arrived today, and I was able to get a working profile made up for RGB SCART at 2x the 640x480 converted VGA-to-RGB output. Surprisingly, everything worked first try when I hooked it all up and followed the PDF directions for setting the "Toro" box. Getting a perfect 2x-scale Zoom profile going was a bit more tricky, but eventually I found the right combination of the Visual_Set V_Width and the Zoom_Set Zoom_Overscan values to nail it down. A quick check with the scanline feature confirmed everything was kosher, and then I measured the image to calculate the perfect 4:3 aspect ratio value for the Zoom_Set Zoom_Width entry.

Please note the above profile is for Dreamcast games that support VGA mode 640x480. In my case, I had Code Veronica to test with. I don't have any other Dreamcast games at the moment, so I won't be able to make other Dreamcast profile modes at present.

Also please note there is the usual issue of 480p getting horizontally contoured by the Framemeister. My profile is sharp, so you can tell the false contours are there.

Awesome! I'll check this out in the next few days.

[lettuce]

Do we think that the predecessor to the mini will reduce or completely remove the lost of signal on res/refresh change that some games have and Playstation im looking at you here?

Havent hooked my PSX up to the xrgb-mini before but having done so this week and god the sync issue is annoying as hell!!. Most games change res or refresh rate like 3 or 4 times going from, playstation boot up screen to the title screen to menu screen then to a loading screen and then finally to the actual game.................arrrgh


FBX, any chance of a PC-Engine profile?. Also regarding the 20 Profile limited, i noticed in my folder i have a file named, 'EEP001.BIN' is this needed (can it be deleted) and if so does it count towards a 'profile'?

[FBX]

FBX, any chance of a PC-Engine profile?. Also regarding the 20 Profile limited, i noticed in my folder i have a file named, 'EEP001.BIN' is this needed (can it be deleted) and if so does it count towards a 'profile'?

EEP001 is the base file name the Framemeister uses when you save a new profile to the folder. You can delete it if you don't want it.

Eventually I will get to PC Engine. Right now though, I've got other things I need to take care of financially.

[THEDENTIST]

I have a question pertaining to the super famicom and the framemeister

Long story short I picked up two separate super famicoms in japan and opened them up. One is a regular plain RGB model and the other one is a 1CHIP-02 revision. I ordered the cable from the lady known as retro_console_accessories which I have all my cables from. It is the Super Nintendo stereo RGB SCART lead SNES CSYNC FULL SHIELD, GROUNDED cable ran into a framemeister. Now the issue is that the first system works great but the 1chip model only plays sound but no picture through the framemeister. I was under the impression that the 1CHIP-02 would still have csync by default and should therefore work. All my other system with csync cables work just fine. Do I need to mod this specific super famicom or am I doing something wrong?

[FBX]

I was under the impression that the 1CHIP-02 would still have csync by default and should therefore work. All my other system with csync cables work just fine. Do I need to mod this specific super famicom or am I doing something wrong?

It's been noted by a couple owners of Japanese 1CHIP-02's that Csync is not 100% certain to be hooked up in those models. If you're getting sound but no picture, that means your Csync isn't active and must be restored via modding. The other route is to use either Luma or Composite video as the sync source.

[THEDENTIST]

Can I do simple restore mod where I solder a cable on there as if it was a 03?

[AndehX]

Took the plunge and ordered a Framemeister. I praying to god I don't get hammered with customs fees :S

[FBX]

Can I do simple restore mod where I solder a cable on there as if it was a 03?

Probably, though I don't have any personal knowledge of the SFC's board layout on the 1CHIP-02. Obviously , you'll want to make sure you know exactly where to solder the wires before even attempting it.

[FBX]

The profile package has been updated:

The SNES 4X and 5X profiles have been redesigned using my masking technique to encase the active graphics in solid black masks. What this does is eliminate the ghosting and flickering that appears sometimes around the active graphics. This was VERY challenging to pull off on the 4X profile as dialing in the perfect scale image kept eluding me. The scanline feature would show one or two lines were slightly off, and it was driving me crazy. Then finally I landed on the perfect Zoom_Overscan setting and the scanlines were perfect when I tested it.

Enjoy!


P.S. Note that the Zoom_Width value on the 4X profile is correctly set at 51. This is because the Visual_Set H_Width has been adjusted to make the horizontal mask, which in turn stretches the active graphics horizontally. The Zoom_Width value of 51 compensates for this to mimic the 1.2857 aspect ratio formula (288x224).

Edit:

Sorry to immediately have to update the profiles again, but I discovered a weird quirk of the Framemeister that started to annoy me on the SNES 4X scale profile. What it boils down to is that when a perfect boundary is set on the vertical height of the active graphics (using my Visual_Set expansion trick), the top line of graphics becomes thin while the bottom line becomes thick. The framemeister actually is like this all the time, but we never notice it because those extreme edges are normally filled with overscan black sent from the console. So when I do my masking trick, it expands the active graphics to reach those extreme vertical edges, thus revealing the fat-versus-thin issue happening on those edges.

I've made a new profile that gives some 'breathing' room on the top and bottom of the active graphics, making them perfectly uniform again. The downside is the mask no longer covers all the overscan area, so some games like the intro in Zelda will reveal a little bit of noise in those areas. It's better than having a fat line on bottom and thin line on top though, so this is the best compromise.

[Moonwalker]

Playing Armed Police Batrider via RGB with the framemeister mini and I noticed it's adding this blue tinge to everything. It's the only PCB I have that it does this with, I know it's incorrect because my CRT display and my Blast City show it much differently. My cab and CRT match MAME really closely while the framemeister has this blue tint to everything where stuff is normally grey/green:

PCB with Framemeister:




Mame:





Here is how it comes through on my CRT:



Any ideas what's causing this? Switching to DVI output does the samething (purple etc... in the title screen).

I have the same issue. Tried to make it better with the color settings...

[Moonwalker]

Thanks Fudoh, sometimes life can be too easy

Anyway, new day, new problem. I started getting PCBs again and the debut made Viper Phase 1. I hooked it up to my old MAK/Supergun through the Mini. Had to correct the V-Height to get the scanlines right and played around with some settings. Actually I can just keep it close to the other 240p material right?

Now to the problem I have, there are diagonal stripes going through the picture from up to down (left to right when in tate).
I am not firm with technical stuff, but it seems like a composite/sync problem right? Is there an easy way to fix through the RGB cable maybe?

Here are some pictures, hope it gets more clear like this.

Thanks in advance!

http://www.morgenstern-arts.de/wp/games/viper1.jpg
http://www.morgenstern-arts.de/wp/games/viper2.jpg
http://www.morgenstern-arts.de/wp/games/viper3.jpg

Just for the records, the PSU created the problems. Hope this helps people in the future with the same problem. When I changed the PSU everything was fine.

[Moonwalker]

A lot of problems solved, time for a new one.

I got myself a Carrier Airwing CPS 1 board which I cant get working, the sync will not workout no matter what I do. There is a graphics glitch when the portraits in the intro show up, so maybe the board is damaged? Rest looks ok though but is unplayable because of the sync issue. I tried everything in the sync menu and played around with the 5v which influenced the sync. Anyway, it will not work out. Are there other settings which I could try?

Sorry for posting many posts in a row, but they are totally unrelated.

[Elite Evil]

I have a passive SCART to RGB cable from retrogaming cables and this seems to be a piece of junk and/or broken though.

Not surprised at all. Bought a cable from them, it came very late, with the wrong pins connected and a pitiful single ground connection. I'd recommend shipping that crap back and getting a proper one instead.
Hopefully the socket on your Mini's side isn't broken.

Well I got the cable you recommended (which looks to be a better quality than the UK one) but the same thing happens. :'(

Must be a broken XRGB. Hope shipping it to Japan is cheap.

[AndehX]

Jesus, what a nightmare trying to buy an XRGB-Mini. I tried to order one 3 times using my bank card, all of which were declined for unknown reasons.
Then I get a text from my bank saying there is suspicious activity on my account. Reply Yes or No to confirm/deny your authorization. I replied yes.
Half an hour later I get text reply saying thank you for confirming, if your transaction was declined, try again in 10 minutes.
Tried again, half an hour later after I took a bath - Declined..... Great.
So I ended up having to pay via Paypal, begrudingly paying the extra £10 in Paypal conversion fees.
Now I have the banks fraud department calling me about it...

Leave me alone lol. There is nothing suspicious about buying something from a foreign country... damn. If it was suspicious, or I didn't authorize it, you think they would let me contact them about it....

[RGB32E]

Sounds about right AndehX! I received an automated call within minutes when attempting to order my XRGB-3 many years ago and the XRGB-mini at launch. Thankfully in both cases it was quick to confirm the "suspicious charges" and finish the orders. It's worth the hassle!

[AndehX]

I have a passive SCART to RGB cable from retrogaming cables and this seems to be a piece of junk and/or broken though.

Not surprised at all. Bought a cable from them, it came very late, with the wrong pins connected and a pitiful single ground connection. I'd recommend shipping that crap back and getting a proper one instead.
Hopefully the socket on your Mini's side isn't broken.

My first experience of retrogamingcables.co.uk wasn't exactly stella either. I ordered a CSYNC SCART to BNC adapter for my PVM. Ordered it on the Monday, had to contact them by Wednesday since I recieved no email of dispatch. They replied saying their warehouse was closed from Monday till Wednesday.... ok.
My order was dispatched that same day (apparently)
So Friday comes and im thinking, yeah, my adapter will probably come today. I wait in for the postman.... nothing. Ok.
This goes on until Wednesday the next week, when it finally arrives, First Class Signed For (which for those of you not from the UK, normally means 1-2 days delivery)
So how does it take a week for something to be delivered, if it was posted First Class? I find it very hard to believe that my order was dispatched when they said it was. Personally I think they just didn't have any in stock until the following week, and chose not to tell me.

So anyway, I think from now on, I will try and avoid them if I can help it. For instance, my XRGB-Mini will arrive any day now hopefully, and I'm going to need a SCART adapter for my RGB consoles (the XRGB comes with the JP21 adapter as we all know)
Rather than buy the adapter from retrogamingcables, I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, so I'm going to simply rewire the JP21 adapter instead.

[TheShadowRunner]

Well I got the cable you recommended (which looks to be a better quality than the UK one) but the same thing happens. :'(
Must be a broken XRGB. Hope shipping it to Japan is cheap. :(

Sorry to hear. Do you feel you can rotate the plug in the Mini socket with this new cable as well?
It shouldn't rotate at all. If it does it probably means the socket inside the Mini has been twisted too much and probably some connections got loose. Hard to say.

This goes on until Wednesday the next week, when it finally arrives, First Class Signed For (which for those of you not from the UK, normally means 1-2 days delivery.

1 week.. in my case it was +1 month overdue ^^;

[scottmog]

I have a passive SCART to RGB cable from retrogaming cables and this seems to be a piece of junk and/or broken though.

Not surprised at all. Bought a cable from them, it came very late, with the wrong pins connected and a pitiful single ground connection. I'd recommend shipping that crap back and getting a proper one instead.
Hopefully the socket on your Mini's side isn't broken.

My first experience of retrogamingcables.co.uk wasn't exactly stella either. I ordered a CSYNC SCART to BNC adapter for my PVM. Ordered it on the Monday, had to contact them by Wednesday since I recieved no email of dispatch. They replied saying their warehouse was closed from Monday till Wednesday.... ok.
My order was dispatched that same day (apparently)
So Friday comes and im thinking, yeah, my adapter will probably come today. I wait in for the postman.... nothing. Ok.
This goes on until Wednesday the next week, when it finally arrives, First Class Signed For (which for those of you not from the UK, normally means 1-2 days delivery)
So how does it take a week for something to be delivered, if it was posted First Class? I find it very hard to believe that my order was dispatched when they said it was. Personally I think they just didn't have any in stock until the following week, and chose not to tell me.

So anyway, I think from now on, I will try and avoid them if I can help it. For instance, my XRGB-Mini will arrive any day now hopefully, and I'm going to need a SCART adapter for my RGB consoles (the XRGB comes with the JP21 adapter as we all know)
Rather than buy the adapter from retrogamingcables, I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, so I'm going to simply rewire the JP21 adapter instead.

Where do people suggest purchasing multi out to euro scart cables?

[AndehX]

Where do people suggest purchasing multi out to euro scart cables?

Well retrogamingcables will get you what you need, but be aware delivery will probably take longer that what they claim.

Failing that, ebay. Although you have to be careful. I've bought numerous RGB (claimed) cables for various consoles from Ebay only to find that they are not wired for RGB at all, or they are missing the required resistors etc.
For Ebay, the general rule for RGB cables is, if its cheap, then its probably not a proper RGB cable, or its poorly shielded.

[opt2not]

I used to order from retrogamingcables, but after buying from retrogamingaccessories on ebay, I notice RGC's cables aren't as high quality.

Most people here will tell you to buy from RGA rather than RGC.

[AndehX]

I used to order from retrogamingcables, but after buying from retrogamingaccessories on ebay, I notice RGC's cables aren't as high quality.

Most people here will tell you to buy from RGA rather than RGC.

True, but thats US based. Me, for example, i'm from the UK, so RGC is pretty much the only option

[opt2not]

True, but thats US based. Me, for example, i'm from the UK, so RGC is pretty much the only option

Uhmmm, last time I checked packages can be sent from the US to the UK.

I'm Canada-based, and I ordered from both before. Choosing quality cables with a little bit extra shipping charges is not a deal-breaker. I can definitely get a couple less cappuccino's during the week to pay for the shipping.

[AndehX]

True, but thats US based. Me, for example, i'm from the UK, so RGC is pretty much the only option

Uhmmm, last time I checked packages can be sent from the US to the UK.

I'm Canada-based, and I ordered from both before. Choosing quality cables with a little bit extra shipping charges is not a deal-breaker. I can definitely get a couple less cappuccino's during the week to pay for the shipping.

I know they can but its expensive and slow. Shipping to the UK costs like 80% the price of the cable itself.

[Ripthorn]

Not really UK, but this seller from Sweden sells high quality scart cables: http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_ ... t&_sacat=0

Better then retro_console_accessories imo and the shipping is cheap.

[AndehX]

Not really UK, but this seller from Sweden sells high quality scart cables: http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_ ... t&_sacat=0

Better then retro_console_accessories imo and the shipping is cheap.

Yep I can vouch for him. I bought his Gamecube RGB cable. This one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GAMECUBE-RGB- ... 1455890626

Works perfectly with my sync stripper and my PVM. Delivery was pretty fast too.

[scottmog]

Not really UK, but this seller from Sweden sells high quality scart cables: http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_ ... t&_sacat=0

Better then retro_console_accessories imo and the shipping is cheap.

Yep I can vouch for him. I bought his Gamecube RGB cable. This one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GAMECUBE-RGB- ... 1455890626

Works perfectly with my sync stripper and my PVM. Delivery was pretty fast too.

So this, in your opinion, would be the best possible cable I could run on my super famicom?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SNES-SCART-cabl ... SwhwdVU2st

[RGB32E]

There will be a better and thinner alternative available by the end of November if you want a multi coax cable. Their "pro" cables are way too thick and inflexible. If you connect directly to the XRGB-mini, you'll need to secure the cable as its heavier than the mini. Also, the audio signals are routed over a shielded twisted pair (L and R are twisted together), so you loose some channel separation.

Then again, you can always build something better yourself! Especially if you want to connect directly to the 8MDIN RGB input without adapters or switches.

[scottmog]

There will be a better and thinner alternative available by the end of November if you want a multi coax cable. Their "pro" cables are way too thick and inflexible. If you connect directly to the XRGB-mini, you'll need to secure the cable as its heavier than the mini. Also, the audio signals are routed over a shielded twisted pair (L and R are twisted together), so you loose some channel separation.

Then again, you can always build something better yourself! Especially if you want to connect directly to the 8MDIN RGB input without adapters or switches.

Well crap, which ones are the best I can get for my snes and N64? I don't think my N64 is modded for csync but csync works out of the box with the super famicom

[AndehX]

Also, the audio signals are routed over a shielded twisted pair (L and R are twisted together), so you loose some channel separation.

How do you avoid this then?

Then again, you can always build something better yourself! Especially if you want to connect directly to the 8MDIN RGB input without adapters or switches.

That is actually an amazing idea. I am more than capable of making my own cables, but I have no idea where to buy the parts (cable/8pin DIN connector/snes multi-out connector)

[FBX]

Also, the audio signals are routed over a shielded twisted pair (L and R are twisted together), so you loose some channel separation.

How do you avoid this then?

I have the pro cable and there's no 'loss of channel separation'. If there were any from simply being near each other, it would be undetectable to the human ear unless there was an actual short going on there (which there isn't if the cable is working properly). If you want proof of concept, I can make a recording from both the original AV cables and the SCART pro cable so you can compare for yourself.