Component to VGA transcoder help (Wii)

[Gunstar]

Hello!

I recently purchased a Mayflash wii/ps3 vga cable which gives a great picture on my pc crt monitor, like the best image I've seen come out of a Wii. Now the cable isn't perfect as it'll lose synch on bright flashes and also has a weird purple band appear in certain places, such as the Wii settings menu. It also doesn't seem to be displaying 640x480...my pc crt monitor will curiously not list a resolution like it does with the (fake) GBS 8220 scaler I have in the options menu. Strangely enough it doesn't seem to crush blacks so that's one good thing.

So I then tried the GBS 8220/Ebay scaler, I ended up with a fake. Issues with this are it has a strong moire pattern running through it but also that it would exhibit crushed blacks and would still have desynch issues, now before I try buying a 'real' gbs scaler (in the hope of getting one without moire) I wonder if anybody else has seen black crush from their setup? (component>gbs). I believe I read somewhere that the GBS has dynamic range expansion and that might be affecting the YUV>RGB conversion.

I've also been looking at other transcoders that Fudoh has mentioned (LKV7000, RTC 2200, Burosch Con-1 etc) but they're either extremely rare or may possibly use similar bits to a gbs 8200 (hdbox pro, XCM vga).

Anybody got any suggestions on a decent transcoder? does the OSSC transcoding have black crush issues?

Thanks for any help.

[BuckoA51]

OSSC's transcoding is perfect, but if that's overkill for what you need, get one of these http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=55158

[Gunstar]

Thanks BuckoA51, waiting to see how Garo turns out!

I noticed that videogameperfection mentioned they have synch issues with the OSSC and Wii: http://www.videogameperfection.com/2016 ... irst-look/

I've no idea why but I've seen it happens with a few devices (GBS 8200, Mayflash VGA) trying to transcode Wii YUV. It's to be expected that there would be issues with those cheap components. I've got a transcoder being shipped over to me from the US, I'll update my findings when I get it.

[Gunstar]

Right, so I received the KD-CTCA2 transcoder and it has some bad chroma shifting, the good thing about it was that it didn't have the desynch issue that the maylfash or fake ebay scaler has.

The thing has died on me already so I've ordered a Lenkeng LKV7600 transoder, hopefully it'll be the one!

[Fudoh]

The thing has died on me already so I've ordered a Lenkeng LKV7600 transoder, hopefully it'll be the one!

the 7600 is a scaler though, so it's not perfectly lag free and it won't give you 1:1 transcoded results.

How did you decide for these ? Why don't you try the GARO ? At least it's a new product and if you have any problems with dropouts you got someone to talk to. The dropouts can probably be eliminated to adding a resistor to the "Y" input.

You could also try your next best component to HDMI converter plus a HDMI to VGA converter. Both are extremely cheap the combination of both still guarantees you ideal resolution and no lag.

[Gunstar]

Ah I thought it would just transcode 480p>480p and bypass any scaling, I had no idea it would add processing lag.

I should be patient and get the GARO, that's some very good points you've made, Fudoh.

I did think about doing that but that's a lot of boxes to add into the chain, I'll certainly consider it again. Thanks for your input!

[Fudoh]

Ah I thought it would just transcode 480p>480p and bypass any scaling, I had no idea it would add processing lag.

it's not huge, but I think your resolution will be converted from 720x480p to 640x480p, so quality will take a hit. I once had the PSP version of the same scaler. Basically the same unit, with the addition of a zoom mode for PSP games.

I did think about doing that but that's a lot of boxes to add into the chain, I'll certainly consider it again.

but they're cheap, TINY and the HDMI to VGA likely even doesn't need a power supply. You're looking at $25 for the component to HDMI converter and $20 for the HDMI to VGA one.

[Gunstar]

Is there not scaling on all Wii Component>VGA transcoders? or is the extra 100px hidden in overscan? This might explain why my PC crt won't list a resolution for the mayflash but display 640x480 on the fake ebay scaler.

Cool, thanks to you Fudoh I have cancelled my LKV7600 order.

[Fudoh]

Is there not scaling on all Wii Component>VGA transcoders? or is the extra 100px hidden in overscan? This might explain why my PC crt won't list a resolution for the mayflash but display 640x480 on the fake ebay scaler.

your CRT doesn't mind. 720x480p isn't a VESA timing, so that's probably why you don't get a reading.

[Gunstar]

Thank you for clearing up that mystery, Fudoh!

[BazookaBen]

There are plenty of lag-free, totally analog transcoders out there you can use. Audio Authority made a few, and the cream of the crop was the Crescendo Systems RTC2200.

I have both and they look great. Only problem is that the scanlines my PC CRT has at 480p sort of darken the image, so I have to use an Extron RGB to increase the overall brightness. A better solution in the future will be to line-double to 960p with the OSSC (if possible).

[Gunstar]

Yeah I looked at a bunch, some are just way to rare and obscure and some are going well over the OSSC and Garo prices. I'm going to pick up one of those when they're more available.

The Key Digital transcoder was supposed to be good :/

What PC crt do you have? with the Mayflash cable I have to turn on the super bright option, that way it's comparable to a consumer crt. PC crts are just amazing with 480p content but the hoops you got to jump through!

Ahh cool, I've got an Extron RGB recently but waiting on a cable, good to hear you can increase the brightness.

[BazookaBen]

I have a bunch of CRT's, two Dell p991, one Dell p992, a recently broken Samsung 900IFT, and, best of all, the LaCie Electron 22 Blue IV.

The LaCie also has the "super bright" option, but if you play close attention, that mode really kills your white-point balance, the bright whites and colors really get washed out. An example to try would be to go to the main spaceship in Super Mario Galaxy 2, and look at the stones on top of the main building. With super-bright mode on, they lose some of their detail and realism.

So I just kept that off, dealing with the slightly darker image, until I found out that the Extron has a knob that can evenly raise the brightness across the whole spectrum, without hurting bright colors or dark blacks.

[Gunstar]

The Lacie is meant to be incredible, jealous you have that! I think I saw a video of someone running Crazy Taxi on it, I couldn't believe the quality. Actually returning to PC crts has been a lot of fun, I just tried MarioKart 8 on one and it just smokes everything else.

Hmm I'll have a closer look, I have a Mitsubishi Diamondtron 750sb, I can change the degree of the brightness and also the colour temp of the super bright mode, I'll do some comparing against a sony trinitron tv I have sat next to it. Really looking forward to playing around with the Extron RGB.

What else do you have hooked up to your PC crts?

[BazookaBen]

What else do you have hooked up to your PC crts?

Everything that's capable of 480p and beyond. Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, PS3 (with HD Fury adapter), Wii U, etc. And, of course, my gaming PC. The awesome thing about PC games is that most of them still support 4:3 aspect ratios, unlike the PS4 and XBO. Like with the upcoming Mirror's Edge Catalyst, I was able to play it in full-screen 4:3, with better graphics settings than the PS4. And now I'll be picking up a second video card to hopefully run that at Ultra settings at something like 2048x1536 resolution.

Also being able to play at higher framerates is great, like playing Rocket League at 85hz, in contrast to the PS4's 60hz.

[Gunstar]

That's a great selection of consoles setup on pc crt! I've got the extron RGB for ps2 (yet to mod it with GSM) but looking to setup the original xbox for 480p JSRF and Orta. Do you ever get de-synch issues with your transcoders? I'm seeing some 'blackscreen' comments on the cheap component to hdmi transcoders.

Yeah I wish MK8 had a 4:3 option, even squished it was highly playable. I love the first Mirror's Edge, such a clean art style, perfect for a crt

[BazookaBen]

The audio-authority transcoder I have can't sync to 1080p, but the RTC2200 can. But for most Wii U games you should be running most games at 720p anyway since that is their native resolution (except for smash which is 1080p). With the PS3, I play a lot of Wipeout HD, which is 1080p, so I just use an HD Fury adapter. That gives way better picture than transcoded component anyway, since the PS3's analog output is not the best.

And with my LaCie I would have to use the input switch button to get 720p from my Wii U to show up when using the Audio Authority transcoder. Like, run a PC with picture to one input, Wii U to another, and just switch from PC to Wii U after I've turned on both. Otherwise I get no picture. Weird for sure. That's only with the Audio Authority, I think the RTC2200 works fine from the get-go. So yeah, some weird issues can come up but for the most part transcoders are great.

[Gunstar]

The RTC2200 sounds like an amazing device, I did a search and there's none on ebay! How does it handle the 720x480 from the Wii/Xbox?

Ha you seem to have more patience than me, hoping the Garo will be the perfect all in one solution with no de-synch issues and can spit out 720x480 rather than scailing to 640x480.

I was using a little hdmi to vga dongle on the WiiU at 720p, looked perfect, I think it might support 1080p. Might be worth picking one up for your WiiU and save using the Audio Authority, unless it's a quirk of the LaCie.

[BazookaBen]

The RTC2200 sounds like an amazing device, I did a search and there's none on ebay! How does it handle the 720x480 from the Wii/Xbox?

It handles everything perfectly. I'm thinking about selling it though, since I only really play 480p and 720p stuff through it. And the guy who made them died like a month after I bought it, so they're definitely not in production anymore. I think I could make my money back selling it to a Smash Bros Melee player or something.

Ha you seem to have more patience than me, hoping the Garo will be the perfect all in one solution with no de-synch issues and can spit out 720x480 rather than scailing to 640x480.

I was using a little hdmi to vga dongle on the WiiU at 720p, looked perfect, I think it might support 1080p. Might be worth picking one up for your WiiU and save using the Audio Authority, unless it's a quirk of the LaCie.

It's a quirk between the LaCie and the Audio Authority. My Dell Trinitrons don't have the issue. Must be slightly weird timings from the AA or something that the LaCie doesn't like.

But I already have one of the best HDMI>RGB dongles, the HD Fury. Problem with using it with the Wii U is that the Wii U only outputs limited RGB over HDMI. So you'd need one of the more advanced HD Fury's to upscale limited RGB to full-range (which none of the cheap knockoffs do either). A user on this forum said he noticed a huge improvement after upgrading to the HD Fury 2, which does the color-space upscaling.

So I just use the component out and transcode to RGB, though that means I can't use surround sound (which requires HDMI). I'll probably end up grabbing a used HD Fury 2 or something so I don't have to maket that compromise.

[BuckoA51]

I noticed that videogameperfection mentioned they have synch issues with the OSSC and Wii

No problems on the latest firmware.

[Gunstar]

@BazookaBen You know what I just tried the WiiU on the PC crt with that cheap dongle and it doesn't seem washed out at all, It looks comparable to the Wii tablet pad, I don't know if PC crts deal with limited better or what. Would be nice to see it compared to the levels being scaled correctly though.

@BuckoA51 Ah awesome, thanks for mentioning that. I'm signed up to the OSSC mailing list and depending on price of the kit and if a friend can put it together I'll be looking to pick one up!