Can a PC-98 be hooked up to a TV or modern monitor?

[Mantis128]

One day I want to get my hands on a PC 9800 and I have a question.

Does the PC 98 output VGA or something that can be converted to SCART, component etc to use on a CRT or Framemeister? Also do they output RGB?

[kamiboy]

The PC9800 series do put out RGB, but not VGA, at least not most games or programs. You couldn't hook VGA up to a television anyway since VGA is a 31khz signal and ordinary televisions can only handle 15khz.

I am not too clear on the standard signal that most PC9800 games put out. If any game outputs in 15khz it should display fine on a TV, but my intuition says that they are more likely to put out some weird signal that you need a proper monitor for.

I think proper PC98 monitors support 15/24khz though, so there might be hope.

[Mantis128]

In theory though, you could hook one up to a modern flat screen with no problems? Apart from the usual problems that come with pluging old equipment into a modern TVs. And could the odball KHz be passed through SCART or JP21 into the XRGB-Mini, like the Dreamcast does with the Toro?

[Blair]

it can really depend on the game you're trying to run, some PC 98 games run only in 240p and then some of them switch back and forth to 480i (like Galseed 2) this can be a little annoying with the XRGB framemeister as it takes about 5 to 10 seconds to re-sync when the resolution changes.

probably not that big a deal for most games though, I've heard that the Micomsoft XPC-4 doesn't have the same problems with resolution syncing and that it does a fairly good job with upscaling, but it doesn't have scanline support like the frame meister (so if you want scanlines you'd probably have to add an SLG into your video chain)

of course with the advent of the OSSC being pretty much lag free it seems like the perfect solution for something like a PC98 or x68000. so I would definitely get on the mailing list for that piece of hardware while you still can.

I've hooked my friends PC-88 and PC-98 machines up to my DVDO processors and most of them did a pretty good job and they don't have the resolution syncing problems of the of the framemeister and they have much less input lag as well.

when it comes to CRTs you'll need something that can handle 15khz,24khz, and 31khz (240p, 384p and 480p). most of the PVM's and BVM's only do 15khz, presentation monitors are a better bet (like the NEC Mitsubishi and ViewSonic variety. but some of those can be a bit large). or you'll have to find one of the original PC-98 CRTs from that era (but those are usually difficult to find in good condition and overly expensive)

In theory though, you could hook one up to a modern flat screen with no problems? Apart from the usual problems that come with pluging old equipment into a modern TVs. And could the odball KHz be passed through SCART or JP21 into the XRGB-Mini, like the Dreamcast does with the Toro?

it's probably possible to get the TV to do most of the heavy lifting, if that's what you want. my Samsung LCD has a VGA port on the back but the lowest resolution it supports is 640x480, however the component video and HDMI inputs can take a much wider variety of resolutions (everything from 240p to 1080p) it would probably work the same with most televisions today. in that case all you would need to do is get some type of transcoding solution. something like PC-98 RGB to Component [YPBPR] or to HDMI, depending on what standards your television supports on its various inputs.

what's your country's standard (NTSC or PAL?)

another option is modern gaming computer monitors, most of those should have pretty good resolution support. and fairly low input lag. although I don't know how good they are at upscaling low resolutions (might have to ask Fudoh about that one)

[Mantis128]

I live in Australia (PAL) but I plan to move to Canada within the next five years. My standard CRT can accept PAL, NTSC and SECAM.

[Blair]

excellent!

well, when you've decided what you want your set up to look like I'll be very interested in seeing how it all works out. definitely give us some updates!

[Mantis128]

excellent!

well, when you've decided what you want your set up to look like I'll be very interested in seeing how it all works out. definitely give us some updates!

I have a really awesome setup planned but it will take nothing under 5 years to save up for all the equipment and modding needed, probably more if you take prepping for Canada into account. I hope to have it started in about two years. One last question is it easy to connect any keyboard and mouse to a 9800 with an adapter?

[kamiboy]

In theory it should be, since I've seen adapters for the X68000, MSX and FM Towns there must be ones for the PC98 as well, though these are often rather expensive. That being said you are much better off buying a PC98 that comes complete with mouse and keyboard.

Currently PC98 hardware is the most plentiful Japanese retro computer platform on yahoo auctions, and they are practically being given away. If you are patient you can find a suitable auction that comes with the necessary peripherals included and will hardly cost you more than bare desktop auctions.

[Blair]

personally, I'm not a huge fan of the game control pads for the PC-98 or PC-FX so I'm currently trying to figure out how to hook up a super Nintendo controller ( has the right amount of buttons) as I think that would be a pretty good fit for the system.

(if I get that working i'll probably figure out some type of arcade stick solution for fighting games as well. maybe a hori fight stick)

[kamiboy]

The PC98 joypad port is the Atari standard that most Japanese PC's used. There are dozens of controllers that will work on it, including the excellent Micomsoft arcade sticks and several superb controllers by Hudson.

[Blair]

I'll have to check those out, but I still don't know how to use Yahoo Japan auctions. so I'm pretty much relegated to eBay for now. those items are usually pretty hard to find (on eBay), not to mention extremely overpriced.

[kamiboy]

You can find plenty of hudson PC controllers on ebay. Search for the term joycard. Anything that is advertised to work on the MSX, X68000 and FM Towns will work on the PC98 as well.