XRGB-mini Framemeister

[Ja81]

austin532, that's as general as I was looking for I guess, as far as advice for "TV settings" goes. Thank you.

RGB32E, thanks for your input.

Still open to suggestions from others to my original queries...

[EnragedWhale]

PAL user here,

Set the mini to output 576p50 to get nice looking scan lines out of the box and although this won't give you the sharpest image possible it'll get you playing quickly and you can start messing with higher resolutions and custom zoom settings etc when you get more comfortable with it.

Also get an English overlay for the remote as that makes things much easier! Retrogamingcables sell them.

[Fudoh]

Indeed, 576p50 output will provide nicely looking scanlines out of the box. Without scanlines you can go for a 1080p output.

It should be possible to create 720p and 1080p profiles for PAL sources that give you a good looking scanline effect. What you're basically doing is cropping the 288p input to 240p and going for integer scaling after that. This way you can adjust the height, so you don't have to deal with squeezed sprites, but you get the original NTSC ratio instead.

Of course you're still dealing with the 17% hit in speed compared the NTSC versions and any games adjusted to use more than 240 lines from a 288p signal, will require completely different settings.

[Popolocrois]

Hi. I've got a few question regarding the framemeister. About the dropout issue, i read someone advising to choose a 16 value for sync in the framemeister settings but i don't seems to have the option to choose a value. My only option seems to be "on" or "off" for sync. So i've chosen "off" and things are going way better about the dropout issue. will i be loosing quality for the picture if i set the sync on "off"?

I use the framemeister mostly with a PAL PS2. I have some old games in wich you can't choose between 50hz or 60hz, so there are big black horizontal borders. Because the framemeister is a scaler i though i could bypass the annoying black borders increasing the V width value. the blacks borders are reduced but i can't get rid of them, even with a +63 on the V width wich is the maximum. Any ideas?

[Fudoh]

sync (as in vsync) has to be left ON. The sync LEVEL setting (for RGB sources) can be adjusted from 0 to 25 (or so). Standard setting is 9. A setting around 15 would help with the dropouts.

regarding aspect ratio control: the v width setting is kinda limited. If you use the ZOOM function sets instead, you can adjust cropping and zooming in every like you want.

[Popolocrois]

I can't choose value for sync... don't know why. Maybe i must update the framemeister....

Thank you i will try the zoom option, never tried it yet.

[sofakng]

Is it possible to quickly switch profiles? I've just received my Framemeister and it's a bit of a pain to keep going through the menu.

Also, are there any hidden remote control codes? I have a universal remote that can be programmed with Pronto (or other) IR hex codes.

[Ja81]

@EnragedWhale: Thank you, will try this out. I've read this advice elsewhere, was hoping there'd be users who'd managed to get more out of the Framemeister for PAL stuff by now is all, i.e. that you could get a sharp image that fills the screen, good quality scan lines and smooth game play like the guys using NTSC seem to be able to get from the Framemeister now (admittedly, after much trial and error). Also, will do on the remote overlay - Retro Gaming Cables now give the overlay away for free when you order one of their CSYNC EuroSCART to Framemeister adapters, just waiting for that damn cable to come back in stock.

@Fudoh: Thank you for the feedback. Few questions, if you don't mind...

Without scanlines you can go for a 1080p output.

Assuming I'd use the Framemeister's 1080p50 output (remembering that my console and games are all PAL)? If so, any known issues with picture quality or how smoothly a game runs this way? Or indeed at a 720p50 output?

It should be possible to create 720p and 1080p profiles for PAL sources that give you a good looking scanline effect. What you're basically doing is cropping the 288p input to 240p and going for integer scaling after that. This way you can adjust the height, so you don't have to deal with squeezed sprites, but you get the original NTSC ratio instead.

Would you mind elaborating on this? What I'm getting from what you wrote is that, from my PAL console and games, I'd output on the Framemeister at 720p60 or 1080p60, accepting the loss of 24 lines top and bottom, adjusting the height to counter the squashed image due to loss of lines? If that reading is correct (I have my doubts!), wouldn't there be issues with how smoothly a game runs when the source is PAL but the output is 240p?

Of course you're still dealing with the 17% hit in speed compared the NTSC versions and any games adjusted to use more than 240 lines from a 288p signal, will require completely different settings.

I've only ever known PAL consoles and games, so although I know I'm missing out when people talk about NTSC stuff, it doesn't bother me. The speed of the games as I've known them is the only speed I've known and I love these classic games regardless.

[Fudoh]

Assuming I'd use the Framemeister's 1080p50 output (remembering that my console and games are all PAL)? If so, any known issues with picture quality or how smoothly a game runs this way? Or indeed at a 720p50 output?

1080p50 is fine.

Would you mind elaborating on this? What I'm getting from what you wrote is that, from my PAL console and games, I'd output on the Framemeister at 720p60 or 1080p60, accepting the loss of 24 lines top and bottom, adjusting the height to counter the squashed image due to loss of lines?

yes & no. The loss in image height isn't due to you cropping the image. It's because 288p games usually use the same assets as 240p ones (unless they're 3D and adjusted), so the extra lines (in PAL resolutions) aren't used to begin with. Once you understand the zoom functions on the FM, you'll be able to run everything looking exactly like the NTSC version (minus the speed of course).

If that reading is correct (I have my doubts!), wouldn't there be issues with how smoothly a game runs when the source is PAL but the output is 240p?

no issues.

[Ja81]

Thanks again. Can't wait to get this damn cable and get started.

[jhonny_d]

Yesterday I was sorting my magazine collection and look what I found

http://imgur.com/a/nLbKh From Micom Basic 1997

In 97 I was 10 year old and stuck with only the NES on RF

[Grime]

Yesterday I was sorting my magazine collection and look what I found

http://imgur.com/a/nLbKh From Micom Basic 1997

In 97 I was 10 year old and stuck with only the NES on RF

Thats awesome, I had no idea they had these types of devices that long ago.

[Ace9921]

Has anybody had the HDMI inputs on their XRGB-Mini fail? Both of the HDMI inputs on mine have gone bad and I need to use one of the HDMI passthroughs as a means of doing audio mixing on a Windows 98 computer that can't put out audio over DVI. I was also considering going back to my HD CRT using the HDMI 2 input as an interlacer to put out 1080i to the TV for my Xbox 360 S, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U and gaming PC as it doesn't support 1080p (I need the outputs of all of these at 1080p for capture purposes, hence using the XRGB-Mini to interlace 1080p to 1080i), but both HDMI inputs refuse to recognize any incoming signal and all I get are a few clicks in my TV's speakers.

Firmware upgrade/downgrade did nothing to fix the problem. Potential hardware fault here?

On a side-note, has anybody managed to get decent video quality with a 720p or 1080p Component input on the XRGB-Mini? I've got an Xbox 360 without HDMI and I'm having a hard time getting good picture quality out of it through the Component input of the XRGB-Mini.

[brandonx76]

Hey All -

Was thinking of giving some Framemeister profiles a go, now that I'm using them on another tv. 720 P had been my preferred w/Scanlines setting, but I had understood 1080p was possible with some proper settings, hopefully within profiles already made?

Heard something about the Firebrandx profiles, but his site seems to be down. Wonder if they were archived?

cheers & thanks

- Brandonx76

[FBX]

Hey All -

Was thinking of giving some Framemeister profiles a go, now that I'm using them on another tv. 720 P had been my preferred w/Scanlines setting, but I had understood 1080p was possible with some proper settings, hopefully within profiles already made?

Heard something about the Firebrandx profiles, but his site seems to be down. Wonder if they were archived?

cheers & thanks

- Brandonx76

Web site provider is having trouble. Here's the latest package on filetrip:

https://filetrip.net/dl?wmyW3DzKwk

[brandonx76]

Web site provider is having trouble. Here's the latest package on filetrip:

https://filetrip.net/dl?wmyW3DzKwk

Sorry to hear that...thanks very much!

[austin532]

BTW it's also possible to get nice scanlines on 1080p using profiles.

[lechu]

I've been searching around and haven't really found anything. But does anyone have a good 4X scaling profile for the Sega Saturn and Atari 2600 (with rgb mod)? I've seen some 5X for the Saturn, and I've never even seen a 2600 profile.

[Bondy]

Hi, I'm having trouble with my European MSX2 not syncing on some games with the mini. I've fiddled with the sync settings for ages but can't find a spot where everything stays normal. Most games are fine it's just a few that are wonky, they're mostly more advanced graphics games. They include:

Space Manbow
Metal Gear 2
HERZOG
(probably more i've forgotten)
Any ideas?

Also I've read about alot of people fiddling with the zoom options. I heard this compromises the picture? Is this not true?

Thanks,



also what do you guys think of this monitor for the mini http://www.philips.com.au/c-p/323E7QDAA_75/lcd-display ?

[stranno]

I have done the Tim's N64 RGB mod (PAL ES MAV-NUS) recently and i'm getting faint jail bars along the screen.

I have cutted the composite track and wired the (V) pin to CS75 in Tim's board. This should remove the interferences. And while the image is clear, the bars are noticeable.

I'm using a really cheap Aliexpress SCART cable. Could this cable remove all those bars or it is not related to the cable itself?

[Skavi_]

So I'm trying to get better greens from my framemeister but can't seem to get it to output YCbCr instead of RGB.

-Pushing "RGB" on the remote and having output_color=auto will output RGB (according to the "full_status" in the menu)
-Pushing "CMPNT" on the controller will result in only blue picture
-Pushing "CMPNT" on the controller and then loading the SNSRGB4X profile will result in YCbCr being uses as output

I don't really understand what is going on

EDIT: Ok, I think this is because my monitor does not support YCbCr somehow. I get what looks like a purple filter over the entire screen when using it. Probably no way to fix this. It looks very good on capture however.

[FBX]

So I'm trying to get better greens from my framemeister but can't seem to get it to output YCbCr instead of RGB.

-Pushing "RGB" on the remote and having output_color=auto will output RGB (according to the "full_status" in the menu)
-Pushing "CMPNT" on the controller will result in only blue picture
-Pushing "CMPNT" on the controller and then loading the SNSRGB4X profile will result in YCbCr being uses as output

I don't really understand what is going on

EDIT: Ok, I think this is because my monitor does not support YCbCr somehow. I get what looks like a purple filter over the entire screen when using it. Probably no way to fix this. It looks very good on capture however.

As of the latest firmware, you can force YPbPr by setting the following:

HDMI_SET:

Color_Output = Auto
Color_Range = Full

Greens are balanced with the rest of the colors, though a bit less bright of a picture.

[Skavi_]

As of the latest firmware, you can force YPbPr by setting the following:

HDMI_SET:

Color_Output = Auto
Color_Range = Full

Greens are balanced with the rest of the colors, though a bit less bright of a picture.

Yea, noticed that it looked better on the capture card. My monitor gets a "purple filter" effect unless I use RGB however, so will have to keep using the worse greens for now.

And even the YPbPr still didn't look perfect in my opinion, but still better colors than RGB.

[spectro2]

Hello !

I would like to play PS2 PAL/50hz games with scanlines with my XRGB-Mini, I can't because the screen twinkle as soon as I put scanlines ...
For PS2 NTSC/60hz it's all right, nice scanlines and no twinkle !

My hardware and settings :
SONY PS2 Slim PAL (with swap magic CD for NTSC games)
XRGB-MINI Framemeister (fw 2.03a)
Connexion : PS2 => component cable => adapter component/D-Terminal => XRGB-Mini

PS2 Settings :
Video output : YPbPr

Xrgb-Mini Settings :
HDMI OUTPUT : 720_60p or 720_50p
IMAGE_MODE: NATURAL
SCREEN_SET: STANDARD
SHARPNESS: 0
AUTO_SCALER : OFF => VIDEO
SCANLINE: ON
INT_LINE: disabled
INT_SMOOTH: disabled
DEC_LINE1: 70
DEC_LINE2: 100
DEC_SMOOTH: 100 (default)

Does anyone had setup the xrbg to get a beautiful image with scanlines and without twinkle ?

NOTE : For PS2 NTSC/60hz it's all right, nice scanlines and no twinkle ! with theses settings HDMI OUTPOUT : 720_60p + scanlines default

Thanks ! sorry for my English, I'm French

[K0rN b4LL]

Is there a way to get the Framemeister to work while plugged in to an Xbone's HDMI in port? When I plug it in the Xbone's TV app just shows a single frame and freezes. It plays the signal from my cable box just fine so it seems to be having trouble with the Framemeister's signal or something. I'm only asking cuz my "tv" is a monitor with only one HDMI port and I hate switching the cables.

[Guspaz]

You should never plug an interactive device into the XBone's HDMI-in port, as it adds a ton of lag. Instead, just buy an HDMI switch. They start at $8 at Monoprice.

[morfeo]

I also live in pal-land and have a lot of pal-games and machines (although slowly replacing it with ntsc). With the pal-sources, I now just use 576p output with scanlines, which looks good. But wonder if anybody have any tips or profiles that would look even better with these kind of sources?

[zakruowrath]

Has anyone ever mounted the XRGB Mini using their TV vents? I've done it with my Apple TV and I really like the idea of using the TVs vertical area to hide some wires. It looks a little like this with the Apple TV, the IR signal bounces off the wall I haven't noticed any lag between the time I push the remote buttons.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... 47395_.jpg

[eightbitminiboss]

Has anyone ever mounted the XRGB Mini using their TV vents? I've done it with my Apple TV and I really like the idea of using the TVs vertical area to hide some wires. It looks a little like this with the Apple TV, the IR signal bounces off the wall I haven't noticed any lag between the time I push the remote buttons.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... 47395_.jpg

Apple TV doesn't use IR to receive commands, it's a bluetooth. IR from the remote is for your other devices like a universal remote for volume only. You're going to have issues with the Framemeister after mounting it to the back of your TV.

[NJRoadfan]

Only the latest AppleTV remote is Bluetooth. The older white and aluminum units are all IR based. They also make IR extenders so you can hide the device and not has to worry about it seeing the IR signal.