Questions that do not deserve a thread

[okerlo]

Hey there,
I'm about to buy a Female RGB-Scart to BNC adapter from retrogamingcbales.co.uk and they have two cables, one for 24 Pounds and one for 36 Pounds with a built in sync seperator.
I'm not that knowledgeable in this topic but read a few sites about it, am I right to assume, that it depends on the RGB-Cable I'm using whether I need a sync seperator or not? Of course I would like to go with the cheaper cable, at this point I only have the original Nintendo Wii - RGB-Cable (Euro Scart)

Thanks in advance

[Fudoh]

am I right to assume, that it depends on the RGB-Cable I'm using whether I need a sync seperator or not?

it depends on your monitor. For example some PVM models require clean sync. BVMs don't.

[okerlo]

am I right to assume, that it depends on the RGB-Cable I'm using whether I need a sync seperator or not?

it depends on your monitor. For example some PVM models require clean sync. BVMs don't.

I have a PVM-1442QM, is there a list where I can check stuff like that? A BVM/PVM-wiki or something

Thanks for your answer

[strygo]

That's my plan. I'll update the thread once I get the cable and am able to give it a whirl.

The new cable arrived and it resolves my PSX sync issue.

[jade88]

Can someone recommend some quality component cables? Need them for my shinybow.

[okerlo]

am I right to assume, that it depends on the RGB-Cable I'm using whether I need a sync seperator or not?

it depends on your monitor. For example some PVM models require clean sync. BVMs don't.

I have a PVM-1442QM, is there a list where I can check stuff like that? A BVM/PVM-wiki or something

Thanks for your answer

Couldn't find too much on my model about the sync issue, anyone can help me out with that?
Not too proud about pushing my question to the top but I finally want to hook up this monitor

[FinalBaton]

Can someone recommend some quality component cables? Need them for my shinybow.

Any RG-59 cable will do.

Monoprice, for instance, has some
https://www.monoprice.com/search/index? ... site+rg+59
I'm sure you can find cheap ones elsewhere online too.

$1.29 for 3 feet. $1.99 for 6 feet.
Just grad 3 of 'em and you're set.

[strygo]

Couldn't find too much on my model about the sync issue, anyone can help me out with that?
Not too proud about pushing my question to the top but I finally want to hook up this monitor

Take a look at the recent question I asked (a page before this one). I actually ran into issues with a sync stripper on my PVM-1954Q. I learned that these PVMs can handle any sync, so my recommendation would be to get the cheaper one without sync. Mine works with all major game systems with no issues.

[werk91]

How does the Sega Saturn 50/60hz switch mod work? For a 50hz native console will it give 'true' 60hz output or pseudo one like Sega Megadrive (my PVM doesn't like those at all)?

[okerlo]

Couldn't find too much on my model about the sync issue, anyone can help me out with that?
Not too proud about pushing my question to the top but I finally want to hook up this monitor

Take a look at the recent question I asked (a page before this one). I actually ran into issues with a sync stripper on my PVM-1954Q. I learned that these PVMs can handle any sync, so my recommendation would be to get the cheaper one without sync. Mine works with all major game systems with no issues.

Thanks, maybe I'm putting way too much thought into this, I'll just go with the cheaper one now, seems like most people are perfectly fine with that one.

[jade88]

Can someone recommend some quality component cables? Need them for my shinybow.

Any RG-59 cable will do.

Monoprice, for instance, has some
https://www.monoprice.com/search/index? ... site+rg+59
I'm sure you can find cheap ones elsewhere online too.

$1.29 for 3 feet. $1.99 for 6 feet.
Just grad 3 of 'em and you're set.

I mean ypbpr, what are these though?

[Guspaz]

YPbPr is what component video is.

I don't recommend buying the individual cables, that's kind of messy. Easier to just buy pre-made component cables, like this for 5-plug:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id= ... 1&format=2

Or this for 3-plug:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id= ... 1&format=2

[bobrocks95]

I would recommend Mediabridge cables, I really like the pairs that I've bought:

https://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-Comp ... nent+cable

[Einzelherz]

My local goodwill has a constant stream of good quality 3 and 5 wire component cables for ~$2. That might be why I have a dozen.

[dreadnought]

I have a RPi 3B + Pi2SCART + 29" Trinitron CRT, running RetroPie/mame2003. I was wondering if it's possible to properly display vertical games on this setup without rotating.

I'm using the 1600px hack for all the assorted consoles/micros to display properly, it works fine - also for horizontal games in MAME. With the vertical ones, when trying for 1:1 the display stretches past the screen and I miss large chunks on top & bottom.

I'm sure it's a fairly basic question but I`m quite new to this subject and would appreciate any help or pointing to relevant threads (I've looked, but coudn't find any answers, past maybe some mindboggling maths like here: http://easymamecab.mameworld.info/html/monitor9.php)

[Fudoh]

You need to run the Pi in 480i instead of 240p. This gives you a higher vertical resolution and enough space to display vertical games in Yoko.

[dreadnought]

Damn ;) Thanks for the reply, though I had faint hope the solution would be somewhat simpler.

As it is, I suppose I'll have to make another SD card with the 480i setting, dedicated to the vertical stuff. It'd be much more convenient to have it all on one SD setup, but if there's no other options then ok...still beats trying to rotate a 50kg TV :P

Being a greenhorn I'm not sure how to do it though, just have a vague notion - and don't want to experiment since I already had one CRT fall in the line of duty when fiddling with Retroarch settings. Pi2SCART uses the GPIO, so how do I enable 480i in the config.txt? I suppose it has to be with dpi_group=/dpi_mode= and/or hdmi_timings settings...unsure of the exact values though.

[Einzelherz]

Do any emulators that scale the image reduce motion blur with the extra available pixels? I.e. if you have a 4x integer scale would it let each 4x4 'pixel' travel 1px at a time instead of 4px.

[Guspaz]

You'd need a 240Hz display so that you could do motion interpolation based on the changes in sprite positions between frames. Doesn't sound terribly worthwhile.

[Einzelherz]

I forgot about the refresh rate.

Another dumb question/observation: I was playing my original GBA on an EZFlash IV with a pair of rechargeable batteries and the power light was flickering red. I figured this was just due to the lower voltage of rechargeables compared to alkalines. Then the game reset and the light went steady green. I have no idea what could have caused this but I thought it was curious.

[ApolloBoy]

I was playing my original GBA on an EZFlash IV

Sounds like we need to get you an Everdrive.

[Einzelherz]

I was playing my original GBA on an EZFlash IV

Sounds like we need to get you an Everdrive.

Nah, I'm good.

[Magicalbottle]

Sound issue on PVM speakers: buzzing.

I am using original PVM speakers on my PVM 2950, but there is a loud constant buzzing sound coming out of them, even with no consoles or RGB cables attached. The buzzing gets louder when I turn up the volume.

any ideas how to fix this or am I doomed?

[Guspaz]

Can the buzzing be eliminated by turning the volume on the PVM down to zero? The speakers in PVMs are notoriously terrible quality and should pretty much always be replaced by external speakers. Even the $40 bluetooth speakers that I bought for my PVM are more powerful and higher quality than the 7W speakers in the PVM 2950.

The PVM 2950 is odd in that it has a built-in speaker amp that can be used with external speakers (it has clamp-down terminals for speaker wires), but if that buzzing is coming from the amp, you might want to just bypass it entirely.

[Magicalbottle]

Can the buzzing be eliminated by turning the volume on the PVM down to zero? The speakers in PVMs are notoriously terrible quality and should pretty much always be replaced by external speakers. Even the $40 bluetooth speakers that I bought for my PVM are more powerful and higher quality than the 7W speakers in the PVM 2950.

The PVM 2950 is odd in that it has a built-in speaker amp that can be used with external speakers (it has clamp-down terminals for speaker wires), but if that buzzing is coming from the amp, you might want to just bypass it entirely.

The buzzing goes down as I turn the volume down, but at 0 volume, there is still buzzing.

I used a pair of pc speakers on my PVM 2130 last year (without external amp) and the buzzing was enormous. Any ideas on an external speaker amp?

[Guspaz]

You should be able to take the audio output directly from the consoles (or for more convenience, the audio output of a SCART switch perhaps, which is what I do), and run that directly into powered speakers (headphones won't work for line-level audio), which should avoid any buzz. If you've still got a buzz going right from the consoles to the powered speakers, that might be a ground loop?

If the powered speakers don't have enough of an amplifier, what I've been using is a Monoprice headphone amplifier (https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=11567). On the input side, I take the 3.5mm output of my SCART switch and connect it to the RCA AUX IN on the back of the amp (along with USB from the PC for digital audio), and on the output side, I've got one output connected to the bluetooths speaker's aux in and one output connected to my home theatre (I can't remember which of PRE OUT and LINE OUT is connected to which), and then I use the headphone output for headphones when I want to do that. Of course, you could also connect the heapdhone output to speakers, since that's also amplified.

I actually tested connecting the SCART switch directly to the bluetooth speakers. I found that the bluetooth speakers (which I leave permanently connected to power and 3.5mm aux in) were actually sufficiently capable of amplifying the console audio all by itself, but I still use the headphone amp because the rotary volume knob is much more convenient than the volume buttons on the speakers, and because the headphone amp acts as a sort of switch/splitter that lets me get the console audio to headphones or home theatre without swapping any plugs.

[Magicalbottle]

You should be able to take the audio output directly from the consoles (or for more convenience, the audio output of a SCART switch perhaps, which is what I do), and run that directly into powered speakers (headphones won't work for line-level audio), which should avoid any buzz. If you've still got a buzz going right from the consoles to the powered speakers, that might be a ground loop?

If the powered speakers don't have enough of an amplifier, what I've been using is a Monoprice headphone amplifier (https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=11567). On the input side, I take the 3.5mm output of my SCART switch and connect it to the RCA AUX IN on the back of the amp (along with USB from the PC for digital audio), and on the output side, I've got one output connected to the bluetooths speaker's aux in and one output connected to my home theatre (I can't remember which of PRE OUT and LINE OUT is connected to which), and then I use the headphone output for headphones when I want to do that. Of course, you could also connect the heapdhone output to speakers, since that's also amplified.

I actually tested connecting the SCART switch directly to the bluetooth speakers. I found that the bluetooth speakers (which I leave permanently connected to power and 3.5mm aux in) were actually sufficiently capable of amplifying the console audio all by itself, but I still use the headphone amp because the rotary volume knob is much more convenient than the volume buttons on the speakers, and because the headphone amp acts as a sort of switch/splitter that lets me get the console audio to headphones or home theatre without swapping any plugs.

So if I wanted to use the original speakers, I could use something like a Lepai amp and see if it makes any difference when omitting the internal PVM amp? appreciate the help, thanks.

[Guspaz]

If they're PC speakers, they're probably already powered with an internal amp, you could just try connecting them directly to the audio source of your consoles?

[Magicalbottle]

If they're PC speakers, they're probably already powered with an internal amp, you could just try connecting them directly to the audio source of your consoles?

No these are APM-X5A speakers, the original PVM speakers.

[ZellSF]

I was playing my original GBA on an EZFlash IV

Sounds like we need to get you an Everdrive.

Nah, I'm good.

Me too. As much as I want a GBA Everdrive, 100$ for slightly lower loading times? Even if I could resell my EZ Flash IV for the full 40$ I bought it for not sure I would want so spend 60$ to slightly reduce load times. Just like I want a new N64 flashcart for saving without having to press reset, but can't justify the money on that when there are so many nicer gaming things to spend money on.

Just to add some actual information to my post, since I saw this I read a bit about the EZ Flash IV again and apparently there's a relatively new kernel: 2.01. While the 1.75+ kernels (support for 2GB+ SD cards) didn't work for me on my old miniSD EZ Flash IV, the 2.01 kernel does. So if my only 2GB card breaks I no longer have to find another 2GB card to replace it, I can just use any of the many 4GB cards I have lying around. Not that I need 4GB for GBA games, 2GB cards are just so hard to find.

There's also an on cart sram patcher now, which is nice in theory, but useless in practice (and makes loading games the first time slower). You want to trim roms and it can't do that and the best rom trimmer already does sram patching.