Questions that do not deserve a thread

[Dochartaigh]

I have Sony 1454qm. When I used 240p test suite on different consoles I noticed that geometry is different depending on what type of video frequency (pal-50, NTSC-60). I tried to change settings in service menu, but good settings for pal-50 in NOR DEF mode are bad for NTSC-60 and vice versa. So it's normal or it is hardware issue?

Are you talking geometry, or just moving the screen up/down/left/right (and expanding it in those directions, i.e. H V Size, Centering, Phase)?

If it's geometry I'm pretty sure those settings affect ALL the different modes (PAL, NTSC, 4:3, 16:9, etc.), but the different size/centering options should be able to be done separately for PAL and NTSC, and for 4:3 and 16:9 (at least the service menus on my Sony's have separate settings for those - which I've never touched the Pal-50 one since everything I have is NTSC).

[SkyNIC]

I have Sony 1454qm. When I used 240p test suite on different consoles I noticed that geometry is different depending on what type of video frequency (pal-50, NTSC-60). I tried to change settings in service menu, but good settings for pal-50 in NOR DEF mode are bad for NTSC-60 and vice versa. So it's normal or it is hardware issue?

Are you talking geometry, or just moving the screen up/down/left/right (and expanding it in those directions, i.e. H V Size, Centering, Phase)?

If it's geometry I'm pretty sure those settings affect ALL the different modes (PAL, NTSC, 4:3, 16:9, etc.), but the different size/centering options should be able to be done separately for PAL and NTSC, and for 4:3 and 16:9 (at least the service menus on my Sony's have separate settings for those - which I've never touched the Pal-50 one since everything I have is NTSC).

Yes, I'm talking about geometry, not about H V Size, Centering, Phase. When I try to set geometry options (NOR PIN AMP, NOR PIN PHASE) and others they perfect for my AV Famicom. Then I check SNES PAL with this geometry settings and it's gives bad results.

[nmalinoski]

does anyone know if the Kramer FC4043 cv/yc/component transcoder works with 240p signals?

No one had a chance to try out one of these? There's one up for sale on ebay Italy right now, but it's a bit too expensive to try my luck.

And sorry but I've got another question this time on the Extron DVI to RGB transcoder (here's the User Manual). It has an EDID switch that allows to either select a desired resolution among ~15 (one more can be customised) or let the job to a 2nd monitor connected to the loop-through DVI output (edit: of course we're talking a resolution to be asked to an hypothetical graphic card or other compatible source, no scaling/processing). Now, let's say I hook up an OSSC to this thing to have an analog out - do you think I'd have to come to terms with the embedded EDID/resolution selector or can I just put the switch on 'monitor' while actually not connecting anything to the DVI pass-through (just a CRT on the analog out which is what I'm after)?

I just ordered an FC-4044 (Before I found this post. ); I'll check it for 240p compatibility once it comes in.

[Gunstar]

I'm wanting to output from my Extron 203 unit to a consumer Scart TV and was wondering if I can rewire one of these to output on the Scart? Default wiring is for the opposite, Scart is input and the BNCs are out. I was wondering also about how one gets the voltage switching pins wired if at all? Appreciate any help.

[nmalinoski]

I'm wanting to output from my Extron 203 unit to a consumer Scart TV and was wondering if I can rewire one of these to output on the Scart? Default wiring is for the opposite, Scart is input and the BNCs are out. I was wondering also about how one gets the voltage switching pins wired if at all? Appreciate any help.

If your TV lets you manually select RGB from the SCART input, you shouldn't need any modifications--just plug your cable in as-is and select the correct input on the TV.

If that's not the case, then I believe you'd need to wire in a 9.5~12V source on pin 8 (to trigger 4:3 AV mode) and a 1~3V source on pin 16 (to trigger RGB mode). I imagine it'll be easier to rig this on the SCART end, but I'm not sure what you'd be able to use for a power source.

[Gunstar]

Thanks, nmalinoski, I thought that might be the case. I can manually switch to the Scart channel on my Sony CRT but don't know if it'll be in RGB mode, I'll find out when the cable arrives I suppose. I noticed Retro gaming cables sell one of these and they specifically mention asking whether you want input or output on the Scart and that's what has me thinking it needs to be wired differently.

[KnuckleheadFlow]

I want a good plasma until OLED prices get a bit lower. You guys think $400 (Canadian) for a Pioneer PDP-5020FD would be worth it? I have an OSSC and though 4x and 5x doesn't work with it apparently, I do also have a plain DVDO VP30.

[FinalBaton]

I want a good plasma until OLED prices get a bit lower. You guys think $400 (Canadian) for a Pioneer PDP-5020FD would be worth it? I have an OSSC and though 4x and 5x doesn't work with it apparently, I do also have a plain DVDO VP30.

I would personally get a plasma panel that's a couple years newer(for less chance of the TV dying) but that's just me.

The model I'd hunt are the Panasonic ST50 or UT50 (very low lag at 15ms, good all around picture)

I'd pay $300 for sure for an ST50. Maybe a bit more.

I guess $400 is ok for the Kuro

[Einzelherz]

For an ST60 in great condition/lower hours, I'd pay $400, maybe. My S60 has been babied and it's showing some signs of age (dark line trails on light images).

[FinalBaton]

Nice Einzelherz! The ST60 seems real good too. I forgot to mention it, but it should hang with the ST50 and UT50 in terms of quality

That era of Panasonic plasmas was really something. Insane bang for your bucks

[gordon-creAtive]

I'd like to buy this 3rd party S-Video Cable for an NTSC N64. I also need one for an NTSC GameCube - will this one work too?

[Einzelherz]

I'd like to buy this 3rd party S-Video Cable for an NTSC N64. I also need one for an NTSC GameCube - will this one work too?

An S-Video cable should work for SNES, N64, and Gamecube assuming the consoles output it.

[gordon-creAtive]

Nice! Thank you.

[Dochartaigh]

I'd like to buy this 3rd party S-Video Cable for an NTSC N64. I also need one for an NTSC GameCube - will this one work too?

I can confirm that is an extremely high quality S-Video cable (only use mine for SNES though). I tried 3x cheaper ones (all non-official) and they gave noise on some setups.

[Ikaruga11]

How does the official Nintendo S-Video Cable for SNES/N64/GCN compare to the purple Monster S-Video cable for SNES/N64/GCN?

[Einzelherz]

They both transmit left, right, luma, and chroma.

[Ikaruga11]

They both transmit left, right, luma, and chroma.

It's not that simple.

[FinalBaton]

How does the official Nintendo S-Video Cable for SNES/N64/GCN compare to the purple Monster S-Video cable for SNES/N64/GCN?

Don't know about the Monster ones, but this guy's cables(http://www.ebay.ca/itm/The-best-S-video ... SwEppUPd4d) are exact copies of the official Nintendo ones, or so he claims. I've only heard good things about them so maybe it's true.
i have 2 of them myself and they perform well, I see no checkerboarding and it's obviously passing an S-video signal (unlike some other cheap S-video cables, which pass composite video through an S-video connector.)

One buyer on the Ebay product page says that it's correctly wired and shielded. Another says he gets better picture quality than with all other 3rd party S-video cables he tried. FWIW

[nmalinoski]

I just ordered an FC-4044 (Before I found this post. ); I'll check it for 240p compatibility once it comes in.

Received the FC-4044 today. The good news is that it appears to work! With a Dreamcast running 240p Test Suite via Composite and an N64 running Super Mario 64 via S-Video, and the Kramer hooked to my TV (Samsung LN32B360C5DXZA) via YPbPr, the resolution was recognized as 720x240, and the drop-shadow test actually worked (when it doesn't over composite).

The bad news is that I'm getting a lot of noise (vertical lines) with both consoles, and I'm not sure which part of my setup is at fault.


Edit: Photos! They're not good photos, unfortunately. You can see the vertical noise in the first two photos; more so in the 240p Test Suite one. Ghosting is pretty evident in both as well. The image is stable, while the vertical lines move towards the left (sync noise?).

Does anyone have an idea of what's causing the noise? Crappy console AV cables? The RCA<->BNC adapters? My TV having a garbage ADC? Bad caps in the FC-4044?

I have a beefy BNC->RCA component cable on order to replace the BNC<->RCA adapters and RCA cables of unknown origin, but those are probably okay. I also have another TV that I'll try testing with.

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[Blair]

How does the official Nintendo S-Video Cable for SNES/N64/GCN compare to the purple Monster S-Video cable for SNES/N64/GCN?

I've heard people say that they are generally some of the best quality S-video cables you can get for Nintendo systems, but they are fairly rare and overpriced now. Bob at retro RGB has some links to people that do custom S-video cables for Nintendo systems that seem to be fairly close in quality, if not slightly better.

I'm using one of the original Japanese "s-vhs" cables produced by HORI during the super Nintendo era. it does a pretty good job but it lacks the shielding of later generations of cable so there's some visible video noise on some backgrounds, nothing too bad.

[DejahThoris]

Is there a plug and play console -> JVS controller signal converter that works like a JVS-Pac does for PC?

I'd like to put a 360 in my Vewlix without hacking up a pad and all that.

[Steamflogger Boss]

I'd like to buy this 3rd party S-Video Cable for an NTSC N64. I also need one for an NTSC GameCube - will this one work too?

I can confirm that is an extremely high quality S-Video cable (only use mine for SNES though). I tried 3x cheaper ones (all non-official) and they gave noise on some setups.

I've used this cable for Gamecube and I'm pleased with the results.

How does the official Nintendo S-Video Cable for SNES/N64/GCN compare to the purple Monster S-Video cable for SNES/N64/GCN?

Don't know about the Monster ones, but this guy's cables(http://www.ebay.ca/itm/The-best-S-video ... SwEppUPd4d) are exact copies of the official Nintendo ones, or so he claims. I've only heard good things about them so maybe it's true.
i have 2 of them myself and they perform well, I see no checkerboarding and it's obviously passing an S-video signal (unlike some other cheap S-video cables, which pass composite video through an S-video connector.)

One buyer on the Ebay product page says that it's correctly wired and shielded. Another says he gets better picture quality than with all other 3rd party S-video cables he tried. FWIW

Interesting. I might have to do a direct comparison.

[Magicalbottle]

PVM 2950: is there any way to increase the color intensity? On a PVM 2130 you can adjust the color by using the PICTURE control key on the monitor.

[Ikaruga11]

How does the official Nintendo S-Video Cable for SNES/N64/GCN compare to the purple Monster S-Video cable for SNES/N64/GCN?

I've heard people say that they are generally some of the best quality S-video cables you can get for Nintendo systems, but they are fairly rare and overpriced now. Bob at retro RGB has some links to people that do custom S-video cables for Nintendo systems that seem to be fairly close in quality, if not slightly better.

I'm using one of the original Japanese "s-vhs" cables produced by HORI during the super Nintendo era. it does a pretty good job but it lacks the shielding of later generations of cable so there's some visible video noise on some backgrounds, nothing too bad.

Thanks. Yeah, the purple Monster S-Video cables are very rare and expensive. I've seen the eBay page of those custom S-Video cables linked by RetroRGB. They look solid and wired up correctly, but the thin cabling has me concerned about the quality of the shielding.

The reason I ask is because I actually own the official Nintendo S-Video cables for SNES and use them on my Rev. CPU-08 (sharper and more colorful RF/Composite/S-Video image quality) Nintendo 64. While it's a dramatic improvement over Composite and fake S-Video (checkerboard patterns), I can see strong "shifting" dithering on games like F-Zero X before a race starts, and jailbars on solid black/white backgrounds in Pokemon Stadium. Is this a shielding or grounding issue with the official Nintendo S-Video cables?

[werk91]

NEC fans: I'm thinking of getting into PCE games. Is a Turbo Duo worth it over a normal PC Engine? I know there's a few amazing CD and SuperCD games but are they worth the 100% increase in price? Also don't Turbo Duo's brake down more than PCE/Core consoles?

[kamiboy]

Duo is worth it as there are tons of good CD ROM ROM games. As for durability, well, putting aside obvious things like moving parts and CD lasers, the regular Duo has a known leaking capacitor problem. Stick to Duo R and later revisions and you should be fine. Or get a Duo that has been fully recapped.

[Ikaruga11]

I can see strong "shifting" dithering on games like F-Zero X before a race starts, and jailbars on solid black/white backgrounds in Pokemon Stadium. Is this a shielding or grounding issue with the official Nintendo S-Video cables on my N64?

[werk91]

Duo is worth it as there are tons of good CD ROM ROM games. As for durability, well, putting aside obvious things like moving parts and CD lasers, the regular Duo has a known leaking capacitor problem. Stick to Duo R and later revisions and you should be fine. Or get a Duo that has been fully recapped.

It is a Duo R I'm considering but it's so expensive I keep thinking I can spend the money on Switch instead ;D.

[Steamflogger Boss]

PC Engine is great. You definitely want CD support. Especially if you like, well, shmups. There are so many great ones on CD. Many exclusive to the PCE even. Regular Duos can be finicky (even when recapped, it can still be a problematic unit) and the Super CDROM 2 is pure garbage. So like Kamiboy said, Duo R/RX are good. CDROM units can be reliable but might need gear and lens replacement.

Spriggan and Nexzr are must plays.

[werk91]

Well you have convinced me, I will be getting a Duo R next month or there abouts. I presume all Turbo Duo Rs are NTSC 60Hz?