Questions that do not deserve a thread

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vol.2
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by vol.2 »

Dochartaigh wrote: These are worse believe it or not. When a monitor has thunderbolt or whatever mac connector there's usually always an adapter for them (even if it takes some time for them to come out). That clear apple monitor has NO adapter ever made for it, and they discontinued the computer with that ADC video card like the next ~year or whatnot, so you literally had a super expensive 'premium' Apple monitor that you could only ever use on older hardware - that's beyond stupid and screwed over a lot of people.
Yeeeeeeck. That's awful. This kind of thing is why i never bought mac stuff; exclusivity always came with balance-tipping compromise. For me, it was mostly software selection.
GojiFan90
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by GojiFan90 »

Does anyone recognize this (N64 RGB) amp? It was installed in a pre-modded console I purchased and I'm curious as to what kind of amp it is.
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Kez
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Kez »

The amp is the little 8 pin chip.. looks like a 7314/6 but I can't quite make it out. Most of the PCB isn't being used, just the amp and some resistors on the output. Looks very similar to something like this:
https://www.retrorgb.com/thsamps.html
GojiFan90
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by GojiFan90 »

Kez wrote:The amp is the little 8 pin chip.. looks like a 7314/6 but I can't quite make it out. Most of the PCB isn't being used, just the amp and some resistors on the output. Looks very similar to something like this:
https://www.retrorgb.com/thsamps.html
You were right--upon closer inspection, it is a TI 7314. Thanks!
MidOrFeed2015
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by MidOrFeed2015 »

im trying to use an ATI card which goes DVI -> VGA to my PVM using a VGA to BNC breakout. the bnc breakout has 2 cables for sync though. same with my component to rgb transcoder, the transcoder comes out as vga with two sync cables. so i cant get either working at all (i either get black and white visuals and the typical movement you see when ext sync is off). to remedy this, all I really need is a bnc y cable to merge the two syncs into one right? no specially powered device inbetween to combine the sync?
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orange808
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by orange808 »

MidOrFeed2015 wrote:im trying to use an ATI card which goes DVI -> VGA to my PVM using a VGA to BNC breakout. the bnc breakout has 2 cables for sync though. same with my component to rgb transcoder, the transcoder comes out as vga with two sync cables. so i cant get either working at all (i either get black and white visuals and the typical movement you see when ext sync is off). to remedy this, all I really need is a bnc y cable to merge the two syncs into one right? no specially powered device inbetween to combine the sync?
Nope. You want an Extron RGB unit--or another brand of RGB sync processor.

Kramer vp-100 is another option, but those are usually too expensive. Covid made sync boxes for a long time as well.
We apologise for the inconvenience
SamIAm
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by SamIAm »

The "PC vs Raspberry Pi" question is as old as dirt and just as common, but I'd like to ask about it for my specific circumstances. Which do you think I should get?

Factors:
- Only really care about emulating 15KHz arcade games. No consoles.
- Will be using exclusively with SD CRTs via direct RGB connections.
- Input lag in general is a major concern.
- Flexibility with resolution and refresh-rate matching also a concern.

The size, efficiency, and ease of use of a Raspberry Pi would make it ideal for integrating with my general setup, and the RPi4 certainly seems powerful enough to emulate everything I want. However, if it comes with extra lag and less flexible output configurations, I could see going for a PC instead.

MiSTer doesn't offer enough of the games I'm looking for. Maybe in another couple of years.

If anyone has any suggestions for a PC solution, I'd be all-ears. This would be a totally dedicated system. Something sub-$200 that can run entirely off an SD card and quickly boot right into a loader program, and that has fully configurable video hardware with analogue output, would be great.

Thanks!
SolidSpiral
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by SolidSpiral »

I'm new to the RGB scene, and have a few questions on the SNES and RGB out via SCART. Sorry if these are dumb questions or answered elsewhere, I did some searching, but couldn't find the answer.

1. Do I need to buy a Nintendo AV out to SCART adapter, or can I just make one?
I know the SCART heads are available, and I found some of the SNES type plugs on ebay; https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-SNES- ... Sw0Khcd4GS
And I found this diagram; http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ ... esntsc.png
2. Is that yellow square a 180 ohm resistor? (in the SNES to SCART picture)
3. Is the line labeled composite video the Csync?
4. Or am I just better off buying one? I know nothing about impedance matching, and I've seen that mentioned on some of the higher end cables. The high end ones are pretty pricey, but the low end ones are so cheap they make me nervous.

Thanks!
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SkyNIC
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by SkyNIC »

How much delay is the Sony LMD-2020 monitor?
Thanks
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Xyga
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Xyga »

SamIAm wrote:If anyone has any suggestions for a PC solution, I'd be all-ears. This would be a totally dedicated system. Something sub-$200 that can run entirely off an SD card and quickly boot right into a loader program, and that has fully configurable video hardware with analogue output, would be great.
You're looking into building a PC for GroovyMAME, but "run off an SD card and quickly run into a loader" I dunno, people use a variety of booting and frontend solutions with it, still that'll never be like a console...
So that means W7 64bit (W10 works but w/ some issues), a decent Intel CPU (at least 2c and as fast as you can afford, like 3+GHz if you wish to play heavy stuff like the late Cave games) and an AMD GPU (minimum HD5000 series and anything above as long as there's VGA output)
Also patience and persistence lol, check the BYOAC forums for info and help.
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SamIAm
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by SamIAm »

Thanks for the reply. I'll google the forum you suggested.

Since I've got all the 360 Cave ports, I wouldn't be too concerned if I couldn't quite emulate those. The upper end of what I'd like to play are, for example, Sega Y Board or System 32 games. If I can do that with an RPi4, I think that's what I'd prefer to get, but only if the input lag would be the same as with a PC running the same game using whichever core is fastest. For now, I suppose I need to wait until more testing is done on the RPi4, since most data available applies to the RPi3.

I've been mostly out of the loop with both emulators and PC components for a good 15 years now, so I've got a lot of catching up to do. Waiting for a PC to boot and navigating through a few layers to launch a game isn't necessarily a problem, but ease of use is still important, as are price and form factor.

If RPi4 has worse input lag across the board and building a convenient PC from nothing looks like it would cost too much, I might just put this whole thing off for another couple of years.
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Xyga
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Xyga »

Yeah you could wait an see if they make something decent out of the RPi4 in that area.

For GroovyMAME if no super strong CPU is needed then some recommend a used Dell Optiplex preloaded with W7 and a decent i3 or i5, then add a low profile AMD to it.
(iirc SSF sized Optiplexes can fit low profile GPUs, for full sizes you'll need larger)

Ease-of-use wise I guess with something like ATOM15 (15khz bios mod) and fancy HyperSpin frontend, once tuned to your liking there won't be anything to complain about (ATOM15 compatiblity not a given tho check carefully)

It's all probably more research, work and learning than the Pi stuff, the results are top notch tho.

PS: most of the downloadable software and some starting guides are located in that other forum here: http://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/
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strayan
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by strayan »

Does the retrotink output 480p or 640x480?
nmalinoski
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

strayan wrote:Does the retrotink output 480p or 640x480?
If by RetroTINK you mean the RetroTINK 2X, I believe it outputs DTV 480p, not VGA 640x480. If, however, you mean the RetroTINK Ultimate (or the older RetroTINK Pi hats), it can probably do both.
strayan
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by strayan »

I meant, the 2X. Cheers. Any idea why they went 480p over 640x480?
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Fudoh
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Fudoh »

DTV is alright. The XRGBs did output DTV as well (hence the shimmering artefacts when you sampled their output with VESA timings). 720x480p doesn't mean that you get full 720px wide all filled with active image.
nmalinoski
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

strayan wrote:I meant, the 2X. Cheers. Any idea why they went 480p over 640x480?
On second thought, I think it's based on the source frames, which, I believe, has a width that can vary from 640 to ~858 pixels wide, which is to be stretched/compressed to 4:3 by the display. I'm fairly confident that the RT2X cannot modify the frame size at all, just line-doubles to get 480p/576p from 240p/288p/480i/576i, and most consoles, being intended for use with consumer televisions, will use frames in those widths, rather than VGA 640x480. I would expect that, if you were to feed an RT2X with a straight 640x480 signal, that's what you would get out of it.
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maxtherabbit
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by maxtherabbit »

nmalinoski wrote:
strayan wrote:I meant, the 2X. Cheers. Any idea why they went 480p over 640x480?
On second thought, I think it's based on the source frames, which, I believe, has a width that can vary from 640 to ~858 pixels wide, which is to be stretched/compressed to 4:3 by the display. I'm fairly confident that the RT2X cannot modify the frame size at all, just line-doubles to get 480p/576p from 240p/288p/480i/576i, and most consoles, being intended for use with consumer televisions, will use frames in those widths, rather than VGA 640x480. I would expect that, if you were to feed an RT2X with a straight 640x480 signal, that's what you would get out of it.
nope, you've got to remember that it is digitally sampling the source at a fixed rate (858px/line)
nmalinoski
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

maxtherabbit wrote:
nmalinoski wrote:
strayan wrote:I meant, the 2X. Cheers. Any idea why they went 480p over 640x480?
On second thought, I think it's based on the source frames, which, I believe, has a width that can vary from 640 to ~858 pixels wide, which is to be stretched/compressed to 4:3 by the display. I'm fairly confident that the RT2X cannot modify the frame size at all, just line-doubles to get 480p/576p from 240p/288p/480i/576i, and most consoles, being intended for use with consumer televisions, will use frames in those widths, rather than VGA 640x480. I would expect that, if you were to feed an RT2X with a straight 640x480 signal, that's what you would get out of it.
nope, you've got to remember that it is digitally sampling the source at a fixed rate (858px/line)
Thank you for correcting me.
SamIAm
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by SamIAm »

Xyga wrote:Yeah you could wait an see if they make something decent out of the RPi4 in that area.

For GroovyMAME if no super strong CPU is needed then some recommend a used Dell Optiplex preloaded with W7 and a decent i3 or i5, then add a low profile AMD to it.
(iirc SSF sized Optiplexes can fit low profile GPUs, for full sizes you'll need larger)

Ease-of-use wise I guess with something like ATOM15 (15khz bios mod) and fancy HyperSpin frontend, once tuned to your liking there won't be anything to complain about (ATOM15 compatiblity not a given tho check carefully)

It's all probably more research, work and learning than the Pi stuff, the results are top notch tho.

PS: most of the downloadable software and some starting guides are located in that other forum here: http://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/
I finally had time to look into some of this. Thank you! It's been very helpful. A local seller has an Optiplex for sale at a reasonable price that looks like it would suit my needs, so I might just go for it. Thanks again!
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Xyga
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Xyga »

Just get one with the best CPU you can find/afford, I've seen some with an i5-3470 which should be better than a 2400, and still just around 200 zeni.
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Dochartaigh
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Dochartaigh »

I have a SD2SNES (NOT the pro model). What are my best options for getting Save States and Game Genie codes to work? My default Mega Everdrive x7 lets me save most any game and enter in Game Genie codes which are automatically saved (both of which are awesome).

I read up on the hacked firmware which gives you save states but they're still pretty iffy, right? As in there's problems with some games, no saving any special chip games, sound might glitch out? If I do give this a try do I loose any features from the official firmware? (I'm on the newest 1.10.3).

How about Game Genie? Do I really have to make a specially coded text file with the game genie codes in it, then load the SD card on my computer to copy them over? ...then when I don't want to use a certain code on I literally have to take out the SD card, edit the text file, then put it back in the everdrive? Seriously? I would almost rather use a real game genie then...I just hate having to manually enter a bunch of random digit codes every time.

Are any of these above must-have features in the SD2SNES Pro now? (didn't see them...)
fernan1234
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by fernan1234 »

I don't know you'll lose anything important by using the unofficial firmware with save state support. I seem to recall the latest official firmware added support for a special chip for one (IMO) unimportant game, so I didn't bother to look for an update.

Yes, it only works in non-special chip games apparently. The problem with sound is simply that when you load a state the music will be the same as whatever it was right before you loaded the state, just as the Mega ED x7 behaves with save states. So as long as you're on the music track that should be playing on the loaded state you won't really feel any issues.
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werk91
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by werk91 »

Dochartaigh wrote:...
How about Game Genie? Do I really have to make a specially coded text file with the game genie codes in it, then load the SD card on my computer to copy them over? ...then when I don't want to use a certain code on I literally have to take out the SD card, edit the text file, then put it back in the everdrive? Seriously? I would almost rather use a real game genie then...I just hate having to manually enter a bunch of random digit codes every time.

Are any of these above must-have features in the SD2SNES Pro now? (didn't see them...)
Yeah... proper game-genie support has been on the release road-map for years now and sometimes I think it might never happen which is pretty disappointing for such a premium product.
I was initially waiting on getting SD2SNES as I wanted to see when the game genie patching via OSD menu will be added but I gave up few months ago and bough the Pro anyway.
Currently its planned for the v1.11 firmware so maybe we'll get lucky soon: https://sd2snes.de/blog/status
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vol.2
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by vol.2 »

SolidSpiral wrote: 1. Do I need to buy a Nintendo AV out to SCART adapter, or can I just make one?
Your question is a little confusing, but I think you are missing an essential piece of info. There is no benefit in converting the NES AV output to a scart connection (unless you have a monitor with no composite input). Converting a composite signal to RGB is not the same as getting RGB directly from your system. There are converters that will convert the composite signal and even clean it up a bit, but you will not see a huge benefit and it will be expensive (most people would not see it as worth the trouble and money). RGB modding is the way to get good RGB out of an old system.
This website has a lot of information that is good for beginners: https://www.retrorgb.com/nesrgb.html

If you really just want to get a composite signal into a scart connection, you can just buy a cheap AV to scart adapter cable because scart also has provision for composite input. This will not get you RGB though. That will take a lot of work and money (or just money if you pay somebody to do it)
Bassa-Bassa
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

For the 2D games, did the N64 originally output 240p instead of 480i? And for the 3D games rendered at 240? Did it usually upscale those for a 480i output?

Thanks.
nmalinoski
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

Bassa-Bassa wrote:For the 2D games, did the N64 originally output 240p instead of 480i? And for the 3D games rendered at 240? Did it usually upscale those for a 480i output?

Thanks.
Admittedly, I don't have much knowledge with this, because I only play certain N64 games, but my understanding is that it didn't work that way--a given style of game using a specific video mode. Games could use either mode, it's just that most games tended to use 240p for gameplay, regardless of 2D/3D, while using 480i for menus and title screens; and some, with the expansion pak, could render and output at 480i for gameplay.
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vol.2
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by vol.2 »

Bassa-Bassa wrote:Did it usually upscale those for a 480i output?
Thanks.
to add to that

search "list of 480i n64 games"
Bassa-Bassa
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

I googled that and the discussions seem to be more centered around rendering instead of output/display, but seems that 480i is indeed odd with this system beyond title/menu screens, unless the expansion memory cart is involved. So my next question would be if the purely 2D games (meaning 'no apparent polygons' by that) use antialias or any kind of filter which is present no matter what (thinking of RGB-modded systems, but disregarding that). Given they are so few, I guess it's a widely known matter by now?

Thanks again.
pedroTFP
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by pedroTFP »

I got just got a DC 576i/480p RGB cable (retrogamingcablesUK), works great with 15khz Monitor/FrameMeister.
Now I got a PVM that is 480p cable (PVM 20m7mde), on the monitor back panel I have RGB/Component BNC connectors.
A simple scart to BNC adapter would do the work in order to get 480p working with games that support VGA?
Do I need ext sync/sync stripper/whatever?
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