S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

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RebeL9
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Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:38 am

S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

Post by RebeL9 »

I bought a NEC PC FX a couple of years ago but have never hooked it up. Time to try it out. Unfortunately It doesn’t supports RGB scart so S-video is the best it can do. What is the easiest way to connect it to my BVM 20F1E through my Extron Crosspoint? Do I have to find one of those expensive 24N cards? :-(
fernan1234
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Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:34 pm

Re: S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

Post by fernan1234 »

I was in the same situation a couple of years ago because of the PC-FX. First, composite from it is very high quality (similar to composite from PC Engine), so the gap between it and S-video is relatively small, so if you already have a 21D, etc. for composite, you're set. Chasing perfection, I did have to buy a 24N as sadly that is the only way to connect S-video directly to these monitors.

However, there is an alternative, and actually what I would recommend for an overall cheaper solution and with better picture quality: use a Retrotink2X-Multiformat or Pro in passthrough mode + an HDMI to Component (or VGA then combined to RGBS) adapter. The NTSC decoder on the Tink products is actually better than what was used in Sony's cards. For HDMI to Component, a Portta should work well.
RebeL9
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Re: S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

Post by RebeL9 »

Thanks!
How big difference is it between composite and S-video on the PC-FX.
I wish there was a RGB mod for it but since it was such a flop no one have cared to give it attention.
fernan1234
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Re: S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

Post by fernan1234 »

RebeL9 wrote:Thanks!
How big difference is it between composite and S-video on the PC-FX.
I wish there was a RGB mod for it but since it was such a flop no one have cared to give it attention.
Like I said, to me the difference is very small. Mainly you'd notice a difference in things like text, where it can have some slight artifacting on the edges via composite but not s-video. But sprites and anime sequences (of which the PC-FX has a lot) will look virtually the same.

I wonder if an RGB mod would have the same issues that RGB mods for the PC Engine have.
RebeL9
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Re: S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

Post by RebeL9 »

fernan1234 wrote:
RebeL9 wrote:Thanks!
How big difference is it between composite and S-video on the PC-FX.
I wish there was a RGB mod for it but since it was such a flop no one have cared to give it attention.
Like I said, to me the difference is very small. Mainly you'd notice a difference in things like text, where it can have some slight artifacting on the edges via composite but not s-video. But sprites and anime sequences (of which the PC-FX has a lot) will look virtually the same.

I wonder if an RGB mod would have the same issues that RGB mods for the PC Engine have.
You mean the stripes across the screens in solid colours?
fernan1234
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Re: S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

Post by fernan1234 »

RebeL9 wrote:You mean the stripes across the screens in solid colours?
No that can be fixed easily, I was referring to the fact that RGB mods on PC Engine/Turbografx can't display correct colors. There's been lots of talk about this matter this year.
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kitty666cats
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Re: S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

Post by kitty666cats »

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803448237939.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124362889285

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804154507127.html

These will convert Svid to RGBS, the latter (which is also the cheapest) will convert it to component.

The ones on AliExpress have line doublers but they also have a passthrough mode for simple decoding.
RebeL9
Posts: 166
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:38 am

Re: S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

Post by RebeL9 »

fernan1234 wrote:
RebeL9 wrote:You mean the stripes across the screens in solid colours?
No that can be fixed easily, I was referring to the fact that RGB mods on PC Engine/Turbografx can't display correct colors. There's been lots of talk about this matter this year.

Aha is it why there is an option for raw colours on the PCE core on Mister?
fernan1234
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Re: S-Video on Sony BVM 20F1E

Post by fernan1234 »

RebeL9 wrote:Aha is it why there is an option for raw colours on the PCE core on Mister?
Yep that's right, the raw colors are what you get with an RGB mod. It wouldn't surprise me if the PC-FX's video encoding works in a similar way. Comparing the RGB output from an emulator should give us a good clue, though I don't know if there are any good emulators for it (only tried the libretro core a few years ago and it seemed buggy or didn't run at full speed).
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