MEDUSA Scandoubler from Lotharek

[dreadnought]

https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=135

I've just stumbled upon this by accident, seems to be in preorder stage. I'm not really interested in HDMI output but it mentions something about connecting to CRTs, so that has piqued my interest. The price is somewhat substantial though and Lotharek's description is, as per usual, rather vague & cryptic, so perhaps you guys can break it all down? Is it really a "quantum leap"?

[bobrocks95]

It looks retro computer focused, though overall doesn't seem to offer much the RT5X doesn't already. The DVI-I connector has digital and analog RGB output, so that's where the mention of a CRT connection comes into play.

I think the most eyebrow raising thing is that it looks like it might have auto-detection for certain sources? He turns on the ZX Spectrum and the OSD indicates it's in ZX Spectrum mode. Maybe that was set beforehand, or maybe there's a degree of automatic detection which I was always hoping would be possible with a retro scaler. The product page says "MEDUSA will detect and properly will display following systems", so that implies that as well, but maybe just for a limited selection of retro computers.

Also this on the main website: "In Medusa you can always manually define number of pixels per line, but to achieve that more automatically we measure a specific signal "fingerprint" (based on synchro signals) and pick one from dozens of available pre-set options."


It does seem to be entirely PAL focused though, everything shown and talked about is 50Hz-related. That would likely fill a niche, I'm guessing other processors likely have problems with some old PAL signals since most are NTSC focused.

[SavagePencil]

I've wondered about this, and I think I even asked about this on the main OSSC thread: each console should have some discernible pattern. But I've never been sure if this would need be trained on an individual basis (e.g., my SNES vs. your SNES) or if a default could be shipped. If it was reliable, this would be so much nicer than having 17 presets to cover every resolution.

[bobrocks95]

I've wondered about this, and I think I even asked about this on the main OSSC thread: each console should have some discernible pattern. But I've never been sure if this would need be trained on an individual basis (e.g., my SNES vs. your SNES) or if a default could be shipped. If it was reliable, this would be so much nicer than having 17 presets to cover every resolution.

I think clock speeds and outputs are going to differ just enough so that it wouldn't be reliable. Or some consoles will look similar enough to each other in one mode or another that one can't be reliably picked.

But if you didn't see the PixelFX Infinity Switch + Morph will solve this problem, though will be a pretty expensive full package.

[Greg2600]

http://medusa-sc.org/index.php?title=Description

Has a product site/page now. As usual my query is simple, will it downscale Dreamcast or PC VGA 31kHz signal to 240p component?

[orange808]

Interesting little machine. The native analog output could be an useful option for some people.

Adding an external DAC to the video chain behind the other popular community scalers can be a huge pain in the ass. I'm not trying to pick a fight, it's simple honest feedback. Judging by the threads I have seen on the forum, the DAC question has been a troublesome and unwelcome riddle for many.

I would recommend developing and pushing the analog output capabilities.

I wonder how well planned that DE-15/DB-15 input is for handling lots of potential legacy computers? In a perfect world, we would want to wire DIY cables to hook many different legacy computers to the "VGA" plug. Don't want to fry the machine when someone makes a mistake. Probably shouldn't be requiring people to put an Extron RGB in front of the scaler.

Same thing for the SCART. Really should protect users from themselves and prevent JP-21/SCART confusion from frying the scaler.

Maybe also carve out a niche handling some troublesome PCBs?

[ldeveraux]

http://medusa-sc.org/index.php?title=Description

Has a product site/page now. As usual my query is simple, will it downscale Dreamcast or PC VGA 31kHz signal to 240p component?

Have you considered asking them?

[kitty666cats]

I randomly came across this and it looks to not only be complete, but have a new revision that accepts CGA, EGA etc. Output is neat, it’s DVI-I which can output digital or analog, as DVI-I is capable of… but it can do *both* at once with one of those splitter cables with DVI and VGA outputs. They also have it wired for audio over the DVI-D, so you can just toss on one of those passive DVI-I to HDMI cables and get embedded audio.

https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=135

^ Here’s a general description

http://medusa-sc.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

* Here’s a Wiki that goes into greater detail. At one point I read something that made me assume the output was 50Hz-only, but the “recognized modes” section confirms 60Hz support.

It wasn’t very clear to me if this is just a linedoubler or what… but then there’s these listed in the recognized input modes:

Macintosh (tested on LC475)
Mac 512x384
Mac 640x480
Mac 832x624
Mac 1024x768
Mac 1152x870
Standard VGA
VGA 800x600
VGA 80x25TXT@70
VGA 640x480

So IDK exactly WTF the output capabilities are, haha. All in all, it looks neat… but we obviously have far better options out there nowadays. Perhaps this will be ideal for old digital RGB computers? I know the OSSC handles weird old DOS/arcade resolutions, but forget if it handles CGA/EGA et al (of course, there’s analog RGB converters for those computers easily found).

So, maybe worth a look for SOMEBODY out there!

[orange808]

Should be good for C128 fans of a certain age in the UK. Full support for analog and "digital" output in one machine sounds lovely. Although, there are already other products to accomplish that.

[kitty666cats]

Should be good for C128 fans of a certain age in the UK. Full support for analog and "digital" output in one machine sounds lovely. Although, there are already other products to accomplish that.

Yeah, this thing is basically instantly obsolete. It absolutely looks like a pretty cool labor of love, though... gotta respect that. I also always get a kick out of seeing anything that implements the ultra-uncommon "audio over DVI"