SVS - Scalable Video Switch by Arthrimus

[Arthrimus]

Can't wait for USB serial control (I really don't want to use IR anywhere in my setup).

USB serial control has arrived.

[ZellSF]

Can't wait for USB serial control (I really don't want to use IR anywhere in my setup).

USB serial control has arrived.

Finally got around to installing this and it works great.

Will there eventually be a way to manually switch to a input, but still keep auto switching enabled?

[Arthrimus]

Finally got around to installing this and it works great.

Will there eventually be a way to manually switch to a input, but still keep auto switching enabled?

I could add a serial command to disable manual mode. You could send it after you send the change input command.

[ldeveraux]

I was surprised at how quickly this originally sold out, I thought I'd have more than a couple hours to make my choice! What's the plan for future availability?

[Arthrimus]

I was surprised at how quickly this originally sold out, I thought I'd have more than a couple hours to make my choice! What's the plan for future availability?

Some parts have already arrived for the next restock, but some have been delayed, so I can't give an exact timeline right now. It's probably going to be the beginning of April before there is a restock. After that availability will improve quickly because I have much more funds available for future production.

[kamiboy]

Do I understand correctly that when you input an RGB signal, say via VGA or SCART, but output via component out module the RGB signal is not converted to component, but just routed to the coaxial ports as is?

And the same if I input via component and output via SCART, right?

I suppose it would have made things orders of magnitude more complex if there was any transcoding taking place, but I initially thought that was the case and was quite excited about mixing and matching different inputs and outputs without worrying about signal type.

Also, any progress being made on a potential future JP21 module?

[Guspaz]

If you're outputting to a device like a RetroTINK 4K, then you don't need to worry about the signal type. Everything goes out the VGA cable, and it can auto-switch the inputs on the RT4K using serial communication over the same VGA cable.

If you're outputting to something like a PVM, then you can probably do the same thing (with BNC) and just manually switch the signal type on the PVM as required.

[Arthrimus]

Finally got around to installing this and it works great.

Will there eventually be a way to manually switch to a input, but still keep auto switching enabled?

I've added a command to disable manual mode in firmware version 1.13. If you send this command after you send the manual input change command it will disable manual mode allowing signal loss detection to work as normal for the manually selected input. https://arthrimus.github.io/SVS_Firmware_Repository/

Do I understand correctly that when you input an RGB signal, say via VGA or SCART, but output via component out module the RGB signal is not converted to component, but just routed to the coaxial ports as is?

And the same if I input via component and output via SCART, right?

I suppose it would have made things orders of magnitude more complex if there was any transcoding taking place, but I initially thought that was the case and was quite excited about mixing and matching different inputs and outputs without worrying about signal type.

Also, any progress being made on a potential future JP21 module?

You are correct. No signal conversion takes place. The JP21 module is still on the to-do list. No timeline for it at this time.

[ZellSF]

Finally got around to installing this and it works great.

Will there eventually be a way to manually switch to a input, but still keep auto switching enabled?

I could add a serial command to disable manual mode. You could send it after you send the change input command.

That would work better for me (not that the current implementation isn't working great).

[Arthrimus]

Finally got around to installing this and it works great.

Will there eventually be a way to manually switch to a input, but still keep auto switching enabled?

I could add a serial command to disable manual mode. You could send it after you send the change input command.

That would work better for me (not that the current implementation isn't working great).

Have you tried the new firmware I released yesterday? I think it addresses your needs.

[Gara]

The much anticipated My Life in Gaming review is out.

https://youtu.be/3pXAhe6YfC0

Some great info in there. The incremental and accumulating lose in quality for 480p+ the further out the module is that you use to plug in your consoles is concerning. They only had 10 modules to test so that could get real concerning if you have a big setup. I wonder if the upcoming extension option for hooking up 2 SVS will only further degrade the quality.

It's great to see the Kabeldirekt Scart cables tested. Hopefully people will stop recommending those. It turns out that oddly thick $8 Scart cables are in fact not properly shielded.

The video mentions the $295 price of the Gscartsw and Gcompsw as competition, but it looks like the price on those 2 has just gone up to $324.99. Neither SAG or Castlemania seem to be interested in stocking and keeping units on hand rather than having years of preorder windows and price bumps. I was hoping they would be stepping things up when they took over those products and would be more competitive.

I need at least two separate switches to reach all of my consoles, so I'll be waiting on the extension to get tested before I decide on swapping out my setup. The video downplays the degredation from using modules deep into the chain, but any lose in quality isn't really acceptable to me. Trading away quality for convenience features is what I was afraid of.

[ZellSF]

I could add a serial command to disable manual mode. You could send it after you send the change input command.

That would work better for me (not that the current implementation isn't working great).

Have you tried the new firmware I released yesterday? I think it addresses your needs.

I didn't see that. Excellent, that will most likely work.

[Arthrimus]

Some great info in there. The incremental and accumulating lose in quality for 480p+ the further out the module is that you use to plug in your consoles is concerning. They only had 10 modules to test so that could get real concerning if you have a big setup. I wonder if the upcoming extension option for hooking up 2 SVS will only further degrade the quality.

This should not be a concern unless you have an unusual amount of high resolution sources. The low pass filter that accumulates as a signal passes through multiple inputs is a consequence of the parasitic capacitance inherent to the solid state switch chips that the SVS uses. This is unavoidable in a modular design because unlike other monolithic switches that typically have 4 way or 8 way switch chips that each signal channel only passes through once, a modular design has to have 2 way switches on each module for each channel, so the electrical characteristics of the chips compound. The chips that the Gscartsw and Gcompsw use have significantly worse specs when it comes to parasitic capacitance and on state resistance, but they get away with it because the each signal only has to pass through one of them.

The effect of the accumulating capacitance is consistent and predictable so as long as you place high resolution signals at the lowest input numbers you will not experience any sharpness loss. The expansion kit avoids this issue because it is designed to be placed at the very first position on the switch so the signal from the additional input stack does not pass through the other inputs in the main stack and no filtering from the first stack accumulates on the second stack. This holds true for as many expansion kits that you chain together. Planning your switch with this in mind is all you need to have an excellent experience.

[johnwoods]

I think the MLIG review was pretty clear that the incremental loss in quality for 480p sources is barely visible and only in side-by-side comparison, when comparing position 1 vs position 10 in the switch, then went away entirely using the appropriate settings if using a scaler to process the output. For anything below 480p there was no discernible loss in visual quality. I expect this is going to be a non-issue for the vast majority of users and probably will just upset the people zooming in on individual pixels or capturing rather than gaming. I don't think that means they downplayed it, I think they were giving the SVS a really in-depth look and demonstrated that it's not going to be an issue for most people including themselves. I'd be interested to know how many consoles >480p people are using in this kind of setup? This is 7th generation and above with 720p or 1080p output, getting to the territory of just using HDMI in the first place to your scaler or direct to the TV. If it's just a couple then put them on the lower numbered inputs and the issue isn't present.

Fair enough if you are put off based on this but having a versatile, well supported and available product that greatly simplifies your setup and has inbuilt integration with scalers is really compelling. I can't wait to get mine setup with my shiny new RetroTINK 4K!

[Arthrimus]

I have three new modules designed and prototyped that I am preparing to put into production and I was hoping to collect some survey data to help determine how many of each to produce. The new modules are as follows:

BNC Output Module: The BNC Output Module allows you to output RGBS, RGsB, RGBHV, YPbPr, S-Video and Composite Video through BNC. This will be ideal for people that have PVM or BVM CRT monitors, or who need to interface their SVS with other professional video equipment such as Extron devices. It also has the option to convert RGBHV to RGBS or convert RGBS to RGBHV depending on your needs. It can output video signals in either AC or DC coupled mode depending on what your receiving device expects.

RGB to Component Transcoder Module: This module is installed on the output side of your SVS and can convert RGBS, RGsB, and RGBHV signals into YPbPr Component video signals. This module communicates with the SVS Control module and can be configured to turn the conversion circuit on for RGB Inputs and turn the conversion circuit off for YPbPr inputs. This function allows you to use a single output module to output all of your RGB and YPbPr sources as YPbPr automatically with no additional user intervention.

D-Terminal Input Module: This module is designed to accept YPbPr signals through the Japanese D-Terminal connector. It can also accept RGsB, S-Video and Composite Video through the D-Terminal connector, although these signals are not standard and no consumer device would natively output them through D-Terminal.

If anyone is potentially interested in any of these new modules, please fill out the survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... usp=header

I also recorded a video demoing and discussing the new modules here: https://youtu.be/Ja1JS3IEAqQ?si=fIGksr-Hbp0PsF1g

[kamiboy]

Great stuff. The D-Terminal input was a surprise, but would actually be useful for me as I have an official Nintendo Japanese Gamecube component cable, which came as D-terminal, I already filled the survey from the email to express interest.

With one obscure Japanese connector being supported, it just leaves the next one, JP21, I alone would buy at least two, three, maybe more of those if available.

The transcoder would also be useful for me, although the opposite would have been just as useful as I really just need all RGB and Component signals to go to the same display via the same output, in the same format so I don't have to switch back and forth depending on source.

Cool that everything places after the transcoder module will be converted, but outputs placed before will go out untouched, quite flexible. I assume the transcoding will have negligible effect on output video quality.

[Arthrimus]

I assume the transcoding will have negligible effect on output video quality.

The performance of the transcoder is very similar to Mike Chi's RGB2COMP device. He assisted me with the design of the transcoder. Up to 720p there is no discernable quality loss. 1080p is slightly outside of the performance envelope of the opamps that perform the color conversion matrixing, so you get a slightly soft image with some faint horizontal ringing. It works but it's not razor sharp. I don't expect most users to be using the converter for input resolutions as high as 1080p due to the fact that very few consoles exist that are even capable of outputting RGB at 1080p.

[kamiboy]

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think 1080p over component is even a thing. So far as I understand 1080i is the official maximum resolution spec over component for both displays and consoles.

the PS3/XBOX360 era games basically never ran at 1080p natively anyway, so 720p is just fine.

[Arthrimus]

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think 1080p over component is even a thing. So far as I understand 1080i is the official maximum resolution spec over component for both displays and consoles.

the PS3/XBOX360 era games basically never ran at 1080p natively anyway, so 720p is just fine.

1080p over component is most definitely a thing on both PS3 and Xbox 360, but you are correct that the vast majority of PS3/360 games ran nowhere close to 1080p native.