TUTORIAL for TVOne Corio2 240p Downscalers

[NeoNIcoN]

Isn't it only if you want "perfect" downscaling ?
My goal is purely to play neo-retro games on CRT, even if it downscales incorrectly.

[Maskman]

Hello,

I use the "Tendak HDMI to VGA Male Converter" with the Audio out, but there is no sound
I use a Jack 3.5 to RCA , and no sound is coming out. My Corio2 is C2-2350A. Any help please ?

[shawly]

Hi!

I've got a C2-750 and I am struggling to downscale 720p to 240p and I only get a black screen. The default NTSC and PAL resolutions work just fine but as soon as I activate 240p HDMI from the profiles linked in the first thread the screen stays black. I also can't see the menu anymore.
I thought my TV is the issue (B&O MX8000) but my OSSC shows the exact same picture.
My setup is HDMI2DVI <> Corio DVI-1 <> Corio HD/PC output <> DVI2VGA <> UMSA <> Hydra-W2 <> TV/OSSC.
The weird thing is that I can display the static image in Window B just fine in 240p. If I disconnect my source I can also see the blue screen in 240p. But as soon as I input any 720p or 1080p source the screen goes black.

I don't get why it's able to downscale to 480i but not 240p...

Anybody got any ideas on how I can get this to work?

/bump

Is there a chance it might be related my DVI adapters? I use this HDMI to DVI adapter for input https://www.amazon.de/-/en/dp/B000NWLLOE and a DVI to VGA adapter like this https://www.amazon.de/-/en/dp/B09SCV41FK I do have to buy something else anyway since I don't have any audio. But I wanted to see if downscaling my modern consoles would work as I wanted to play some more modern games on my CRT TV. The PS4 and Switch for example can still output 480p.

I do wonder if the problem is the Corio having to output 240p via RGBHV, I can't set it to RGBS because my TV wont sync with the UMSA. I know the UMSA works with crtemudriver just fine with 240p though.

I also wondered if I could try it directly with such a Mister VGA to SCART cable: https://www.arcadexpress.com/de/videoka ... -fpga.html
Though I am not sure if the pinout is correct so I'm hesitant to buy one.

[MKLKT]

Hi!

I've got a C2-750 and I am struggling to downscale 720p to 240p and I only get a black screen. The default NTSC and PAL resolutions work just fine but as soon as I activate 240p HDMI from the profiles linked in the first thread the screen stays black. I also can't see the menu anymore.
I thought my TV is the issue (B&O MX8000) but my OSSC shows the exact same picture.
My setup is HDMI2DVI <> Corio DVI-1 <> Corio HD/PC output <> DVI2VGA <> UMSA <> Hydra-W2 <> TV/OSSC.
The weird thing is that I can display the static image in Window B just fine in 240p. If I disconnect my source I can also see the blue screen in 240p. But as soon as I input any 720p or 1080p source the screen goes black.

I don't get why it's able to downscale to 480i but not 240p...

Anybody got any ideas on how I can get this to work?

/bump

Is there a chance it might be related my DVI adapters? I use this HDMI to DVI adapter for input https://www.amazon.de/-/en/dp/B000NWLLOE and a DVI to VGA adapter like this https://www.amazon.de/-/en/dp/B09SCV41FK I do have to buy something else anyway since I don't have any audio. But I wanted to see if downscaling my modern consoles would work as I wanted to play some more modern games on my CRT TV. The PS4 and Switch for example can still output 480p.

I do wonder if the problem is the Corio having to output 240p via RGBHV, I can't set it to RGBS because my TV wont sync with the UMSA. I know the UMSA works with crtemudriver just fine with 240p though.

I also wondered if I could try it directly with such a Mister VGA to SCART cable: https://www.arcadexpress.com/de/videoka ... -fpga.html
Though I am not sure if the pinout is correct so I'm hesitant to buy one.

The images in the DVI-VGA adapter listings have conflicting pinouts, some show the analog pins and some don't (RGBH analog pins surround that perpendicular ground pin and V is pin 8.) I'm pretty sure if it's DVI-D it needs to have some sort of active conversion / power as opposed to being a simple passive analog connection. Check the pinout diagrams online and compare to what you've got. I think the "In" side of C2 is probably fine all digital.



I have a C2-2350 (non-A) I can confirm that the 240p settings with RGBS are working
I've tested it with a pretty complex layout and it works great, haven't dialed in the raster yet. Appears slightly dark but I think it's from the HDFury, haven't done any troubleshooting yet.
My test was PS5 > Pioneer VSX-935 Receiver > 2nd 4k/1080p out (Simultaneously playing 4k on Output 1) > HDFury 2 > Corio2 C2-2350 PC/HD Input > PC/HD Output > Extron VGA-BNC > Extron Crosspoint 450 > PVM

To edit settings I used an FDTI-based UGreen USB-RS232 cable, I had no problems with CORIOtools; however, when I tried to do anything with the firmware utility it gave me all sorts of errors. I would get messages like "Application problem - An error occurred in the application - Attempt to continue?" and my fav "Application error. Please product vendor." This is with Win 10 64-bit. I tried a Virtualbox with XP SP3, and an old XP laptop with a serial port but it too gave the same errors. Tried all the firmware files. I talked to TVOne support and the solution ended up being to change the COM to between 1-4. In all my test instances it was using COM6 just by chance and the firmware updater wasn't happy with that. Hopefully this helps anyone else encountering that.

I have a C2-1100 that was bundled with the 2350 so I might try it out. Pretty sure the PC/HD output is just a loop, so even if it supports custom resolutions it'd be via Component/S-Video/Composite only

[orange808]

If I remember correctly, I couldn't get any kind of custom output over composite or svideo. The machine insists on standard NTSC or PAL interlaced output. (I don't recall if it does SECAM, because that doesn't matter to me.)

I get the best results sending out RGB signals with some chosen flavor of sync. Analog units are most convenient, because they passthrough the input signal when the unit is powered off.

[frenchfrithefish]

I recently got a 1T-C2-400 and I can't seem to get it to connect to any of the tvone software. I got the cable driver's and a segmented 9-pin service cable.

[Coope]

Unfortunately I have bad news. Looks like both my units (2200 and 2205) have fried DVI inputs. I think my PC broke them. It just says Not Valid on the LCD for DVI input. I've tried other cables and other HDMI sourses and it's the same. I was messing around with Windows resolutions but I did nothing physical. VGA still works though but I can't get the scaling right and when I plug in the VGA input 3 of the lights come on on the front of the unit even if the PSU is not plugged in!

How do I factory reset? I can't see the option in the menu or the Corio suite software.

Coope

[orange808]

C2 is a hassle. Unless you have a very specific reason, get the OSSC Pro with an analog output card. I still have a Corio2 hooked up, but that doesn't (necessarily) mean you should.

[Coope]

C2 is a hassle. Unless you have a very specific reason, get the OSSC Pro with an analog output card. I still have a Corio2 hooked up, but that doesn't (necessarily) mean you should.

Are they easier to fine tune? I got my C2 on my 4:3 dialled in perfect so there is no shimmering (scrolling) or doubled or missing horizonal lines. But on my SD widescreen I got it dialed in once and then the DVI ports broke and now I can't get it 100% perfect via the VGA output. Do I need to do the same fiddling with OSSC as well? It's not a massive issue on say PS1 onwards when most games are 3D but anything earlier with 2D scrolling looks crap.

[Coope]

C2 is a hassle. Unless you have a very specific reason, get the OSSC Pro with an analog output card. I still have a Corio2 hooked up, but that doesn't (necessarily) mean you should.

Also can you tell me what the analog output card is? It just says "coming soon" on the website.

Thanks.

[Dochartaigh]

C2 is a hassle. Unless you have a very specific reason, get the OSSC Pro with an analog output card. I still have a Corio2 hooked up, but that doesn't (necessarily) mean you should.

OSSC Pro is $370 though + $75 (whenever it's back in stock) for the analog card. A Corio2 can still be had right know on eBay for $102 shipped, and several have sold for $50 in the last month or two as well.


Also, thank you for everybody who has chimed in to keep this thread alive and answer questions about these – I'm not as active here as I once was so I appreciate it!

[orange808]

C2 is a hassle. Unless you have a very specific reason, get the OSSC Pro with an analog output card. I still have a Corio2 hooked up, but that doesn't (necessarily) mean you should.

OSSC Pro is $370 though + $75 (whenever it's back in stock) for the analog card. A Corio2 can still be had right know on eBay for $102 shipped, and several have sold for $50 in the last month or two as well.


Also, thank you for everybody who has chimed in to keep this thread alive and answer questions about these – I'm not as active here as I once was so I appreciate it!

Good point. I hope the prices come down further. If memory serves, I recommend the machine to you for downscaling when NOS units could be purchased for a mere $20.

Six years ago... Time flies...

[Dochartaigh]

Good point. I hope the prices come down further. If memory serves, I recommend the machine to you for downscaling when NOS units could be purchased for a mere $20.

Six years ago... Time flies...

You certainly did! And I thank you again for bringing me down this rabbit hole back then where I researched these SO much that it prompted me to make this topic to collate all the information you and others had about these cool scalers!

And yeah, they were something like $27 shipped for a BNIB C2-400 if my memory serves. I bought like 10+ of them back then and programmed them for a bunch of my (internet lol) friends. Still have a bunch of 750's I have to sell that I've been dragging my feet on, and still use my 2x C2-2200's in my server rack; and at some point will try that big-boy C2-6104A again (which I believe has 4x individual C2 chips) where I'm pretty sure I can get 4x separate memory banks for my 4x 480p sources so I can get each absolutely perfect and never have to change any settings.