XRGB-3

[Konsolkongen]

Is that the same one on your page? The logo on the top is a little different.

I fell in love with those Metal Slug X screens on your page the moment i saw them. I don't mind if 240p is only available through component, it still sounds like the ideal solution for me and my PS2

And the XRGB3 should be connected to the Optoma, for further scaling? Do you have any info about delay and such?

And when you say 300 is that in €, £ or $

I'll try to get your in depth forum post on hifi-forum translated. My german is very rusty

I'm getting very excited about this machine all of a sudden

(Note that the Optoma in the auction is limited to 720p output, while the new ones available will do 1080p)

Although my tv is 1080p i don't think it will bother me, most games on the PS3 are 720p anyway and they all look good

EDIT: Does it handle PAL50, PAL60 and NTSC just as well?

[CrackLtd]

I have the HD3000 too and i can confirm that the Optoma is THE machine for PS2. And youre right, you wont gain any quality on 1080p compared to 720p, i find 720p even better looking. It can handle all modes from the PS2 (PAL50/60, NTSC, NTSC progressive) if connected via Component cables (which are very common and easy to get). The results are amazing and it beats the XRGB.

[Konsolkongen]

Can someone tell me if this auction accepts paypal payment?

[Fudoh]

Is that the same one on your page? The logo on the top is a little different.

The one in the auction was bundled with an Optoma projector, the one on my page is the standalone version. They're identical besides the firmware which limits the bundle version to 720p.

And the XRGB3 should be connected to the Optoma, for further scaling? Do you have any info about delay and such?

2 frames, try the B0 on your XRGB to get the feeling. Should be a tad faster than the iScan Pro.

And when you say 300 is that in €, £ or $ Smile

299 Euro + 29 Euro shipping.

I'm getting very excited about this machine all of a sudden Smile

I'll get one again. The price is amazing and I need it before my new capture device as it wont accept 240p without prior scaling.

EDIT: Does it handle PAL50, PAL60 and NTSC just as well?

don't know about PAL60, but it does accept RGBs, it doesn't really matter, does it ?

The results are amazing and it beats the XRGB.

It's a different approach. The Optoma was once a 2000 Euro machine. It's a good videoprocessor and is excellent in scaling computer graphics. I still see the XRGB as a "CRT-look-emulator", not a real videprocessor.

[Konsolkongen]

2 frames, try the B0 on your XRGB to get the feeling. Should be a tad faster than the iScan Pro.

Ok good to know. 2 frames arent a big deal for me but i should connect my XRGB3 to my TV instead of the Optoma.

don't know about PAL60, but it does accept RGBs, it doesn't really matter, does it ?

Well not really. The PS2 is afaik NTSC or PAL50 only. Obviously i only wan't games running in the correct speed, so most of my games have NTSC support anyway. But in those rare cases where a game have been optimised properly for PAL its good to have.
It should also come to good use for those few Dreamcast games that doesn't support VGA. Only difference is almost my entire SEGA collection can run in NTSC or be forced into NTSC (Saturn, MD).

[gundamalpha]

Anyone tested Cotton Boomerang on XRGB3? I've tested quite a few games last night in B1 mode and only this game gives me serious flickering on the title/cut in screen

And is it normal for the screen to have vertical scan lines running on this mode? I maxed the VL_H but it's still pretty obvious.. something I remember didn't appear on XRGB2+

[Artemio]

Anyone tested Cotton Boomerang on XRGB3? I've tested quite a few games last night in B1 mode and only this game gives me serious flickering on the title/cut in screen

And is it normal for the screen to have vertical scan lines running on this mode? I maxed the VL_H but it's still pretty obvious.. something I remember didn't appear on XRGB2+

That is because it probably isn't at the full 255 value, right? I ran into the same issue.

it happens when downgrading an XRGB-3 from a later firmware to 2.07. You need to reset the XRGB-3 for it to be able to set the vertical scanlines to go all teh way to 255 and thus disappear them. most probably your XRGB-3 came with FW 2.11 (mine did).

In order to reset your XRGB-3, you need to turn it off (standby). Hold down the "MENU" and "OK" buttons, then press and hold the "Power" button. This will take a few seconds, but the lights will flicker. After it goes back to standby, you can turn it on and your settings will be in their default values. Your vertical scanlines will be gone, and you'll be able to set the horizontal ones to your liking.

[gundamalpha]

Thanks, will try it later

But that still won't solve Cotton Boomerang problem right?

Edit: Got the VL_H fixed

[Fudoh]

But that still won't solve Cotton Boomerang problem right?

Cotton Boomerang is running in 480i during the title screen and the cut scenes. 480i on the Saturn was always quite "flickery", so it's probably normal what you see. The B1 mode tries to simulate the interlaced 480i picture of a CRT for 480i contents.

[gundamalpha]

Cotton Boomerang is running in 480i during the title screen and the cut scenes. 480i on the Saturn was always quite "flickery", so it's probably normal what you see. The B1 mode tries to simulate the interlaced 480i picture of a CRT for 480i contents.

Care to name other 480i Saturn games so I can test run them please?

[Fudoh]

not too many. Maybe other STV conversions during the title screens ?? A game running in 480i troughout is Columns 97 in the Columns collection.

[Konsolkongen]

Virtua Fighter 2, Fighters Megamix, Athlete Kings and properly Winter Heat as well. I'm pretty sure those are 480i.

[Konsolkongen]

Artemio> I just reinstalled the LM1881 into my MD2 RGB cable and its working just fine. My guess is that these smaller versions of LM1881 doesn't work too well with 11V. It shouldn't make any difference if the LM1881 is in the cable or in the XRGB3 except for the voltage used.

[Artemio]

Konsolkongen> Yes indeed, that must be the case. Under that situation, being that you do have 5V in the cable (and probably on all your cables) I would have installed it inside and drew the power from the RGB port. I didn't go that route because most of my cables don't have the +5V line.

Of course such a solution would only make sense if all your cables have +5V.. otherwise you simply wouldn't get signal when the cable didn't provide that.

[Konsolkongen]

As far as i know the voltage in the cables varies a lot. MegaDrive and Saturn are both 5V i think, but i'm pretty sure PlayStation is too low for the chip to work.

Its properly easier to install in the cables that need it or install it inside the console itself since every console i know of have 5V somewhere on the PCB.

Right now the only console i have that needs the LM1881 is the MegaDrive. Saturn works fine without it. And those two are the only consoles that i have plugged into the RGB socket

[Konsolkongen]

Ok now i got a hold of the german seller of the Optoma. And i have learned that he would trade me the Optoma HD3000 for my XRGB3. What do you recommend i do here?

As far as i can understand the Optoma only accepts 240p through the component input, so thats a bummer for MegaDrive and Saturn. But would this problem be fixed by using a simple RGB to Component converter?

Also the Optoma always has the 30ms lag and doesn't have a scanline feature. But on the other hand should be a lot better deinterlacer for PS2 than the iScan Pro and upscaler for 480p

I'm very tempted to trade him my XRGB3 for his Optoma. And then buy another XRGB3 later. What would Fudoh do?

[Fudoh]

Ok now i got a hold of the german seller of the Optoma. And i have learned that he would trade me the Optoma HD3000 for my XRGB3. What do you recommend i do here?

don't do it. From a money-standpoint alone it's not really worth it, since you can get a 1080p HD3000 for 328 EUR shipped which is the same you'd pay for a new XRGB-3.

As far as i can understand the Optoma only accepts 240p through the component input, so thats a bummer for MegaDrive and Saturn. But would this problem be fixed by using a simple RGB to Component converter?

No, it won't. It's a not a RGBs vs. component problem. It's a timing problem of the source signals. A PS1 game on a PS2 will work with either component or RGBs, but a Saturn will never work, no matter how it's connected.

Also the Optoma always has the 30ms lag and doesn't have a scanline feature. But on the other hand should be a lot better deinterlacer for PS2 than the iScan Pro

no, not really. The actual deinterlacer is good, but not neccessarily better than the iScan Pro. Somewhere in my german Optoma HD3000 Review I posted a video download link (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VWRV3QPG). This video shows an example where the deinterlacer in the Optoma has problems with a PS2 game.

I'm very tempted to trade him my XRGB3 for his Optoma. And then buy another XRGB3 later. What would Fudoh do?

If you don't have the extra money right now, you can do it, but I guarantee you: you'll re-buy a XRGB-3 for sure.

In all my HD3000 writings I recommend the Optoma as a **perfect upscaler** for progressive signals (480p and up). In terms of deinterlacing is it's far superior to the iScan Pro for MOVIES (SD and HD), but for our gaming needs, you're well equipped with your iScan Pro (for 480i sources).

The HD3000 is a very nice ADDITION to our setups. It shines between an XRGB-3 and a display and it does wonderful things to 240p and 480p PS1 and PS2 games, but with you using a lot other systems as well (MD, SAT) you definitely NEED your XRGB

[Konsolkongen]

Thanks for the quick reply. If it only did support 240p through RGB i properly would trade it. But since 80% of the games i play are on SEGA consoles i guess this is a no brainer.

I have placed a bid on the Optoma but i suspect it will sell for a lot more than that. I guess i'll just have to wait

[Fudoh]

200 Euro would be my price guess for this one. With the inability to scale to 768p or 1080p it somehow neglects the purpose for most modern displays or beamers.

[CrackLtd]

Hmm, trade a XRGB-3 for a HD3000 is a tough decision. Personally i like both machines as they do different jobs. From technical point of view the HD 3000 is far more sophisticated considering it was a 2000 EUR unit just a few years ago. The scaling is amazing and picture quality is outstanding like Fudoh already stated. Is nice to have both machines, if you only can have one of those, tough..... how about this: get the 3000 and get another XRGB-3 later!? Seems this auction is lasting just another 4 days, so i would take the chance now and get another XRGB-3 later again, there is time enough. If this chance is gone the chance is... gone. Maybe ask for another 50 EUR he has to put on the deal cause his machine is an older model (still nice, tho) maybe you can do the deal AND safe some money ... i would try it, hehh

[Konsolkongen]

But the thing is that the Optoma doesn't support 240p from anything but the PlayStation 2. And i mostly play on MegaDrive and Saturn which are both 240p.
It would be nice for PS2 though since i hardly ever use that because it looks pretty bad when my TV deinterlaces it. Still there are no way near as many PS2 games worth playing than on my beloved SEGA consoles

[gundamalpha]

I couldn't stand the 480i through XRGB3.. I can't remember such flickering happened on XRGB2+. Even on BO mode the quality still not good enough displaying on my Acer G24 (1920 x 1200) monitor

If I were to get another upscaler/deinterlacer solely for 480i sources what is recommended? Since I'm on tight budget would XRGB2+ be the way to go?

[Konsolkongen]

Ok now the seller is talking about throwing in a 100€ as well for the XRGB3. Now i'm tempted again.

[gundamalpha]

Ok new problem occur. The XRGB3 can't detect my spider scart cable, keep switching between 15khz, 31khz and 33khz.. The cable works fine on my other device so it shouldn't be broken

[Fudoh]

Ok new problem occur. The XRGB3 can't detect my spider scart cable, keep switching between 15khz, 31khz and 33khz.. The cable works fine on my other device so it shouldn't be broken

which are your other devices ? You didn't just plug a Euro Scart cable into the XRGB-3 Japan RGB input, right ? (If yes, you most likely just blew your RGB input).

I recently had a XRGB-2plus and 3 on hand at the same time. In B1 mode they're IDENTICAL, so there's no really no sense in getting a 2plus instead of a 3.

[gundamalpha]

It runs fine on a Scart>Component converter but won't work on XRGB3 through a JP 21Pin RGB>Scart socket. The other individual scart cables runs without problem through the socket

[Konsolkongen]

no, not really. The actual deinterlacer is good, but not neccessarily better than the iScan Pro. Somewhere in my german Optoma HD3000 Review I posted a video download link (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VWRV3QPG). This video shows an example where the deinterlacer in the Optoma has problems with a PS2 game.

Could you please point out what what it does wrong. I'm not sure i can see it

Oh and i decided to keep my XRGB3, and will save money for the 1080p version of the Optoma

[gundamalpha]

I’m having trouble running sources through composite & S-Video. I’m not sure if it’s the XRGB acting up or setting issues. Tested PCE Duo-R via composite and CMVS (with JROK 3.1) via S-Video, both can’t display properly. The screen keeps appearing and disappearing within split second.

Edit: Happens in B1 mode, B0 mode runs fine

[Ed Oscuro]

I've asked similar things a few times, but I'm still fuzzy on it, unfortunately...

How does the capture function of the XRGB-3 work, and is it something that is impossible / requires additional hardware on the XRGB-2? Thinking of 15-pin sources (FM Towns and X68000 of course).

[Fudoh]

Far more interesting would be to learn why you assume that there's such a thing as a capture function on the XRGB-3 ?