XRGB-3

[Strider77]

I have replaced my mega drive 1 with a mega drive 2 recently, a japanese console and not euro.

Now my old system worked fine with RGB. I finally got my cable in the mail for the megadrive 2 and have have 2 issues.

1: really bad humming in the audio
2: I am getting that shakey wobble effect on text ect way more than it's ever been

Is this something due to the megadrive 2 itself or the cabling I have?

[Strider77]

ok I fixed the shakey sync issues with a capacitor on the sync line..... this cable was using the composite signal for the sync.

still I have that awful hum going on in the audio. could it be related to the +5 volt line in the plug? or a grounding issue?

[DC906270]

what is the +5v line actually for?

[DC906270]

according to this site, the Genesis/Mega drive 1 outputs composite sync on pin 6, whereas the Genesis/Mega drive 2 outputs sync on pin 5. also, audio output on MD 1 is on pin3 , and MD 2 is pin 6, 8 and 9. maybe this has something to do with your problem if youre using the same cable.

i think the problems im having with my pal PS1 maybe a similar sync issue, ie the PAL and NTSC versions using a different pin for sync. This would make sense as PAL consoles would not need the s-video out on pin 5, so maybe pin 5 is used for sync instead on pin 6 (as in the NTSC console)? can anyone confirm either way?

Also, is there any other way the TV could get a sync signal from the Ps1/XRGB other than composite sync? as my TV does get a picture, but doesnt appear to recognise the format. If the sync in the cable was wired for ntsc (as is my theory) then would i get a picture at all?

[Strider77]

I have seen diagrams showing the +5 volts linked to the audio lines.... would this be needed ? on a mega drive 2 that is.

[DC906270]

again according to this site mega drive 2 has 9 pin "outs" from its av socket, using pin 2 for +5vDC . AFAIK this should be connected to pin 8 on the scart plug (i think, needs confirming from someone used to wiring up scart cables), so no, it shouldnt be linked to the audio whatsoever.

[DC906270]

quoted from here

Cables which run video and audio signals together without a seperating shield around the audio wires may cause an annoying 50 or 60hz buzzing sound in the audio which vaires in volume with the picture content. This is caused by the capacitive coupling of the two wires running next to each other. The longer the cable is the more capacitance between the wire. The best way to avoid this is to run a seperate cables for audio and video join them together again at the SCART end.

[DC906270]

again from the same site :

The SCART spec states that to switch to RGB mode the CVBS Status pin must be fed 12V and the RGB Status (aka Fast Blanking) pin be fed 1-3V. Some games consoles only output 5V which may or may not be adequate. If the TV doesn't switch and there is no way to manually force a 'video mode' (such as a button on the remote control) then an external 12V supply may be required. In cases where the TV is a widescreen model or has a widescreen mode feature, applying only 5v to the RGB Status pin may force the TV into 16:9 widescreen mode

this sounds like my problem with my PAL PS1, ie picture automatically going to widescreen mode, and as the signal is unsupported i cant change the aspect ratio on the TV..could i just disconnect the +5v DC line and see if this solves the problem in the scart plug or is the +5v line required. what would happen if i disconnected the +5v?

[Konsolkongen]

i think the problems im having with my pal PS1 maybe a similar sync issue, ie the PAL and NTSC versions using a different pin for sync. This would make sense as PAL consoles would not need the s-video out on pin 5, so maybe pin 5 is used for sync instead on pin 6 (as in the NTSC console)? can anyone confirm either way?

I'm pretty sure that a PAL PS1 can output S-video as well. A PAL PS2 can output S-video and it uses the same AV-out as a PS1.

I have seen diagrams showing the +5 volts linked to the audio lines.... would this be needed ? on a mega drive 2 that is.

That doesn't make sense. You need wires from pin 8 and 9 and a Ground connection as well. The better you shield your cable the less noise you will get. Also if you are using a MegaCD/SEGACD with your console you MUST connect a power supply unit to that as well otherwise the humming noise will be even worse.

this sounds like my problem with my PAL PS1, ie picture automatically going to widescreen mode, and as the signal is unsupported i cant change the aspect ratio on the TV..could i just disconnect the +5v DC line and see if this solves the problem in the scart plug or is the +5v line required. what would happen if i disconnected the +5v?

Voltage is not needed in a RGB cable. It's only purpose is to autoswitch the TV to the RGB input and switch between wide and 4:3 modes. You won't break anything by disconnecting this wire

EDIT: Are you connecting directly to your TV set or though the XRGB-3? There might be some strange tv's that will only show a picture if voltage is applied (best to get a second opinion on this before cutting anything). If you are connecting through your XRGB-3 then just cut the wire. The XRGB doesn't need any voltage, i'm 100% sure about that as i have cut the voltage pin on the RGBs input of my XRGB-3

[DC906270]

Are you connecting directly to your TV set or though the XRGB-3?

Well, an XRGB2. I get "auto widescreen" also when i connect directly to the TV via RGB, But this isnt a problem as i can just adjust the aspect ratio on the tv, but i cant do this (adjust the aspect ratio) when i connect the XRGB2 to the PC input, as the TV goes into "signal not supported; adjust pc display" mode (when using a PAL PS1), but the picture is perfect behind the error message, albeit widescreen. any clues?

[RGB32E]

ok I fixed the shakey sync issues with a capacitor on the sync line..... this cable was using the composite signal for the sync.

still I have that awful hum going on in the audio. could it be related to the +5 volt line in the plug? or a grounding issue?

I've encountered the audio hum issue with my Genesis 2 system. When using the official composite/stereo cable, the noise is minimal. However, when adding RGB to the mix, I get the noise. Ultimately, I just use the audio outputs on the Sega CD 2, instead of the 9 pin mini din, so that I can reduce the noise. I think the Genesis systems output noisy audio, others have said the the model 2 systems have the worst audio output... I think part of the problem is shielding, and lack of suitable ferrite core on the cable.

[DC906270]

Voltage is not needed in a RGB cable.

hmm, well i disconnected the +5v, it doesnt affect the output from the XRGB (still in widescreen and "unsupported format" msg appears, and in colour etc) but when i connect directly to the TV on one of its scart inputs, i now get a colour start up sequence, but my imports boot in black & white?? why?

[DC906270]

when i disconnect pin 20 on my scart plug (composite video/sync) i get a rolling picture, but not in widescreen! also, i dont get the tv error message. so it seems its the comp video/sync signal causing the problems. can i get sync any other way?

[Fudoh]

hmm, well i disconnected the +5v, it doesnt affect the output from the XRGB (still in widescreen and "unsupported format" msg appears, and in colour etc)

why should it ?

but when i connect directly to the TV on one of its scart inputs, i now get a colour start up sequence, but my imports boot in black & white?? why?

because your TV uses the composite video portion only now. Since you've got a PAL system, your bootup screen is composite PAL, once you boot a NTSC game you get a mismatch signal which is neither PAL nor real NTSC. This is why you use a RGB cable with imports in the first place.

[Fudoh]

when i disconnect pin 20 on my scart plug (composite video/sync) i get a rolling picture, but not in widescreen! also, i dont get the tv error message. so it seems its the comp video/sync signal causing the problems. can i get sync any other way?

you can send the composite sync signal through a LM1881 circuit or you can use Luminance from the S-Video signal - i doubt that it makes a difference though.

Why don't you a use a PS2 for your PS1 games ? Or get a used NTSC PSOne ?

[DC906270]

because your TV uses the composite video portion only now

so the +5v does do something, it switches output to RGB?

you can send the composite sync signal through a LM1881 circuit or you can use Luminance from the S-Video signal - i doubt that it makes a difference though

what, both = no difference? or using luminance? which wouldnt make a difference? if i split the sync, how would i then connect to a scart plug?

Why don't you a use a PS2 for your PS1 games

doesnt run backups

Or get a used NTSC PSOne

like rocking horse shit in the UK, especially modded. also i am determined to get around this (and i am actually learning a lot about video signals in the process)

[Fudoh]

so the +5v does do something, it switches output to RGB?

no, the output is the same, but the 5V switches the TV to RGB input. Without it it's just AV (Video) input.

what, both = no difference? or using luminance? which wouldnt make a difference? if i split the sync, how would i then connect to a scart plug?

you don't split the sync, you just seperate the the sync signal from the composite video information.

doesnt run backups

oh c'mon, you live in Europe. Plenty of places to get cheap PS2 mods...

[Strider77]

http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ ... .htm#mega2

in the above link the megadrive 2 pinout shows the +5 volts carrying over into the audio lines. This seemed pointless to me also... but I thought someone might now why this is shown here.

[DC906270]

in the above link the megadrive 2 pinout shows the +5 volts carrying over into the audio lines

no, it shows the +5v going to pin 8 and 16, jumping over the audio lines in the diagram, but this is just pictorial.

[DC906270]

you don't split the sync, you just seperate the the sync signal from the composite video information.

ah, thanks for the info this might come in handy in future. but my first port of call is going to be building a RGBHV --->Sync on green converter so i can connect into the component inputs. just waiting for my soldering iron and multi meter to turn up

[Fudoh]

but my first port of call is going to be building a RGBHV --->Sync on green converter so i can connect into the component inputs.

I didn't follow your wild imagination when you posted this before, but even with sync on green, this won't work. RGsB and YUV are different signals. RGsB has three color carriers (Red, Green, Blue and a sync signal which is mixed in the green portion). YUV consists of a pure luminance signal ("Y" which is actually the same signal as in Y/C (S-Video)) and U + V which are two color differential signals. If you want to connect a XRGB with RGBHV output to a TV's component input you need a VGA to YUV transcoder.

[DC906270]

but even with sync on green, this won't work

Arrgh youve just ruined my day
looks like ill have to go the other route of stripping the sync from the composite video line then

[Sabishii Hito]

I've noticed something odd when outputting from my XSelect-D4 to the XRGB-3. If I use the 15-pin RGB output of the XSelect, and feed it into the D2 15-pin VGA input on the XRGB3, the picture will be fine if the inputs to the XSelect are YUV, including setting its 21-pin RGB input to YUV. If I feed it a pure RGBCS signal on the 21-pin, the resulting display coming from the XRGB is wavy/distorted. I'm guessing the XSelect outputs RGBHV from its DSub15 but what I don't get is why YUV signals get converted fine but not RGBCS...

[Fudoh]

I'm guessing the XSelect outputs RGBHV from its DSub15 but what I don't get is why YUV signals get converted fine but not RGBCS...

I think this is actually the only cabling solution which is actually not really supported by the XSELECT. I have both units, so I can give it a try. Your question abou the output format is easy to answer: just see to which input format you've set the DB15 port on your XRGB. In the menu you can choose between YUV (D-Terminal input), RGBHV and RGBs.

You're saying that YUV signals work. Have your tried with both 15khz and 31khz signals ?

The "official" transcoding features of the XSelect are:

- YUV (31khz) to VGA/RGBHV (31khz)
- VGA (31khz) to YUV (31khz)
- RGBs (15khz) to YUV (15khz)

Everything else is more or less luck...

[Sabishii Hito]

I'm guessing the XSelect outputs RGBHV from its DSub15 but what I don't get is why YUV signals get converted fine but not RGBCS...

I think this is actually the only cabling solution which is actually not really supported by the XSELECT. I have both units, so I can give it a try. Your question about the output format is easy to answer: just see to which input format you've set the DB15 port on your XRGB. In the menu you can choose between YUV (D-Terminal input), RGBHV and RGBs.

Only セパレート(separate/RGBHV) works for the D2 signal in this case. I don't get a signal with 色差 (YUV) or 複合

You're saying that YUV signals work. Have your tried with both 15khz and 31khz signals ?

Yeah, I use Capcom Classics Collection 2 on my PS2 as a test since it can be left at the default 480i or set to 480p, either works when fed into the XRGB from the XSelect. I can use the PS2 component cable into one of the XSelect's YUV inputs or I can use my crappy 3rd party 21-pin RGB cable (with the input set to YUV). Obviously, if I use the XSelect's D-Terminal ouput and feed it into one of the XRGB's D inputs, I have no issues with RGBs being fed into the XSelect.

[DC906270]

so, i have a plan to fix my PAL ps1 problem by connecting a pure sync signal instead of combined video/sync :

following info on this site

On the Playstation SCPH-5001 you can get the composite sync signal from the Sony CXA1645M encoder (pin 20), which is on the bottom side of the mainboard PCB.

so, i am going to solder a 75ohm coax wire between pin 20 on this chip, and av out pin 6 (as shown in the picture in the link). but, i will have to remove the combined composite video/sync signal currently going to the av out pin 6. to acheive this i am going to carefully cut through the pcb trace going to this pin with a scalpel.

can someone let me know if there are any fatal newb flaws/errors in my plans?

[Fudoh]

sounds like it's worth a try. I'm still not convinced though that it's really a composite sync vs. composite video problem. The XRGB usually has got no problems with handling FBAS instead of sync. But keep us updated. Will be good to know!

[evil_ash_xero]

I'm having a hard time figuring this thing out, mainly because of all the Japanese text. When will the English firmware be available?

Also, on some games(like Disgaea 2), when nothing is moving on the game, it's kind of blurred looking, but as soon as I start walking, everything sharpens up. Any reason for this?

[darthcloud]

I'm having a hard time figuring this thing out, mainly because of all the Japanese text. When will the English firmware be available?

It took me a week or two the get used with that beast, I suggest you reading completely the xrgb3 beginner's guide over fudoh website http://retrogaming.hazard-city.de/ if you aren't done allready.

It will show you the more important setting for getting started.

[akumajo]

yesterday i received a mail and Micomsoft programmer is working on a bug with osd, so it will be released to public when its done.