XRGB-3

[5tranger]

I am using the Official SCPH-1050 RGB cable from ps2 directly into the xrgb-3

you could try changing the input termination and compensate with the picture settings for the darker picture.

nice, well that worked but I'd rather play on B0 mode than settle for the dark

[akumajo]

tested PS2 + noname RGB cable + XRGB-3 + KOF 98 Ultimate Match and i confirm the problem in B1 mode.
same result on a CRT and LCD.
disabling flash ingame does not help.
setting RGB input to 220ohm fix the problem but yeah it's dark ...

[Fudoh]

setting RGB input to 220ohm fix the problem but yeah it's dark ...

but it's well in range of the available settings for Contrast and Brightness, so it's not really problem unless one switches with a lot of different sources on the same input.

[akumajo]

Wiki was updated (added english firmware, notes about PC IN, notes about King of Fighter problem, new picture for remote translation, and some fixes).

Things in orange color still need to be added/fixed.

Thanks.

[Konsolkongen]

I'm experiencing some sync dropouts when using the D2 input for RGBs and my MegaDrive. It happens rarely but seems to happen every time i play Rocket Knight Adventure. Here is a video i made showing the problem. Playing with one hand... holding the phone with the other

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fho93tsw_LQ

Using the D2 input so turning on the 220 termination won't help here. ADC level is 255 like Micomsoft recommends for nearly all consoles and the brightness is turned up a lot because of this.

The RGB cable has the LM1881 sync cleaner chip connected to the MegaDrives composite sync signal.

It would be interesting to hear Micomsofts thoughts about these dropouts that quite a few of us are experiencing

EDIT: B1 mode!

[Fudoh]

This isn't the XRGB's fault as it happens on a lot of CRTs with direct connection as well. It's caused by the video signal exceeding standard voltage levels depending on what happens on screen. If you have a LM1881 in the line anyway, try adding a few resistors to lower the voltage level of the R/G/B/S lines.

[Konsolkongen]

Thanks for clarifying that I already have 75ohm resistors on the R.G and B lines. Perhaps i should add one after the LM1881 on the sync pin?

EDIT: Actually i don't want to bother with it right now. It has happened a lot in Rocket Knight and The Ottifants and once in Shining Force CD. I assume there is a good chance that it will be solved/different when running the XRGB-3 through a Gefen VGA to DVI scaler, which i want to add to my setup sometime soon.

[Fudoh]

I assume there is a good chance that it will be solved/different when running the XRGB-3 through a Gefen VGA to DVI scaler, which i want to add to my setup sometime soon.

I don't think so. It's not your TV which looses sync, it's the XRGB which looses sync on the input signal therefore causing the TV to black out as well.

[Konsolkongen]

Ok then i misunderstood you. It will probably help if i switch to the GAME IN and use 220uF termination.

[Strider77]

The RGB cable has the LM1881 sync cleaner chip connected to the MegaDrives composite sync signal.

Why did you do this? I have no issues with my mega drive one or 2 via RGB. The only thing I had to do with my megadrive 2 was add a capacitor to the sync to help boost it. When I used the composite sync it looked like garbage, but I guess that's why you used the stripper? I just used the regular sync with a capacitor.

I've had no dropouts at all and I have been playing Rocket Knight and Sparkster alot the past 2 weeks. No drop outs... I am using the game in on the front however. Why are so many not using the "game in" port these days?

[Konsolkongen]

When i got the XRGB-3 the sync problems were very bad when using the MegaDrive (MD1 at the time) and happened in almost all games:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e236/ ... 1267913345
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e236/ ... 1267913346

Using the LM1881 this problem was heavily reduced, and i have only just noticed it a few weeks ago again.

I use the D2 in because it's easier having one of my most used consoles connected this way, and the other consoles doesn't look as good using this input as the MD does.

[Sabishii Hito]

When i got the XRGB-3 the sync problems were very bad when using the MegaDrive (MD1 at the time) and happened in almost all games:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e236/ ... 1267913345
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e236/ ... 1267913346

Using the LM1881 this problem was heavily reduced, and i have only just noticed it a few weeks ago again.

I use the D2 in because it's easier having one of my most used consoles connected this way, and the other consoles doesn't look as good using this input as the MD does.

That is exactly what I get if I feed 21-pin RGB into my XSelect-D4 and output from it via HD15 to the XRGB-3 D2 VGA input.

[Strider77]

Odd... I had a horrible shaky image on the XRGB3 (not XRGB 2 or 2+) when I used the composite for sync. But I found when I rewired the cable with the regular sync along with a 220 cap it was fine, but only after the cap.

I actually only had to do that when I switched to the mega drive 2. The MD 1 was fine. I used all this via my game in port. The only issue I have had with the game in port was having to raise the brightness some.

The only things I use in the back are the PS2 and DC.

Have you tried using the regular sync with a cap?

BTW this is all using the line doubler mode of the XRGB3.

[Konsolkongen]

Yes i use the regular sync signal through the LM1881. Do you think the cap will change anything if i add it after the sync cleaner? I mean the sync is already cleaned by the chip

Do you only use a 220uF cap? No resistor between cap and sync signal? I'll be using the GAME IN from now on for my MegaDrive so maybe i'll try this if the problem remains

Last night during a retardo moment i decided to add a VGA socket on my SNES which works as a second RGB output. Because i didn't want to spend money on a proper Nintendo RGB cable, and it can be used to connect the SNES to the D2 input on the XRGB. It was very late before i finished so i completely forgot to add resistors to the output. The colors were good but the picture was very unstable. I added 75ohms resistors on the S, R, G and B lines today but forgot to discharge the power before soldering so the internal fuse is blown... Can't get a new one until the day after tomorrow...

But about the unstable picture. What will work best, adding a resistor, a cap or maybe both? The cable i used before had 75ohm resistors on all lines so i expect it to work just as well when i get the new fuse.

[Strider77]

Do you only use a 220uF cap? No resistor between cap and sync signal?

yes... this was the only thing I had to do to get my MD2 up and looking fine via the game in port.

[Konsolkongen]

Got new fuses today and the SNES powered on nicely. Unfortunately the resistor on the sync line didn't help, the picture is still very unstable. Tried switching with a 220uF cap but then i got no picture. Have anyone tried connecting a SNES to the D2 input? I can't remember if it was any better when using the regular cable (which is in pieces atm.).

:/

[gundamalpha]

Old problem come back to haunt me:

I have a XRGB3 which have problem displaying my PC Engine (composite) and consolized MVS (S-Video), the screen skips (black out every repetitively) on B1 mode (B0 mode works fine). I just fed up and got myself a Videon Omega HDP as a result. Now I got a supergun (RGB) and the problem come back to haunt me, with only ST-V being able to display properly on B1 mode. Is there any solution to his? Would older XRGBs able to solve this problem?

[akumajo]

today i received an answer to one of our questions :

- the problem with english firmware and D2ZOOM not working

Dear Akumajo.:

Hello!

I confirmed the problem.
This problem is due to the character number limitation.
It can be easily corrected.
However, the software engineer is on a business trip.
This problem will be solved next week.

No answer about the other questions sorry.

[Niraflen]

today i received an answer to one of our questions :

- the problem with english firmware and D2ZOOM not working

Dear Akumajo.:

Hello!

I confirmed the problem.
This problem is due to the character number limitation.
It can be easily corrected.
However, the software engineer is on a business trip.
This problem will be solved next week.

No answer about the other questions sorry.

Thanks very much for the followup on D2ZOOM Akumajo. I really appreciated the work done on the English translation; I've been using the Japanese version due to this bug, but using the English version prior to that let me adjust to the menu terminology very quickly. I guess I'll be able to switch back again soon.

[Konsolkongen]

today i received an answer to one of our questions :

Could you ask if they could make a possible "B2" mode that works exactly as B1 but outputs in 640x480 instead of 720x480 since most TV's get this one wrong (mistakes it as 640x480). That would solve the "Bad scaling in B1 mode" problem in the wiki.

This mode would be great for 240p sources as they would be scaled correctly by all TV's. The other B1 mode would still be needed for 720x480i gaming though.

I think this would be a very nice fix

[Fudoh]

Could you ask if they could make a possible "B2" mode that works exactly as B1 but outputs in 640x480 instead of 720x480 since most TV's get this one wrong (mistakes it as 640x480). That would solve the "Bad scaling in B1 mode" problem in the wiki.

this can't be done since the input and output sync signals are locked to each other. As long as the input signals run on a 480i carrier (which is 720x480), the output will be the same (just progressive). This is how the XRGB-3 works. To make it a real 640 pixel output you'd need a scaling or at least a cropping engine like in B0.

[Konsolkongen]

Does every console outputting 240p run on a "480i carrier"?

Damn it i was hoping i could avoid getting a Gefen scaler :p

[Fudoh]

Does every console outputting 240p run on...

720 pixels is a standard width for analogue 15khz signals, has been forever, so I guess, yes, all of them do.

[Konsolkongen]

And that is why many of the scalers you have tested are having trouble detecting 240p?

[Fudoh]

no, that's because many scalers auto sense 480i/480p/HD signals on their inputs and just forget that there's once been a signal like 15khz non-interlaced. 240p and 480i are very similar, the only difference is that 240p signals have an offset of half a line, so TVs can tell the difference. Most older video processors don't have a problem with 240p, it's just the newer ones.

The problem you mentioned above (640 vs 720 pixels width) is a display or TV problem. 720x480 is not a VESA standard, so it's not included in the monitor's or TV's VGA recognition scheme.

[Konsolkongen]

The problem you mentioned above (640 vs 720 pixels width) is a display or TV problem. 720x480 is not a VESA standard, so it's not included in the monitor's or TV's VGA recognition scheme.

Yes you mentioned that when you first told us about the 720x480 resolution some time ago. Actually a clean 640x480 mode might not be such a good idea when you cant adjust the image position in B1 mode at all

[RGB32E]

The problem you mentioned above (640 vs 720 pixels width) is a display or TV problem. 720x480 is not a VESA standard, so it's not included in the monitor's or TV's VGA recognition scheme.

Yes you mentioned that when you first told us about the 720x480 resolution some time ago. Actually a clean 640x480 mode might not be such a good idea when you cant adjust the image position in B1 mode at all

Have you ever tried taking the analog output from the XRGB-3 running in B1 and transcode it to component? How my TV would handle B1 via component... oh wait... I just need to connect my Kramer FC-14!..... brb...

[Fudoh]

This somehow neglects the whole processing done by the XRGB. The TV's picture via component is usually a) significantly worse than via VGA and b) TVs usually add processing lag. Component and HDMI offer a correct "interpretation" of 480p (as 720x480), so HDMI is usually the way to go if the correct scaling is important.

[RGB32E]

This somehow neglects the whole processing done by the XRGB. The TV's picture via component is usually a) significantly worse than via VGA and b) TVs usually add processing lag. Component and HDMI offer a correct "interpretation" of 480p (as 720x480), so HDMI is usually the way to go if the correct scaling is important.

I just tried it... I like B1 better now! I can turn on V-Sync with my playstation. Besides, the picture is better than connecting straight to the TV via component @ 240p and now I have scanlines! Also, the "shaky" v-sync is heavily reduced when converting to component using the FC-14. On top of that, the FC-14 will transcode 1080p (specs show 1080i as max).

I don't have a VGA to HDMI converter, and B1 doesn't output digitial... so..?

[Fudoh]

I find the whole 720 vs 640 pixel width issue slighty overrated for 240p material. Where it really hits me is with 480p material and here you simply gain nothing by running the source through the XRGB instead of directly into the TV. Nice to hear that the component connection reduces the shakiness on your setup, but it's probably the TV which handles 480p component better and not the Kramer unit doing anything about the source signal.

I don't have a VGA to HDMI converter, and B1 doesn't output digitial... so..?

Most people don't have a VGA to component transcoder either and if they had to choose which unit to buy, I'd probably recommend a HDMI converter instead. Not because the Kramer is anything but great, but because most people won't have any use for it besides transcoding the XRGB output.