I was wondering if anyone has tried this model and what their impressions are of it. I recall reading that Extron scalers did not perform well but not much else was said besides that. So basically looking for comments on this model and experiences with their scalers in general as information seems to be scarce.
Also has anyone tried this model - System 7SC?
In a nutshell I am trying to create a setup to play on the best displays for my systems and also be able to record footage(uncompressed if possible). So far I have the display part covered with displays to last a life time. (BVMs/PVMs/TVs/computer monitors). I still need to mod my RF consoles(Atari 2600/ Colecovision/ Intellivision etc) to their respective best outputs and wonder what others have done in terms of modding and recording. It seems that most of the focus is from SNES / Genesis forward in regards to recording. For these systems I have RGB cables and plan to purchase the StarTech capture card however wonder how to obtain the best quality for the older systems (2600 / Astrocade / Intellivision / Coleco / etc). I wonder if the new Micomsoft SC-512N1 card with composite and s-video capture can fill the void for the older consoles / computers.
Thanks for any information to assist me in my goal. This forum is a treasure trove of information which I am trying to process and enjoy digging through it.
The thought and most likely incorrect was that I could upscale the systems that are troublesome to a standard signal that something like a AJA Kona or Blackmagic (Decklink or Intensity ) could capture.
I currently have an old XEON workstation with a AJA LSe board and breakout cables. With this I have been able to connect and record Wii (composite), PS2 (svideo), Gamecube (Component) very easily by connecting to a PVM and using the outs on the PVM to capture. When I tried the same with a PAL Atari 800xl everything is fine on the display except that the picture shakes constantly and makes it useless. I also tried with a RGB SNES using a RGB to YUV device and that had a picture that rolled and also I believe it lost its color after a second and went to black and white. It would be nice to record this as well with the AJA but I am more interested in quality capture of the really old consoles(2600 / Colecovision / etc) and computers (C64 / Atari 8-bits) if possible as the Startech seems to fit the bill for the SNES forward.
So what I am wondering is what do I need to obtain a signal that is recognized by a AJA or Blackmagic device for recording. What are the options? Also would something like a TBC be useful for fixing these issues? Thank for any info you guys can provide.
The 500N1, that's the older Startech card ($120) will capture all your component and RGB sources just fine - doesn't matter if PAL or NTSC and if 240p, 480i or higher. Does the new Startech/Micomsoft card have composite and s-video inputs ? You still need a sync cleaner for most RGB sources though.
Using a BMD or another broadcast level capture device along with an upscaler for the older systems is a different approach. It's certainly easier, especially if you permanently connect many systems, it also solves your composite and s-video problem, but it also requires more bandwith since you would capture in 720p50/60 instead in native low-res.
The Extron scalers are incompatible with most 240p sources. If you were to go for the 2nd method (which I would recommend), you should look into a DVDO scaler.
