Questions that do not deserve a thread

[22point8]

Is this what you mean?

I use a manual SCART switch, with PS2, Wii, Dreamcast in, and that breakout adapter to RCA>BNC cables

When I tested on the KV-21LS30u and LC26AD5E, I used the cable straight to a RGB scart socket.

[Fudoh]

Yeah, you see, there's no ground connection from the outer metal shielding on your adapter, so unless the grounds are all connected in your scart switch, you're missing a connection.

[BazookaBen]

So I hook up all my RGB consoles with db-9 connectors, and I'm wondering if I could use this switchbox without degrading the signal. These types of switchboxes are usually unpowered, which gives me pause because many years ago I used a pelican s-video switchbox that was unpowered and it mutilated the sound and video on everything connected to it.

Furthermore, DB-9 was most commonly used for data, not video, so these could possibly be made more cheaply than a VGA switchbox. At the same time, if it were made of quality internal connections, I would think it would work just fine as long as the cable runs were short enough.

[RaidenViper]

So I recently picked up a PAL Sega Saturn model 2. It works fine and all... but 50hz signals dosen't work that great with my setup.

I found this guide how to add a 50/60hz switch.

Before I proceed with the soldering, I just wanna make sure I'm doing it right.



So the question is: Do I only need to connect point A to B, in order for this to output 60hz? I do not need the switch. I want this to permanently be in 60hz.

[Fudoh]

yes, but depending on your board revision the jumpers could be located elsewhere or JP4 added into a block with the other (region) switches.

[RaidenViper]

I see. I will open it up later today and have a look. Thanks

[brentsg]

Does anyone know if the DVDO Quick6 HDMI switching device introduces any latency in the AV chain?

Yes, I know there are cheaper alternatives. Thanks!

[Fudoh]

Wondered the same thing already. If you email DVDO about it and they tell you, let us know!

[brentsg]

Wondered the same thing already. If you email DVDO about it and they tell you, let us know!

"Thank you for contacting DVDO.
Quick6 is an HDMI switcher without any processing and the signal is simply passed through. Therefore there is essentially no latency."

I hate that he used the word essentially.

I'm probably a dick but I am pressing him on his choice of words. A bit more edit, DVDO has now taken my question regarding latency seriously and they are fetching a proper response.

[Ed Oscuro]

"essentially"

But yeah, compared to a regular wire length, they should be able to say something very close to nil (routing traces through a splitter doesn't count for enough to be worth an "essentially")

[22point8]

If I build a Male SCART to BNC cable to this diagram (I added the red line from pin 17 to 21), would that help with my Dreamcast problem or would I need to connect all the video grounds together and to the outer shield?


I still don't understand why when the Dreamcast SCART is connected directly to a TV, I still get the same vertical shift, is this a problem with the cable itself?

[Fudoh]

impossible to say, since you don't know which ground lines are connected within your scart switch.

[bobrocks95]

Is my SCART cable damaged/malfunctioning? It's a Genesis 2 SCART cable from retrogamingcables.co.uk with RCA breakout audio. The audio makes a horribly loud buzzing noise(and no, it's not the regular buzzing noise from a model 2 because of the crappy audio circuit, it's more like if you jammed your head into a beehive), which I didn't notice at first because I was using the Sega CD's audio output. The video sync doesn't work when it's plugged straight into my TV, but works through a video switch, albeit looking blurred and smeary. I've been told my video switch is likely buffering the sync signal in some way. Any advice?

[BazookaBen]

Is my SCART cable damaged/malfunctioning? It's a Genesis 2 SCART cable from retrogamingcables.co.uk with RCA breakout audio. The audio makes a horribly loud buzzing noise(and no, it's not the regular buzzing noise from a model 2 because of the crappy audio circuit, it's more like if you jammed your head into a beehive), which I didn't notice at first because I was using the Sega CD's audio output. The video sync doesn't work when it's plugged straight into my TV, but works through a video switch, albeit looking blurred and smeary. I've been told my video switch is likely buffering the sync signal in some way. Any advice?

Your audio issue sounds like improper grounding. You also want to make sure it's plugged in all the way at the genesis end.

Depending on what display you're using and what region your Genesis is from, your display might not be compatible with the sync signal coming from your genesis. You should find out if your cable uses raw sync or composite video for sync, and go from there.

I recently made my own RGB cable for my Genesis 2. I'm playing on a Sony PVM with raw sync from the Genesis.

I still don't understand why when the Dreamcast SCART is connected directly to a TV, I still get the same vertical shift, is this a problem with the cable itself?

I know that Dreamcast has a vertical and horizontal shift when putting out 480p over VGA, it might do the same thing with SCART.

[bobrocks95]

Is my SCART cable damaged/malfunctioning? It's a Genesis 2 SCART cable from retrogamingcables.co.uk with RCA breakout audio. The audio makes a horribly loud buzzing noise(and no, it's not the regular buzzing noise from a model 2 because of the crappy audio circuit, it's more like if you jammed your head into a beehive), which I didn't notice at first because I was using the Sega CD's audio output. The video sync doesn't work when it's plugged straight into my TV, but works through a video switch, albeit looking blurred and smeary. I've been told my video switch is likely buffering the sync signal in some way. Any advice?

Your audio issue sounds like improper grounding. You also want to make sure it's plugged in all the way at the genesis end.

Depending on what display you're using and what region your Genesis is from, your display might not be compatible with the sync signal coming from your genesis. You should find out if your cable uses raw sync or composite video for sync, and go from there.

I'm guessing the grounding issue would be inside the cable, so I'll either have to bust it open or ship it back to the UK for replacement? "Ugh" is all I have to say there. Interesting note is that it buzzes whether the console is on or not.

As for video I contacted the company a couple days ago and they confirmed it used composite video for sync. Since I have a SCART breakout adapter that converts the connector into RCA component RGB + composite for sync I thought I'd try plugging just the composite portion into a CRT, assuming it would be most likely to work. Wavy lines similar to the ones I had on the other TV, and color only occasionally popping in. So I'm clueless at this point.

[Fudoh]

I'm guessing the grounding issue would be inside the cable, so I'll either have to bust it open

yeah, but Scart connectors usually aren't glued shut and can easily be opened. With a loud buzzing like this chances are that one of the cables just touches a neighbouring pin.... that's an easy fix.

[bobrocks95]

http://i.imgur.com/zTmlQPz.jpg

The only ground pins attached are 4 and 18 it looks like, while 5, 9, 13, and 17 are not. The audio ground wire is exposed but isn't touching another exposed wire, so I don't know if that's necessarily incorrect. I can take other shots if something looks wrong somewhere, but I don't see anything else obvious.

[DJ Mike]

My (unofficial) PS1 RGB SCART lead is giving disappointing ghosting on my XRGB-Mini. It's not the Mini's fault - the cable has always done this (I remember the ghosting way back on my old CRTs), but the Mini does show it up all the more clearly.

Can anyone in the UK recommend me a decent RGB SCART lead for the PS1? I've ordered an official Sony component lead for my PS2 but I'll need to defer to SCART for my PS1 (which I use for imports), and the official Euro AV SCART lead from Sony seems to as rare as gold dust now (or I'm just rubbish at sifting them out of the chaff that's sold on eBay)!

[brentsg]

According to DVDO, the Quick6 has "less than 10ms of latency from input to output".

[7711]

Hello, I just bought a BenQ XL2411T, would it be okay for STGs ? I'm really not looking for a perfect setup, but as long as its not too terrible I'm happy.

http://pcmonitors.info/reviews/benq-xl2411t

Thanks :)

[7711]

Okay well nevermind I guess
Other question though, I've noticed my eyes hurt a lot when I play with it (I'm using 120 hz mode). Is it normal ? Does it happens to other people or am I just too sensitive ?

[BuckoA51]

No your eyes shouldn't hurt, perhaps you need to get an eye test? You might have mild astigmatism and it just so happens to be irritated by the particular viewing distance or some other factor.

[ZellSF]

Okay well nevermind I guess
Other question though, I've noticed my eyes hurt a lot when I play with it (I'm using 120 hz mode). Is it normal ? Does it happens to other people or am I just too sensitive ?

Four possibilities I see:

1: You're sensitive to PWM flicker, this will reduce your monitor options by a lot.
2: You have lightboost enabled (if you don't know what lightboost is, you have it disabled). Disable it.
3: You have brightness set to too high, switching monitors, it can happen that you set brightness higher than your old monitor without noticing the difference.
4: Factors outside your monitor (your eyesight, your position in relation to the monitor, the brightness of the room)

I play at 144hz on that monitor, which should be the same except with more flickering (the XL2411T is known to flicker in 144hz mode) and I have no problems whatsoever. And I'm very susceptible to eye strain problems. So no, it is not normal. Right now I'm looking at a 60hz monitor at low brightness that's hurting my eyes more than my XL2411T ever does.

[Fudoh]

Quick (related) question: are 144Hz displays internally able to run at native 120Hz as well ?

[ZellSF]

Quick (related) question: are 144Hz displays internally able to run at native 120Hz as well ?

Eh, how would one know if they're running 120hz natively?

[Fudoh]

Well, with a displays that's fixed to 144Hz you wouldn't be able to (REALLY) smoothly use a 60Hz source, either a console or even an emulator, nor could you watch stutter free sports or live TV. Also as long as you drive Windows with 72 or 144Hz, how do you handle v-sync options with 60Hz applications ?

[7711]

Well, with a displays that's fixed to 144Hz you wouldn't be able to (REALLY) smoothly use a 60Hz source, either a console or even an emulator, nor could you watch stutter free sports or live TV. Also as long as you drive Windows with 72 or 144Hz, how do you handle v-sync options with 60Hz applications ?

You guys must be from another planet


Thanks for the answers,
this monitor seems to be pretty violent brightness wise, I lowered it to 50 and see how it feels. I really tought it had to do with it beeing at 120 hz lol

[ZellSF]

Well, with a displays that's fixed to 144Hz you wouldn't be able to (REALLY) smoothly use a 60Hz source, either a console or even an emulator, nor could you watch stutter free sports or live TV. Also as long as you drive Windows with 72 or 144Hz, how do you handle v-sync options with 60Hz applications ?

With emulators, I change to 60hz because they have all sorts of sync issues at higher refresh rates. With 60 FPS locked applications... I think they looked much smoother at 60hz than 144hz, but I'm not near my monitor so I can't double check right now.

Edit: I find my PS3 connected via HDMI perfectly smooth, playing Wipeout HD at 60 FPS.

Surprised you haven't bought a 144hz monitor to play with already Fudoh, not a PC gamer?

this monitor seems to be pretty violent brightness wise, I lowered it to 50 and see how it feels. I really tought it had to do with it beeing at 120 hz lol

I think mine's set to... 25. I had it at 50 a long time with no eye strain problems, but I think I had to reduce it from 75 because that was too much. And I play in a very well lit room.

[Fudoh]

With a console like the PS3 connected, do you think the display's running in high-Hz mode ?? So maybe the panel has a 60Hz and a 144Hz mode, but no 120Hz mode ? Thanks so far!

[ZellSF]

With a console like the PS3 connected, do you think the display's running in high-Hz mode ?? So maybe the panel has a 60Hz and a 144Hz mode, but no 120Hz mode ? Thanks so far!

It most likely has a 120hz mode. 120hz is the recommended refresh rate by the monitor's OSD, they initially even avoided mentioning the monitor supported 144hz at all. 120hz is what the monitor is meant to run at.

With a console like the PS3 connected, do you think the display's running in high-Hz mode ??

The OSD says its running at 60hz. Not that it could run at 120hz, since Wipeout HD is 1080p which HDMI doesn't support at 120hz.