XRGB-mini Framemeister

[jamisonia]

Sorry if this has already been answered. I did a Google search as well as a forum search and I can't find the answer.

I'm having aspect ratio headaches with my Wii connected to the XRGB Mini. I have my Wii connected via YPbPr to D-terminal. My Wii is set to widescreen. The XRGB Mini outputs this anamorphic widescreen image contained in a 4:3 block and it would appear the XRGB Mini is placing black pillarbox bars on the side. I have my XRGB mini outputting at 1080p to my ST30 Panasonic Plasma. I can't find a setting that will map the image perfectly to the edges of the screen. Overscan is turned off on my TV. I'm just looking to map it as far to the edges as my TV does when I connect the Wii directly to it. Is there some way to get the XRGB Mini to stretch it to 16:9 like a TV would for an anamorphic image?

[rivals]

SNES is too far from the standard NTSC timings to work with locked v-sync on the Blackmagic. Did you try it with with DISABLED v-sync lock on the Mini ??

Yeah, that's the sync mode setting right? No luck with both "OFF" and "AUTO".

[Fudoh]

that's a shame. What BMD are you using ? An internal or external one ? Your best option would probably be to just the Startech PEXHDCAP capture card instead. I don't see any disadvantage compared to a BMD and it's (afaik) 100% compatible with the Mini - in both sync modes.‎

[rivals]

It's external, the Thunderbolt Shuttle. I stream from a laptop so I can only really use external cards I've heard the Avermedia LGP is pretty forgiving (I have a friend who's streamed from various consoles and pcbs > xrgb mini > LGP, but he hasn't tested SNES) so I'm going to try his and see how it goes.

[Fudoh]

I heard that to. Should be fine. Just remember that the concept is different. While your BMD captures uncompressed and leaves the compression up to you, the Avermedia is a live h.264 encoder.

[CkRtech]

I own a XRGB-Mini since July 2013 and it works perfectly! However, I also want to connect my Super Famicom through the XRGB-Mini and I have an issue with this. I bought an official GameCube PAL RGB Cable, but I have no image, just the sound. I also tried this cable on my RGB modded N64, it's the same: no image, just the sound.

I'm using this adapter, which works perfectly with my Saturn (HK model with the RGB cable "embedded" in the console):
http://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/euro ... -sale.html

Hey jujukun.

A Super Famicom from Japan is going to be an NTSC machine. The caps/resistors in the cable for SFC/SNES are different based on if you are running NTSC/PAL or not. Sync may also be an issue.

Take a look at this. http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/official-pal- ... -consoles/

[juji82]

That is wrong, I use the nintendo official gc scart (they made for pal gcs) with my n64 jap and sfc and it works just perfectly with mini.

[Fudoh]

yes, PAL GC = NTSC SNES. PAL SNES cables are different though.

[CkRtech]

I defer to you guys. I am in NTSC-land.

[juji82]

well, he is using the minidin to scart cable from retrogamingcables for his xrgb mini, so the GC Scart should work. maybe you got a faulty cable?

[Algea Magnet]

Hi all, I need some help.

I'm in the UK and own a JAP model Neo Geo AES, which connects via RGB scart to my HD TV and works.
I ordered myself a XRGB-mini and a Euro scart connector.
http://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/euro ... -sale.html

The XRGB turned up today, but I can't get it to work.
With the Euro connector, I get sound, but a black picture.
If I use the connector that came with the unit, I get the blue screen with no input.

Can anyone help?

[jujukun]

Thanks everyone for your input.
I tried many times to connect the PAL Gamecube cable with my SFC and XRGB Mini. It just doesn't work.

CkRtech,
Thanks for the link. When you look at the picture posted in this page, I can tell you that it's clearly the same cable as mine (I've opened it too to compare). I'll read the full article to understand what's going on with this cable.

Well, in the meantime, I've received the SFC RGB cable ordered from Retrogaming cable UK and this one works. I am not totally happy with the color settings: it looks like the colors are a little bit too dark (I have played with the brightness but it's still dark). And the picture in general looks a little bit blurry. It's worth noting that I also play SFC games on Wii virtual console via component connected to the XRGB Mini. The picture looks cleaner through component. I would like to reproduce this picture with the real hardware you know , so I guess I have to play more with the XRGB Mini settings, unless my retrogaming cable UK is faulty too?...

FYI, my plasma TV set is a Panasonic TX-P50VT20EA. Besides the SFC, I have a RGB Sega Saturn and modded RGB N64 (perfect picture for both consoles), PS2 and Wii through component (perfect for wii, some annoying noise on PS2) - all connected to the XRGB Mini.

What are your best settings for RGB 240p output, especially for Super Famicom?

[kerframil]

Sorry if this has already been answered. I did a Google search as well as a forum search and I can't find the answer.

I'm having aspect ratio headaches with my Wii connected to the XRGB Mini. I have my Wii connected via YPbPr to D-terminal. My Wii is set to widescreen. The XRGB Mini outputs this anamorphic widescreen image contained in a 4:3 block and it would appear the XRGB Mini is placing black pillarbox bars on the side. I have my XRGB mini outputting at 1080p to my ST30 Panasonic Plasma. I can't find a setting that will map the image perfectly to the edges of the screen. Overscan is turned off on my TV. I'm just looking to map it as far to the edges as my TV does when I connect the Wii directly to it. Is there some way to get the XRGB Mini to stretch it to 16:9 like a TV would for an anamorphic image?

You'll need to set 16:9 under ASPECT_RATIO unless you're running an older firmware version. For a while, the 4:3 and 16:9 options were transposed in the English firmware, meaning that you had to select 4:3 to enable widescreen. I can confirm that v1.10E isn't affected.

The Wii suffers from a native underscan. It's not the XRGB Mini that creates the letterboxing effect. If the image sits flush with your screen edges when running directly to your TV then, in fact, your TV does not have overscan disabled (at least, not for 480p via its YPbPr input). Even the Wii U does the same thing when running in Wii mode, as mentioned here. The solution should be to enable overscan on the TV or to use the Mini's zoom settings to compensate.

[Fudoh]

@jujukun: Which model SFC do you have ? There are so many different versions, some with quite bad video output, others with perfect video. With a good unit you can easily get better quality than from a Wii VC title. For best 240p input, use H_SCALER set to 5 and V_SCALER set to 6. Sharpness to zero. Output to 1080p without scanlines or 720p with scanlines.

[kerframil]

... Well, in the meantime, I've received the SFC RGB cable ordered from Retrogaming cable UK and this one works. I am not totally happy with the color settings: it looks like the colors are a little bit too dark (I have played with the brightness but it's still dark).

Make sure that your display is set to assume full range RGB for the HDMI port to which the Mini is attached. I was wholly dissatisfied when I first ran my Super Famicom through the Mini until I figured out that the black level was off.

EDIT: Forgot to say that I have an official Gamecube SCART cable and it doesn't work with my Super Famicom either. The one from retro_console_accessories works a treat (just not the raw sync version).

[rivals]

I heard that to. Should be fine. Just remember that the concept is different. While your BMD captures uncompressed and leaves the compression up to you, the Avermedia is a live h.264 encoder.

Yeah, I'm aware, but thanks! The reason I went with the Blackmagic in the first place was the lack of compression, but ultimately function > lack of function.

[Fudoh]

If you don't record to the SD card on the Avermedia, but to the PC, the datarate is quite high. Should not make much of a difference. The only reason for me to use a BMD in the past was the HDMI RGB support with full color resolution on all channels compared to the usual YCbCr 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 recording.

[jujukun]

@kerframil: thanks for the suggestion. i'm going to check this, when the TV will be available

@fudoh: below the specs of my SFC after opening my SFC. I'm afraid that I own a crappy version of the SFC...

Serial number: S21438881
CPU version ((c) 1993 Nintendo): SNS-CPU-GPM-02
PPU1 version: 5C77-01 3JF 9H
PPU2 version: 5C78-03 3KA 7N
Encoder version (?): S-ENC A

Crappy, isn't it?

[Fudoh]

yes, that's a crappy one. You might want to use this list to find a 1CHIP unit. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... utput=html

[Xyga]

Hey I've missed that list !
I have an unmodded PAL UP16741697, might be worth getting it modded.
Currently I cannot use it with my 50Hz-compatible scalers, but I guess this is a scart cable problem (extremely dark and purple picture, can barely see anything).
Sorry if this is OT, is there a dedicated SNES serials and cables thread around ? (couldn't find anything with the forums search tool).

[jujukun]

Thanks for this list Fudoh!
One last question: what is the difference between 1CHIP-01, 1CHIP-02 and 1CHIP-03? I found a 1CHIP-03 version (according to the serial number pictured). Should I take this one or should I look for a Chip1-01 to get the best revision? Thanks again for your help

[Konsolkongen]

Definitely take the 1CHIP-03! It supposedly has pretty perfect video. I haven't seen anything near perfect from any of the SNES systems I have modified or owned, regardless of motherboard revisions. The SNES sucks in this regard. I would love to have a 1CHIP-03 if it does indeed have a ghosting-free image...

[Fudoh]

For a few months there has been an easy fix available for that "vertical banding" problem on the 1CHIP-01/02 units. Works perfectly. I would personally prefer a 1CHIP-01 for that reason. The built-quality on those units is higher (removable/replacable cart connector) and they output c-sync by default. On japanese SFC units ghosting on 1CHIP units is not a problem.

Currently I have a 1CHIP-03 SFC unit, which is perfectly fine (except that the reset button sometimes doesn't work). I had a 1CHIP-01 unit which I sold because the banding problem. If the 1CHIP-03 SFC doesn't cost a fortune, grab it.

[Konsolkongen]

Yes the banding can be fixed easily, but IMO the ghosting is just a bit more annoying than the banding, and there's no fix for that as far as I'm aware. Using "Standard" or Meister mode helps a bit in this regard, so it's not unlikely that a better low pass filter on the Mini would be able to remove it completely.

Haven't checked if the banding fix improved color flickering (like a 45 degrees fast moving noise pattern in certain solid colored areas), but that's another thing wrong with the SNES's signal. I doubt the LPF on the XRGB is to blame here, because I've never seen it this way on any other systems.

[jujukun]

Thanks for your feedback guys!
I've purchased a new SFC in mint condition with Sr number S25215726, hoping that it will be a 1CHIP-03.
Anyway, I'll let you know when I'll receive it.

[darcagn]

Here's hoping that it's a 1CHIP-03! I have a 1CHIP-03 myself, it's got an absolutely amazing picture!

[Midnight Milkshake]

Hey guys, I'm having sync problems with my the Framemeister and my Wii that didn't happened before, and can't use the manual sync option because of the bug, do you know any way to solve it?

[Konsolkongen]

What bug? Are you using RGB or component?

[Midnight Milkshake]

I'm using component, and the bug is the one that doesn't let you to set the sync manually.

[Fudoh]

and the bug is the one that doesn't let you to set the sync manually.

that's not a bug. The luminance signal, which carries all the sync information, is completely standarized.