XRGB-mini Framemeister

[chronic1]

Just tried to put my order in with Solaris, and the website errored while attempting to use paypal.

Couple of questions:

• Has this happened to anyone else?
• Assuming I don't see any paypal traffic in my paypal account, you think it is ok to retry the purchase without emailing the customer service rep?

Thanks for any advice. I can't wait to get the new toy!

[ZellSF]

Another fun thing to consider for people considering Wii U as Wii replacements: you'll lose Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound.

Yes indeed, unless you set up the Wii U to output stereo, and handle it form there. In surround mode it outputs LPCM in 6 channels, with the Wii audio in the L & R positions.

From what I've read, that doesn't work either.

[pyrotek85]

Just tried to put my order in with Solaris, and the website errored while attempting to use paypal.

Couple of questions:

• Has this happened to anyone else?
• Assuming I don't see any paypal traffic in my paypal account, you think it is ok to retry the purchase without emailing the customer service rep?

Thanks for any advice. I can't wait to get the new toy!

No problems here but I ordered a number of months ago. If you don't see anything on your paypal account within a few hours I'd say it's safe to try again IMO.

[ZellSF]

I got an error when I ordered a few months ago but the order went through. I would just wait a day and see what happens.

[chronic1]

Thanks for the advice; I'll give it a day or so for either paypal or gmail to show movement.

[chronic1]

A quick update for you all, and a head's up for anyone encountering difficulties with PP & Solaris....

The transaction went through but it is a bit sketch

I was receiving an authorization issue on my credit card, but the authorization issue was coming from a different card provider. This prevented my provider from being able to assist me. The resolution was provided by PayPal:

• Use my credit card to send money to a bogus address created by the customer service representative
• Receive "paypal bucks" in my paypal account from the bogus address
• Using my new paypal balance, transfer money directly to the seller
• Inform the seller of the confirmation number
• Recreate the cart on the seller's website & pay via "bank transfer"

Hope this helps someone in the future, and I look forward to getting my mini soon. Maybe my TV gaming rig will be ready in a few weeks. Pictures surely to follow.

Thanks for all the help everyone.


keywords: paypal solaris solarisjapan xrgb-mini

[pyrotek85]

Glad you got it working for you, that certainly is an odd workaround.

[retr0gamer]

Probably your best bet is the Keene SCART commander. My only complaint with that is that it is a tiny bit fiddly to take it off auto mode, and auto mode absolutely will not work with Megadrive/Genesis.

My SCART commander works fine in auto mode with my Genesis. I do recall having to modify the SCART cable to get it to work, but it was some months ago so I forget what I changed on it. I currently have N64/SNES/Genesis/Saturn connected to it.

[MMJuno]

Finally bit the bullet and got one of these (arrived yesterday). I always knew my TV's scaler was garbage, and had previously found an older Zinwell for relatively cheap to try out. It didn't seem to help all that much. With or without the Zinwell, the screen looked fairly smeared in large block-ish formations... hard to describe. I noticed an immediate, huge improvement with the XRGB-mini (so far, I've only tried out the PS2 via component).

Anyway... Fudoh, I wanted to thank you for your in depth reviews on your site of the various scalers out there. Without stumbling across your site, I may have never picked this up.

[BuckoA51]

Must be something on the RGB signal up pin or something like that I suspect. I've seen the MD/Genesis do similar things with other auto switches.

[Konsolkongen]

Right now I'm using a CRT TV I borrowed from a friend until I buy another HDTV. To get the MegaDrive working on this TV I had to put a 75ohm resistor on the 5V line to pin 16 (RGB switch). Never had to do that before. Perhaps that will solve your scart switch issues?

[papa_november]

Quick update - anybody tried X68000 via this? I'm thinking that would be a non-issue for me but it would be nice to get that documented.

I tried it a while back and it works, though switching between RGB and VGA mode requires some settings to be changed. I hooked it up using an existing VGA adaptor and used an Extron to split the sync.

I also need to get to taking some pictures of what it looks like.

[dark1x]

OK, so I'm considering picking one of these up soon, but I'm curious about the power supply. I live in the US at the moment but will be moving to France in early 2013. Can anyone recommend a power supply which will allow me to use the device without a step-down transformer?

[BuckoA51]

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... ly#p776333

This gets asked so often, someone should put it on the Wiki.

[PsySlaver]

I'm having a problem using a PS2 with its component cable. The results are an image that is vertically bigger than my TV screen and and I can't seem to fix that. Doesn't happen with Wii component cable. Anyone knows how to fix this nuisance?

Thanks.

[masqdgamer]

Cannot get my Mini to work with Scart cables that I bought from RetroACC
Any ideas?

Sorry, I am not well versed in cabling and whatnot.

Is there a specific type of Scart cable that I need?
I have been trying to use NTSC configured cables with my SNES, Genesis and Saturn.
All produce a "NO_INPUT" message on screen.

any advise is appreciated

thank you

[landryH]

Hy Guys

I'm all new to this.

This is my setup

Samsumg monitor S22A350H (hdmi and vga in)
Dreamcast, PS2 and XBOX with their classic shmups

XRGB-Mini seems the real deal but after reviewing Fudoh's website, I'm wondering now.
Is there a cheaper alternative ?

I don't mind going for the mini but all things considered it seems I can get a decent quality at better price point.

Thanks in advance guys

[BuckoA51]

You using the converter that came with the unit? That's for JP21 not SCART

[masqdgamer]

You using the converter that came with the unit? That's for JP21 not SCART

yeah, using the supplied converter.
Not really sure what the difference between JP21 and Scart is .
I am using NTSC systems that have not been modded along with "RGB SCART" cables from RetroAccessories on eBay.

These cables have been working with my SCART to component converter.

if these are not the correct cables, where can I go about getting "JP21" cables for a Super Famicom, Japanese launch Saturn (1994) and Sega Genesis model 1 HD Graphics?

Are these cables something that I would have to have made somewhere or were they sold in stores?

I also cannot get the Component to D-Terminal connection to work with my PS2.

[BuckoA51]

Most of the above have been answered dozens of times, the bit in the XRGB3 wiki explains about JP21 and SCART. Hopefully you have not damaged your unit:- http://junkerhq.net/xrgb/index.php/XRGB-3#FAQ

[masqdgamer]

Most of the above have been answered dozens of times, the bit in the XRGB3 wiki explains about JP21 and SCART. Hopefully you have not damaged your unit:- http://junkerhq.net/xrgb/index.php/XRGB-3#FAQ

I bought the unit off of another poster in this thread, and if its damaged, it was damaged by him before I even took posession of it... considering that he was mentioning issues with it 2 months ago.

And thank you for pointing out that those questions have been answered previously, even though any answer that can be gleaned from any of the info provided is vague or "setup specific" at best.

So here it is straight, if I buy a set of those $75 Super Famicom RGB cables on ebay, will those work with this thing without any further Googling and thread searching? I'm assuming yes. What do I need to connect my other JP consoles to it? Japanese RGB cables? is that it?

Sorry if I come off as snotty, but I dropped $450 and another $50 + on cables on this thing and the best input signal I can get to work is the S-video .
Total waste of time and money.

EDIT:
Thanks for that link.
Helps a LOT for a n00b like me

[Fudoh]

Just get a EU Scart to JP21 converter. Costs like nothing and you can use all your EU-Scart cables.

I've heard from several people by now that connecting an EU-Scart cable to the Mini, won't instantly kill it, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[masqdgamer]

Just get a EU Scart to JP21 converter. Costs like nothing and you can use all your EU-Scart cables.

I've heard from several people by now that connecting an EU-Scart cable to the Mini, won't instantly kill it, so I wouldn't worry about it.

thank you for the advice sir.
I am in the process of assessing all possible avenues atm

[BuckoA51]

I propose we update the wiki to include the information about JP21 Vs SCART as a separate page linked to from all the XRGB pages. I don't have time this week most likely but probably can do it next week.

[akumajo]

hmm just curious, what would you use to connect a dreamcast with vga (transcoder or scaler ?)

exemple : xselect-d4 or gefen vga dvi scaler plus ?

[akumajo]

I propose we update the wiki to include the information about JP21 Vs SCART as a separate page linked to from all the XRGB pages. I don't have time this week most likely but probably can do it next week.

yes good idea, first we need to spell it right

should we say JP21 SCART and EURO SCART (or PAL SCART) ? If you say only SCART for EURO It does not makes sence to me.

[BuckoA51]

You can use an Extron or an UMSA I believe, need to update that in the Wiki page too http://junkerhq.net/xrgb/index.php/Dreamcast

I'm not sure on their official names for the connectors, I thought it was JP21 for the Japanese variant and SCART for the European, but yeah, lets come to a consensus.

[Aatos]

Hello everyone! Another n00b here reporting in! My old "HD-ready" TV finally broke down so it's time to get a new beautiful tv. Since I was bitten by the retro bug in January and have acquired quite a collection ever since, after reading Fudoh's review and most of this thread, I strongly feel it's both worth it and the right time to invest in a proper retro upscaler, ie. the Framemeister. Before making the purchase I obviously have questions!

1) First of all, there has been a lot of talk about the need to set spesific image settings for all sources separately (in order to make each look as good as possible). Now, I understood that generally, Mini will remember/save the settings separately for each input signal and connection, ie. separately for composite 240p, composite 288p, s-video 288p, s-video 480i, etc., with the exeception of (buggy?) RGB which remembers only one setting?

Now, I'm looking for a setup as hassle free as possible, so does that mean I can basicly have only one source with a distinct input per connection? There are no presets that can be saved or similar? With my current range of computers, this might work to some extent at least for now..

2) ..except for PS2. I have a modded PAL PS2 that I would intend to use for PAL PS1, PAL PS2, NTSC PS1 and NTSC PS2 games, which as far as I understand all output different resolutions (288p, 576i, 240p, 480i/480p respectfully). I would plug this through component -> d-pin, but I think I read somehwere this wouldn't work well for some reason? RGB would be the other option, but my first intention was to reserve that to my favorite console SFC.. again if my aim is to create a setup with as little need to fiddle between each gameplay, what would you suggest?

I noticed that surprisingly many people here are actually from PAL regions, so I would figure people here would be familiar with hassles like this - I think user Konsolkongen spesifically mentioned this, so if you dont mind me asking, how did you solve it? (Or is everyone really importing _everything_ from outside the EU? How do you deal with the customs? )

3) Speaking of that SFC, I'm yet to check the model number, but could someone please provide a quick recap of which model produces what in regards of picture quality? Or is it 1CHIP > everything else? Also, I already ordered a RGB cord from retro accessories, that's supposed to be for US/Japanese (here: http://www.retro-access.com/ourshop/pro ... -SNES.html ), but despite this apparently still requires a EURO -> JP SCART adapter before I can plug it to the cable adapter that's included with Framemeister?

That's what's most boggling my mind right now. Thank you in advance and huge thanks for this thread, all the reviews, wikis etc., lately I've been active in some retro collecting communities and it's nice to see that I've stumbeled on yet another excellent one!

[Fudoh]

I thought it was JP21 for the Japanese variant and SCART for the European, but yeah, lets come to a consensus.

for most people over here Scart on it's own is just the connector. Each european Playstation system came with scart adapter (not being RGB of course). EURO SCART und JP21 is fine I guess.

[Konsolkongen]

1) First of all, there has been a lot of talk about the need to set spesific image settings for all sources separately (in order to make each look as good as possible). Now, I understood that generally, Mini will remember/save the settings separately for each input signal and connection, ie. separately for composite 240p, composite 288p, s-video 288p, s-video 480i, etc., with the exeception of (buggy?) RGB which remembers only one setting?

I think that's the way it works. I have only used component and RGB and RGB doesn't remember individual settings for 480i and 240p which is quite annoying. I can't remember if it stores separate settings for VGA though, but I don't think it does.

Now, I'm looking for a setup as hassle free as possible, so does that mean I can basicly have only one source with a distinct input per connection? There are no presets that can be saved or similar? With my current range of computers, this might work to some extent at least for now..

That's right. Only one system per input. But there are several switchers that does a good job so you can connect more systems to the unit at the same time. Bucko knows all about that.
I use the same settings for all 240p games and 480i/p games though. I rarely have to change a lot (if anything) between consoles.

2) ..except for PS2. I have a modded PAL PS2 that I would intend to use for PAL PS1, PAL PS2, NTSC PS1 and NTSC PS2 games, which as far as I understand all output different resolutions (288p, 576i, 240p, 480i/480p respectfully). I would plug this through component -> d-pin, but I think I read somehwere this wouldn't work well for some reason? RGB would be the other option, but my first intention was to reserve that to my favorite console SFC.. again if my aim is to create a setup with as little need to fiddle between each gameplay, what would you suggest?

i don't have a TV atm so I can't double check this. But I think I came to the conclusion that NTSC PS1 games won't work on a modded PAL PS2 with component. It does seem to work fine with RGB though. RGB will be less noisy than component anyway, and if you add an Extron RGB interface (Fudoh will know the ones) before the XRGB you can even play PS2's 480p games in VGA, which is very cool

I noticed that surprisingly many people here are actually from PAL regions, so I would figure people here would be familiar with hassles like this - I think user Konsolkongen spesifically mentioned this, so if you dont mind me asking, how did you solve it? (Or is everyone really importing _everything_ from outside the EU? How do you deal with the customs? )

I decided long ago not to play games in 50Hz whenever possible. Sorry but I don't have much knowledge about the XRGB and 50Hz other than it works to some extent.
If you modify your SEGA consoles you'll be able to play most of your PAL games perfectly in 60Hz. That worked well for me since I'm a huge SEGA-fanboy. The PS1 on the other hand can't be forced to play its games in 60Hz which is why I barely own any for it, but when I do purchase some I only go for US or JAP versions.

3) Speaking of that SFC, I'm yet to check the model number, but could someone please provide a quick recap of which model produces what in regards of picture quality? Or is it 1CHIP > everything else? Also, I already ordered a RGB cord from retro accessories, that's supposed to be for US/Japanese (here: http://www.retro-access.com/ourshop/pro ... -SNES.html ), but despite this apparently still requires a EURO -> JP SCART adapter before I can plug it to the cable adapter that's included with Framemeister?

Neither is anywhere close to perfect. I own one of the 1CHIP models which is regarded as the best one on this forum. The picture is good, but I can't stand the ghosting in the image. I even tried bypassing the RGB encoder and using a THS amplifier instead, but that made no real difference.
It's been a while since I owned a "2CHIP" model, but I remember the picture as very soft, but otherwise pretty good.
I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you have the old model, you have a softer picture, but if you have the newer one you have ghosting :/