XRGB-mini Framemeister

[lunch_box]

Has anyone here ordered from amazon Japan via a proxy?? They are a lot cheaper there than Solaris etc.

[synth79]

Have been getting a strange display on the XRGB Mini when using my MD2 with the Raw Sync Scart cable for retro_console_accessories on eBay, basically there seem to be a lack of contrast in the picture and what seems to be artifacts on some cluster of pixels across the screen, and there seems to be banding/ghosting across the screen on options screens where the cursor hightlights an option, you can see ghosting of the cursor horizontal across the screen. This is the scart cable.....



My MD1 and SNES all display fine

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. My xrgb mini should be arriving tomorrow. I am in the process of acquiring the relevant RGB Scart cables.
Fantastic forum, and this has got to be the most relevant to me thread I've ever seen. Thank you to everybody for posting here and helping inadvertently to make me buy an XRGB Mini!!

OK I know i'm being blunt and rather brief here but it is exciting stuff isnt it? And it's been a joy to anticipate using beloved Scart again. From Scotland but I am in America now and none of the TV's here have SCART. hmph... My TV in Scotland is a pioneer kuro 50 plasma with scarts, so in America here I do lament the absence of SCART. *Enter the XRGB Mini!* halelulja!

Hi Lettuce, the Megadrive/Genesis Raw Sync issue you have posted is foremost on my mind right now too. Cept I'm meaning Genesis model 1 (high definition graphics) (not sure if mine has TMSS yet though as it hasn't arrived either!!). Does Raw Sync improve the Genesis Model 1 and MD2 over the other type of Sync, er....composite Sync?



I ordered this cable here for my Genesis Model 1:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0926939448

Then I noticed this article here:

http://www.videogameperfection.com/cons ... le-review/

Along with it's gallery showing "evidence" of "Raw Sync" being "better":

http://www.videogameperfection.com/cons ... e-gallery/


Now I know this topic has came up before and I've read about it here on this very thread, but in the link above it actually shows pics this time.....

Can someone shed some light on whether this is true or just imagination of the article writer(s)? If you see the 5th picture down, the left most wing of the wasp/bee showing over the cloud does *seem* to be clearer in the Raw Sync mode. Now... are they using a crappy cable to (falsely) "show off" "Raw Sync" against the crappy cable deliberately chosen by them ....or is this phenomenon repeatable with a quality composite sync cable? (hope I have all these details correct, I am no expert. And I do not want to offend anyone by use of the word crappy but ya know....)

Thing is, especially after the XRGB mini purchase, I do not want to drop £45 (gbp) on a damn cable, I know it's for a retro console no longer in production.....but I have just bought that first one I linked to and was hoping it would be good enough. I will buy the more expensive one if I have to in a few months time if it is backed up by you guys here though!


I hope this helps you Lettuce. Sorry if it is different from Megadrive 2 info... I thought Model 1 genesis was the best one to get for PQ though? ((correct me if I am wrong!!))

Well that is my first post and as usual, it is a question. I probably should have introduced myself in some other thread first, but I just never seem to post much anywhere. However I will try to be as helpful as I possibly can though to get with the spirit of this truly revolutionary and quite frankly very refreshing, forum. I particularly like when the subject turns to the elimination of lag, so I enjoy the leo lag meter thread too. I am one of the people that feel lag go through my very bones. I despise it. I feel it, I hate it, I want it gone.

all hail the xrgb mini!! oh and I will be more brief in all subsequent posts, I promise ;P



Dave
Scotland

p.s

Thanks to faginrs500, excellent in depth review btw! Thanks to RetroJunkie for the cool Turrican music and the funny sync dropouts, I love your enthusiasm for the Genesis games there... I see you're working on a Saturn....will you be hooking that up soon? Thanks to Yakumo for the excellent review and lovely Layer Section music!! G-R-A-V-I-T-Y..... took me a while to figure out what she was spelling out in that fantastic music of a game that looks cool....never played it but will soon. I'd never heard of Zuntata but wow, what a tune there!!! Cool looking setup with all that Jap stuff!! Very nice. Oh yea and finally Thanks to Fudoh for just generally being awesome and shedding light on pretty much everything I've ever thought to read about Scart....and a lot more!! Thanks guys, keep it retro!

[synth79]

Has anyone here ordered from amazon Japan via a proxy?? They are a lot cheaper there than Solaris etc.

Is a proxy necessary? I am able to access Amazon Japan site normally... For the XRGB Mini added to my cart specifically it seems like I could go ahead and order it just fine and it does happily mention shipping internationally outside of Japan asking for the address with seemingly no problem?

As an aside with a different item in my cart there, I did notice while trying to order a simple Super Famicom JP21/RGB21 from Amazon.co.jp that they said they wouldn't ship out of Japan. Which contributed to my personal decision to "go Euro" with all my cabling.. That and the fact that I just could not find a Japanese Saturn RGB21 cable anywhere.....had to go Euro on that so decided to go Euro everything RGB related. (all my consoles themselves either NTSC USA/J ...never PAL). But yea it seems like some items can be sent without proxy?

Aye Too bad I didn't notice the price of the Mini on Amazon though.. I'd love to hear how you get on if you decide to buy it from Amazon Japan..

[eightbitminiboss]

Has anyone here ordered from amazon Japan via a proxy?? They are a lot cheaper there than Solaris etc.

Yep, that's how I got my XRGB Mini, I used Tenso as the forwarding service. Easy to use and pretty straightforward and you can use your credit card with Amazon.jp. Saved quite a bit of money, but you obviously won't have the ability to send it back for warranty or whatever Solaris offers, so buyer beware I suppose.

[jdubs]

@jdubs: this would only work, if the the source RGB cable the GND connections in the right place. If you connect ALL GND pins (especially Pin 17 - video ground) to the existing ground, it should work with all sources.

Man, I connected all of the grounds, (4, 5, 9, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21) together and nothing!! This thing is driving me nuts. I pulled the mini din side apart and there is a shield wire, which is connected along with the mini din pin 4 to the ground side on the scart. Checked continuity all around and everything seems fine.

F.

Who all makes euro scart to mini din cables stateside? Besides Retro Accessorries, that is? Those guys may make decent cables, but are total flakes when it comes to customer service.

Thanks guys,
Jim

[eightbitminiboss]

@jdubs: this would only work, if the the source RGB cable the GND connections in the right place. If you connect ALL GND pins (especially Pin 17 - video ground) to the existing ground, it should work with all sources.

Man, I connected all of the grounds, (4, 5, 9, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21) together and nothing!! This thing is driving me nuts. I pulled the mini din side apart and there is a shield wire, which is connected along with the mini din pin 4 to the ground side on the scart. Checked continuity all around and everything seems fine.

F.

Who all makes euro scart to mini din cables stateside? Besides Retro Accessorries, that is? Those guys may make decent cables, but are total flakes when it comes to customer service.

Thanks guys,
Jim

No one in the US I can think of. Retrogaming Cables ships to the US though.

[Shining]

Wait, i thought it had been confirmed that there are no difference in image quality between the US 1CHIP's(01-03)? I'm satisfied as can be with my 01, but you guys are giving me ideas..

Some 1CHIP units have the vertical bar in the center and some don't. 1CHIP-03 units seem to be the rarest from what I can tell, and no one that I know who owns one has the vertical bar problem. Some 1CHIP-01 and 1CHIP-02 units have them; some don't, again this is anecdotal, just from what I've heard. It's possible that some 1CHIP-03 units have the problem as well, but there are so few people I know with them to test that out...

If you are happy with your 1CHIP and it doesn't have the vertical bar, forget about it and enjoy it. I don't think there will be any advantage to finding a 1CHIP-03 for you.

Actually, i do get the vertical bar. It's nothing that bothers me that much, especially not when using scanlines. The picture is very sharp and without the black smearing to the right of pixels (go to page 45 in this thread and scroll down to see my comparison pics). I do, however, get quite a bit of noise on one-colored backgrounds even when adjusting the A/D level. If the 03 gets rid of both the vertical bar and noise it might be worth tracking one down. Decisions, decisions

If someone remembers i wrote earlier about dropouts and compatibility issues with different euro scart to 8 pin adapters. I have discovered that the droput issue only occurs over 1080p (and on all consoles) and they are completely random. I tried changing the HDMI cable and now the dropouts are shorter, but they are still there. Could this be a HDMI handshake issue? I should try DVI 1080p when i get home.

[Fudoh]

@synth79:

Can someone shed some light on whether this is true or just imagination of the article writer(s)? If you see the 5th picture down, the left most wing of the wasp/bee showing over the cloud does *seem* to be clearer in the Raw Sync mode.

On those shots the signal level one one of the cables is too high. That's what's causing the overexposure. On a MD1/GEN1 you can reduce the jailbars (the vertical stripes you can see on the blue background) by using a raw sync cable. 45 pounds is outrageous though. The difference between a standard and a raw sync cable is one 15 cent capacitor and the use of another pin on the MD end of the cable. If you're bothered by the jail bar effect, doing a little mod on your MD1/GEN1 itself is the better approach though and will get rid the jailbars completely (or 99% if you like).

Now... are they using a crappy cable to (falsely) "show off" "Raw Sync" against the crappy cable deliberately chosen by them

the problem I see with the comparison shots is that it doesn't really show the difference between composite video and pure sync as part of the RGB signal, but uses one cable that's totally out of spec and shouldn't be used on the MD in the first place.

Thing is, especially after the XRGB mini purchase, I do not want to drop £45 (gbp) on a damn cable

contact Robert from Retrogamingcables.co.uk and ask him to make a MD RGB cable made with pure sync instead of composite video, but without the metal connectors. Even he asks 5 pounds extra, that's still only a third of the £45 "pack-a-punched" cable.

[BuckoA51]

The cable that is was compared to was from Telegames and was sold as being a high quality one, I agree it's clearly not that great though. It's not just a 'raw sync' cable you're getting with the pack a punched cable, it's also high quality RGB and good audio quality too.

It's not like I'm getting commission from sales of those cables or anything I just happen to think it's a good cable, expensive yes but good. Feel free to look for a cheaper alternative

If you're bothered by the jail bar effect, doing a little mod on your MD1/GEN1 itself is the better approach though and will get rid the jailbars completely (or 99% if you like).

I'd recommend doing the VDP pin lifting mod and getting raw sync. Considering it was you who told me that raw sync was vital from the MD to get the best picture I find this answer a little surprising.

[Fudoh]

I meant "better approach than spending 45 pounds on a cable in the hope to gain some quality". Raw sync on the cable is a given, especially since it's so easy to do.

[synth79]

Ahh I am slowly being sucked in to being interested somewhat in the circuitry. Slowly becoming even more of a geek here! I have resisted it as much as I can so far lol.
I guess thanks to LCD technology and the XRGB Mini, I will slowly want pixel perfect Raw Sync then... more money!

Not much of a console modder as I like keeping them original but I can see me getting the SNES 101 modded for RGB, but it does have excellent strength for composite. Never thought I would say that about composite!! (blah!) the older model SNES is the one getting the Scart cable treatment... Can't see me wanting to mod the Genesis, it looked good, there was screenshots of it on the sellers page, it looked fine but we'll see how it looks in RGB. Can't see me modding the Jap Saturn, I was very impressed with the PQ of an old PAL Saturn on RGB before. Won't mod the N64 but might buy a modded one as I am absolutely loving goldeneye!! been playing that on a crt and loving it. ;D

I had an NTSC snes before with the gamecube scart? but thats back in the UK. I never noticed this vertical line people mention. I've looked on my Latest SNESes (yes I have a snes addiction) too and not seen anything weird at all. They will be under close scrutiny on the 'meister though so we will see.



Anyhoo I will keep y'all posted on how I get on. I'll have to wait for the cables to arrive.....so in the meantime I will be stuck with S-Video. You know I don't even think I will use S-Video... I think I may just wait.....but we'll see how long that lasts with the FLAME Meister in da house!

Thanks guys..

[synth79]

Has anyone here ordered from amazon Japan via a proxy?? They are a lot cheaper there than Solaris etc.

Yep, that's how I got my XRGB Mini, I used Tenso as the forwarding service. Easy to use and pretty straightforward and you can use your credit card with Amazon.jp. Saved quite a bit of money, but you obviously won't have the ability to send it back for warranty or whatever Solaris offers, so buyer beware I suppose.

Ahh here was me thinking internet proxy... woopsie... You meant an actual human proxy buying service thingy. Cool.....

[Elrinth]

Yes, just solder a wire connecting pins 5 and 19 and pins 5 and 4.

Rergarding my Mega Drive 2 problems earlier!
I just want to say that after I solved a cable between these pins the image is PERFECT!
This was indeed the problem!

Thank you everyone for the support and baring with my whining!

Now I just need a Pc-Engine RGB-cable (mine is RGB modded). Anyone know where I find one?

[Fudoh]

Now I just need a Pc-Engine RGB-cable (mine is RGB modded). Anyone know where I find one?

every PCE mod is different and non-standard, so - without looking INSIDE to check the wiring - there's no way to buy a matching cable.

[ThEmperorIsDead]

Yes, you need to use a PCE RGB mod guide like the one here: http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/pc-engine-rgb-mod/ to trace back which pin is doing what on your out going socket. Once you have figured that out, you need to solder the correct male mini din end (soldering the pins to match those of you particular mod) to a rgb scart cable.

[RGB32E]

@jdubs: this would only work, if the the source RGB cable the GND connections in the right place. If you connect ALL GND pins (especially Pin 17 - video ground) to the existing ground, it should work with all sources.

Man, I connected all of the grounds, (4, 5, 9, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21) together and nothing!! This thing is driving me nuts. I pulled the mini din side apart and there is a shield wire, which is connected along with the mini din pin 4 to the ground side on the scart. Checked continuity all around and everything seems fine.

F.

Who all makes euro scart to mini din cables stateside? Besides Retro Accessorries, that is? Those guys may make decent cables, but are total flakes when it comes to customer service.

Thanks guys,
Jim

I make RGB21 and SCART to mini adapters. PM me if interested. I recall in the XRGB-3 thread someone having all sorts of picture issues when they were using a LM1881 (sync separator) on the CSYNC output from a CPS2 (wavy picture). Point being that messing with the sync for all console isn't the best idea, especially if it isn't required (as explained earlier) and that the XRGB-mini strips the sync signal from Cv/Y anyways.

Found this interesting video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_ALl1W0Mbg

Wonder if that's a forum user here?

[jdubs]

@jdubs: this would only work, if the the source RGB cable the GND connections in the right place. If you connect ALL GND pins (especially Pin 17 - video ground) to the existing ground, it should work with all sources.

Man, I connected all of the grounds, (4, 5, 9, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21) together and nothing!! This thing is driving me nuts. I pulled the mini din side apart and there is a shield wire, which is connected along with the mini din pin 4 to the ground side on the scart. Checked continuity all around and everything seems fine.

F.

Who all makes euro scart to mini din cables stateside? Besides Retro Accessorries, that is? Those guys may make decent cables, but are total flakes when it comes to customer service.

Thanks guys,
Jim

I make RGB21 and SCART to mini adapters. PM me if interested. I recall in the XRGB-3 thread someone having all sorts of picture issues when they were using a LM1881 (sync separator) on the CSYNC output from a CPS2 (wavy picture). Point being that messing with the sync for all console isn't the best idea, especially if it isn't required (as explained earlier) and that the XRGB-mini strips the sync signal from Cv/Y anyways.

Found this interesting video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_ALl1W0Mbg

Wonder if that's a forum user here?

Awesome! Pm just sent.

-Jim

[lettuce]

I ordered this cable here for my Genesis Model 1:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0926939448

Then I noticed this article here:

http://www.videogameperfection.com/cons ... le-review/

Along with it's gallery showing "evidence" of "Raw Sync" being "better":

http://www.videogameperfection.com/cons ... e-gallery/


Now I know this topic has came up before and I've read about it here on this very thread, but in the link above it actually shows pics this time.....

Can someone shed some light on whether this is true or just imagination of the article writer(s)? If you see the 5th picture down, the left most wing of the wasp/bee showing over the cloud does *seem* to be clearer in the Raw Sync mode. Now... are they using a crappy cable to (falsely) "show off" "Raw Sync" against the crappy cable deliberately chosen by them ....or is this phenomenon repeatable with a quality composite sync cable? (hope I have all these details correct, I am no expert. And I do not want to offend anyone by use of the word crappy but ya know....)

Thing is, especially after the XRGB mini purchase, I do not want to drop £45 (gbp) on a damn cable, I know it's for a retro console no longer in production.....but I have just bought that first one I linked to and was hoping it would be good enough. I will buy the more expensive one if I have to in a few months time if it is backed up by you guys here though!

To be honest i think that comparison is a tad unfair, the cable that he got from Telegames is obviously a terrible cable no doubt there (looks like no capacitors on any of the lines, hence over saturated/high contrast), but the cable i got from retro_console_accessories on eBay looks like the results of the 'pack a punch' cable!. Now im not sure if the eBay cable has each line individually shielded or not however, but £45 does seem excessive if you can get the same results from the eBay raw sync cable. But i guess the only way to truly tell would be to get both and compare

[Elrinth]

Yes, you need to use a PCE RGB mod guide like the one here: http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/pc-engine-rgb-mod/ to trace back which pin is doing what on your out going socket. Once you have figured that out, you need to solder the correct male mini din end (soldering the pins to match those of you particular mod) to a rgb scart cable.

My current cable is a Pc-Engine -> Yellow/Red/White. Can I basically just add a Y,R,W -> scart onto that and check the pins from start to end with a multimeter?
Maybe I need to rewire inside the scart-plug, but it's definatly okay to break one of my A/V -> Scart. Oh and perhaps I'll need some resistors, or isn't it this easy?

[ThEmperorIsDead]

Yes, you need to use a PCE RGB mod guide like the one here: http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/pc-engine-rgb-mod/ to trace back which pin is doing what on your out going socket. Once you have figured that out, you need to solder the correct male mini din end (soldering the pins to match those of you particular mod) to a rgb scart cable.

My current cable is a Pc-Engine -> Yellow/Red/White. Can I basically just add a Y,R,W -> scart onto that and check the pins from start to end with a multimeter?
Maybe I need to rewire inside the scart-plug, but it's definatly okay to break one of my A/V -> Scart. Oh and perhaps I'll need some resistors, or isn't it this easy?

Unfortunately the composite (yellow/red/white) cable does not have the same wiring as a RGB scart cable/socket, so you will have to start fresh with a cable unless the composite cable as at least 8 cores..then you could rearrange it to be used as a rgb cable.
You will have to open the console to locate the sources (usually on the underneath of the board, if you have an expansion bus on your console), if not the rgb will be taken from the video chip with the audio and sync sourced elsewhere on the board.
Once you locate and identify all the sources inside the console, you can trace (your best using a meter to bell out the pins) them to the pins on the mini din socket which has already been installed in your console as part of the rgb mod (assuming it's the usually type of mod and not the removable ext bus type).
Now you will know the pinout of the socket you can figure out how to solder/wire your mini din>scart rgb cable.

[Smashbro29]

I know I did a lot of talking about hook-ups and asked a million questions here but someone (This guy: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=43992) turned me on to something a lot sleeker, a lot simpler and a lot less cluttered, sure his setup is for an actual CRT but he tells me this should work for a mini so I'm officially looking for someone to take my money. http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 15#p900915

No crazy extron thingies, no sync strikes no BS. I think I finally found the perfect way to hook it all in!

[Fudoh]

I don't think this gives you any advantage.

All things you're suggesting, we suggested to you as well. What made YOUR DREAM SETUP so complicated, was the usage of RGB of a PS2 system (instead of component).

The setup you now want does *NOT* support 31khz RGB from a PS2.

So what's the point ?

And if you want to pursue this nevertheless, remember:

- you might want to put that LM1881 into the switchbox and not into the adapter cable.
- the LM1881 requires power which might not be sufficiently provided by EVERY system
- some/most systems have "stuff" inside the scart headers (capacitors/resistors etc), so you need that transplanted into the HD15 headers.

[Smashbro29]

I don't think this gives you any advantage.

The only reason I started seeing it as a viable alternative was because chaining these VGA cables seems a lot more stable then finding these ancient SCART switches.

All things you're suggesting, we suggested to you as well. What made YOUR DREAM SETUP so complicated, was the usage of RGB of a PS2 system (instead of component).

I love how you capitalized "dream setup". Initially I was so against modding stuff up I forgot but yeah you did! Thanks.

The setup you now want does *NOT* support 31khz RGB from a PS2.

I was under the impression it did. But I'm not gonna claim to know, I'll just ask him if I might have explained the PS2 bit wrong or something.

So what's the point ?

It's an upgrade really, the hardware required (switches and cables) are way easier to get in the US.

And if you want to pursue this nevertheless, remember:

- you might want to put that LM1881 into the switchbox and not into the adapter cable.
- the LM1881 requires power which might not be sufficiently provided by EVERY system
- some/most systems have "stuff" inside the scart headers (capacitors/resistors etc), so you need that transplanted into the HD15 headers.

Point 1: LM1881 is built into the cable instead of the box, I won't need to ship the modder any boxes. Also, if the boxes remain stock, they'll be very simple to replace down the road if one ever fails.
Point 2: I'm definitely gonna need to look into that.
Point 3: More looking into.

[synth79]

I ordered this cable here for my Genesis Model 1:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0926939448

Then I noticed this article here:

http://www.videogameperfection.com/cons ... le-review/

Along with it's gallery showing "evidence" of "Raw Sync" being "better":

http://www.videogameperfection.com/cons ... e-gallery/


Now I know this topic has came up before and I've read about it here on this very thread, but in the link above it actually shows pics this time.....

Can someone shed some light on whether this is true or just imagination of the article writer(s)? If you see the 5th picture down, the left most wing of the wasp/bee showing over the cloud does *seem* to be clearer in the Raw Sync mode. Now... are they using a crappy cable to (falsely) "show off" "Raw Sync" against the crappy cable deliberately chosen by them ....or is this phenomenon repeatable with a quality composite sync cable? (hope I have all these details correct, I am no expert. And I do not want to offend anyone by use of the word crappy but ya know....)

Thing is, especially after the XRGB mini purchase, I do not want to drop £45 (gbp) on a damn cable, I know it's for a retro console no longer in production.....but I have just bought that first one I linked to and was hoping it would be good enough. I will buy the more expensive one if I have to in a few months time if it is backed up by you guys here though!

To be honest i think that comparison is a tad unfair, the cable that he got from Telegames is obviously a terrible cable no doubt there (looks like no capacitors on any of the lines, hence over saturated/high contrast), but the cable i got from retro_console_accessories on eBay looks like the results of the 'pack a punch' cable!. Now im not sure if the eBay cable has each line individually shielded or not however, but £45 does seem excessive if you can get the same results from the eBay raw sync cable. But i guess the only way to truly tell would be to get both and compare

Ahh retro console accessories.....Thank you, saved me some money. ya know I'm actually looking forward to looking at these pixels dead close and trying to figure out if I want it EVEN SHARPER. Quite an exciting prospect isnt it?

Well my FLAME Meister arrived today, but I have no step down for it just yet. I know people use them on US Mains electricity but me being foreign here, and because the XRGB Mini is so expensive, I am being cautious. So I ordered this for the Mini (thanks to the info on this thread, the wiki page here http://retro.justivo.com/wiki/XRGB_Mini ):

http://www.amazon.com/VM1898-Universal- ... DC+Adapter

and one of these for good measure/backup:

http://www.amazon.com/Simran-SM-500J-Ja ... e+500+Watt


Ahh Smashbro, I swear I was thinking just the same thing yesterday when looking for SCART Switchers, and WONDERING if they're fully wired....I thought why not just make a custom switch box..

You do get SCART Matrix things but they are expensive though:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/28578T-Scart-Se ... B0017MZ0TG

I have no experience with these, don't know if they introduce latency or any shite like that, but yes......pondering these same custom switchbox thoughts myself. Knowing me I'd get the Thor thingie and be done with it. Unless theres good reason not to...

[Smashbro29]

Ahh Smashbro, I swear I was thinking just the same thing yesterday when looking for SCART Switchers, and WONDERING if they're fully wired....I thought why not just make a custom switch box..

You do get SCART Matrix things but they are expensive though:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/28578T-Scart-Se ... B0017MZ0TG

I have no experience with these, don't know if they introduce latency or any shite like that, but yes......pondering these same custom switchbox thoughts myself. Knowing me I'd get the Thor thingie and be done with it. Unless theres good reason not to...

I'm going with it because someone who clearly knows what they're doing is vouching for it and these switches are impossible to find.

[gundamalpha]

I am having problem displaying Skies of Arcadia on DC connected to the mini through RGB, the screen flickers between top and bottom half. My PJ states it's displaying on 59hz, other DC games I have tested displaying no problem at 60hz with the same set up.

[synth79]

Ahh Smashbro, I swear I was thinking just the same thing yesterday when looking for SCART Switchers, and WONDERING if they're fully wired....I thought why not just make a custom switch box..

You do get SCART Matrix things but they are expensive though:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/28578T-Scart-Se ... B0017MZ0TG

I have no experience with these, don't know if they introduce latency or any shite like that, but yes......pondering these same custom switchbox thoughts myself. Knowing me I'd get the Thor thingie and be done with it. Unless theres good reason not to...

I'm going with it because someone who clearly knows what they're doing is vouching for it and these switches are impossible to find.

I hope it works. I plan to get one eventually, can't justify it right now. But My plan is SNES, Genesis, Saturn all on the Thor switcher. Then I'll have to have something to switch component from Wii (version with built in Gamecube hardware!!) and the Sony Playstation 2 going to the D5 connector into the Frame Meister.

That setup seems good to me at least. All I need is the thor....hmm.. But I might need to budget in extra cabling so I can't make any mistakes with any experimental stuff right now. For now for me, just plug it in and then plug it out - old school ;D

[BuckoA51]

I meant "better approach than spending 45 pounds on a cable in the hope to gain some quality". Raw sync on the cable is a given, especially since it's so easy to do.

Fair enough, I suppose its the FUD thing, at least with this cable you know you're getting something that's basically as good as it gets. I must say it seems odd to have this conversation on this forum, people on here routinely think nothing of dropping hundreds maybe even thousands on upscalers, broadcast quality monitors, arcade boards etc. On other forums people as me what an XRGB is then look at me like I'm some sort of idiot when I tell them how much it costs.

If anyone wants to donate me a composite video for sync cable with the RGB properly fixed I'll happily do the comparison again.

Cables been reduced to £40 since I wrote the review too.

[synth79]

Er.... Sorry I didn't mean to offend with my lil post on c-sync vs raw. I just wanted to get some kind of understanding of how much difference raw sync makes, if any etc etc.

I think I can help put things right again here by reminding us all the price of gamecube component cables? like £130 and yes, i bought one a few years ago thank FOOK. still cost me a lot though, can't remember how much. (thankfully!!)

£40 ($61 usd) seems fair for the highest quality cable you can get for a Genesis I guess. I know the connectors on it could be fatal if you swing it round yer head at someone. Good sign of a quality cable. ;D

[Fudoh]

I'm going with it because someone who clearly knows what they're doing is vouching for it and these switches are impossible to find.

don't get me wrong. Going HD15/VGA is a great thing if you're willing to invest in the cables. Nevertheless check out the PS2 31khz problem. When we discussed this earlier I was under the impression that this was very important to you.

In your planned setup you would still have to add an Extron interface between the last switch and the XRGB to convert RGsB to RGBs, once the PS2 is running in 480p mode. The positive aspect about this, is that you save yourself the DC sync combiner, since the Extron would take care of this as well.