OSSC (DIY video digitizer & scandoubler)

[orange808]

No my tv will only accept 240p or 480p from the ossc by itself.


The dvdo micro only works for 480p. It seems the micro may pass through the other resolutions like 720p and 1080p without scaling as the tv shows unsupported resolution with or without using the micro.

Lastly I bought the dvdo micro from orange however this is no good for my tv as it causes the image to be stretched to 16:9 and my tv does not allow aspect ratio contol at 4k. the 4:3 16:9 or custom fit is only available for 1080p and below.

and 720p (pillarboxed 4:3) from the OSSC into the Micro doesn't work for you ?

I assume you are referencing the OSSC linex3 720p and linex5 1080p? I didn't have problems using it with other inputs.

The Micro gladly accepted 480p, 720p, and 1080p from the DVDO iScan vp50 and HiDefNES. It also played nice with the Silicon Optix IA-100 (via Kramer FC-49) and Extron VSC 300 (via cheap Chinese VGA to HDMI) at 480p and 720p.

It was able to identify and scale to native output resolution on 720p (Actually 768p, but the Micro outputs 720p. Not abnormal at all.), 1080p, and 4k televisions. Also correctly identified and scaled to 1080p with my monitor. I didn't try it with any of my CRT's.

I hated the ringing and it didn't play nice with the OSSC.

[ZellSF]

I found out that the VP50 does accept 240p from the OSSC. Just not from all consoles and it gets deinterlaced

[Xyga]

It can via passthrough.

Well the term 'passthrough' must be said, otherwise it basically means the OSSC outputs 240p period and it doesn't make sense.

[wolfenhagen]

Well I have some good news regarding my new 4k samsung ks8000 and the ossc. It received a firmware update and I also installed the audio upgrade board from videogameperfection and now 240p and 480p work. Before this I could only get 240p to work.

Lastly I bought the dvdo micro from orange however this is no good for my tv as it causes the image to be stretched to 16:9 and my tv does not allow aspect ratio contol at 4k. the 4:3 16:9 or custom fit is only available for 1080p and below.

I have this same tv but can't get 480p to work, what firmware version are you using?

[cleeg]

I've been a bit busy with stuff of late so have just been having a review of the thread. I've missed TWO firmware updates?! I've just installed the latest and had a tinker, and unfortunately my Panasonic LCD TV (just logged on the compatibility thread over at VGP) will only use the double feature as before. Bummer.

I've just tested my upstairs Samsung, which likes the x3 feature on some games, so happy days there.

I also just found out when using the OSSC that my Panasonic LCD doesn't like PS1 PAL games, but does like PS1 NTSC titles. It's a fussy beast...

Nice updates Marqs, thank you. I have a feeling I may have asked this before, and having had a trawl I couldn't quite find a conclusive yay or nay... Is it possible to use the OSSC to widen / stretch the picture horizontally? Saturn and PS1 always look a little squished to me.

[wildchild22]

It is running 1167

Well I have some good news regarding my new 4k samsung ks8000 and the ossc. It received a firmware update and I also installed the audio upgrade board from videogameperfection and now 240p and 480p work. Before this I could only get 240p to work.

Lastly I bought the dvdo micro from orange however this is no good for my tv as it causes the image to be stretched to 16:9 and my tv does not allow aspect ratio contol at 4k. the 4:3 16:9 or custom fit is only available for 1080p and below.

I have this same tv but can't get 480p to work, what firmware version are you using?

[wolfenhagen]

It is running 1167

Well I have some good news regarding my new 4k samsung ks8000 and the ossc. It received a firmware update and I also installed the audio upgrade board from videogameperfection and now 240p and 480p work. Before this I could only get 240p to work.

Lastly I bought the dvdo micro from orange however this is no good for my tv as it causes the image to be stretched to 16:9 and my tv does not allow aspect ratio contol at 4k. the 4:3 16:9 or custom fit is only available for 1080p and below.

I have this same tv but can't get 480p to work, what firmware version are you using?

Strange i'm using the same firmware but the only thing i can get working is my PS2 in 480p or 480i passthrough, my snes doesn't work at all.

[awe444]

Is it possible to use the OSSC to widen / stretch the picture horizontally? Saturn and PS1 always look a little squished to me.

Yes, in general you can widen / stretch the OSSC's output image by decreasing the horizontal sample rate in the advanced timing settings menu. Note that as you decrease it, you may loose the video signal, if this happens you'll then need to decrease H backporch, H synclen, and/or H active until the image comes back (these simultaneously adjust how centered/cropped the image is). Be warned that deviating from the default sampling rates (800 or 858 for line-2x, 400 or 427 for 320x240, etc.) seems to cause incompatibility with some displays.

[Harrumph]

In my experience on the two displays I have, it's the opposite: increasing samplerate stretches the image. Makes sense to me, as there are then more samples for the original image being assigned to the horizontal dimension.
That said, I imagine some displays will pay attention to the active area, and if the active area is shrunk, perhaps the display then stretches it to fit its predetermined aspect settings (4:3 or 16:9, for example).

In general though, the samplerates "should" conform to multiples of ~390 (PAR corrected) or 426-429 (these are basically multiples of the output dot rates). However, there is nothing wrong with increasing samplerates, at least not for low res consoles limited to 240p output, if for some reason your display does not output the right aspect ratio with the above settings.

[awe444]

In my experience on the two displays I have, it's the opposite: increasing samplerate stretches the image.

Whoops, I was thinking backwards---you're right: increasing H-samprate = stretching the image.

[Cirventhor]

Just a quick question: is there any downside to passing through the output from my OSSC to my Framemeister (and then to the TV) through the Mini's HDMI passthrough feature? Getting a bit low on available HDMI ports. The picture/input lag should be identical to running it directly to the TV, right?

[Guspaz]

You really ought to buy an HDMI switch, in that case.

[wildchild22]

I am using a n64 without issue.

Well I have some good news regarding my new 4k samsung ks8000 and the ossc. It received a firmware update and I also installed the audio upgrade board from videogameperfection and now 240p and 480p work. Before this I could only get 240p to work.

Lastly I bought the dvdo micro from orange however this is no good for my tv as it causes the image to be stretched to 16:9 and my tv does not allow aspect ratio contol at 4k. the 4:3 16:9 or custom fit is only available for 1080p and below.

I have this same tv but can't get 480p to work, what firmware version are you using?

[/quote]

Strange i'm using the same firmware but the only thing i can get working is my PS2 in 480p or 480i passthrough, my snes doesn't work at all.[/quote]

[cleeg]

awe444 many thanks, I'll have a crack with those settings

[Chocograph]

Screw it, I put myself on the waiting list.

[wolfenhagen]

I am using a n64 without issue.

Have you used any other systems? I don't have a N64 so I can't test that.

[Harrumph]

I've just tested my upstairs Samsung, which likes the x3 feature on some games, so happy days there.

I also just found out when using the OSSC that my Panasonic LCD doesn't like PS1 PAL games, but does like PS1 NTSC titles. It's a fussy beast...

Cleeg, you can try the PAL x3 tweak described in this vgp thread, since your Samsung does NTSC Lx3, it may well work.

[cleeg]

Harrumph, thanks dude. I'll have a bash at this!

[eric90000]

Is it cool to have the OSSC toggle switch constantly set to the "On" position, but power it on/off by using the switch on a power strip/socket? A the moment I'm manually using the toggle switch, but it'd be handy if I could have all my video equipment plugged in to one one strip with everything turned on, then have it all power up by plugging it into the wall .....Just wondering would this cause any stress or side affects to the OSSC?

[ZellSF]

This one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0177DG71S/ Keep in mind I only did a few minutes of testing, so maybe we'll find a major flaw in using it. Personally, the only thing I need it for is to capture footage for streaming or just to show parts of games. As long as it doesn't totally suck, it's fine with me. I don't even care about lag, since I'll actually be playing on a CRT.

took a moment to realize what you're doing here. You're using the converter's HDMI passthrough input to increase compatibility, right ?

It's not a passthrough, it gets scaled too.

Just got mine and wanted to share my thoughts on it as a OSSC companion. I was hoping retrorgb would have missed something interesting but sadly not. I thought maybe it would support 240pX5 and retrorgb had too poor quality cables, but same connections as to my DVDO VP50 and no X5. I was hoping it would do 240p>480i transitions nicely (I know it should in RGB), but it doesn't support 480i passthrough at all (and the bob 480i transitions aren't that pretty either).

So my thoughts on the image quality. First it was ridiculously oversharpened, I turned my TV's sharpness to it's lowest value (way below neutral) to counteract the horrible ringing. The colors were way oversaturated, again happy my TV goes to below neutral values here to get it colors looking more natural. Still, the 240p test suit reveals that several of the brightest RGB shades are just gone, grayscale is fine though. It also seemingly dropped some frames (why?) and had some forced noise reduction creating image noise. Lag was also an issue (manual lag testing says between 1 and 2 frames). Somehow even with all those drawbacks it looked nicer than my TV's 480p handling. That says more about my TV than this box though.

As for this scaler as a OSSC companion, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, except maybe if your TV doesn't support the OSSC even in 240pX2 and you just want something to hold you over until a new TV (though if a new TV is far away I'd get a XRGB-Mini over this wonky combo) or if you want to normalize OSSC's output for a picky capture card you want to use for web streaming.

That said they're also very cheap so if you're one of the people who spend a lot of money on stuff like this, might as well buy one in case you ever have a use for one.

[awe444]

Is it cool to have the OSSC toggle switch constantly set to the "On" position, but power it on/off by using the switch on a power strip/socket? A the moment I'm manually using the toggle switch, but it'd be handy if I could have all my video equipment plugged in to one one strip with everything turned on, then have it all power up by plugging it into the wall .....Just wondering would this cause any stress or side affects to the OSSC?

I've also wondered for a while if leaving the toggle switch "on" and controlling power externally is any any way bad for the OSSC. Interested if anyone has some advice on this

[Cirventhor]

Just got my OSSC today and I'm very pleased apart from one thing: on my RGB modded AV Famicom, the top of the image (8ish lines) shakes a bit, which I guess is some sort of sync issue. The console does not exihibit the issue on my XRGB mini. Any advice?

[ZellSF]

Just got my OSSC today and I'm very pleased apart from one thing: on my RGB modded AV Famicom, the top of the image (8ish lines) shakes a bit, which I guess is some sort of sync issue. The console does not exihibit the issue on my XRGB mini. Any advice?

Using 256x240 optimized mode should help if it's the same problem I have. I really wish marqs had a NESRGB so he could look at it.

[Harrumph]

Just got mine and wanted to share my thoughts on it as a OSSC companion. I was hoping retrorgb would have missed something interesting but sadly not. I thought maybe it would support 240pX5 and retrorgb had too poor quality cables, but same connections as to my DVDO VP50 and no X5. I was hoping it would do 240p>480i transitions nicely (I know it should in RGB), but it doesn't support 480i passthrough at all (and the bob 480i transitions aren't that pretty either).

So my thoughts on the image quality. First it was ridiculously oversharpened, I turned my TV's sharpness to it's lowest value (way below neutral) to counteract the horrible ringing. The colors were way oversaturated, again happy my TV goes to below neutral values here to get it colors looking more natural. Still, the 240p test suit reveals that several of the brightest RGB shades are just gone, grayscale is fine though. It also seemingly dropped some frames (why?) and had some forced noise reduction creating image noise. Lag was also an issue (manual lag testing says between 1 and 2 frames). Somehow even with all those drawbacks it looked nicer than my TV's 480p handling. That says more about my TV than this box though.

As for this scaler as a OSSC companion, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, except maybe if your TV doesn't support the OSSC even in 240pX2 and you just want something to hold you over until a new TV (though if a new TV is far away I'd get a XRGB-Mini over this wonky combo) or if you want to normalize OSSC's output for a picky capture card you want to use for web streaming.

That said they're also very cheap so if you're one of the people who spend a lot of money on stuff like this, might as well buy one in case you ever have a use for one.

Thank's for the write-up, useful information there.

[fafangus]

Hi
Just tested X5 on my pal Atari St & Amiga 1200, don't works...
The Onkyo don't even recognize the signals and on the CII & Eizo crt just a few second before image drops...so X4 looks very good :-p

[wildchild22]

The snes does not work at all. I just tested it.

I am using a n64 without issue.

Have you used any other systems? I don't have a N64 so I can't test that.

[xadox]

Finaly I was able to find a cheap 40" TV compatible with SNES x3.
The Hisense H40MEC2150.

[Gunstar]

OSSC get, I can't believe how small it is! I kept imaging it to be huge for some reason. Now I just need a PSU, I stupidly thought it came with one :/

@Bucko When will you be getting more PSUs in?

[BuckoA51]

@Bucko When will you be getting more PSUs in?

They do come with PSUs if you tick the box The PSUs were due this week but our suppliers say it will be next week now before they've cleared customs etc. A replacement shouldn't be that hard to source though, it's a fairly standard part.

Based on conversations here recently I've sent out a brief OSSC newsletter with a link to a survey regarding future batches and payments. If everyone who hasn't got a unit yet or who wants to buy another would take time to answer, that'd be great

[Gunstar]

I think I read I got confused and thought it was a replacement lol

5v 1a minimum right? is it better to get something with a higher amp?