XRGB-mini Framemeister

[lettuce]

I've got a Genesis hooked up via composite (yeah yeah, cable girl is on vacation), and while it outputs fine at 480p, 1080i and 1080p, I get a signal drop about every 5 seconds at 720p. Is there a cause for that?

Try changing the sync level setting?

[chronic1]

...

Replaced by the regular one:
http://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/euro ... -sale.html

And now everything works like a charm.

Thanks Bucko,

I've been wondering which I should get for quite a bit. This made the decision very easy. I'll let you all know how it works out with my use cases.

[IrishNinja]

hey all - long time lurker, first time poster! had a few quick questions about this awesome upscaler, just got one recently from solaris:

1) the remote control was a bit wonky for me, i'd have to take the batteries out & put em back in to get a response sometimes...now even that doesn't work, and ive tested the pair/tried others. anyone else have this problem? how do i go about opening this thing to see if any connections came loose, or should i just wait to hear back from solaris regarding a replacement (hoping that's an option)?

2) anyone know anywhere else besides retro_console_accessories to buy good RGB SCART cables? I bought the mini adapter & genesis, SNES & saturn cables from her and was quite pleased, but she's on hiatus for a month or so and i just got an RGB modded N64, was really hoping to break it in proper.

3) for PS1 upscaling, what's the difference from playing on a PS2 vs 1? granted, i can easily get component over 2, just wondering if it handled the visuals well for legacy stuff.

i'm still messing with the settings, was looking forward to hooking in the Wii-U for Wii purposes (Metroid Prime Trilogy, Ultimate Shooting Collection Radigy etc) but i think it was this thread that was saying the output was kinda weak compared to just hooking a regular wii in...dissapointing, as i'd hoped to save some shelf space/plugs! anyway, thanks for any help here - also there's a dude selling these for 39'800 yen on neogaf if anyone's interested!

[Konsolkongen]

Looks like no "one year anniverssary" firmware either

[Minakal]

Serial number sounds low for a 3-6, although it could have been recased. 3-6 typically don't have sync issues, they have problems with vertical lines which can be easily removed by cutting 3 traces. You don't have to open up your AES to check the board revision, just a cheap flashlight and look at the cart slot from the left side. It's in that link I posted. Look under Know your board revision.

http://www.jamma-nation-x.com/jammax/tutorials.html

If it's purely a sync issue, the sync booster sold by retro console accessories should suit you just fine.

There is no variety so it is a first creation, for some purpose I had 3-6 trapped in my go. I'll examine the other forums this night. By the way, Thanks for your help

[Blit]

Hi,

I experience serious sync issues with the framemeister (v1.08) and my japanese Neo Geo AES (model 6). In short the framemeister can sync for a few seconds and then it is gone. I have tested the setup with various v-sync levels, however not leading to succes.

Also the rgb mod and the rgb bypass on the Neo Geo do not change this. On a Panasonic LED TV the Neo Geo works perfectly (with both mods) when connected via scart.

I did read that Framemeister firmware v1.07 would fix sync issues with systems running on non standard v-sync rates. Can someone tell me whether a Neo Geo AES (59.94 hz) with RGB works with firmware v1.07? I really fear that sync with non standard refresh rates is broken in v1.08.

Any help is welcome.

[Konsolkongen]

I can tell you for sure that non-standard refresh-rates work fine in 1.07A. Neo Geo MVS at 59.18Hz works very nicely on my setup, with only a slight stutter caused by the framerate conversion.

Unfortunately I don't have access to the 1.08 firmware. Would love to see what difference(s) there are, if any. My guess is that the new batch of Framemeisters use a different PCB revision and therefore requires a new firmware. Can you tell us the PCB ver. listed in the Special section of the menus on your unit?

Also are you sure that the AES is 59.94Hz? You can check this under Special > Full Status.

[Blit]

Hi,

PCB ver 1.3
Neo Geo AES 59.59Hz

Can you tell us the PCB ver. listed in the Special section of the menus on your unit?

Also are you sure that the AES is 59.94Hz? You can check this under Special > Full Status.

[Konsolkongen]

Hi,

PCB ver 1.3
Neo Geo AES 59.59Hz

Yes the PCB ver. on mine is 1.2 so the 1.08 firmware is probably just for the 1.3 PCB models.

Have you tried changing sync mode from Auto to Off?

[Kasios]

Hello all

I have a television led philips 32 "and I would like you to tell me how I can configure either a SNES and Mega Drive, that is, as you have you configured the XRGB for these two consoles, as it is much mess the settings you have the XRGB . many thanks.

[chronic1]

Scanlines on HD sources seem to work as long as you use some kind of scaling. 480p > 720p for example. If you input 480p and output 480p or 720p/720p it won't work.
.....

So far this device has been a dream for my legacy systems. The wiki even had great suggestions for anything not configured out of the box (funny scanlines on MVS; etc.).... But I'm somewhat at a loss for my current generation systems.

My J360 came with the D-Terminal cable, and that made the mini the quickest/easiest connectivity choice for me. I've been having trouble getting scanlines to the display using the mini.

• Since I only use the J360 for shmup ports.... Should I configure the console to output 480p, the mini to output 720p, and then follow the configurations listed on the wiki for 480p users?
• If I stop using the mini for the 360, and simply place a SLG device between the console & display....will I really be missing out on anything?

Sorry for referencing such an old post in this thread. This bugger is big.... I'll post any solutions I see to the wiki for posterity.

Thanks!

[Fudoh]

360 + SLG is just fine. I don't run any HD systems through the Mini.

Both, the Mini's scanline emulation and the SLG give you horizontal scanlines only though, so setting your 360's output to 480p would require you to tate your display. In my most setups the display connected to the Mini will likely be a horizontal HD Screen though with 360 games running Yoko in 720p

[chronic1]

Thanks for the info!

I purchased a pretty slick wall mount for my TV, and I'm able to rotate it for vertical gameplay. When I sold the cab & picked up a supergun, a rotating mount became absolutely necessary.... Once my entertainment center is completed & the living/game room isn't wrecked, I'll take some pictures.

I'll post my SLG questions in your SLD HD thread.

Once again, thank you.

[Fudoh]

If you can rotate your display, feel free to go 480p into the Mini and output 720p with scanlines. I don't really like the Mini's 480p upscaling, so I would for a different solution instead.

And if you want to use a SLG device, use a SLG3000 if you can (instead of a SLG-HD).

[Popstars]

Hi guys,

l received my XRGB-Mini last week.
I tested it on my modded PlayStation 2and the result is kinda disappointing I must say. Several games have been tested : Final Fantasy X-2, Kingdom Hearts, Dawn of Mana...

I tested it by using the official PS2 Component cable, plugged to the XRGB through the D-Terminal thanks to this cable :
http://www.solarisjapan.com/d-terminal- ... le-female/

I was honestly expecting the same quality as when I used this PS2 with a CRT through a RGB Scart. Unfortunately, the result with the XRGB is still blurry, even when toying a bit with the Sharpness or adding scanlines.
=> Basically the display on my HD TV (old 32" Sony Bravia) is the same with or without the XRGB, so for a $300 device it's a bit annoying Honestly, for now I am quite surprised by the "uselessness" of the XRGB : not better, not worse, just the same thing.

Is it well-known that this configuration leads to poor results ?
Would going through RGB (via a Euro/JP Scart converter in order to use the cable bundled with the XRGB) would lead to better results ?

By reading the different posts on this forum (very useful, thanks guys), I often see mentioned the :
- SLG-3000 to add scanlines, but I am not sure it is expected for PS2 games (3D ones, not the shmups or compilations of 2D games). What's your opinion ?
- Sync Strike : I must say I am a noob, so what is exactly the purpose of the "synchro" thing ?

Thanks in advance, and sorry if it has already been asnwered (there are quite a lot of pages in this topic !).

[Fudoh]

Basically the display on my HD TV (old 32" Sony Bravia) is the same with or without the XRGB

that's certainly not true or you don't know what to look for - or you have wrong expectations. 480i games (or 576i if you're a PAL user) are certainly not the best benchmark for the Mini. Still the 480i handling of the XRGB is outstanding and certainly better what your TV does. It's not the kind of material though on which you want scanlines (or do you?).

Is it well-known that this configuration leads to poor results ?

absolutely not. The Mini has brilliant 480i deinterlacing. For most details choose the Natural or Cinema picture mode.

Would going through RGB (via a Euro/JP Scart converter in order to use the cable bundled with the XRGB) would lead to better results ?

no, it would be exactly the same.

By reading the different posts on this forum (very useful, thanks guys), I often see mentioned the :
- SLG-3000 to add scanlines, but I am not sure it is expected for PS2 games (3D ones, not the shmups or compilations of 2D games). What's your opinion ?

With the Mini there's no need for the SLG3000. The Mini emulates authentic 240p scanlines though and I don't see why would want those on your deinterlaced 480i games.

- Sync Strike : I must say I am a noob, so what is exactly the purpose of the "synchro" thing ?

again, nothing you need with the Mini.

[chronic1]

Thanks for the information about the resolutions.... I'm now able to get some scanlines (they're a little thin).

The wiki mentions two "recommended settings" for 480p sources.

• Both ask you to change the H_SCALER & V_SCALER values. In case you're new, like me, to fiddling with this device.... I found it necessary to disable the auto-scaler in order to make the requested changes.
• Since I don't have an additional scaler to zoom in the picture, the first configuration probably isn't relevant for me. However, even if I did, I don't know how to select the Game X2 mode because it is reportedly unsupported when pressed.
• Is GAME X2 unsupported in this use case due to the RGBC/RGBHV caveat mentioned on the wiki's DC page?

[Popstars]

Thanks for your answer, Fudoh.

I may not know what to look for !
I was just expecting a sharp display, like on my old "CRT TV + RGB cable". Maybe it's too much to demand ? This is a real question, as I must say I don't know a thing about the "resolution"-related technical things.

I am indeed using a PAL PlayStation 2 system (modded).
The worst result I had so far is Kingdom Hearts during the cinematic videos (intro). More generally, cinematic videos for all games are quite awful.
I tried all the modes (Cinema, Natural, ...) and the result is worse than with Standard, as the colors seem over-saturated.

For info, I also connected the XRGB-Mini to my WiiU through HDMI.
The WiiU home screen seemed very "pure and fluid" (difficult to put words on the feeling), but the colors were less vivid.
The result in Wii mode (the thing that actually interested me) is unfortunately the same as without the XRGB, that is to say ok but still a bit blurry (not as sharp as with "CRT + RGB"). Again, $300 for no visible result. Very strange.

=> Is there something to configure at XRGB-Mini level ? Ot is it supposed to work directly out-of-the-box ?
I saw the EspGaluda screenshots on your website, and it looks so sharp, I am pretty sure I will not have the same result.

I want to see some neat pixels, not blurred ones !

[Fudoh]

H_SCALER is mainly used to adjust the sharpness to your liking. 5 is the sharpest and values > 12 can be desireable to get a more CRT-like look. V_SCALER switches between different scaling modes, some more suited for hi-res graphics, others more for low-res graphics.

GAMEx2 is only supported with 1080p output, since you need 960 lines of active resolution. This combined with scanlines however gives you very thin and dense scanlines, more like a plasma pixel pattern and not like CRT scanlines.

With 480p to 720p scaling you have to use the B Scanlines. Set one value (odd or even) to 0 and the other to full. By switching the two values you can basically switch between odd and even scanlines.

[Fudoh]

I was just expecting a sharp display, like on my old "CRT TV + RGB cable". Maybe it's too much to demand ?

no, I don't think so. It should look just as good.

Is there something to configure at XRGB-Mini level ? Ot is it supposed to work directly out-of-the-box ?

use 1080p output. sharpness 1. Set Picture mode to cinema or natural. Disable the scaler presets. Set H_SCALER to 5. Set V_SCALER to 5 for smooth edges or to 6 for blocky edges.

[Popstars]

Thanks again. I'll try this and let you know the results.

I realize I just don't know all the features in the XRGB-Mini menus. Is there somewhere online a full description of all the menus ?

[8bitpower]

Hi there!

I normally use emulators running on my PC hooked to a CRT VGA 19" Monitor + the SLG3000 and everything works nice. No problems up to here.

When I use the same emulators on the Plasma or LED TV the results are terrible, not because of the quality of the image itself, but for the horizontal scrolling (for example, the palm trees in Sonic -Master System- look extremely blur when moving, while on the CRT monitor everything runs smooth and perfect).

I'm runing everything (Windows + Emulators) @640x480 60Hz

Is the Framemeister worth buying to solve this issue when playing emulators on a PC hooked to a Plasma or LED TV?

Thank you for the advice!!

[Kasios]

REPEATREPEATREPEAT

Hello all

I have a television led philips 32" and I would like you to tell me how I can configure either a SNES PAL and Mega Drive PAL, that is, as you have you configured the XRGB for these two consoles, as it is much mess the settings you have the XRGB . Many thanks.

[BuckoA51]

Is the Framemeister worth buying to solve this issue when playing emulators on a PC hooked to a Plasma or LED TV?

No, unless you have a very old PC, why are you feeding a 240p image from a PC to a HDTV though?

[Konsolkongen]

Hi there!

I normally use emulators running on my PC hooked to a CRT VGA 19" Monitor + the SLG3000 and everything works nice. No problems up to here.

When I use the same emulators on the Plasma or LED TV the results are terrible, not because of the quality of the image itself, but for the horizontal scrolling (for example, the palm trees in Sonic -Master System- look extremely blur when moving, while on the CRT monitor everything runs smooth and perfect).

I guess this problem has to do with the slow 240p image procesing of my flat TVs.

Is the Framemeister worth buying to solve this issue when playing emulators on a PC hooked to a Plasma or LED TV?

Thank you for the advice!!

If you're using a PC and SLG3000 for scanlines then you are using VGA and 640x480. Not 240p. It sounds like the TV's you are using have very slow response times and therefore creates these trails in the picture when moving. In that case the framemeister probably wouldn't perform any better.

[Konsolkongen]

REPEATREPEATREPEAT

Hello all

I have a television led philips 32" and I would like you to tell me how I can configure either a SNES PAL and Mega Drive PAL, that is, as you have you configured the XRGB for these two consoles, as it is much mess the settings you have the XRGB . Many thanks.

Personally I really dislike the Framemeister for anything 50Hz. It's nice that it supports it, but you can forget about upscaling to 720p or 1080p as it will look uneven, and even worse with scanlines.

Off the top of my head, try something like this:

HDMI_output: 576_50
H-scaler: 6
V-scaler: 6
Sharpness: 0

[Kasios]

REPEATREPEATREPEAT

Hello all

I have a television led philips 32" and I would like you to tell me how I can configure either a SNES PAL and Mega Drive PAL, that is, as you have you configured the XRGB for these two consoles, as it is much mess the settings you have the XRGB . Many thanks.

Personally I really dislike the Framemeister for anything 50Hz. It's nice that it supports it, but you can forget about upscaling to 720p or 1080p as it will look uneven, and even worse with scanlines.

Off the top of my head, try something like this:

HDMI_output: 576_50
H-scaler: 6
V-scaler: 6
Sharpness: 0

Hi

Thanks for replying, you're the only one who bothered to answer. Some SNES games and MEGADRIVE support the 60hz (I have the MOD in both).
I've advised as playing 50Hz mode, and if I can play 60 hz they recommend I put settings on both consoles?. What kind of changes put?, Scalines?, Game_1?, Photo?, Standard? ...... Which?, 4:3 or 16:9? very thanks.

[Konsolkongen]

For MegaDrive and SNES you can use the same settings. If you can play a game in 60Hz you should. But in that case you should use 720p_60 output.

I like Picture mode myself, but Standard can help if you experience some slight jailbars on the Mega Drive or ghosting on the SNES. Scanlines are great for these systems, but not everyone likes them. You can either use Meister mode where they are enabled automatically. Or you can use any other mode, like Picture or Standard, and enable the scanlines by pressing the C button on the remote.
As for 4:3/16:9, you should always play non widescreen games in 4:3, that's with black borders on the left and right side of the screen. Otherwise you are just stretching the image and that looks retarded.

Hope that answers your question.

[Kasios]

For MegaDrive and SNES you can use the same settings. If you can play a game in 60Hz you should. But in that case you should use 720p_60 output.

I like Picture mode myself, but Standard can help if you experience some slight jailbars on the Mega Drive or ghosting on the SNES. Scanlines are great for these systems, but not everyone likes them. You can either use Meister mode where they are enabled automatically. Or you can use any other mode, like Picture or Standard, and enable the scanlines by pressing the C button on the remote.
As for 4:3/16:9, you should always play non widescreen games in 4:3, that's with black borders on the left and right side of the screen. Otherwise you are just stretching the image and that looks retarded.

Hope that answers your question.

Very very thanks

[8bitpower]

Hi there!

I normally use emulators running on my PC hooked to a CRT VGA 19" Monitor + the SLG3000 and everything works nice. No problems up to here.

When I use the same emulators on the Plasma or LED TV the results are terrible, not because of the quality of the image itself, but for the horizontal scrolling (for example, the palm trees in Sonic -Master System- look extremely blur when moving, while on the CRT monitor everything runs smooth and perfect).

I guess this problem has to do with the slow 240p image procesing of my flat TVs.

Is the Framemeister worth buying to solve this issue when playing emulators on a PC hooked to a Plasma or LED TV?

Thank you for the advice!!

If you're using a PC and SLG3000 for scanlines then you are using VGA and 640x480. Not 240p. It sounds like the TV's you are using have very slow response times and therefore creates these trails in the picture when moving. In that case the framemeister probably wouldn't perform any better.

Yes, sorry. I am using a vga 640x480 output @60Hz. I have everything (Windows & Emulators) set this way.

The screens I am using are:

Phillips CRT Monitor 109E5 19" (http://download.p4c.philips.com/files/1 ... ss_eng.pdf)

LG Plasma TV 32PG600 (http://www.lg.com/uk/tvs/lg-32PG6000-plasma-tv)

Samsung LED 40" UE40D7000 (http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/tv-a ... D7000LUXXU)

On the CRT, the emulators run just PERFECTLY. No lag at all, ultra smooth scrolling & sharp image quality, but on the Plasma and LED... they're terrible. So, isn't there any way to play emulators on flat panels with the perfection of a CRT screen? Not even with the Framemeister?