Questions that do not deserve a thread

[vol.2]

Wait: why not just fix the sync timing in the Hi-Def NES, so we can all be happy? Nearly every TV (why wouldn't you use a monitor, though?) will be compatible, and the game won't be slowed down.

Why would you want them to make it worse? It's better this way. Fully HDMI compliant (and validated as such) with maximum possible compatibility (works with EVERY TV and monitor) without any perceptible slowdown. There does not appear to be any good reason to change this. You have yet to give any good reason why anybody should waste their time implementing it.

Before I even knew that the HDMI mod slowed it down, I listened to the Yellow Devil theme after beating it a couple times on my unmodded NES, and noticed that it sounded an extremely tiny bit slower. Same goes for other things I played on my NES or heard recorded from one: NES sounded a tiny bit faster. And again, I couldn't have just anticipated it to be slower because I didn't know emulator and HDMI modded ones had a different clock speed. And no, none of them were slow enough to be PAL; it just was enough to make it sound "fishy" to me, like I was in the Matrix or something, if you know what I mean.

How long are we talking here? If the difference is less than a quarter of a second, it's unlikely humans have the ability to perceive the difference. Check out the data from this study: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/ ... gures-only

[Cirventhor]

Have anyone had any success getting a component cable for the original Xbox lately? The official ones seems very rare and expensive, and most do not even ship to Europe.

I tried out a cheap unbranded one, and to no surprise it ended up being terrible (horizontal artifacts).

Getting by just using a good quality RGB cable so far, but no getting 480p+ with that.

[vol.2]

Have anyone had any success getting a component cable for the original Xbox lately? The official ones seems very rare and expensive, and most do not even ship to Europe.

I tried out a cheap unbranded one, and to no surprise it ended up being terrible (horizontal artifacts).

Getting by just using a good quality RGB cable so far, but no getting 480p+ with that.

Look on eBay. Seems like $6-7

[Shoryukev]

There is going to be a flash cart solution for the Neo Geo soon. That would will be my AES solution.

Yeah....seems best to just wait it out till that happens. I have a MAME cabinet I play metalslug/puzzle bobble/Mark of the wolves/etc. on for now....I just get so sick of the screen tearing and 480i output from my PC.

How on earth are MVS to AES converters ~$400? They look like literally bare PCBs that just wire the pins to each other, what's going on???

Reading about that flash cart, it has an FPGA and tons of flash chips and stuff on it, and it's expected to be around $400 apparently. So again, what's so special about these adapters?

That's exactly my dilemma, it's cheaper to run arcade hardware if you either have a cabinet or the means to consolize it.

The adapters seem ridiculous to me too. They have some chips inside them, but I'm not sure what exactly they are doing.....I always thought MVS to AES was with a pin adapter. There's also a little trim-pot on most of them for adjusting the graphics for games that use scaling.....seems really bizarre.

As far as the flash cart, I saw a pre-order thing for an MVS flashcart. It was indeed very expensive, but that seems to be the norm with the Neo Geo. Even if it were $400 that would be considered cheap if they made one for the AES. I was lucky enough to get my system as a garage sale lot for $200 sometime in the early 2000s. System, two original joysticks, magician lord/namm/fatal fury special/world heroes 2/baseball stars/samurai showdown....a bunch of the carts are japanese which makes them worth less, but it was still a great deal.

That and the stupid number of pins means two really big PCBs, possibly 4 layer, with some sort of interconnect between them, and made in small quantities.

Looking online, I do see that the NEO SNK ARCADE MVS-Magic Key can be had for as little as $179 USD in bulk.

Yeah there are two giant PCBs in each cart with 60 pins on each side, totalling 240 pins....it's a bit insane.

I was watching a used MVS/AES-Magic Key this weekend and it sold for $180 on ebay.....and it was labelled as "untested, no returns". They seem to be hard to find and people just gobble them up. This one in particular was an older revision that had a warning for people with AES systems that have a 5v power supply. It said it only works properly with the newer AES revisions that have a 9v supply. My AES has the 5v supply so I didn't bid. I see new Magic Keys sell for $400 all the time on ebay


Overall I think I might just wait and see what happens on the flashcart front. Meanwhile I'll keep searching for a cheap MVS motherboard, and maybe I'll have the guts to wire one up to a video encoder, power supply, and my MAME cabinet control panel. It would greatly legitimize my current setup....who knows maybe it could start a shift for me from PC emulation to real hardware. I'll wire it all for JAMMA so I could add CPS-1 or 2 games later if I wanted to. I wonder how those JAMMA multi-arcade boards compare to a PC with mame?

[Guspaz]

How long are we talking here? If the difference is less than a quarter of a second, it's unlikely humans have the ability to perceive the difference. Check out the data from this study: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/ ... gures-only

The Hi-Def NES underclocks the NES by 0.15%. So it's running at 99.85% of normal speed. I'm betting that he's imagining that he can notice the difference. That equates to one third of a scanline per frame, or 1.5 milliseconds per second.

[orange808]

The only legitimate gripe I have with Hi Def NES is the lack of palette features. Custom pallettes are something people really want.

[atheistgod1999]

I'm betting that he's imagining that he can notice the difference.

I couldn't have just anticipated it to be slower because I didn't know emulator and HDMI modded ones had a different clock speed

I don't even care about the HDMI that much; I just wanted the Analogue NT Mini so I wouldn't have to mod my mint-condition NES 101 and AV Famicom for RGB. I'm also afraid that no matter what I choose for the button combo, I will at some point accidentally bring up the HDMI menu, fucking up my gameplay.

Actually, new question: do I have to switch between HDMI and analog on the thing? If so, will it have the correct clock speed if I'm using RGB? And will it use the analog expansion audio from the carts? Like, does the HDMI mod disable itself if using the analog output?

[orange808]

Using the 240p test suite, a Hi Def NES modded console over HDMI and a (completely stock) OE NES over composite both report identical statistics.

Hi Def NES over HDMI to LCD

Spoiler

OE NES over composite to CRT

Spoiler

Can't be that big of a deal (two systems and same result).

[Unseen]

The adapters seem ridiculous to me too. They have some chips inside them, but I'm not sure what exactly they are doing.....I always thought MVS to AES was with a pin adapter.

As far as I know, SNK moved a chip related to sprite data processing from the system (MVS) to the cartridge (AES), so an MVS-cart to AES-system converter needs to include that chip or an equivalent.

[Guspaz]

I don't even care about the HDMI that much; I just wanted the Analogue NT Mini so I wouldn't have to mod my mint-condition NES 101 and AV Famicom for RGB. I'm also afraid that no matter what I choose for the button combo, I will at some point accidentally bring up the HDMI menu, fucking up my gameplay.

That shouldn't really be a problem, you can pick some option that would never happen in real life, like having to push start/select/a/b or something.

Actually, new question: do I have to switch between HDMI and analog on the thing? If so, will it have the correct clock speed if I'm using RGB? And will it use the analog expansion audio from the carts? Like, does the HDMI mod disable itself if using the analog output?

I'm sure they run at the same same regardless of output, because the RGB is just the digital signal run through a DAC. Audio is not used from the cart, it would probably work the same way as the Hi-Def NES does: all audio chips are emulated on the FPGA. That's why you can use expansion audio on a hi-def NES modded system without actually modding the audio.

[vol.2]

A good cheap one is this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-best-S-vide ... 1782319627

I used it on my SNES for a while before going RGB, and then on my GameCube for a while until I did an RGB "mod" (PAL mobo in region-modded NTSC console).

Interested in the GameCube mod you've mentioned. I've got an older PVM, so I think this could be a solution since I can't play 480p anyway. I currently own an NTSC GameCubes, I would like to get RGB out of it somehow, and I'm not paying for the component cable. I'm willing to mess around with PAL hardware if it gets me what I want. Do you have a recommendation?

[Guspaz]

Unfortunately, the store that I bought it from does not appear to carry used products anymore. How I found it was I went on ebay.co.uk to ensure that I was seeing results from the UK. I ended up paying twice as much in shipping as the product itself, but it still came out to $70 CAD ($52 USD), which is way cheaper than the component cables. You will need a PAL GameCube RGB cable, though. I bought mine from Retro Gaming Cables, although Retro Console Accessories had suggested a different cable would work too. I don't recall which, though.

My current understanding is that the region lock in the GameCube is not in the drive, as I suspected, and that my setup only works because the XenoGC that I installed in my drive acts as a region-free mod. It's possible that some sort of soft mod solution involving the SD card reader and swiss may work. All I can say is that this setup works:

- NTSC GameCube with XenoGC mod chip installed
- PAL GameCube motherboard
- RGB SCART cable (sync on composite video)

[blizzz]

You will need a PAL GameCube RGB cable, though. I bought mine from Retro Gaming Cables, although Retro Console Accessories had suggested a different cable would work too. I don't recall which, though.

A PAL Gamecube cable is basically the same as an NTSC SNES cable. You should get one with good shielding and absolutely make sure that it uses sync on composite video. PAL Gamecubes output 12V on the CSync pin and don't offer S-Video, so sync on composite video is the only option.

A proper RGB SCART cable for the Gamecube also has the 12V connected, but that's only useful on consumer TVs here in Europe.

[vol.2]

Unfortunately, the store that I bought it from does not appear to carry used products anymore. How I found it was I went on ebay.co.uk to ensure that I was seeing results from the UK. I ended up paying twice as much in shipping as the product itself, but it still came out to $70 CAD ($52 USD), which is way cheaper than the component cables. You will need a PAL GameCube RGB cable, though. I bought mine from Retro Gaming Cables, although Retro Console Accessories had suggested a different cable would work too. I don't recall which, though.

My current understanding is that the region lock in the GameCube is not in the drive, as I suspected, and that my setup only works because the XenoGC that I installed in my drive acts as a region-free mod. It's possible that some sort of soft mod solution involving the SD card reader and swiss may work. All I can say is that this setup works:

- NTSC GameCube with XenoGC mod chip installed
- PAL GameCube motherboard
- RGB SCART cable (sync on composite video)

Okay, so why can't I just get a PAL Gamecube and region-mod it? Why are you going to the trouble of transplanting a motherboard?

[Guspaz]

Unfortunately, the store that I bought it from does not appear to carry used products anymore. How I found it was I went on ebay.co.uk to ensure that I was seeing results from the UK. I ended up paying twice as much in shipping as the product itself, but it still came out to $70 CAD ($52 USD), which is way cheaper than the component cables. You will need a PAL GameCube RGB cable, though. I bought mine from Retro Gaming Cables, although Retro Console Accessories had suggested a different cable would work too. I don't recall which, though.

My current understanding is that the region lock in the GameCube is not in the drive, as I suspected, and that my setup only works because the XenoGC that I installed in my drive acts as a region-free mod. It's possible that some sort of soft mod solution involving the SD card reader and swiss may work. All I can say is that this setup works:

- NTSC GameCube with XenoGC mod chip installed
- PAL GameCube motherboard
- RGB SCART cable (sync on composite video)

Okay, so why can't I just get a PAL Gamecube and region-mod it? Why are you going to the trouble of transplanting a motherboard?

You can: I started out with an NTSC cube in very good condition, and installed a chip (which also region modded it). I then wanted RGB, so I bought a busted up PAL cube on the cheap and just stole the motherboard (which is what has the video outputs), because I didn't need to care about the condition of the case, just the motherboard.

[blizzz]

Does anyone have experience with the Lenkeng LKV360 RGB SCART to HDMI converter? Does it handle 240p correctly, or does it treat all input as 480i?

I'm asking because it's easily available in Germany under the Velleman brand.

[Fudoh]

Probably (internally) identical to the LKV362A I reviewed on my page. Of course on proper 240p handling and - even worse - no 4:3 option.

[blizzz]

Thanks for the reply. So I guess it's on the same level as the other generic RGB SCART to HDMI converter.

[vol.2]

You can: I started out with an NTSC cube in very good condition, and installed a chip (which also region modded it). I then wanted RGB, so I bought a busted up PAL cube on the cheap and just stole the motherboard (which is what has the video outputs), because I didn't need to care about the condition of the case, just the motherboard.

Okay. Thanks for the clarification. I guess I'm looking for a PAL gamecube then.

[andykara2003]

Anyone know what output resolution setting should I choose on the Wii U in order to play a 720p game on a 1080p TV? I'm using a Panasonic G30 plasma...

[Ikaruga11]

Anyone know what output resolution setting should I choose on the Wii U in order to play a 720p game on a 1080p TV? I'm using a Panasonic G30 plasma...

1080p

If you set your Wii U's output resolution to 720p for a 720p game, then it'll be upscaled to 1080p by your Plasma. This also means you won't get true 1080p from games that render in native 1080p.

If you set your Wii U's output resolution to 1080p for a 720p game, then it'll be upscaled to 1080p by the Wii U and not your TV. You'll also be able to get true 1080p from games that render in native 1080p.

[vol.2]

Anybody know where I can buy the connector ends for SNES/N64/GameCube multi out AV? Ideally something with solderable terminals or snap in crimp pins.
I want to roll my own cables with some sweet shielded goodness.

[andykara2003]

Anyone know what output resolution setting should I choose on the Wii U in order to play a 720p game on a 1080p TV? I'm using a Panasonic G30 plasma...

1080p

If you set your Wii U's output resolution to 720p for a 720p game, then it'll be upscaled to 1080p by your Plasma. This also means you won't get true 1080p from games that render in native 1080p.

If you set your Wii U's output resolution to 1080p for a 720p game, then it'll be upscaled to 1080p by the Wii U and not your TV. You'll also be able to get true 1080p from games that render in native 1080p.

Sure - the question is what will upscale the 720p image in better quality and the least lag - the Plasma or the Console?

[Ikaruga11]

Anyone know what output resolution setting should I choose on the Wii U in order to play a 720p game on a 1080p TV? I'm using a Panasonic G30 plasma...

1080p

If you set your Wii U's output resolution to 720p for a 720p game, then it'll be upscaled to 1080p by your Plasma. This also means you won't get true 1080p from games that render in native 1080p.

If you set your Wii U's output resolution to 1080p for a 720p game, then it'll be upscaled to 1080p by the Wii U and not your TV. You'll also be able to get true 1080p from games that render in native 1080p.

Sure - the question is what will upscale the 720p image in better quality and the least lag - the Plasma or the Console?

That, I have no idea. It depends on how good your Plasma's internal scaler is. Just keep in mind that even if your Plasma has a better scaler, you won't get native 1080p from games that support it because your Wii U is outputting at 720p.

[andykara2003]

Sure, my thoughts as well. I've already looked around at how good the Panasonic G30s are at upscaling 720p but there's no info on this as far as I can see. Reviewers are more concerned how they upscale SD.

On the other hand, these TVs are regarded very highly by the reviewers and have a low lag measurement - so I imaging there's a good chance that 720p is upscaled reasonably well and fast.


So my question now is, does anyone else have any knowledge regarding the quality and speed of the upscaler in the Wii U? Is it likely that it'll be worse than the TV? If so, for 720p games I should set the output of the console to 720p and let the TV upscale it. I'm not too worried about having to change this for 1080p games.

[ZellSF]

If you have or will have the TV and a Wii U, why don't you just check yourself? Image scaling quality is pretty subjective anyway, unless the scaler actually does something really wrong.

[andykara2003]

I'll have a look. I still wonder about speed though - do console upscalers tend to be laggy?

[ZellSF]

I'll have a look. I still wonder about speed though - do console upscalers tend to be laggy?

No and neither do TV upscalers. Upscaling lag is mostly a myth.

[andykara2003]

Thanks :)

[Harrumph]

Anybody know where I can buy the connector ends for SNES/N64/GameCube multi out AV? Ideally something with solderable terminals or snap in crimp pins.
I want to roll my own cables with some sweet shielded goodness.

HD Retrovision is selling a pack of 3 for 10 bucks.
https://shop.hdretrovision.com/collections/all