Cloning the Gamecube component cable

[Guspaz]

That's kind of an oversimplification. They have an overlapping set of basic resolutions and formats, but both DVI and HDMI do things that the other doesn't support, and even when you're using a format that both support, they differentiate between the two using the EDID.

[Unseen]

As far as I understand it, DVI + audio + HDCP = HDMI. Why do all the docs call this DVI and not HDMI? Is it because HDCP is missing?

HDMI is trademarked and to use the trademark on a device requires a licensing fee and conformance tests. DVI has no such restriction.

[BONKERS]

ut finally does and he requests the required information to setup a reprint. So some time goes by and he does not hear from them, so he contacts them for an update. And he was told the female rep no long works for the company and the new male rep can only approve a reprint of two of the six designs, but only after they receive them back. He sends them back, tracking shows they were delivered, but company says they never received it and that they moved to a new building.

Now he goes to "Company B" to setup a new printing and sends them the designs. Last he heard from them was Dec 20th, and they have about a 10day turn around. He is assuming they started printing the boards. However, he said he should have heard from by now but they have not contacted him. So his plan is to send them an e-mail this coming Monday (9th) and request an status update.

He said he would give me my money back if I wanted and lose my place in line or some "people" just open a paypal dispute and he refunds the money without disputing. I guess I will give him some more time to see if he can get the ball rolling. But it sounds like it is going to take awhile longer. And he said no preference of DIY vs Install Service, it's based on your order number.

PS: I mentioned this forum/thread (about customers wondering what is going on) and he said "people on some website" while answering the question, lol. Guess he has never been here.

Wow, that sucks. I get people are frustrated by lack of communication, but what goes around comes around clearly. Imagine you were this guy and spend all this time and money and these companies were screwing you over.

[citrus3000psi]

Made some progress on the Wii last night. BGA QSB installed.

[Ikaruga11]

Nice work, Citrus.

[lechu]

Update from Bad Ass Consoles on twitch.

More bad luck, but near an end. He ordered his flex cables from that 2nd company about two months ago. He just got the tracking number for it last week. Apparently the US company he ordered from basically produced it in China (so he's pissed about that). The flex cables are currently in Kentucky. He says he should expect them by the end of the week or beginning of next week. So a bit of shit luck, but sounds like it's turning into good news.

[tacoguy64]

I'd like to know something.

So obviously, a GameCube modded to output HDMI (GCVideo) is the best way to play on digital displays such as LCDs, Plasmas, OLEDs, etc. Since they have HDMI ports and HDMI is a lossless digital signal, no digital-to-analog conversion is ever done at any point, preventing any lag or information loss. Also GCVideo having great upscaling and a plethora of firmware features such as scanline generation, forcing 480p, etc. Pretty simple and straightforward.

Now what about playing a GameCube on an analog display such as a CRT? What is the optimal signal for playing on CRTs? I would say HDMI again because it's a lossless signal, but it has to be converted to analog in order to be displayed on a CRT. The HDMI cable simply delays the inevitable conversion. So begs the question: how do high-end DACs compare to the DAC chip inside the official component cables?

On consumer CRT TVs, it makes sense that the official component cables are the best option for models that have component inputs. For PAL region CRTs, RGB SCART might be the best (in tandem with a PAL Cube)? And for older or lower end TVs, S-Video, Composite or even RF (absolute last resort) might be the best connection if those are all that's available on those particular models.

Now PC CRTs typically have just VGA connectors. I'm guessing it would be better to mod the official component cables to output VGA than to convert them via transcoders to VGA?

Onto PVMs and BVMs, which are the most complicated. Assuming a PVM or BVM can display both RGB and YPbPr natively, what would be superior:

a) The official component cables
b) The official component cables modded to output RGB or RGBHV (VGA).

I apologize for regurgitating the same questions over and over again. I'd just like to get a definitive and crystal-clear answer on the optimal signal for CRTs and I thought this thread would be better to ask than the "Questions that do not Deserve a Thread" thread.

I'm asking the same question here. For us analog users, do we just go the official component cable route and call it good? My initial solution for hooking it up to SCART/VGA is to use the GARO. The only other option would be to wait even longer for an analog mod for the GC to come along. Sucks that BAC just seems to have fallen apart with this.

[theclaw]

The component cable has served me fine enough. Though I have nothing to compare it to, honestly RGB or VGA mods don't sound very compelling.
A PAL system with RGB cable costs less. While for PC monitors you'd need to get modes like 480i working to use a GC to its fullest. (a few games have issues if forced progressive in software)

[ApolloBoy]

For us analog users, do we just go the official component cable route and call it good?

LOL not for $200+

[Ikaruga11]

I actually just bought the official GameCube component cables brand new (mint box, never opened) on eBay a couple weeks ago for

Spoiler

$324

Worth it imo

Now have two sets of the official GameCube component cables. Gonna link up two GameCubes for Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Kirby's Air Ride and 1080 Avalanche LAN multiplayer.

[lechu]

BAC just went on twitch. He got his flex cables. They look like they're really high quality (but I'm not an expert on that). He showed the faulty ones he received, and they were awful. Definitely not acceptable to send those ones to customers. The ones he got look really professional. He said he has Ultra HDMI mods to finish up and needs to actually test the flex cables, and then will work on shipping out the GC-Video.

Looks like it's going to be soon (knock on wood).

[theclaw]

LOL not for $200+

Let's hear your recommendation for American consumer CRTs that accept component video. The average tube John Q Public would've picked up at Big Box Mart on a whim.

In that situation RGB to component on a PAL cube entails 50hz>60hz conversion, or certain things like Nintendo's bios menus will be unusable.
Pairing an HDMI/DVI encoder with a component DAC is excessive.

[Ikaruga11]

BAC just went on twitch. He got his flex cables. They look like they're really high quality (but I'm not an expert on that). He showed the faulty ones he received, and they were awful. Definitely not acceptable to send those ones to customers. The ones he got look really professional. He said he has Ultra HDMI mods to finish up and needs to actually test the flex cables, and then will work on shipping out the GC-Video.

Looks like it's going to be soon (knock on wood).

That's great news! Glad to hear that BAC finally got the flex cables in. Gonna go check out his twitch right now. Haven't ordered GCVideo yet but will.

It must have really sucked for all the paying customers waiting for months and not hearing anything from BAC. I can understand his situation though. A lot of companies don't want to take responsibility now-a-days and quality is often tossed to the curb in favor of quantity.

[Guspaz]

LOL not for $200+

Let's hear your recommendation for American consumer CRTs that accept component video. The average tube John Q Public would've picked up at Big Box Mart on a whim.

In that situation RGB to component on a PAL cube entails 50hz>60hz conversion, or certain things like Nintendo's bios menus will be unusable.
Pairing an HDMI/DVI encoder with a component DAC is excessive.

You can patch the NTSC BIOS onto a PAL cube and thus never see anything but NTSC output (unless you put a PAL game in, obviously). Voultar has done that mod, for example, enabling him to produce a fully NTSC cube with RGB output. Combine that with the HDR component cables or a component box and you're still looking at a cheaper price than the Nintendo cables.

Alternatively, gcvideo-lite is like a quarter the cost of the Nintendo component cables.

[Ikaruga11]

LOL not for $200+

Let's hear your recommendation for American consumer CRTs that accept component video. The average tube John Q Public would've picked up at Big Box Mart on a whim.

In that situation RGB to component on a PAL cube entails 50hz>60hz conversion, or certain things like Nintendo's bios menus will be unusable.
Pairing an HDMI/DVI encoder with a component DAC is excessive.

You can patch the NTSC BIOS onto a PAL cube and thus never see anything but NTSC output (unless you put a PAL game in, obviously). Voultar has done that mod, for example, enabling him to produce a fully NTSC cube with RGB output. Combine that with the HDR component cables or a component box and you're still looking at a cheaper price than the Nintendo cables.

Alternatively, gcvideo-lite is like a quarter the cost of the Nintendo component cables.

HDR component cables?

[leonk]

The PAL -> NTSC region mod on a euro gc to get RGB is not a good option.

This will give you only 480i on a console that outputs 480p. You get 480p from the component cables.

[bobrocks95]

HDR component cables?

HD Retrovision.

The PAL -> NTSC region mod on a euro gc to get RGB is not a good option.

This will give you only 480i on a console that outputs 480p. You get 480p from the component cables.

Most people looking for 480p are probably using a digital display right? Unless you have a PC CRT or some sort of broadcast monitor. If you're not in that small category, I think GCVideo DVI makes much more sense than $200-250 component cables.

[Ikaruga11]

HDR component cables?

HD Retrovision.

Oh yeah. I forgot about those. Don't they work with the SNES and N64 as well? Is HD Retrovision going to make any more of those?

Most people looking for 480p are probably using a digital display right? Unless you have a PC CRT or some sort of broadcast monitor. If you're not in that small category, I think GCVideo DVI makes much more sense than $200-250 component cables.

this. I would definitely mod my GameCubes for HDMI if I were to play on a digital display.

[BONKERS]

Update from Bad Ass Consoles on twitch.

More bad luck, but near an end. He ordered his flex cables from that 2nd company about two months ago. He just got the tracking number for it last week. Apparently the US company he ordered from basically produced it in China (so he's pissed about that). The flex cables are currently in Kentucky. He says he should expect them by the end of the week or beginning of next week. So a bit of shit luck, but sounds like it's turning into good news.

Sounds like some shitty companies. He should publish their names so no one ever tries to do business with them again for hobbyist projects.

Guy has had some bad luck it sounds like.

[Guspaz]

The PAL -> NTSC region mod on a euro gc to get RGB is not a good option.

This will give you only 480i on a console that outputs 480p. You get 480p from the component cables.

Read the post again: the request was for a "recommendation for American consumer CRTs that accept component video. The average tube John Q Public would've picked up at Big Box Mart on a whim."

Such a television does not support 480p, so buying a $250 component cable just to get a resolution the TV doesn't support is pointless.

Users of GBI may also not care about 480p regardless of display device, since 240p is an option.

Certainly if the user is on a modern display, 480p via gcvideo or gcvideo-lite would be recommended. But gcvideo is largely pointless for 15 kHz CRTs.

[theclaw]

You can patch the NTSC BIOS onto a PAL cube and thus never see anything but NTSC output (unless you put a PAL game in, obviously). Voultar has done that mod, for example, enabling him to produce a fully NTSC cube with RGB output. Combine that with the HDR component cables or a component box and you're still looking at a cheaper price than the Nintendo cables.

Alternatively, gcvideo-lite is like a quarter the cost of the Nintendo component cables.

Now I'm curious. This might have nothing to do with RGB itself, but how far can we take region mods these days?
I thought we've yet to find a generally accepted* method to switch the composite and s-video encoding of a cube between NTSC or PAL.

*Accessible documentation, tested to work, sensible price point, all that jazz.

[Ikaruga11]

The PAL -> NTSC region mod on a euro gc to get RGB is not a good option.

This will give you only 480i on a console that outputs 480p. You get 480p from the component cables.

Read the post again: the request was for a "recommendation for American consumer CRTs that accept component video. The average tube John Q Public would've picked up at Big Box Mart on a whim."

Such a television does not support 480p, so buying a $250 component cable just to get a resolution the TV doesn't support is pointless.

Users of GBI may also not care about 480p regardless of display device, since 240p is an option.

Certainly if the user is on a modern display, 480p via gcvideo or gcvideo-lite would be recommended. But gcvideo is largely pointless for 15 kHz CRTs.

HD CRTs support 480p and have component cable inputs.

[bobrocks95]

The PAL -> NTSC region mod on a euro gc to get RGB is not a good option.

This will give you only 480i on a console that outputs 480p. You get 480p from the component cables.

Read the post again: the request was for a "recommendation for American consumer CRTs that accept component video. The average tube John Q Public would've picked up at Big Box Mart on a whim."

Such a television does not support 480p, so buying a $250 component cable just to get a resolution the TV doesn't support is pointless.

Users of GBI may also not care about 480p regardless of display device, since 240p is an option.

Certainly if the user is on a modern display, 480p via gcvideo or gcvideo-lite would be recommended. But gcvideo is largely pointless for 15 kHz CRTs.

HD CRTs support 480p and have component cable inputs.

They also have digital inputs, except for maybe a small handful of very early ones.

[Guspaz]

You can patch the NTSC BIOS onto a PAL cube and thus never see anything but NTSC output (unless you put a PAL game in, obviously). Voultar has done that mod, for example, enabling him to produce a fully NTSC cube with RGB output. Combine that with the HDR component cables or a component box and you're still looking at a cheaper price than the Nintendo cables.

Alternatively, gcvideo-lite is like a quarter the cost of the Nintendo component cables.

Now I'm curious. This might have nothing to do with RGB itself, but how far can we take region mods these days?
I thought we've yet to find a generally accepted* method to switch the composite and s-video encoding of a cube between NTSC or PAL.

*Accessible documentation, tested to work, sensible price point, all that jazz.

To be honest, I don't know what impact the BIOS region mod has on composite and s-video. The effectiveness of the mod may be limited to RGB (and by conversion, component).

[mario64]

Hi all,

Just picked up a pre-modded Gamecube with GCVideo DVI 2.3. It seems to work fine except one thing. When I boot a progressive scan enabled game it isn't prompting me to enable progressive mode. It just loads in 480i. Any ideas? 480p is enabled in the GCVideo settings.

Thanks,
mario

[citrus3000psi]

Hi all,

Just picked up a pre-modded Gamecube with GCVideo DVI 2.3. It seems to work fine except one thing. When I boot a progressive scan enabled game it isn't prompting me to enable progressive mode. It just loads in 480i. Any ideas? 480p is enabled in the GCVideo settings.

Thanks,
mario

Hold down the B button at boot up. That should force the Gamecube to prompt.

[mario64]

Hi all,

Just picked up a pre-modded Gamecube with GCVideo DVI 2.3. It seems to work fine except one thing. When I boot a progressive scan enabled game it isn't prompting me to enable progressive mode. It just loads in 480i. Any ideas? 480p is enabled in the GCVideo settings.

Thanks,
mario

Hold down the B button at boot up. That should force the Gamecube to prompt.

I'm using Ikaruga which, when using component cables, will prompt automatically. Let me try B button and see if it works

[mario64]

Hi all,

Just picked up a pre-modded Gamecube with GCVideo DVI 2.3. It seems to work fine except one thing. When I boot a progressive scan enabled game it isn't prompting me to enable progressive mode. It just loads in 480i. Any ideas? 480p is enabled in the GCVideo settings.

Thanks,
mario

Hold down the B button at boot up. That should force the Gamecube to prompt.

I'm using Ikaruga which, when using component cables, will prompt automatically. Let me try B button and see if it works

Thanks citrus. That indeed worked. Strange that it doesn't auto-prompt like it does with component cables though.

[citrus3000psi]

Thanks citrus. That indeed worked. Strange that it doesn't auto-prompt like it does with component cables though.

I think you just have to use B button once initally and then Gamecube will prompt automatically when the cable is detected.

[Link83]

Made some progress on the Wii last night. BGA QSB installed.

Looks great! Have you been able to test it?
Is a BGA install possible without specialist equipment?
Also, do you have your own thread where we can learn more about your GC/Wii mods and prices?