Fudoh wrote:Was anybody using a Saturn RGB cable with real C-Sync signal ?? RGB32E ?
Yes, my Saturn RGB cable is wired for CSync, and not composite video. Also, the Y signal of S-Video could be used in leu of composite video for RGB inputs that strip sync (e.g. Sony PVM monitors and the XRGB units). I wonder if using Y would be better than composite video, since it does not contain any chroma info.
I have 3 model 2 and 1 model 1 US Saturns. I've only tried out one of them with my XRGB-3. With this particular system I get jailbars every other column of pixels. HOWEVER, when playing Radiant Silvergun, they NEVER appear for some reason??? Very strange. When booting the system through an Action Replay, Sega firmware splash screen, or playing PA Taromaru (examples), I get the "every other column is brighter" JBs - different than say, the NES JBs. So, from what you've described, and my experience so far, the RGB output quality from the Saturn can differ from one Saturn to another (likely by different production revisions). I would be curious to see the topology and component differences around the video encoder IC and the output connector. Perhaps some systems use the Sony CXA1645 and others use the CXA2075 with different parts that affects RGB output performance.
I'll try the other Saturn systems with the same cable and see if my results differ. Also, I was thinking about connecting a series 10uF electrolytic capacitor on the CSYNC signal in my cable to see if the noise and JBs can be removed that way, instead of LPF.
Another note. Since I'm using the VGA connector on the D2 input instead of the game input, picture noise is virtually eliminated if I select separate sync instead of composite sync for the D2 input mode setting on the XRGB-3. The only bad side of this is that from time to time on the title screen for Radiant Silvergun (is in 480i) that the screen gets corrupted - blacked out areas and thick black scanlines. If I change the D2 mode from separate to composite, the picture is corrected, but I get picture noise. :S After fiddling with AFC and D2 mode, the title screen will display correctly again. :S
So, I'm hoping that the 10uF cap will be an all around solution. The cable I'm using is a generic Saturn RGB cable that is wired for red, green, blue, csync, +5VDC, Left, Right, and ground. The ground wire is fairly thin and the insulated conductors are surrounded by a foil shield. I ended up cutting the cable fairly short (~10") and terminating it with a DB9F connector. The Saturn RGB cable did not include any ferrite cores, so I added a snap on one myself, though it doesn't seem to improve anything. I had built a sturdier cable with a DB9M connector on one end, and has separate cables for the audio leads (from a nintendo cable), and a separate shielded cable for the RGBS signals going to a HDDB15M connector.
I'm thinking about building something like Lawrence did for my next Saturn cable to replace the 10" breakout I use right now (using my existing pinout):
This pic shows the adaptor I made to convert the Saturn's output to something a little more useful: my custom DB-9 multi-AV adaptor. To make it, I hacked the end off off a Nuby Saturn RF adaptor. Peeling the black plastic stress relief left the silver barrel, which I split open and peeled back, removing the white plastic silicon lump which was attached to the small black disk holding the pins on the Saturn connector. I then attached the wires to the appropriate pins and then to the DB-9.
Menu -> Down -> Enter -> Down -> Down -> Enter --- Will get you to the "Blacklevel" setting (Item 2.3 - 
