Title pretty much says it all. I'm looking for the best or easiest way to combine a Sharp X68000's Hsync and Vsync into Csync for use with displays and adapters that don't accept separate syncs.
In my case, the particulars are that I want to be able to connect it to a PVM I have, and/or a RGB to Component adapter (CSY-2100 clone) to consumer CRT for 15khz compatible games.
From googling, it seems like nobody can agree on a proper circuit to do this. Though honestly, I'm not so sure if I care if it's "proper" as long as it works with my equipment without issue. I'm also willing to buy a ready-made solution if it's not too expensive and full of tons of other features I don't need.
Got any input?
Best/easiest way to combine Sharp X68000 HVsync to Csync?
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cr4zymanz0r
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SuperDeadite
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Re: Best/easiest way to combine Sharp X68000 HVsync to Csync
I don't think hooking up an X68K to PVM is really worth the effort. Even if you accomplish this, I'm quite sure a PVM will be unable to show the full screen due to the non-standard resolutions.
If you insist the XPC-4 is probably the simplest way to go but it's not cheap.
Overall if you want to go CRT, a tri-sync arcade monitor is ideal. The NEC XM29 also works very well, though it doesn't support 24khz.
If you insist the XPC-4 is probably the simplest way to go but it's not cheap.
Overall if you want to go CRT, a tri-sync arcade monitor is ideal. The NEC XM29 also works very well, though it doesn't support 24khz.
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kamiboy
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Re: Best/easiest way to combine Sharp X68000 HVsync to Csync
That is the one I used. That being said, I found the trouble of connecting an X68000 to a 15khz monitor not to be worth the hassle.
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cr4zymanz0r
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Re: Best/easiest way to combine Sharp X68000 HVsync to Csync
Hooking it to a PVM would mostly be to play around to see how it looked, and most game playing would be the 15khz compatible games. I assumed those would be full screen since most of those are just arcade resolutions to my knowledgeSuperDeadite wrote:I don't think hooking up an X68K to PVM is really worth the effort. Even if you accomplish this, I'm quite sure a PVM will be unable to show the full screen due to the non-standard resolutions.
If you insist the XPC-4 is probably the simplest way to go but it's not cheap.
Overall if you want to go CRT, a tri-sync arcade monitor is ideal. The NEC XM29 also works very well, though it doesn't support 24khz.
I have a XPC-4, but I wasn't aware of any features of it helping me hook the X68000 to a PVM more easily. I know it has composite and s-video output, but last I checked it does that at 480i (ick). A tri-sync arcade monitor would be nice, but I don't have a great way to get one and I basically don't care about 24khz.
Maybe I'll look into the components for that. Can you elaborate what you mean about the trouble of connecting it to a 15khz monitor not being worth the hassle? Do you mean just the effort involved vs the few 15khz game choices, or were other issues encountered?kamiboy wrote:
That is the one I used. That being said, I found the trouble of connecting an X68000 to a 15khz monitor not to be worth the hassle.
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kamiboy
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Re: Best/easiest way to combine Sharp X68000 HVsync to Csync
Even after all that work you'll find that not all 15khz games show up right when connected to a 15khz monitor.
The X68000 is a strange beast of odd video signals. I chose to just buy an original x68000 monitor for compatibility and convenience.
Oh, and there is a hobbyist DB15 to SCART adapter sold for connecting PC's to arcade monitors. Maybe buying that is the best way for you to obtain a HV sync combiner solution.
The X68000 is a strange beast of odd video signals. I chose to just buy an original x68000 monitor for compatibility and convenience.
Oh, and there is a hobbyist DB15 to SCART adapter sold for connecting PC's to arcade monitors. Maybe buying that is the best way for you to obtain a HV sync combiner solution.
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SuperDeadite
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Re: Best/easiest way to combine Sharp X68000 HVsync to Csync
In 15khz, 90% of the games use the 256x256 hardware output resolution. However the games themselves usually don't actually use all this space. They generally have a slight black border so the games appear to the eye as proper 4:3, the unused border part is off screen so you can't see it. A few games like SF2, Daimakaimura, and Cotton actually have widescreen modes, this is achieved my manually shrinking the Horizontal size pot (which original monitors all have).
What this means is that unless you have full control of your monitor size and position pots, you are almost certainly going to have parts of the screen cut-off.
And there is still the problem that a good chunk of the 15khz games actually switch between 31 and 15 several times during the game itself.
The XPC-4 15khz mode is 480i. This is because if it used 240p it wouldn't be able to show the full screen. The XPC is meant for compatibility and speed above all else, video quality is the trade off.
What this means is that unless you have full control of your monitor size and position pots, you are almost certainly going to have parts of the screen cut-off.
And there is still the problem that a good chunk of the 15khz games actually switch between 31 and 15 several times during the game itself.
The XPC-4 15khz mode is 480i. This is because if it used 240p it wouldn't be able to show the full screen. The XPC is meant for compatibility and speed above all else, video quality is the trade off.