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I'm looking to pick one of these up soonish. I'm in the US, and have NA versions of the Genesis and Saturn using SCART cables with (currently) a SCART to component converter.
Is there anything I need to know about picking up one like this?
http://www.amazon.com/DP3913515-Fram.../dp/B006H39XJS
Saturns can be a pain as they keep flitting between 240p and 480i which causes a lot of sync issues, I personally daisy chain mine through another generic HD from SCART adapter with good results. You will need a D Terminal to component adapter to use your setup on the Framemeister.
Check out this thread...
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...-Upscaler-Unit
... it should have plenty of info. Make sure you get good quality cables, check out post five here...
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...483#post733483
... have fun, it's a great little machine.
Ooh, edit! Get an English language overlay for the remote too.
http://www.firebrandx.com/pixelpurist.html
This guy makes nice profiles too.
You can get one shipped for around 30O US$ from yakumo at
http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/...shipped.44220/
I bought mine from him and have been happy ever since.
Towards the end of that thread there's lot of info, but in short ditch the component altogether and go HDMI obviously.
I confirm the Saturn switcharoo hi/lo res is very annoying for the Mini, hopefully they'll fix it with a new fw release.
Finally the lack of a sync stripper on the input is kind of glaring and can give you trouble for some consoles (SMS, MD, NeoGeo AES).
Agreed, I really hope an FW update will sort this too. The el cheapo scaler I use isn't too bad, but lends a slight waxy look to fast scrolling parts that in 3D games is actually quite 'flattering' for the Saturn. 2D stuff could ideally do without it though so it would be nice to have better FW.Quote:
Originally Posted by phoenixdownita
The sync stripper adapter dongle for the RGB input I use works nicely; it taps 5v from the Mini's USB socket. Probably overkill, but it works for me.
AH nice. and yeah, I won't use component with the mini. I only need it now because it's the only way to hook it into my TV.
I'd just go SCART from saturn and Genesis into the mini, then HDMI to my receiver.
The only other console I'd plug in is my N64 (S video), and maybe my dreamcast via component.
My oXbox via component already works just fine.
I really want to be able to use my Saturn and Sega CD in a way that is less of a pain in the ass than currently however, and this is the best option for it that I've come across short of setting up a CRT somewhere (which I might do down the line... maybe).
Thanks for the info, and the link to yakumo on AG, I'd much rather give money to someone in the community than some random Amazon/ebay person.
Anyone have a good Framemeister profile for the Master System?
Give this a try:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tower of Power
https://youtu.be/Nz9bvQgcDJU
He knows his XRGB onions, he posts on here too.Quote:
Originally Posted by kgenthe
i play a lot of Saturn, one of the only games that has issues switching resolutions/etc is the already slow SOTN port. now shit like RE2 on N64 is damn near unplayable...
also, don't forget that euro to JP RGB cable! Solaris sold me mien for a fair price, and had excellent customer service when i needed a new remote too, highly recommended.
Resolution switching was ALWAYS a problem with the XRGB-Mini and still is a problem now. My recommendation is to keep a cheapo SCART to HDMI converter handy for games that feel the need to consistently switch between 240p and 480i (why in God's name is this even a thing? Make up your damn minds and stick to one resolution!).
You should also rewire the included RGB dongle to accept SCART cables as the original dongle is wired for JP-21, which uses the same plug as SCART, but has a different pinout. Otherwise, you could get yourself a dongle that is already wired for SCART cables.
In regards to Component video, if you have a console that can natively output Component at 480i or 480p (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube or Wii), you should connect those over Component to your XRGB-Mini with a Component to D-Terminal adapter.
Last piece of advice, be mindful of the colorspace your TV accepts. The XRGB-Mini can be set to DeepColor output, which some TVs will not accept, and you can also change the colorspace between permanent RGB limited/full range or automatic RGB limited/full range and YCbCr limited/full range. If your TV is designed for RGB/YCbCr limited, you should have the XRGB-Mini output in RGB/YCbCr limited, but if your TV takes RGB/YCbCr full range, you should use that. As for permanent RGB or automatic RGB/YCbCr colorspace, I suggest using the latter as RGB will be used only for when you're using the RGB input or feeding an HDMI source into the HDMI inputs that uses the RGB colorspace, and for Composite, S-Video and Component, the YCbCr colorspace is used instead, which is better for those sources as I noticed a number of incorrect colors when using RGB instead of YCbCr.
^good advice! yeah, i don't have many 480p PS2 games, so i run that one over RGB as well. also don't cheap SCART to HDMI converters have issues? i saw a good/recommended RGB to component box a while back
Let me be the black sheep once again and bring up the greenish weirdness I've noticed in captures using Framemeister.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace
Some people get infuriated when I mention this, but I don't care. I think there's something wrong; IDK if it's what Ace is talking about or not but there's definitely something a bit off regarding the colors.
Here's ImplantGames' (kgenthe's) capture of Sonic 1:
http://i.imgur.com/vqv5j4z.png
Here's the raw capture from Kega Fusion:
http://i.imgur.com/G0UR4B4.png
Here's Game Sack's (Joe's) capture of Ghouls 'n Ghosts:
http://i.imgur.com/7oIEi1X.png
Here's the raw capture from Kega Fusion:
http://i.imgur.com/57HpiXW.png
I know that these shots don't have 100% fidelity to their original output (emulation, resize, youtube compression, etc) but they're clear enough to show that there's some weirdness in the coloring of the Framemeister's captures and it's always adding some (or a lot in case of Joe's) green to the original tones.
Those are just two examples but I've noticed it with several other retro gaming shows which use the Framemeister so there seems to be a pattern there. Game Sack captures are always one of the worst offenders IMO (yes, I know they use other devices too but Joe himself have stated that most of the stuff is captured with Framemeister's).
Regarding Ghouls 'n Ghosts I doubt that the XRGB-Mini messes up the colors that much. The video has either been color graded in post-production or there's an improper calibration somewhere in the chain.
This is a capture I got from my XRGB-Mini some years back. Yellow tones are off either because I hadn't calibrated my Mini back then or something was messed up with my Elgato.
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/...h35m50s137.png
Oh, thanks for the input, nissling.
If you're worried about 240p/480i switching, you may want to get in on this new line-doubler, which would be a huge step up from the cheap converters that don't process 240p correctly. It also has line-triple support for 240p content (720p output), although the result apparently isn't supported by many monitors or TVs (which is a shame because the video capture he took of it looks awesome). I also noticed this tidbit which is troubling:
I guess we'll have to wait for the reviews to know for sure.Quote:
Saturn Hi-Vision modes (352x480 and 704x480) display 561 lines per frame instead of the usual 525 as in 31kHz and interlaced 15kHz. It will pass digitization and linedoubling fine, but the end result is still 561 lines which is a number that only computer monitors, not too many TVs, will accept.
The thing with those is that they don't upscale, so if your TV doesn't take 240p over component, you're dicked.Quote:
Originally Posted by IrishNinja
aw damn, didn't think about that! might have to try that 240p test on my evedriveQuote:
Originally Posted by Assman
Thanks for the link assman, I've just enquired about one of these. One quick question, I have never used dvi out before... Will one of those pass through dvi to HDMI cables / adapters work for connecting this scaler to a TV / XRGB Mini?Quote:
Originally Posted by Assman
I haven't either, but yeah, based on everything I've read, HDMI is totally backward-compatible with DVI-D, so a simple passive adapter will do. The only reason he's using DVI instead of HDMI is the licensing fees with the latter, so being compatible with HDMI was kind of the point.
One thing I forgot to mention is that it apparently doesn't process audio, so if you don't have another way of getting audio out of your console and using it with your HDMI input... again with the dicking. If you do some digging through that thread, he runs into a lot of questions about these types of things.
I've been having trouble with Genesis composite video and the XRGB-mini. Every other console I have (NES/SNES/N64/PS2) all work fine with it, but the Genesis has the colors flicker in a cycle down the screen. The intensity of the colors changes every time I turn on the system- sometimes it's slight and other times it's unplayable. I've tried this with my old Genesis 2 and a Genesis 1 I just bought and both show the same behavior. If I plug them directly into my HDTV, the problem goes away, but my HDTV's composite decoder is laggy and looks ugly, so it has its own downsides from the XRGB-mini. Anyone have any ideas? I could do an RGB mod but don't really want super sharp pixels if I can help it.
Here's a video I took of it happening awhile ago- it's very slight in the video, but if you stare at the blue or the ground you can see it happening. I'll get a better video of it happening more severely later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXsxLdXUcno
Edit: 2nd video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TUhzbCml3s
Yeah all the colors in the 2nd one are messed up - just got the Genesis 1 and haven't adjusted those settings. Set video to 60fps to see the crazy flicker (it's visible in 30fps too but isn't as crazy). Both models of Genesis do this.
Chemical Plant is not the best place to see this but that's the demo it showed when I was recording -_- The title screen shows it a lot better - any level with big solid colors like that does this.
If you have an XRGB-mini, you really should get an RGB cable for your Genesis. No mods are necessary.
It's much cheaper in the long run to buy a Euro scart to Framemeister cable from retrogamingcables and the just get Euro scart cables for all of your consoles. The also sell a nice English overlay for the remote.
Would a composite to SCART adapter and then into the RGB port yeild better results? Also, if you did go down the RGB mod route you can play with vertical and horizontal scale settings of some kind (I forget exactly which off hand) to add a little blurriness to sharp pixels.
Yeah, generally horizontal scale will do it, anything over 15 looks blurrier, though I don't know if it's enough.
Are ya'll using FHD tvs or 4K tvs?
Maybe, but why would the XRGB mini RGB port accept composite?Quote:
Originally Posted by cleeg
Not that it matters much. All USA Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 consoles had RGB officially installed by Sega.
Standard HDTV for me (1080p).Quote:
Originally Posted by Da_Shocker
Tho I don't have my unit yet, USPS screwed me over royally. Didn't knock/ring on the door (signature required), they never tried to deliver it again, they left the missed delivery from the first attempt in my mailbox 4 days later, and when I called to schedule a re-delivery it was already en route back to the shipper.
Now currently hoping it makes it back in one piece/at all so they can try to ship again.
I recently moved, and the postal workers around here really don't like getting out of their trucks to deliver my packages. They do sometimes, but more often than not they mark it as "undeliverable" or "incorrect address" and sit on it for a couple of days before they finally deliver it as they should have to begin with.Quote:
Originally Posted by EclecticGroove
[EDIT] and just now... they marked a package from Amazon as delivered, and when I went to check the mail, there was nothing... Wow.
That's the part that kills me. I'm in an apartment. The mailboxes are like 10 feet from my door. The guy has to be there to put the mail in there in the first place.Quote:
Originally Posted by Metalwario64
So my assumption is they left it in the truck and were too lazy to come back, so marked it as a failed delivery. Either that or it wasn't on the main mail truck and they felt they didn't want to drop it off.
Man, I order slowboat boxes and have them shipped to my office and the local PO guy loves to not deliver them. I am pretty sure they put it in his truck for delivery and he just looks at the size and says "NOPE!" and then just writes out the ticket that says "Sorry we missed you!" and sticks it in the box.Quote:
Originally Posted by EclecticGroove
Well, it turns out they delivered my package to a neighbor's house, because they brought it over. It makes no fucking sense since the rest of my mail was delivered that day, and the address was correct.
I'd hate for something more important to fall into a less friendly neighbor's possession. :| I never had these problems at my old house.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Metalwario64
I've seen the mail guys around here doing deliveries, the mail is pre sorted in mine to the big mail containers.
The good ones will notice something in the wrong container and then deliver it to the correct one.
The bad ones seem to usually pick one of the following:
1) Just leave it at a random door/mailbox that's close to the address on it.
2) Leave it by the main mailboxes (in my apartment anyways).
3) Just not try and deliver it and leave it to be resorted and hopefully get sorted correctly the next time.
My OSSC just arrived today, so that's tomorrow's activities sorted. Kudos to Assman for the tip, it turned out that VGP run by Matt Buxton (a good bloke with whom I've had a lot of experience) was in charge of distribution so it was all smiles :).Quote:
Originally Posted by cleeg
Thanks Assman!
I once stood by my front door and watched a mail man put the "Sorry you wasn't in" card through the door.Quote:
Originally Posted by xelement5x
Delivery drivers sometimes are just fucking assholes.
I have been known to go after the USPS driver if I know something is "Out for Delivery" and stop the truck by getting in front of it than ask nicely with a printout of the tracking number in hand "can I have my package". If it happens to offend I contact the postmaster first by phone than in person if need be.
Dumb question. Any chances the OSSC will support line doubling 480i to 960i?
Yes, this is a serious question. Yes, I mean Even-Odd-Even-Odd to Even-Even-Odd-Odd-Even-Even-Odd-Odd doubling.
While my monitor supports interlacing, it doesn't do 15khz signals. Unfortunately, 480i and 576i signals fall below the threshold, but the CRT will most likely sync to line doubled interlacing, with the interlacing preserved. :cool:
OSSC Newsletter Issue 17
The wait is over!
Hi xxxxxxxxx,
Today we have some excellent news for anyone still holding off ordering an OSSC. We've now officially cleared the backlog of pre-orders for all batches and still have OSSC units in stock for Christmas.
That means, if you want an OSSC, there are no waiting lists, no pre-orders and no queues. Just go right ahead and order an OSSC and have it shipped in 1-2 days and of course we ship worldwide.
From Videogame Perfection to me. Just if anyone is interested. It's a great little unit.
With the OSSC/Framemeister can you manually adjust the picture position? I run my Megadrive through RGB SCART straight into the TV and for some reason the image is slightly offset, cutting off a small section on the left side. If I go all the way to the left in Thunder Force IV for example my ship almost completely disappears (I can just see the nose). What's also weird is that on a different TV the offset is actually reversed, so the right side is cut off instead.
With the Framemeister you have total control over the size/position of the picture, so you can set it up so that you can see the play area, not sure about the OSSC.Quote:
Originally Posted by serbusfish