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Thread: Thinking about RGB on Genesis instead of S-Video

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    Pear (Level 6) Oldskool's Avatar
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    Default Thinking about RGB on Genesis instead of S-Video

    Here's the deal, I was thinking very hard about modding one of my Sega consoles to output S-Video. But the more I look into it, RGB might be better.

    No modding of the console is required, it outputs RGB through the A/V socket.

    Of course this is a somewhat more expensive route, but the picture quality is better, especially on an LCD TV!

    Of course since I live in the good ole' US of A, I have to get a SCART/Component converter.

    I have found a few Scart RGB cables for the Genesis on Ebay out of the UK.

    As far as the converter, I am at a loss.

    Anyone running RGB/Component on their Genesis? What setup are you using? You have screenshots?

    Thanks!

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    Cherry (Level 1)
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    I don't have screenshots, but RGB looks great on my model 1 Genesis.

    I actually use a model 2 -> SCART cable with an integrated headphone plug that passes stereo audio out to the SCART connector. For the bare Genesis 1 (and Power Base Converter), I use the standard model 1 to 32x converter stub running directly into the model 2 -> SCART cable. Or, I can use just the model 2 -> SCART cable to get RGB output from my 32x or CDX. Both the 32x and Genesis model 1 output in stereo from the model 1's headphone jack... all 32x audio is passed back to the base console through the cart port for mixing, then fed out in stereo on the headphone jack. It gets combined down to mono if it's passed through the standard Genesis 1 A/V output. The CDX has a stereo headphone jack too.

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    Pear (Level 6) Oldskool's Avatar
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    I have a Genesis 1 (HD), an X'Eye, and a CDX.

    The cables that I have found are for the Genesis 2/Nomad/ETC. So I'd have to use them on the X'Eye/CDX as I have no 32X (I sold my boxed/new one).

    Since those output stereo out of the A/V jack, do I need the SCART cable that's got the headphone cable attached to it? Could I not simply plug the one connector in and be good to go?

    As far as the Genesis 1 goes, if I do get the adapter or a Genesis 1 SCART cable (with the headphone jack), could I simply not plug in the head phone jack if I have it stereo modded out the back?

    Also, what kind of a converter are you using for the Scart - Component? Or are you in Europe?

    I feel that HDMI is unnecessary because the Genesis doesn't output in HD anyways so there's no point right? Component should work well enough?

    I have seen screen shot differences between Composite/RF and S-Video, but I still have yet to see any differences between S-Video and Component.

    I have seen a few videos on Youtube, but a camera pointing at the screen is hardly as good as a real screen shot.

    Thanks!

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    Apple (Level 5) Arasoi's Avatar
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    The colorspace differences between RGB and YPbPr/component are very minor, the internal circuitry of most LCDs (and most sets in general) works/converts into YPbPr colorspace despite the input, so you would see very little difference as far as image quality.

    I run an svideo modded X'eye, and quite a few other consoles in RGB into a holo3dgraph input card and several sony PVM monitors through an A/V distribution amp. All three have RGB/svideo/composite video inputs so perhaps these comparisons I just captured will help out a little bit. Mileage varies depending on the monitor or the card used as a test subject of course..

    First we have the holo3d input card:



    And here is a close comparison from the sharper of my RGB monitors, a sony PVM 20N2U:



    It should be noted the Genesis/Megadrive has particularly bad composite video due to the lack of circuitry to average out the NTSC color encoding artifacts. A good comb filter can work wonders for an NTSC composite signal, I have owned several NEC Turbo Duo Rs that have the clearest composite video I've seen out of an old video game console.

    Also remember artifacting does not completely show up on still shots, much of it has to be seen in motion.

    Concerning an RGB to component video converter, I've read a lot of good things from fellow gamers(primarily on shmups and a few other boards) on this unit:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/SCART-RGB-YUV-Co...item335e3869cb

    Since standard converters like these will not scale the 240p image, the task falls on your TV to do the job. Most LCDs will scale 240p component input, but some will not. The ones that do not are rare, but if you run into this problem you may have to invest more than you wanted into an external RGB-VGA scaler like an XRGB2/3.
    Last edited by Arasoi; 06-17-2010 at 09:01 PM.

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    Pear (Level 6) Oldskool's Avatar
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    Thanks for the screenshot comparisons. The RGB truly does look better, not by tons but there is a difference. I noticed with the Composite the Genesis sort of takes advantage of the lack of colors, and the dithering looks smoother, but I could easily get over that.

    Our LCD is a newer Polaroid (within two years old I think) and it's a 1080p TV so hopefully it will scale it to 240p, but I am not sure as the lowest I've ever seen it say it's running is 480. I also have a 50" SDTV that accepts Component so maybe that's the better TV to use since it doesn't need to do any scaling.

    That's the converter I've noticed some people using, but that one looks like it's a 220V. Is there a 110V adapter like that? I believe that one is for the European market. I have to make sure that everything is compatible for the US whatever I decide to go with.
    Last edited by Oldskool; 06-17-2010 at 10:38 PM.

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    Apple (Level 5) Arasoi's Avatar
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    It looks like it runs on 12V DC, and has a standard looking barrel connector.

    You could match a cheap 12v AC adapter to it as long as tip polarity was correct. It would be listed on the 220v ac adapter or on the bottom of the unit itself. Worst case you can "build" one from Radio Shack with the right voltage brick and attach the correct polarity connector.

    I would imagine either option is cheaper than a step down converter.

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    Cherry (Level 1)
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oldskool View Post
    I have a Genesis 1 (HD), an X'Eye, and a CDX.

    The cables that I have found are for the Genesis 2/Nomad/ETC. So I'd have to use them on the X'Eye/CDX as I have no 32X (I sold my boxed/new one).

    Since those output stereo out of the A/V jack, do I need the SCART cable that's got the headphone cable attached to it? Could I not simply plug the one connector in and be good to go?
    Yup, a standard model 2 -> SCART cable would pull stereo directly from the A/V jack on anything except a Genesis model 1 or model 1 w/32X. I only mentioned my cable setup because it covers all variations including Genesis 1, PBC, 32X, or newer Genesis consoles with one common SCART cable.


    Quote Originally Posted by Oldskool View Post
    As far as the Genesis 1 goes, if I do get the adapter or a Genesis 1 SCART cable (with the headphone jack), could I simply not plug in the head phone jack if I have it stereo modded out the back?
    Whether you'd want to use separate L/R plugs on the Genesis 1 instead of the headphone jack->SCART depends on what you're doing with the SCART output. I'm running all my RGB consoles into SCART switchers, so I wanted to standardize with audio on the proper SCART pins. If you wanted to run audio directly off your Genesis 1 that should work fine but you'd probably need to swap audio wires whenever you changed to the CDX or other consoles.


    Quote Originally Posted by Oldskool View Post
    Also, what kind of a converter are you using for the Scart - Component? Or are you in Europe?
    I'm in the US, running an NEC XM29 RGB monitor. 29", 4:3, RGB, CRT, 15kHz consoles/DC VGA box/480p, and tateable!
    Last edited by tomwaits; 06-18-2010 at 12:20 AM.

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    Pear (Level 6) Oldskool's Avatar
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    Thanks for the help guys. I'll probably end up using the X'Eye since it already has RCA audio out on the back. I really don't like running wires around from the front of the console to the back (Like the Genesis 1 headphone jack). If I could find a scart converter just like the one linked, but with audio output as well, that would be dandy, because then like you mentioned, I could swap consoles without worrying about the audio cables.

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