Best upscalers for....

[AnakinSkywalker]

I went down this path a few years ago and picked up many devices (still have them) from XRGBs to DVDOs (and a bunch of other stuff in between pricewise). Currently I'm running a DVDO VP50, DVDO VP30+ABT and a DVDO Edge (retired a DVDO iScanHD+). Overall I was very unsatisfied with the picture quality and stability of the XRGB2/2+/3. I thought the HDBoxPro was utter crap. Also tried various AudioAuthority devices stand alone and in certain parts of the chain. I think at last count I had 20-30 such little devices for scaling/deinterlacing/transcoding/blah blah based on various reviews. Some devices looked gorgeous on a CRT VGA monitor but failed (imho) on a flat panel.

Right now in terms of picture quality and price, the DVDO Edge is hard to beat. You can get one for as low as $500USD now. Originally they were 799. A VP50 is gonna run 1,000+ and a VP50 Pro in the 2k range. The only thing missing (for me at least) is a scanline effect.

However, hands down.... the best PQ on an HDTV set (imho of course) is going to be via emulation. I have dedicated gaming grade PCs hooked up to all the HDTVs in the house for that. But if you do want to play with the original hardware on an HDTV I'd go with the DVDO Edge. If you want scanlines add an SLG3000 ($100ish) or XRGB3 ($300) into the mix. If you want original hardware with the best PQ possible, get an RGB CRT (NECXM, Sony PVM, etc) with custom RGB cables and modified game consoles (if needed).... or get japanese 21pin RGB cables and an XRGB2/2+.

For the most part, if you're not running a RUNCO, upper model Panasonic, Pioneer Kuro, etc... I'd assume the internal scaling/deinterlacing hardware of the HDTV set is going to be "ehhh ok" for most tastes to crap in terms of a PQ to performance blend.



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Wow!! I finally Decided to "join the conversation" and join the site yesterday. I searched for the term "SLG3000" and found your post. I must complement you. You are very knowledgeable (not saying that because we have the same opinion on many things, or so it seems) in terms of display technology and I am deeply impressed with the pictures found in your link. Truth be told, I'd like to appeal to your high standards for advice of how to approach acquiring the various pieces of "kit" to connect my older systems (Sega) - Genesis, 32x, Saturn, Dreamcast. I am trying to purchase the SCART cables domestically but no of no one that my have them in stock. Also, I intend to buy the DVDO Edge as well as the SLG3000 and other bits. Your thoughts? Opinions? I live in Chicago and am amazed that all the import gaming stores have closed down and the ones that are around do not know what SCART is. Thanks in advance.

[StealthLurker]

Wow!! I finally Decided to "join the conversation" and join the site yesterday. I searched for the term "SLG3000" and found your post. I must complement you. You are very knowledgeable (not saying that because we have the same opinion on many things, or so it seems) in terms of display technology and I am deeply impressed with the pictures found in your link. Truth be told, I'd like to appeal to your high standards for advice of how to approach acquiring the various pieces of "kit" to connect my older systems (Sega) - Genesis, 32x, Saturn, Dreamcast. I am trying to purchase the SCART cables domestically but no of no one that my have them in stock. Also, I intend to buy the DVDO Edge as well as the SLG3000 and other bits. Your thoughts? Opinions? I live in Chicago and am amazed that all the import gaming stores have closed down and the ones that are around do not know what SCART is. Thanks in advance.

You can still get genesis/megadrive SCART cables from Ebay I believe. Then you could use a CGA to VGA converter board or Maplin's SyncBlaster (easier) for SCART to VGA. Then feed the VGA output to a SLG.

You could then either directly connect the SLG VGA out to your HDTV's VGA input (if it has one) or feed the VGA to an Audio Authority 9A60 (VGA to component) then have it further processed by something like the DVDO Edge.

Megadrive SCART => SyncBlaster => SLG3000 => => HDTV
Megadrive SCART => SyncBlaster => SLG3000 => AA 9A60 => DVDO Edge => HDTV

Dreamcast VGA box => SLG3000 => HDTV
Dreamcast VGA box => SLG3000 => AA 9A60 => DVDO Edge => HDTV

There's probably a better box than the AA 9A60, like the Extron RGB... but with Extron you're going to have to deal with BNC plugs. So some sort of BNC to RCA cables would be needed. Also some Extron units can be a little hard to find at times.

For me personally, I prefer to play my pre-component consoles on a CRT via RGB. However there are "plenty" of people over at the shmups and arcadeotaku forums that go the flat panel path with such devices. The man to talk to over at shmups is fudoh. He's played with the most video processing gadgets that I know of.

Hope that helps somewhat.

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[RCM]

From all you've gents might have heard of the XRGB frame meister do you think it's worth the wait or should I take the plunge on an EDGE? I love what I have, but I'm kind of addicted to upscalers right now.

[Leo_A]

If you absolutely have to have the best video quality, the best thing to do is start with the simple things. It won't be cheap, but upgrading your televisions to better quality models compared to those budget, low end, HDTV's would be a easy way to see improvements across the board without doing anything like modding your consoles, buying different cables, or starting to buy and experiment with external scalers and such.

Secondly, for your early consoles, you need to get them modded. Something like the Atari 2600 will benefit greatly from a s-video mod. They're fairly economical to install and there are skilled individuals that can do it for you at places like AtariAge for a reasonable amount. A scaler has to work with the image it recieves, so ensuring you're set up to send it the best possible image from your consoles is something you need to do before ever buying one if you're after the best possible video quality. There are composite mods for the Intellivision, s-video mods for the Atari consoles, and even component mods for the Colecovision.

And for your later consoles, upgrade them to at least the best possible video cable that is available for North America if you haven't already done so (Or perhaps even taking it a step further with RGB). That means things such as regular composite cables for the NES, s-video cables for the 16/32 bit era of consoles, VGA for the Dreamcast, component for last generation consoles and the Wii, etc.

And then is the time to start considering things like external scalers. And once you likely find out that you wasted your money on several expensive external scalers that don't get the job done like you hoped for, go log on to somewhere like Craiglist and keep an eye out for something like a nice, used, late model Sony Trinitron for $50 to hook up your classic consoles to for the best experience.

[StealthLurker]

From all you've gents might have heard of the XRGB frame meister do you think it's worth the wait or should I take the plunge on an EDGE? I love what I have, but I'm kind of addicted to upscalers right now.

I would say waiting is probably a good idea. Especially if it's going to drop this year. It feels like that thing was announced ages ago. If it can finally deliver what the XRGB3 tried to do and produce some nice scanlines, it could be THE device. Knowing myself and my tinkering and gadget fetish, I'll probably snag one up too... haha. Playing around with this type of stuff is sometimes more fun than the actual games themselves (at times)!

If you absolutely have to have the best video quality, the best thing to do is start with the simple things. It won't be cheap, but upgrading your televisions to better quality models compared to those budget, low end, HDTV's would be a easy way to see improvements across the board without doing anything like modding your consoles, buying different cables, or starting to buy and experiment with external scalers and such.

Secondly, for your early consoles, you need to get them modded. Something like the Atari 2600 will benefit greatly from a s-video mod. They're fairly economical to install and there are skilled individuals that can do it for you at places like AtariAge for a reasonable amount. A scaler has to work with the image it recieves, so ensuring you're set up to send it the best possible image from your consoles is something you need to do before ever buying one if you're after the best possible video quality. There are composite mods for the Intellivision, s-video mods for the Atari consoles, and even component mods for the Colecovision.

And for your later consoles, upgrade them to at least the best possible video cable that is available for North America if you haven't already done so (Or perhaps even taking it a step further with RGB). regular composite cables for the NES, s-video cables for the 16/32 bit era, VGA for the Dreamcast, component for last generation consoles and the Wii, etc.

And then is the time to start considering things like external scalers. And once you likely find out that you wasted your money on several expensive external scalers that don't get the job done like you hoped for, go log on to somewhere like Craiglist and keep an eye out for something like a nice, used, late model Sony Trinitron for $50 to hook up your classic consoles to for the best experience.

Pretty much this. Stuff made in the CRT era is going to look best on a CRT. Plus it's the inexpensive way to achieve the best results possible on the actual hardware. If you think about it this way.... if you're buying HDTVs like Insignia and Vizio, all this fancy video processing gear can eventually end up costing more than your HDTV itself!

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[kedawa]

I wish I could just buy a monitor with all this razzmatazz built in.

[StealthLurker]

I wish I could just buy a monitor with all this razzmatazz built in.

That would be a RUNCO display panel. Something like 20 Gs MSRP for a 50" plasma a few years ago.


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