Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Darrin on April 13, 2008, 05:24:18 AM
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Several weeks back there was a thread discussing how to get the standard Amiga video port to connect to a modern LCD display with component input (as most TVs sold in the USA do not have a SCART input). One suggestion was to use a SCART to component converter box.
I ordered a box off eBay for $40 and finally had a chance to try it out on my Panasonic 42" plasma TV using teh old lead from my A1081.
Here's the box:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1262s.jpg
and here it is connected to the TV on a PAL A1200:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1253s.jpg
The Panasonic allows the 3 inputs on the back to be set as "component" or "RGB". Set on "component" the colours were all wrong:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1257s.jpg
When switched to "RGB" then things got better:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1258s.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1256s.jpg
I tried out a couple of games and the display looked excellent:
Trodlers:
http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/?action=view¤t=100_1254s.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1255s.jpg
Rodland:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1259s.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1260s.jpg
I then dragged out my NTSC A1200 Tower which does have an internal flicker fixer, but I just used the standard video output:
Rodland again (note the clipped screen due to NTSC):
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1268s.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1269s.jpg
Then I tried Workbench:
High Res Interlaced:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1264s.jpg
No flicker! Woot! :-)
OK, let's test a Super High Res Interlaced:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1265s.jpg
OK, that worked, so let's see the Workbench:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/100_1266s.jpg
So, if your monitor can do RGB then the box will work extremely well, but if it is component only then it is useless. For some reason the grey colour of Workbench is tinted pink, but this might be the colour settings on the TV as the more vibrant colours of Rodland look perfect.
I didn't imbed the images directly into this post as they're quite big. Better to just click on a few that you're interested in. ;-)
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Does that box do NTSC or is it your TV that can't scan to NTSC...
Would this box work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SCART-RGB-to-YUV-Component-Video-Converter-Adapter_W0QQitemZ320240085991QQihZ011QQcategoryZ14965QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
If so I'll order a Amiga to scart adapter for my Minimig and A1200.
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Right now I'm working in an YUV converter to be used in any Amiga.
My goal is make the board small enough to fit inside an A520 case, using the 23 pin connector.
The only concern, ATM, is big-box Amigas (1000, 2k, 3k and 4k) have -5V (needed) in the pin 21 of RGB out.
"Low-end" Amigas have -12V in the very same pin, instead.
So far, the BOM price is around 40 USD. When the board is finished I'll give you guys a link to download it, or do it myself for those ppl who doesn't have electronic skills.(http://www.amigabr.org/uploads/smil47e876b1cbff5.gif)
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Darrin wrote:
So, if your monitor can do RGB then the box will work extremely well
If your monitor can do RGB, then you don't need the box.
The Amiga outputs RGB quite nicely all by itself.
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I might have to add that 'converting SCART to anything" is nonsense since SCART can carry various signals (composite, RGB, SVideo) and you'd probably want to convert a specific signal.
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But non-european countries don't have SCART TV sets!
Australians don't have it (and use UK PAL system).
Americans (north, central and south) don't have it either.
So my little DIY hardware will help a lot of people.
And all for less than 50 USD, so far. Cheaper than those "powerful" converter boxes around.
And better: using the old A520 form-factor.
My goal is take the whole old A520 board out and replace it with my hack!
NO butchering. Erm, maybe the 23 pin D-sub...
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mongo wrote:
Darrin wrote:
So, if your monitor can do RGB then the box will work extremely well
If your monitor can do RGB, then you don't need the box.
The Amiga outputs RGB quite nicely all by itself.
Yep, but I wanted this box to output to a LCD TV that only does composite. I tested it on the plasma just to see if the composite would work and luckily I could switch it to RGB to show that it wouldn't. :(
I still want a good Amiga video out to Component solution (and this isn't it). :-)
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Crom00 wrote:
Does that box do NTSC or is it your TV that can't scan to NTSC...
My TV does PAL, NTSC and SECAM and auto-detects. The cropped display on Rodland is because the NTSC Amiga (even when flipped to PAL in the early startup, defaults back to an NTSC screenmode on this particular game this causing missing lines at teh bottom of the screen.
Other NTSC games work fine, or running a PAL workbench on an NTSC machine is fine.
Would this box work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SCART-RGB-to-YUV-Component-Video-Converter-Adapter_W0QQitemZ320240085991QQihZ011QQcategoryZ14965QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Looks like the same one I have.
The PSU that came with the box was 240v only though and I had to use a different one.
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Wondering if it makes sense to use the following:
Amiga rgbto scart...
Connected to: a DVD recoder with a scart input and component output.
Figure if I'm already spending $60 for the box I'd rather spend $60 more for a box that handles more features...
I dunno.
I have a samsung directy HD box that can take composite, RGB and lots of various video and upconvert to feed a VGA monitor. Will mess around with this item. They show up on EBAY for like $30 every now and then...
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Crom00 wrote:
Wondering if it makes sense to use the following:
Amiga rgbto scart...
Connected to: a DVD recoder with a scart input and component output.
I remember trying something like that before with my A1081 RGB to Scart cable by plugging it into a multsystem VCR and then trying to get a picture on the TV - it didn't work. I figued it was either a problem with the VCR or there was something about the Amiga cable that wasn't supplying the correct signal needed.
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> I remember trying something like that before with my A1081 RGB to Scart cable by plugging it into a multsystem VCR and then trying to get a picture on the TV - it didn't work
As already said: SCART != SCART. A standard VCR is a composite device that can only input a composite signal e.g. from SCART. The Amiga outputs RGB only to SCART, so the VCR gets nothing.
The cheapest solution available is an old S-Video (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-Video) genlock ($5-10) - if your TV/monitor supports Y/C. (You should be aware that PAL & NTSC differ in Y/C as well if you buy a genlock from somewhere else.)
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@ Zac67
Cheers for that explaination.
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Darrin wrote:
I still want a good Amiga video out to Component solution (and this isn't it). :-)
I'm working on one.
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mongo wrote:
I'm working on one.
Excellent. Please keep us all posted. Good luck.