WTB: Scandoubler / Flickerfixer

[Crom00]

I've spent for too much time & money any man should have to spend on displays and have learned the following...

There are  problems with using lcd's for Amiga scan doubled displays. Heck.. trying this with big box Amigas fitted with a graphics card like the retina or CV64 can be a hassle.

Why? your video output must match the LCD monitors "optimum" resolution. Anything else is a comprimised solution with some undesireable artifacts...

For instance, I have a Dell 19" that runs at 1280 X 1024 optimum resolution. If I try to run any lower resolutions from my PC's graphics card I get a blocky pixelated effect or soft edges. Sure this montior handles this problem beter than most... but  I want a sharp LCD display dammit!

The same thing happens with my Macbooks display to anything lower than the recommended resolution. Soft hazy edges or unwated pixel artifacts...

However a CRT VGA monitor connected to an Amiga  (with a scanboulber or flicker fixer) handles any Amiga res scan doubled screen just fine, no soft edges, or blockiness.

So if it's a matter of having one display for all your consoles and PC's, I'd go for the LCD route and live with the blockiness.

I deal with this.. I have my Xbox1, PLaystaton2, Dreamcast, Amiga, Xbox360 and PS3 connected to a Hanns G 22" montior. I route the consoles through a component switchbox, and the VGA through another switchbox.
Of all the systems the XBOX HD games,Xbox360,and PS3 look the best because they can do the native 1080i/P that this montor dislays. The dreamccast, Amiga and ps2 look "jaggy or pixelated"


With all that said the best Amiga montior I have was the Toshiba Timm, 20" crt TV, RGB, and VGA. It did 15.75 Klhz. I had 2 of them and recently sold off the last one.

The Hanns-G is the closest I've found in price point and versatility.

If I could do it all over again, I'd find a modern display that can swith ascpect rations from 4:3 and 16:9, and display the Amigs native 15.75 klhz video. I've had the scan doublers but they're so expensive I just sold them off...

So if you're willing to invest the time you can find a montior capable of handling all your needs. One guy on Ebay sold an Amiga 1200 bundle with an HD lcd monitor capable of doing both VGA and Amiga 15.75 klhz RGB.

Make sure you can return the monitor for a full refund.

Sorry for the long post but I've been though this dilema, trying to help...

[Damion]

Some LCDs (better LCD-TVs that is) convert any input signal to its own native resolution. In Europe, you should be set with a good LCD TV and a SCART cable.

Here in the US, our best option is component. My idea is to use an RGB -> component converter in conjunction with a good 15 or 17" LCD TV. If the scaler hardware is decent, it should look great. To me, a 15" LCD TV with a 640x480 resolution seems ideal, as that's close to standard amiga resolutions anyway... and there are a few LCD TVs here that handle both NTSC and PAL via component, and display ALL signals at 480p. (So there shouldn't be any flicker in laced modes.)

I thought about buying an older LCD TV/Monitor (like a Samsung 171MP), which apparently can handle 15 Khz through the VGA port. However... there's no image scaling involved, so chances are amiga video would have that undesirable blocky/blurred effect you describe. In that case, I'd rather stick with a 1084, LOL.

Granted, I have yet to actually try anything... so in reality, a neobitz/jrok board + component + good LCD TV may look terrible. I'll just have to wait and see. ;-)

[Merax]

-D- wrote:
My idea is to use an RGB -> component converter in conjunction with a good 15 or 17" LCD TV.

Do you know where I could get a converter like that?  I'd like to give it a try.  

[Damion]

Merax wrote:

-D- wrote:
My idea is to use an RGB -> component converter in conjunction with a good 15 or 17" LCD TV.

Do you know where I could get a converter like that?  I'd like to give it a try.  

www.neobitz.com -- The s-video version is tested and works fine. It's available as a kit, keeping the cost down a bit. AFAIK, no one has tried the component version with an amiga, but it should work. The component version is not available as a kit. Email the guy, he should mail you back after a while with pricing/ordering info.

www.jrok.com -- This is the one I ordered, it hasn't been tested with the amiga yet. Similar to the neobitz, but it has adjustable RGB pots and jacks on the board. (Remote "jacking" can be done also.)

Both are NTSC through the s-video and composite jacks. There's a PAL version of the jrok, the neobitz can be modified for PAL (both products' encoder chips are capable of either w/ minor modification).  Component output should work fine with either PAL or NTSC (component output doesn't use the encoder), as long as your display device supports both.