Offical Omega CMVS Tech Support Thread

madman

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I believe the UniBIOS offered in the Omega is the "free" (a version behind) release, thus no manual. I just went ahead and bought one to support Raz even though I could always burn my own and be one rev behind. There is generally no sign a game is "dying" it's fairly binary, a game works fine until it doesn't. Someone had a similar MS3 issue here: http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?240805-MVS-Metal-Slug-3-CRC-NG and there are other threads around the NG results if you use the SEARCH. FUNCTION.
 
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wingzrow

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I believe the UniBIOS offered in the Omega is the "free" (a version behind) release, thus no manual. I just went ahead and bought one to support Raz even though I could always burn my own and be one rev behind. There is generally no sign a game is "dying" it's fairly binary, a game works fine until it doesn't. Someone had a similar MS3 issue here: http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?240805-MVS-Metal-Slug-3-CRC-NG and there are other threads around the NG results if you use the SEARCH. FUNCTION.

I'm over in Lincolnwood. Come over here & yell at me in person :thevt:. It's odd you mention him using the free version of Razoola's bios chip though. On my bios screen it's listed as Version 3.3. I thought the free version only goes up to 3.2? Wouldn't that mean he's buying legitimate bios chips when he makes these CMVS boards?
 

madman

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I'm over in Lincolnwood. Come over here & yell at me in person :thevt:. It's odd you mention him using the free version of Razoola's bios chip though. On my bios screen it's listed as Version 3.3. I thought the free version only goes up to 3.2? Wouldn't that mean he's buying legitimate bios chips when he makes these CMVS boards?

Honestly I don't know what he does now, my Omega was bought secondhand and it was clearly not an official one from Raz. It might've even said free version or whatever on boot, I don't know and I've probably wiped the chip by now. Does it have a serial number when it boots? Otherwise, enjoy your Internet tough guy routine.
 

wingzrow

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It just says "UNIVERSE BIOS 3.3 by RAZOOLA". I don't see any serial number on it. If there's suppose to be a serial number on the bios menu screen then 'm not seeing it. Could be he dumped the chip, edited it, & now he's burning his own for free. If that's the case I gotta send Razoola something for it, that's just not right. Seriously though, if you're ever near lincolnwood let me know. Beers are on me.

edit: I'm retarded. Did you mean on the chip itself?
 
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madman

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It just says "UNIVERSE BIOS 3.3 by RAZOOLA". I don't see any serial number on it. If there's suppose to be a serial number on the bios menu screen then 'm not seeing it. Could be he dumped the chip, edited it, & now he's burning his own for free. If that's the case I gotta send Razoola something for it, that's just not right. Seriously though, if you're ever near lincolnwood let me know. Beers are on me.

Shoot Raz an email, or he's in chat during the day he can tell you for sure. Either way, you've got the latest version that's out so you're set from that standpoint. Go into the menu, choose "soft reset" or reboot, I can't recall, that screen should either have a serial or say "free version" when it says what mode/region you're set to. Beyond that...ask Raz.

Edit: Well there is no free version of 3.3, so nevermind...
 
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wingzrow

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Shoot Raz an email, or he's in chat during the day he can tell you for sure. Either way, you've got the latest version that's out so you're set from that standpoint. Go into the menu, choose "soft reset" or reboot, I can't recall, that screen should either have a serial or say "free version" when it says what mode/region you're set to. Beyond that...ask Raz.

Edit: Well there is no free version of 3.3, so nevermind...

Ok I see the serial number you're talking about when I do a soft reset. Weird that he didn't included a bios manual if he's getting real chips though. Even if he's not, it's only a page or 2 of options. Then again, if it's only a page or two I can just look it up online. Would have been a nice bonus in any case.
 

cdamm

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quan has a deal with raz. he pays raz for the rights to uni and quan can freely install it to his device. as well as provide upgrades into the future. its a particular deal between those two.
 

Doom

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So far it works fine in RGB. HOWEVER, I am noticing a very, & I mean very slight image problem that seems to happen a minute or so after booting a game (this also happens in the bios so it's not a game issue).

Basically the entire screen shakes for a split second. There's nothing else I can describe it as. I've only tested it on my PVM. Will let you guys know if it happens on my BVM too. I have a hunch playing it on a 16:9 display might fix the problem.

So it never ends. I wonder what the problem is there, do you get that with all connections?
 

wingzrow

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So it never ends. I wonder what the problem is there, do you get that with all connections?

I didn't even occur to me to test composite & holy shit. This is the worst composite signal I've ever seen, & I regularly watch VHS tapes & laserdiscs. I didn't intend to use either S-Video or Composite, but this is just horrible.

composite 1.jpgcomposite 2.jpg

Issue 3: just tested S-Video & there's a wavy line that constantly goes through the entire image. I'm convinced now that this is the same damn issue Doom had, & not isolated to just him. Going to test this on my 1000 line BVM now & see if the RGB is at least ok on there. If not then I'm returning it. I bought this solely for RGB, so as long as it does what I bought it for I'm fine with it, but this composite & S-Video quality is a fucking joke fr the price I paid.
 
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Niko

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I have some slight jitter with my Omega aswell but I have mine hooked to a LCD via component, so I just chalked it up to some post processing shit the TV is doing. I dont recall ever seeing it when it was connect though RGB on my PVM.

Also, you're trippin. That composite looks pretty good in the screenshots.
 

wyo

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Xian Xi CMVS is superior to the Omega. Read my sig you faget and you would know this :D
 

wingzrow

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Also, you're trippin.
well you can't really see a moving wave pass through the entire image in a static image. BVM seems to handle it fine. Looking really close there might be SOME very slight image "jitter", but that could easily just be my imagination. In general the RGB seems fine. Here's the RGB on my BVM, nothing really out of the normal. It's the compisite & S-Video that look bad.

02.jpgrgb 1000 line.jpg03.jpg

Xian Xi CMVS is superior to the Omega. Read my sig you faget and you would know this :D
This is all your fault wyo. Why didn't you save me from myself?
 

Doom

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Yeah it's kinda funny I sort of like the composite screenshots there, and less so those beefy thick scanlines on the bvm. XD

That being said camera pictures of screens rarely reflect the actual quality, I can assume the composite colors are terrible and the BVM probably pops with glorious colors. Glad the BVM seems to run it fine then. The composite and s-video on the Omega really are bad, I remember on my crt's there were these weird interference lines running amok. Component was much better but there were still some residue of that interference, and on top of that I had the dancing effect on my crt's. I have a bunch of gaming systems that run on s-video and look glorious. Even the Sega Genesis which supposedly uses the same video encoder as the Omega runs beautifully (modded of course). I don't know why the Omega has such odd issues.

On my LCD I had the same jitter (I assume it was the same) as Niko49 mentions. Picture kind of going up down in a rapid continuous fashion.
 
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wingzrow

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Yeah it's kinda funny I sort of like the composite screenshots there, and less so those beefy thick scanlines on the bvm. XD

That being said camera pictures of screens rarely reflect the actual quality, I can assume the composite colors are terrible and the BVM probably pops with glorious colors. Glad the BVM seems to run it fine then. The composite and s-video on the Omega really are bad, I remember on my crt's there were these weird interference lines running amok. Component was much better but there were still some residue of that interference, and on top of that I had the dancing effect on my crt's. I have a bunch of gaming systems that run on s-video and look glorious. Even the Sega Genesis which supposedly uses the same video encoder as the Omega runs beautifully (modded of course). I don't know why the Omega has such odd issues.

On my LCD I had the same jitter (I assume it was the same) as Niko49 mentions. Picture kind of going up down in a rapid continuous fashion.

Well, that's why I have the 600 line PVM & the 1000 line BVM so I can switch between the two for color correction & trouble shooting purposes. I use the PVM for most of my RGB stuff, & the BVM for PS2/xbox/dreamcast/wii/gamecube/wii-U. breath of the wild in 720p is great on that thing, but it's too sharp for 240p. Definitely taking my business to JNX in the future. The only thing that would have been worse is if it didn't do RGB properly. Going to eBay the thing eventually, there's just no reason for it to be this bad. But hey, at least it looks pretty right?
 

madman

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I dunno if maybe he switched encoders, but I used my Omega a lot w/component on an LCD TV without issue. And I generally notice any noise or other image problems. I only use RGB through my xrgb now and it's also fine. Don't even have the cable for composite or s-video as far as I know.
 

Neo Alec

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FYI, a terrible composite signal is normal on any consolized MVS.

The Unibios is really easy to use. Not all official ones have a serial number (you don't have to provide one when you order it from Raz). You're gonna be fine.
 

wingzrow

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I dunno if maybe he switched encoders, but I used my Omega a lot w/component on an LCD TV without issue. And I generally notice any noise or other image problems. I only use RGB through my xrgb now and it's also fine. Don't even have the cable for composite or s-video as far as I know.

I've got a feeling there's a sega genesis encoder in it, not one of the good models either. Granted, I've never seen a stock AES in composite, but I played the hell out of a Model 2 SEGA Genesis as a kid & it immediately reminded me of that. It's not even comparable to something like the NES's composite signal. It's all a mute point since I don't intend to play it in composite anyway, but I could see someone complaining about it down the line if I end up going the JNX route when I want to replace it. Strictly as an RGB machine it's tops.

FYI, a terrible composite signal is normal on any consolized MVS.

The Unibios is really easy to use. Not all official ones have a serial number (you don't have to provide one when you order it from Raz). You're gonna be fine.

It's got a serial number. I had no idea where it was, but I found it when madman pointed out where to look. I've heard how bad composite was on AES consoles, but is there no way to get around that by using a high quality encoder when building a CMVS? I'm no expert on video signals, it just seems really bad to me, even when compared to my stock NES, PS1, Wii, etc.
 

Razoola

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Just to confirm, Quan does not use the free Unibios version in the Omega, he uses the latest official Universe bios version, meaning each one has a unique serial number and eligable for free upgrade.
 

Neo Alec

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It's got a serial number. I had no idea where it was, but I found it when madman pointed out where to look. I've heard how bad composite was on AES consoles, but is there no way to get around that by using a high quality encoder when building a CMVS? I'm no expert on video signals, it just seems really bad to me, even when compared to my stock NES, PS1, Wii, etc.
The encoder in the Omega is probably fine. You can make an AES better by using an encoder, but you really only need to cut some traces, and that's only on certain models. The encoder really shouldn't be necessary. Honestly none of the encoders you can buy looks as good as composite on say a Dreamcast or PS2 anyway.
 

Xian Xi

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The encoder in the Omega is probably fine. You can make an AES better by using an encoder, but you really only need to cut some traces, and that's only on certain models. The encoder really shouldn't be necessary. Honestly none of the encoders you can buy looks as good as composite on say a Dreamcast or PS2 anyway.

Encoder in the Omega for S-video and Composite is the same as the one in the AES, CXA1145.
 

GohanX

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Yeah, and I may remind everyone of the dark times before video mods, the composite quality of home systems is shit. My old Neobitz based CMVS had really bad composite as well.
 

wingzrow

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Encoder in the Omega for S-video and Composite is the same as the one in the AES, CXA1145.
Well that explains it then. I had no idea the AES & a bunch of SEGA genesis models use the same encoder, so that explains the video clarity, but it doesn't explain the waves in the signal I'm seeing. Oh well, RGB machine it is I guess. Not like I was going to play in composite or S-Video anyway.
 

Xian Xi

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Well that explains it then. I had no idea the AES & a bunch of SEGA genesis models use the same encoder, so that explains the video clarity, but it doesn't explain the waves in the signal I'm seeing. Oh well, RGB machine it is I guess. Not like I was going to play in composite or S-Video anyway.

Waves in the signal itself is mostly the load capacitance difference between the crystal and cap. There should be a trim pot that you can adjust to help it a bit, just turn it slowly.
 

basic

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Are these still being produced and sold? Checking on the web site it does say something about Midwest Gaming Classic...but just wanted to make sure nonetheless.
 
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