PVM Display Issues (Sync prob?)

Capitalistix

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Hey yall,

I recently picked up a PVM 2530 and as soon as I got it home I hooked up the DB25-> female scart cable that it needs to accept RGB. I then plugged in my SNES with a RGB scart cable into that and I got this weird tearing image. Whats going on here? If I had to guess Id say its a sync issue of some sort? Do I need a sync stripper with these monitors? There was a youtube video on this model by Phonedork in which he seemed to say they werent picky about sync.

Confused, I then pulled out my genesis and hooked it up via scart->db25 connection and much of the same happened, except as you can see, the picture has a very green hue to it all of the sudden? The colors were accurate on the snes. Then lastly, I tried the genesis via a shitty composite cable into the composite terminal on the back (BNC->RCA adapter) and I got this pic of Sonic 2. Everything looks fine! (except it shitty composite of course) What gives? Does this mean its a scart cable issue? Should I be getting cables with only a certain type of sync for these monitors? DO I need a sync stripper? Or is this indicitive of some other problem entirely?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!







 

Dochartaigh

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I would research a couple things: the sync stripper for sure. I know some of these older 'cube' style PVM's will only take clean csync (I thought the style that use the weird non-scart connector like yours seems to have but I could be mistaken). Most (if not all I thought) Genesis models output csync so that one should be fine (SNES, depending on the version, and/or the cables you use, can differ).

That leads me to believe your cables are messed up - most likely the SCART cables. This has screwed me up more than a few times. Depending on if a cable is being used as an input or output, and also if it's a male or female SCART connector, the pin it uses for sync changes. I had to rewire my SCART cable when I went of my Extron Crosspoint switcher to run to my OSSC and my Framemeister, to my Shinybow SB-2840 (RGBS to YPbPr converter for consumer TV's), and even had to switch the pins on a regular male to male SCART cable when I hooked up my Raspberry Pi 3 into the Crosspoint as well.

I'm not going to lie, the above can be confusing as shit, and anymore to take the guess work out of it I just desolder the sync wire in the SCART head (usually pin 19 or 21? if my memory serves) and just touch it to the other pin to make sure I get the correct signal before I solder it in place.

OR, sorry to say, your PVM just might have a hardware problem. Have you messed with all the settings, if it's in external or internal sync, what the color space is, if it's set to component or RGBS? (this varies with the models and I don't own your exact model to tell you much more than that).
 
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skate323k137

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2530 absolutely needs a sync stripper. Order scart cables with them or learn to just wire one into your cable/scart hood. Alternately some systems provide csync on it's own pin, eliminating the need for a stripper if you get a "properly" wired cable. I say that because using composite video for sync is actually the scart standard and us yanks are the ones that have to mess with it to get just sync on that pin.
 
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wyo

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Are your SCART cables wired for c-sync or composite video?

The 2530 is a pain in the ass when it comes to sync. There's conflicting information out there as well, which doesn't help. Some people say composite sync only, others claim composite video as sync works better. I don't have a 2530 myself but I do have a couple of 2030 models which are not picky at all. Go figure...

I can add a sync stripper to the SCART to DB25 if you'd like to send it back ;)
 

Dochartaigh

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2530 absolutely needs a sync stripper.

The thing is Genesis almost always uses csync cables, especially if he got the cables from popular stores like Retro-Access and RetroGamingCables, so if he's having problems with that there's definitely something else going on which probably doesn't have anything to do with a sync stripper. Not saying he doesn't need one for other systems, just not the Genesis most likely.




The 2530 is a pain in the ass when it comes to sync. There's conflicting information out there as well, which doesn't help. Some people say composite sync only, others claim composite video as sync works better. I don't have a 2530 myself but I do have a couple of 2030 models which are not picky at all. Go figure...

Ditto for my PVM-3230 which is the same cube type as the 2030 and 2530. I run like 14 systems to it over csync (which my Extron Crosspoints require) and it's perfect with all of them sync-wise.
 
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Capitalistix

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Thanks for all the help yall. The biggest and most glaring issue, the torn picture, has been resolved. I researched it further and saw there was a stupid "Sync on Green" On/Off Switch on the back just above where that DB25 goes in. It came with it switched on so I turned it off and the warble-y picture is now gone.

That said I now have a 2-3 new issues. I had the SNES connected via some budget ass scart cable to the DB25 cable, and after playing for roughtly 4-5 minutes, the tube just turned off, or went into standby I suppose. I thought it was odd so I researched it online and someone was saying somehting about cables needing to be properly grounded. I thought maybe my scart cable was just lame, and I have a seemingly much higher quality one laying around from Retro Gaming Cables, one that labels it as having "CSYNC" so I hooked that one up and put in a different game and Ive been staring at the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy start screen for going on 20 minutes as I write this, so Im assuming that was a problem with the other cable? If so should I just go ahead and get all cables I plan to use on this setup from this same manufacturer and have them wired for "CSYNC"? Or should I get a sync stripper? Or both?

The second issue is that I also have my Laseractive hooked up via composite and it did the same thing (shut off to standby) after a minute or two. So what could explain that?

The last and final issue I seem to be having (that Im discovering as Im writing this and staring at the screen) Is that the screen about 3 minutes ago started to spasm a bit. Basically the piscture acted jittery and the screen geometry started to flutter, picture became slightly squeezed for a second then back out and in etc. But now its relatively stable looking. Is this indicative of a PSU problem? Or perhaps it needs a recapping? Ive seen this kind of stuff on arcade monitors before and if I remember right everyone just throws a cap kit at those monitors and for the most part they keep in trucking. But I cant remember if these are the same kind of symptoms.
 

90s

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I had the SNES connected via some budget ass scart cable to the DB25 cable, and after playing for roughtly 4-5 minutes, the tube just turned off, or went into standby I suppose. I thought it was odd so I researched it online and someone was saying somehting about cables needing to be properly grounded. I thought maybe my scart cable was just lame, and I have a seemingly much higher quality one laying around from Retro Gaming Cables, one that labels it as having "CSYNC" so I hooked that one up and put in a different game and Ive been staring at the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy start screen for going on 20 minutes as I write this, so Im assuming that was a problem with the other cable? If so should I just go ahead and get all cables I plan to use on this setup from this same manufacturer and have them wired for "CSYNC"? Or should I get a sync stripper? Or both?

If you find a solution for this, I would like to hear about it. I encountered a similar issue and pretty much gave up on my 2530 and now just use my 2030. For me, it seems like the longer I have the monitor on it affects when it will shut off. If I play for 30 minutes or so at a time (and not back to back), I usually don't have issues. If I have longer sessions (like over an hour), the monitor seemed to shut off. Turning it back on after that it would only last like 5 minutes before it went to standby mode again. I figured this was not a cable issue since I use the same cable with my 2030, but I don't know. I use a retro gaming cable to an scart switch. It was just real annoying and I went back to my 2030. If you figure it out, it would be nice to hear about it. Good luck.

I think I made a thread about this some time back.
 
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skate323k137

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This shit isn't rocket science. There are a million threads on this.

If the cable is wired for csync then you should not need a stripper. If it's wired for cvid then you EITHER need a stripper or a csync cable instead.

As far as the monitor shutting off or hitting protection mode that could be an internal issue with the display, or in theory, a signal missing the correct resistors/caps (i.e. a genesis 1 without resistors/caps is blindingly bright)
 
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segasonicfan

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If you find a solution for this, I would like to hear about it.
IIRC from my work on PVMs years ago, they have a watchdog circuit that shuts them off if the signal voltage is too high. So yes, this has to do with determination resistors likely in your cable. The inputs have a max voltage P-P, if you go over that, it will shut off (usually on a white screen where signals are maxed out).
 
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