XRGB-mini photos (or, how I learned to let go of my CRT...and I am better off)

[ki_atsushi]

I never had jailbars on my RGB modded NES either.

 

[RAZO]

I never had jailbars on my RGB modded NES either.

Dam Straight!

 

[Zenimus]

I never had jailbars on my RGB modded NES either.

I don't have what I would call "jailbars" either, but do you see the issue that I was talking about? It's a very faint vertical line distortion that's only really noticeable on big bright areas of color.

I don't know what causes it, but this is what it looks kinda like. Instead of bright solid orange, you get some faint vertical bars.

 

[Yodd]

I have noticed that sources that might have noticeable jailbars with my PVM, suddenly do not (or to a lesser extent) with the Framemeister.

An RGB modded Duo is a good example. Even using 'thesteve' jailbar fix on my PVM, I notice some very, very faint jailbars on my modded Duo. You have to look for them, but they are there. However pump the same system into the Framemeister and fuck me, I have a hard time seeing them.


I think most of these jailbar issues stem from poor shielding or insufficient power filtering. Power filtering is what leads to most of the jailbars on PCEngine systems and thesteve over @ pcenginefx came up with an easy fix for them that probably knocks out 95% of them.

RGB modded NES systems is probably something similar.

 

[Teddy KGB]

Damn you and this thread Todd. Bought my Mini a couple friends due here in a couple days.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824994063

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005406

Let me tell you, for whatever reason it wasn't as easy as I thought to find an IPS monitor (needed good viewing angles for TATE pew pews) with a native resolution of 1920x1080 (around 24"), something w/ ~5ms lag, HDMI input(s), WITH a standard vesa mount. Your Dell almost sold me but it only could mount to the stand it came with and the 27"er had a higher native res. (most do). I'll post pics once I have everything set up.

 

[RAZO]

Damn you and this thread Todd. Bought my Mini a couple friends due here in a couple days.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824994063

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005406

Let me tell you, for whatever reason it wasn't as easy as I thought to find an IPS monitor (needed good viewing angles for TATE pew pews) with a native resolution of 1920x1080 (around 24"), something w/ ~5ms lag, HDMI input(s), WITH a standard vesa mount. Your Dell almost sold me but it only could mount to the stand it came with and the 27"er had a higher native res. (most do). I'll post pics once I have everything set up.

Are you sure the dell could only mount to the stand it comes with? I have a dell u3011 that is mounted to a ergotron mx. And I could also mount my dell 2007fp to the ergotron mx.

 

[Teddy KGB]

Are you sure the dell could only mount to the stand it comes with? I have a dell u3011 that is mounted to a ergotron mx. And I could also mount my dell 2007fp to the ergotron mx.

Positive. It would've been very limited as it didn't have the standard vesa 100mm or 75mm mount capabilities as it's 27" counterpart. An extensive review regarding the Dell monitor I'm talking about is here. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_s2440l.htm

This is the one Todd has as well I believe. For wanting to do Tate, which was a must for me, it's kinda limiting as a 3rd party stand with standard vesa mounts will not work. You're pretty much limited to the stand it comes with.

 

[RAZO]

Positive. It would've been very limited as it didn't have the standard vesa 100mm or 75mm mount capabilities as it's 27" counterpart. An extensive review regarding the Dell monitor I'm talking about is here. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_s2440l.htm

This is the one Todd has as well I believe. For wanting to do Tate, which was a must for me, it's kinda limiting as a 3rd party stand with standard vesa mounts will not work. You're pretty much limited to the stand it comes with.

Now I see what you mean. It comes with those low mount stands. My viewsonic led monitor had the same kind of stand. I too changed the stock stand that came with my u3011 with ergotron mx because it would not allow me tate it as well. The stock stand would have to raise up pretty high to portrait a 30 inch monitor.

 

[Teddy KGB]

Yup, exactly.

 

[Yodd]

there is an aftermarket addon for the Dell S2440L to allow it to bolt up to standard VESA mounts:

http://www.gladiatorjoe.com/VESA-mount-Adapter-For-Dell-S2440L-GJ0A0012.htm

 

[Teddy KGB]

there is an aftermarket addon for the Dell S2440L to allow it to bolt up to standard VESA mounts:

http://www.gladiatorjoe.com/VESA-mount-Adapter-For-Dell-S2440L-GJ0A0012.htm

Ah, I didn't see that. Regardless, I think I'll be happy with the performance of the LG. Spec wise, it looks on par or better than the Dell. The add-on looks a tad janky as well.

 

[theMot]

i can relate

when i picked up my PVM my wife said "why are you bringing that stupid monitor into the house for?"

She actually knew it was a monitor? Your wife knows her stuff.

 

[skate323k137]

My GF actually loves my game collection, CRTs included, so I guess I'm lucky. I'll still probably want an xrgb mini in the future if I ever decide to move though. I have probably half a dozen CRTs right now, and last time I moved, I hated having to carry them. Add my collection of about 1,000 12" records to that, and I'm never going to want to move again :/

 

[Kristian Meller]

I just ordered an XRGB Mini with a D-Terminal to component cable. I also have a sync thingy Euro Scart adaptor on the way from some store in the UK.

I'll post pics when I have teh Neo up and running with it in 108".

 

[Joneo]

Hey Broken, any chance for an RGB vs. S-Video comparison?
I'm wondering if I'll have to mod some consoles when mine arrives.

 

[TurboCro]

Hey Broken, any chance for an RGB vs. S-Video comparison?
I'm wondering if I'll have to mod some consoles when mine arrives.

No comparison. RGB>ALL

 

[Chunky Lover 53]

Broken do you think you can post some XBLA Neo Geo games with scanlines?

 

[Joneo]

No comparison. RGB>ALL

My question assumes as much, but how much > is what I'm curious to see. The CMVS will go RGB as a matter of convenience.
But I wonder how SNES, N64, Dreamcast and Saturn fare. I'd prefer to leave those stock and on cheaper cabling if the PQ isn't unbearable.

 

[Teddy KGB]

My question assumes as much, but how much > is what I'm curious to see. The CMVS will go RGB as a matter of convenience.
But I wonder how SNES, N64, Dreamcast and Saturn fare. I'd prefer to leave those stock and on cheaper cabling if the PQ isn't unbearable.

Broken makes a SNES RGB cable for pretty cheap. I'd pick one up from him. Dreamcast, I recommend just bypassing the XRGB Mini doing VGA straight through if possible for 480p. Saturn looks fantastic via RGB Scart to the mini. Not sure how I'd quantify the difference b/w composite or S-Vid but it's a substantial difference at least imo. The Mini really shines with 240p consoles (SNES, Genny/MD, Neo), and scaling 480i is great too. When you get to the higher res, more recent consoles, I wouldn't bother running them through the Mini.

Getting a couple more RGB Scart cables is really worth it if you're considering an XRGB and shouldn't cost more than $15 or so a cable.

I could take some comparison photos but something like this would be better captured with some sort of video capture software vs. just taking pics with say, my DSLR.

 

[Joneo]

Broken makes a SNES RGB cable for pretty cheap. I'd pick one up from him. Dreamcast, I recommend just bypassing the XRGB Mini doing VGA straight through if possible for 480p. Saturn looks fantastic via RGB Scart to the mini. Not sure how I'd quantify the difference b/w composite or S-Vid but it's a substantial difference at least imo. The Mini really shines with 240p consoles (SNES, Genny/MD, Neo), and scaling 480i is great too. When you get to the higher res, more recent consoles, I wouldn't bother running them through the Mini.

Getting a couple more RGB Scart cables is really worth it if you're considering an XRGB and shouldn't cost more than $15 or so a cable.

I could take some comparison photos but something like this would be better captured with some sort of video capture software vs. just taking pics with say, my DSLR.

Awesome! Thanks for all the info. I'll definitely have to hit up Broken for a cable when the time comes. My TV lacks a VGA in, so I'm guessing I'll have to go VGA->HDMI at some point... and get a VGA box for the DC. Then there's the matter of a decent SCART switch...

So, I'll probably have to learn to like S-Video for a bit while gathering up all the new gear.

If you have time to take a couple pics, I'd be interested for sure. I question how dramatic it would be in person if the difference isn't discernible via your higher end camera.

 

[Teddy KGB]

Awesome! Thanks for all the info. I'll definitely have to hit up Broken for a cable when the time comes. My TV lacks a VGA in, so I'm guessing I'll have to go VGA->HDMI at some point... and get a VGA box for the DC. Then there's the matter of a decent SCART switch...

So, I'll probably have to learn to like S-Video for a bit while gathering up all the new gear.

If you have time to take a couple pics, I'd be interested for sure. I question how dramatic it would be in person if the difference isn't discernible via your higher end camera.

No prob. I'll try to take some photos shortly with a proper set up, with a tripod etc. However, I still think a true video capture tool (like a lot of the video game review guys on YT use) would be the best.

In the mean time, check out this pretty exhaustive review. He tries various consoles comparing different methods (RGB, Composite etc.)

He talks a lot in the beginning but I think it's good info. Otherwise, skip to about the 19:00 mark.

And finally, if you haven't already (you probably have) check out probably one of the most comprehensive reviews for it here.

http://retrogaming.hazard-city.de/framemeister.html

 

[Joneo]

Thanks man! It's pretty encouraging to see lowly composite fare that well, so I'd bet S-Video is extremely acceptable.
I was familiar with both references, but skipped past the input comparison the first time.

Ultimately the N64 & SNES are destined for RGB mods, but S-Video cables & switches are on hand now.

 

[Kiel]

you dont need to mod the snes for rgb

 

[Kristian Meller]

So what kinda settings do y'all use for scanlines? Mine are at 100 now, which was a marked improvement over 80.

 

[Joneo]

you dont need to mod the snes for rgb

I'd anticipated using an SNES-2, which AFAIK would need the mod. If going RGB eliminates the banding (as seen over composite/s-video), I'd be glad to switch back though.