ao486 Config for a Plain Old CRT TV

[FoxbatStargazer]

No matter what modeline i use, i get a rolling screen unless i set direct_video=1.

Maybe the parameters for the ioboard vga output are not the same when using hdmi to vga/rgb adapters.

To reiterate, your modeline is irrelevant when using direct video, its just using whatever resolution the core decides on. So yes the direct video resolution settings are different, but you can't control them!

Direct_video seem to pass through some modifications of the analog signal that will not appear from HDMI otherwise. Ypbpr and csync in the ini normally only affect the analog out, that might be passed along HDMI when you use direct video. I'm not so sure about the SoG switch.

I don't know how your "VGA adapter" is connecting to your TV. I'm assuming its HDMI->VGA, and then VGA->?. You might need to find a more fully featured adapter if you ever want to move beyond direct video, or else get a working I/O board (which can use ypbpr/csync in conjunction with vga_scaler)

I will say direct video seems to display 200p DOS games pixel-perfect, just maybe not centered where you will like. 720x400 DOS OTOH will always be slightly ugly (though still readable), though maybe by changing the vmode within DOS you can get around that.

[thorr]

I got a new Sony 20-KVFV300 CRT and spent quite a bit of time on it. I set up the TV service menu geometry to work well with SNES and NES. I tried to find a happy medium vertically for 224p and 239p resolutions. 239p is cropped by about 6-7 lines on the top and bottom, but 224p fills most of the screen with tiny black bars on top and bottom. I wanted to make 224p my primary geometry because most consoles use that. My TV has a couple of horizontal white lines in the upper left corner that I try to move above the screen so they are not displayed, and keep as much of the normal lines visible as possible. If anyone tries my numbers and finds the geometry is slightly off compared to their settings, this may be the reason.

For ao486, here is my video mode for maximizing the vertical screen size for 320x200 games and DOS. There are still black bars on the top and bottom, but they are as small as I can get them and still have it be in sync on the monitor. The left and right side go right to the edge without cutting anything off.
[ao486]
; Set it to "Variable" in the ao486 core instead of 60Hz
direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=3
video_mode=1280,95,140,187,240,11,0,19,27543 ; best for 320x200 and DOS

The above will cut off the top and bottom on 320x240 games like Epic Pinball. I still need to work on settings for this mode.

In the meantime, for the menu, currently I have these settings, but I may tweak them further:
vscale_border=5 ; vscale_border=5 does not work with ao486
video_mode=1280,112,140,178,240,0,0,18,26445

[akeley]

@thorr: did try your latest...work ok, though the difference is not that big compared to other ones. I guess this is pretty much as good as it gets - which is great already. Actually, DOS itself is now squashed and looks kinda 320x200, but that's ok.

I was doing some random comparisons vs games on my PC+VGA CRT and was thinking about AR. Obviously the VGA monitor has 4:3 AR while this method yields a squashed image...a bit like Amiga. I don't suppose there is any chance to produce a 4:3 modeline (or force 320x240?), even if it had some more black bars on the left/right?

I'm just curious really... now, in theory 4:3 should be a standard, but I think in practice not all the games were produced with it in mind (unlike for consoles). Some (most?) DOS games look ok in 4:3, but some do look too stretched (Advanced Destroyer Simulator is a good example, because it has a lot of round dials).

Also, an unrelated thing: I fired up Conan the Cimmerian(1991) and saw that some colours are different - if anybody wants to check, just Restore Game and look at the buildings. In Dosbox on my Windows IPS panel they are white-ish, like marble. Here, both on a CRT TV & VGA (real DOS PC) they look similar to the streets - shade of brown. Why the difference? I know the LCD tech, and Win colour profiles might differ from CRTs, but have never seen such pronounced discrepancy. It's also odd, because you'd've thought the marble one was the intended colour...

[FoxbatStargazer]

The games are 320x200 and you are displaying them on what is likely 240p(244p) display at 60hz. So either you eat some ugly scaling, or you're going to have some black bars on top and bottom. (Or maybe you can really push your vsize TV adjustment?)

The horizontal resolution of CRTs is more arbitrary so we have some choices here. Given you accept black bars on top/bottom to get the vertical resolution right, you have to either stretch games edge to edge (giving that squashed/PAL look), OR you can put black bars on the sides too, to try and get a 4:3ish image in the center. The settings I posted used 720 wide or 1440 wide to get the full 720 DOS text resolution, if you turn on HV Integer scale, then the games will only go to 640 or 1280 wide, leaving black on either side, which will end up not exactly but very close to 4:3. So if you want to try 4:3 look I would recommend those.

To be clear on a real PC monitor you would always see 4:3 and yes, the pixels would be tall. Devs varied on how much they corrected their games with what is essentially 16:10 if you treat as square pixels. Everything in Doom is kind of fat and intended to be squashed together for example. But a more interesting example is duke nukem 2, where the proportions on the large-style intro scene art are very fat and meant to be compressed to 4:3, however the game itself seems to use perfect squares in level design that get squished to tall rectangles on a 4:3 display. 4:3 is how we played it at the time (unless you really wanted to use vertical adjustments to put black bars on top/bottom), but of course its your choice how you want to play the games now.

[akeley]

The games are 320x200 and you are displaying them on what is likely 240p(244p) display at 60hz. So either you eat some ugly scaling, or you're going to have some black bars on top and bottom. (Or maybe you can really push your vsize TV adjustment?)

I've been dealing with this TV maths thing for years, but it somehow still remains black magic for me. My simpleton of a brain just struggles to visualize it. After all, the arcade/console resolutions are also in the 190-240 range, and yet it's possible to fill the screen with them. I know you're obvioulsy correct, it's just...ah, nevermind I guess I'll never "get" it.

Sure, I could stretch it in the service menu, but then it'd mess up everything else, so...

The settings I posted used 720 wide or 1440 wide to get the full 720 DOS text resolution, if you turn on HV Integer scale, then the games will only go to 640 or 1280 wide, leaving black on either side, which will end up not exactly but very close to 4:3. So if you want to try 4:3 look I would recommend those.

I did try these from 2 pages ago, with the "video_mode=1440,40,136,176,240,3,10,6,27000" modeline. When I measured the result with a tape, the ratio was ~1.5 which is indeed better than 1.6 of 320x200. Still, would it be possible to push it even more towards 1.33 (4:3)? The black bars are ok, since on 21" TV the image is still bigger than even on a large PC monitor.

To be clear on a real PC monitor you would always see 4:3 and yes, the pixels would be tall. Devs varied on how much they corrected their games with what is essentially 16:10 if you treat as square pixels.

Yes, it's rather interesting, and overall all the different AR results don't really bother me (the only thing I can't bear is bad scaling). People like me, who also grew up with machines like PAL Amiga got used to all kinds of TV weirdness. Back then we didn't have much choice but now it's nice to be able to experiment with different methods and settings.

[thorr]

Before you said the side borders were too big, and now you want big side borders, lol. If you try my previous settings with the too big borders, they should be closer to 4:3. Getting an even more 4:3 mode should be possible, but personally, I would rather fill the screen than having a huge black border all the way around. If you really want this, I can try when I get a chance.

[akeley]

Before you said the side borders were too big, and now you want big side borders

Of course, that's the beauty of MiSTer + CRTs It's so easy to experiment and tinker. In the RPi+Pi2SCART or crtemudriver world it's more of a struggle and not that fun.

But like I said, I'm happy with what we have already, anything else would be a bonus*. Filling the entire screen would be ideal, but is said to be impossible, so... The 320x200 nearly-wall-to-wall config is great, but a more 4:3-ish one would be nice too.

*cough*...DOS programs...*cough*

[thorr]

a more 4:3-ish one would be nice too.

You're right! Try these... I am quite pleased, but still experimenting. These may be as good as it gets.
[ao486]
; Set it to "Variable" in the ao486 core instead of 60Hz
direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=3
video_mode=1280,159,140,248,240,11,0,19,29568 ; Good for 320x200 games, not 320x240

[thorr]

I did some more tweaking. I think this is my final version. It is extremely close to 4x3 aspect ratio and has the smallest border I could get and keep it at 59.94Hz and stay in sync.
[ao486]
; Set it to "Variable" in the ao486 core instead of 60Hz
direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=3
video_mode=1280,152,140,261,240,15,0,19,30105 ; 4x3 for 320x200 games, 16.42kHz, 59.94Hz

Some TV's may have trouble syncing at 16.42kHz. My settings in the previous post might work if this post doesn't, as they are slightly less aggressive, or you can try reducing the 30105 number, but you will lower the 59.94Hz and might get tearing in games.

(Right click and Open Image in New Tab (in Firefox) and click on it to see the full resolution.)

n4DpnWh.jpeg (1.9 MiB) Viewed 17331 times

VW56HSf.jpeg (1.78 MiB) Viewed 17331 times

vAbSBxJ.jpeg (2.21 MiB) Viewed 17331 times

For your reference and comparison, this is how I set up my CRT geometry with the SNES. This is the Grid at 256x224. I have minimal borders on the top and bottom. The upper right corner is slightly cut off and I need to open the CRT to try to fix that.

fjwZDMW.jpeg (1.67 MiB) Viewed 17331 times

[thorr]

Here are my new timings for the Menu. They provide pixel perfection when running the Update_All script.

[Menu]
direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=1
video_mode=640,65,60,108,224,16,0,26,13919 ; 15.94kHz 59.94 Hz Best 7-8-2021

HcChwgn.jpeg (1.56 MiB) Viewed 17335 times

[hiddenbyleaves]

Really, really cool! Thanks for working this stuff out guys.

[akeley]

16.42 Khz...whoosh! Living dangerously Yeah, my TV said "nope!" to that. Bit odd, as it's one of the newer, very flexible Trinitrons, but what can you do. I think it might something to do with it being from PAL region, even though it's NTSC capable (I also can't change from "60Hz" to "variable" in OSD because it blows things up).
But, it's okay, the other (29568 ) settings are pretty good too, even though bars are bigger. I measured the ratio and it's ~1.42 - not bad!

Interestingly, the DOS is still squashed since the last few days, like in 320x200. Not sure why. It doesn't bother me, but I'm curious why it's different from you and foxbat. I attach my .ini, if you ever find a minute, take a look, maybe you'll see something odd.

[thorr]

16.42 Khz...whoosh! Living dangerously Yeah, my TV said "nope!" to that. Bit odd, as it's one of the newer, very flexible Trinitrons, but what can you do. I think it might something to do with it being from PAL region, even though it's NTSC capable (I also can't change from "60Hz" to "variable" in OSD because it blows things up).
But, it's okay, the other (29568 ) settings are pretty good too, even though bars are bigger. I measured the ratio and it's ~1.42 - not bad!

Interestingly, the DOS is still squashed since the last few days, like in 320x200. Not sure why. It doesn't bother me, but I'm curious why it's different from you and foxbat. I attach my .ini, if you ever find a minute, take a look, maybe you'll see something odd.

I have lots of stuff to say to a short reply.
- For the variable setting, try changing the vsync_adjust setting to other values that have more lag. It might make it work.
- The 29568 works for you? Excellent. I think the ratio can be fixed. I didn't spend time measuring it and getting it exact with that mode. The thing that pushes the limits is getting the vertical as small as possible. Increasing the horizontal margins is most likely doable.
- No need to look at your .ini. The height of DOS is the same as 320x200 video modes. Dos has a 400 vertical resolution so it is double 200. It was previously filling the screen because you didn't have one to one pixel mapping set up. Now that it is pixel perfection in 320x200, it affects the vertical sizing of DOS.

[_javi_]

Every new post and modeline gives me hopes and i try again, only to find the same problem:

Rolling vertical image. (Some modelines scroll slow and others do it fast)

I always get the vertical rolling screen when forcing modelines and turning off direct_video

direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=3
video_mode=1440,40,136,176,240,3,10,6,27000

I get ultra clear picture with that ini, but it scrolls up slowly. What parameters should i fine tune??

PS: Maybe i should note that i'm using an HDMI to VGA adapter. Then VGA to RGBs custom wiring. (Works a charm with other cores)

[akeley]

@thorr:
-if you feel like tweaking it all further, go ahead - I think I'll take a break and play some games finally Guybrush still looks a bit chunky but I think it's cuter this way. And 1.42 is pretty close to 1.33 already...
-re: "variable", I did try adjusting vsync but it's still not working. But then, it doesn't really seem necessary anyway.
-DOS is not really pixel pefect, well, not in the programs at least (but that's where it matters). It'd be nice to have it sorted but one can get used to the warped Dos Navigator look, and there aren't many games which use this mode (some early ones only, I think)

@_javi_: please attach your entire config. You can also try switching composite sync=0/1 when you change direct video.

[_javi_]

@_javi_: please attach your entire config. You can also try switching composite sync=0/1 when you change direct video.

changing composite sync made no difference. Still scrolling

[thorr]

Every new post and modeline gives me hopes and i try again, only to find the same problem:

Rolling vertical image. (Some modelines scroll slow and others do it fast)

I always get the vertical rolling screen when forcing modelines and turning off direct_video

direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=3
video_mode=1440,40,136,176,240,3,10,6,27000

I get ultra clear picture with that ini, but it scrolls up slowly. What parameters should i fine tune??

PS: Maybe i should note that i'm using an HDMI to VGA adapter. Then VGA to RGBs custom wiring. (Works a charm with other cores)

I plugged that mode into the calculator here: https://www.epanorama.net/faq/vga2rgb/calc.html
Both the Horizontal and Vertical are too low. Try changing the last number to 27820. When you plug it into the calculator, you need to use 27.82 in the Pixel clock frequency box. If that doesn't work, try starting at 27100 and increase it 100 at a time and see if you can get the scrolling to stop. Once it is stable, you can move it up, down, left and right with the buttons in the tool above. If it moves it too far left or right, you can see how it affects the numbers 8 at a time and move it 1 or 2 at a time manually by just typing the numbers instead of using the buttons.

[thorr]

@thorr:
-if you feel like tweaking it all further, go ahead - I think I'll take a break and play some games finally Guybrush still looks a bit chunky but I think it's cuter this way. And 1.42 is pretty close to 1.33 already...
-re: "variable", I did try adjusting vsync but it's still not working. But then, it doesn't really seem necessary anyway.
-DOS is not really pixel pefect, well, not in the programs at least (but that's where it matters). It'd be nice to have it sorted but one can get used to the warped Dos Navigator look, and there aren't many games which use this mode (some early ones only, I think)

@_javi_: please attach your entire config. You can also try switching composite sync=0/1 when you change direct video.

I may give it a go just to help you and others out who can benefit, when time permits. I know what you mean about just taking a break and playing games. I am not quite there yet. I am building an arcade cabinet with a rotatable screen and interchangeable control panels and I can't wait to finish it. Then I will stop for awhile and start playing games.

The variable setting affects "Second Reality" and probably other things. If it doesn't affect what you are using, then no need to worry about it.

DOS will never be pixel perfect unless you use Vmode 6 or similar, but this does not work with many text based applications. The resolution is too high and this is a limitation of 240p. Now if we were to get 480i support in the scaler, then we would have the goods.

[akeley]

This 1440 modeline is from Foxbat, it works fine on my TV. But he's missing the other bits:
video_mode=1440,40,136,176,240,3,10,6,27000
direct_video=0
vscale_border=20
vscale_mode=0

@_javi_ : you need to change the other values as well, like above, not just "video_mode". I've looked at your config, apart from that it seems okay, but you can download mine from few posts up and try it too, it won't hurt.

The only other thing I can think of is that your cable might be not up to scratch. When I first started I got a AG6200 based DAC, and a MiSt VGA cable. Most cores worked fine with that, but few caused problems (like Atari ST and ao486 as well) - the image was rolling. I thought it's something in the config or cores, but others have reported them working. Eventually, one day I tried Ultimate SCART Adapter I had lying around and all the problematic cores started working.

So you can look at modifying your cable first, if it doesn't have the 470 ohm resistor, or perhaps consider trying that adapter (there are some similar ones cheaper on ebay) though I can't guarantee it will work. All this is assuming you're using SCART TV, component is probably different kettle of fish.

[thorr]

vscale_mode=0 will kill pixel perfection, but with the vscale_border=20, it probably fixes it. I think vscale_mode=0 allows vscale_border to work, because normally it does not with ao486. I agree the cable is most likely the main issue, but maybe _javi_ can get it to work with at least one mode.

Supposedly these work well and could be combined with a HDMI or vga to scart cable:

https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/rgb2comp

[thorr]

-if you feel like tweaking it all further, go ahead - I think I'll take a break and play some games finally Guybrush still looks a bit chunky but I think it's cuter this way. And 1.42 is pretty close to 1.33 already...

Here are two new modes for you to try. The original is on the bottom. Try the top one first. If it is still higher than 1.33 let me know and I can go further. If it is under 1.33, try the second one.

video_mode=1280,173,140,266,240,11,0,19,30086 ; slightly bigger borders on left and right compared to next line
;video_mode=1280,164,140,255,240,11,0,19,29760 ; slightly bigger borders on left and right compared to next line
;video_mode=1280,159,140,248,240,11,0,19,29568 ; For 320x200 games

[flynnsbit]

I did some more tweaking. I think this is my final version. It is extremely close to 4x3 aspect ratio and has the smallest border I could get and keep it at 59.94Hz and stay in sync.
[ao486]
; Set it to "Variable" in the ao486 core instead of 60Hz
direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=3
video_mode=1280,152,140,261,240,15,0,19,30105 ; 4x3 for 320x200 games, 16.42kHz, 59.94Hz

Some TV's may have trouble syncing at 16.42kHz. My settings in the previous post might work if this post doesn't, as they are slightly less aggressive, or you can try reducing the 30105 number, but you will lower the 59.94Hz and might get tearing in games.

(Right click and Open Image in New Tab (in Firefox) and click on it to see the full resolution.)

For your reference and comparison, this is how I set up my CRT geometry with the SNES. This is the Grid at 256x224. I have minimal borders on the top and bottom. The upper right corner is slightly cut off and I need to open the CRT to try to fix that.

That looks really good!

[thorr]

Every new post and modeline gives me hopes and i try again, only to find the same problem:

Rolling vertical image. (Some modelines scroll slow and others do it fast)

I always get the vertical rolling screen when forcing modelines and turning off direct_video

direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=3
video_mode=1440,40,136,176,240,3,10,6,27000

I get ultra clear picture with that ini, but it scrolls up slowly. What parameters should i fine tune??

PS: Maybe i should note that i'm using an HDMI to VGA adapter. Then VGA to RGBs custom wiring. (Works a charm with other cores)

_javi_ Assuming my previous post did not help you with trying the new last number in the modeline that almost works for you, I am pretty sure I know exactly what the issue you are having is because I had the same problem. Read this post: viewtopic.php?p=13600#p13600 At the end, I had problems when the scaler was turned on, and it worked find with direct_video=1. The issue is occurring with the device(s) between the HDMI port and your TV. Are you using component inputs? Unfortunately, finding a perfectly working HDMI to component conversion product is next to impossible. I found one, but they don't make them anymore. There is a super easy solution though! Get an analog IO board for your MiSTer. I can almost guarantee it will work for you.

I just found this, and I have not tested this model, so it might just work. There are only 4 left: https://www.ebay.com/itm/274398685500

[_javi_]

Thanks for your attention to my problem, thorr and akeley.

Although i keep trying to improve my set up, tuning parameters, i cant afford to import new hardware. I'm from Argentina, so shipping and local customs taxes kill my pocket. And not to mention the dollar to argentine peso exchange rate..
My MiSTer is the poors-man version. I bought the bare nano10 from digikey, and the usb hub and hdmi to vga locally (and surprisingly they work perfect!).

For the video wiring part: I modded a Sony CRT TV (KV21-FE12A, BA-5 chassis, composite-in only) to accept R/G/B/S, adding a DB9 conector. The internal tv wirings are ok: 1k ohm on sync line, terminated R,G and B to ground, and all the recomended stuff. This setup worked fine with an Amiga500 and its original video cable. I tried a PS2 (RGB option in Settings, custom wiring) and it showed ok too. There i discovered that the horizontal centering of the image, coming from different video sources, was going to be an issue.

I use a homebrew DB9-DB15 cable with the HDMI/VGA adapter. It works fine with "all" the mister cores, and even with an N-Go board (ZX Next clone, DB15 connector, RGB mode). I dont know the internal chipset of the hdmi adapter.

Recently I found another Sony KV21-FE12A, on sale for 20usd. I'm getting it today. I guess i can use it as 2nd set, tuned with a proper Service Menu setting to center the screen as needed for the AO486 core (again with direct_video = 1).

It feels a bit like giving up on modelines testing, but its cheaper and faster than importing new gear.

[akeley]

@thorr: thanks mate, the latest one is now at 1.40 (vs 1.42 of the previous one). It's not a big difference, but it's already fine, don't worry about it. I might try tweaking them myself with that calculator one day at some future date.

My MiSTer is the poors-man version. I bought the bare nano10 from digikey, and the usb hub and hdmi to vga locally (and surprisingly they work perfect!).

Same here, only with 64 SDRAM. Why spend more money when it all works great for 99% of the stuff anyway?

If you modded the TV for RGB yourself you sure have some skills - nice! I don't think your problem here is down to modelines themselves, it's more likely to be either other settings (only other ones I can think could affect it are vsync/vscale ones) or some little thing with the cable or the TV itself. CRTs aren't all cut to size and might have slightly different tolerances for such tinkering. So maybe best would be trying to find a VGA CRT monitor for ao486, or indeed utilise that new Sony you're getting. Good luck!

[thorr]

I dont know the internal chipset of the hdmi adapter.

I think this HDMI to VGA adapter may be the issue. If you can crack it open, you can know for sure what the chipset is. From what I can tell both of these statements are true:
- Your TV works with everything you plug into it, except the MiSTer when direct_video=0
- Your TV never works when direct_video=1 no matter what modeline/resolution you try for any core

This tells me two things:
- There is likely something wrong with the scaler FPGA code that mucks up the video signal in some kind of way that makes the device doing the HDMI conversion do some clean up of the bad signal. I had the same issue when I was testing one of the bad component converters. I plugged in the direct_video=1 Menu timings into the scaler. The same timings worked with direct_video=1 but did not work with direct_video=0.
- The electronics in your TV are fine. The HDMI to VGA (or less likely, your ini settings) is the issue. I would verify the chipset of the adapter and buy another one with the AG6201 chipset.

Also I think a scrolling has to do with the sync signal. You could try adjusting the resistor value with a potentiometer and see if you can get the scrolling to stop (in your VGA to RGBS chain).

[thorr]

@thorr: thanks mate, the latest one is now at 1.40 (vs 1.42 of the previous one). It's not a big difference, but it's already fine, don't worry about it. I might try tweaking them myself with that calculator one day at some future date.

It's super easy to do. Plug the existing numbers into the calculator and click calculate (don't forget to put a decimal after the first two digits for the last number since it is MHz in the calculator). You should see 16.18kHz and 59.94Hz. Take the fourth H number and increase it by like 50 (based on what you told me of going from 1.42 to 1.4). Click calculate again. The 16.18 and 59.94 go down. Increase the MHz number and click calculate until it matches 16.18 and 59.94 again. Try it on your screen. It won't be centered but should be wider. Use the left or right buttons in the calculator to show how it affects the second and forth H number. One goes up, and the other goes down by 8, depending on left or right, but they are opposites. You can manually increase and decrease by any number instead of 8. This will not change the 16.18 and 59.94 when you click calculate if you did it right.

[thorr]

I have been playing with the settings some more and have some new timings.

For the menu, I had some shimmering with my previous settings. These ones work perfect for me and fit the screen edge to edge with no shimmering. I configured it for 60Hz.

[Menu]
direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=1
video_mode=640,54,56,106,224,16,0,28,13764 ; Best 7-24-2021 - No Shimmering, No Border

For ao486, I have a new mode that works well with 320x240 (mode x) games (same as the menu timing above).
[ao486]
; Set it to "60Hz" in the ao486 core instead of "Variable" unless you are running Second Reality
direct_video=0
vga_scaler=1
vsync_adjust=1
vscale_mode=1
video_mode=640,54,56,106,224,16,0,28,13764 ; Best for overall mode. Widescreen for 320x200, full-screen for DOS and Mode X games like Epic Pinball - use with vscale_mode=1

For 320x200 games, I created a 640x200 mode, but it isn't really any different than my previous 1280x240 mode. It pushes the frequency limits so it may not work for some people. I modified the 1280x240 mode to be 60Hz instead of 59.94.
video_mode=640,55,90,131,200,34,0,40,15058 ; 4x3 with small border for 320x200 games, 16.44kHz, 60Hz. Use with vscale_mode=3
or
video_mode=1280,132,140,281,240,15,0,19,30133 ; 4x3 with small border for 320x200 games, 16.44kHz, 60Hz. Use with vscale_mode=3 (see my previous 1280x240 timings if this doesn't work)

[FoxbatStargazer]

Every new post and modeline gives me hopes and i try again, only to find the same problem:

Rolling vertical image. (Some modelines scroll slow and others do it fast)

I always get the vertical rolling screen when forcing modelines and turning off direct_video

So just to confirm you may not be totally crazy.

I've been using several vga_scaler modelines in multiple cores, connected with VGA->component breakout with SoG on, on a Sony KV-32FS100 just fine. But I have yet to get one that will sync with a KV-27FS120, even though it works fine with every NTSC core analog output. You'd think these TVs would be practically the same, but apparently not.

[ski9k]

Heya all,

Thought it might be worth adding my 2 cents..... I tried about 30 different video mode settings before I found one that "95%" works for my SD tv (via component) thought i'd share my settings below in case it benefits anyone else.

[ao486]
video_mode=640,65,60,108,224,16,0,26,13919
vsync_adjust=1

* also make sure ao486 settings are set to 60hz refresh rate... NOT VARIABLE

- only issues ive encountered are slight "jittering" very occasionally in some games and the image is slightly too far to the left (maybe by about 5 pixels or so) with a slight black border to the right.

Hope this might be able to help someone out there if they are stuck like I was. Also if anyone could advise me what numbers to change to shift the image slightly right or at least stretch the image slightly to the right only by a few pixels I would greatly appreciate it!!