VGA (RGBHV) to SCART (csync) options

Discussion about displays and related hardware including MiSTer filters and video settings.
evilsim
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VGA (RGBHV) to SCART (csync) options

Unread post by evilsim »

Hello people,

Firstly I love the mister. Thanks to everyone who has played a part in making it possible and to those who continue its development.

I have been dabbling with options to get VGA to SCART (be it 15khz or 31khz) working, with and without the composite_sync option set in the mister.ini file.

As many people have pointed out in other topics, setting composite_sync to ON then using pin 13 (h sync) along with an inline 1k ohm resistors should work in most instances, eg for a lot of consumer TV's. They have also connected VGA pin 14 (v sync) to pin 16 on the SCART socket, as a useful RGB switcher for those who have good enough TV's to actually switch to RGB (as opposed to composite or s-video) (such as B&Olufsen).

Today in the mail I got one of Tim Worthington's VGA2SCART 2.0 devices, which cost about $50 AUD and works very well as you would expect from his products. I don't need to set composite_sync to ON, this device has a gate which XOR's the (any polarisation) sync signals to csync for you. It also boasts the ability to set your TV to 4:3 or 16:9 with an additional switch. Highly recommend it. Set the jumper on your analogue IO board to 5v power on the VGA port and the device will power from VGA pin 9.

I have been successful in using other XOR gate examples found on the internet too. They all perform the same job.

Many people sell VGA to SCART cables on the internet, these would likely either use simply a resistor on VGA pin 13 (thus requiring composite_sync ON in mister.ini) or an XOR or other gate which means you can leave the composite_sync set to OFF.

Mister is an amazing device for outputting a signal to your old CRT or aging compatible monitors via 15khz RGB. If you have an old monitor, give it a try sometime. You don't always have to play games in 480p or above :)

If you have an old PC CRT monitor (minimum sync at RGBHV/480p), they can look really nice too ! Just set your vga_scaler to ON and enjoy games on the warm radiating glow of a CRT or LCD (etc).
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lamarax
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Re: VGA (RGBHV) to SCART (csync) options

Unread post by lamarax »

Great write-up 👍

Maybe a concise guide for connecting all sorts of CRTs to the MiSTer along with detailed options/configurations/.ini settings, should be compiled by knowledgeable people and posted on the wiki. Relevant information is too scattered around the internet atm (and much of it is outdated).
akeley
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Re: VGA (RGBHV) to SCART (csync) options

Unread post by akeley »

It's an interesting option, but to be honest, if you just want to output to SCART and don't need I/O board for other stuff, it's much cheaper to use Direct Video. This way you just need the DAC dongle + cable = 30E.

Another product, which I think does the same job that VGA2SCART is ArcadeForge's UMSA: http://arcadeforge.net/UMSA/UMSA-Ultima ... r::57.html
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spark2k06
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Re: VGA (RGBHV) to SCART (csync) options

Unread post by spark2k06 »

Another option, for 15Khz and composyte_sync=0:

viewtopic.php?t=1711
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