Pixel doubling on 31khz monitors with custom drivers?

[jimmy2x2x]

Im sure I read somewhere that some kind of pixel doubling was possible with the custom ATI drivers so you can have accurate 1:1 pixel mapping and accurate frame rates on a VGA monitor.

Anyone fancy documenting it?

Thanks

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

I'm running 31kHz double res modes. I'll do my best to describe my process.

Initial set up involves installing the modified ATI drivers. Once these are successfully installed you will need to modify your vmmaker.ini with your monitor's specs and run it, updating the registry. After updating groovymame's mame.ini with the monitor specs as well, it essentially just works.

Here's my VMMaker.ini:

Code: [Select]

; VideoModeMaker - Options
; ------------------------
   
; 1. MAME
; -------

; Path for Mame executable, in case we want to extract xml information from it.

MameExe = "..\mame.exe"

; Path for Mame ini folder, in case we want to create an ini file for each game.
; Important: existing ini files will be overwritten.

IniPath = "\Emu\Mame\ini\"

; Mame options.

ListFromXML = 1 ; Processes Mame XML and get video mode list from it
GenerateXML = 0 ; Extracts XML from Mame (only needed once)
GenerateInis = 0 ; Creates an ini file for each Mame game, in the IniPath folder
SDLMame = 0 ; Use SDLMame specific options

; Monitor orientation

MonitorHorizontal = 1 ; 0 = Rotating monitor: horizontal and vertical games at their native resolution
;     Suitable for users that physically rotate their CRTs
; 1 = Horizontal monitor: horizontal games run at their native resolution and
;     vertical games are rotated to fit in horizontal monitor

RotatingDesktop = 0 ; Specifies if both desktop and monitor are rotated

; Aspect ratio for vertical games on horizontal monitor
; 4:3 (keeps original aspect ratio)
; 3:3 (stretches to square format)
; 3:4 (stretches to full screen)
; h:v (custom aspect ratio)

VerticalAspect = "4:3"


; 2. MONITOR
; ----------

; Monitor Type. Valid types: D9800, D9400, D9200, EGA, VGA, MULTI, H9110, PAL, NTSC, GENERIC, CUSTOM

MonitorType = "CUSTOM"


; Monitor CUSTOM. These values will be used if MonitorType = "CUSTOM"
;
; monitor_specs_0-6 = "HfreqMin-HfreqMax, VfreqMin,VfreqMax, HFrontPorch, HSyncPulse, HBackPorch, VfrontPorch, VSyncPulse, VBackPorch, HSyncPol, VSyncPol, ActiveLinesLimit, VirtualLinesLimit"
;
; * HfreqMin-HfreqMax: Minimum and maximum horizontal frequency, in Hz. Defines the range of horizontal frequencies the monitor is capable to sync.
; The higher the horizontal frequency, the higher the vertical resolution available for the same vertical refresh.
; The higher the horizontal frequency, the higher the vertical refresh available for the same vertical resolution.
; The higher the horizontal frequency, the lower the horizontal amplitude of active video (narrower picture).
;
; * VFreqMin-VfreqMax: Minimum and maximum vertical frequency, in Hz, Defines the range of vertical frequencies the monitor is capable to sync.
;
; * HFrontPorch, HSyncPulse, HBackPorch: Horizontal timing and geometry, values in µs
;
; * VfrontPorch, VSyncPulse, VBackPorch: Vertical timing and geometry, values in ms
;
; * HSyncPol,VSyncPol: polarities, not in use! defaults to negative.
;
; * ActiveLinesLimit: Vertical resolutions until ActiveLinesLimit value included, are generated as progressive, regardless the possibility
;                           of obtaining the required vertical refresh value.
;
; * VirtualLinesLimit: Vertical resolutions above ActiveLinesLimit and below VirtualLinesLimit are virtualized, that is, an interlaced resolution
;                            bigger that the native one is generated, with the right refresh, and "hardware stretch" is applied.
;                            Vertical resolutions above VirtulaLinesLimit are generated as interlaced, without any stretching.

monitor_specs_0 = "30000-40000, 47.00-90.00, 0.600, 2.500, 2.800, 0.032, 0.096, 0.448, 0, 0, 640, 768"


; Tolerance for horizontal frequency, in kHz, enables extending the range defined by [ HfreqMin, HfreqMax ]
; The resulting allowed frequency range will be [ HfreqMin - HfreqTolerance, HfreqMax + HfreqTolerance ]

HfreqTolerance = 0.010


; 3. MODELINE GENERATOR
; ---------------------

; Total number of modelines to generate. Here are the recommended values for each driver version:
; CRT_Emudriver, based on Catalyst 6.5 XP32: 160 modes (accepts up to 200, but above 160 HyperSpin will refuse to load)
; CRT_Emudriver, based on Catalyst 6.5 XP64: 120 modes
; CRT_Emudriver, based on Catalyst 9.3 XP32/64: 120 modes (accepts some more but above 120 you can get some blue screens)
; Regular Catalyst: 60 modes (won't accept any more)

TotalModes = 100

; Method for mode table generation. If Mame xml is processed, that will create a lot of different video modes, so the mode table
; will be optimized keeping the most relevant ones, and dropping the rest, to keep below the TotalModes value.

ModeTableMethod = 1 ; 0 = Static table: modelines are generated keeping their original vertical refresh. This
;     method is intended to be used in combination with ini files for each game.
; 1 = Dynamic table: a table of dummy modes is created using xres and yres values while ignoring
;     vfreq. This method is intended to be used in combination with Switchres or Groovymame. No ini
;     files are required using this method (you should disable the GenerateInis option).


; Minimum resolution values (these will be used instead of lower values)

XresMin = 208
YresMin = 192

; Minimum dotclock value allowed by the video card, in MHz (i.e. DotClockMin = 7.010)

DotClockMin = 18.500

; Number of iterations used by the mode generator [0,5]. The higher the number of iterations, the bigger the accuracy of the vertical
; refreshed obtained, normally at the cost of increasing the horizontal frequency strictly required.

Iterations = 2

; Specifies if the refresh label is multiplied by 10 before rounding (experimental).

VFreqLabelx10 = 0

; 4. DRIVER
; ---------

; Path for the driver folder

DriverPath = ".\Driver\"

; If UpdateRegistry is enabled, UpdateDriver will only work if the driver version found in DriverPath matches the one installed
; in the system.

UpdateRegistry = 1 ; Specifies if the video card registry section will be updated with the new video modes
; (will only work in combination with CRT_EMUDriver).

UpdateDriver = 0 ; Specifies if the driver files in DriverPath will be updated with the new video modes, for
; future installations.

AnyCatalyst = 0 ; Allows modelines to be installed for any Catalyst version. This option is experimental and
; known to produce some problems.
Only32BPPModes = 1

Some important bits to pay attention to:

ListFromXML = 1      ; Processes Mame XML and get video mode list from it
GenerateXML = 0      ; Extracts XML from Mame (only needed once)

The first time you run this, GenerateXML needs to be 1. Until then, you don't have the mame.xml for your executable. After it's generated turning this off will speed up the rebuilding of template modes while you're tweaking settings.

;Monitor specs for Makvision 2929D, 29" SVGA monitor
monitor_specs_0 = "30000-40000, 47.00-90.00, 0.600, 2.500, 2.800, 0.032, 0.096, 0.448, 0, 0, 640, 768"

This is the real guts of the set up. These are the specifics for your monitor listed as:

"HfreqMin-HfreqMax, VfreqMin,VfreqMax, HFrontPorch, HSyncPulse, HBackPorch, VfrontPorch, VSyncPulse, VBackPorch, HSyncPol, VSyncPol, ActiveLinesLimit, VirtualLinesLimit"

The Hfreqs, Vfreqs, Active Lines limit and Virtual Lines limits are easy enough. Things like the porches, pulses, and polarities are more variable between monitors. Having these set out of range results in odd visual artifacts like 'curling' of the image on the edge. Kind of like when a monitor needs a capkit, but in the other direction. I do not believe you can harm  your monitor with these being out, but I do not know. Hopefully someone will come along and confirm or correct me.

TotalModes = 100

This is the odd part. Different versions of windows and seemingly different computers will accept different numbers of modes. I'm running WinXP64, and Calamity's suggested upper limit is 120, above which it occasionally bluescreens. Hyperspin has a known issue with large numbers of available display modes, and for me going over 100 would cause it to not load. Others have gone to the 120 limit successfully, and I believe others still have gone to 160 when running WinXP32.

Generating less modes means that some games will not have a perfect 1:2 mapping resolution, and thus will either be letter boxed or pillarboxed depending on what resolution is available. As long as "cleanstretch" is enabled in the mame.ini, it should only choose resolutions where no visual artifacting will result from mapping.

UpdateRegistry = 1   ; Specifies if the video card registry section will be updated with the new video modes
            ; (will only work in combination with CRT_EMUDriver).
      
   UpdateDriver = 0   ; Specifies if the driver files in DriverPath will be updated with the new video modes, for
            ; future installations.

   AnyCatalyst = 0      ; Allows modelines to be installed for any Catalyst version. This option is experimental and
            ; known to produce some problems.
Only32BPPModes = 1

Initially I attempted to generate modelines by turning on UpdateDriver and running prior to installation. I was unable to install the driver until I started with a stock configuration and went from there. Your mileage may vary.

I hope this gets you started!

I suppose to be more accurate we should describe these as 'accurate 1:2 pixel mapping', since it's exactly doubled in each direction.

[Calamity]

cotmm68030, that was an excellent explanation.

There's a key option you also need to pay attention to: the dotclockmin option.

I find it's safe enough to set these two options:

MonitorType = "VGA"
DotClockMin = 18.500

The dotclockmin limit is what actually achieves the horizontal x2 scaling, otherwise you'd only get the vertical one.

PD: Also, the version of VMMaker that cotmm68030 is running has some fixes that help with this, probably the last one I attached in the GroovyMame thread with the experimental HS workaround is up to date. I need to repack the driver files with the newest one.

[jimmy2x2x]

Thanks for the info, I will have a play around this weekend

If you could link to the VMMaker when you get a chance, that would be great

Cheers!

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

maybe pin this thread for future expansion/discussion of 31kHz use? More and more people are using non-15kHz displays.

[lettuce]

So in theory would this work for LCD screens??

So what setting would i need to add in for my Pentranic 29" Multi-sync monitor?? These are the only spec i could find in the pdf manual...




Or though it states 800x600 it actually does 1024x768

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

So it will sync on 15-40kHz without any switches/jumpers on the board?

I'm gonna take a stab at suggesting this:

monitor_specs_0 = "15000-40000, 47.00-90.00, 0.600, 2.500, 2.800, 0.032, 0.096, 0.448, 0, 0, 640, 768"

bitbytebit or calamity are going to have to weigh in on it though.. I'm not sure what would be appropriate for the various porch values.

Edit: Based on calamity's suggestion that these monitors are sensitive to wrong ranges, please don't use the above values until the porches can be verified.

[Calamity]

So in theory would this work for LCD screens??

So what setting would i need to add in for my Pentranic 29" Multi-sync monitor?? These are the only spec i could find in the pdf manual...




Or though it states 800x600 it actually does 1024x768

But that's a CRT monitor isn't it?

I've read that Pentranic monitors are delicate and may even break with the wrong settings, so please BE CAREFUL. However, you shouldn't have problems if you respect the values in that chart. For the porch values, if that monitor has a decent EDID, you can use the MonInfo program (http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/moninfo.shtm) to read EDID's info, you will retrieve one or more modelines written in its EDID, which your monitor will be confortable with. We can then use those values to cook a monitor_specs line that fits your monitor.

[lettuce]

Hi, yeah it is a CTR monitor, i know the Pentranic monitor isnt the greatest, but was really the only option i had here in the UK...unless i wanted to pay over the odds for overseas shipping  . Ok downloaded the moninfo prog you suggested. Not sure how to use it correctly just loaded the prog and said it was anaylsing. Heres the info it came back with (sorry about the length)

Monitor
  Model name............... ABC 302008WS
  Manufacturer............. ABC
  Plug and Play ID......... ABC8014
  Serial number............ DP19052887ET
  Manufacture date......... 2008, ISO week 10
  Filter driver............ None
  -------------------------
  EDID revision............ 1.4
  Input signal type........ Digital (DisplayPort)
  Color bit depth.......... 8 bits per primary color
  Color encoding formats... RGB 4:4:4
  Screen size.............. 650 x 410 mm (30.3 in)
  Power management......... Standby, Suspend, Active off/sleep
  Extension blocs.......... 1 (CEA-EXT)
  -------------------------
  DDC/CI................... n/a

Color characteristics
  Default color space...... Non-sRGB
  Display gamma............ 2.20
  Red chromaticity......... Rx 0.678 - Ry 0.309
  Green chromaticity....... Gx 0.198 - Gy 0.698
  Blue chromaticity........ Bx 0.146 - By 0.060
  White point (default).... Wx 0.313 - Wy 0.329
  Additional descriptors... None

Timing characteristics
  Horizontal scan range.... 29-113kHz
  Vertical scan range...... 49-86Hz
  Video bandwidth.......... 280MHz
  CVT standard............. Not supported
  GTF standard............. Not supported
  Additional descriptors... None
  Preferred timing......... Yes
  Native/preferred timing.. 2560x1600p at 60Hz (16:10)
    Modeline............... "2560x1600" 268.000 2560 2608 2640 2720 1600 1603 1609 1646 +hsync +vsync

Standard timings supported
     720 x  400p at  70Hz - IBM VGA
     640 x  480p at  60Hz - IBM VGA
     640 x  480p at  75Hz - VESA
     800 x  600p at  60Hz - VESA
     800 x  600p at  75Hz - VESA
    1024 x  768p at  60Hz - VESA
    1024 x  768p at  75Hz - VESA
    1280 x 1024p at  75Hz - VESA
    1280 x 1024p at  60Hz - VESA STD
    1600 x 1200p at  60Hz - VESA STD
    1920 x 1200p at  60Hz - VESA STD
    1920 x 1440p at  60Hz - VESA STD
    1152 x  864p at  75Hz - VESA STD
    1280 x  800p at  60Hz - VESA STD

EIA/CEA-861 Information
  Revision number.......... 3
  IT underscan............. Supported
  Basic audio.............. Supported
  YCbCr 4:4:4.............. Supported
  YCbCr 4:2:2.............. Supported
  Native formats........... 5
  Detailed timing #1....... 1280x720p at 60Hz (16:9)
    Modeline............... "1280x720" 74.250 1280 1390 1430 1650 720 725 730 750 +hsync +vsync
  Detailed timing #2....... 1920x1080i at 60Hz (16:9)
    Modeline............... "1920x1080" 74.250 1920 2008 2052 2200 1080 1084 1094 1124 interlace +hsync +vsync
  Detailed timing #3....... 720x480p at 60Hz (16:9)
    Modeline............... "720x480" 27.000 720 736 798 858 480 489 495 525 -hsync -vsync
  Detailed timing #4....... 1440x480i at 60Hz (16:9)
    Modeline............... "1440x480" 27.000 1440 1478 1602 1716 480 488 494 524 interlace -hsync -vsync
  Detailed timing #5....... 1920x1080p at 60Hz (16:9)
    Modeline............... "1920x1080" 148.500 1920 2008 2052 2200 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync +vsync

CE video identifiers (VICs) - timing/formats supported
     640 x  480p at  60Hz - Default (4:3, 1:1)
     720 x  480p at  60Hz - EDTV (4:3, 8:9)
     720 x  480p at  60Hz - EDTV (16:9, 32:27)
    1280 x  720p at  60Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
    1920 x 1080i at  60Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
     720 x  480i at  60Hz - Doublescan (4:3, 8:9)
     720 x  480i at  60Hz - Doublescan (16:9, 32:27)
    1920 x 1080p at  60Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
     720 x  576p at  50Hz - EDTV (4:3, 16:15)
     720 x  576p at  50Hz - EDTV (16:9, 64:45)
    1280 x  720p at  50Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
    1920 x 1080i at  50Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
     720 x  576i at  50Hz - Doublescan (4:3, 16:15)
     720 x  576i at  50Hz - Doublescan (16:9, 64:45)
    1920 x 1080p at  50Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
    NB: NTSC refresh rate = (Hz*1000)/1001

Report information
  Date generated........... 7/20/2011
  Software revision........ 2.60.0.964
  Data source.............. Sample
  Operating system......... 5.1.2600.2.Service Pack 3

Raw data
  00,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,00,04,43,14,80,89,DA,07,00,0A,12,01,04,A5,41,29,78,E2,8F,95,AD,4F,32,B2,25,
  0F,50,54,A5,4B,00,81,80,A9,40,D1,00,D1,40,71,4F,81,00,01,01,01,01,B0,68,00,A0,A0,40,2E,60,30,20,
  36,00,81,90,21,00,00,1E,00,00,00,FF,00,44,50,31,39,30,35,32,38,38,37,45,54,0A,00,00,00,FC,00,41,
  42,43,20,33,30,32,30,30,38,57,53,0A,00,00,00,FD,00,31,56,1D,71,1C,00,0A,20,20,20,20,20,20,01,C4,
  02,03,14,F5,4F,01,02,03,04,05,06,07,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,1F,01,1D,00,72,51,D0,1E,20,6E,28,55,00,
  BA,88,21,00,00,1E,01,1D,80,18,71,1C,16,20,58,2C,25,00,BA,88,21,00,00,9E,8C,0A,D0,8A,20,E0,2D,10,
  10,3E,96,00,BA,88,21,00,00,18,8C,0A,A0,14,51,F0,16,00,26,7C,43,00,BA,88,21,00,00,98,02,3A,80,18,
  71,38,2D,40,58,2C,45,00,BA,88,21,00,00,1E,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,24

[Calamity]

That log seems to come from an Acer 20" monitor, not from the Pentranic. Try to get the right one with your Pentranic monitor attached, notice the MonInfo program has a list on the left for available plug and play displays.

Don't get me wrong, I wish I had a multisync monitor around, it's only that I read a story of a Pentranic monitor broken for setting it to 1024x768, maybe a different model:

http://www.retrovicio.org/foro/showthread.php?8507-Monitor-Pentranic-K.O.-por-altas-resoluciones

[lettuce]

Hmm MonInfo doesnt seem to display the info for the pentranic, this is the window for Moninfo when loaded....




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Calamity]

I'm afraid those ABC.. IDs are sample ones from the program, probably the Pentranic doesn't have a proper EDID to read values from.

[lettuce]

I'm afraid those ABC.. IDs are sample ones from the program, probably the Pentranic doesn't have a proper EDID to read values from.

Damn! Any ideas what porches settings i can use then? Is there a set of safe settings?

[Calamity]

I'm afraid those ABC.. IDs are sample ones from the program, probably the Pentranic doesn't have a proper EDID to read values from.

Damn! Any ideas what porches settings i can use then? Is there a set of safe settings?

I think it's safe enough to use the values for WG D9200 or D9800, in the worst case the picture may not be perfectly centered but those values shouldn't break anything.

Notice you need to enable the same D9200 or D9800 option both in mame.ini and in vmmaker.ini (and run vmmaker - reboot).

[lettuce]

I'm afraid those ABC.. IDs are sample ones from the program, probably the Pentranic doesn't have a proper EDID to read values from.

Damn! Any ideas what porches settings i can use then? Is there a set of safe settings?

I think it's safe enough to use the values for WG D9200 or D9800, in the worst case the picture may not be perfectly centered but those values shouldn't break anything.

Notice you need to enable the same D9200 or D9800 option both in mame.ini and in vmmaker.ini (and run vmmaker - reboot).

Cheers, ill give that a go. Where are the values for the D9200/D9800 documented??

[gabe]

Cheers, ill give that a go. Where are the values for the D9200/D9800 documented??

A list of Groovy's predefined monitor settings can be found near the bottom of this page:

http://mame.groovy.org/0143/

You can see how those specs are defined by browsing monitor.c:

http://git.groovy.org/trac/groovy_groovyarcade/browser/src/SwitchResC/monitor.c?rev=

[lettuce]

Cheers, ill give that a go. Where are the values for the D9200/D9800 documented??

A list of Groovy's predefined monitor settings can be found near the bottom of this page:

http://mame.groovy.org/0143/

You can see how those specs are defined by browsing monitor.c:

http://git.groovy.org/trac/groovy_groovyarcade/browser/src/SwitchResC/monitor.c?rev=

Thanks for the info. So the part where it says

'monitor_specs0      Add custom monitor specs, format: 15250.00-15700.00,49.50-65.00,2.000,4.700,8.000,0.064,0.192,1.024,0,0,288.0,448'

Ill add, 15250.00-15700.00,49.50-65.00,2.000,4.700,8.000,0.064,0.192,1.024,0,0,288.0,448 ?

[Calamity]

The monitor_specs lines are only used to define your own custom monitor definitions, if you're going to use a predefined monitor just use its name for the monitor_type options and leave monitor_specs as auto (in mame.ini).

[lettuce]

The monitor_specs lines are only used to define your own custom monitor definitions, if you're going to use a predefined monitor just use its name for the monitor_type options and leave monitor_specs as auto (in mame.ini).

Yeah i would usually leave it as auto, but im wondering if it would be possible to sort out some convergence problems i was having with my Pentranic monitor. I dont know if you remember Calamity i stated this problem in the main Groovymame thread.......where basically on the far right side of the display the geometry is all screwed up, basical about a 1-2 inches of the far right side of the display appears to be squashed up, if i move the screen left via the monitors OSD the problem seems to disappear but then ive lost a good part of the left hand side of the display. You can really notice this effect on a scrolling game when sprites come in from the right their really thin and the get to there normal width the closer they move to the centre of the display. Here a pci showing the problem



I was hoping that i might be able to fix this problem by adding the monitor spec line to the ini file and editing it, any ideas of values to use for the monitor spec line?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

I don't think a modeline can cause that.

[Calamity]

Yeah i would usually leave it as auto, but im wondering if it would be possible to sort out some convergence problems i was having with my Pentranic monitor. I dont know if you remember Calamity i stated this problem in the main Groovymame thread.......where basically on the far right side of the display the geometry is all screwed up, basical about a 1-2 inches of the far right side of the display appears to be squashed up, if i move the screen left via the monitors OSD the problem seems to disappear but then ive lost a good part of the left hand side of the display. You can really notice this effect on a scrolling game when sprites come in from the right their really thin and the get to there normal width the closer they move to the centre of the display. Here a pci showing the problem

Please test this: use your monitor's osd to increase the horizontal amplitude so the red squares on the sides of that pattern get hidden, getting a clipped picture on the sides. Notice if the resulting white squares pattern on the borders looks better now than before. If it looks the same, then there's nothing that a modeline could improve about that, on the other hand if the geometry is better then we might try adding some borders to the modeline and correct them back with the monitor's osd.

[lettuce]

Please test this: use your monitor's osd to increase the horizontal amplitude so the red squares on the sides of that pattern get hidden, getting a clipped picture on the sides. Notice if the resulting white squares pattern on the borders looks better now than before. If it looks the same, then there's nothing that a modeline could improve about that, on the other hand if the geometry is better then we might try adding some borders to the modeline and correct them back with the monitor's osd.

Ok i have tried what you suggested and stretched out the horizontal szie, and it did indeed make the next set of squares a bit better, i then stretched to the next set of squares in and again was better still...but then the horizontal bar was maxed out at 100 on the monitors OSD so couldnt increase it more! So will i be able to make this better with a modeline modification?

[Calamity]

Ok i have tried what you suggested and stretched out the horizontal szie, and it did indeed make the next set of squares a bit better, i then stretched to the next set of squares in and again was better still...but then the horizontal bar was maxed out at 100 on the monitors OSD so couldnt increase it more! So will i be able to make this better with a modeline modification?

That's fine, however that's the max we can improve it. Now what I would do is use Arcade_OSD to find the right porch (borders) values. For this test, select a mode with high horizontal resolution if possible, above 640 would be fine, make sure it's a custom mode, not a native one. Go full screen and then set again your monitor's osd horizontal amplitude to 100. Right and left borders will get hidden (overscanned). Now go to the Horizontal Geometry submenu, and start increasing front and back porches until the whole picture fits the screen again. When you are done, write down the porch values to use them in your monitor_specs line (let us know them so we can help).

EDIT: Take care, never try to set one of the modes marked as "native", those can reach 120 or even 200 Hz! Always use the "custom" ones, that are the ones produced by vmmaker with the correct timings set by us.

[lettuce]

Ok have done what you suggested, but when i increase either the back or front porch values the screen horizontal size doesnt change at all, stays the same. Any ideas??

[Calamity]

Ok have done what you suggested, but when i increase either the back or front porch values the screen horizontal size doesnt change at all, stays the same. Any ideas??

Are you pressing P1 ("1") or Enter to test changes?

[lettuce]

yeah just figured out it doesnt change on the fly!

Ok was it ok to set 'Lock VFREQ' to No, as it kept changing the back porch value when i was trying to setup the front porch value?

Anyway this is the best i could get it.....

[Calamity]

yeah just figured out it doesnt change on the fly!

Ok was it ok to set 'Lock VFREQ' to No, as it kept changing the back porch value when i was trying to setup the front porch value?

Anyway this is the best i could get it.....

It's ok to disable Lock VFreq, when doing so only mind Vfreq not getting out of your monitor's limit while changing stuff.

So is the geometry looking any better and picture fits the screen again?

If so, use those values for the monitor_specs line:

hfrontporch: 5.16
hbackporch: 11.36

15250.00-15700.00,49.50-65.00,5.160,4.700,11.360,0.064,0.192,1.024,0,0,288.0,448'

[lettuce]

It's ok to disable Lock VFreq, when doing so only mind Vfreq not getting out of your monitor's limit while changing stuff.

So is the geometry looking any better and picture fits the screen again?

If so, use those values for the monitor_specs line:

hfrontporch: 5.16
hbackporch: 11.36

15250.00-15700.00,49.50-65.00,5.160,4.700,11.360,0.064,0.192,1.024,0,0,288.0,448'

Ok will do, ok i know i need to add that line to the mame.ini file along with changing my monitor to d9200. But do i need to change anything on the VMMaker.ini file?, if so what line am i looking for?

[Calamity]

Use the same monitor_specs line in vmmaker.ini, (replace the existing one with the right values). Then change monitor type to "CUSTOM" so it actually reads the monitor_specs line (this slightly differs to mame.ini behavour where the monitor_specs options, when not set to auto, always override the monitor definitions without the need of stating "custom"). Run vmmaker, reboot, etc.

[lettuce]

Ok, heres what i have done

Changed just these settings in mame.ini......

monitor                   d9200

monitor_specs0            15250.00-15700.00,49.50-65.00,5.160,4.700,11.360,0.064,0.192,1.024,0,0,288.0,448

And in VMMaker.ini file i have changed just these lines and left everything else as is..

monitor_specs_0 = "15250.00-15700.00,49.50-65.00,5.160,4.700,11.360,0.064,0.192,1.024,0,0,288.0,448"

Saved and then ran VMMaker.exe and restarted the PC

There seems to be a slight improvment but not a great deal. Is there any other settings that might make it better??

The strange thing is i can remember about 2 years back when i first got this monitor i was using soft15khz program and had it set up so it was using double hz for 15khz games I think it was for people who only had 31khz monitors and wanted to get the look of 15khz games on their 31khz monitors ( cant remember why i wanted to do this seeings as i have a multisync monitor) Anyway in this mode i didnt get this squashed display on the right hand side what so ever. It only seems tobe when displaying 15khz modelines, any idea why this is?  Is there any hardware tweaks i can make physically on the monitor to improve this problem?

[Calamity]

I'm afraid that's all we can do about it, don't know if your monitor has any potenciometers on its chasis to correct geometry, anyway I woudn't even try. To be honest my Hantarex has similar or even worse convergence problems and I actually don't care.

If 31 KHz modes look better then you can try a pixel doubling set up as the one explained but I think it's not even worth in your case, I'l prefer to have the true low res modes even if somewhat squashed up.

[lettuce]

Ah ok. Thanks for giving suggestions anyway 

[jimmy2x2x]

I am almost ready to try this type of setup, I have a 4890 (at long last!) in the post due to arrive in a couple of days.

Just to clarify, do I need any special drivers or just the latest?

How would I add 2 custom resolutions, I want 1280x1024@50hz (Amiga) and 720x576@50hz (c64)
I currently get these 2 resolutions via powerstip (on an nVidia card)

Thanks

[Calamity]

Hi jimmy2x2x,

Just use the latest drivers. In order to add specific resolutions, edit the ReslList.txt file and add those using the same format:

Code: [Select]

## Desktop ##

 640 x 480 @ 30.000000 desktop

## Commodore ##

 720 x 576 @ 50.000000 c64
1280 x1024 @ 50.000000 amiga

Then run VMMaker to create them. Now, be aware that your monitor definition (monitor_specs) will need to have the proper ranges defined so that these video modes fall inside them.

[jimmy2x2x]

.