Supergun on a card

[Jack Burton]

So, the openjamma thread has convinced me to post an idea I've had for some time.  Forgive me if I'm not technically inclined to explain all the specifics.  But here's the general outline.

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Right now, it's a bit of a pain in the butt to integrate the ability to play arcade games into your modern home entertainment center.  You need a supergun, but these devices are rather expensive, and not available in the commercial sense. 

It adds another expensive device to your probably already crowded setup, and then you'll have to deal with finding converters for your joysticks (or building them), scanline generators/upscalers, and capture cards for your PC if you want to record gameplay.

What if you could just connect a PCB straight to your PC?  Like a PCI card with the following:

-80-pin IDE connection on the card (or whatever seems appropriate)
-onboard power to PCB's

and software that would let you do the following:

-use any joystick currently recognized by your OS
-upscale or generate scanlines
-record or stream gameplay

I know many people would say to just use emulators, but there's a big movement towards real PCB's these days.   So, could this be a thing?

[emphatic]

Well, the whole idea with using PCBs instead of emulation is not having to bother with computers. Better to get an SLG-In-A-Box and a small supergun and get an USB->Discrete inputs adapter (available pretty soon) and you can use any USB controller and won't need a computer at all.

[Jack Burton]

But how much would those cost together? 

A supergun, SLG, and adapters sounds like around at least $300.  A card could be as low as $80.  There are some drawbacks to the card, but I think  it would win out in convenience. 

[Nephasth]

Building your own supergun will save you a whole lot of money.

[Jack Burton]

Building your own supergun will save you a whole lot of money.

Not in this case.  If you want one that will utilize your existing joysticks and HDTV it's going to be rather expensive. 

[Nephasth]

You can build a supergun for less than $150, especially since you plan on using existing controls.

[Jack Burton]

You can build a supergun for less than $150, especially since you plan on using existing controls.

I'm not too sure on that, care to elaborate?  It has to equal the abilities of the SOAC, so that includes USB compatibility, and upscale/scanline generation.

[Nephasth]

You need to take the computer out of the equation. Arcade PCBs handle the inputs without encoders, there's no need for USB compatibility. A video converter is only ~$35. A scanline generator is only $20. Power supply, you should have a spare laying around, but you can get one for less than $20 shipped. JAMMA harness, same as the power supply. Check out the Troubleshooter in my sig, way more capabilities than just a supergun, and I don't have $300 in it yet.

[Jack Burton]

Without USB compatibility you won't be able to use your PC or modern console joysticks, which is a huge negative to people who just want to a cheap solution that fits into their existing setup.  Not being able to use the fancy custom stick you're used to also sucks.

Building a Supergun is a task many people would not want to approach, not just because they don't have the skills necessary for it, but they also don't have the time. 

Which devices are only $35 and $20 respectively?  The Weiya model? 

This device would be targeted towards a mostly casual, not technically oriented audience. 

[Nephasth]

Well, this is a BYO forum. But usb controllers add considerably to the cost. For the converters you can get a gnobes for VGA, or  weiya for composite. Check out the b/s/t forum for craftymech's mini scanline generator for about $20

[emphatic]

Also, many PCBs operate on video frequencies that a modern, digital screen can't handle, making the use of a PC to upscale etc really cumbersome.

[Jack Burton]

Also, many PCBs operate on video frequencies that a modern, digital screen can't handle, making the use of a PC to upscale etc really cumbersome.

If video could be converted to 60hz  and v-synced (or tearing if you prefer it) it would be a pretty significant benefit wouldn't it?  There would be a little bit of input delay of course. 

[emphatic]

I used a cheap cga->vga scaler for my supergun and it converts everything to 60hz. Some games play great, some games have huge lag and are unplayable. Some games wouldn't even give me a steady picture. But sure, for 60hz games there's rarely any problems.