Custom resolutions on ArcadeVGA possible?

[sittingduck]

Been lurking around for quite some time while researching for my own Mame Arcade. But I also want to use it for other emulators - especially the WinUAE Amiga emulator. And now I'm trying to figure out if the ArcadeVGA will also allow me to play Amiga games in native resolution on a tv using a scart connection.

Is it possible using Powerstrip - or some other method - on the ArcadeVGA to define these resolutions at 50 Hz on AVGA: 320x256, 362x283 and 320x512?

And on another note: Is it possible to bypass AdvanceMAME by using Ppwerstrip and regular MAME?

[Barkuti]

Same answer for all your questions: yes.

The advantage of the AVGA is that it's CGA (~15.7 KHz Hsync output) native, so it allows "plug & play" operation and avoids the necessity of a regular PC monitor for machine setup. I myself have one in my "portable" (Super Lanboy cased) machine, so I can take it wherever a SCART enabled TV is placed for some mameing goodness with little to no qualms. I have an audio cable wired to the SCART plug so no speakers are needed either.

If you're into custom modes creation these tools will be of great help:

LRMC: Low Resolution Modeline Calculator
UMC: Universal Modeline Calculator

I prefer the latter one as it's the generic tool and allows you to define modes for whatever horizontal frecuency you may want.


Cheers

[sittingduck]

Thanks for answering.
When it looked like noone was going to post an answer to my thread, I contacted Andy Warne who sells the AVGA. He was so kind to e-mail me back saying that he was almost certain that what I was hoping to do would not work. He hadn't tried it but he figured that "Powerstrip would have a problem with the differently-calculated dot clock and would in fact set the dot clock to the wrong frequency".

So, I'm still a little confused. Have you actually created one of my wanted resolutions and can confirm that it actually does work?

[Barkuti]

Uuuuh, those are quite bad news. Couldn't wait to check out so I've plugged my arcade rig into the living room and... boom! PowerStrip works, but seems you can only customize the interlaced modes. Adding new modes don't work, and as soon as you switch to any progressive mode the software warns you about being unable to read the timings! Smelling screwage here!

Two to three days away from my multisync arcade monitor and now it seems I won't be able to check mid resolution modes unless I use my main rig? Damn it...

I'll for sure contact Andy about this.


Cheers

[sittingduck]

Yeah, that's too bad. Please let us know if you hear from Andy or if you find another solution for this problem.