Main > Monitor/Video Forum
How to use SCART for our hobby
Zebidee:
Looks like the TV is not syncing.
Did the TV actually make a 'pop' sound?
Is that test with or without SCART input? Does the TV otherwise work 'normally'?
Have you tried putting the TV into AV-RGB mode manually? You could try putting 12v to SCART pin 8. That should trigger AV mode.
tcancian:
Hey guys, great work at this thread. :applaud:
I'm having some issues with my cable, there's distortion on the top of the screen, and the image isnt exactly fitting well.
http://tinypic.com/r/28luixc/7
The cursor looks "melted" to the right side.
My video card is an ArcadeVGA from Ultimarc, I've made a VGA to SCART cable, used the Twist method (H+V) to get csync but I have not grounded the sync, should I? I just need to ground pin 5+10 of the VGA to the 17 of the SCART? Some schematics on the internet don't mention ground at all, others just ground the horizontal and as suggested by orchidius I should ground both. :dizzy:
Zebidee:
--- Quote from: tcancian on July 18, 2011, 04:18:31 am ---I'm having some issues with my cable, there's distortion on the top of the screen, and the image isnt exactly fitting well.
... I have not grounded the sync, should I? I just need to ground pin 5+10 of the VGA to the 17 of the SCART?
--- End quote ---
Yes, for best results you should ground pins 5+10 to SCART ground.
Try grounding VGA10 => SCART17 and all the VGA RGB grounds to any other convenient SCART ground (even an audio ground will do).
Also, any more than just a few ohms resistance on the sync can generate the symptoms you describe. Use a multimeter to check resistance on VGA 13+14 (sync), as some cables have some resistance (more likely if they are sourced by cutting the cable off an old monitor, but I have even seen this on a cheap cable purchased new). Any more than a few ohms resistance and throw it away, find a new cable and start again.
This latter problem is a bugbear. Having learned the hard way, I will always test the sync resistance on a cable first before doing the rest, just in case.
tcancian:
@Zebidee
Thanks for the tips!! Will try out and post results soon :cheers:
Oh, and one more question. I don't live in Europe, and to get RGB to my TV i'm using a RGB to YPrPb transcoder. Is there a limit to how much it can achieve? I read the maximum for NTSC is 242 non-interlaced vertical lines. Do horizontal lines matter at all? My target is 384x240 so I could run Third Strike natively. And by the way, having resistance at the sync signal could damage my equipment?
Paradroid:
G'day!
Thanks to the excellent information and tools on offer here I recently realized my long time dream of running MAME through a proper CRT monitor. I've successfully hooked up my Thinkpad laptop (with an internal ATI video card) to a huge Loewe Calida SCART TV.
This TV gives a great picture and, fortunately, the service mode is really easy to navigate so I've got the overscan and image positioning just right. The sound is really solid too!
The only complaint I have with this setup is that the reds and blues seem overloaded on certain games. For example, in Street Fighter II, Ken's red outfit looks quite blurred and seems to smear the surrounding image when he moves. Even worse is a game like Rainbow Islands: the rainbows are completely distorted and produce jittery artifacts. Red or blue text on any game is quite bad. However, any game that uses mostly tertiary colors looks fine. Something like Metal Slug looks amazing on this screen.
Any hints on how I might be able to address this problem? Do I need resistors on the RGB lines or something like that? I've tried adjusting the internal controls on the TV but it's as if the RGB signal that the TV is receiving from my VGA card is too hot for it to handle right from the start.
Thanks again for the informative write up!
Regards,
Dale