Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Main => Monitor/Video Forum => Topic started by: Hornpipe2 on July 10, 2009, 02:48:10 pm

Title: Hacking a TV
Post by: Hornpipe2 on July 10, 2009, 02:48:10 pm
I have a TV in my cab and it's old and takes composite only.  I'm also using a PCI card with a composite-out port to match.  Quality is awful (as one might imagine).

Now I have spare PCI cards with S-Video outputs... but no TV (that would fit) with SVideo in.  Here comes the ridiculous question of the day:  since I have decased my TV and I'm looking at the circuit board, can I hack an S-Video connector into this existing TV?  My thinking is, somewhere on the board the composite signal is being split into C/Y anyway, so I should be able to just tap into that with a new port and upgrade my video connection greatly for about $2 worth of parts.  Are there level issues to contend with?
Title: Re: Hacking a TV
Post by: Hornpipe2 on July 10, 2009, 03:15:47 pm
As a followup, this is a hell of a hack:
http://porkrind.org/arcade/tv-hack.html

(Add RGB interface directly to the guns of the TV)
Title: Re: Hacking a TV
Post by: SirPeale on July 11, 2009, 12:32:29 pm
As a followup, this is a hell of a hack:
http://porkrind.org/arcade/tv-hack.html

(Add RGB interface directly to the guns of the TV)

I've read this several times over the years, and I don't think it's possible the way he's writing it.  I think he's wiring the RGB to the signal processor rather than the guns.
Title: Re: Hacking a TV
Post by: Ummon on July 11, 2009, 04:00:22 pm
If you're going to that much trouble, perhaps you want to go all the way, and do straight RBG?
Title: Re: Hacking a TV
Post by: richms on July 12, 2009, 06:24:42 am
Open it up and look at the datasheet for all the chips in it, you may be lucky but if its all controlled by a microcontroller you may not be able to make it switch over.

IMO, its the time that everyones geting rid of their old tvs so go to the local used appliance store and see what they have for $10