crt emudriver

[Kenny301]

Hello forum. I just joined here to get some questions answered about emulation on crt tv w/s-video. First off, my ati radeon 4350 (vistontek) came in today and put it in my optiplex 745 which I bought for the purpose of emulating older consoles on crt tv including mame. I heard that there are beta crt_emudrivers available for Win7 via messaging calamity. Since XP is no longer supported, I don't want to have to use xp to use these patched drivers and I'm wondering when the crt_emudrivers come out of beta?

[Kenny301]

somebody? anybody? I need answers!

[69mustang]

S-Video isn't going to output the correct resolutions and frequencies from groovymame. You will need a VGA to Scart cable and a Scart to YUV transcoder. This will output component video (not composite, better than s-video). The signal looks fantastic of SDTV CRT's.

[Kenny301]

How would I do that on an ntsc crt tv with composite and s video?

[69mustang]

build or buy an RGB to S-video converter like this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/jamma-game-to-TV-composite-video-converter-MAME-/161266910874?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item258c41c69a

[Kenny301]

ok and how do i get the crt_emudriver for windows 7? I heard its in beta and was hoping to access the beta by messaging calamity.

[Calamity]

Hi Kenny301,

PM me and I can pass you the beta if you want.

However, you won't get any benefit from CRT Emudriver if you're using a s-video or composite connection. If your intention is to use s-video/composite then you don't need specific drivers at all. You use CRT Emudriver with a TV that has RGB or component inputs.

I don't know if the board linked by 69mustang actually allows custom refresh rates through composite. If that would be the case then it could be interesting.

BTW regarding the Visiontek cards, check this: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,138378.msg1431744.html#msg1431744

[Kenny301]

what are the benefits? I want an as close to authentic picture as possible on s video until I can find a crt tv with component.

[machyavel]

Hello, the benefit of Calamity's driver is that it allows low resolutions through scart connection.

[Kenny301]

Then how would I get an as close to authentic picture through s video? Do I need the crt_emu drivers? What settings in groovymame should I use to get good results?

[69mustang]

Then how would I get an as close to authentic picture through s video? Do I need the crt_emu drivers? What settings in groovymame should I use to get good results?

You can't unless you use a converter like the one I linked. The money would be better spent on a CRT with component, check craigslist you can find them all day for $20-$50, then vga to scart cable and a scart to YUV/Component converter.  For Groovymame set the ini to arcade_15 and you should be fine. If you need more help on what settings do what, google it or read through the posts on this forum all of your questions so far have been answered in other posts.

Also here is link that shows that the converter I linked earlier has both composite video and s-video

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Weiya-CV-04-RGB-CGA-Arcade-Jamma-MAME-Cherry-Master-TV-composite-video-converter-/151257767204?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2337aa5d24

[69mustang]

I don't know if the board linked by 69mustang actually allows custom refresh rates through composite. If that would be the case then it could be interesting.

I've used a similar converter (RGB to NTSC composite video and s-video) all lo-res progressive signals worked great, I never tried interlaced signals to see what would happen. Composite was not pretty to look at, but S-Video was sharp and colorful.

[zebidia]

S-Video isn't going to output the correct resolutions and frequencies from groovymame. You will need a VGA to Scart cable and a Scart to YUV transcoder. This will output component video (not composite, better than s-video). The signal looks fantastic of SDTV CRT's.

Hi 69mustang. I am going to try making the two-part cable you suggest for hooking up an old 24" Sony Trinitron (which I got for free) with component inputs to my (as yet to be delivered) ATI card. I want to try this approach before I take the easier way out and just go with a new g-sync LCD monitor (and accompanying gForce card).

As for the vga to scart, I can't find any North American distributors, but there are plenty to be had from ebay.uk, and I assume any of those will do the trick. Here's one example:

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/360953093876

And for the scart to yuv transcoder, I found this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ananlog-Scart-RGBS-To-Component-RGB-YUV-Video-Format-Converter-/251203158378?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7ce0016a

Do you think these two items will do the trick, assuming I'll be using CRT_Emudriver with ArcadeOS to control it all?

And the bigger question is, will the results be worth the effort/money, given that I don't want to blow big money on an arcade CRT... I would rather blow the money on an LCD instead.

Thanks for any opinion you can share.

[69mustang]

S-Video isn't going to output the correct resolutions and frequencies from groovymame. You will need a VGA to Scart cable and a Scart to YUV transcoder. This will output component video (not composite, better than s-video). The signal looks fantastic of SDTV CRT's.

Hi 69mustang. I am going to try making the two-part cable you suggest for hooking up an old 24" Sony Trinitron (which I got for free) with component inputs to my (as yet to be delivered) ATI card. I want to try this approach before I take the easier way out and just go with a new g-sync LCD monitor (and accompanying gForce card).

As for the vga to scart, I can't find any North American distributors, but there are plenty to be had from ebay.uk, and I assume any of those will do the trick. Here's one example:

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/360953093876

And for the scart to yuv transcoder, I found this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ananlog-Scart-RGBS-To-Component-RGB-YUV-Video-Format-Converter-/251203158378?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7ce0016a

Do you think these two items will do the trick, assuming I'll be using CRT_Emudriver with ArcadeOS to control it all?

And the bigger question is, will the results be worth the effort/money, given that I don't want to blow big money on an arcade CRT... I would rather blow the money on an LCD instead.

Thanks for any opinion you can share.

Both those items should work just fine, you will need a separate cable for audio of course. The picture quality will be fantastic on an SD CRT TV like a Sony Wega, if you can find one.

[zebidia]

Thanks 69M. Bad news, though: I received the two items and the VGA-to-SCART cable is wired much differently than the wiring diagrams I have found elsewhere in this forum. Subsequently, it doesn't work on my Trinitron. All is not lost, though, as I now have a SCART connector to work with, and will hopefully get around to soldering up my own cable this weekend (I just need to pick up a male DB-15 solder-cup from somewhere... surprisingly hard to find locally). I will use the following as my guide:

[69mustang]

I didn't bother with the diodes when I made my cable, I just tied H-Sync and V-Sync together. If you have the diodes I guess it would be safer.