New CRT Emudriver/VMMaker/Arcade OSD download, documentation and discussion site

[deadsoulz]

spacorn,

Your gpu was probably released after this version of the driver. We'd need a new CRT Emudriver based on a newer AMD driver in order to support it.

At the moment I can't give any probable date for this to happen.

Just wanted to post that we're a number of people who would greatly appreciate it if it happens, having the main PC for this purpose is nice, both from a CPU viewpoint (being able to utilizie the best most modern CPU you own for MAME) and just from a convenience point of view as many keep our 15kHz CRT's near our desks anyway.

Have a friend try get their dual GPU (modern nvidia GPU+HD5450) setup working with win11, which worked perfectly with vulkan and flawless CRTswitchres in win10. But despite my recommendation on ignoring win11, they decided to upgrade anway and ended up with the rejected by driver issue. Which is how I found out about the whole DX11 compatibility clash.
Personally I disabled unsuspecting win11 upgrades in every way I can.

All the work you've put into this is greatly appreciated either way, can't imagine a world with CRT's but without CRTEmudriver! 

Unrelated to the above:
Been helping people set all of this up through discord a lot, as I threw together some guide PDF's for this setup:


Hardware needed+CRTemudriver install+guide and presets for RA CRTSwitchres+gui alternatives (all on the CRT, or optionally game browsing on an LCD) and that sort of thing, very roughly put together but I'm easily available anyway.

So anyone who needs help, just hit me up and I'll gladly help getting the setup up and running, both emulation and windows native games that support 15kHz resolutions, have a bunch of those setup with batch+ahk scripts for perfect output set at game launch, no stutters or screen tearing at all. 4x internal resolutions for 3D systems at 2560 super res output (yes it makes a difference https://imgur.com/a/2eVfjla last pic is 4x internal) vulkan allowing for main GPU processing, outputting to the HD5450 while the CRT is set as main display for switchres. With no lag or a <16ms subframe lag cost (240 fps highspeed cam test showing perfect syncronization between CRT and modern monitor).

More than happy to share how any of this is done.

Thanks for the offer.  I am super interested in your batch+ahk scripts etc.....guides for setting this up.  I recently setup Windows 10 + CRTEMU on a 15-25-31khz arcade screen, + AMD 280x + LaunchBox/BigBox which is using RetroArch and Groovymame.   I have some problems getting RetroArch to display resolutions etc....correctly, and Even GroovyMame has some horizontal refresh tearing that happens.

[apeezy]

I am having an issue in retroarch running switchres where whenever an in game resolution switch occurs from 240p to 480i I get a slight stutter and I am able to see the desktop and taskbar for a second before it swaps back to the game. It doesn't matter if I use 2 monitors and hide the taskbar on the gaming monitor, because the desktop background will still flash and i'll get a stutter. I've been trying to troubleshoot this for a few days now and am lost on how to fix this. When switching in game from 480i to 240p, however, it is completely seamless with no issues at all there.

I am using the current build of crt emudriver with an hd 5450.

Any help or ideas as to why this might be happening would be great. Thanks so much! Other than this issue everything works great and it’s been so fun to play all these games on my crt!

I’d be happy to provide video of the issue if needed.

[r1ggles]

I am having an issue in retroarch running switchres where whenever an in game resolution switch occurs from 240p to 480i I get a slight stutter and I am able to see the desktop and taskbar for a second before it swaps back to the game. It doesn't matter if I use 2 monitors and hide the taskbar on the gaming monitor, because the desktop background will still flash and i'll get a stutter. I've been trying to troubleshoot this for a few days now and am lost on how to fix this. When switching in game from 480i to 240p, however, it is completely seamless with no issues at all there.

I am using the current build of crt emudriver with an hd 5450.
Any help or ideas as to why this might be happening would be great. Thanks so much! Other than this issue everything works great and it’s been so fun to play all these games on my crt!
I’d be happy to provide video of the issue if needed.

Helped you on discord, for anyone wondering just message me for the exact setup.
It was related to the taskbar positioned behind the full screen game, I made a batch+ahk script for primary display switching that also moves the taskbar away from the CRT onto one of the LCDs automatically.
With the taskbar no longer on the CRT it would no longer cause said slight interference during resolution switching.

[deadsoulz]

I wonder if these drivers would be a good starting point for a updated CRT EMU driver.   They support multiple generations back.

https://www.amernimezone.com/#home

[Rion]

I wonder if these drivers would be a good starting point for a updated CRT EMU driver.   They support multiple generations back.

https://www.amernimezone.com/#home

That is a great idea. I use them myself.

[nati_grin12]

Hello everyone
Does crt emudriver utilize s-video/composite video outputs or only vga? Got a hd 3450 with s vid and another on the way with composite and i was hoping To maybe use crt emu with switchres instead of just constant 480i. thanks in advance

[r1ggles]

Hello everyone
Does crt emudriver utilize s-video/composite video outputs or only vga? Got a hd 3450 with s vid and another on the way with composite and i was hoping To maybe use crt emu with switchres instead of just constant 480i. thanks in advance

No it doesn't, it generates a 15kHz signal in RGB only, RGB with separate Horizontal and Vertical sync, so a TV with RGB support will need a sync combiner as well (I recommend the UMSA as it also reworks the sync signal for better compatibility, but others such as VGA2Scart works).

HD3450 isn't recommended as only 5xxx + cards such as HD5450 can do Emulated EDID (giving you a lot of modelines), just helped someone wanting to set this up and they ended up buying an HD5450 to make this work properly with CRTSwitchres.

Dual GPU is a really great way to do it as you can without introduced lag (under a frame) output to the CRTEmudriver GPU, but have your modern GPU handle the processing for GPU utilizing emulators like Flycast.
https://imgur.com/a/2eVfjla (Here you see Dolphin Blue running at 640px, 1280px and 2560px, the modern GPU allows you to run games at super res internally, which makes for a crazy detailed horizontal resolution, abusing the fact that CRT TV's don't have a horizontal resolution.


From RGB you can use something like a wakabavideo transcoder to transcode into a color space your TV accepts, they sell VGA(RGBHV)>Component(YPbPr) that also combines the HV sync into one for TV's. I believe the also have a transcoder for composite. But you're going to lose a lot of visual fidelity with composite. I will have to ask Jam about this, as I'm unsure what someone limited to composite would have to do.

Maybe you should look into RGB modding your TV.

Keep in mind that if you're in the US with a US TV you'll be able to play console games perfectly with Switchres, but arcade stuff will be limited to games that run fine at 60Hz, since arcade games also go anywhere from 55-59Hz which US TV's don't like (Euro CRT's do sync anywhere between 50-60Hz though). It's fine to speed up 58Hz>60Hz, but games that run below that will be a much worse experience at the incorrect speed. You can read about what refreshrates different games have on arcade italia database adb.

I've posted my guide earlier in this thread for RA CRTSwitchres (by Calamity as well), but just PM me and I can help in detail to get this up and running.

I wonder if these drivers would be a good starting point for a updated CRT EMU driver.   They support multiple generations back.

https://www.amernimezone.com/#home

I hope so! Seems like a sound idea. Some users that I've helped are asking me about the windows 11 situation, so there are a lot of people who wish to use win11 now.
I'll stay on win10 as long as possible personally but when it comes to a long term plan something will have to be developed. Nothing beats CRTEmudriver+CRTSwitchres since old games came in all sorts of resolutions, refreshrates and sometimes switched modes mid game.

And beyond emulation there still are new windows native games that come out in 240p 4:3, like Steel Assault for example, plays perfectly with a CRTEmuGPU+RTX/GTX setup and multimonitortool batch scripts (sets CRT modeline as you launch the game), other games need .ahk scaling scripts for perfect 1x scaling. Bit of a long single time setup, but totally worth it and something we eventually will need win11 support to keep doing.

I'll keep helping people to set this up as much as possible, the more people we are who use this and know how to set things up the better it is for everyone.

[Zebidee]

Hello everyone
Does crt emudriver utilize s-video/composite video outputs or only vga? Got a hd 3450 with s vid and another on the way with composite and i was hoping To maybe use crt emu with switchres instead of just constant 480i. thanks in advance

You mean one of those old cards with TV-out support via a s-video or composite output directly on the card? No, CRTEMU won't give work for that. You are stuck with your interlaced mode. The cards are all too old for CRTEMU 2.0+ anyway.

The only way I can think of would be to hack the video driver so that it outputs the TV signal via VGA head. I did this once about 15 years ago to get YPbPr out of a Radeon 9XXX?, using Powerstrip, but that software is old and not maintained anymore.

Anyway, it was a huge hassle. Better solution is to use a transcoder, and that is one reason why we designed the GreenAntz VGA and SCART to YPbPr units. They do the sync combining but, unfortunately they don't do svideo or composite, the colour spaces are different - you would get a picture, but it would be monochrome.

I do believe I've seen a Jam/wakabavideo unit with VGA in and composite out. You'd have to ask him directly regarding availability. He makes good stuff and gives support. There may be other composite transcoders out there, but I can't attest to quality. Trouble with the cheap adapters is that they probably just give you that 480i composite signal output.

RGB modding the TV is a great idea, the best, if you can manage a little soldering. If it can't be RGB modded, often you can component (YPbPr) mod it, especially with later mid-1990s+ TVs with the mega-jungle ~64-pin chips that integrate the OSD function, thus blocking that route for RGB modding. I wrote a guide for component-modding a TV, is usually simpler than RGB modding as the inputs are often just there waiting, no need to OSD hack etc. The next steps for that would be to have a look inside the TV, and to get schematics or at least a part number for the jungle chip.

[jackb77]

Hello!
Who can make me some explanations about the different choice of drivers
I have some ATI cards... the best that I can use for CRTEMUDRIVERS are HD7770 or R7 240
I don't understand what drivers are the best for these

- Adrenalin 18.5.1 for GCN* cards
or
- Crimson 16.2.1 for GCN* cards

I suppose both are fine but what difference?

The operating system is Windows 7 64bit

[DJO_Maverick]

Any current plans of expanding out Emudriver's support to newer AMD cards (like the RX 6400)?

[haynor666]

 Eiusdemmodi forum is down. Is https://github.com/antonioginer the only place for downloading tools ?

[Calamity]

Yes, it looks like the site is down, hopefully Recap can ping the hostmaster when he sees this.

In the meantime, use this link to download the required files.

[haynor666]

Thanks Calamity. I forgot to keep some archives locally in case of hardware failure/upgrade so I had to re-download 

[Recapnation]

Not sure what's going on as we did get Postback's forum back the other day unlike Eius, but I guess it's a matter of a few more days.

[mixerjdp]

Hello Are there any development plans to make Emudriver compatible with more recent AMD graphics cards, such as the RX 7xxx models?

[Calamity]

Hi,

Hello Are there any development plans to make Emudriver compatible with more recent AMD graphics cards, such as the RX 7xxx models?

Yes, I would like to release a new version based on some recent driver, so that would support newer cards. However, it will lack support for interlace modes on newer hardware, so its usability will be limited.

[Andypc]

What are the latest AMD cards supported by CRT Emu Drivers?

 

[chinagreenelvis]

What are the latest AMD cards supported by CRT Emu Drivers?

The Radeon 5450 is a great card, easy to find, and inexpensive to get. The tutorials mention it specifically.

[chinagreenelvis]

I have a question about EDID emulation on a 5450, actually:

Would Switchres through Retroarch still work on a CRT that has been VGA-modded without installing CRTEmudriver?

I had it set up perfectly on a component-input CRT using this adapter . Unfortunately, the CRT's inputs failed on me and another set has been hard to track down. Intead, I know a guy who does SCART mods and is prepared to do a VGA port instead.

My bigger problem is the PC machine I was using crapped out as well, and testsigning interferes with too much for my main, so I'd have to dual-boot (and would rather not). I'd also rather not have to use a second machine at all, to be honest.

I was reading about EDID emulation on 5xxx cards as a workaround but would that even work with the modded CRT?

[Calamity]

chinagreenelvis,

Would Switchres through Retroarch still work on a CRT that has been VGA-modded without installing CRTEmudriver?

Short answer, no.

It will work to a limited extent, but no low resolutions nor dynamic video timings will work, so...

I was reading about EDID emulation on 5xxx cards as a workaround but would that even work with the modded CRT?

I don't understand your question.

EDID emulation is no workaround, but a substantial part of emudriver/vmmaker's operation.

The fact that this is a modded CRT is completely irrelevant from my point of view.

[chinagreenelvis]

Thanks for the reply; I think I understand now. It's just unfortunate that enabling testsigning interferes too much with day-to-day stuff, so I have no choice but to either run a second machine or dual-boot. I suppose I could create one custom resolution and force everything to run at that just to avoid the shimmering and dot crawl... but is creating a 240p 15kHz signal possible without the custom drivers?

[Zebidee]

I had it set up perfectly on a component-input CRT using this adapter .

That thing is actually a direct ripoff of an older pre-GreenAntz design, that my mate published on github in 2018 before we decided to make a better "sellable" version. I told him this would happen back then, and surely it did.

Anyway, if you are happy then that's great and some Chinese dude is richer. The quality is mediocre in many ways (yes I bought one for testing, inspection, comparison). Know that the newer GreenAntz v1.94 is significantly better - especially colour brightness, saturation and consistency.

Back to your other issues, maybe you should give CRU a try. You won't get the switchres magic, but at least you should be able to get 240p.
https://customresolutionutility.net/

[Calamity]

Thanks for the reply; I think I understand now. It's just unfortunate that enabling testsigning interferes too much with day-to-day stuff, so I have no choice but to either run a second machine or dual-boot.

Could you please tell us which day-to-day stuff is interfered by testsigning? I'm aware of anti-cheat systems in Steam, etc. but nothing else, but of course I'm not in gaming and I'm probably unaware of other issues. I've run my production pcs with testsigning enabled for over a decade with no problems at all.

I suppose I could create one custom resolution and force everything to run at that just to avoid the shimmering and dot crawl... but is creating a 240p 15kHz signal possible without the custom drivers?

Check this thread: https://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/viewtopic.php?id=326

Note: the procedure in that thread uses CRU to add extra modes to the EDID. I'd say (but haven't tested) that all the process could be done through vmmaker alone, without CRT, by checking tick "Add modes from modelist" in the EDID emulation tab.

The logic here is that the low resolution limit in stock drivers is bypassed through the EDID, but instead affects custom modes added through AMD's api (which is why the patched drivers are needed).

[chinagreenelvis]

Could you please tell us which day-to-day stuff is interfered by testsigning? I'm aware of anti-cheat systems in Steam, etc. but nothing else, but of course I'm not in gaming and I'm probably unaware of other issues. I've run my production pcs with testsigning enabled for over a decade with no problems at all.

I program a lot of automation in AHK, mostly for window arrangement. The one I wrote for Steam specifically relies heavily on the Steam browser protocol, and having testsigning enabled adds an inexplicable delay to those commands, which defeats the purpose of the program. And of course some games won't run because they rely on anti-cheat programs that won't work in that mode.

And thanks, I'll mess around with CRU although from what I understand you need the custom driver to remove the limitations on how many custom resolutions you can add.

[chinagreenelvis]

Edit2: Tried this again on my rebuilt dedicated machine and this seems to be a possible problem with UltraMon, because even though I couldn't make it pick 320x240, Switchres was able to, as was Windows display settings. Which is weird because I was able to make UltraMon switch to that resolution before.

Edit: Nevermind, I appear to have solved the issue by simply using my previous custom preset instead.

I'm having another issue going the standard route with a new TV. I had CRTEmudriver running great on the RCA TruFlat 27F522T after making a custom preset for it, but the component inputs died on me and it suffered from the infamous flatscreen "side stretching" AKA "WEGA wobble" especially noticeable in sidescrolling games.

I lucked out and I found an Orion sub-brand "Dynex" set which has a curved screen and component inputs. It appears to be identical to the Sansui DTV2798.

I'm able to get custom resolutions added to it using the NTSC TV preset, I'm getting very strange behavior. When I attempt to set it to 320x240 landscape progressive, it switches to 256x448 portrait interlaced. I've attached images of the display settings using UltraMon.

I'm connected via DVI to VGA adapter and then to a standard RGB to YPbPr converter, the same one I was using before, so it really shouldn't matter what television set is getting the component signal, right?

The only difference is that I'm testing using my main PC instead of the dedicated machine I had connected to the TruFlat (the mobo crapped out and I'm in the middle of replacing it) and I'll test again using that, but both systems are using the exact same model of HD 5450 as the secondary card, and both are running Windows 10 64-bit.

[Draconis Lucae]

Hi all, first post, I am here because I am having some challenges getting CRT emudriver to work and am hoping I can get assistance from Calamity or someone else seasoned in troubleshooting on this. I am attempting to install this on a Lenovo Thinkcentre M715Q with a 2400G iGPU, which seems to be supported by CRT EMU 2.0 for Adrenaline 18.5.1. All the outputs on this are DisplayPort, so i'm also using a DisplayPort to VGA converter, connecting it to a digital monitor that has a VGA port until I can get a 15khz signal.

Before doing anything, put on a fresh Windows 10 install and uninstalled the Radeon 11 Vega Graphics Driver that loads by defauly. I then follow the instructions written by Calamity and everything seems to go fine until I get to the EDID Emulation part with VMMaker. Although the CRTEmu driver is loaded and recognized, I can't select any output for EDID emulation and it's generally unavailable.





Not sure what else to do at this point, it just seems stuck? I haven't found many specific questions about the 2400G in online searches either.

UPDATE: Actually left this post sitting in draft for a little bit and noticed...the M715Q has a 2400GE. Only release a few months later, but maybe that's the issue? Submitting anyways to verify since the setup for crtemu recognized it and everything.

[Hunk_4TH]

Hey guys,

I know it isn't possible to have two AMD GPUs when using Emudriver. I had a thought though, would it be possible to have a secondary of Windows just for the supported GPU? Just for Emudriver? I have a secondary PC I was using for emulation via Emudriver, but it's pretty slow compared to my main gaming pc.

[AncientCarthage]

spacorn,

Your gpu was probably released after this version of the driver. We'd need a new CRT Emudriver based on a newer AMD driver in order to support it.

At the moment I can't give any probable date for this to happen.

Hi Calamity, I was wondering if you were still planning on releasing an updated version of Emudriver that covers new systems?  I recall you saying you wanted to do that recently but cannot find the forum post atm.  I'm running a very unique setup that uses integrated graphics and it requires me to use windows 11, which actually works with vmmaker and allows me to install modelines with it (I'm using an R7 350 graphics card).  Everything works perfectly except that the setup doesn't work with Emudriver beta 10, which was the last version of Emudriver that had the interlacing anti flicker patch.  So I was wondering if you were planning on releasing a new version that allows people to select the anti flicker patch if they want that option.  That's basically the only thing missing from my setup right now.

[chinagreenelvis]

Emudriver beta 10, which was the last version of Emudriver that had the interlacing anti flicker patch.

I actually stopped by this thread for this exact problem; I can't use test mode on my main OS for reasons and I noticed that if I just enable EDID emulation in vmmaker without using Emudriver, the only resulting resolution is 640x240 interlaced but it gives me a nice, clean, flicker-free display. Meanwhile, actually installing CRTEmudriver on a second OS that has test mode active results in the same flicker you get with a composite adapter.

Since I'm still on Win10, is there a link to this version somewhere so that I can test it? That flicker is just awful. (Edit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5iMjDor3P__OGVGNmR1dzhiZms?resourcekey=0-53eP2FSKDTbncBC4pcLi3g)

Edit: Looking through the revision history, I see that this is actually something from a previous beta that was disabled... but why not make it optional? Is there any way to restore it?

It's even more baffling to me because consoles don't suffer from interlacing flicker...

[chinagreenelvis]

Okay, I've had it. This is ridiculous. Having to enable test mode in Windows in order to install this thing is nonsense.

If getting a device driver signed costs money, can we not just collectively fund it?