What is the best way to ouput from a PC to a TV in native resolution?

[ebo0763]

What is the best way to output the video from an emulator like MAME (and others for the NES, SNES, etc...) to a TV with composite, s-video and component video while keeping the native resolution?

My current plan is to use the Ultimarc Arcade VGA and send that RGB signal to a Jrok so it would output composite, s-video and component video. I'm not sure it will work because of this:

- Most arcade games run at 15Hz and I think TVs run on 30Hz.

- I know MAME can output the desired resolution but I don't know if I should expect the same from most emulators.

So I'm looking to be corrected here. Am I right? Is there a magical video card that can output nativaly based on the emulator in composite, s-video and component video? Or is the arcade vga to jrok setup the way to go

Arcade VGA info: http://www.ultimarc.com/avgainf.html

Jrok info: http://www.jrok.com/hardware/RGB.html

[rCadeGaming]

Most arcade games run at 15kHz horizontal scan rate, which is what "standard definition" TV's are designed for.

You have to use component (or SCART if you live outside the US).  You won't do it with composite or s-video.  The optimal setup is (IMHO):

GroovyMAME on Windows XP, 7, or Linux -> VGA out from CRT_Emudriver-compatible video card -> VGA to component transcoder -> 15kHz TV with component input

That will rival the quality of a real arcade monitor, the only differences being shadow mask/aperture grille type and dot pitch.  Those will depend on the type of TV, and are matters of preference.  You can also run a real arcade monitor with this setup.  Just drop the transcoder and run the RGB from the video card directly to the monitor (an RGB amp will be needed with some monitors).

I'm not sure if the JROK will work as a transcoder.  Not sure if it actually does straight transcoding, leaving the resolution alone, or if it encodes to NTSC-compliant 480i, which you don't want.  Some confirmation about this would be nice, but you'd be a guinea pig, and you'd need to do some learning to understand everything that's going on.  I can tell you that a VGA to SCART adapter and CVS-287 SCART to component transcoder would be a sure thing.

I would not recommend an ArcadeVGA.  You won't have full control to achieve native resolution AND native refresh rate.  You'll want to use GroovyMAME, and that works best with a CRT_Emudriver-compatible video card, which is cheaper anyways. 

Check out the GroovyMAME section here, as well as the second link in my signature.

[zebidia]

Most arcade games run at 15kHz horizontal scan rate, which is what "standard definition" TV's are designed for.

You have to use component (or SCART if you live outside the US).  You won't do it with composite or s-video.  The optimal setup is (IMHO):

GroovyMAME on Windows XP, 7, or Linux -> VGA out from CRT_Emudriver-compatible video card -> VGA to component transcoder -> 15kHz TV with component input

That will rival the quality of a real arcade monitor, the only differences being shadow mask/aperture grille type and dot pitch.  Those will depend on the type of TV, and are matters of preference.  You can also run a real arcade monitor with this setup.  Just drop the transcoder and run the RGB from the video card directly to the monitor (an RGB amp will be needed with some monitors).

I'm not sure if the JROK will work as a transcoder.  Not sure if it actually does straight transcoding, leaving the resolution alone, or if it encodes to NTSC-compliant 480i, which you don't want.  Some confirmation about this would be nice, but you'd be a guinea pig, and you'd need to do some learning to understand everything that's going on.  I can tell you that a VGA to SCART adapter and CVS-287 SCART to component transcoder would be a sure thing.

I would not recommend an ArcadeVGA.  You won't have full control to achieve native resolution AND native refresh rate.  You'll want to use GroovyMAME, and that works best with a CRT_Emudriver-compatible video card, which is cheaper anyways. 

Check out the GroovyMAME section here, as well as the second link in my signature.
[/quote

Hey rCG. Could I trouble you to offer an opinion on the following items I have (sadly, perhaps) already ordered to solve the PC-to-TV problem?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2M-Scart-RGB-To-VGA-SVGA-15-PIN-Female-HD-Cable-Lead-For-TV-Plasma-LCD-Monitor-/360953093876?ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:CA:3160

and

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ananlog-Scart-RGBS-To-Component-RGB-YUV-Video-Format-Converter-/251203158378?ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:CA:3160

Do you think these will do the trick for plugging in to component of a 24" Sony Trinitron TV?

Thanks.

[rCadeGaming]

What model Trinitron?

Based on the information given in those listings, it's hard to tell.

For the cable, it depends how the change from separate to composite sync is handled.  It's advertised as SCART to VGA (the opposite direction from what you need), so I'm guessing it could be a problem.

For the transcoder, I haven't seen that particular one tested for 15kHz progressive.  It could work, or it could encode everything to NTSC-compliant 15kHz interlaced (480i, no good).

Please post your results.