CRT TV for MAME: Streched NTSC vs Native Resolutions comparison

[tiobolinha]

Hello everyone:

One of the most common mistakes in using CRT TVs for MAME is driving the video signal directly from the VGA Card TV Out (throgh s-video, composite or even component) to the TV input. As I was told this will force the MAME resolution to 480i (of the NTSC standard) which will strech the games images to fit the screen and pixelize / blur everything. Please correct me if I said something wrong.

The best possible solution with CRT TVs is to have the great and beautiful native resolutions from the games to the TV by driving the 15 Khz signal out of the VGA out of the PCs video card direct to the TV component or SCART input. Depending on your TV you'll have to put a bunch of hardware in the middle of the way to make this work. That's what I have been trying to do in the last weeks.

What I didn't find in this forum or anywhere else in the internet is a image comparison between CRT TVs running MAME games at streched 480i NTSC vs Native Resolutions.

I mean: How much better will the games images really look? Has anyone really compared then at a pixel by pixel level? I'm curious.

Please post here if anyone has such comparison. If nobody does, I'll make this myself when my SCART cables arrive and post here. Currently I have TV-Out to Component connected. Soon I'll update it to VGA -> VGA-SCART cable -> SCART/Component transcoder -> Component.

Regards!

[apfelanni]

doesnt the rgb>ypbpr transcoder work on the rgb signal output taken from the 15 pin sub d of a 15 k capable pc graphiccard ?

[Paradroid]

I mean: How much better will the games images really look? Has anyone really compared then at a pixel by pixel level? I'm curious.

It's night and day. You don't need to hold a magnifying glass to the pixels... you can spot it straight away. Running an interlaced mode instead of progressive is reason enough to pursue native resolutions.

I doubt you'll find a comparison online because it's pretty much a no brainer for purists. Creating a comparison page would simply be an academic exercise. Plus, you'd never capture how annoying the interlaced image is with a screenshot.

I have tested the signal chain you mentioned (VGA -> VGA-SCART cable -> SCART/Component transcoder -> Component) and it worked very nicely. Almost as good as direct RGB.

[butanebob]

I mean: How much better will the games images really look?

A million times better. The problem with comparison pics is they don't really show you the difference. They don't show the problems of interlacing - like the horrible flicker, the feathering on the edges of sprites when they move etc. You have to see it running to really notice the difference.

[tiobolinha]

doesnt the rgb>ypbpr transcoder work on the rgb signal output taken from the 15 pin sub d of a 15 k capable pc graphiccard ?

There are some transcoders that can convert RGB -> Component directly like the TC1500. Unfortunately those are impossible to find these days. That's why I had to take an extra step and put SCART in the middle of the way.

One other question that has been not answered is if it's possible to get the 15 khz signal directly from the TV Out output on the Graphics Card. Maybe a racked firmware?

Thank you!

[tiobolinha]

I mean: How much better will the games images really look? Has anyone really compared then at a pixel by pixel level? I'm curious.

It's night and day. You don't need to hold a magnifying glass to the pixels... you can spot it straight away. Running an interlaced mode instead of progressive is reason enough to pursue native resolutions.

I doubt you'll find a comparison online because it's pretty much a no brainer for purists. Creating a comparison page would simply be an academic exercise. Plus, you'd never capture how annoying the interlaced image is with a screenshot.

I have tested the signal chain you mentioned (VGA -> VGA-SCART cable -> SCART/Component transcoder -> Component) and it worked very nicely. Almost as good as direct RGB.

I mean: How much better will the games images really look?

A million times better. The problem with comparison pics is they don't really show you the difference. They don't show the problems of interlacing - like the horrible flicker, the feathering on the edges of sprites when they move etc. You have to see it running to really notice the difference.

Now you guys got me even more anxious to get my RGB->SCART cables and start testing.

Currently I'm running component locked with NTSC and it seems better than LCD Monitors. But in some games the pixels look nasty.

I'm really excited to see the native resolutions you mentioned. I spent a few bucks on the hardware and it's nice to know that the investment will pay-off!

Anyway I'm still curious about the results. I'll try to make a comparison myself when I upgrade my Arcade.

Regards.