GreenAntz RGB to component transcoder

[net_terminal_gene]

Posting a review because Andrew (Zebidee) absolutely deserves it.

I picked up a GreenAntz v1.95 to run VGA/RGBHV → Component (YPbPr) for Batocera-CRT-Script into a consumer CRT (Philips 20PT6341/37). The results are exactly what I was hoping for. Excellent color saturation and depth (not washed out like some transcoders), a clean image, and rock-solid sync. Once dialed in, it just works.

I did end up discovering that my first unit was faulty. After a few hours of runtime, the image would start to flicker and eventually become unstable. What really stood out, though, was how Andrew handled it. He was prompt, patient, and genuinely invested in figuring out what was going on. We went through power, sync, and environmental variables together, and he did a great job explaining the possible causes in clear, technical terms without hand-waving.

Once he identified the root cause (a build-related issue on the PCB), he didn’t hesitate. He built and thoroughly tested a replacement unit, ran it for extended periods to confirm stability, and shipped it out. The replacement has now been running 100% stable for me with zero issues.

This kind of transparency, communication, and follow-through is rare, especially with small-run hardware projects. Andrew clearly stands behind his work and cares about the community and the product. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend GreenAntz to anyone looking for a high-quality VGA to component solution. 

[Zebidee]

Thank you Mikey! So glad the replacement is working out right for you.

Turns out the issue was caused by me not properly cutting a tiny bit of trace beneath the blue sync LED. GreenAntz is in continuous development and the boards I've been using were never designed to have a sync LED, I it is retrofitted into the design. When I get some new boards done the sync LED will be incorporated as a standard feature, no hacking required.

Now that they have the sync LED, I find it invaluable for troubleshooting setups.

OTHER NEWS

The latest design (v1.95) restores the slide switch to select between Csync and Vsync inputs! I had removed the switch for v1.94 as I was happy with GreenAntz "autoswitching" to composite sync when there is no Vsync present, I deemed it unnecessary. Unfortunately CRT_emulator does *NOT* turn off Vsync signal when composite sync is enabled. As noted in my earlier post, this could potentially result in "unrecoverable" situations, requiring rebooting into safe mode and uninstalling drivers.

The restored slide switch forces composite sync mode mode when enabled (it actually disconnects the Vsync input and "blanks" it, pulls it to logic "high").