Dreamcast VGA to HDMI or Component help...

[Gatsu]

Ok. I've got a Sega Dreamcast, a VGA box and a LCD tv that doesn't have VGA or DVI in. Just HDMI and Component.

What else do I need so that I can run the Dreamcast on my LCD tv without losing picture quality?

[HaRuMaN]

What else do I need so that I can run the Dreamcast on my LCD tv without losing picture quality?

A TV that has VGA input. 

[Gatsu]

har hardy har. 

but seriously. would a vga to component cable work? or do I need some kind of expensive converter box?

[HaRuMaN]

har hardy har. 

but seriously. would a vga to component cable work? or do I need some kind of expensive converter box?

Honestly, I have no idea.  My TV has the VGA connector...

[Ginsu Victim]

would a vga to component cable work?

I don't think so, but if you don't get an answer before the end of the day, I'll try it tonight. I have a vga to component cable.

[Truecade]

You need a VGA to component converter box.  I got one a few years a ago for my dreamcast, I think it was around $75.  If your TV does not have a VGA input, I believe this is your only option to use the TV's component inputs. 

[Gatsu]

bummer. I might have to wait on putting the dreamcast in the cabinet for now.....just until I can save up for that. I've got too many other things I've gotta buy right now. And $75 is a lot for a adapter/converter. hmm.

[Ginsu Victim]

No S-video on that TV?

[Gatsu]

yeah its got S-video and RCA......but I was hoping for a nice 480p picture.

[Ginsu Victim]

Just know that you lose compatibilty with a lot of games because of the VGA adapter.

[Gatsu]

I thought about that and gave the list a look over. All the games I wanna play seem in the clear.

[RetroGreg]

At least Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 will release on the 360 this summer 

[Ginsu Victim]

would a vga to component cable work?

I don't think so, but if you don't get an answer before the end of the day, I'll try it tonight. I have a vga to component cable.

Alright, I've just tried it and as expected, it did not work.

[Gatsu]

ah well. thanks for trying though. Its appreciated and saves me a few dollars.

guess the dreamcast is out for a few weeks...

[northerngames]

Just know that you lose compatibilty with a lot of games because of the VGA adapter.

 The ol DC still looks best when running native on a real 15K with the VGA box hack.

 all games still work and look better then any other display even vga or component when ran at 15K on a 15K monitor.

 I was thinking of going to some type of LCD for the higher res pc games but just cannot break myself from the native displays for classic gaming that lcd's just cannot seem to handle right.

[DJ_Izumi]

The ol DC still looks best when running native on a real 15K with the VGA box hack.

 all games still work and look better then any other display even vga or component when ran at 15K on a 15K monitor.

 I was thinking of going to some type of LCD for the higher res pc games but just cannot break myself from the native displays for classic gaming that lcd's just cannot seem to handle right.

I rather dispute that.  The dreamcast natively works it's graphics at 640x480 progressive, so a monitor cable of doing that 640x480 progressive image is the ideal solution.  Dreamcast on a 21" CRT Triniton monitor; sexy as HELL.  Only downside is the flicker because it only does 60hz.  BUt you'll get that being that close to a monitor.  Looks awesome on a data projector too.  Last weekend we fired up Propeller Arena in a room with other consoles, put it on the projector, four players, hell yeah.

Sega Naomi monitors for arcade are 31khz too afterall.

[Malenko]

yeah its got S-video and RCA......but I was hoping for a nice 480p picture.

Svid on my TV looks pretty amazing very crisp and sharp.....


yeah, I'm getting a lot of mileage out of that picture,lol

[DJ_Izumi]

The VGA output is still a lot better.  Especially on a progressive display where the TV's typically use crappy field bob deinterlacing that's ugly. :/

[Gatsu]

hmmm. I do have an S-video cable or 6 laying around. lol.

I'll try it out and see how it works out.

Thanks man.

[Ginsu Victim]

That's what I suggested in the first place. I think S-video looks pretty good on dreamcast.

[Gatsu]

yes but you didnt provide a pretty picture. 

[Ginsu Victim]

yes but you didnt provide a pretty picture. 

Fine....

[Gatsu]

wow that is nice. 

[northerngames]

The ol DC still looks best when running native on a real 15K with the VGA box hack.

 all games still work and look better then any other display even vga or component when ran at 15K on a 15K monitor.

 I was thinking of going to some type of LCD for the higher res pc games but just cannot break myself from the native displays for classic gaming that lcd's just cannot seem to handle right.

I rather dispute that.  The dreamcast natively works it's graphics at 640x480 progressive, so a monitor cable of doing that 640x480 progressive image is the ideal solution.  Dreamcast on a 21" CRT Triniton monitor; sexy as HELL.  Only downside is the flicker because it only does 60hz.  BUt you'll get that being that close to a monitor.  Looks awesome on a data projector too.  Last weekend we fired up Propeller Arena in a room with other consoles, put it on the projector, four players, hell yeah.

Sega Naomi monitors for arcade are 31khz too afterall.

not to argue but no the sega naomi pretty much is a souped up dreamcast the same goes for the namco 246 it is a ps2 motherboard in there that use's the same type memory cards as the home console there just beefed up a little.

98% of arcade games were made for 15K along with alot of the sega title's arcade games and also why alot of the games for the dreamcast were the same thing as the arcade becuase in reality they were the same exact game running on the same hardware but uinstead of saying insert coin they changed it to free play or press start but the game itself is the same as the arcade version.

the dreamcast can display true 15K when put in 15K and when fed to a 15K moniotr there is no better display as it is in its native state that way and the exact way they were desighned for from the begining.

 if you like show me a DC on your non 15K and I will show you mine on 15K.

 dc games were out in the arcade first and then ported to the console and most of them were either 15K or a slim 25K like virtua fighter.

I also run mine on a nanao MS-26SU from an offical dedicated sega cab

[DJ_Izumi]

not to argue but no the sega naomi pretty much is a souped up dreamcast the same goes for the namco 246 it is a ps2 motherboard in there that use's the same type memory cards as the home console there just beefed up a little.

98% of arcade games were made for 15K along with alot of the sega title's arcade games and also why alot of the games for the dreamcast were the same thing as the arcade becuase in reality they were the same exact game running on the same hardware but uinstead of saying insert coin they changed it to free play or press start but the game itself is the same as the arcade version.

the dreamcast can display true 15K when put in 15K and when fed to a 15K moniotr there is no better display as it is in its native state that way and the exact way they were desighned for from the begining.

 if you like show me a DC on your non 15K and I will show you mine on 15K.

 dc games were out in the arcade first and then ported to the console and most of them were either 15K or a slim 25K like virtua fighter.

I also run mine on a nanao MS-26SU from an offical dedicated sega cab

Litttle nitpick; the Namco System 246 wasn't a souped up PS2 at all, it had identical specs.   The System 256 was the one with more ram.

However the Sega Dreamcast is different from teh PS2.  The vast majority of PS2 games are built from a hardware level up for interlaced output.  It takes extra effort to get progressive visuals to come out of the PS2.  I'll admit I'm not exactly sure as to WHY, but I presume it comes at a processing cost or development complexity.  The list of PS2 games that support 480p output is pretty short.  So the vast majority of games are built for 15khz interlaced output.

The Dreamcast however is exclusively 480p in rendering, any signal has to be converted to interlaced.  It was built using a PC oriented graphics chip and that's why nearly all of it's games support VGA output and many of the remainder can be patched for VGA output.  The Dreamcast and all it's software was made and is rendered at 640x480, not a single game for the Dreamcast uses any other resolution other than 640x480 (A feat the PS2 doesn't even accomplish!  A lot of games are at lower resolution).  This stuff is best viewed on a progressive 31khz display.  Try it on a 4:3 VGA CRT monitor.  It's just so damn pretty.  It's best enjoyed progressively and seeing every pixel that the machine is rendering.  Interlaced 15khz views lose data from the interlacing.

[northerngames]

if not a single dc game use's anything other then 640X480 than how does it display on a regular tv?

also your saying 640x480 is native and not 15K?

[DJ_Izumi]

if not a single dc game use's anything other then 640X480 than how does it display on a regular tv?

also your saying 640x480 is native and not 15K?

640x480 is the native rendering resolution of the dreamcast, yes.  Any other output is converted after rendering.  It's like when you use a PC with TV out and a desktop resolution of 640x480.  The image is being converted by the output hardware.  640x480@60hz progressive is the native resolution of all dreamcast games.  When you use a 15khz monitor you are converting the signal to interlace and one instead of 60 frames per second it's going to do sixty fields per second.  Half of the visual data for any given frame is being discarded when using a 15khz monitor.

The dreamcast is a progressive output machine and the ideal way to view it is with a progressive signal on a progressive display.  Admittidly the Dreamcast and NAOMI were unique in this reguard before and remained so untill the Xbox/Sega Chihiro and all the PC based arcade rigs that appeared since then.

This is also part of the thing that made the dreamcast freaking awesome.  Previously consoles could do 640x480 high resolution graphics but they rarely or never used it as it was seriously expensive in terms of CPU power.  High resolution modes were used for things like title screens.  This is why when the Dreamcast came out people would look at it's output, even on wimpy composite video and go 'Holy crap...'

[Master15]

640x480 is the native rendering resolution of the dreamcast, yes.  Any other output is converted after rendering.  It's like when you use a PC with TV out and a desktop resolution of 640x480.  The image is being converted by the output hardware.  640x480@60hz progressive is the native resolution of all dreamcast games.  When you use a 15khz monitor you are converting the signal to interlace and one instead of 60 frames per second it's going to do sixty fields per second.  Half of the visual data for any given frame is being discarded when using a 15khz monitor.

The dreamcast is a progressive output machine and the ideal way to view it is with a progressive signal on a progressive display.  Admittidly the Dreamcast and NAOMI were unique in this reguard before and remained so untill the Xbox/Sega Chihiro and all the PC based arcade rigs that appeared since then.

This is also part of the thing that made the dreamcast freaking awesome.  Previously consoles could do 640x480 high resolution graphics but they rarely or never used it as it was seriously expensive in terms of CPU power.  High resolution modes were used for things like title screens.  This is why when the Dreamcast came out people would look at it's output, even on wimpy composite video and go 'Holy crap...'

Bangai-O and some other games are 240p (easy to see when running it through NullDC)