Dreamcast + VGA (and me) Mentioned on gdgt front page

[Dakinggamer87]

Very cool that is next on my list to get VGA for my Dreamcast..

[racketboy]

Hmm the HDMI converter sure looks interesting. Currently I'm plugging my VGA cable into my Viera's PC in. The only problem there is that it uses the audio from the component in. So I have the audio from the VGA box plugged into my Joytech Control Centre 540C component switcher and select the input from there. It's fiddly but it works. It would make things much easier if I could just plug it straight into HDMI and have the audio there too. Would save on having lots of cables everywhere.

Is the HDMI converter passive or active?

Active -- and I think that's the key.
There haven't been any passive ones that work for the DC.

[crux]

Dreamcast is the only pre-360 one to support VGA nativity as far as I know.
Anything else is just converting an inferior signal, right?

Tsk, tsk. You're right that the Dreamcast is the only older system to natively support VGA out o' the box, but that doesn't mean other systems "convert an inferior signal." On the contrary, many older consoles (most, really) convert RGB into an inferior signal to get the composite and s-video signals Americans are so sadly used to using. Many PAL and NTSC-J consoles can use RGB SCART or D-Sub right out of the box. Many consoles, including Genesis, SNES, Saturn, and PlayStation, simply need a modified cable to get the signal desired.

Using VGA is a slightly different story, as most of the VGA monitors we think of today aren't compatible with the 15Khz syncs of yesterday, but that doesn't mean that the RGB signals of yesterday are in any way "inferior." Just thought I'd clarify.

[racketboy]

Dreamcast is the only pre-360 one to support VGA nativity as far as I know.
Anything else is just converting an inferior signal, right?

Tsk, tsk. You're right that the Dreamcast is the only older system to natively support VGA out o' the box, but that doesn't mean other systems "convert an inferior signal." On the contrary, many older consoles (most, really) convert RGB into an inferior signal to get the composite and s-video signals Americans are so sadly used to using. Many PAL and NTSC-J consoles can use RGB SCART or D-Sub right out of the box. Many consoles, including Genesis, SNES, Saturn, and PlayStation, simply need a modified cable to get the signal desired.

Using VGA is a slightly different story, as most of the VGA monitors we think of today aren't compatible with the 15Khz syncs of yesterday, but that doesn't mean that the RGB signals of yesterday are in any way "inferior." Just thought I'd clarify.

I was referring to supposed "VGA Boxes" -- they aren't going to give you the same type of quality that a Dreamcast VGA box would. I admit I wasn't very clear/specific

[crux]

But all of those other VGA boxes are third-party anyway. It's hard to compare it to a system meant to output via VGA. Technically it would be possible to fashion a pure RGB VGA box for other systems, but it would have to take the large leap to assume that the user has a 15Khz monitor that can accept VGA. Ie., they don't exist because few could use them. But you're right, in any event. But it's not the VGA box so much as the Dreamcast that deserve championing. But there are plenty of ways to get the quality signals out of damn near every system out there.

By the way, we really should get a post on Racketboy about maximizing video signals, both out of box and through modifications. Sites like GameSX.com exist, but they assume a certain level of technical expertise (not just with soldering, but understanding capacitors and resistors). A more clear all-in-one guide would help a lot of people, both in understanding what their consoles are already capable of and what they're theoretically capable of. There's also some things that you really have to dig through the GameSX forums to see, like the idea of using a RGB SCART switcher so that the capacitors can be placed in the box itself, and the consoles attach to the switcher via standard RGB SCART cables for the respective system. It reduces the amount of cords needed to be modded (just one RGB SCART to television cord) and allows for the systems to be connected at once.

I know someone was working on a video signal guide, but I haven't heard anything of it in a long time and I never saw it posted. What's the status on something like that?

[racketboy]

But all of those other VGA boxes are third-party anyway. It's hard to compare it to a system meant to output via VGA. Technically it would be possible to fashion a pure RGB VGA box for other systems, but it would have to take the large leap to assume that the user has a 15Khz monitor that can accept VGA. Ie., they don't exist because few could use them. But you're right, in any event. But it's not the VGA box so much as the Dreamcast that deserve championing. But there are plenty of ways to get the quality signals out of damn near every system out there.

By the way, we really should get a post on Racketboy about maximizing video signals, both out of box and through modifications. Sites like GameSX.com exist, but they assume a certain level of technical expertise (not just with soldering, but understanding capacitors and resistors). A more clear all-in-one guide would help a lot of people, both in understanding what their consoles are already capable of and what they're theoretically capable of. There's also some things that you really have to dig through the GameSX forums to see, like the idea of using a RGB SCART switcher so that the capacitors can be placed in the box itself, and the consoles attach to the switcher via standard RGB SCART cables for the respective system. It reduces the amount of cords needed to be modded (just one RGB SCART to television cord) and allows for the systems to be connected at once.

I know someone was working on a video signal guide, but I haven't heard anything of it in a long time and I never saw it posted. What's the status on something like that?

Actually, we have a guide mostly written up for just that (thanks, lordofduct) -- it just needs to be edited more and get more illustrations and such. Been on the back-burner for a while...