So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

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Erik_Twice
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So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

Post by Erik_Twice »

One of the unintended consequences of having three screens making you look cooler is that it leaves no space for TVs of any kind.

Also my parents refuse to let me hook more game consoles to their TVs so my consoles are collecting dust on my shelf. Being able to play in my room is critical.

I would also love to be able to play while using MSN, who am I kidding? :lol:

So, right now, I have a NES, a Megadrive and a PS2 waiting for me to hook them up. I will get a Dreamcast (no problem as it can just be pluged via VGA slot without any external device) and a SNES but if they are problematic I will skip them.

So, what can you recommend me?
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noiseredux
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Re: So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

Post by noiseredux »

they make VGA boxes -- look them up on Amazon, etc. I have one specifically made for my Gamecube, but many of them are universal (composite inputs) so you can swap out consoles. It doesn't look like VGA perfect graphics, but it will work for you need to do. Trust me. :)
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Anapan
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Re: So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

Post by Anapan »

You can also look up either "scan converter" or "video scaler"
One that can do Component video well (like your PS2 playing Gran Turismo 4 at 1080i) could get expensive, but simply doing S-video or Composite shouldn't be too expensive.
If you are looking for a Component -> VGA scaler, I put links and prices for all the models I could find a while back in a thread:
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 17&t=16764

As far as the S-Video or Composite goes, I don't have any experience with the scan converters that hook up directly tho I see them for sale on many sites. I use a BT8X8 capture card using the btwincap driver for that stuff. There's a barely-noticeable delay, but nothing to distract from the gameplay. The picture control is pretty decent. You can even get USB video capture devices.
Last edited by Anapan on Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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MrPopo
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Re: So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

Post by MrPopo »

I'd recommend an XRGB-3. It upscales your low-rez consoles and outputs a VGA signal.
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CRTGAMER
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Re: So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

Post by CRTGAMER »

A good transcoders is expensive, maybe CRT TV from Goodwill. Doesn't take too much room if you get say a 19", bump one of those monitors outta the way? Keeps computer monitor freed up. Keep in mind Dreamcast has some games that don't support VGA. You could run the S-Video bypass to the TV.
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thelolotov
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Re: So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

Post by thelolotov »

General_Norris wrote:One of the unintended consequences of having three screens making you look cooler is that it leaves no space for TVs of any kind.

Also my parents refuse to let me hook more game consoles to their TVs so my consoles are collecting dust on my shelf. Being able to play in my room is critical.

I would also love to be able to play while using MSN, who am I kidding? :lol:

So, right now, I have a NES, a Megadrive and a PS2 waiting for me to hook them up. I will get a Dreamcast (no problem as it can just be pluged via VGA slot without any external device) and a SNES but if they are problematic I will skip them.

So, what can you recommend me?
Umm, wow, I am actually in the same position as you, three monitors for triplehead gaming, I use this little guy:

Works with my Xbox, 360, N64, GC, DC, and PS2, it does not, however, work with my FC Twin, and I doubt your NES will work with it, I just bought myself a small 5 dollar crt tv for it at Goodwill.

EDIT: Dunno about the megadrive, but I'd bet it would, SNES, I'm not sure.
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Erik_Twice
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Re: So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

Post by Erik_Twice »

So a VGA box then. I have been looking around and I'm having trouble to find info. I know that the X2VGA 2 works great and the box lolotov mentions seems very solid, I have seen it before. If I only were able to know if the Genesis would work...

What box do you use Noiseredux? What works with it?
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thelolotov
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Re: So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

Post by thelolotov »

General_Norris wrote:So a VGA box then. I have been looking around and I'm having trouble to find info. I know that the X2VGA 2 works great and the box lolotov mentions seems very solid, I have seen it before. If I only were able to know if the Genesis would work...

What box do you use Noiseredux? What works with it?
I'm gonna go out on a limb and bet that the Genesis won't, the problem with 16 bit systems and older is they put out a really low res, which doesn't scale well (or in my case, at all) to today's hi res screens. Trust me, get a CRT for the NES, MD, and Genesis.
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noiseredux
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Re: So I need to hook my consoles to PC screens

Post by noiseredux »

General_Norris wrote:So a VGA box then. I have been looking around and I'm having trouble to find info. I know that the X2VGA 2 works great and the box lolotov mentions seems very solid, I have seen it before. If I only were able to know if the Genesis would work...

What box do you use Noiseredux? What works with it?
the one I use is by Innovations and is made specifically for GameCube (or SNES/N64).
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