DREAMCAST VGA QUESTIONS! come here for everything VGA w/ DC.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Here's the difference on my Samsung S4243 ED (not HD) Plasma. I left the camera on auto settings and I don't have my TV all nice and calibrated so the colors and light balance is a little different between the shots though RF is definitely washed out compared to the others.

http://hobie-wan.nfshost.com/dcrf.png

RF to composite gives better color saturation and loses halos. See especially around the Strider logo.

http://hobie-wan.nfshost.com/dccomp.png

Composite to s-video you start seeing actual pixels instead of blobs and start to realize there's purple around the word 'Your' and Hiryu's chest logo is no longer a red blob.

http://hobie-wan.nfshost.com/dcsv.png

S-video to VGA the pixels become clear, the purple around 'Your' is clear, the outline around the Strider logo is purple as it should be instead of black, Hiryu's chest logo is clearer, and Gambit suddenly has a red eye.

http://hobie-wan.nfshost.com/dcvga.png

I'm still jealous of that TV Hobie. It's the perfect Retro and EDTV generation set.

[gtmtnbiker]

@Hobie - nice set of pictures illustrating the differences between the various video interfaces.

[Hobie-wan]

@Hobie - nice set of pictures illustrating the differences between the various video interfaces.

Thanks.

[CRTGAMER]

Thanks for the responses. The tv I'm using is an older Magnavox HDTV
that supports 480i through 1080i. It has 2 S-video inputs and 2 component inputs. Here are some higher resolution images which is the best I can do atm:

Title screen composite
Title screen s-video
SFA3 composite
SFA3 s-video
Ikaruga composite
Ikaruga s-video

I guess I should just get the vga box anyway. Then whenever I get a new tv which has a vga input I'll be able to put it to use. I'm betting there won't be much difference between these images and the s-video on the vga box though.

VGA Box is direct connect to the Dreamcast. Does not use S-Video, but the box does have an auxiliary Composite and S-Video output.

Forgot to mention, be sure the widescreen is turned off. Also as modman pointed out all the digital smoothing functions disabled. Kick that sharpness all the way up and see if it looks better.

[Shogun]

I've got widescreen off and sharpness turned up about half way.

I'm trying to decide for after I move between getting a nice older non-hd Sony CRT for my older consoles or just get an XRGB or check out that flame meister box they have coming out and just use it on an HDTV. Its hard to judge the differences when you can't see them side by side in motion.

[CRTGAMER]

I've got widescreen off and sharpness turned up about half way.

I'm trying to decide for after I move between getting a nice older non-hd Sony CRT for my older consoles or just get an XRGB or check out that flame meister box they have coming out and just use it on an HDTV. Its hard to judge the differences when you can't see them side by side in motion.

Unless you want lightgun use, get the CRT with HD capability. A bargain to be found at the thrift store.

[Shogun]

Unless you want lightgun use, get the CRT with HD capability. A bargain to be found at the thrift store.

How come a CRT with HD instead of an older non-HD tv? I had read around that people were saying the HD CRTs can't handle 240p so well. Can an HD capable CRT handle older 240p systems as well as progressive scan material like a dreamcast and PS2 really good? If so is Sony still the best choice or is there a particular model/brand you'd recommend?

[CRTGAMER]

Unless you want lightgun use, get the CRT with HD capability. A bargain to be found at the thrift store.

How come a CRT with HD instead of an older non-HD tv? I had read around that people were saying the HD CRTs can't handle 240p so well. Can an HD capable CRT handle older 240p systems as well as progressive scan material like a dreamcast and PS2 really good? If so is Sony still the best choice or is there a particular model/brand you'd recommend?

I have a Sony Wega HD CRT. Runs a wide range of consoles and video players at my signature, each console utilizing the best type of connection. All the different video modes are clear with no dot crawl characteristic of LCDs in the lower resolutions. Except for the Dreamcast at S-Video, unfortunately no VGA input on the HD CRT.

[Niode]

Slightly off-topic response, but if VGA is analog (and requires insulated cables) and HDMI is digital, why are there expensive "heavily-insulated" HDMI cables?

marketing bs to make you spend more money

True and false.

If you have a setup consisting of a very large television worth several thousand dollars and the comparable sound system to go with it get the cable that breaks the bank and it'll work perfect.

^At that level we're talking luxury brands most have never heard of like NAD, B&W and KEF along other multi-thousand dollar sound systems and television setups. One of my local Hi-Fi shops that carries a sound system package that's worth $500,000 and trust me you can hear a difference.

Use a cheap HDMI or Analog cable with a setup like that and the throughput won't be high enough for everything. Not to mention that the whole it's there or it isn't in digital isn't quite true. There are errors and missing data, but these are usually negligible thanks to the error correction in a small home setup with only a basic 5.1 system and a small or middle class TV.

But when you blow everything up exponentially it becomes readily more apparent to the naked eye and ear.

In other words, HDMI cables matter in terms of quality as you go up the ladder. But if it's jut a TV and a standard 5.1 system cheap ones are fine.

Just to end this once and for all. There is zero difference between a £1.50 cable and a £100 cable. Here is 100% scientific proof. They even MD5 checksummed the images and the hashes match 100%.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digit ... dmi?page=2

Sorry to go off topic.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

marketing bs to make you spend more money

True and false.

If you have a setup consisting of a very large television worth several thousand dollars and the comparable sound system to go with it get the cable that breaks the bank and it'll work perfect.

^At that level we're talking luxury brands most have never heard of like NAD, B&W and KEF along other multi-thousand dollar sound systems and television setups. One of my local Hi-Fi shops that carries a sound system package that's worth $500,000 and trust me you can hear a difference.

Use a cheap HDMI or Analog cable with a setup like that and the throughput won't be high enough for everything. Not to mention that the whole it's there or it isn't in digital isn't quite true. There are errors and missing data, but these are usually negligible thanks to the error correction in a small home setup with only a basic 5.1 system and a small or middle class TV.

But when you blow everything up exponentially it becomes readily more apparent to the naked eye and ear.

In other words, HDMI cables matter in terms of quality as you go up the ladder. But if it's jut a TV and a standard 5.1 system cheap ones are fine.

Just to end this once and for all. There is zero difference between a £1.50 cable and a £100 cable. Here is 100% scientific proof. They even MD5 checksummed the images and the hashes match 100%.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digit ... dmi?page=2

Sorry to go off topic.

They tell you in the first paragraph that there is a difference.

It's just like ethernet cable, you can't use a Cat.5E cable and expect Cat.6 speeds. There's more going on than just "it gets there or it doesn't".

Yes it's all fine and dandy in a single component setup. That means TV and PS3 or TV, PS3 and Receiver.

When you add in multiple large scale pieces of hardware in for example an audiophile/videophile. Something that actually taxes an HDMI cable to the max like a $600-$1500 blu ray player streaming nothing but full HD video, and modern HD audio formats along with internet integration and 3D video you'll see a big difference between cheapos and the more expensive cables.