Dreamcast component mod

[theclaw]

Anyone have luck with this? From what I gather... Maximum game compatibility and aesthetics, would involve two encoder chips sent to the same output jacks. RGB>component and VGA>component.
Because several games fail to support either RGB or VGA.

It'd really simplify using DC with anything like an XRGB should I get one.

[Jamisonia]

It would be simpler to convert VGA to HDMI. HDTVs can accept RGB signals over HDMI, if the resolution is high enough. I believe 640x480 qualifies. Also not converting colorspaces has got to maintain better picture quality.

[theclaw]

Well a host of games are incompatible with VGA. Bangai-O, WWF Attitude, Bust A Move 4, Plasma Sword...

[Jamisonia]

Interesting. Well my first reaction is to say maybe just use s-video for that handful of games, but somehow I think you don't want to compromise. I'm interested to see the results of DC YPbPr, especially as it compares to RGB.

[skate323k137]

I see your dilemma but I can't think of a great solution off the top of my head.

RGB and VGA are basically the same, but RGB is 15khz and uses composite sync (or scart tv's use composite video for the sync signal), where as VGA is 31khz RGB and usually uses split H/V sync wires.

You might be able to rig something up custom that has the R, G, and B signals wired to an output, with a switch on pin 6 to ground and pin 7 permanantly grounded (see http://www.made-by-bacteria.com/viewtop ... f=85&t=659 ). This would switch your output between 15 khz RGB and 31 khz VGA. The real questions would be then, if you wire composite sync to a japanese scart cable (input type of xrgb) would the xrgb accept both 15 and 31khz as input through that interface, and could you get away with using csync instead of h/v for 31khz (VGA) mode. The answers to those questions, I have no idea. The 15khz with csync would work since that's standard scart, but I have no clue if you can get away with a 31khz input over that interface, and where the hell you would wire H and V sync instead of composite if you could.

I personally have 2 dreamcasts, one on 15khz to a CRT PVM, and one on 31khz to a CRT VGA monitor. Luckily space is not an issue for me and I don't have a need to play them on an LCD display.

Component honestly isn't that much nicer than S-video; it's really just a further breakdown of chroma/luma signal. Neither are as good as RGB of course, however on a really nice CRT such as a PVM, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between s-video and RGB.

http://photosuckit.com/images/fsfull.jpg is fast striker on s-video to a PVM.

[theclaw]

There is one cable spaghetti option that should work:
Get internal VGA port installed with switch
Connect SCART cable and VGA cable to separate component encoders
Use component selector box to effectively merge the two outputs into one

[skate323k137]

Yeah that should work. Any reason you're set on using component instead of upscanned VGA?

[theclaw]

If I get XRGB framemeister that version is harder to get working with VGA sources.