Upscaling to component vídeo

[executioner]

Hey guys I know those xrgb units are the best money can buy but want to keep things within a budget and already have CRTs around the house for 240p content from the old consoles. For ps2, xbox and Wii I was looking at a component to VGA converter that seems is a good bang for the buck.

Now I want to upgrade to a 50 inch TV but afraid it will not come with VGA input.

Will I need straight component to VGA? Could I use just a VGA to DVI to HDMI adapter with the converter?
Same thing for Dreamcast on VGA?
Any converter/upscalers you recommend?
What can I do with svideo if my CRTs don't have svideo?

[Ziggy]

For ps2, xbox and Wii I was looking at a component to VGA converter that seems is a good bang for the buck.

Now I want to upgrade to a 50 inch TV but afraid it will not come with VGA input.

The 50" TV is gonna be an HDTV? LED or plasma or something?

Why scale/transcode them at all? Your new TV should have at least one component input. Why not just use that directly with those consoles, since they all output component.

The only problem you might run into is if your TV doesn't like 240 over component. That shouldn't be a problem with the Wii, but IIRC a handful of PS2 games output 240p as well as PS1 games. The oXbox, I have no idea. But there are a lot of TVs out there that will display 240p over component perfectly fine. Just do your homework before buying one. If you can't find out online, you can always bring a PS2 with component cables and a PS1 game down to the store to hook up to the TV.

I can totally understand not wanting to spend a lot of money on something, but you have to understand that cheap scalers and transcoders usually cause more harm than good. You're way better off without them, especially if it can be avoided. Hell, even the XRGB mini, as expensive as it is, isn't great at upscaling 480 (it really shines at upscaling 240).

Same thing for Dreamcast on VGA?

I have no idea how many HDTVs lack VGA these days. They don't seem as common as they use to be, but from what I heard they aren't impossible to find. If your new TV doesn't have a VGA input, then I would search for something just for the DC. VGA to DVI/HDMI.

What can I do with svideo if my CRTs don't have svideo?

Get a new CRT. That might sound like a dick thing to say, but I mean it. Start frequenting some thrifts store and/or look on Craigslist. I would search specifically for a Sony Wega Trinitron. They'll have S-Video inputs. And they're the best consumer grade CRTs. You can get them cheap at thrift stores (~$35) or possibly for free off Craiglist since most people don't want CRTs anymore.

[executioner]

Thinking of hunting down a Panasonic plasma.

The why convert to vga is because I was browsing Fudoh's site http://retrogaming.hazard-city.de/ and wondering about that HD box pro and one on monoprice that are around $40~50.

I've read about those Sony Wega will also try to hunt one down. Not in the US so that will be a little harder but will try second hand as you say no one wants CRTs any more.

Thanks for the input.

[Ziggy]

Here's my suggestion: If you care enough to try and get better quality then you'll eventually fall down the rabbit hole. You might think, "I don't need the best." So you get something that doesn't cost a lot of money, but you wont be satisfied with it. What ended up happening with me is that I moved from one cheap device to the next trying to find something good. So over some time, I ended up spending a few hundred bucks on everything but I still only had low end stuff. I wish I would have just saved myself the time, money, and headache and just went for something more expensive from the get-go.

I would stay away from that HD Box Pro thing. You'll have to get other adapters just to use it, so you're gonna end up with like 2 or 3 devices just to hook up one console to a TV. You're bound to make the picture worse that way, you'd be much better off just plugging the console straight into the TV. You'd spend $50 on the HD Box Pro, then whatever else on transcoders and cables. You're better off saving that money.

Again, I would just use the Wii, PS2 and oXbox directly with component. For the DC, if you must use VGA, I would just hunt for a good VGA-DVI/HDMI device.

[Anapan]

You can get a GBS-8200 pretty cheap on ebay. Aside from the crappy deinterlacing, it works well. If you output 240p you might considder an arcadeforge slg3000. The Monoprice VGA to HDMI transcoder was the cheapest and best when I decided to buy one.

[executioner]

Hey real happy got replies from you both, I've been browsing most posts in the forum partially related to my search and you guys are commenting on those.

I really got a lot of homework to do. So from my initial idea changing the focus a little bit. First thing I gotta do is test 240p via component on my current lcd and make sure my next tv behaves well with 240p via component also.

Looking at the best video connection thread got me thinking that yes I have some crts but what if I want to play in the room with the lcd or plasma then need a converter. So now I'm thinking on getting best non modded video output and that means I will need some scart cables mainly for genesis, snes, neo geo cd, jaguar and saturn. I would still need s-video for n64, 3do and gamecube.

My research now should be how to get s-video on the tv since I got no s-video inputs, get scart converted to component and later on worry about dreamcast vga. Very excited on this little project.

[Ziggy]

My research now should be how to get s-video on the tv since I got no s-video inputs, get scart converted to component and later on worry about dreamcast vga. Very excited on this little project.

My first HDTV had S-Video inputs, but my current one does not. I went through several different options. I ended up trying out this device...



Make no mistakes, this thing is far from the best quality. But, I found it to be just as good as the upscaler built into my TV. It's easy to use. I used the SNES and N64 with it.

You can find the same generic scaler with different inputs, like this one with SCART...



I haven't use this one, but I'd imagine it's just as good as the one I have with S-Video input. I'm sure it's the same chip, just different inputs.

There's also this SCART to component transcoder (no scaling)...



The only thing with that though is that you'll have to break out audio some how. I haven't used this one either, but reviews suggest that it's not bad.


But like I said, you might wanna think about everything first before you start buying things. The XRGB is expensive, but if you're spending ~$50 each on cheaper scalers/transcoders, plus the cost of different cables and adapters, you might end up spending more money than it's worth it. What I mean is, look at how much you'll spend on everything, then how much more something like the XRGB would cost, and decided if you're better off just holding out and saving up instead. That's what I wish I did, because I ended up getting an XRGB anyway, after spending a few hundred on different transcoders, scalers, cables, adapters, mods, etc.

[executioner]

Continuing my adventures in improving the video quality I purchased a scart to component box from a fellow member to save about $15 compared to the cost from amazon. I also purchased a scart breakout box from ebay in order to take out audio from the scart cable and plug that into the converter, so now I'm off to search for cables.

I thought that it would be best to use the breakout as the cables without rca for audio seemed cheaper and usually I only connect one console at a time now. Before I had like 16 consoles on but never really turned them on for months.

I also found a nice Sony Trinitron crt with s-video and component inputs so things are going well. Whenever I get the cables will do an update, but knowing how I am in a year I will end up with an xrgb.

[CRTGAMER]

I also found a nice Sony Trinitron crt with s-video and component inputs so things are going well. Whenever I get the cables will do an update, but knowing how I am in a year I will end up with an xrgb.

Many CRT TVs that have a Component input will still only display in 480i, no ideal why manufacturers even bother with component if no progressive scan capability. If you are lucky, the set (though uncommon) will be an ED CRT which supports 480p. In addition, the PS2 Guncon 2 works on the ED tubes in the 480p mode. For a definite way to confirm the tube is HD, look for either a HDMI or DVI input.

[Ziggy]

I also found a nice Sony Trinitron crt with s-video and component inputs so things are going well. Whenever I get the cables will do an update, but knowing how I am in a year I will end up with an xrgb.

What kind of Trinitron did you get? I assume it's a Wega. What model?

How do you like it? Honestly, I was blown away with mine. I read time after time how amazing they are. Usually when that happens, and the bar is set super high, I find myself disappointed. This was a rare case where it was actually as good as everyone claims it to be. What impressed me the most was how good composite looks on it (my model has a comb filter - I've heard that not all of them do). I've never seen the NES look so good before.