T-SLG (Toodles Scanline Generator) Authentic retro look from your modern flatscreen

[Toodles]

It’s more pleasing, certainly, but that doesn’t mean it’s clearer or more detailed. It is literally destroying visual information.
Think of it as Playboy airbrushing over stretch marks. The result is more pleasing, and less accurate.

[mistahsnart]

snip

Gotcha. I found a 6" male-to-female vga cable in my box-o-parts the other day, so no upside boards for me.

Think of it as Playboy airbrushing over stretch marks. The result is more pleasing, and less accurate.

Best metaphor this thread has seen.

[RosserRooster]

It’s more pleasing, certainly, but that doesn’t mean it’s clearer or more detailed. It is literally destroying visual information.
Think of it as Playboy airbrushing over stretch marks. The result is more pleasing, and less accurate.

Yeah I guess I do see what your saying…but I personally have a easier time deciphering small details maybe more so on systems older than the DC I do like the playboy analogy though

I understand some visual information is destroyed but when be processed through a scaler are you really loosing any actual visual data

[Smashbro29]

The chips will still be DIP like the one you got, but I dont think there will be IC sockets, just solder the chips to the board directly. If there is enough interest to sell out the kits quickly, I’ll get some preassembled with surface mount chips instead. Im still planning on using TI chips, but I changed the family to the 74HC ones instead of LS to make sure they work will with lower voltages.

A VGA signal comes in one side, the T-SLG makes every other line darker, and spits out the resulting VGA signal. The blackening of every other line makes it look like it was actually displaying on an old CRT, like old arcade monitors or very old TVs.

You have GGPO installed, right? Run the ‘ggpofba.exe’ , load up a ROM, and play for a bit. That’s what the video would normally look like from a DC VGA box. Now, go to the video settings and enable scanlines. Play for a bit. What it looks like then is what this is trying to do.

It doesn’t convert video, it doesn’t change anything, the only thing it does is darken every other horizontal line. This helps make older, lower resolution games look better because the blockiness of the pixels isnt as jarring, and helps with the nostalgia on playing the games how they were originally played ‘back in the day’.

I THINK I get it. I’m gonna need to find a way to make more VGA ports. also does this add lag? Which gaming consoles will it work with?

[Toodles]

1. also does this add lag?
2. Which gaming consoles will it work with?

1. No, absolutely not. This isn’t a ‘well, not NOTICIBLE lag’ kind of statement, I mean NO lag, not even a nanosecond, microsecond, millisecond, or anything. It has all of the lag of a standard boring VGA cable.
2. Any. It’s completely console agnostic. You could use it with ANYTHING that has a VGA signal, even your computer.
   Now, ‘How do I use it on console X?’ is a completely different question. There are aftermarket X->VGA options available for the past two and a half generations of systems. For PSX and earlier consoles, it gets a little trickier, and is better answered in a more retro based forum. Just about all of them with the exception of the first party NES systems have RGB accessible through simple to intermediate mods. (NES is a difficult mod that requires hard to find parts. Luckily, ‘Famiclones’ always have easy access to RGB lines for RGB mods.)
   So, figure out how to get your console to output VGA directly, or figure out how to get it to output RGB and use the cheapy RGB->VGA converter we’ve been talking about.

[Smashbro29]

Aha… This sounds awesome. So I gotta find a way to get ALL my oldies over to VGA and find a way to get more VGA ports.

Thanks man. This is gonna save how my games look on my new TV.

[RosserRooster]

Aha… This sounds awesome. So I gotta find a way to get ALL my oldies over to VGA and find a way to get more VGA ports.

Thanks man. This is gonna save how my games look on my new TV.

http://wp1114205.wp150.webpack.hosteurope.de/xtcmodified/product_info.php?products_id=15&XTCsid=1al719msa3mbecj844fcmoabc7
unless you can solder well and make you own let me know I have instruction to do that

[Smashbro29]

Ok… I have no idea how that works.

[RosserRooster]

Ok… I have no idea how that works.

I’m not sure what to tell you I tried to expain it to you before it turns a scart connection into a vga so you can plug this into the scaler.
You can get a scart cable for any system look on ebay

[Smashbro29]

This is some bad communication on my part, I get what I have to plug into where and what the cables look like and all that fun stuff what I don’t understand is soldering. At all.

[RosserRooster]

This is some bad communication on my part, I get what I have to plug into where and what the cables look like and all that fun stuff what I don’t understand is soldering. At all.

no soldering needed.
I just put soldering if you wanted to make your own. I was just letting you know about your options because its not a tough build on your own

[Plasia]

Sorry if this has already been answered or I’m just being dumb, writing this at 5:25AM

I’ve noticed mention of the LM1881, I’m about to embark on a little project using a similar chip, a GS4981, to try and fix my atomiswave “vga” output so it could be used. You see the atomiswave outputs RGBs (RGB with composite sync) instead of RGBHV. (Pin 13 is comp sync, should be pin 13 hsync and pin 14 vsync).

Now my question is, will this be able to fix that? It would be awesome to not only be able to play atomiswave with it’s best output, but to also add scanlines!

[RosserRooster]

Sorry if this has already been answered or I’m just being dumb, writing this at 5:25AM

I’ve noticed mention of the LM1881, I’m about to embark on a little project using a similar chip, a GS4981, to try and fix my atomiswave “vga” output so it could be used. You see the atomiswave outputs RGBs (RGB with composite sync) instead of RGBHV. (Pin 13 is comp sync, should be pin 13 hsync and pin 14 vsync).

Now my question is, will this be able to fix that? It would be awesome to not only be able to play atomiswave with it’s best output, but to also add scanlines!

this kit is just for adding scanlines no sync cleaning The LM1881 was just mentioned for those looking to connect old hardware and get scanlines

[Toodles]

Sorry if this has already been answered or I’m just being dumb, writing this at 5:25AM

I’ve noticed mention of the LM1881, I’m about to embark on a little project using a similar chip, a GS4981, to try and fix my atomiswave “vga” output so it could be used. You see the atomiswave outputs RGBs (RGB with composite sync) instead of RGBHV. (Pin 13 is comp sync, should be pin 13 hsync and pin 14 vsync).

Now my question is, will this be able to fix that? It would be awesome to not only be able to play atomiswave with it’s best output, but to also add scanlines!

There’s no plan to implement sync splitting. Are you sure there’s no way to tap the separate syncs? You’d know better than I would, but I would be very suprised if there wasnt a way to tap hsync and vsync inside if the VGA jack didnt have it.

[Plasia]

I don’t think there is, at least, I haven’t seen it. I’m not good enough to pull it apart and figure it out.

I’ll continue with my sync split project, but I’ll still be very interested in getting some scanlines happening when you’re done

[RosserRooster]

I don’t think there is, at least, I haven’t seen it. I’m not good enough to pull it apart and figure it out.

I’ll continue with my sync split project, but I’ll still be very interested in getting some scanlines happening when you’re done

Have you tried posting your issues over at the Shmups forum? Those guys have have a tone of experience with video configurations and I’m almost sure if it can be done they can point you in the right direction for what you need.Toodles and I are new at developing products to manipulate video (Toodles wink…wink) So they would be your best bet http://shmups.system11.org/viewforum.php?f=6

[RosserRooster]

any updates Mr Post

[Toodles]

Proto pcb’s should be arriving tomorrow according to FedEx.
Aww crap, I dont have any male VGA’s to go on them. So, Monday should be when those get in.

[RosserRooster]

Let me know if you need someone to test the new board I’m up for it. also if everything on par I could start spreading the word to some other sites like retroboy, neo shmups forums

[TRiXWoN]

I know almost nothing about generating scanlines but when you are ready and want to see how a tech proficient scanline newb handles it, I’d love to test it out. Also I’m down to buy one as soon as you are ready to sell.