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thirdkind

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  1. The challenge with the Sega CD is that it's more than just a drive attachment like the Turbo CD. It has its own processors that extend the capabilities of the Genesis. Therefore, it would require an FPGA solution of its own, meaning it can't simply be replaced by a cheap USB CD-ROM drive. Here's my ideal scenario: 1. A Genesis FPGA console to serve as the core, with an SD card slot (just like the Nt Mini and Super Nt) and expansion port 2. A Sega CD FPGA that connects to the expansion port, and has its own USB port If the Sega CD FPGA could read the Genesis FPGA SD card slot through the expansion port, there would be no need to include one in the Sega CD FPGA, reducing costs. It could use the Genesis FPGA SD card for both firmware updates and loading bin/cue rips of Sega CDs. The USB port on the Sega CD FPGA would allow the connection of a standard CD-ROM drive for reading actual Sega CD discs, and perhaps ripping them to SD. Like the SSDS3 at its $300 USD price point, the Sega CD FPGA could be a pricier accessory for enthusiasts that costs more than the Genesis FPGA (just like the original Sega CD cost more than the Genesis) since it will sell in lower quantities.
  2. Honestly, no, I don't think iPhone sales or popularity were held back in any meaningful way by this, but I take your point It's certainly more convenient to set up your phone without requiring a computer. I agree that a USB port to connect an external drive for playback and potentially ripping straight to SD would be ideal in a Sega CD FPGA. Since I thoroughly enjoy many titles in the Sega CD library, a Genesis FPGA without Sega CD compatibility of some sort wouldn't be very attractive because I'd still need to keep my Model 1 Genesis anyway just to play those games. I know that's a minority opinion, however. I'm sure a Genesis FPGA console would be successful even without Sega CD compatibility.
  3. I'm not really following the iPhone comparison since we're talking about transferring owned physical media to an SD card, but still, there's nothing I see in those other approaches that sounds as simple as putting a CD in a drive, ripping it, and moving it to the SD card. Maybe the external approach you suggested makes sense though. Regardless, I only put it in those terms to be polite; you and I both know hardly anyone will be filling those SD cards with CDs they ripped from their own collection. That's why I think any kind of a drive in the product itself increases costs, decreases longevity, and won't be used by most people.
  4. At that price, I'd expect something closer to a BVM. You can get a really clean 19"-20" PVM for far less than $2200. I have a PVM-20L5, and I have to say that after getting the settings dialed in on my Nt Mini and Super Nt, I have no desire to go back to my CRT. I still have my Genesis/Sega CD and SuperGrafx hooked up to it because my plasma doesn't play nice with the OSSC, but if they're ever replaced by FPGA versions, I'd have no problem dropping the tube (figuratively).
  5. Gotcha, so just a cosmetic preference. I agree that there's no need to make a Genesis FPGA that's the size of the Model 1 Genesis just so it can sit on top of a Model 1 Sega CD. I don't know if you've seen the SSDS3, but it's rather small. A Genesis FPGA/Sega CD FPGA pairing wouldn't necessarily need to be stacked. They could probably fit comfortably side by side, although I will say that having a stacked setup would definitely appeal more to my sense of nostalgia. I just love the look of the Model 1 units stacked. My main point is that preserving the CD-ROM drive isn't necessary. Disc collectors could rip their games to bin/cue on an SD card and play the games directly from there. The SSDS3 is absolutely brilliant at this; load times are much faster than the original hardware and the delays you normally hear on CD games when the music track changes are gone.
  6. There's no reason any Genesis FPGA console has to be one or the other. They can make it small like an MD2 and it would still work with a Model 1 Sega CD because the connectors are the same; it would just look weird. Besides, I think the Sega CD ODE people really want is more along the lines of the Super SD System 3 — a complete FPGA hardware replacement with SD card reader — rather than a hack that relies on modifying increasingly scarce original hardware.
  7. Is your display 1080p or 4k? If it's 1080p and you're running the Super Nt at 1080p60 5x vertical, requiring interpolation to get even scanlines is a sure sign you don't have 1:1 pixel mapping enabled on your display. It would be much easier to help people with display issues if everyone noted what display they were using and what settings. The core settings that 1080p display owners should be using if they want clean scanlines are: Resolution: 1080p Height: 5x (1200) Scaler: No scaler, vertical interpolation disabled Scanlines: Normal or hybrid (whichever you prefer, depth to taste) AND: Display set to 1:1 pixel mapping (zero overscan), which as others have said varies depending on your display manufacturer (1:1, Just, Full, etc.) Horizontal dimensions can be whatever you prefer, with horizontal interpolation disabled if it's an integer multiplier (5x or 6x) because it's not necessary. Tweak vertical position also if you like; I adjusted mine to 45 because it clips a bit more on the bottom than the top and lines up the scanlines so that they fall right at the top and bottom of my display.
  8. I'm now trying settings slightly different from my previous recommendation: Resolution: 1080p60 Width: 6x (1536) Height: 5x (1200) Vertical position: 45 Scaling: No scaling, both horizontal and vertical interpolation disabled Scanlines: Hybrid, depth 30 Again, this is on a 1080p display set to no overscan (1:1 pixel mapping). This provides an image that's super sharp because it's an integer multiplier in both directions and interpolation is disabled entirely. It's less of a stretch than 1600 horizontal, which might make it more palatable to those who consider 4:3 "incorrect", but don't like the interpolation required at 1462 ("4:3 for 16:9 displays"). There are 4 "scanlines" cropped at the top and 5 at the bottom, which cuts off nothing meaningful in any game I've tested. I find this to be a great setting for those who want a sharp image that fills as much screen real estate as possible without looking stretchy. I'd take a pic, but the only camera I have is my iPhone and it does a lousy job at capturing plasma cells :/
  9. Did kevtris ever respond to this? I searched and couldn't find a post, sorry. The only way to get scanlines on the Nt Mini as sharp as the hybrid scanlines on the Super Nt on my 1080p display is to run a vertical 4x multiplier in 1080p60 output with the display set to no overscan. Looks great, but leaves significant empty space top and bottom. Being able to use 5x vertical like the Super Nt would be awesome.
  10. Count me in for a Genesis FPGA console with an expansion port that's compatible with a real Sega CD. And who knows, the SSDS3 has me wondering if we might see a Sega CD FPGA/ODE someday. There seems to be support for the idea and they'd make quite the pair. Regardless, I'm enjoying the Nt Mini and Super Nt and can't wait to see what your next project is.
  11. Yup, 5x is an exact multiple, and if you're mapping it 1:1 on your display, you'll get no shimmering. I also have a Mini and that's the setting I use (5x width/4x height). You can use the same setting on the Super Nt or take advantage of interpolation to go a bit bigger. I'm picky about image quality and I'm not bothered by horizontal interpolation; it's clean.
  12. Scanlines on or off? I didn't mention it in my post, but I was referring specifically to scanlines. With scanlines turned off, yeah, you can scale 720p to 1080p and it doesn't look bad at all.
  13. It does cause a bit of blurring, but turning it off when scaling to anything other than exact multiples of the original signal results in background shimmering while scrolling, so pick your poison. As the settings I and others have recommended suggest, the best balance is probably an exact multiple in the vertical dimension with interpolation turned off and whatever size you prefer horizontally with interpolation turned on. You get a pretty sharp image with no shimmering. Or do 1:1 pixel mapping and turn it all off.
  14. Does the image fill the screen or do you have it set to 1:1 pixel mapping? If it's the latter, then I can see the scanlines coming out great, but if the display is scaling 720p to 1080p, I'm having a tough time imagining those scanlines being the same height from top to bottom. If the scaler is that good, then I'm impressed, especially for a built-in scaler in a PC monitor. My 1080p plasma has fairly decent upscaling, but scanlines are very inconsistent with 720p when set to full screen. Even multiples at native resolution provide the best results.
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