Atari 5-pin din (monitor jack) to flatscreen monitor & audio jack

[ac.tomo]

Hi, I've been looking around, but to no avail. I wonder if anyone can help direct me to a cable to connect my Atari XL/XE to a flatscreen monitor. I'm not sure if they're all the same, but my monitor has an audio jack as well as the usual blue jack. Any help most appreciated, thankyou.

[Mathy]

Hello ac.tomo

 

Try the ABBUC shop.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

[ac.tomo]

Thankyou Mathy, but my monitor does not have video plugs, just a monitor jack & 3mm stereo audio socket.

[bbking67]

You need more than a cable... I have had success with the DVDO iScan (I have two!). Not that cheap... Here is the thread you want.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/197554-suitable-tvsmonitors-for-65xe/page__st__50__hl__+dvdo?do=findComment&comment=2602506

[ac.tomo]

Thanks bbking67, I was wondering whether I needed more than a cable or not. I see you've given me a link to the information I need to setup my monitor, but there is no thread to the item I need to buy, any help?

[ac.tomo]

The gadget I need is the DVDO iscan is it?

[russg]

Hi, I've been looking around, but to no avail. I wonder if anyone can help direct me to a cable to connect my Atari XL/XE to a flatscreen monitor. I'm not sure if they're all the same, but my monitor has an audio jack as well as the usual blue jack. Any help most appreciated, thankyou.

It would be cheaper to buy a TV with composite input. That DVDO is $400.

Edited August 3, 2013 by russg

[+Faicuai]

The gadget I need is the DVDO iscan is it?

 

Correct!

 

My latest (and back-up) one: (U.S. $11.00, only happens here in the U.S.

 

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574883395&toolid=10001&campid=5336500554&customid=&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FDVDO-High-Resolution-Video-Scaling-Engine-by-Anchor-Bay-Tech-MM601-%2F330960222456%3Fpt%3DLH_DefaultDomain_0%26hash%3Ditem4d0ec438f8

 

Watch for the iScan ULTRA (it can't handle the Atari's signal).

 

The iScan HD (or HD+) will perform SUPERBLY (Film-mode=OFF), and will give you total control of Aspect-Ratio, Over-scan, on-board resolution scaling (for optimal sharpness and minimal "beat-patterns", remote control of sVideo vs. Composite inputs, so you can run SW that requires Artifact-colors with the touch of a button, etc.)

 

Enjoy!

[popmilo]

If your monitor has VGA port these can work to (and are cheap):

 

http://dx.com/p/cvbs...converter-22843

 

You would have to make (or buy) that 5-pin - video cable...

 

1. Atari -> video cable

http://www.abbuc.de/abbuc/shop/hardware/monitorkabel-cinch-0-7m

 

2. RCA Mono audio -> 3.5mm audio

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TKEGRI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&tag=atariage&creativeASIN=B001TKEGRI&linkCode=as2

 

If you want to build it:

Monitor port (female jack)

 

Pins 2 is ground.

Pin 4 is composite video signal.

Pin 3 is audio.

[+David_P]

If you buy a DX product, make sure you get the version with the proper power adapter.

[+Faicuai]

If your monitor has VGA port these can work to (and are cheap):

 

http://dx.com/p/cvbs...converter-22843

 

 

...Well, while given in pretty good-faith and constructive spirit, the above recommendation is something I would suggest anyone here (from my direct experience with it) to STAY AWAY from it.

 

This was my FIRST converter. The input-signal decode is borderline pathetic: colors like those used in "Fight-Night" intro's red/purple hair turn out as a bunch of mush / goo on the screen, fine-color detail like the splash-screen of .XEX version of StarRaiders is almost non-existant, luminance-signal comes out noisy (you can see noise-patters on flat mid-to-dark gray areas, as well as in some color-fields), color saturation is relatively poor, motion-adaptive de-interlacing is performed with minimal-or-no horse-power at all (scrolling-animated fields come out blurry and mushy, and if scrolling becomes faster, there seems to be NO motion-compensation at all, like Synapse's Air Support, Frogger, etc.), programs like "FlickerTerm" pretty much fail to display properly (no processing power to cope with the speed of changes on input signal), etc.

 

Just FYI, from my already long path of testing: started there, then tested Sony Bravia KDL-52W3000's engine, then DVDO iScan Pro, then iScan Ultra, then iScan HD, then HD+ and ultimately VP50-pro (which I use for other key purposes beyond Atari's nostalgia).

[popmilo]

...Well, while given in pretty good-faith and constructive spirit, the above recommendation is something I would suggest anyone here (from my direct experience with it) to STAY AWAY from it.

Looks like you had much much more experience with one of those - I only know a friend of mine uses it wih ps-one and has no big problems... I guess it's ok for fast games but not so good for text, details and correct colors...

 

Anyway, thanks for detailed comment!

All I can add is that it boils down to trying one of those tv-vga converters...

In the end I'm still using cheap crt tv I bought couple of years ago for ~70$.

 

Nothing beats curvature and scanlines of a nice CRT

[ac.tomo]

Many thanks all, I guess the best way is to just buy a flatscreen tv then.

[+Faicuai]

(...)

Nothing beats curvature and scanlines of a nice CRT

(...)

 

 

...Well, I think you stroke a key point, here, which we may (soon) be forced to evaluate carefully.

 

If you look at this matter from a BACKWARD-point-of-view, then YES, it is hard to beat the display technology for which [ANTIC+GTIA] were, in fact, specifically created for. Therefore, animated-fields and other refresh/timing-dependent tricks would look BEST and SHARPEST on a CRT screen...

 

...But that's about it.

 

Once you consider this matter from a Forward-looking perspective, it becomes pretty clear that a heavy, high-voltage, power-hungry, capacitors-riddled, EMR-pollutant (as shown in my TriField meter), geometrically-impaired CRT-tube is probably not the best, future-proof solution for the crew that will inherit my three systems... Not even an LCD-TV itself would make it.

 

Altirra-aside (as obvious solution), what we need, instead, is a dedicated / reliable off-board video decoding/processing (analog-to-digital), independent of any present and (hopefully) future screen, assuming the video interface remains constant (DVI and/or HDMI should around for quite some time).

 

As for some LCD-vs-CRT basic comparisons, here are some quick examples (taken from my [Viewsonic & DVDO iScan HD+] combo, vs. my Sony Wega CRT TV on direct sVideo input):

 

http://atariage.com/...ost__p__2756165

 

I think I can improve the Wega's color response (with a finer adjustment) but I don't think the rest would get much better than what you see here, especially if a large-viewable area is considered.

 

This is a topic that I would bet most of us will be forced to reconsider one way or another, sooner or later, especially for those that would seek a more practical, longer-termed solution to longevity or family-oriented preservation efforts.

 

Cheers!

[popmilo]

..This is a topic that I would bet most of us will be forced to reconsider one way or another, sooner or later, especially for those that would seek a more practical, longer-termed solution to longevity or family-oriented preservation efforts.

Agreed. For me, dedicated retro-room is the best solution, but even then you would probably want to limit number of different screens occupying precious space.

 

One new high quality digital setup would be a great solution. Rest of it depends on price I guess...

 

By the time kids grow up enough to appreciate our retro stuff, most CRTs are probably just going to die... Then we'll just have to switch to new equipment