Noob thinking of VBXE: How to connect to monitor?

[flashjazzcat]

I value your opinion a lot @flashjazzcat

 

BUT, i don't see the logic here

 

Why on earth would you spend more than a hundred bucks on an upgrade ,

,make mayor surgery even risking your priced Atari

to get the cleanest posible picture,

an then use a cheap , full of glitches scan doubler ?

 

i could post a million GAMING videos showing artifacts

 

may be good enough to show slow apps

but its not worth it at all for gaming

Well, I have good eyes and the VBXE display using this converter was still significantly better than stock video on the same machine. Perhaps the machine's owner (the A8s and converter do not belong to me) wants the flexibility to connect the machine to a large TV or projector when at meetings, etc? At all other times, certainly a direct 15KHz connection would be preferable. But I'm not a promotional salesman for these scan-doublers: I was merely asked to test and case this one up, and I - like the owner - am pleased with the results. There are also legions of Amiga and ST owners, without recourse to 15KHz display devices, purchasing and using these boards (please see the AmiBay forum for evidence of this strange phenomenon).

 

So - I merely present things as they are. It's a useful and desirable solution for some, and I for one would find this a handy device to have lying around. Of course, I'm no gamer - but I'm not alone in that.

Edited April 7, 2014 by flashjazzcat

[Aking]

Well, I have good eyes and the VBXE display using this converter was still significantly better than stock video on the same machine. Perhaps the machine's owner (the A8s and converter do not belong to me) wants the flexibility to connect the machine to a large TV or projector when at meetings, etc? At all other times, certainly a direct 15KHz connection would be preferable. But I'm not a promotional salesman for these scan-doublers: I was merely asked to test and case this one up, and I - like the owner - am pleased with the results. There are also legions of Amiga and ST owners, without recourse to 15KHz display devices, purchasing and using these boards (please see the AmiBay forum for evidence of this strange phenomenon).

 

So - I merely present things as they are. It's a useful and desirable solution for some, and I for one would find this a handy device to have lying around. Of course, I'm no gamer - but I'm not alone in that.

 

 

Again you're missing the point, this is no Amiga forum

no stock rgb out here :-(

 

as you (obviously) well know on the Atari you need a very expensive upgrade

and complicated /risky internal surgery to get that output

so it makes no sense to ruin it with a cheap converter IMHO

 

i won't discuss this no more, just my two cents here.

[flashjazzcat]

Again you're missing the point, this is no Amiga forum

no stock rgb out here :-(

There's a point you miss too: the designers of VBXE would not position the upgrade as solely a means of improving video quality. The primary purpose of VBXE is supposed to be heightened graphical power and a better colour. The discussion as I see it so far has assumed that VBXE simply provides "RGB out" and nothing more.

 

as you (obviously) well know on the Atari you need a very expensive upgrade

and complicated /risky internal surgery to get that output

so it makes no sense to ruin it with a cheap converter IMHO

As already said: there are many solutions out there, especially for those lucky enough to avail themselves of SCART devices or a 1084S monitor. Such things aren't always available, however, and this isn't the first time that a VBXE owner has experimented with VGA scan-doublers.

 

i won't discuss this no more, just my two cents here.

The quality argument is perfectly valid, but a sensible way to continue participation in the discussion would simply be to suggest a better VGA upscaler, compatible with VBXE but preferably not costing a fortune.

 

As I say: I circumstantially found myself with the device in question on my desk, and was quite pleased that it worked as well as it did, especially given the price. I'm forcing no-one to buy it: merely attempting to offer suggestions based on personal experience. I have much better things to do, however, when it comes down to it.

[Aking]

Cheaper really "working" solution, 89 us$ cased,no lag, no ghosting

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/15Khz-RGB-RGsB-RGBS-to-VGA-Scan-Line-Doubler-Converter-/310413209763?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item484611b0a3

 

heightens graphical power and a betters colour of your Atari too

Edited April 7, 2014 by Aking

[flashjazzcat]

Postage is a bit rich.

 

Anyway, now I've done some proper tests, I may have undersold the GBS-8220 myself. Performance with VBXE is somewhat superior to that when displaying A500 interlace modes. I see nothing whatsoever to complain about for fifteen green queens:

 

 

Seems to cope adequately with fast-moving images, and image quality is absolutely splendid at the highest output resolution on a 1280x1024 LCD monitor. I noticed no deal-breaking issues when running applications either:

 

 

I don't know what the situation with NTSC would be, of course. The above is all 50Hz.

 

Are there any videos of VBXE running with the other (usefully pre-cased, at least) unit? I imagine the quality must be astounding.

[ApolloBoy]

There's a point you miss too: the designers of VBXE would not position the upgrade as solely a means of improving video quality. The primary purpose of VBXE is supposed to be heightened graphical power and a better colour. The discussion as I see it so far has assumed that VBXE simply provides "RGB out" and nothing more.

I'd love to see someone provide an RGB upgrade for the A8, the VBXE is neat but I'm not all that interested in the extra capabilities it provides.

[flashjazzcat]

You know, I'm not sure how much smaller or cheaper a board solely concerned with producing RGB output would be. The VGA core for VBXE takes up most of the FPGA simply outputting the video signal. The FX core facilities are all done in software. So, it's quite reasonable to purchase VBXE as a means of sharpening up video output, albeit to the chagrin of the original developers.

Edited April 7, 2014 by flashjazzcat

[Smokeless Joe]

What about a DVDO iscan or a Framemeister XRGB? I know they're A LOT more expensive than other options above, but would they work? Has anyone tried them with a VBXE?

[Smokeless Joe]

To answer part of my own question:

 

Hypothetically, the Framemeister XRGB-mini should work if an appropriate adapter is created. Lotharek's VBXE instruction manual at:

 

http://mmj.pl/%7Elotharek/vbxe/installation%20.pdf

 

has the pinout for a VBXE to SCART connection. However, the Framemeister uses RGB21 for input, which looks exactly like SCART but is pinned differently. Fortunately, a pinout conversion is available at:

 

http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:scart2rgb

 

So a VBXE to RGB21 to Framemeister connection is, again, hypothetically possible. Sadly, it'll be a long time before I have the money to test this hypothesis.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Smokeless Joe

[atari8warez]

I don't know what the situation with NTSC would be, of course. The above is all 50Hz.

 

It maybe old news but here's the performance of the GBS-8220 with an VBXEd 130XE. I think the converter's price/performance ratio is excellent and most people will just be happy with it.

This is a test video of a VBXE / U1MB and Simple Stereo install I just finished doing for somebody else.

 

Edited March 6, 2015 by atari8warez

[pedalpowered]

Not sure if this converter from VGA -> component will work with 15KHz RGB, but it's a very good price at $5 + $2 shipping (lots of these on eBay -- can't find one that specifies 15KHz). What we need is an update to the VBXE core that will output component.

Edited June 7, 2015 by pedalpowered

[Kyle22]

Not sure if this converter from VGA -> component will work with 15KHz RGB, but it's a very good price at $5 + $2 shipping (lots of these on eBay -- can't find one that specifies 15KHz). What we need is an update to the VBXE core that will output component.

That isn't a converter, it is only a cable.