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FPGA Based Videogame System


kevtris

Interest in an FPGA Videogame System  

682 members have voted

  1. 1. I would pay....

  2. 2. I Would Like Support for...

  3. 3. Games Should Run From...

    • SD Card / USB Memory Sticks
    • Original Cartridges
    • Hopes and Dreams
  4. 4. The Video Inteface Should be...


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OK. Did't need the whole explanation there, I know that the two achieve better picture quality through different methods. Both the Framemeister and OSSC are a means to the same end: To get old consoles to look better on modern displays. I am only making a suggestion that making an upscaler might be more prudent than a dedicated FPGA Genesis. I am only positing that given the monstrous add-ons of the Genesis that the community could be split on the notion. I am not demanding anything here, only making a suggestion in a public forum. The rest is entirely up to Kevtris and Analogue.

But why would Analouge waste resources making an upscaler/line doubler when there are already two quality products available?

 

FPGA Genesis even with only Sega CD Support via expansion bay would be my preferred way to play Genesis games on an HDTV. I'd rather not mess around with external units to have my old ass consoles play nicely on HDTVs.

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I don't understand why tvs would have an issue with certain resolutions. Shouldn't it be easy for them to either stretch or cutoff the picture they are sent?

 

I could understand if some tvs couldn't handle the odd 60.8hz type stuff some consoles output but none of my tvs have ever had issues with anything thrown at them.

 

It's not the resolution. It's the sync that's the issue. Same as why the Super NT reduces the native 60.08hz to 60hz and why Kevtris ruled out supporting native 60.08hz without a buffer (see earlier in this thread) - because it's not HDMI spec and as such a vast number of displays simply won't handle it. My 55" LG works fine with everything my OSSC runs to it - but my 32" panasonic in the other room doesn't.

 

Some displays adhere 100% to HD specifications and timings. Others, like my LG, have a bit of leeway. It's a complete hit and miss as to whether the SNES via OSSC will work on any given set - which is a downside of it. The only way around it is to use a scaler with a framebuffer such as the framemeister which introduces lag....and then loses the main selling point of the OSSC.

Edited by richisawesome
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I don't understand why tvs would have an issue with certain resolutions. Shouldn't it be easy for them to either stretch or cutoff the picture they are sent?

 

I could understand if some tvs couldn't handle the odd 60.8hz type stuff some consoles output but none of my tvs have ever had issues with anything thrown at them.

The 60.08hz/60.09hz thing is what causes problems with an OSSC on some TVs. As for resolution, we’ll, even your CRT probably wouldn’t know what to do with 1080p without a scaler even if you pumped it in over analog (which you can do with a PS3 plus component cables). It’s out of spec.
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The 60.08hz/60.09hz thing is what causes problems with an OSSC on some TVs. As for resolution, we’ll, even your CRT probably wouldn’t know what to do with 1080p without a scaler even if you pumped it in over analog (which you can do with a PS3 plus component cables). It’s out of spec.

Well it is one thing if you pump a resolution into a crt that exceeds its maximum bandwidth or if as a non digital display it doesn't have the logic built into it to cope with certain resolutions but you would think that modern displays with stretch and crop modes wouldn't have any issue with any resolution unless you were trying to pump 8k into a 720p display or something completely ridiculous like that.

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Honestly I don't see what the whole fuss about the 32x is. The 32x only has like 5-6 good games anyway. I don't think it would be logical or worth it to double the cost and DEV time of a Genesis FPGA for those.

Just my opinion.

 

100% agreed. I find this sudden love for 32X amusing.

 

There is no sudden love. I like it ever since I played it, for what it is and the some great games it has which are awesome and I dare use the word again: unique.

And I never suggested the 32X should be covered in any speculative new product.

 

What I find troublesome in this thread by now is this need to belittle others and their opinions, telling them how stupid they are and that the things they like are garbage.

Why would you even bash something someone else expressed affection to? The opposite I could understand and would deem even consructive, but this is just outright bad conduct.

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Well it is one thing if you pump a resolution into a crt that exceeds its maximum bandwidth or if as a non digital display it doesn't have the logic built into it to cope with certain resolutions but you would think that modern displays with stretch and crop modes wouldn't have any issue with any resolution unless you were trying to pump 8k into a 720p display or something completely ridiculous like that.

 

But we're not talking about resolution here. The issue was never resolution with modern displays/OSSC, it's the off-spec sync rate.

Edited by richisawesome
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Well it is one thing if you pump a resolution into a crt that exceeds its maximum bandwidth or if as a non digital display it doesn't have the logic built into it to cope with certain resolutions but you would think that modern displays with stretch and crop modes wouldn't have any issue with any resolution unless you were trying to pump 8k into a 720p display or something completely ridiculous like that.

Why would the TV’s internal scaler have a frame buffer big enough for 4K on a 1080p set that may even predate the 4K standard? Probably would’ve made older digital TVs even more laggy. Even if it didn’t have a performance impact, the increased cost and complexity isn’t trivial. Heck, processing 1080p in real time was once a big hurdle.
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There is no sudden love. I like it ever since I played it, for what it is and the some great games it has which are awesome and I dare use the word again: unique.

And I never suggested the 32X should be covered in any speculative new product.

 

What I find troublesome in this thread by now is this need to belittle others and their opinions, telling them how stupid they are and that the things they like are garbage.

Why would you even bash something someone else expressed affection to? The opposite I could understand and would deem even consructive, but this is just outright bad conduct.

 

For what it's worth I never belittled you or your opinion, never called it stupid or said it was garbage.

I simply stated that in my opinion adding the 32x to a FPGA console wouldn't be logical or cost effective and implied that the demand for this type of added feature would be low.

 

We are simply exchanging opinions here and I am pretty sure I was absolutely civil about it.

If my opinion offends you, ok, but no need to put words in my mouth.

Edited by lekrang
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For what it's worth I never belittled you or your opinion, never called it stupid or said it was garbage.

I simply stated that in my opinion adding the 32x to a FPGA console wouldn't be logical or cost effective and implied that the demand for this type of added feature would be low.

 

We are simply exchanging opinions here and I am pretty sure I was absolutely civil about it.

If my opinion offends you, ok, but no need to put words in my mouth.

 

You're right, you did not belittle me or my opinion and hence it wasn't geared towards you but the person following your comment. Your statement was left in there for context.

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Got to go with Snatcher1996 on this one. I'd love a new Genesis/32X/CD hybrid machine. I wouldn't mind an emulation based console as long as the emulation weren't bug ridden and that the components are high quality. I may be in the minority here and I understand the complexity of the life support console, but I'm in the all or nothing camp. There are quite a few games that people would miss out on that are worth playing. Popful Mail and Snatcher come to mind. It would be a shame to have a new console that wouldn't be at least compatible with the 32X and/or Sega CD.

 

If we could have an all in one FPGA system with a CD drive, that would be great. However, it looks like Analogue has its sights set on making more affordable hardware and I imagine the guys over at the company aren't too keen on introducing another $500 boutique console.

 

What would be really interesting for Analogue to do would be to make a high quality upscaler. If the proposed DTA converter works out and will likely downscale well, who's to say that an upscaler can't be done? If Analogue could produce an upscaler for around $150 to $200 there would be a market for it. An Analogue upscaler would offer the option of original hardware as well as Analogue's new line of clone consoles. Does anyone think that's reasonable?

Yeah, I tend to agree. The beauty of the Analogue systems is that I get to retire my old original systems. Id consider picking up an FPGA genesis, but itd be a sure-buy if it at least supported attaching a 32x and segacd even if it required analog output only.

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There is no sudden love. I like it ever since I played it, for what it is and the some great games it has which are awesome and I dare use the word again: unique.

And I never suggested the 32X should be covered in any speculative new product.

 

What I find troublesome in this thread by now is this need to belittle others and their opinions, telling them how stupid they are and that the things they like are garbage.

Why would you even bash something someone else expressed affection to? The opposite I could understand and would deem even consructive, but this is just outright bad conduct.

Hey, you're preaching to the choir. I like both the Sega CD and 3DO and those consoles get bashed all the time. Also, I didn't call anyone stupid for liking specific consoles.

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Yeah, I tend to agree. The beauty of the Analogue systems is that I get to retire my old original systems. Id consider picking up an FPGA genesis, but itd be a sure-buy if it at least supported attaching a 32x and segacd even if it required analog output only.

Yeah, I can even forego the 32X. The big issue for me is the Sega CD which has a much better library. I love Analogue and I love what Kevtris has done. I will be putting both my NES and SNES consoles up on Ebay soon because I think they're that much of solid products. I couldn't say the same for my Genesis, which like I said, is a monster of a problem given its peripherals.

 

Analogue came at the right time. SNES consoles in particular have been seeing a wave of GPU failures. I keep seeing posts showing cooked SNES consoles and the Super NT couldn't have come at a better time. I have one CRT with a built in VCR that I used for the longest time, but at 16" it's a bit too small for my liking. Everything I own now has HDMI or component out with the exception of my darned Genesis. I have to use an upscaler for that which isn't quite perfect but serviceable. The end goal for me is to be off of original console hardware because the list of problems just keeps on growing: Legacy video inputs on modern TVs not supported, component failures on consoles, somewhat complicated capacitor replacements, etc., etc. I just don't want to have to jump through hoops to play on a dedicated console that doesn't rely on emulation anymore.

 

I understand Kevtris' reticence with the Genesis. The end result of an FPGA isn't going to please everyone. I do hope that it has full on Sega CD support in the least. I believe that will make-or-break a purchase decision in many Genesis owners' eyes.

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The big issue for me is the Sega CD

 

While my Sega CD laser keeps going strong, several discs already have bit rot :(

 

I keep dreaming of the day, someone makes a compact Sega CD FPGA dongle that clips onto the Sega Genesis expansion.

 

Preservation of CD anything is a big deal for me.

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While my Sega CD laser keeps going strong, several discs already have bit rot :(

 

I keep dreaming of the day, someone makes a compact Sega CD FPGA dongle that clips onto the Sega Genesis expansion.

 

Preservation of CD anything is a big deal for me.

I'm sure someone will come up with a solution. Perhaps the Terra Onion team will take on the challenge.

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Sounds like the negativity about 32x will prevent a stand alone FPGA Genesis console.

 

I guess the only solution is a Genesis core for the Super Nt....... :-)

32X is not going to stop a standalone console from happening. Kevtris is just getting prepared for complaints by a vocal minority who like the add on.

 

Just like the people who bitched about the Super NT being HDMI only, yet that didn't stop the Super NT from being their fastest selling product.

Edited by SegaSnatcher
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I'm going to assume that if Analogue/Kevtris decides to make a standalone Genesis console with an expansion slot, they will design the console to fit the Sega CD Model 2. Which I feel is the right choice since the Model 2 is far more reliable.

Hopefully we get that FPGA dongle first. :) The Sega CD Model 2 looks hideous. I'm dreading the day my Model 1 bites the dust. I just did a recap and trace repair of my power board.

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There is no sudden love. I like it ever since I played it, for what it is and the some great games it has which are awesome and I dare use the word again: unique.

And I never suggested the 32X should be covered in any speculative new product.

 

What I find troublesome in this thread by now is this need to belittle others and their opinions, telling them how stupid they are and that the things they like are garbage.

Why would you even bash something someone else expressed affection to? The opposite I could understand and would deem even consructive, but this is just outright bad conduct.

 

I've also loved many 32X games since 1994 and wouldn't buy an FPGA Genesis that didn't support it and Sega CD. The system was a stop gap and a colossal blunder and is well known for that, but has several great games that get lost in that narrative.

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