240p from a PC to a standard TV

[veelk55]

I'm always looking for ways one can play a game in 240p on any standard TV.

Back in 2007, I discovered the Extron Super Emotia, and it is an awesome machine... but I'm so baffled that 10 years later, that's still the only thing I can use to do this.

 

Why is it so difficult to build a device that accepts VGA (or HDMI) and output 240p to be used in any TV?

Why doesn't a small machine like this exist?

Obviously I'm no hardware expert im barely a noob. So I'd like to hear about whatever challenges that might come from this or how expensive something like this would really be.

Recently I discovered CRT_emudriver, which is a patch of the AMD videocards (lots of them are compatible), and I got really excited, but having something like this means that only the computer with the videocard would be able to output 240p.

Not only that, but it would only output to RGB, not Composite or S-Video... so only people with specific monitors who have also set up their videocard driver can use this. And you need like 2 rather expensive devices to convert RGB into composite / s-video.

[Video]

I've been wondering for a while now why there isn't an HDMI to "deposit something here" converter for a while now.

 

Many of us have older TV's that are perfectly good, HD even, but no HDMI port (most the HD CRT's don't have HDMI and are perfectly good sets otherwise)

 

If one of my TV's goes out I may rip it apart and see what happens to the video after the HDMI port, I see no reason it couldn't be used to say "I'm an HDMI TV" and then output the signal to something else.

[mr_me]

I'm always looking for ways one can play a game in 240p on any standard TV.

...

What kind of game machine are you thinking of? Most digital television will end up converting and scaling the 240p signal to its native resolution. I was thinking about sonething like the raspberry pi which outputs an analog 480i signal. Since its 30hz it wont properly convert to 240p anyway.

 

[sorry, just read its about PC to 240p. Something has to convert the VGA/RGB to composite or s-video whether it's in the graphics card or an external box.]

 

I've been wondering for a while now why there isn't an HDMI to "deposit something here" converter for a while now.

 

Many of us have older TV's that are perfectly good, HD even, but no HDMI port (most the HD CRT's don't have HDMI and are perfectly good sets otherwise)

 

If one of my TV's goes out I may rip it apart and see what happens to the video after the HDMI port, I see no reason it couldn't be used to say "I'm an HDMI TV" and then output the signal to something else.

There are lots of hdmi converters. Hdmi to dvi or display port are straightforword. Hdmi to S-video or component would need a digital to analog converter and are more expensive. [Demand for these thing would be very low and the common ones wont do 240p.] Edited March 4, 2017 by mr_me

[veelk55]

 

What kind of game machine are you thinking of? Most digital television will end up converting and scaling the 240p signal to its native resolution. I was thinking about sonething like the raspberry pi which outputs an analog 480i signal. Since its 30hz it wont properly convert to 240p anyway.

 

http://cdn.afterdawn.com/v3/news/original/Philips_CRT_tv.jpg

 

This is what I meant by Standard TV. Nothing digital. Basically, I want a machine that can output graphics as if it was a PS1 which has the ability to do 480i and then switch to 240p, except I want to have control over it. (Like an Extron Emotia, but simpler, smaller, etc)

Edited March 4, 2017 by veelk55

[mr_me]

Not necessarily a PC solution, but according to this the Raspberry Pi can now do 240p via composite.

http://filthypants.blogspot.ca/2017/03/raspberry-pi-240p-composite-output.html?m=1

[veelk55]

Not necessarily a PC solution, but according to this the Raspberry Pi can now do 240p via composite.

http://filthypants.blogspot.ca/2017/03/raspberry-pi-240p-composite-output.html?m=1

Huh! I can't believe I didn't reply to this. I found out about the Raspberry Pi 240p mod just shortly before your post as I was in the mood for searching those days thanks for your post though!! I hope everyone gets on that mod, but it is really really difficult for beginners. I had a lot of stress messing with Linux just for this... I practically spent this whole year learning and messing with my Raspberry Pi to get a solid setup.

Raspberry Pi is now my current god and will remain that way probably forever now. But I STILL think someone should develop an HDMI to Composite / Svideo that can have a deinterlace button.

Now that we have the Analogue Super NT, a device of this kind would be ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for people with CRTs. There is no excuse. I'd make it myself if I could...

And with things like Nintendo Switch / NES and SNES Classics / PS4 / XBone, all which get a nice amount of retro games, it would be just neat if there was a CRT conversion device for them.

Edited February 8, 2018 by veelk55