Alternate to Framemeister XRGB-Mini?

[Albert]

Is there a reasonably-priced alternative to the Framemeister XRGB-Mini?  The XRGB-Mini is great for converting composite and s-video video signals to HDMI, but it's also $400!  I have one that I use at home, but it would be nice to have some additional devices for use at shows.  The Atari 2600 and other classic consoles look pretty terrible on a modern flat panel display through RF and composite (and good luck finding any modern sets with s-videos, it's been dead for a while).  Would love to find something that serves a similar function to the XRGB-Mini but is less expensive.

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

 ..Al

[Austin]

The RetroTINK 2X is one: http://www.retrotink.com/

 

You don't get the 720p or 1080p upscaling of the FM, but it's significantly cheaper. The image should be better than plugging composite straight into a HD TV.

 

There's also the OSSC for RGB and Component based consoles. Some people run a RetroTink into the OSSC to open up compatibility to that of a Framemeister (OSSC doesn't have composite or S-Video). The cost for both devices together still ends up being cheaper than a FM. Link: https://www.videogameperfection.com/products/open-source-converter/

Edited October 7, 2019 by Austin

[128Kgames]

1 hour ago, Austin said:

The RetroTINK 2X is one: http://www.retrotink.com/

 

You don't get the 720p or 1080p upscaling of the FM, but it's significantly cheaper. The image should be better than plugging composite straight into a HD TV.

 

There's also the OSSC for RGB and Component based consoles. Some people run a RetroTink into the OSSC to open up compatibility to that of a Framemeister (OSSC doesn't have composite or S-Video). The cost for both devices together still ends up being cheaper than a FM. Link: https://www.videogameperfection.com/products/open-source-converter/

I second the TINK 2X, I picked it up for my Omega Entertainment System (Neo Geo MVS) which I couldn't use with my 4K TV due to the low resolution output which my TV wouldn't accept.  The TINK 2x allowed me to continue to use the Omega with component output which gives a great picture.   

 

I haven't gotten around to testing the S-VIDEO or composite input but I'm sure they work just as well. 

 

You can't beat the $99 price tag either.  One thing to keep in mind is the TINK 2X only outputs HDMI, which is fine for me but may not be for everyone. 

[rayik]

OSSC works great for RGB modified systems

 

https://www.videogameperfection.com/products/open-source-converter/

 

More info:  http://junkerhq.net/xrgb/index.php?title=OSSC

 

EDIT

 

Surprisingly there is a seller offering it via Amazon Prime:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QF95QP3

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Quite of a bit of hardware in the mix, but could do what I'm doing that was fairly cheap. I have an Extron 7SC for all the older analog stuff. Everything you plug into the Extron's inputs is then output as a VGA image set to the resolution you want on the extron. So I have it set for 720p as the 1080p mode on it isn't quite standard and doesn't sit well with my newer TV at all. But the VGA out from my Extron goes into the VGA input of my OSSC and then HDMI out from there to the TV. Looks fantasic honestly and the Extrons aren't that hugely expensive for what it can do and does very well!

 

The only issue is that the 7SC has an early from of motion compensation in the circuit similar to the smooth cinema modes or what we call the soap opera effect that modern displays have today. It isn't possible to turn this off and as a result, many games of lower resolution like the Atari systems, will show some odd pixel shifting around moving sprites on the screen. But for the clarity of the overall picture and as near as I can tell, no lag from it, it has been a worthy investment! 

 

Now a device like that with 8 inputs might be overkill since you can only display one thing at time obviously, but you wouldn't even require the OSSC as you can get a decent VGA to HDMI converter for pretty cheap and just use that. If the extron is outputting a native signal the TV will accept in HDMI like 640x480 or 720p in my case, then the TV doesn't even have to scale anything on its own from the adapter to work. But you could connect multiple systems to it and if those systems have both composite and s-video out, you could connect both video outputs to different displays. So for instance the s-video out to the extron and the composite to a small CRT. And then you could switch on the Extron what game you wanted to show on the big screen whenever you wanted throughout the convention timeframe while the composite is always active on the small CRT. 

 

 

 

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

3 hours ago, rayik said:

OSSC works great for RGB modified systems

 

https://www.videogameperfection.com/products/open-source-converter/

 

More info:  http://junkerhq.net/xrgb/index.php?title=OSSC

 

EDIT

 

Surprisingly there is a seller offering it via Amazon Prime:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QF95QP3

That's a pretty good price but I wonder why it says it ONLY accepts RGB? Did they customize the firmware and disable the other AV ports on it, or are they only adding in the scart input and not the rest? Also doesn't state if it comes with the remote and that is pretty much required to make changes to the settings easily.

 

[Albert]

I just purchased two of the RetroTHINK-2X units, which I should have by the end of this week.  I'm going to test them with several systems and several flat panel displays here, and if they work well I may buy two more so I have four of them at PRGE.  Hoping this will make for significantly improved presentations on flat panel displays using these older systems.

 

Will post again once I've a had a chance to try them out. 

 

Thank you everyone for your input!

 

 ..Al