VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

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zetax
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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby zetax » September 4th, 2017, 9:51 pm

Something new I just got that I haven't seen mentioned on the forums. A Wii HDMI adapter...

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Several versions for sale on Amazon, though they all look about the same. Most in the $12 to $16 range.

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Wii AV plug on one side, HDMI/Stereo Audio-out on the other.
Here are some pix of the before and after...

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Guess I should have prefaced this with some info about the initial hookups. Was using an old Intec Wii component (RGB+RW) cable, but the results looked like poo on this 32", 720p TV. Needless to say, this looks much better. None of the "ghosting" around contrasting colors. A little better (more saturated) color coming through. So far, me likey.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 5th, 2017, 5:35 pm

Thanks so much for posting about this! I will definitely be picking up one of these.

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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby VideoGameCritic » October 11th, 2017, 8:41 pm

So I picked up one of these Wii HDMI adapters and the picture does look pretty good. One problem however.
The screen is shifted to the left side, with a few inches of black on the right side in the unused space.
Is this normal? Is there a way to center the picture?

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JustLikeHeaven
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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby JustLikeHeaven » October 11th, 2017, 9:03 pm

Certainly...stop drinking six beers before you turn the thing on! :lol:

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zetax
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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby zetax » October 11th, 2017, 9:13 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:So I picked up one of these Wii HDMI adapters and the picture does look pretty good. One problem however.
The screen is shifted to the left side, with a few inches of black on the right side in the unused space.
Is this normal? Is there a way to center the picture?


I didn't experience that with my setup. I did have to change the TV settings to "wide screen", and the Wii was set to 16:9 output.

Interestingly enough, I've got another adapter mini-review...

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zetax
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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby zetax » October 11th, 2017, 9:28 pm

Another in my unofficial series of "cheap ways to get better video output"...

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A PS2 to HDMI adapter, similar to the Wii adapter, About 16 bucks on Amazon.

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The only major difference with this adapter is the need to power it via a USB to micro USB cable (sorry, pix don't show it, it's just a little micro port on the side). It comes with a short cable that allows you to use one of the USB ports from the PS2.

The results are quite good...

Old, stale component...
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New hotness HDMI...
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So, it's all good, right? Well, if you use your PS2 to play PS1 games, you'll need to keep the old PS2 component AV cable handy. Apparently, the older PS1 doesn't output a signal the adapter can deal with. But for PS2 content, it looks pretty good.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby VideoGameCritic » October 11th, 2017, 9:32 pm

JustLikeHeaven wrote:Certainly...stop drinking six beers before you turn the thing on! :lol:


No can do!

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Atariboy
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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby Atariboy » October 11th, 2017, 10:48 pm

zetax wrote:So, it's all good, right? Well, if you use your PS2 to play PS1 games, you'll need to keep the old PS2 component AV cable handy. Apparently, the older PS1 doesn't output a signal the adapter can deal with.


It must not be able to handle upscaling 240p, which also means that Ico for the PS2 won't work.

If you have that classic in your collection, I'd be curious if you could check Ico and see if my suspicions are correct.

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zetax
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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby zetax » October 11th, 2017, 11:37 pm

Atariboy wrote:
zetax wrote:So, it's all good, right? Well, if you use your PS2 to play PS1 games, you'll need to keep the old PS2 component AV cable handy. Apparently, the older PS1 doesn't output a signal the adapter can deal with.


It must not be able to handle upscaling 240p, which also means that Ico for the PS2 won't work.

If you have that classic in your collection, I'd be curious if you could check Ico and see if my suspicions are correct.


I don't have Ico for PS2 (I do have the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus re-release for PS3.) I did try a PS1 game (Thunder Force V), and it was able to show the prerendered cut scenes, but not the actual game, which I thought was weird, but I guess not totally out of the question. I guess some PS1 games might work on it, I'm also guessing that all PS2 games (they all support component RGB+RW would work.

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Atariboy
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Re: VGA to HDMI for Dreamcast

Postby Atariboy » October 12th, 2017, 12:02 am

I suppose it might be worth adding that this is a good option for PS2 importers. too. The Panlong PS2 to HDMI Converter that I have lets me display a PAL PS2 on my tv without any issues, and looks much like what you've pictured.

My guess is that the cutscene in Thunder Force V is running at 480i. I believe that's pretty common on the system. There's some gameplay in 480i on the system, too.

https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=54382

These games should be the exception to the rule and be able to be successfully output via this device, if my suspicions are correct about why this isn't PS1 compatible.


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