Hi everyone,
I just bought a new LG LED 42" tv to replace my old 27" CRT. As expected, my old systems don't look super great. For example, I popped in Super Mario World on SNES and Mario himself looks really bad.
I am considering buying this composite to HDMI converter:
http://www.amazon.com/Composite-S-video-Audio-HDMI-Converter/dp/B003NS0UUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327112868&sr=8-1&tag=viglink129408-20
Will this upscale? The reviews on Amazon are actually pretty good in respect to upscaling old video games.
Does anyone know of any other upscalers that may work? I know of Framemeister, but it costs a fortune.
Thanks!
Upscaler for LED TV
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VideoGameCritic
- Site Admin
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Upscaler for LED TV
Wow this would be great for classic gamers if it works well. I would definitely like to know if lag is a factor.
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Paul1231
- Posts: 261
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Upscaler for LED TV
My question would be whether or not the picture actually looks any better after it is upscaled. You may get a higher resolution, but it can't necessarily improve an inherently bad analog signal...
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Leo1
- Posts: 2325
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Upscaler for LED TV
[QUOTE=Paul123]My question would be whether or not the picture actually looks any better after it is upscaled. You may get a higher resolution, but it can't necessarily improve an inherently bad analog signal...[/QUOTE]
I think he's just trying to get it to look somewhat as nice as it would via composite to a nice CRT. That's the value in good quality upscaling. No matter how good of a job it does, it can't add detail that isn't there. But it can minimize what's lost during the process and collateral damage and I think that's what he's after here rather than a magic fix to make composite look great.
[QUOTE=Bluenote]I am considering buying this composite to HDMI converter:
[/QUOTE]
I rather doubt this thing will get the job done very well when people are buying $500 scalers to do the same thing for 240p sources. But it's possible (I have a nice one for the PSP that does well and didn't cost much more) and if the reviews are positive, it's worth a try. But why not buy a S-Video cable for your SuperNes at the same time? No sense spending that to upgrade an inferior signal when just a few dollars more would allow you to push S-Video through this scaler instead of composite (The Amazon picture shows a S-Video input).
Unless you have the redesigned SuperNes console from the late 90's, your system supports S-Video. Even many of the clone systems support it for the SuperNes side like the RetroDuo if a clone serves as your SuperNes console.
But before you do anything, I'd suggest looking up the Retron 5. That's not much of a leap price wise from this and it will allow you to play a range of classic systems including the SuperNes on your HDTV with a nice picture. Lots of demonstration videos on YouTube including one of Super Mario World.
Definitely worth considering in view of what you're after here.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jit2XlZ_fZg[/video]
I think he's just trying to get it to look somewhat as nice as it would via composite to a nice CRT. That's the value in good quality upscaling. No matter how good of a job it does, it can't add detail that isn't there. But it can minimize what's lost during the process and collateral damage and I think that's what he's after here rather than a magic fix to make composite look great.
[QUOTE=Bluenote]I am considering buying this composite to HDMI converter:
[/QUOTE]
I rather doubt this thing will get the job done very well when people are buying $500 scalers to do the same thing for 240p sources. But it's possible (I have a nice one for the PSP that does well and didn't cost much more) and if the reviews are positive, it's worth a try. But why not buy a S-Video cable for your SuperNes at the same time? No sense spending that to upgrade an inferior signal when just a few dollars more would allow you to push S-Video through this scaler instead of composite (The Amazon picture shows a S-Video input).
Unless you have the redesigned SuperNes console from the late 90's, your system supports S-Video. Even many of the clone systems support it for the SuperNes side like the RetroDuo if a clone serves as your SuperNes console.
But before you do anything, I'd suggest looking up the Retron 5. That's not much of a leap price wise from this and it will allow you to play a range of classic systems including the SuperNes on your HDTV with a nice picture. Lots of demonstration videos on YouTube including one of Super Mario World.
Definitely worth considering in view of what you're after here.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jit2XlZ_fZg[/video]
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Bluenote1
- Posts: 118
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Upscaler for LED TV
[QUOTE=Leo][QUOTE=Paul123]My question would be whether or not the picture actually looks any better after it is upscaled. You may get a higher resolution, but it can't necessarily improve an inherently bad analog signal...[/QUOTE]
I think he's just trying to get it to look somewhat as nice as it would via composite to a nice CRT. That's the value in good quality upscaling. No matter how good of a job it does, it can't add detail that isn't there. But it can minimize what's lost during the process and collateral damage and I think that's what he's after here rather than a magic fix to make composite look great.
[QUOTE=Bluenote]I am considering buying this composite to HDMI converter:
[/QUOTE]
I rather doubt this thing will get the job done very well when people are buying $500 scalers to do the same thing for 240p sources. But it's possible (I have a nice one for the PSP that does well and didn't cost much more) and if the reviews are positive, it's worth a try. But why not buy a S-Video cable for your SuperNes at the same time? No sense spending that to upgrade an inferior signal when just a few dollars more would allow you to push S-Video through this scaler instead of composite (The Amazon picture shows a S-Video input).
Unless you have the redesigned SuperNes console from the late 90's, your system supports S-Video. Even many of the clone systems support it for the SuperNes side like the RetroDuo if a clone serves as your SuperNes console.
But before you do anything, I'd suggest looking up the Retron 5. That's not much of a leap price wise from this and it will allow you to play a range of classic systems including the SuperNes on your HDTV with a nice picture. Lots of demonstration videos on YouTube including one of Super Mario World.
Definitely worth considering in view of what you're after here.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the information Leo. I do have S video for my SNES. I went ahead and bought the upscaler. I figure for $60, it's not too much of a gamble. It will take a while for it to be delivered but i'll be sure to let everyone know how it works.
I think he's just trying to get it to look somewhat as nice as it would via composite to a nice CRT. That's the value in good quality upscaling. No matter how good of a job it does, it can't add detail that isn't there. But it can minimize what's lost during the process and collateral damage and I think that's what he's after here rather than a magic fix to make composite look great.
[QUOTE=Bluenote]I am considering buying this composite to HDMI converter:
[/QUOTE]
I rather doubt this thing will get the job done very well when people are buying $500 scalers to do the same thing for 240p sources. But it's possible (I have a nice one for the PSP that does well and didn't cost much more) and if the reviews are positive, it's worth a try. But why not buy a S-Video cable for your SuperNes at the same time? No sense spending that to upgrade an inferior signal when just a few dollars more would allow you to push S-Video through this scaler instead of composite (The Amazon picture shows a S-Video input).
Unless you have the redesigned SuperNes console from the late 90's, your system supports S-Video. Even many of the clone systems support it for the SuperNes side like the RetroDuo if a clone serves as your SuperNes console.
But before you do anything, I'd suggest looking up the Retron 5. That's not much of a leap price wise from this and it will allow you to play a range of classic systems including the SuperNes on your HDTV with a nice picture. Lots of demonstration videos on YouTube including one of Super Mario World.
Definitely worth considering in view of what you're after here.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the information Leo. I do have S video for my SNES. I went ahead and bought the upscaler. I figure for $60, it's not too much of a gamble. It will take a while for it to be delivered but i'll be sure to let everyone know how it works.
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Bluenote1
- Posts: 118
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Upscaler for LED TV
So, I finally received this upscaler, and I have to say, I'm very impressed!! The improvement in picture quality is amazing, and I do not notice any lag (at least to me).
Highly recommended!
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VideoGameCritic
- Site Admin
- Posts: 18180
- Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm
Upscaler for LED TV
[QUOTE=Bluenote]
Thanks for letting us know. Maybe you can test it with a game like Hot Shots Golf which would definitely indicate if there's lag.
So, I finally received this upscaler, and I have to say, I'm very impressed!! The improvement in picture quality is amazing, and I do not notice any lag (at least to me).
Highly recommended!
Thanks for letting us know. Maybe you can test it with a game like Hot Shots Golf which would definitely indicate if there's lag.
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Leo1
- Posts: 2325
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Upscaler for LED TV
Glad it worked out so well for you. When you can easily spend hundreds of dollars on a nice quality external scaler for standard definition game consoles, I frankly expected that you'd be posting disappointing results after trying it out since the odds seemed against it.
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ptdebate1
- Posts: 909
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Upscaler for LED TV
Bluenote, I just now saw this post and I hope I'm not too late. I would strongly urge you not to use composite video if at all possible (anything after PC Engine). All of the parts of the video's signal are squashed into one, drastically reducing the sharpness and color of the resultant image. Instead, buy SCART cables for your retro systems (they should be about $15 on eBay) and a SCART RGB --> HDMI converter, which should run you about $40 or $50. Please do not get a composite --> HDMI converter. They're just...sad.
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