43 replies to this topic

[ovalbugmann]

Quote

2) SCART cable from SCART switchbox to SCART>component video converter

Ok, I will take this as a yes, in needing the regular Scart cable. I should be able to find one of those I am sure.

Thank you for your time and help with this Remo, much appreciated man!!

Edited by ovalbugmann, Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:38 PM.

[remowilliams]

ovalbugmann, on Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:34 PM, said:

Ok, I will take this as a yes, in needing the Scart extension cable. I should be able to find one of those I am sure.

Yes, you will need a M/M SCART cable to connect the switchbox to the converter.

This all may seem like a rather expensive hassle - but it's somewhat of a necessity due to the unfortunate lack of capability of most displays in the US for many years compared to their European counterparts.

I do have a bunch of other systems hooked up via the SCART RGB > component route (Dreamcast, Saturn, Sega/CD/32X, etc) and it is awesomely worth it! Even carrying over to my newest modern tech display (which is a Sharp Aquos 10bit full backlit LED / LCD display) the results are simply beautiful.

[roland p]

remowilliams, on Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:42 PM, said:

I do have a bunch of other systems hooked up via the SCART RGB > component route (Dreamcast, Saturn, Sega/CD/32X, etc) and it is awesomely worth it! Even carrying over to my newest modern tech display (which is a Sharp Aquos 10bit full backlit LED / LCD display) the results are simply beautiful.

You can connect your dreamcast with VGA too. I've just received (after 6 weeks or so) a VGA to HDMI converter, I hope it works all right.

[kev187]

Quote

I was going to do this: (a RGB converter/scaler from Ambery corp to use with my VGA CRT computer monitor using the RGB db9 output port from the Catbox) However, the specialized db9(Catbox) to db15(VGA) cable included with the Ambery device is for the Amiga Computers and I have not made a cable as per the Jaguar needed cableing pinouts Zerosquare posted for me, so that this could work.

Kev187: DID YOU MAKE A NEEDED CUSTOM CABLE YET FOR YOUR AMBERY VGA RGB/SCALER -THE REQUIRED CATBOX TO AMBERY CONVERTER/SCALER CONNECTION??

I never got the cable.. not soo good a precision soldering. I sent it back to Ambery, & traded it for a S-video to VGA scaler. It actually works not too bad & I was able to make the Jaguar wide-screen to match my LCD (Tempest round tubes are still round? Go figure) It was a good improvement over direct S-video in, but some colors are a big saturated, but its a good effect & nice improvement over the regular S-video!

But.... I think I can do better? I have all my vintage Game Systems run through the S-video to VGA converter (Turbo-Duo, Dreamcast, PSX, N64 & Jag)

Doing a little more reading & watching some youtube videos. It seems running scart through the component converter is the cleanest way to get detail to the screen. All the scalers seem to get some wash in the colors in the conversion, even though the overall picture is cleaner. I would imagine the HDMI converter would do the same as my VGA scaler.

[Zerosquare]

I'm not so sure about RGB->YPbPbr converters being always better than RGB->HDMI converters in the end.

RGB->YPbPbr conversion in itself is easy. However the signal still has to be digitized and scaled by your TV before being displayed. That doesn't happen if you use HDMI, because the converter does the work.

So if your TV has a good quality digitizing/scaling engine, using a YPbPr converter is probably the best choice. Buf if it has a poor one, it's possible for a RGB->HDMI converter to give a better picture.

Most or all TVs here in Europe have RGB SCART inputs, so theoretically they don't need a converter, but some still give a poor picture for RGB sources.

(and it's not necessarily the case of the cheap TV sets, either. It seems that even some high-end models are affected.)

[roland p]

Zerosquare, on Thu Feb 18, 2010 5:10 PM, said:

RGB->YPbPbr conversion in itself is easy. However the signal still has to be digitized and scaled by your TV before being displayed. That doesn't happen if you use HDMI, because the converter does the work.

But the scart>hdmi converters you see on ebay all scale to a fixed resolution of 720P. So if you have a tv with an other resolution than 720p, the signal will be scaled from 720p to 1080p or 768p or whatever resolution you have.

I think if you use a scart>component converter, you should be sure your tv can process a non-interlaced 288p signal (half of 576p pal).

[kool kitty89]

roland p, on Fri Feb 19, 2010 2:11 AM, said:

I think if you use a scart>component converter, you should be sure your tv can process a non-interlaced 288p signal (half of 576p pal).

I've seen comments about soem HDTVs not accepting any SD signals (240p or 480i -288/576 etc) at all via YPbPr inputs, our Sanyo doesn't have that problem though, and I haven't seen it personally to confirm.

One other complint I've seen about HD sets with SCART inputs is with composite video displaying along with RGB, apparently due to improperly made cables with incorrect switch signal voltage I think. (with older TVs -or SDTVs in general- being more tolerant) I'm not sure if that's exclusive to Sega stuff or not though. (I'd immagine it could be a problem for anything using composite video to provide the RGB sync signal)

[Gunstar]

ovalbugmann, on Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:00 PM, said:

This below is what I am planning on doing: Using an official Atari Jaguar Scart/Peritel cable, to a "Scart to HDMI Converter & Scaler" then just a HDMI cable to a HD Television. This I understand it is the best setup for modern TVs.

ovalbugmann, on Sat Jan 2, 2010 10:03 AM, said:

lNFERNO, on Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:47 PM, said:

If you really want to see the highest quality on your HDTV, you need this:

The Atari Jaguar Scart RGB cable:

Scart RGB Cable


And a cool scaler converter like this:

Scart to HDMI

Scales up SCART RGB to HDMI 720p format

I am still using only very large CRT televisions, but I'm seriously thinking about an LCD or Plasma HDTV and I definitely want to play my Jaguar through it. I am thinking about doing what Inferno has said here for the Jaguar: An official Jag Scart/Perital(same thing right?) cable running into a "Scart to HDMI" converter unit box & upscaler, then just a good HDMI cable to connect it to an HDTV.

So I have been thinking about buying a very expensive official Atari Perital cable on TelgamesUK or possibly from Best electronics or myatari(will see if they have 'em) and then looking at these units:

http://rover.ebay.co...&mtid=824&kw=lg

Would this setup work? and would it probably provide the best picture for the Jag on a modern HDTV as Inferno says?

Thanks for any input here.

Zerosquare, on Sat Jan 2, 2010 11:59 AM, said:

Yes it'll work, and if the scaler is a good one, this is how you'll get the best quality.

I have no idea why official SCART/Péritel (yep, same thing) video cables are so expensive.

If you're not afraid of soldering, building one yourself is much cheaper. Check those topics :

http://www.atariage....ost__p__1407739
http://www.atariage....ost__p__1308919

I was going to do this: (a RGB converter/scaler from Ambery corp to use with my VGA CRT computer monitor using the RGB db9 output port from the Catbox) However, the specialized db9(Catbox) to db15(VGA) cable included with the Ambery device is for the Amiga Computers and I have not made a cable as per the Jaguar needed cableing pinouts Zerosquare posted for me, so that this could work.

Kev187: DID YOU MAKE A NEEDED CUSTOM CABLE YET FOR YOUR AMBERY VGA RGB/SCALER -THE REQUIRED CATBOX TO AMBERY CONVERTER/SCALER CONNECTION??

That's exactly what I did. Bought the Ambery RGB(and YPbPr) to VGA converter (which also turns all signals into true 480 progressive scan, including 240p Jag games). I made my own Jag RGB cable for it, and an RGB cable for my Genesis/SegaCD/32X too. I then have the VGA output going into the VGA input on my LCD projector, projecting at 150" right now. The Jaguar looks INCREDIBLE with all this going for it!

[Zerosquare]

Could you post a picture ? I'm curious about how it looks like on such a large "screen"

[SoundGammon]

...you could also try this device...

http://www.arcadesho...gb/rgb2ntv4.htm

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[Gunstar]

Zerosquare, on Thu Feb 25, 2010 8:07 PM, said:

Could you post a picture ? I'm curious about how it looks like on such a large "screen"

I took a couple of pictures, one in widescreen and one in normal. Unfortunately I just couldn't get a good picture no matter what I tried, so you'll have to take my word for it that the screen is bright, crystal clear and colorful in real life, I have an old crappy camera that just doesn't work right without flash, and the flash fades the screen out too much to see. There is a Jaguar controller sitting bottom center of screen for size reference though...

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Edited by Gunstar, Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:21 PM.

[Zerosquare]

Thanks. It looks really huge

[ovalbugmann]

Gunstar, on Thu Feb 25, 2010 7:33 PM, said:

That's exactly what I did. Bought the Ambery RGB(and YPbPr) to VGA converter (which also turns all signals into true 480 progressive scan, including 240p Jag games). I made my own Jag RGB cable for it, and an RGB cable for my Genesis/SegaCD/32X too. I then have the VGA output going into the VGA input on my LCD projector, projecting at 150" right now. The Jaguar looks INCREDIBLE with all this going for it!

Wow! Gunstar! you made yourself a cable? Awesome!!!!!! I have the Ambery unit too, just sitting here, and that stupid Amiga pinout special cord I naively bought that they are selling with it. Of course it doesn't work with the frickin' Jag. How hard is/was it to make one of those cables? What parts do I need? What are best/easiest parts to use for it? What did you do? Is there a lot of soldering involved?

Any instuctions or pointers you could spare for the cable making would be great. Thanks Gunstar.

Edited by ovalbugmann, Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:51 PM.

[Gunstar]

ovalbugmann, on Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:50 PM, said:

Gunstar, on Thu Feb 25, 2010 7:33 PM, said:

That's exactly what I did. Bought the Ambery RGB(and YPbPr) to VGA converter (which also turns all signals into true 480 progressive scan, including 240p Jag games). I made my own Jag RGB cable for it, and an RGB cable for my Genesis/SegaCD/32X too. I then have the VGA output going into the VGA input on my LCD projector, projecting at 150" right now. The Jaguar looks INCREDIBLE with all this going for it!

Wow! Gunstar! you made yourself a cable? Awesome!!!!!! I have the Ambery unit too, just sitting here, and that stupid Amiga pinout special cord I naively bought that they are selling with it. Of course it doesn't work with the frickin' Jag. How hard is/was it to make one of those cables? What parts do I need? What are best/easiest parts to use for it? What did you do? Is there a lot of soldering involved?

Any instuctions or pointers you could spare for the cable making would be great. Thanks Gunstar.

When I ordered the Ambery, I chose the Component to 15-pin cable becuase I already had a Jaguar RGB cable (straight from the Jag, NOT thorugh the Cat/Scatboxes), so all I had to do was remove the 13-pin DIN plug set up for an Atari monitor and using the pinout sheet Ambery supplies in comparison to the Atari RGB pinout for the 13-pin ATari plug connected the wiring properly. The fact is that the Amiga cable is REAL CLOSE to being right, I think it's only a matter of the Sync wire. If it were me, I'd fix the Amiga cable to work with the Jag, since you have a Cat/Scatbox. The best scenario would be if the Amiga cable you have has plugs that can be opened and just changing were a wire or two are soldered. But more than likely the cable's plugs are solid molded plastic, in which case you'll just have to splice into the cable itself (it is possible to cut into molded plastic, but it's a REAL pain. Though, you may wish to just make a cable from scratch, it's easier, but obviously costs money. Basically, you need to get some cable, 15-wire is the obvious choice, but the fact is you'll only be using 4 wires; R,G,B and sync (I believe on the Jag Vert.&Horiz. syncs are on one composite line: I think Amiga may use two seperate sync lines or at least a different pin, it's been a while since I've looked into all this), so a cable with at least 4 wires, though heavy-duty VGA cable is the best choice for it's diameter (strength) and shielding. Then you need 2 plugs, a 9-pin for the Cat/Scatbox end, and a 15-pin for the Ambery input. Then just get pinouts for the CatboScatbox 9-pin and the Ambery 15-pin and hook it up accordingly. I'll go in to detail with links and such later and edit this post.

I also might possibly be talked into making a cable for you, though it does take time and supplies and I'd probably want as much if not more than Ambery charges for their cables for my trouble. I already have VGA cable and 15-pin VGA plugs on hand, all I'd need to get is a 9=pin RGB plug. But, I would just be making it via pinout diagrams with no Cat/Scatbox to test it on. I could get an edge connector for the Jag and make a straight Jag-to-ambery cable like I have I could test, but that's a waste of your very nice Cat/Scatbox...

I've edited and cleaned up one of the above pics. It's still not good, from the poor original, but I brightend it up enough so the Jag controller could be seen for scale; Jag controller is black spot on bottom center of screen.

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Edited by Gunstar, Fri Feb 26, 2010 7:28 AM.

[Prom King]

Lots of great information in this thread!

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 370337155253

That is what I have, just looking for the Jaguar cable to plug into it.

[Sargon]

Most of the links in this thread are no longer available. Can anyone post a new link to a SCART switchbox that separates the audio and also a good RGB to Component converter?

[skip]

Bump!

I've recently had to replace my 37" LCD (well, I didn't have to, but it has some issues). This is unfortunate because it has, from memory, 4 SCART, 2 Composite, 1 S-Vid, 1 HDMI, 1 VGA, 1 DVI and 2 Component inputs. Thought it's an old 1080 TV, it's by far the most connectible tv/monitor I've ever seen. I'll be using it as a big computer monitor from now on. I never got a chance to try the Jaguar on it with SCART because I've yet to get a cable. It was okay with Composite, but only as good as you could imagine.

Unfortunately my new 60" Samsung is not the same as the Euro models - the Aussie one doesn't have RGB SCART in. It has 4 HDMI, 1 VGA, 1 Composite and 1 Composite / Component (automatically switches depending on what's plugged in)...there's not even S-Video! Eventually I'll get a dedicated A/V amplifier (probably Yamaha) that upscales and outputs, but upscaled S-Video would be the best I could hope for (SCART isn't common here). I know I could go Jag -> SCART -> Component convertor (eg. something like this eBay Auction -- Item Number: 220698773448 ), but since I have my Nuon n501 (or the Gamecube or the Wii) plugged into the 1 set of Component ports, then I'd be faced with having to constantly swap cables (or get a switchbox).

So - here's my plan for the 'best' possible picture. I'll get a SCART cable and then a SCART to HDMI upscaler that does 720/1080. Something like this : eBay Auction -- Item Number: 260922672168

Does anyone see a problem with this? Will it work? I'm a bit wary, and this is a rather expensive option, but I'd love to see that Jag with the best possible picture quality on the new TV

I've seen Jaguar videos on youtube with a supposed internal (?) or possibly external 1080 mod, but there's zero information about them that I could find.

[sh3-rg]

skip, on Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:57 AM, said:

So - here's my plan for the 'best' possible picture. I'll get a SCART cable and then a SCART to HDMI upscaler that does 720/1080. Something like this : eBay Auction -- Item Number: 260922672168

Does anyone see a problem with this? Will it work? I'm a bit wary, and this is a rather expensive option, but I'd love to see that Jag with the best possible picture quality on the new TV

I've got something very similar, it works fine with a 50hz signal via scart from jaguar but at 60hz there's a fairly frequent disruption to the picture. Not experimented much, but have used both a switchable PAL machine & a regular NTSC one.

[skip]

Thanks for that. This does concern me because I have two NTSC Jaguars and an NTSC DC. What sort of 'disruption' occurs? Do you think it could be the tv not being able to deal with a 60Hz signal or do think it's during the conversion process?

Anyone else?