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kgenthe

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  1. The Quest for Perfect Pixels On my quest to achieve “perfect” 3DO scaling without using mods I stumbled upon the Japanese 3DO variant which outputs native 240p. You can read more about that here on AtariAge or watch the excellent My Life in Gaming video here. Sadly, there is no native 3DO with RGB output, only S-Video. While the Framemeister is pretty great at upscaling 240p S-Video content, it isn’t quite perfect and I would prefer something even sharper. To achieve what I’m after, I’m using a Retrotink 2x (convert S-Video to RGB), an Open Source Scan Converter (line triple/quadruple), and the trusty Framemeister. RetroTink 2x The RetroTink 2x is generally a super simple Line Doubler, taking a 240p input (composite, S-Video, or Component) and outputting a 480p signal over HDMI which most (all?) modern displays can display. Honestly, for most this is a terrific way to play the 3DO. For my purposes, I just want it to convert the 240p signal, and not line double it (press the "processing" button until both lights are off). One can then use a cheap HDMI to VGA converter to get back to an analog signal. I’m using one available at any Walmart. Why would one want an analog 240p RGB signal over VGA? Open Source Scan Converter (OSSC) To feed into the OSSC of course. The OSSC has a VGA input. With it, we can process that sweet 240p analog signal and attempt to perfectly sample the 3DO’s video output, and then line triple (720p) or line quadruple it (960p). Here are the settings I’m using on the OSSC: 240p/228p Proc: Line 4x Line 4x Mode: 320x240 optim. (basically, we want to sample the 320 horizontal “resolution”, rather than sample the entire 720 signal) H. Samplerate: 398 (attempting to sample the 320 pixels) Sampling Phase: 281 (again, attempting to sample the perfect 320 pixels) H. Backporch: 30 (shift image horizontally) The OSSC will now be outputting a 1280x960p image over HDMI and each 3DO pixel will now be a 4x4 square. Framemeister This step may or may not be needed depending on your Television, Capture Card, or image processing preferences. At this point, the 960p image is probably washed out. I believe the RetroTink 2x outputs in the limited RGB range (16-239). The VGA converter probably outputs in full RGB range (0-255) meaning whites are now light grey, and blacks are now dark grey. The Framemeister can be used to correct this. For the sake of perfect “4x” pixels I’ll also leave the 960p image in a bordered 1080p “frame”: Output: 1080p_60 Image_Mode: Picture Screen_Set: Smart_X1 Black: 8 So, with the RetroTink 2X converting S-Video into RGB, the OSSC sampling and scaling to 960p, and the Framemeister correcting the color and correcting the video signal, we get “perfect” 4x captures of the 3DO. I've cropped these back down to 1280x960p in photoshop. Click the images for full size. Issues: I don’t think the colors are correct. The mid-range color look noticeably “hotter” than feeding S-Video straight into a Framemeister. I’m not sure if this can be fixed, or if it is in fact correct as-is. It doesn’t seem the OSSC can perfectly sample the 320 horizontal resolution of the signal. There is some horizontal blur most noticeable on the left side of the image. This might be resolved with better sampling settings on the OSSC, or this might be as good as it gets. Still, the checkerboards in Soccer Kid and Blade Force are spot on. Somewhere along the line, the top row of pixels is getting cut off. I don’t know if this can be fixed either. If you have any improvements in terms of better hardware or better OSSC/Framemeister settings, please share them. Thank you.
  2. Did you know? There is a Japanese FZ-1 variant 3DO lacking an RF module, but instead has a MODE SELECT switch. Mode A is 480i, mode B is 240p. No mods needed! I figured I'd share this here since this it isn't common knowledge and might incredibly useful for some. If you happen to own one of these 3DO’s and a Framemeister, here are the S-Video settings I used for the above captures: HDMI_Output: 720_60p Image_Mode: Picture Brightness: 25 Gamma: 14 Black: 2 Saturation: 23 Sharpness: 1 A/D Level: 142 Visual_Set Menu H_Scaler: 11 V_Scaler: 6 Zoom_Set Menu Zoom_Size: 100 Zoom_Width: 45 Video_Set Menu Pedestal_Lvl: On Cheers!
  3. In today’s video I dive in and take a look to see if The Terminator for the Sega CD is still good. Enjoy!

    1. Rick Dangerous
    2. GoldLeader

      GoldLeader

      I wonder if I have this game? (Will have to go look) ... Got a box of Sega CDs in my closet but I Never remember exactly which ones I have haha...

    3. GoldLeader

      GoldLeader

      Looked on ebay and...It's pretty expensive isn't it? Yikes!

  4. In today’s video I dive in and take a look to see if Alex Kidd in Miracle World for the Sega Master System is still good. Enjoy!

    1. Dreamcast Gamer

      Dreamcast Gamer

      One of my favorite games for the system. It has its flaws, but it's still enjoyable.

  5. In today’s video I dive in and take a look to see if Rayman 1 for the original PlayStation is still good. Enjoy!

    1. Shawn

      Shawn

      Spoiler: It's always gonna be awesome! :)

  6. In today’s video I dive in to see if Batman Returns for the Sega Master System really is as mediocre as it’s reputation suggests. Enjoy!

  7. In today’s video I take a look to see if Tempo for the Sega 32x really is as average as it’s reputation suggests. Enjoy!

  8. In today’s video I dive in and take a look to see if Soccer Kid for the 3DO is still good, enjoy! #3DO

  9. Thanks for the plug Here are some updated settings I haven't released to the world yet. I don't have 1080p profiles created yet, but these should yield excellent results: 320x224 Games: (Most games run in this mode) HDMI_Output: 720_60p Image_Mode: Picture A/D_Level: 175 Color_Set Menu Brightness: 26 Black: 2 Sharpness: 1 Visual_Set Menu H_Pos: 96 H_Scaler: 5 V_Scaler: 6 Zoom_Set Menu Zoom: On Zoom_Size: 100 Zoom_Width: 33 256x224 Games: (Atari Karts, Val D’Isere, Supercross 3D) HDMI_Output: 720_60p Image_Mode: Picture A/D_Level: 175 Color_Set Menu Brightness: 26 Black: 2 Sharpness: 1 Visual_Set Menu H_Pos: 80 H_Scaler: 5 V_Scaler: 6 Zoom_Set Menu Zoom: On Zoom_Size: 100 Zoom_Width: 75 Enjoy!
  10. In today’s video I dive in to see if the Atari Jaguar really is one of the worst game consoles ever, enjoy!

  11. In today’s video I dive in and take a look to see if Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck for the Sega Genesis is still good, enjoy!

    1. Rick Dangerous

      Rick Dangerous

      What about the Sega CD version? :D

    2. Papa

      Papa

      I keep seeing Jay Miner every time I see Chuck. If he was a hero character it would be that pudgy cave-dude. Another great SEGA game that may not get that recognition.

    3. kgenthe

      kgenthe

      Haha, the cave-man enemies do look Minter-esque :D

  12. In today’s video I dive in and take a look to see if Decap Attack for the Sega Genesis is still good, enjoy!

  13. In today’s video I take a look to see if Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure on the Sega Genesis is still good, enjoy!

  14. In today’s video I dive in and take a look to see if Castle of Illusion for the Genesis is still good, enjoy!

    1. zetastrike

      zetastrike

      I think it is, but I've always like the GG/SMS version better.

  15. In today’s video I dive in and take a look to see if Alone in the Dark for the 3DO is still good, enjoy!

    1. GoldLeader

      GoldLeader

      I remember my friend had this game for Playstation back in the day...

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