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A guide to connecting your Windows PC to an SD CRT TV, PVM or Arcade Monitor


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I'm having trouble with it. I have the cable made up and the driver installed. I can see the screen moving across my CRT diagonally slowly. I have it at 15khz and I tried PAL, NTSC and the default mode and all have the same result. I followed this should this work? https://linustechtips.com/main/uploads/monthly_2017_08/scart.gif.8b9a4ec1c890ef1f1f4d7ecc575c3c5d.gif

 

Thanks

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Ok so I just gave up on the schematics and starting doing random things and it turns out just joining hsync, vsync, pins 16 and 20 of the SCART all together and the picture just came on and works. Should be cool to be able to play some retro games on the CRT or set up MAME :)

 

EDIT: So one problem I have is that the sound isn't working like you can barely hear it if you turn the TV up really loud. Do I need to amplify the sound before it gets to the TV or did I just do something wrong?

Edited by steocullen91
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...just joining hsync, vsync, pins 16 and 20 of the SCART all together and the picture just came on and works.

 

Might be fine, but might not be good long term as the two sync lines have a DC offset of 5V. I'd add a few resistors into the sync lines before combining, as in the main guide. If this lowers the voltage too far for the blanking to work, you could then use pin 9 of the VGA plug to get 5V, and with another resistor between that line and ground, turn it into ~3V, though 5V will probably work.

 

Sound should come out of the PC and go into the TV just fine. Check the wiring and grounding, but if it's not that there might be a problem with the set.

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I might do that tomorrow. I have a 4K7 potentiometer, 2 330ohm resistors, 2 15k resistors and 2 18k resistors and a few 33ohm ones. I have 2 transistors here also and A couple of correction capacitors rated 1nF as far as I know. Would I be able to use these to modify the sync lines or will I need the exact impedance?

 

I think whatever is wrong with the sound could have something to do with me just wiring it like that and it might just be some grounding issue elsewhere since the grounds would all link. You can hear it just barely if you turn the TV up very loud.

 

I bought all that stuff to try do it the way I linked it in my last post but it wouldn't work for me at all that way it just kept flickering, unless maybe that's supposed to be for projectors if you make that one.

 

I know 2 33ohms would make 66 (close to 68) but I don't have an 820, 1.2k or 3.3k. However I do have a couple of them exact transistors if I was to try follow that guide. http://scarthunter.blogspot.ie/2012/04/how-to-make-vga-to-scart-cable.html

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Go to... Maplins? Do they have Maplin's in Ireland? And buy a big pack of resistors for about 5 Euros. Will sort you out for this project and future ones too :) Or which ever local hobbyshop does components.

 

Or even -- http://ie.rs-online.com/web/

 

Welcome to AA, btw :)

 

Oh, and that link from the Arcade Controls thread is acient. Older video cards would let you output composite sync over pin 13 of a VGA port (normally the h-sync pin). That's no longer an option, so the circuit was never going to work for you. That's why I made sure to write about dating.

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Go to... Maplins? Do they have Maplin's in Ireland? And buy a big pack of resistors for about 5 Euros. Will sort you out for this project and future ones too :) Or which ever local hobbyshop does components.

 

Or even -- http://ie.rs-online.com/web/

 

Welcome to AA, btw :)

 

Oh, and that link from the Arcade Controls thread is acient. Older video cards would let you output composite sync over pin 13 of a VGA port (normally the h-sync pin). That's no longer an option, so the circuit was never going to work for you. That's why I made sure to write about dating.

 

Yeah maplin is actually where I got all that stuff I have so I suppose I'll just get a few resistors from them since they're handy to have. I'd rather do it properly instead of being lazy but at least now I know it will work.

 

The idea at first was to try connect an old PC with XP to my CRT since my VGA monitor is on its way out. Problem is that was on board G41C graphics. The PC has an older chipset which is needed to work with Xbox 360 drives (PCB swaps etc.) but now I like the idea of bringing an old or spare computer to life as an arcade or retro gamer and maybe getting an arcade joystick and buttons for it. CRTs are what give it that retro feel it's the only real way to play older games properly :)

 

EDIT: I found out the sound problem. I just noticed mapping out the SCART connections that I was using audio output instead of input yeah that'll do it xD. That guide was definitely for a projector then. Thanks very much for the help. I found out that 2 of my 15k resistors tied together gives me 7.5k to try it for now and I can use my potentiometer instead for now until I get resistors if that still doesn't work.

Edited by steocullen91
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I experimented with what I have here and got it to work like this for now using an emitter.

 

Vsync straight to collector, Hsync to 18k resistor to Base along with a ground wire on a separate 18k going to Base also (this made it have less sound buzzing though there wasn't much anyway, also made the screen move across just slightly) then a 330ohm on emitter which leads to Csync. It seems to work like this so should it be ok this way? I'm assuming it's a lot safer than just chaining all the syncs and I have sound now also which is a bonus haha.

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I'm assuming it's a lot safer than just chaining all the syncs

 

Yeah, for long term use it's a much better idea. Drives everything a lot more gently. That circuit sounds a lot like SCARTHunter's one (@Paradroid)which I think came from somewhere else originally, but you've used higher value resistors, which is fine of course.

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Yeah, for long term use it's a much better idea. Drives everything a lot more gently. That circuit sounds a lot like SCARTHunter's one (@Paradroid)which I think came from somewhere else originally, but you've used higher value resistors, which is fine of course.

 

That's cool thanks for the info. So I have an older PC with a Q8200 which has 4gb ddr3 and the 6950 in it at the minute since that's more than powerful enough for what I'll use it for basically just emulating arcade and retro games at low resolution. I have Windows xp but I'll have to update it because the drivers for xp are only for older cards for xp. The main thing was to test that the cable worked first and now that it does I can do more. I had to update the VBIOS to get the card working on this PC but then I found the BIOS modding tool which made it even better. Now I can see the BIOS screens and everything.

 

Thanks so much for linking me here @buttersoft I probably would've just gave up and never figured it out :)

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Thanks so much for linking me here

 

YW. You might consider linking back to this guide in that SCART thread on ArcadeControls, with a brief description/answer to your own question, if you think it's appropriate. I'm not sure how much the information in the thread evolves; it was the circuit on the front page that looks well out of date.

 

Loving the Rigby avatar, btw ;)

Edited by buttersoft
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YW. You might consider linking back to this guide in that SCART thread on ArcadeControls, with a brief description/answer to your own question, if you think it's appropriate. I'm not sure how much the information in the thread evolves; it was the circuit on the front page that looks well out of date.

 

Loving the Rigby avatar, btw ;)

 

I will do that because that's definitely well outdated like they're saying windows 10 will never work and it's working perfectly :)

 

Also yeah Rigby's hilarious I love Regular Show. Since this is Aussiearcade and you mentioned that, now it just reminds me "I'm gonna punch the prime minister!" and "We're not calling it Mordecaiby, that means going to the bathroom" :lol

 

I highly doubt they're real real Aussie accents but I thought that sounded hilarious, I always just laugh when I hear how bad fake Irish accents on TV are tbh so I know how you feel :lol

 

I'll probably buy an arcade stick and the buttons on eBay and wire it up to the computer with USB and basically just stick them to a wooden board and mount it onto my desk to make that PC a little arcade. I have all the retro consoles but it's cool having this alternative instead of switching consoles constantly. At the minute I just use an Xbox 360 controller but that's not as retro and the dpad is horrible for them games.

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Thanks a lot for putting this thread together, buttersoft.

I am going through the process of setting up GroovyMAME + CRT_EmuDriver for my PVMs and I've chosen to go with an AMD APU (A8-7600) and Windows 10 running on a Mini ITX ASRock A88M. I wondered if you have heard of people going down this route before (semi-recent APU-based build), and whether there are any caveats to keep in mind? I guess the worst case scenario is that it doesn't work and I can get a discrete graphics card. I am having a hard time finding other people online having taken the same path outside of a mention that the AIRFRAME hardware by Griffin Aerotech is running an AMD APU A4-6300 and *possibly* CRT_EmuDriver.

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... if you have heard of people going... semi-recent APU-based build

 

If that APU is on the crt_emudriver lists i don't see why it wouldn't work. Been a few mentions of doing it on the Shmups forums recently, as it happens. It looks like a great way to build a budget GM PC - $70 mobo + $30 CPU. Your is a slightly upscale APU though, from the look of things?

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Thanks for the reply!

All the parts are on the way to me. It's looking like I'll get the parcel before the weekend so I'll post my results here. The shmups forum was where I first read about it too so thought I'd give it a crack. And yeah I splurged a bit because I want this setup to be versatile enough to use around the house for other things if I need it (media server / kids gaming machine).

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am so close to getting groovymame set up and CRT emudriver 2.0 installed but am stumped on step 3 of calamity's CRT emudriver 2.0 HD5450- windows 7-super resolution guide. From calamity's guide it says:

 

"STEP 3 - SETTING MAME UP

Now I have an usable 15-kHz display, but I don't have a proper mode list yet which I can use for MAME. Back to VMMaker, and click on Edit Settings.

First I'll go to the User modes tab and browse for the "user_modes - super.ini" file. This is because I want to use "super" resolutions.Then, in the MAME tab, I'm only going to browse to my GroovyMAME folder, but I won't be listing modes from XML by now. What I'll do is to check "Export settings to GroovyMAME", so future monitor settings will be synchronized with VMMaker."

 

So do I go to the user modes tab and choose the user mode super resolution ini and double click on it? I then exit user modes tab and go to mame tab and click on the export setting to groovymame box? Is this it or is there something more? I guess I'm confused about the part where it says browse to the groovymame folder. Do I actually need to open up the groovymame folder? Any help or clarification would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

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So do I go to the user modes tab and choose the user mode super resolution ini and double click on it? I then exit user modes tab and go to mame tab and click on the export setting to groovymame box? Is this it or is there something more? I guess I'm confused about the part where it says browse to the groovymame folder. Do I actually need to open up the groovymame folder? Any help or clarification would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

Yup that's exactly what you do.

- Press 'Generate modes'

- Go to 'User modes' tab

- Press 'Browse' and point to your .ini file of choice (for example, mine is like this: C:\Users\002\Desktop\crt_emudriver_&_tools_2.0_beta_10_16.2.1_W.7.8.10-64\user_modes - super.ini)

- Press 'MAME' tab

- Press 'Browse' and point to your MAME executable (for example, mine is like this: C:\GroovyMAME (0.186)\mame64.exe)

- Don't tick 'Get video moves from MAME XML' (this is what he's referring to when he says he's not listing modes from XML)

- Press 'OK' when you're done and you're back to 'Video Mode Maker 2.0 beta 10' window

- Continue his instructions from "Now I'll click on Generate modes, and a list of modelines will be shown."

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Yup that's exactly what you do.

- Press 'Generate modes'

- Go to 'User modes' tab

- Press 'Browse' and point to your .ini file of choice (for example, mine is like this: C:\Users\002\Desktop\crt_emudriver_&_tools_2.0_beta_10_16.2.1_W.7.8.10-64\user_modes - super.ini)

- Press 'MAME' tab

- Press 'Browse' and point to your MAME executable (for example, mine is like this: C:\GroovyMAME (0.186)\mame64.exe)

- Don't tick 'Get video moves from MAME XML' (this is what he's referring to when he says he's not listing modes from XML)

- Press 'OK' when you're done and you're back to 'Video Mode Maker 2.0 beta 10' window

- Continue his instructions from "Now I'll click on Generate modes, and a list of modelines will be shown."

 

Thanks!! After weeks of research finally got groovymame running on my BVM. Now just have to find a frontend and fine tune everything. I feel like a kid again lol.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 weeks later...

I'm currently looking into utilities to produce c-sync directly from an AMD Radeon card's DVI-I or VGA port. From this post onward on ArcadeControls, SCARTHunter talks about Winmodelines. And user Dochartaigh talks about about people using CCC, though Calamity recommends against as it's not tested for compatibility with crt_emudriver.

 

Assuming it works, one problem is that Atom15 can't combine syncs for you, so you don't get c-sync during boot, and would need to power on your monitor after windows loads up. Not ideal for an arcade cab, but possibly fine for a more mobile setup. This would let you use a cheap and easy VGA-to-4-BNC cable and just plug the RGBs signal straight from your GPU into a PVM.

 

Sadly the laptop i acquired for testing, a freebie, is totally rooted. And i'm not about to rip up my arcade cabs right now. Anyone with more info or the ability to test this out on different OS and crt_emudriver versions is encouraged to post results :)

 

EDIT: crt_emudriver beta 12 produces c-sync directly from your card. The drawback at this time is that it also disables the flicker filter.

Edited by buttersoft
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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks for this guide @buttersoft and for all the effort you put in helping people :)

 

I read the whole thread a couple of times and tried to take it all in........I have been running Groovymame on my two Astro City cabs for a few years now and love how it looks on my original arcade monitors which are still going strong and have vibrant colours :) I hook up from the PC VGA port to a JPAC to my Cab and run the speakers straight from the PC.

 

The colours and look of the CRTs playing the classics keeps me young, so of course I want to be able to keep them going forever :cool:

 

I have a few 68cm TVs for backup tubes for my cabs, I am considering getting Jomac chassis for a couple of them, but after reading this thread I am wondering if going to that expense is really necessary. My TVs are very standard run of the mill Panasonic with RCA inputs only.

 

There has been much discussion of different inputs here but I didn't see anything about RCA, I'm wondering as I am already putting out 15kHz from the PC could I just use a cheap VGA to RCA adapter such as this? https://www.ebay.com/itm/VGA-to-AV-RCA-Composite-Converter-Adapter-Box-with-Audio-PC-to-TV-/391747934518

 

As they are only about $20 I don't mind risking it to see what I think, but there are MANY converters available and I would like to buy the best quality one I can, one of my PCs has HDMI out so a HDMI to RCA is an option for that but I might be better off just using VGA to RCA for both.

 

Thanks in advance for any input :laugh:

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That VGA-to-AV converter unit isn't designed for 15kHz input, the list starts at 31kHz. It may still work, i have no idea. It will only output 480i though, so you get the same problems described in section g) of the main guide. If it does work, it *might* look acceptable for 240p content (and anything like cps1 at 224 which GM will scale to 240p if that's the mode with the closest number of lines). Then again it might look like garbage. And if you have a Radeon 5000 series or newer card (i can't remember, soz) with the flicker filter, trying to use 480i from the PC will probably look terrible as well - again, if it works to begin with.

 

HDMI-to-AV merely has the problems described in section g), including the lag. With most of these units, the consensus seems to be that you get what you pay for. This is also in terms of colour reproduction.

 

If Joey has any good chassis left, those are a much better bet. If not, you could always try hacking RGB into the sets. If you can solder, it's really not that complicated - depending on the particular sets. Post up in the monitor subforum on here if you want with the model numbers, or in the RGB hacking thread on Shmups because those guys are really helpful. @MarkOZLAD is doing a lot of good work over there right now. I just need to convince him to solve the hack on his TEAC CT-M5122H because i have the same set and can't figure it out :)

 

EDIT: sorry, GM *won't* *scale* 224 lines to 240p, it uses that mode and draws 8 black lines top and bottom, so you get a perfect 1:1 image :)

Edited by buttersoft
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@MarkOZLAD is doing a lot of good work over there right now. I just need to convince him to solve the hack on his TEAC CT-M5122H because i have the same set and can't figure it out :)

 

Lol I was hoping you’d do that for me!

 

Don’t hold your breath, that set is at the bottom of a long, unwritten list of projects. Besides that, I don’t think I’m necessarily as good as you are at this caper anyway!

 

I’ll try and give it a shot when I can.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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