Yeah, I’ve finally gotten my hands on a RetroTINK x5 Pro.
Why is it worse tan a Framemister in some ways and better in others?
First look and set up testing.
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Cables cables cables.
Oh yeah. It’s a real bloody mess. It never used to be that bad but over time with adding removing stuff it’s turned in to this mess.
Really interesting podcast with Bob interviewing Thomas Daede, the creator of an open-source CRT chassis.
I’m still listening (audio only) but TLDW/L: open source circuit board that drives the monitor. It’s still very much in work but super exciting! Don’t throw out those broken CRTs (yet :p).
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I don’t know how retro this is, but I am considering replacing my TV. My cabinet is rather limited in size, and I was hoping you guys would tell me what is the best option out of these three:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QXV8TWZ?tag=kitchenhelpfu-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WJMSS8H?ref=emc_p_m_5_mob_t
I would purchase the 43” size.
It’s definitely not retro, haha. I’m not sure which the more appropriate thread to ask your question would be, but I would direct you to look at this site:
The main thing you need to be concerned about is input lag with new TVs. Out of those three TVs you listed, the Sony X85J is rated the best for video games at 7.7. But you may want to look through that site and see if there is anything else with a higher rating that might fit better, both for your budget and your cabinet.
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Got a Framemeister, arrived yesterday and the dealer included a Euro SCART adapter, this is my first video upscaler which became a necessity after retiring my 14 year old s-video enabled plasma and upgrading to a 4K HDR TV a few months ago (TCL 6 Series 55 inch Roku TV, very happy with it so far gaming wise).
So far I’ve only tested it with my Turbo Duo which is modded for s-video and RGB (used s-video with it on my plasma, this is my first time using the RGB) and my Saturn (s-video), I’m outputting to 720p on both as I’ve read 1080p output can be less than ideal overall? Here are some various pics below. On TG-16 and PCE games I’ve have scanlines with DEC_1 & 2 both set to 80 and DEC_SMOOTH set to 90 (sorry if that sounds awful or really off, I’m totally new to this but it looks pretty good that way). Unfortunately color saturation seems not too good and for Magical Chase I had to temporarily lower the smooth setting to about 35-45 to see certain subtle details like the dark tree silhouettes in stage 2’s parallax background (as you can see below the Magical Chase pics are from before I adjusted this, the trees aren’t even visible).
I tried it with my Saturn tonight for the first time and it looks great so far in 720p but the ‘menu transition lag’ between some screens/modes is definitely noticeable and could be a deal breaker eventually, having it jump back and forth between a game and my TV’s home menu is really jarring. When I have time I’m going to download some of Firebrandx’s profiles as recommended by @D.Lo because I’m sure I’m butchering a lot of the settings I’m trying. Still undecided if I’m going to keep it or eventually sell it and put it towards a PVM or a different upscaler like a Retro Tink (especially if I decide I ultimately can’t handle the Saturn screen lag). Any information and advice is greatly appreciated and apologies for the huge mass of pics.
For Saturn I tested Panzer Dragoon which looks good without scanlines and Radiant Silvergun looks better with them as far as I can tell. Also, at one point while on the attract screen for RS the entire display turned pink and wouldn’t go back to normal until I rebooted the Framemeister. Edit: Ok so the pink screen issue with the Saturn has occurred several more times since then.
Looks to me like your scanlines aren’t scaling evenly across the pixels of your display. Definitely keep the framemeister in 720p mode, but look for a setting in your display for 1:1 pixel scaling. Right now, it looks like you may be dealing with some overscan or something that is causing the pixels not to line up properly.
Those blank lines should be more evenly spaced out when you get the settings right. I do think it’s the display and not the framemeister that needs adjustment though.
Not sure what setting that would correspond with on my TV but will definitely try to find it later when I have time, thanks.
I’ve heard that the resolution switch on the FM is pretty obnoxious, and the OSSC is better, and if that’s the case I can only imagine what it’s like on the FM. On the OSSC it’s not unplayable but it’s pushing it.
If it really becomes a dealbreaker, hopefully you can sell it off, and I’d definitely recommend the Retrotink 5X (looks like the OSSC Pro is on the horizon too), as it completely solves the resolution switch issue, with CRT-like speeds. Also, the scanline filters look incredible, with different masks to choose from, as well as PVM/BVM style looks.
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Per advice from @Peltz and others I lowered some of the color such as Red levels and set the input on my TV which I’m using for the Framemeister to “Direct” (which as far as I can tell is my TV’s corresponding pixel by pixel setting for 4:3 content) since as can be seen earlier this week from my first try, scanlines were pretty uneven due to overscan and reds were bleeding, this looks quite a bit better so far I think but any input is appreciated (Magical Chase looks a bit darker in the pics but that’s mainly due to my phone/lighting/angle):
![image|666x500]
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Last game I’m testing tonight with the new settings, Sonic Jam on Saturn (w/Sonic 2) and wooooow, this game and navigating its menus/loading different titles in the compilation really brings the Framemeister’s resolution boot change issue into full view, yikes. Scanlines still seem to look good but with this game the colors look a bit off, and on top of that the odd issue where my Framemeister occasionally turns the screen completely pink when playing Saturn games has returned (this hasn’t happened for any of the TG-16/PCE titles I’ve tested):
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Huge improvement on the scanlines - everything appears to be lining up correctly now.
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Now if I could just get this odd error with the Saturn and that occasional pink screen figured out, wondering if it’s somehow a hardware problem with the Saturn itself. It is pretty old, besides the age of the console itself I had it modded over 20 years ago.
Personally, it’s just a hunch but I do not think it’s the console. The pink is affecting the border in the 4:3 image - that would be very unlikely to come from the console since it’s only sending out the pixels within that border.
I think whatever device is generating the black bars (the upscaler or the TV) is responsible here (likely the upscaler).
Maybe try new cables? There could be a bad pin somewhere in the chain (maybe the HDMI cable).
By the way, is your Saturn 60hz? And does the pink screen happen consistently on certain scenes or does it randomly flicker in and out on occassion?
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I’ve already tried a different HDMI cable going from the Framemeister to my TV. I’m also wondering if it’s something to do with the Saturn’s s-video + composite stereo/audio cable. I may be wrong but it seems to happen when returning to title screens for various games (ex: going back from attract mode to main screen). I’ve also reseated the Saturn cables several times. The pink screen won’t go away until I power off the Saturn and Framemeister a few times.
I remember seeing this problem a few times on the shmups forum and in the MLIG video on using 4k displays, apparently it’s common for the audio to go too when it happens. If your display has it people report turning off deep color mode to fix it, it seems to be a display compatability issue which is much more common on newer sets rather than anything to do with cables.
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Played some more TG-16/PCE games on the Framemeister, the Bonk series and Air Zonk really have some beautiful sprite work that still holds up. Also, I still can’t believe how the original Air Zonk on Hucard had much better graphics and art than the Super CD sequel:
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That’s the first tink I bought. I haven’t gotten around to updating the firmware but make sure it’s on the most recent one. That way you can pass through 720p on it. I love the device and it’s mainly become the device I use to play on my TV in the living room. My 5x is more of my workhorse scaler because I use that for capturing footage and playing on my monitor.
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Is there any way to add a wireless remote to the Extron Crosspoints? Ideally I’d prefer to use a universal remote of some kind but dedicated is fine as well. I assume the remote serial port could be used to connect some sort of IR reciever maybe?
I saw this post on SHMUPS about a WebUI but my switch does not have ethernet (128HVA). I have also found this on Extron’s website but it doesn’t have the buttons I’d expect for operating a matrix switch.
On a semi-related note…
https://docs.pixelfx.co/2021_review.html
I know the Morph has been mentioned here but the Infinity Switch seems like an even bigger deal to me.
I still prefer a multi-output matrix switch for flexibility but this looks really cool. If they can deliver on the promise of ‘transcoding modules’ that would be huge, replacing current switches and transcoding boxes in one rack-mountable box.