Amiga HDMI output

Staringlizard · 01 July 2015, 07:58

Hello,

I am done with my latest project

Please feel free to check out the youtube link below.

[ Show youtube player ]

Be aware that this board has some state of the art, expensive as hell, parts.
Lets see what the interest is in this gadget and go from there.

Regards,
StaringL

Mrs Beanbag · 01 July 2015, 10:18

wow, nice work!

jbenam · 01 July 2015, 10:34

This is exactly one of those "I do it because I can" projects the Amiga world is so renowed for

Great job!

What's the BOM at the moment? Looks like it's going to be expensive as heck!

OldB0y · 01 July 2015, 10:57

Very nice - I'd consider buying one! Will it work with AGA as well as ECS?

ransom1122 · 01 July 2015, 11:07

Very Very nice. Well done. This is just amazing, Kinda speechless.

What's the plan on how we all can have or make one of these?

Oli_HD · 01 July 2015, 11:34

Very nice design! Love it.
Would be good to see an external RGB to HDMI adapter like yours on the market.

Jope · 01 July 2015, 12:00

Good idea, but I must ask: Does it really change 50Hz -> 60Hz? Why? :-(

Also you write 576i but the Amiga normally outputs 288p.. Could you shed some light on the details please?

voxel · 01 July 2015, 12:04

why 60 Hertz ? think it's just because most of the screens (TV, Monitors, etc...) that are HDMI supports that by default... ;-) try to find a NEW monitor that is 50Hz native, saddly it are no so many now.

Mrs Beanbag · 01 July 2015, 12:28

TVs should still support 50Hz, i'd be surprised if not. personally i'm more worried about the pixels being stretched into widescreen proportions.

Jope · 01 July 2015, 12:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by voxel

why 60 Hertz ? think it's just because most of the screens (TV, Monitors, etc...) that are HDMI supports that by default... ;-) try to find a NEW monitor that is 50Hz native, saddly it are no so many now.

It was a bit of a rhetorical question, I know why some people want 50->60, but to me that is a detriment. If you change the framerate, then you might as well run an emulator, as the only thing the original HW has going for it (jerk free 50FPS action) is not there any more.

If a display takes in HDMI, there is a high possibility that it support 50Hz via HDMI too.

I'm guessing this project allows you to choose the refresh rates, so that's why I asked for details. :-)

hooverphonique · 01 July 2015, 13:17

cool project.. why not just use your tv's RGB input, it has similar circuitry already built in?

too bad it will reduce the color depth on aga machines, though (due to only 16 bit color support).

Retro-Nerd · 01 July 2015, 13:42

Quote:

cool project.. why not just use your tv's RGB input, it has similar circuitry already built in?

To avoid artefacts due to the internal A/D converter i assume. Is the shown Turrican in 576i? Looks horrible in motion. Direct HDMI without extra A/D convertion would be awesome. But as Jope said. 720p/1080p in 50Hz should be selectable. There are gazillions of HDTV monitors/TVs which supports 50Hz via HDMI. Nice project btw.

hooverphonique · 02 July 2015, 13:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro-Nerd

Direct HDMI without extra A/D convertion would be awesome

that's only possible by using an internal solution like indivision 2..

Staringlizard · 02 July 2015, 20:47

Thanks everyone for kind words about this gadget

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbenam

This is exactly one of those "I do it because I can" projects the Amiga world is so renowed for

Great job!

What's the BOM at the moment? Looks like it's going to be expensive as heck!

As for everything, the price varies with quantity. For one board I would think the BOM is around 13 (ad9984a) + 14 (adv7511w) + 20 (fpga) + 13 (board and misc stuff) = 60 euros. For 25 boards I would estimate the price will drop with around 20-30%.

Staringlizard · 02 July 2015, 20:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldB0y

Very nice - I'd consider buying one! Will it work with AGA as well as ECS?

I am not sure, but anything that outputs 576i and probably similar formats like 480i (not tested) will be converted. I have tested with Amiga 500 and Amiga 1200 in PAL. Multiscan and other formats will not work. In most games I think 576i is used but I am not sure.

Staringlizard · 02 July 2015, 21:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by ransom1122

Very Very nice. Well done. This is just amazing, Kinda speechless.

What's the plan on how we all can have or make one of these?

Everything you need will be on my website to make this board yourself. However the pcb itself will be a little tricky since it will be very expensive if making just one. If you want me to make and assemble one for you, you could write me a message on this forum (but it will be quite expensive if I just make one). An alternative would be for me to sell you just the pcb (I have 5-6 left I think). Keep in mind that you will need some tools to flash the MCU and the FPGA if you want to have a try and assemble yourself.

Staringlizard · 02 July 2015, 21:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jope

Good idea, but I must ask: Does it really change 50Hz -> 60Hz? Why? :-(

Also you write 576i but the Amiga normally outputs 288p.. Could you shed some light on the details please?

I would say that the PAL Amiga normally output 576i. All the games I have tried so far at least. The startup screen is not using the interlaced mode though. But I could be wrong ?

As far as the Hz is concerned, I think it does not matter. What comes out from the FPGA and resides inside the SRAM is the same, no matter what vertical Hz I choose to display it in. I choose 60Hz since I think it is supported by almost all screens.

If you think the interlacing will get worse in PAL mode by changing vertical Hz, It is an interesting thought, one that I will test today actually

Thankfully it is very easy to change.

Staringlizard · 02 July 2015, 21:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by hooverphonique

cool project.. why not just use your tv's RGB input, it has similar circuitry already built in?

too bad it will reduce the color depth on aga machines, though (due to only 16 bit color support).

The horizontal update frequency is around 15Khz for these old computers. I do not think you can use the RBG input on your not so old TV due to lack of support. But I am not sure, if you try it out, please send a memo

Staringlizard · 02 July 2015, 21:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro-Nerd

To avoid artefacts due to the internal A/D converter i assume. Is the shown Turrican in 576i? Looks horrible in motion. Direct HDMI without extra A/D convertion would be awesome. But as Jope said. 720p/1080p in 50Hz should be selectable. There are gazillions of HDTV monitors/TVs which supports 50Hz via HDMI. Nice project btw.

I think Turrican is shown in 576i. Actually, personally I do not think it looks so horrible when not zoomed in as much as the video is doing (normally you do not play Turrican with your head that close to the screen

). When displayed using normal composite output the raster beam is blurring out everything a tad and the interlaced magic, of course, work best for the technology it was design for. I must also mention that there is room for improvement for the board, not only for the software but also for the hardware. Perhaps someone else will improve it in the future. That would be cool.

Mrs Beanbag · 02 July 2015, 21:24

is it possible to configure it not to stretch the image sideways to widescreen width? or does it work with non-widescreen monitors?

01 July 2015, 07:58	#1
Staringlizard Registered User Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Lund Posts: 23	Amiga HDMI output Hello, I am done with my latest project Please feel free to check out the youtube link below. [ Show youtube player ] Be aware that this board has some state of the art, expensive as hell, parts. Lets see what the interest is in this gadget and go from there. Regards, StaringL

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01 July 2015, 10:18	#2
Mrs Beanbag Glastonbridge Software Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Edinburgh/Scotland Posts: 2,243	wow, nice work!

01 July 2015, 10:34	#3
jbenam Italian Amiga Zealot Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Italy Age: 36 Posts: 1,910	This is exactly one of those "I do it because I can" projects the Amiga world is so renowed for Great job! What's the BOM at the moment? Looks like it's going to be expensive as heck!

01 July 2015, 10:57	#4
OldB0y Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Letchworth/UK Posts: 83	Very nice - I'd consider buying one! Will it work with AGA as well as ECS?

01 July 2015, 11:07	#5
ransom1122 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Omnicorp Age: 45 Posts: 5,813	Very Very nice. Well done. This is just amazing, Kinda speechless. What's the plan on how we all can have or make one of these?

01 July 2015, 11:34	#6
Oli_HD Collector Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Staffordshire. UK Posts: 157	Very nice design! Love it. Would be good to see an external RGB to HDMI adapter like yours on the market.

01 July 2015, 12:00	#7
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	Good idea, but I must ask: Does it really change 50Hz -> 60Hz? Why? :-( Also you write 576i but the Amiga normally outputs 288p.. Could you shed some light on the details please?

01 July 2015, 12:04	#8
voxel Amiga Nuts! Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Le Mayet d'Ecole, 03800, FRANCE Posts: 176	why 60 Hertz ? think it's just because most of the screens (TV, Monitors, etc...) that are HDMI supports that by default... ;-) try to find a NEW monitor that is 50Hz native, saddly it are no so many now.

01 July 2015, 12:28	#9
Mrs Beanbag Glastonbridge Software Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Edinburgh/Scotland Posts: 2,243	TVs should still support 50Hz, i'd be surprised if not. personally i'm more worried about the pixels being stretched into widescreen proportions.

01 July 2015, 13:17	#11
hooverphonique ex. demoscener "Bigmama" Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Fyn / Denmark Posts: 1,624	cool project.. why not just use your tv's RGB input, it has similar circuitry already built in? too bad it will reduce the color depth on aga machines, though (due to only 16 bit color support).

02 July 2015, 21:24	#20
Mrs Beanbag Glastonbridge Software Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Edinburgh/Scotland Posts: 2,243	is it possible to configure it not to stretch the image sideways to widescreen width? or does it work with non-widescreen monitors?

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