Considering buying the A2320 scan doubler

Sanxion · 22 September 2017, 08:34

Hi all

I am considering buying the A2320 scan doubler but have a question...

If this card doubles the scan rate to 30kHz - the majority of monitors (even old CRTs) will still not work as they operate on 50/60kHz. Is that correct?

Thanks

Jope · 22 September 2017, 08:42

You are mixing up horizontal and vertical refresh frequencies.

(S)VGA monitors require around 30-31kHz of horizontal refresh minimum. This is what the A2320 creates out of the Amiga's 15kHz refresh.

Then it depends on the monitor whether it syncs down to 50Hz (not kilo) vertical or not. In fact the PAL Amiga is just a bit under 50Hz, so this is sometimes a problem, even if the monitor's spec sheet boasts a lower limit of 50Hz.

If you select an NTSC screen mode with the A2320, you will be able to use just about any monitor. Naturally since you're in PAL land, you'd probably want to run it in PAL modes, so you still need to use a bit of care when selecting your monitor.

Sanxion · 22 September 2017, 10:12

Thanks...what type of video connector is on the A2320?

Locutus · 22 September 2017, 10:14

Another thing to keep in mind with the A2320 is that it only samples at 12 bit colours, so if you plan to use it in a AGA machine you might lose out on that regard.

McTrinsic · 22 September 2017, 10:19

Get an Indivision ECS.

Sanxion · 22 September 2017, 11:38

Agreed...the Indivision Scan Doubler does seem to be a better option.

Jope · 22 September 2017, 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanxion

thanks...what type of video connector is on the a2320?

de15 vga

patrik · 22 September 2017, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanxion

Agreed...the Indivision Scan Doubler does seem to be a better option.

The A2320 is a good choice for an OCS/ECS machine. What machine is in question?

Sanxion · 22 September 2017, 19:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrik

The A2320 is a good choice for an OCS/ECS machine. What machine is in question?

Amiga 2000

idrougge · 23 September 2017, 03:41

Agreed, the 2320 uses the same circuitry as the A3000 and is better than most scandoublers.

grelbfarlk · 25 September 2017, 00:03

Unless the A2320 is significantly cheaper than an Indivision ECS, get the Indivision. It's only £92.81. It's got a heck of a lot more versatility than the A2320. You can pick pretty much whatever frequency you want, it has Scanline emulation and allows you to use higher resolution modes (with fewer colors.) But if you can get an A2320 for lets say £40 and you don't care about the rest of that stuff then get the A2320.

bwldrbst · 25 September 2017, 02:21

I've got a 2320 in my A2000 and found that, while it worked OK with the fairly recent LCD monitors I have lying around, there were some issues. PAL screenmodes didn't display correctly so I had to use it in NTSC modes. There was also some vertical banding on the display caused, I think, by the analogue pixels not aligning with the native display resolution.

About 6 months ago I was lucky enough to spot a nice 17" CRT on the side of the road. Despite being a little dim, the picture is beautiful, crisp and clear. Also, a huge fat beige CRT suits the A2000 case.

Sanxion · 25 September 2017, 08:42

What do you think of these external scan doublers that are on Ebay and sell for around £70?

Jope · 25 September 2017, 08:47

If it has four buttons on top in a diamond shape, avoid.. It's the GBS arcade scaler in a case.. :-) There is a thread about those elsewhere on here.

Sanxion · 25 September 2017, 09:55

They all seem to have four buttons on top but the description seems to suggest they are built specifically for the Amiga.

alexh · 25 September 2017, 10:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanxion

They all seem to have four buttons on top but the description seems to suggest they are built specifically for the Amiga.

Nope. Just the people who constructed the box are Amiga people. Inside is a £15 part

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/382209383826

22 September 2017, 08:34	#1
Sanxion Registered User Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: England Posts: 138	Considering buying the A2320 scan doubler Hi all I am considering buying the A2320 scan doubler but have a question... If this card doubles the scan rate to 30kHz - the majority of monitors (even old CRTs) will still not work as they operate on 50/60kHz. Is that correct? Thanks

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22 September 2017, 08:42	#2
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	You are mixing up horizontal and vertical refresh frequencies. (S)VGA monitors require around 30-31kHz of horizontal refresh minimum. This is what the A2320 creates out of the Amiga's 15kHz refresh. Then it depends on the monitor whether it syncs down to 50Hz (not kilo) vertical or not. In fact the PAL Amiga is just a bit under 50Hz, so this is sometimes a problem, even if the monitor's spec sheet boasts a lower limit of 50Hz. If you select an NTSC screen mode with the A2320, you will be able to use just about any monitor. Naturally since you're in PAL land, you'd probably want to run it in PAL modes, so you still need to use a bit of care when selecting your monitor.

22 September 2017, 10:12	#3
Sanxion Registered User Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: England Posts: 138	Thanks...what type of video connector is on the A2320?

22 September 2017, 10:14	#4
Locutus Registered User Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Finland Posts: 1,176	Another thing to keep in mind with the A2320 is that it only samples at 12 bit colours, so if you plan to use it in a AGA machine you might lose out on that regard.

22 September 2017, 10:19	#5
McTrinsic Registered User Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Germany Posts: 527	Get an Indivision ECS.

22 September 2017, 11:38	#6
Sanxion Registered User Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: England Posts: 138	Agreed...the Indivision Scan Doubler does seem to be a better option.

23 September 2017, 03:41	#10
idrougge Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Stockholm Posts: 4,332	Agreed, the 2320 uses the same circuitry as the A3000 and is better than most scandoublers.

25 September 2017, 00:03	#11
grelbfarlk Registered User Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: USA Posts: 2,902	Unless the A2320 is significantly cheaper than an Indivision ECS, get the Indivision. It's only £92.81. It's got a heck of a lot more versatility than the A2320. You can pick pretty much whatever frequency you want, it has Scanline emulation and allows you to use higher resolution modes (with fewer colors.) But if you can get an A2320 for lets say £40 and you don't care about the rest of that stuff then get the A2320.

25 September 2017, 02:21	#12
bwldrbst Registered User Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 73	I've got a 2320 in my A2000 and found that, while it worked OK with the fairly recent LCD monitors I have lying around, there were some issues. PAL screenmodes didn't display correctly so I had to use it in NTSC modes. There was also some vertical banding on the display caused, I think, by the analogue pixels not aligning with the native display resolution. About 6 months ago I was lucky enough to spot a nice 17" CRT on the side of the road. Despite being a little dim, the picture is beautiful, crisp and clear. Also, a huge fat beige CRT suits the A2000 case.

25 September 2017, 08:42	#13
Sanxion Registered User Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: England Posts: 138	What do you think of these external scan doublers that are on Ebay and sell for around £70?

25 September 2017, 08:47	#14
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	If it has four buttons on top in a diamond shape, avoid.. It's the GBS arcade scaler in a case.. :-) There is a thread about those elsewhere on here.

25 September 2017, 09:55	#15
Sanxion Registered User Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: England Posts: 138	They all seem to have four buttons on top but the description seems to suggest they are built specifically for the Amiga.

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