RGB to Scart & Scart to HDMI converter

[Retrofan]

Hi:

I had a conversation recently trying to improve the picture quality of my A1200 with ACA1231/42 without flickerfixer, the cheap way:

Originally Posted by mark_k

... But for connecting an Amiga to HDMI, I would try a SCART to HDMI converter first (along with an Amiga RGB/SCART cable), since that should give better picture quality.

Has anyone used a SCART to HDMI converter with an Amiga? One issue there might be, is if the converter doesn't work properly with non-interlaced video signals.

Originally Posted by mark_k

I bought a converter that looks very much like that one on eBay a while ago. (Just for future use since I don't have a monitor with HDMI port yet!)

I would guess that only 15kHz NTSC/PAL modes are accepted on the SCART input of the converter. But it won't hurt to try other modes.

Yet another possible option would be a VGA to HDMI converter, something like this for example, along with an Amiga 23-pin to VGA adaptor (equivalent to Commodore P/N 390682-01). My guess there is that 15kHz modes wouldn't work properly with the VGA to HDMI converter. Again, I'd be interested to hear if anyone has tried that setup. It would be great if 15kHz modes did work with it.

Yesterday I connected the converter to my A1200 ACA1231/42 and the result is pretty good I believe. The converter is this, for 36€ and the RGB to Scart cable the one of AmigaKit (the best).

(Edited) This is a video I've made now: [ Show youtube player ]

[pandy71]

One thing is that probably SCART RGB is sampled with clock 13.5MHz and this is different than native pixel clock in Amiga (14.18758MHz) and overall resolution is lower than native.
Also SHRES have resolution more than halved.

[mark_k]

That could be a possibility. Though as I understand it the unit assumes the input signal is 16:9 (or maybe it operates differently depending on the voltage on the SCART function switching pin?). So if you're very lucky it might use a correspondingly higher sampling frequency.

What does the picture look like when you use a super-high res laced Workbench screen? Also, I'd be interested to hear how smooth-scrolling demos/games look, and any latency which might be added (e.g. are latency-sensitive games like Pinball Dreams playable).

[Retrofan]

Originally Posted by mark_k

What does the picture look like when you use a super-high res laced Workbench screen? Also, I'd be interested to hear how smooth-scrolling demos/games look, and any latency which might be added (e.g. are latency-sensitive games like Pinball Dreams playable).

With Super High Res Laced it looks very bad on emulation on my Led Tv, very small letter no matter if I try 4:3 instead of 16:9, and with the converter is the same of course.

This is playing two games ... with a hand only, lol, and on the first I was using the Roland for the sound and I forgot to change the output at the beginning of the second game. Yes, I know my videos aren't very good:

[ Show youtube player ]

[Amiga1992]

Is there any delay on this setup?

[Retrofan]

Maybe a bit when opening a drawer to show the icons to display perfect, but not noticiable. The most visible imperfection is when for example you move a window with text, it is shown like ghosted or something till you stop moving it.

[majestyx]

Since this is an old post, is there any chance you have a newer link to the converter you bought, since the old ebay one above is dead? I recently bought a converter on ebay, but it didn't work for me. I'm curious what your make and model is and am wondering if the converter I got is bad or that it just doesn't like the 15.6 KHz RGB signal. When I plug the SCART into the converter, the screen goes from blue with NO SIGNAL message in the middle of the screen to black which means it is detecting a signal but isn't displaying anything.

Your help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[idrougge]

What Scart cable?

[indigolemon]

Most of the cheap SCART to HDMI converters currently floating about can't do RGB sadly

[demolition]

Originally Posted by indigolemon

Most of the cheap SCART to HDMI converters currently floating about can't do RGB sadly

Yeah, I have two almost identical looking converters and one can only do Composite+S-Video while the other one can also do RGB. Externally they look more or less identical and there are no clues as to whether they support RGB, so I think it's somewhat of a lucky draw. It will still sync to the composite/sync signal when an RGB signal is connected but since it is a pure sync without image information, the screen will just go black if it doesn't support RGB. It could also be that you need to tweak the value of the resistor controlling the input mode to make the converter switch to RGB mode.

[talybont]

plasmab talks about the converter he uses in his videos, in this video:

[ Show youtube player ]

And the adapter he uses is this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ELEPHAS-Con...+to+HDMI&psc=1

[demolition]

Originally Posted by talybont

And the adapter he uses is this one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ELEPHAS-Con...+to+HDMI&psc=1

My converters looks just like that one and one I could not get to work with RGB. I think even if you buy from the same shop, you can still not be 100% certain you get an identical one, although your chances of success are probably better.

[majestyx]

I purchased this RGB to SCART cable from an Amazon UK marketplace seller:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

...and yes, I've seen another youtube video using that same converter above where the guy said it's hit and miss.

[MikeyG]

Wish I had seen this thread earlier. I recently purchased off amazon.
An EOTECK SCALER VIDEO CONVERTER SCART to HDMI - Model NTK022

http://amzn.eu/fZIHl3U

This just goes to a black screen so one that doesn't support RGB.

I'll be purchasing the ELEPHAS one mentioned above as that does state it supports RGB Scart.

[MikeyG]

Just quick update I received the ELEPHAS converter yesterday and it works ok on my HDMI monitor.
There is a tiny bit of lag but just noticeable when I played Pinball Dreams.
What is more noticeable is when an object is moving around the screen you get a kind of blur fuzz around the object. It annoying when in workbench. I notice it too on plasmab video.
Debating to look out for a cheap 20'' LCD TV with Scart as that might be the better option.

[majestyx]

I just ordered a similar looking one off of ebay since Elephas doesn't ship to the U.S.

Thanks for the info on the delay. This is probably the last thing I'm going to try before trying to track down an old multi-sync CRT. I sold off my 1084S years ago thinking I'd never need it. Regretting that decision now.

[MikeyG]

So today I went to use my amiga on the Elephas and it is no longer outputting anything. My monitor just changes to another input because nothing is detected on HDMI.
Tried pressing all the button but looks like its dead after only 1 days use. :-(
Not having much luck lately.
Will try and get a refund off amazon.
I must say that I can't recommend these. Just too flakey and unreliable.

[demolition]

Originally Posted by MikeyG

Tried pressing all the button but looks like its dead after only 1 days use. :-(

Does your SCART cable have the proper resistors integrated as indicated on this schematic (scroll down one page)?
I killed one converter and I believe it was due to the missing resistors as I imagine the circuits inside cannot tolerate >5V signals. Some old Amiga RGB SCART cables does not have any resistors at all, thus the converter would have to tolerate up to 12V on SCART pin 8.

[AmigaBill]

Originally Posted by majestyx

I just ordered a similar looking one off of ebay since Elephas doesn't ship to the U.S.

I am in the US and I got mine off Amazon. Unfortunately the exact link I used is no longer active, but this seems like the same device. https://www.amazon.com/TNP-Converter...=scart+to+hdmi No guarantee it is though.

Like others have said, the quality control can be questionable with these things. I was lucky and got a good one. Knock on wood it has been working great for me even though it isn't perfect and has some faults.

But have you looked into the OSSC? Lots of people on my YouTube channel and Twitch channel have been suggesting that to me. It seems like a far superior device, but I haven't gotten one yet and it is a more expensive solution. I will do a review of it when I get it. https://www.retrogamer.net/blog_post...raded-to-v1-6/

If you want to see the results I get with the cheap converter, you can check out this video. I queued it up to the part with the converter box [ Show youtube player ]
You can also see the results on my Twitch streams https://www.twitch.tv/amigabill/videos/all Although TerribleFire's video is much more detailed.

I am really looking forward to getting the OSCC, but nothing beats a CRT Actually just got my 1084s repaired. Needed a new power supply and yolk. It was worth fixing for sure.

[majestyx]

The converter I ordered has finally arrived. The good news is that it does indeed work. That said, the problem I'm having is that the Amiga screen is shifted way over to the left. For example, in Workbench 3.1, the menu bar at the top of the screen starts at the middle of the 'm' in the word Amiga and I have no idea if there is a way to adjust it. Regardless of screen mode (wide, standard [black bars on side], just scan), it does this. The picture really does look great, but the left shift is really bad.

If anyone has suggestions on how to adjust the centering of the picture coming from the Amiga, I'd appreciate the help.

UPDATE: I noticed mine seems to have different firmware than what's in AmigaBill's youtube video. I opened it up and found no moving parts or dials to adjust. I was hoping for something like the screen adjusters that were on a 1084S, but no dice. So I went into a secret menu on my SEIKI TV and adjusted the horizontal size and position. I now just barely get the left hand side of the Amiga screen to fit in the visible area of the screen. So far, that's fine with me since I believe what's outside of a certain area is simply overscan. Gotta say I'm quite happy with my $26 purchase and the long wait to have it delivered from China. I was expecting to be disappointed and other than this little quirk, I'm very pleased. Love the fact that it works in both NTSC and PAL modes in HD, the main reason I wanted to go with SCART to HDMI in the first place. The other reason is that SCART, unlike VGA, can carry the audio into the converter which then gets piped into the HDMI signal to the TV. Very cool and affordable alternative to a flicker fixer.