New product: Retrotink 2X-SCART

[sepecat]

A few more updates:

I wouldn't recommend using a firmware newer than 1.3 at this time. I upgraded to the current (as of this writing) 1.5 release and found that there was a tendency, maybe 1 out of 3 boots, to drop to a black screen for about 2 seconds and then redisplay. The unit LED flashed red when this happens, and while sometimes it only happens once, sometimes it will cycle like this several times until the picture is stable again which is pretty intrusive. I then tried release 1.4 which draws a white box over the bottom 1/3 of the screen in PAL modes. That was no good, so I have reverted to release 1.3 and so far none of these issues there.

I think the unit tries to filter out the low-level noise I mentioned earlier because it only seems to happen when there are large areas of the screen with the affected color(s). A good example is Skeleton Krew, where the large red background on the title screen renders with no noise, but as soon as the next screen (character select) is displayed where that red area is somewhat bigger, the noise is definitely visible. This also does not appear to be limited to Amiga output as I found a forum post describing the same problem using several console sources: https://videogameperfection.com/foru...tink-2x-scart/ That gives me some hope that this may be resolved in a firmware update if the noise filtering is made a little more aggressive.

Also be careful about the power source. The manual and specs say any USB source or AC charger should be fine as long as it can output at least 500mA. I wondered if my source could be adding any GFI loops or other noise to the board so I tried a 5.1V 750mA charger that I had been using for my USB audio amp with no problems and I started getting a very pronounced vertical warping and flickering effect, which I unplugged right away fearing something getting pushed out of spec. I don't have a scope to analyze the output, but I tried another charger that listed 5.1V 850mA and that one seemed fine, same as when plugged into my DVD player USB as a power source.

[Derek]

This is a very interesting thread. I nearly ordered one of these, but now i'm not so sure. 90% of my time on the Amiga is/will be games - so i'm not as fussy as some. But i also like the demoscene - and i'm not sure how well that'll go.

Originally Posted by sepecat

The SCART unit does not have a pass-thru mode; only the latest "2x Multiformat" product includes that. So that explains any mode that doesn't need line-doubling not working.

Which doesn't have SCART input I don't really understand, but it looks like it doesn't really do RGB: https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/2x-multiformat

EDIT - RetroRGB Review...

[ Show youtube player ]

[sepecat]

Agreed- the Multiformat box will take component, which should in theory be close to matching picture quality with RGB, but TVs seem to be pickier about what they'll accept. For example I have one of the Retronic Designs Amiga RGB-to-component adapters (collecting a nice menagerie of these devices it seems) and it works fairly well for NTSC output, but because there is no explicit sync signal supplied unlike RGB and because it's an NTSC TV model, it assumes 60Hz sync/vertical refresh and doesn't switch to 50Hz for PAL output so the bottom third of the screen is cut off, and it won't handle anything other than 15 KHz modes either. That's feeding directly into the component input on the TV; of course using something like the Multiformat is for the case where HDMI output is needed for a component source, but then you're looking at 2 devices to get component output from the Amiga and then converting again to HDMI, which is way too much processing IMHO.

I'm guessing the pass-through mode was left out of the SCART product just to get it on the market faster and because most consoles it will be used with will never stray from 15 KHz modes anyway. Idk whether the hardware supports it but if pass-thru can be added in a firmware update it would certainly make the SCART unit more useful for things other than gaming. Since I'm using it with a CRT and purely for gaming with my CD32 it works well for that purpose. Anecdotally I think the vast majority of demoscene stuff is designed to work with a 15Khz monitor / TV too. I'm sure there are a handful of things that will use the 30KHz AGA modes optionally but likely very few locked to that.

[Derek]

Nice post!



Apparently, he only recently discovered the capability of the chip. I don't know if they use the same chips - but if it does i would imagine it would something he could introduce. But by firmware or if it needs some other minor hardware modification? No idea.


Let's hope for news.

[sepecat]

Thanks! I wish I would have bought my unit direct instead of through Amazon (shame on me) so that I had access to Retrotink's own support forum, sadly I didn't realize that point until after the fact. But I too will watch and wait in anticipation.

[Derek]

I'd always be worried about ripoffs buying from Amazon.


If any of us hear anything about this pass-through ability, we should post

[Derek]

Originally Posted by sepecat

Thanks! I wish I would have bought my unit direct instead of through Amazon (shame on me) so that I had access to Retrotink's own support forum, sadly I didn't realize that point until after the fact. But I too will watch and wait in anticipation.

Does that mean it's a copy, or it's his but through a reseller? If it's his but through a reseller, you could probably still reach out to him. Wink wink, nudge nudge

[sepecat]

Yes it's legitimate (at least I certainly hope it is! Amazon seller RetroTINK, a Mr. Chi in San Diego so let's hope that's Mike) so maybe I'll reach out the next time I have something useful to say. Good thought, thanks!

[Derek]

Originally Posted by sepecat

Yes it's legitimate (at least I certainly hope it is! Amazon seller RetroTINK, a Mr. Chi in San Diego so let's hope that's Mike) so maybe I'll reach out the next time I have something useful to say. Good thought, thanks!

Ask him about the pass-through capability