How do I get a DC VGA box to work with my HDTV?

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MethodGit
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How do I get a DC VGA box to work with my HDTV?

Post by MethodGit »

It appears I have a problem getting a picture with my set-up as follows:

- A chipped PAL Dreamcast (from Xmas 2000)
- A Blaze DC VGA Box
- A Goodmans 19" HDTV
- A Nikkai 1.5m male-to-male 15-pin VGA Monitor connection cable (or "Analogue Monitor Lead" as it says on the packaging)


I've made sure all of the plugs are in correctly and gone through all of the TV's various display modes, but I don't get one displaying what the DC is outputting. Is this a case of me reading the manual more carefully, or is there a more generic guide to doing things correctly in this department? Do I need extra audio/red-yellow-white cables to use with the VGA box or something? Any help is appreciated, cheers.
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Post by neoak »

Does it work with a normal monitor?
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Post by Lyris »

You should be able to get video using only a VGA-VGA cable and the VGA box. Just be sure the box's switch is set to "PC" mode rather than "TV".

Also make sure the TV can accept 640x480 @ 60hz. Most should be able to.
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Post by MethodGit »

neoak: Yeah it does, I've tested it in the past with both a CRT monitor and my current PC LCD monitor without a problem. I'm just not getting it immediately with this HDTV for some reason.


Lyris: Yeah, I did try PC mode too. Maybe I'll test it with the VGA cable for this PC at some point, and see if it's the Nikkai stuff being a bit crap or something.


Additionally, I seem to recall from before that the only other thing I had to plug into the VGA box before was a headphone port to get sound and listen to it on my headphones (though that was with a monitor rather than a TV).


BTW, how DO I test for different resolutions on an HDTV? I wasn't aware it had such settings, only stuff like switching between SCART/PC/HDMI/YPBPR and stuff like that.
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Post by Mr. Jones »

Try testing resolution by connecting your pc to your hdtv. if your hdtv can't display a 640x480@60 signal, then that's probably your issue.
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Post by MethodGit »

Ah hang on, I needn't have worried after all. It's just that it needs extra time to auto-adjust itself before getting a picture - it doesn't bring one up straight away.

Well with that solved, I just need to get audio output working now - while I could easily plug headphones in, I'd rather try and get it coming out of the TV itself. The thing is though, I don't know exactly which cables I need to look out for. Although I would imagine it would involve red, white and yellow plugs, yes?



And another thing, it appears that some games now report an "AV cable" related error upon bootup if I have a VGA box setup, and won't boot after that. Why is that so? :(
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Post by RMD »

Most tvs should except 640x480 @ 60 but upconvert it to 720x480(480p)
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Post by MethodGit »

Guys, seriously, what's the name of the audio cable I should get to hook up between the box and the TV? What does it look like?
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Post by Ex-Cyber »

I don't think there's any universal name specifically for the kind of cable/adapter you're looking for. The problem is that both the connectors and the general style of cable have multiple names. so there are a bunch of different ways to describe the same thing. Anyway, here's an example of the kind of cable you'd need: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2102974
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Post by Lyris »

Yes, a 3.5mm-to-RCA (aka Phono) cable.
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Post by dj898 »

if your HDTV has five RCA jacks for VGA you need the cable with RGBVH leads on end and VGA socket at the other...
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