Kinda off topic: GC and N64 VGA box

Juggalo_Jay · Post by **Juggalo_Jay** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:14 pm

I was just poking around on lik-sang and i saw this:

http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?catego ... s_id=1457&

Its a VGA box for the Gamecube and its also compatible with N64 (and SNES, presumeably....)and i was wondering.... 40$ is a bit pricey for a vga box IMO, and there must be SOME way to be able to make one of these myself... right? Anyone that could shed some light on the subject, please?

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:21 pm

I suppose its just 3 vgta boxes in one if you made them separately and put them in the same box theres no reason why it wouldn't work BUT you need the connectors

sixteen-bit · Post by **sixteen-bit** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:43 pm

mattthemodder wrote:I suppose its just 3 vgta boxes in one if you made them separately and put them in the same box theres no reason why it wouldn't work BUT you need the connectors

It's actually just one device with multiple connectors; it's a cheap "upscan converter" that converts a standard video signal from the console into a VGA-compatible form. I have never used one but it won't look all that hot since you are limited by what the console can output (and some claim the quality of these converters is only that of C-video anyway

)

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:01 pm

but if you made 3 separate they would all still work

bizzle · Post by **bizzle** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:03 pm

yeah I heard those converters are pretty crappy.

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:32 pm

But in theory if you made three separate ones and put them in one box it wouldn't

Mask of Destiny · Post by **Mask of Destiny** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:41 pm

Well it depends on how they work. If it's just a composite->RGB converter than it will look crappy (and that's pretty much the only option for the N64). The SNES has RGB outputs so you could theoretically get good quality out of that. I really don't know about the GC.

Just as a note, the SNES, N64, and probably the GC share a common video connector.

someoneElse · Post by **someoneElse** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 5:36 pm

Has to be composite or S-Video (Or YC, if you will), as the N64 and the later versions of the SNES do not output RGB signals, you have to modify them to do so.

Since the Dreamcast was the only console to ever output true VGA signals, people tend to think that these 'VGA' boxes for other systems would be the same. Scan converters for anything less than RGB quality is more or less a waste of time, as they will usually look better on a television set with S-video or composite than through a scan converter.

BlackAura · Post by **BlackAura** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 5:45 pm

If you could get R, G, B, VSync and HSync signals out of a console that was running at 60Hz, you could (probably) display that on a VGA monitor with minimal connecting circuitry.

Of course, the only console that outputs that kind of signal without modification is the Dreamcast. Everything else outputs either composite, or RGB mixed with the Sync signals. You can build a circuit to split RGB into a VGA-compatible signal, and that should work on a monitor, but it will never look as good as true VGA signals.

Mask of Destiny · Post by **Mask of Destiny** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 6:26 pm

Well the Genesis and SNES output the sync signal separate from the RGB channels, but there is only 1 sync line not VSync and HSync.

supersega · Post by **supersega** » Fri Mar 28, 2003 5:26 pm

It is a waste of time to try to get a better picture out of the N64. The System was designed to slightly blurr everything so that it will look good on composit vid. Even after you do the RGB mod, the picture is blurry. Your best bet is to emulate the 64 on your computer or use S-Vid for a good picture quality.

neoak · Post by **neoak** » Fri Mar 28, 2003 10:01 pm

There is a little device that will convert component video to VGA:

http://ps2modchip.com/search.php?page=v4modchips

THIS is the real thing. Of course, the only consoles that support this are the GCN, the XSux and the PS2 (PlaySux2).

The DC doesn't need this to have a excellent image, but, component is way better than composite.

And yes, is a little expensive (US$299!)

Juggalo_Jay · Post by **Juggalo_Jay** » Sat Mar 29, 2003 12:06 pm

No thank you, ill stick to my TV instead of bying that thing....