AV Equipment, Reviews
OSSC 1.6 – A review update
As you might expect, our enthusiasm for the OSSC never wanes. This amazing little box brings the best of the old school line doublers and updates them for the modern, digital era. As of today we’re pleased to announce that the OSSC 1.6 has passed its beta testing and is ready for production. As we wait impatiently for the first batch to arrive, we thought we’d bring you all up to speed on the OSSC and the changes in the 1.6 edition. Originally we planned to do this as a newsletter but we figured non-subscribers might be interested too, so we’re posting this up as an article.
OSSC – Getting up to speed
OSSC 1.6 represents a refinement of the original OSSC design and of course includes all the cool features that the previous editions had. If you’re not familiar with the OSSC, start with our initial review of the 1.3/1.4 unit and its firmware here. If you’re interested in the newer line triple, quadruple and quintuple modes, then check out our updated article here.
1.6 Refinements
The 1.6 OSSC brings some small but welcome new features to the OSSC design, addressing the major criticisms of the earlier units while not radically altering the design of the finished product. 1.6 has the same form factor and for most setups it can be a drop-in replacement for the existing 1.5 model.
There are two important refinements on the unit. The first is that now, analogue to digital audio conversion and output is a standard feature. On previous models, this had to be added via an expansion board which needed to be soldered into place. This upgrade proved so popular that we’re still waiting for our subcontractor to work his way through all the back orders of audio board upgrades for the last batch of OSSCs. Not only is the addition of digital audio convenient for many people, but it will significantly reduce the cost of an audio enabled OSSC. Of course, this also means that there will not be a long wait for fitting the upgrade when the next batch arrives.
Users of the 1.5 OSSC with the audio board fitted will be aware that all analogue audio has to come in either via the SCART socket or via the 3.5mm analogue audio connector on the side of the unit. If a SCART cable is connected at the same time as a 3.5mm audio connector then the sound volume will be significantly reduced. With OSSC 1.5 and the digital audio upgrade, most users simply route all analogue audio sources through the AV1/SCART connector. Any audio signal fed into AV1 would be converted and injected into the DVI/HDMI output, regardless of which input was selected on the OSSC itself. So, for example, to connect the Dreamcast to the 1.5 OSSC, you would use a standard VGA cable for the image and a SCART to RCA break-out adapter for the audio. This situation could result in messy cable setups and was problematic when using automatic switches such as the GScart or Hydra, which don’t always recognise an audio-only signal and therefore won’t switch to that input when required.
On the 1.6 revision of the OSSC, there’s now an additional 3.5mm analogue audio connector. This connector can be used to route audio from any equipment connected to the AV3 (VGA/D-Sub15) connector. This is ideal for your Sega Dreamcast. When AV3 is selected, this audio input becomes active and the other audio inputs are disabled.
If you need to feed in audio from a component video source, you can use the other 3.5mm connector. To do this you need to change a small toggle switch next to the connector. By toggling this switch you can use this connector as an audio break out for the SCART socket or as an audio input.
Of course, any audio fed in via the SCART socket is converted and injected into the digital stream as before. Unlike the 1.5 edition, audio fed into AV1 will only be converted when the AV1 input is activated on the OSSC.
Audio quality on all the inputs is perfect. The conversion is crystal clear with no crackling and no added noise. As always, using properly shielded SCART cables is recommended, since the analogue to digital conversion process cannot filter out any noise already present on the analogue audio signal.
Finally, OSSC 1.6 will also use a standard HDMI output rather than DVI, though this can be converted to DVI easily by using any HDMI to DVI cable.
Shut up and take my money!
If you want to secure yourself an OSSC 1.6, you can now pre-order one by visiting this page.
Does for the ps2 still ussful if my TV (i have a Samsung SyncMaster p2470HD ) has already RGB (YPbPr) to get better signal than AV (peritel) ? because i read somewhere 576p to 1080 has some issue of ratio who TV sometime fail to deal with it (but i have good feeling my tv will handle it because she recognize Console signale and switch to game mode when i launch a console)
RetroRGB swears by bypassing the TVs internal component video inputs and using an external converter like OSSC. I personally haven’t tested enough TVs to say. It’s definitely the case on some sets that their component video inputs aren’t great and in this instance using an external converter like OSSC or even just a simple Ypbpr to HDMI converter will be an improvement.
Hi,
I want to buy an OSSC. How does it work for pal consoles ?
Also, it seems that the 1.6 revision is quite old now even if it’s the latest. Do you know when the 1.7 revision will come out ?
Thank you and have a nice day.
Do you know if this product would (1) work fine with an Oric Atmos and Atari ST and (2) compatible with a video capture card like the AVerMedia Live Gamer Extreme GC550 ?
Thanks !
Hey guys! I’m really interested in this product. Three questions, (1) will it work on a PS1? (2) what would you’re recommendation be for the best output? I really wanted to run RGB via scart. (3) I’m from US, what is the best way to purchase this product?
Thanks!
Hi, it works great on a PS1, use a properly wired RGB SCART cable (e.g this one https://insurrectionindustries.com/product/sony-playstation-rgb-scart-cable/ )
We accept all major credit/debit cards and have shipped 100s of units to the USA, so order with confidence 🙂
Will this work with my stream setup with a rgb super Famicom and avermedia u3 via hdmi?
Not sure, there’s a thread on the forums about capture card compatibility.
What a cool unit. I LOVE MY OSSC. I use the OSSC with my Amiga 1000 and 500. Never had such a sharp and colorful and crispy display
Awesome its HDMI out now! Ill buy one soon. Also some rgb scart cables and a switcher. So much money all together but worth it. This by its self is a great price though.
Will it work with an Amiga 500?
Of course!
Where can we make feature requests for future revisions? I’d love to see the PSU move to Micro USB connector for power. I know it’s a tiny detail but it’s one that can make a big difference. Thanks for all the refinements in 1.6!
https://videogameperfection.com/forums/forum/ossc/ossc-feature-requests/
Bucko, I’m seriously considering ordering one of these. Can you clarify something for me? All of my systems use component cables… therefore my audio would be coming from that source. Does the component audio also get injected into the hdmi output? Or would I need to use a 3.5mm audio jack? My tv does not have any 3.5mm jacks for audio input.
On 1.6, both audio and video can be converted into digital and output. That’s true for any input. We’d recommend RGB cables but if you’ve already cabled everything up with component (Ypbpr) you’d honestly probably not see any difference going RGB.
Thanks for the quick response 🙂 Great to know. I went ahead and put in an order for one last night. Actually, just most of my systems have component cables, not all of them. By RGB cables do you mean Scart?
Also… I couldn’t find any information about running a Wii through ossc. Will it upscale Wii’s 480p signal 2x or 3x on component cables?
Yep any SCART cable you use with OSSC must be fully wired for RGB. You can try the line double mode with the Wii if your TV supports it but you will probably find the result to be too jaggy.
Hi. I understand that this system sort of works with the Taito F3 Arcade system! Is this true due to sync issues. If so (there are still issues) is there a way for you to fix these issues with the OSSC ?
I haven’t had any test results back for F3 since the latest firmware updates, which should have improved things.
Any ETA when these will be shipped out?
45 to 90 days from end of June.
If I have a PS2 with component cables, how would I hook that up to the OSSC? Would I be better off purchasing a SCART cable for the ps2?
Shouldn’t make much difference but generally RGB/SCART cables are considered slightly better on the PS2 as its component output has a tiny bit of noise. For 480p you will need to switch to RgsB mode manually but that’s the only drawback.
How do I buy from the us? I really want this.
Subscribe to the newsletter and await an invitation, won’t be long now!
If OSSC available, please add me to waiting list
Yep make sure you’re on the newsletter – https://videogameperfection.com/newsletter/