OSSC Newsletter Issue 19 – Let’s talk about… 3 new OSSCs?!

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Welcome to the latest edition of the OSSC Newsletter. It has been a while since we sent one of these, mainly due to the fact that it is quite difficult to find a reliable e-mail server that allows for the sending of newsletters. Rules against spam e-mail are so strict now that only premium, paid SMTP servers will even consider letting you send newsletters with them. We’ve now got a full Microsoft Office business subscription so hopefully the majority of these newsletters will actually land in peoples inboxes.

The title of the newsletter is not lying, we are going to discuss three new OSSC products that are all hopefully coming soon (global part shortages allowing of course). Let’s start with a look at what’s happening with OSSC Pro.

OSSC Pro – The Final Push Before Release

OSSC Pro is now tantalisingly close to being finalised. On the hardware front, the PCB is now considered finished. The remote has been finalised (more on that later) and choice of power supply narrowed down to two. The outer shell/case will of course be a fully finished, professionally injection moulded unit and is currently going through final prototyping and testing.

In case you’re just joining us (welcome aboard!) here’s an overview of the OSSC Pro’s main features.

Line multiplication and adaptive line multiplication – Pure line multiplication delivers guaranteed lag free digitisation of your retro consoles, while adaptive line multiplication is able to output standard resolutions and adds only a few milliseconds of lag and improves compatibility with target displays.

Scaler mode – The OSSC Pro has a full scaler, which means sophisticated image processing can be applied. This mode has up to one frame of input lag.

Sophisticated motion adaptive deinterlacing – No more bob flicker in this mode.

Handles 240p to 480i transitions without screen blanking -just like a classic CRT.

Supports downscaling – to convert/display modern games on classic CRT televisions.

For more information, check out our blog post here.

Of course, lots of work has been going on building and testing new features in the OSSC Pro’s firmware. The new features added in the latest beta release firmware are:-

100 and 120hz output options – You can now frame double 50 and 60hz content on compatible TVs and monitors. Use this feature to get smoother motion response on compatible sets at the cost of a little input lag. 120Hz mode will also require the use of a cooling fan on the FPGA.

Mister compatible “polyphase scaler coefficients” – download filters, scanline effects etc. directly from the Mister repositories and add them to the SD card, or create your own and share the files with the community.

Integer scaling and auto phase with optimal presets – For those who love sharp pixels, the scaler now has working optimal presets and an “auto phase” function that means you do not have to dial in phase using a chequerboard grid like with OSSC classic. Auto Phase is confirmed working with scaler mode and is expected to be added to adaptive line multiplication mode too. For sources where manual adjustment is needed there will be the ability to manually override and dial in phase adjustments by hand if required.

Remote Control Finalised

No more applying overlays, the OSSC Pro’s remote control will be printed and finished at the factory and included with every unit. Here are some preview pictures of the new remote!

OSSC Pro – Frequently Asked Questions

Since we get asked these questions a lot about OSSC Pro, I’ve rounded them all up here into a little FAQ

What formats are accepted on the inputs?

Click here to see a picture of the OSSC Pro’s inputs.

The SCART socket (on the side of the unit) accepts RGBs (composite video for sync, luma for sync or clean composite sync at 75ohm), RGsB (sync on green) and component video.

The VGA input accepts RGBHV, RGBs (composite video for sync, luma for sync or clean composite sync), RGsB (sync on green) and component video.

The component video inputs accept component video and RGsB (sync on green).

The SPDIF sound input accepts 2 channel stereo and can pass through Dolby Digital from e.g. an Xbox original.

The HDMI input accepts up to 1440p inputs. HDCP is not supported. HDMI 2.1 is not supported.

Will I need special tools to add profiles to the SD card?

No, the OSSC Pro will work with the SD card in a standard format readable on a regular PC, Mac or Linux machine

Can I save screenshots to the SD card?

Yes, this is planned.

Can 480p be line tripled to 1440p?

Yes, this is already implemented in the latest beta firmware. Adaptive line multiplication mode (or scaler mode) is required.

Can 720p be line doubled to 1440p?

Yes, this is planned.

What resolutions can be downscaled?

Currently 480i, 480p and 720p are planned for downscaling with 480i and 480p already implemented. 1080p will also be considered.

What about composite video and S-video?

We know many users need composite and S-video compatibility and we understand that sometimes it’s not practical or desirable to modify your classic consoles to output RGB. These video formats will be supported on the OSSC Pro, but not initially. The decoder for them will be added to the software later, and composite and S-video signals will connect via the component video inputs (S-Video by a breakout adapter).

Initially it is expected that development efforts will focus on the scaler side of the OSSC Pro and making sure the lag is reduced as much as possible. In the interim if you own a Koryuu transcoder this will work well with OSSC pro as a stand in until full composite/S-Video decoding is available.

What will be the launch price?

This is very difficult to predict. Currently our factories are engaged in negotiating for components in a market that is experiencing critical shortages. We will try to keep the cost down under $500 USD and also reduce the cost once economies of scale kick in again.

Expanding OSSC Pro

Need the OSSC Pro to be even more flexible? You can expand the device by attaching an expansion card on the side of the unit. We’re pleased to announce the first such expansion card, which is pictured here in early prototype form.

This card provides an analogue video output (not currently soldered on this early prototype) and a digital audio output. Ideal for streamers or speed runners who want to stream content to a capture card while playing on a classic CRT monitor. It’s also great for people looking for an easy way to take advantage of the OSSCs downscaling capabilities without needing an often expensive HDMI to VGA converter.

Announcing OSSC Classic 1.7

OSSC Classic isn’t going away any time soon and the original OSSC hardware is still a great choice for many gamers in many setups. With that in mind, we’re proud to announce that OSSC revision 1.7 will be available this holiday season.

OSSC 1.7 features four key improvements over the 1.6 model.

1) Professionally designed and produced injection moulded case – Designed by Retro Frog with revisions and improvements suggested by Marqs (creator of the OSSC). we’re confident this will be the best OSSC Classic case on the market. The case has been thoroughly checked for sufficient cooling even at high line multiplication modes and unlike some other cases, the OSSCs LEDs are visible and not obstructed.

2) Over voltage protection – The number one cause of damage to OSSCs is the accidental connection of a 12 volt power supply. OSSC 1.7 has extra circuitry to protect from this, meaning that a burst of 12 volts from an unfortunate miss-connection should no longer damage the unit at all.

3) Improved audio switch – The design of the audio toggle switch has been changed to make it easier to access and harder to miss altogether.

4) Reduced power consumption and heat – Tweaks to the base design ensure OSSC 1.7 is as efficient as possible.

OSSC 1.7 is expected to be in stock by Christmas 2021. Final price will depend on import taxes and final component costs but is not expected to exceed OSSC 1.6 by more than 10 to 20 euros.

To celebrate the OSSC 1.7 announcement we’re taking 5 euros off the base price of the OSSC 1.6 right away! Plus, if you already purchased an OSSC 1.6, you will be able to purchase the new injection moulded case as an upgrade to your existing model.

Introducing OSSC DExx-vd_isl

Our third and final announcement is to formally introduce the OSSC Dexx-vd ISL board. This little expansion board will turn any DE10 Nano (Mister) into a powerful video digitiser, sort of an OSSC Pro Lite, if you will. The board has the following confirmed features.

Digitizes analogue video sources – in RGBS, RGBCS (TTL csync), RGBHV and YPbPr formats connected to SCART connector.

Up to ~100MHz sampling clock support – Input e.g. 1280×1024@60Hz. Output at up to ~185MHz (e.g. 1920×1440@60Hz)

Analogue and digital audio inputs – via SCART and TOSLINK respectively.

Character OLED and OSD menus – For easy user interface control and configuration. Control remotely using the standard OSSC remote control.

New features over the OSSC Classic include:-

Adaptive line multiplication – Better compatibility with a wider range of displays.

Line 6x – Output mode for 240p sources

Line3x – Output mode for 480p sources (1920×1440 output)

Noninterlace restore mode – This mode can restore the original 240p format of certain titles. For example, some arcade ports on the PlayStation 2 output incorrectly at 480i.

The project will of course be open source and all documentation is already available on Github here. Prototype boards have already been assembled and tested by some pioneering community members, here’s a picture of one assembled by 6t8k on the popular shmups forum.

Final price of the Dexx-vd ISL expected to be under 50 US dollars, again, component shortages permitting!

That concludes this newsletter. We hope you found the updates exciting and you’re looking forward to trying one or more of these great new products. Keep an eye on your inbox as we get closer to launch day so that we can let you know how to order or pre-order your new scaler of choice. Until then, enjoy your gaming and keep visiting VideoGamePerfection.com