OSSC Newsletter Issue 23 – 2024 update, order OSSC Pro now!

Hi

Welcome to the latest OSSC newsletter. A (belated) happy new year to everyone and also a happy Lunar New Year as we move into 2024 with some exciting new news and product updates.

OSSC Pro Batch 2

The second batch of OSSC Pro is currently in final testing and QA at the factory and is due to ship very soon. The batch size will be much bigger this time, so hopefully everyone who wants one will get a chance to buy one.

Given the success of the pilot batch we were able to invest in a full injection mould for the case this time. The new case will be black and you can sneak a peek of it by clicking here or in the picture below.

OSSC Pro new case

For anyone that grabbed an OSSC Pro on the pilot batch, there will be an opportunity to buy the new case separately if desired. We do appreciate that our early adopters will now end up paying more if they want the newer case and we apologise for this. No doubt some users will prefer a white case over a black one, so we suggest simply selling your original white case to recoup the costs. These replacement cases will be on sale soon.

There have been no changes to the hardware other than the new case. Since the launch there have been several firmware updates to fix bugs and reduce input lag, and the new units will be loaded with the latest firmware available at the time.

Orders for OSSC Pro batch 2 are officially open now. We expect the units to be available some time next week (week commencing 11th March). Opening orders now will allow us to prepare your shipping labels, assemble packaging boxes etc. so that your order can be dispatched as soon as possible after the units arrive at VGP HQ. Click here to pre-order your unit.

OSSC Pro Expansion Cards

Markus has been hard at work on some expansions for the OSSC Pro too. Currently, three different add-ons are planned.

Extra AV Out

The Extra AV Out card is designed for people who want to use the OSSC as a downscaler, or with legacy VGA monitors or displays. It provides 1 x analogue video output via a D-sub 15 (VGA) connector and also an extra analogue audio output and digital audio output. The OSSC Pro is currently the best device for downscaling on the market, with a huge range of legacy video output modes including 240p,288p and 480i. Whatever video your classic display accepts, OSSC Pro can make it shine.

There are a number of adapters on the market that can convert the OSSC Pro’s digital video output to analogue. However these tend to be rather expensive for the high quality ones and rather hit and miss if you purchase a more reasonably priced one. The Extra AV Out card will be an affordable, guaranteed high quality solution for anyone looking to get analogue video out from their OSSC Pro. Digital video output is also unaffected when using the card, although it is not currently possible to send a different signal through analogue and digital. Whatever resolution comes out of one, comes out of the other, though this may change in the future.

Design and testing of the Extra AV Out is complete and we had hoped to bring it out along with batch 2 of the OSSC Pro. Unfortunately some delays in securing components mean it is now expected around early April.

Legacy AV Input

This expansion card is still in development and aims to bring composite video, S-video and RF input to the OSSC (RF input is still to be confirmed). Composite and S-video input has been the most requested hardware feature since OSSC Pro launched and this expansion card will finally offer that. RF input support is also being tested with the aim of offering a really universal solution for ALL legacy video game and computer hardware.

Current plans are to offer the card with or without the RF input option. Development and testing of this expansion is being made a priority and it is expected to be fairly rapid. The card should be for sale in Q2 2024.

AV Input/Output Adapter

This isn’t an expansion board itself, but an adapter to use with the Extra AV Out expansion (an expansion to the expansion, if you will). The purpose of this adapter is to take the VGA output from the Extra AV Out card and convert it into SCART, suitable for use with European RGB SCART equipped TVs. Furthermore, the  adapter is bi-directional, so it can also be used to convert SCART into D-Sub 15 if desired (the device does NOT process video signals in any way, resolution, refresh rate etc are always unchanged). Support for YPbPr signals, more common on North American TVs, is also planned.

The adapter is extremely helpful for anyone wanting to downscale to a SCART TV. Previously, this required a digital to analogue converter (DAC) that then usually had to go into another adapter (sync combiner or transcoder) and then finally into your RGB SCART television. Using the AV Input/Output adapter makes this much simpler. The adapter also requires no additional power supply.

The AV Input/Output Adapter is also due out later this year. As always you can follow us on our various social media channels for the very latest updates. Links to all our social media are at the end of the newsletter.

CPS2 Digital

The CPS2 Digital project, also from Marqs, the creator of the OSSC, has been going from strength to strength. This hardware upgrade mod adds digital video and audio output to various arcade and Neo Geo platforms. It was originally developed for the CPS2 arcade hardware but now supports a total of six platforms:-

•  Capcom CPS1 (CPS1 multi support coming soon)
•  Capcom CPS2
•  Capcom CPS3
•  Neo Geo AES (NEO-B1 confirmed, others need testing)
•  Neo Geo MVS (MV1C confirmed, others need testing)
•  Toaplan V2

We believe most (if not all) Neo Geo MVS/AES motherboards should be compatible with the CPS2 Digital, it is simply a matter of finding the correct hook up points. Most AES boards will require a small audio board add on that can be purchased with the kit.

As well as offering its own menu with scaling and scanline options, CPS2 Digital also features a pass through mode, which is ideal for use with next generation video scalers that have their own digital video inputs, such as the PixelFX Morph and of course the OSSC Pro.

We’re pleased to announce that more CPS2 digital boards are in production and are expected in mid March. You can read more about it on our product page here. Follow us on social media to know the instant that the boards arrive.

That concludes this newsletter! We hope that you’re excited for stock to arrive for one or more of these cool retro gaming products. To be notified as soon as products go on sale, you can follow us on your preferred social media or chat program, by using any of the links below.

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Thanks again to everyone who subscribes and everyone who has enjoyed using OSSC over its incredible life span, we hope OSSC 1.8 and OSSC Pro continue to bring you even more happy retro gaming memories.