MS-DOS Compatibility

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  • July 22, 2017 at 4:59 AM #13968
    Jerware
    Participant

      I’ve been tinkering for the past couple weeks trying to find a solution to running old PCs on a modern LCD display. I’ve tried VGA scalers (AV-700CGA) and line doublers (GBS-8200), and Googled like an obsessive, but it’s become apparent that typical DOS game resolutions are largely unsupported. Honestly, I can’t even get a DOS prompt to display.

      My search has led me here, but most of the info about the OSSC (like many scalers) is about connecting game consoles or arcade boards. I love that stuff too, but I’m focused on DOS gaming for the moment. I’ve gone ahead and blindly ordered one from the upcoming batch after finding one thread about support for Mode 13h. Can I rest assured that OSSC can support other standard (or not-so-standard) VGA resolutions, and where can I learn more about tweaking settings in order to add support for unrecognized signals?

      Thanks!

      July 22, 2017 at 9:56 AM #13973
      BuckoA51
      Keymaster

        A modern LCD monitor should be able to display the DOS prompt, a TV not so much though. Have you tried one of the old Gefen VGA to DVI scalers by any chance?

        You can rest assured that the OSSC supports all kinds of things, but the big question is will your display support it? One thing the OSSC cannot do is frame-rate conversion. Some old DOS games ran in 70hz, most TVs will just reject that unless it’s frame converted to 60hz.

        July 22, 2017 at 6:57 PM #13982
        Jerware
        Participant

          No, I saw the Gefen VGA to DVI scaler on eBay and considered it but it has the same layout and buttons as the AV-700CGA I have, so I’m betting it uses the same chips inside.

          You might be right about frame-rate being the issue. This is the monitor I’m using, which I think only supports 60Hz. I didn’t know the OSSC doesn’t support frame-rate conversion. I may have to replace my display with something capable of 70Hz.

          July 23, 2017 at 1:24 AM #13994
          BuckoA51
          Keymaster

            Frame rate conversions require a frame buffer, so no OSSC cannot do this. You may find many modern computer monitors support 70hz but only by frame rate converting it back to 60hz (which of course causes stutter).

            July 23, 2017 at 1:36 AM #13997
            Jerware
            Participant

              Thanks for the clarification. Do you happen to know if newer “gaming” monitors that support 120Hz or 144Hz also support basically anything beneath that, such as 70Hz? Likewise, do the monitors that support 75Hz support 70Hz as well? Or do they only support a set of fixed rates?

              By the way, one of those Geffen scalers was on eBay for only $20, so I picked it up. Will report back.

              July 23, 2017 at 11:24 AM #14005
              BuckoA51
              Keymaster

                $20 is a bargain for a Gefen VGA to DVI.

                I think all monitors are different in that regard. Gsync/Freesync monitors should be most likely to support 70hz without frame-rate conversions but I can’t say for sure.

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