N64 S-Video/SCART Compatibility

[LazerDickMcCheese]

Just got my OSSC! I’m using the Gamecube S-video cable for my N64 and connecting it to the OSSC via a composite & S-video to SCART adapter. The image is so dark that I have to crack my tv’s brightness, then I see a red and black mess…imagine virtual boy graphics. I added some doubling-goodness so now it’s red/black, every other pixel is missing, and the pixels have a subtle ‘shake’ to them. Any suggestions or did I just waste a bunch of money? Modding is out of the question for me, I’m trying to preserve the console. Thank you for your help!

Edit: I also tried my FC3 through the composite part of the adapter; there’s no video altogether, but the sound is sweet.

[Harrumph]

Ossc is only compatible with rgb and component.

[nmalinoski]

Expanding on what Harrumph said, SCART is designed to accommodate all of composite, S-Video, and RGB, but the receiving device may not support all of them. In the case of the OSSC, the OSSC can only support RGB (including just about every sync type out there) and YPbPr (what most people refer to as ‘component’, often not carried by SCART).

In order to be used with the OSSC, Composite and S-Video need to be decoded to RGB or YPbPr by using a device specifically for this purpose, such as the RetroTINK 2X, which accepts SD video over composite, S-Video, or YPbPr component, and decodes to RGB over HDMI (which you can then convert to VGA for use on the OSSC).

Composite and S-Video to SCART adapters, like the one you have, are passive adapters, intended solely for allowing you to connect composite and S-Video sources a SCART input on a TV or other video device when you don’t have a native SCART cable. They simply put the video signals on the correct wires for SCART; the receiving device still needs to know what to do with those signals, and the OSSC does not.

[Anonymous]

And, looking to solutions for N64+OSSC compatibility, you’re going to need to RGB mod the N64.

http://retrorgb.com/n64rgbmod.html

Tim Worthington also has a N64RGB board, which isn’t mentioned at that link.

http://etim.net.au/shop/shop.php?crn=209

[nmalinoski]

There are a few options for using an N64 with the OSSC.

First, if you’re not willing to mod your console, there is the RetroTINK 2X plus an HDMI to VGA converter, which I mentioned earlier.

If you are willing to mod, you can install an RGB mod, like NoAffinity mentioned, which can either be a relatively simple board and install if you have an early NS1-serialed model; or a slightly more complicated install with Tim Worthington’s board, which will work on any N64.

Lastly, you can do what I intend to do, and skip the RGB mod altogether and go straight for the UltraHDMI mod, which you can either use directly on your HDMI receiver/TV, or you can use an HDMI to VGA converter to run it into the OSSC. The UltraHDMI can do line-doubling on its own, but it does have a direct passthrough mode that will output at the native video dimensions (and optionally also the original, non-normalized sync signal), which you can run into the OSSC for line multiplication and/or adding scanlines, or whatever you want to do.

[Author]

Posts