Settings for Dreamcast 480p Passthrough

[andychristian]

Hey folks,

Was wondering if anyone had any good settings for the Dreamcast for 480p passthrough?

Firebrandx’s ones are for 2x mode, however I actually get a much better picture using just passthrough.

Cheers!

[Harrumph]

It is already optimally sampled, as it follows the 480p standard of 858 dots per line as long as you set DTV 480p sampling (if using AV3). Optionally, you can also try set H.Active to 640 (if your display allows it) for aspect ratio correction.
http://junkerhq.net/xrgb/index.php?title=OSSC#Sampling_opt.

[andychristian]

Cheers, tried that and picture looks good.

Don’t suppose there’s any way to fix the overscan when using passthrough?

[nmalinoski]

Does your display have any overscan settings?

[andychristian]

Unfortunately not (old Samsung Smart TV) I just have the option to switch bewtween 4:3 and 16:9 (‘Just Scan’ option is greyed out when in 480p)

It’s a strange one. When set to 2x the picture size is fine, no cropping at the top or bottom. However tv is put into a weird PC mode which results in washed out colours and prevents me from putting into Game mode.

Passthrough on the other hand does allow for Game mode and the colours look much nicer. However top of bottom of image is cropped out (similar to what happens when you try and play 240p content in line5x)

I’m just using the default OSSC settings. Tried switching between Auto/DTV/VESA and changing H.Active to 640, but obviously is not affecting the vertical cropping/overscan

I’m using a standard VGA cable connected to AV3. Looking to get RGC’s new 480p Scart lead and wondering if that will solve anything and maybe give me some more control of the image.

[nmalinoski]

I would give PC mode on your TV a closer look. From what I’ve read, PC modes generally have comparable or lower input lag than game mode. I would think the washed-out colors are either due to a lack of calibration or, if it is calibrated, then those colors are more accurate.

Side note regarding using the Dreamcast with the OSSC, the typical recommendation is to use a sync combiner and connect the Dreamcast to AV1, as AV1 has low-pass video filtering that the Dreamcast can benefit from. (AV3 only has low-pass filtering applicable to 960p/1080p/1200p.) Personally, I use the SCART output from a BeharBros Toro, but the Dreamcast SCART cable from Retro-Access is a really good option if you have no use for the additional functionality (scanlines, brightness boost). If you already have Toro, you can get a DE-15/VGA to SCART cable (or adapter) and toggle the switch between the DE-15 and SCART outputs, which will get you RGBS from the DE-15 port instead of RGBHV.

[andychristian]

Cheers, will give PC mode another look, but the downside for me is when enabled it greys out a lot of the picture options (can’t change colour value etc)

Ordered myself a 480p Scart from RGC, so looking forward to trying that out on AV1.

Hoping that my cropping/overscan issues get sorted too!

[Teddy Rogers]

I purchased the Sega Dreamcast PACKAPUNCH RGB 480p SCART cable a few months back. Eventually got around to trying it out yesterday with my Dreamcast. I noticed the picture is very dark when using this cable as-is. With the OSSC I have to turn Pre-ADC Gain from 8 all the way up to the maximum setting of 15 to get the contrast levels correct. I am curious to know if you get the same results with your cable?

In comparison I have similar cables from both Retro Access and thefoo and I have never needed to touch Pre-ADC Gain…

Ted.

[andychristian]

Yeah I’m exactly the same – had to bump mine right up to 15 in order to get proper contrast.

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