VGA input quality (via Dreamcast)

[LankyLayout]

Hello gamers,

I have been considering getting an OSSC for a while now.
I currently own an XRGB-mini and a TORO for the dreamcast and also a GARO.
I have seen videos and posts from OSSC owners saying that content displayed from a VGA input ends up being not so great, specifically from the dreamcast when compared to devices like the AKURA.
Of course the AKURA seems to be the pinnacle for Dreamcast solutions, I just would rather not buy a separate device when I already own the TORO.
Have these VGA issues been fixed in the 1.6 revision of OSSC or even firmware updates? Does anyone use the VGA input and notice any flaws?
Any advice would help me out.
Thanks in advance!

[chonkal]

Hello,

I use a simple VGA cable with my OSSC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzJf7ViXWos
Note that I didn’t buy the cheapest vga cable on ebay, I got mine for 50€ from a retro modding shop (I don’t know if I can share the like here).

[nmalinoski]

The only issue I’m aware of with the OSSC and Dreamcast is that the Dreamcast uses a 720×480 frame size, where the VGA spec uses 640×480, and the OSSC defaults to 640×480 when it receives 480p via RGBHV.

You can either configure the OSSC to force 720×480 for 480p signals by changing ‘480p in sampler’ from ‘Auto’ to ‘DTV 480p’, or you can leave it on Auto and configure your Toro for RGBS. (Side note, if your Toro is set to output RGBS, you have the choice of using either VGA + RCA->3.5mm cables or a SCART cable; whichever best fits your setup.)

[RetroTV]

I think the dreamcast looks really great with the OSSC in Line 2x Mode. It’s very sharp at first. Much sharper than other vga scalers. Because of that the dithering is more visible in some areas. If you get the OSSC I would recommend you to turn upsample2x in the Sampling options on and 480p in Sampler to DTV. I would also recommend you to change the H.Active to 640 in the Advanced timing option to get the right aspect ratio. If you set these options you won’t notice much of the dithering and the picture will look perfect.

[Deleted User]

The OSSC is way better than the Akura. Like RetroTV said, the OSSC gives you the option to get the right aspect ratio. The Akura doesn’t, you always have some small black bars with the Akura.

Also you can connect your Toro directly to the Scart input of the OSSC, it will accept the same signal as the Framemeister. You don’t have to bother with “VGA problems” (which are mostly 480p problems).

In the end it all depends on your TV. My stupid Samsung forces itself to some weird PC-Mode when getting the 480p Line 2x signal.
This mode has less settings and the colours look washed out. I think that is, what some people don’t recognize correctly and think they have “VGA problems”. I can adjust the settings to get it look better, but not as good as on regular game mode. Still better than Akura, though.

[Teddy Rogers]

It looks like the OSSC works perfectly fine to me with a VGA cable…

Ted.

[BuckoA51]

The only issue I’m aware of with the OSSC and Dreamcast is that the Dreamcast uses a 720×480 frame size, where the VGA spec uses 640×480, and the OSSC defaults to 640×480 when it receives 480p via RGBHV.

Indeed I believe OSSC is still the only ADC that can properly correct for this on the Dreamcast.

[SirRockALot]

Just to add my 2 cents, among my three 480p capable consoles (PS2, DC & OG XBox) I think the DC has the best picture with the OSSC. There’s not a hint of noise or softness in the picture. Looks almost like an HD console in 480pX2 with Upsample2x. So I’m a bit confused why you’ve heard of any ‘issues’ there. I doubt the Akura can do a better job than the OSSC.

[Author]

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