フレームマイスター Framemister Xrgb mini/ English firmware/39000 yen shipped

Yes it does, I mean when the game switches from Hi-res to Lo-res and vice-versa there's a 5-7 sec gap due to the XRGBMini releasing the HDMI connection on top of it re-syncing on the Saturn output.
Later Saturn games tended to use this switching mode more than early releases which instead stuck to one mode mostly or only used hires on title screens.
It gets annoying when the games does in the middle of it, like some fighters have the Loading screen in Hi-Res then they drop you in Lo-res for the actual bout and because of the 5-7sec of "blackout sync" you don't get to see anything and get beaten to a pulp, ;-) other than that it's all good.
(my 60Hz NTSC Saturn is connected directly to my LCD TV via SVideo and that does not exhibit this loss of sync behavior on res change but of course it sucks at treating 240p material as it thinks it's 480i with ensuing "combing", which the XRGB mini excels at instead .... oh well).

 

But is this problem caused by the pal and 50hz saturn being modded for 60hz, or just something that is caused by the resolution changes in those games?

 

It is a LoRes/HiRes switch based issue.
Regarding 50/60Hz if you use RGB it doesn't matter as they both work fine if instead you plan to use SVideo/Composite (but I would argue against it) then PAL60 (that is PAL console with a 60Hz mod) would work fine (I have a PAL SMS2 in this config) whereas an NTSC50 (that is an NTSC console with a 50Hz switch) would not (I have a Jag and an MD like this).
I repeat over RGB there's no issue with 50/60Hz as RGB doesn't carry PAL/NTSC encoding anyway and the XRGBMini is good for both .... but mind you that the XRGBMini comes with a JP21 cable and not an Euro Scart (the connector looks the same but it is wired differently), if you buy it you either buy JP21 cables for your consoles (hard to find and expensive) or a JP21->Scart converter (look it up on eBay) or an XRGBMini Scart->RGB cable (to replace the default JP21->RGB) maybe Yakumo can assist with this latest option.

Now keep in mind that those few Saturn games that do res switching mid game (normally a loading screen) are not really that playable, for the rest you're golden.
[the issue is present on all console games that do thins kind of thing is just on Saturn later releases it was more prevalent, I guess to show how good the Saturn hires mode was]

On another note if you are in PAL land and you buy a PAL Saturn and your TV has an RGB (Scart) input may as well try that (which likely would also support PAL60, it's been at least 15Y that Euro TVs allowed PAL60 afaik but I may be wrong for your particular case) and see if you like it and then resort to the XRGBMini upscaling capabilities only if you can't stomach your TV upscaler (likely as TVs really suck at handling 240p material but you'll never know until you try it)

 

Thanks for your answer! I already own a Framemeister, and right now uses it with a japanese 60hz Saturn, and i am aware of the issue with the resolution switching. Nice to know it wont get any more complicated if i switch that out for a (pal) 50/60hz machine. Thanks!

 

PM incoming

 

Hello guys!

I'm new here and have a weird Problem with my Framemeister which I can't solve even after days of testing...
Hope the post is right here.
On all analog inputs, on all my consoles if Picture mode is selected, I get pixel issues at the left screen site most at light grey colors and purple colors but only if the screen scrolls.The problem does not appear at static Images.

Most noticeable when I turn the sharpness up and lower the A/D settings. Pixels on the left site gets blurry...

Here is a picture from Oshaberi Parodius which shows the issue quite good.

So is my FM faulty or is this a common problem with the mini?

I haven't found this specific problem nowhere in any forum.

Hope somebody can help me
Thanks!

 

That looks strange indeed, the little light grey rectangle on the right is there all the time as well?

Never had that with the FM, I take it your on the latest firmware? Have you tried a different screen? Does this happen on any resolution? What about the other modes?

Picture mode might be specifically tailored for static content, I've never used seen or used it actually.

 

Yes the mini is updated to 2.03a.
It happens on default settings (after reset) at 480p and at any other resolution. With meister mode it gets better and is only slightly noticeable. wth standard mode I get some strange backgroundblurry around moving sprites. But I dont like the low pass filter so I play all 240p and 480p games with picture mode. Same problems on a different screen.
I even think about buying another mini cause this issue annoying and my mini is for some reason faulty.

I can't imagine that this problem is common for the mini. I thought picture mode is the way to go for 240p?

 

The rectangle is the normal graphik!

 

That's very odd. Can't say I've ever seen anything like that in any of the 100+ Framemeister units I've sold. Is the light grey square always in the same place on every game?

 

Hi Yakumo!

Yes odd, indeed...
Sorry, I'm not referring to the square, thats the ordinary levelgraphic.
I hope in my video it is identifiable that left site is darker than the right one which causes the crushed pixels at the light grey background I think.

Don't be confused by the look of the video. At picture mode I adjusted the sharpness up to 30 and lowered the A/D Settings to 20, over a scrolling background (Contra Hard Corps) to demonstrate the odd issue. Otherwise it is hard to recognize at a uploaded video...

Can you notice the same "splitted" look if you adjust your FM to these Settings?

 

Example

 

I had the chace to test the problem on another brand new mini, unfortunately with the same results.
The same pixelissue on the left screensite with picture mode enabled.
Very disappointing

 

Have you tried different cables? Could be a faulty HDMI cable. Also make sure you're using the right valued power adapter.

 

Yes, I tried three different HDMI cables on two different monitors. I' m using the the origininal micomsoft power adapter bundled with the mini. I also tried another mini PSU.
Is there really nowone else with the same result?
I wondering because I notice that flaw on two different FM, but as I said only on light grey, deep purple/blue backgrounds with scrolling.
If I turn the sharpness up and lower the A/D settings I can recognize it all inputs with picture Mode enabled.
Even on the new mini I tested.
Most strange!

 

Nah man, its perfectly fine on ALL my consoles. What consoles have you tried on it?

 

MD 1 Jp, Saturn jp, Xbox pal, Neo Geo pal all with raw sync cables.
DC jp via toro. PS2 jp via component.
The problem is most noticable on saturn and Neo geo for example on Samurai Shodown II at the scrolling character select background.

 

I have a PS2 which i believe is connected via component. I have a PAL Xbox (original, right?) somewhere, but I doubt I can find it without digging out a bunch of boxes...

If there's any games on the PS2 that really show it off that you can find, that'll help me test for it here.

 

In the first ps2 parodius game on the first level at the blue clouds. But only the game is running through the FM via picture mode

 

That's like.. one of the hardest games to find on ps2 xD Sexy Parodius, right? Can't find that game for the life of me lol at least, on ps2 anyway. Any others?