How do you modify a cheap VGA box for the Dreamcast to make it better?

I have a cheap Retro-Bit VGA Box for the Dreamcast and it isn't very good. I'm getting noticeable pink vertical jailbars on screen. How can I get rid of these jailbars and add other things, such as a scanline generator and RGB SCART output, to make this VGA box better without buying a new one? Any help would be highly appreciated!

 

Probably replace the caps with higher quality types (Nichicon, Panasonic, Rubycon, etc.)? I know it works with audio related stuff. That, or get a new VGA cable which is less prone to interference.

 

It could also be a strange side effect by your screen squeezing the picture together a bit. According to Fudoh on Shmups (and I do believe he's right), the Dreamcast actually outputs a 640x480 picture inside a 720x480 resolution. Most TVs will not display this correctly, as it's not a VESA standard, so instead they just assume it's a 640x480 resolution and squash the picture accordingly, ultimately causing slight loss of resolution which sometimes results in ugly moire-patterns.

If you have the option, try it on a different monitor or TV and check if the jailbars are present there. In my experience it differs greatly from screen to screen.

If you are looking for a picture perfect solution, then the Gefen VGA to DVI scaler plus, does properly recognize the DCs resolution as 720x480, AND it does an amazing job upscaling to 1080p (very sharp and no ringing). Also it's very low latency (I don't remember the exact number unfortunately, but it's much faster than the Framemeister). It can be quite expensive though :/
I should say that while the Gefen does display an image with every row of pixels perfectly presented using my original SEGA VGA box, it did soften some rows a little bit when using a Dreamcast with an internal VGA mod. So there could be some very small issues there, but either way it's sure to be a huge improvement if you have the money to spend.

 

I tried it on 4 displays (2 HDTVs, one old LCD PC Monitor, and an old Gateway CRT PC Monitor) and it gave me the same result on all of them. I have heard of other Dreamcast users having the same issue with the Retro-bit VGA Box.

Wow that thing is expensive. If I every get the money I will definitely buy it, unless there is a cheaper solution that does the same thing or just outputs the Dreamcast's signal correctly without upscaling.

 

I'd say use it for parts or you might wanna check out the hanzo?

*think its like 480i/p ....some say they prefer the toro (made by same people) beharbros...

 

There is barely anything in a VGA box - its all handled by the DC itself.

 

I was planning on buying the Toro when I get enough money.

I am aware of this. I thought about doing an internal VGA mod but better VGA boxes came around and the guys over on the GCVideo thread said they would be willing to look into true digital DVI/HDMI for the Dreamcast so I decided to wait for those instead of an internal VGA mod. Unless they decide to make it DVI-I so it would be both true digital and analog through a single DVI port (with appropriate DVI to HDMI and DVI to VGA cables/adapters), I guess I'll keep a VGA box around for light gun games on an old VGA CRT monitor.

So in the meantime, what should I do to get rid of the jailbars? Could using better, more shielded, wires fix it?

 

You could try. If that doesnt fix it, it may be something else inside (leaky, cheap caps?).

 

I'll definitely take a look at the caps. If they need it, I'll replace them. I bought my VGA box brand new for $50 when I got my used Dreamcast in January of last year. It goes for $20 brand new nowadays so it probably is just cheap parts.

 

More than likely; its poor shielding in the cable. You could try clamp-on ferrite beads/cores.They are inexpensive. For RGB SCART with scan line generator; you can also look into the Sync Strike. Dreamcast SCART cables are available on eBay.

 

Another recommendation for the Gefen VGA to DVI Scaler Plus. I use one myself and it is definitely the best of those types of boxes I have used due to its ease of use, flexibility in terms of resolutions, picture options, outputting via VGA, DVI or HDMI and most of all the quality and speed of the resulting picture (although I am sure there are other cheaper options that likely achieve a similar result)

can an also recommend Beharius's VGA boxes (Hanzo, Toro, Kenzei etc) top quality product, some nice additional features. Cracking picture too.

in terms of other VGA boxes I have the official one and a third party one (by Blaze I think) and they work perfectly on CRT's, most PC LCD screens and Samsung LCD tv's but I have never got them to work on Sony Bravia screens (book evil Sony etc) Suspect this is due to the issues of 720 x 480 and 640 x 480 mentioned above. The Sony screens do work via the Gefen though.

if you want to use your current box and improve it (be quite a nice project) I am no electronic expert but I suspect the advice given above is right. Check the cables are properly shielded, maybe check the continuity of the solder (reflow it perhaps?) and possibly replace some components, make sure stuff is properly grounded perhaps? In terms of adding scanlines etc I think there is a guide on mmmonkey.co.uk

 

I forgot to mention that my VGA box displays either a shade of green or pink when the Dreamcast end of the cable isn't in a certain direction. I swapped VGA cables and while the pink lines are gone, the vertical lines are now grey and still there. Another problem popped up after the cable swap: there are now grey horizontal lines. The new lines are positioned at random spots though. It makes the image a tiny bit darker than normal. I'm beginning to think it is a capacitor issue or just this box is complete junk.

 

The cheap cable I use is pretty good for what it is. Who knows how long it will last or whatever. It's probably better to do one internal and use a high quality VGA cable.

 

The best solution is to send it back to me and I will send you a brand new Hanzo for 30 bucks.

 

It's probably caps had this issue with a madness vga adapter and it bit the dust cause caps were bad. I've been using a retro bit vga adapter and haven't had any issues works fine with TV too.

 

Wait, so you will let me send you my cheap Retro-Bit VGA Box from Retro-Bit I got on Amazon.com and you will exchange it for one of your Hanzo boxes for $30? Are you sure about that?

 

Yes, totally.

 

He will do it surely. Dollar has increased. $1 ~ ₺2,63 (14.03.2015). So it's worth it.

 

How do I go about doing this? I have never done a transaction on a forum before. This is the first forum I've ever been a part of (it's awesome btw, you guys are amazing!). I probably wont be able to send anything for another month or 2.

 

PMed