Recently (ever sense I got a nice new HDTV that is) i've been really into video quality, and while as I have component cables for XBox, PS2, and Gamecube, my Dreamcast has been stuck with S-Video. So I set out to discover if their were any way to construct a component output for the system. First, I knew that VGA was essentialy the best the system could do, and that the system was outputing an RGB progressive signal when in that mode. So the first step was constructing a small circuit that I could easily fit inside the dreamcast to enable VGA mode, and output the signal. From their I learned that to convert the RGB signal into Y-Pb-Pr (what HDTVs use) I would need a signal transcoder. I found out that if I were to purchase one it would be a bare minimum of $125, and none that I saw looked small enough to fit inside the DC based on their exterior appearance. Hence, i've started to search for any diagrams on the net that might show how one is constructed. So, anyone know of any places that I might be able to get said instructions?
It's a long shot, but there has been a lot of DC hacking over at: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php Most of their hacking has been to get a 15 MHz signal in order to use the DC with an arcade monitor. However, a lot of people over there use actual televisions as monitors, so maybe someone has hacked a component connection.
Surely you mean 15kHz? The Dreamcast outputs 15kHz RGB (standard TV res interlaced stuff) anyway - that's what you'll get through a SCART lead. Dunno if that would be any easier to convert to analogue YPbPr - wouldn't be as good as progressive though.
MHz, kMH, bah what's the difference... Yeah, I meant kHz instead. The DC can output 31 kHz natively too.
That might be a really good idea actualy. I may look into it depending on how things go. When I was at EBGames the other day I met this one guy who was playing the new Starwars Battlefront 2 (I think thats what it was called) game on one of the stores kiosks. Turns out he was the vice president of a home security systems corportation, and he offered to talk ask those in his audio/video department about the construction of such a device (the vga-component signal transcoder). He gave me his card and said to mail him in a few days and he'd get back to me. It may not be a quick-fix answer, but I think its a good step in the right direction. Besides, if I can (that is if I can find out how, and its not too far beyond my understanding of electronics) i'd much rather build the entire thing from scratch instead of 'borrowing' components from various other electronics. Why? Because if I can do it without them, then I should be able to make a tutorial afterwords for everyone to be able to use and enjoy
