Quick question about Sega Saturn and RGB monitorhe s...

To make a long story short, I'm a hardcore gamer like everyone else here, and the one thing I've always wanted in my childhood and adolescence was to get and RGB monitor and play my games in their truest forms. In any case, I have been going back and forth to Japan every year or two and have picked up a couple of classics on each trip, and they look terrible on all HD sets, as expected. So I recently had the urge to get a decent RGB monitor, but they're not easy to find. MAS Systems sells them, but they haven't updated their webpage since 1999 (literally!) and want ~$650 for a 19-inch (pass). Also, I'm not thrilled about the idea of getting a Wells-Gardner monitor with exposed circuitry as I have a 3 year-old. So I googled all over, and found out that many people have used the Sony PVM-2530 with many classic systems, including the Saturn. How does this work, since the Sony appears to have a 25-pin input and the Sega Saturn RGB cables are 21-pin?


For what it's worth, these Sony monitors can be had on eBay for reasonable prices, and a just want it primarily for a RGB signal from my Neo-Geo, Mega Drive, and Sega Saturn. Sorry about the length of the post, and any advance will be greatly appreciated.

 

It's a shame you don't live in Europe. They can get RGB TVs for next to nothing since Europe has always had RGB TVs since they first appeared. Japan tried it back in the late 80's and early 90's but for some dumb F*ing reason they stopped. So until Component came along the best we had here on normal family TV sets was S-Video. Which while better than the god awful Composite it's still pretty bad compared to real RGB.

For me, I run the Mega Drive, Super Famicom and Saturn all through RGB 21 pin cables on my TFT via the X-RGB2+ box. They do look very nice but still not as good as true RGB. Still, at least they look better running this was than natively on my HD CRT set.

Yakumo

 

yakumo,

where did you purchased your X-RGB2+. does the X-RGB3+ the same job?

looking for those as 2nd hand in shops quite a bit, but no chance so far. or should i purchase them online, via their homepage?

 

What stinks for Americans is that there is no standard for RGB connectors. 21-pin, 25-pin, or 9-pin, there's no US standards body that dictates how or where an RGB connection should be made. You can thank the movie companies for this one, as they wanted DRM and held out for something with in-line encoding like HDMI. Component video was an annoying stopgap for them.

Driven gamers build their own connectors. If you can figure out what the Sony display pinout is, you can just wire it up yourself. The Saturn pinout can be found over at GamesX:

http://www.gamesx.com/avpinouts/saturnav.htm

 

I bought mine from Yahoo Auctions. It cost me 8000 yen or there abouts but it's missing the remote control. The X-RGB3 has a few features that the X-RGB2+ doesn't however they're not really necessary. I'm a bit drunk at the moment so I can't remember whatthey were. Still, the X-RGB2 or X-RGB2+ should be the answer to your needs. The simulated scan line options with 4 settings is very nice.

Yakumo

 

I believe PAL Saturns came with RGB Scart as standard. It's true that most if not all TVs since the mid90s support a RGB signal- console gaming was beautiful through RGB SCART, not a blemish on the screen =)

How the hell do you hook up DVD players in the states without SCART? I have always wondered, is it S-Video or component that is the standard means?

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm going to keep my eyes open for the XRGB2 as well as a true RGB monitor. The XRGB2s are nigh impossible to find on this side of the pond (NYC) but sometimes we get lucky, like I did back in 2003 when I scored a X-Neo1 on eBay for $75.

Also, correct if I'm wrong, but I could have sworn that GaijinPunch had the aforementioned monitor, or at least I read something similar when I googled it.

 

I recommend if you get a Sony PVM, to build an adapter from whatever connection it has, whether it be BNC connectors or the 25 pin connector, to Euro SCART RGB. That's what I did with my PVM. That way I can buy RGB cables for sytems and use those. Beats making your own cables.

 

Thanks for the response Mottzilla, but that seems like too complex a task for me. I didn't buy anything yet, as I am still doing research, but right now the outcome isn't looking good as 21 pin RGB monitors are basically non-existent here.

 

If you cannot build the adapter yourself then you can certainly find someone that would build it for you. Don't let it stop you from buying a PVM with RGB. There's really hardly anything to it. You just buy a SCART switcher box off ebay that has all 21 pins wired and splice things up from there. Personally I took off the plug on a switcher and soldered it to a VGA (computer video) 15 pin connector. Then I bought one of those VGA to BNC cables. Connected that to my monitor's BNC RGB inputs and plugged that into the SCART switcher. Really someone that can do alittle soldering can put it together nicely in an hour or so.

Most important of all, it's worth it! I love being able to just plug in my Sega Saturn or Super Famicom or whatever to my RGB monitor with SCART cables.

 

I use RGB->YUV transcoder to hook the Saturn into the component input of the panel. The device cost me around A$170 few years back and it really works well...
For the exact details of model# and etc. I will have to dig up though since it's buried under the pile of cords at the back of my entertainment unit~ -__-;

 

not to be a dick or anything..

I m a hardcore gamer too, and I often play over composite.. As long as I can see the action, it's game

 

For me it was more of convenience than being hardcore gamer.
It's bit impractical to drag out the CRT TV out of storeroom every time I want to play on Saturn and etc.
It's much easier to hook 'em all to the panel near by..
Also space issue can be a factor. I have no space left since my kids' toys took over every available space at home and I just know missus won't be too impressed if I stuck a big 32" CRT monster out~ -___-;

 

Yeah, it's fine to play but the image looks so shit. Even S-Video on a HD CRT looks turd comapred to S-Video on a standard resolution TV. Then again, I'm from the land of RGB so I'm used to the best over this NTSC shit. Great for full screen full speed gaming but pathetic if you want a quality image.

Yakumo

 

I thought it might be helpful if I posted a picture of the inputs of the monitor I have been looking at. For reference, it is the Sony PVM-2030, which is recommended by several websites that advocate the RGB monitors for vintage gaming.




What would I need to buy to get the Sega Saturn and the Neo-Geo, CD and AES system, to spit an RGB signal into this thing?

 

The pinout information you require can be found here:

http://www.gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:pvm-2030

-hl718

 

I found that website some time ago, but all these schematics are a foreign concept to me. I was hoping to be directed towards people who have already created Sega Saturn cables for this particular set. Many people use it, so I figured some people would have made a few custom RGB cables for it.

 

Ok, you need to contact a guy over at NTSC-UK called ChaoticJelly. He will make you any cable you want. His cables are of very high quality and his prices are reasonable. He made me a Mega Drive RGB cable to go from my Japanese Mega Drive 1 to the X-RGB2+ box. If you can't be bothered to check out NTSC-UK then PM me your Email address and I'll forward it to him.

Yakumo

 

Before reading this thread I was directed to Chaotic Jelly from a guy at neo geo forums and then chaoticjelly actually got in touch with me via shmups forum - I need cables for my XRGB2+ setup.

Thank you Yakumo for the indirect reference/mention of his name and cables :thumbsup: as I will most likely be dealing with him soon.

 

Thanks for the info Yakumo. I contacted him yesterday, and gave him a copy of the service manual and a link to a website that explained the pinout schematics. Hopefully he'll be able to pull it off, as I already ordered the monitor from eBay.