So first off if I am posting this in the wrong area - Sorry! I figured the Dreamcast specific hardware forum would be the best option here. So I've known about VGA output on the Dreamcast for a while but just recently decided to pick up a cable. I've known that for the most part a VGA box is recommended or even required but I just recently found out about straight up Dreamcast to VGA cables and figured I would give one a shot. I nabbed one from DC-SD right here: http://dc-sd.com/p/3/dreamcast-vga-cable I got it today, the cable itself looks great, however I'm getting absolutely no signal out of it either video or audio wise. Ideally I wanted to capture video off the original hardware using this so I had my VGA to HDMI adapter all ready to go. It gives me no signal at all on my Elgato Game Capture HD or my Game Capture HD60, and I also hooked it up directly to my monitor - no dice. I also tried 2 Dreamcasts which I know both work - nothing! I did read online that I could have a "cheap" 11 pin one instead of the 16 pin cable, of course I examined it and saw that I have a 11-pin cable. I also read that the Dreamcast has a weak VGA signal which would make sense as to why the box was created in the first place, although with getting this cable I was hoping to not have as much of a rat's next while hooking up my Dreamcast in my office. Has anyone had any experience working with these? My other cable only option is a cable I just grabbed off Amazon. It's a bit more expensive but will be here in 2 days as opposed to 3 weeks, and if I can't get that to work I can return it but for the most part it seemed from reviews that people were able to plug and play quite easily.
Get either an official/3rd party VGA Box, a Hanzo, or one of Cabou's cable. Or build it yourself. As you can see on cabou's page, a lot of cables found online for cheap are very badly made.
You linked the Hanzo twice, but I found Cabou's Facebook page. So in the end it's mostly a cable quality issue over an issue with the Dreamcast not having a powerful VGA signal? The Hanzo looks great, and I'd be willing to pay $50, but they're not in stock until May :L If this cable doesn't work out I'll return it, contact DC-SD as well, and probably get in contact with Cabou. I know people recommend VGA boxes but for convenience I'd like to have a cable.
I got a Cabou's cable myself and it works great. Most cheapo cables aren't properly sync-buffered or shielded. That reduces their compatibility, especially with digital panels (non-crt displays and, I guess, acquisition cards) and can degrade the picture quality in a noisy electromagnetic environment. A dreadful example can be found on cabou's Facebook page in the pictures section.
So after getting the second cable and having it do the same thing, I got a bit annoyed and once I tried a few different settings - it worked! And works super well! Unfortunately the only issue I have now with both cables (they both work!) is that neither will work on my capture cards. To bypass this I ended up ordering a box which takes VGA/Component and upscales that to 720p/1080p HDMI output. Seems like we're good to go on this now! I did notice that the cable I got from Amazon does look nicer than the cheaper Chinese cable I got, but either way both of them are working fine.
