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Thread: HDMI to RGB SCART?

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    Default HDMI to RGB SCART?

    Is there a device I could use to connect my PC (laptop to be more precise) to my old Sony Trinitron CRT TV so I can play retro games with emulators and also for other purposes. I'm not interested in HDMI to composite converters cause I want good image quality.
    I know that they are going to release something for Super Nt Mini for people who want to use it on CRTs (it has only HDMI out) so maybe that's my answer. Maybe I could use that device to connect my laptop to my CRT.

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    There have been various converters around for some years now, some better quality than others. I haven't personally seen one with scart output, but I've seen component out.and also one that had s-video and composite outputs.

    Spoiler warning:

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    We'll see what converter for Super Nt Mini will have. I hope it will work for me. Maybe they don't make converters with RGB SCART output because CRTs in USA don't have that input, but my TV doesn't have component input. Only Composite, S-Video and SCART.

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    I'm not getting this. I would have thought a better solution would be just to find a good 17" - 19" 4:3/5:4 used monitor with VGA input.

    Your PC/GPU must surely support VGA through one of its video outputs.

    That would also allow you to use a real Dreamcast console with its official or third-party VGA cable/box.

    This may even be a cheaper solution than a HDMI > RGB SCART or S-Video transcoder. Last year I bought a Dell SE177FP 5:4. Cosmetically below average but in full working condition with VGA cable and stand from CEX (a well known UK second hand gaming and IT shop chain) for the princely sum of 75p ie. about $1 US.

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    CRT monitors are just not big enough and playing on them doesn't give me that nostalgic experience I'm looking for.

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    The one I mentioned is a actually a standard TN LCD and, unlike a CRT no picture area is lost due to the surround or the, typical,5% overscan. You also should know that if you use a 5:4 screen the height of a 17" - 18" (diagonal size), like the Dell SE177FP, is 11". That is only a very little under the height of a modern 23" 16:9 widescreen.

    A 20" 5:4 or 4:3 of any sort has roughly same height as a 24" widescreen.

    If you want a true nostalgic experience you have to use a screen which displays the picture format the old games were designed for ie. 4:3. Although non-standard the 5:4 format works well too. The typical real picture area of a 20" 4:3 CRT TV, the size many people were using for gaming 20+ years ago, is less than that of the equivalent 19" 4:3 LCD monitors that were just coming into their own at that time.

    They even used that as a selling point in the advertising.

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    Unless you really need to have that old tv look I'd recommend a monitor too.

    Does your laptop not have VGA out? You are going to TV res anyway so it really doesn't matter if you start with hdmi or vga so that could broaden your options. I am not sure your budget but I would avoid anything generic/from China.

    If you can go from vga to ypbpr (don't know if your equipment supports this) something like this could work for you. I've not used this particular model but I have used products from this brand and they have done the job well.

    Edit: Here is the AA product page: https://www.audioauthority.com/product_details/1361

    They probably have some newer models with hdmi in but those would be more expensive.

    Edit 2: There are also Extron options like the VSC 500 or VSC 700. Example listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Extron-VSC-...ry!66429!US!-1

    Again though you have to feed those VGA. You could use a cheapy hdmi to vga adapter but I've never been impressed with the results of those.
    Last edited by Gypsy; 17th-February-2018 at 17:29.

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    My laptop has VGA but I'll get better one eventually and new ones usually don't have VGA so I want a device that I could use then too.
    BTW that device looks cool. I really like the ability to adjust overscan but for my situation S-Video would be best I could use with it which is pretty good but not the best in this age and date.

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    If you want good quality I think you will have to add another item to your chain. I'm guessing you aren't in the US if your tv has scart in but not ypbpr component. The problem is all the good hobbyist stuff I can think of takes you FROM scart to yuv.

    If you don't care and just want hdmi to scart, eBay is littered with Chinese stuff. Honestly though you might be better off going to svideo with a good product than using the scart out of the cheap stuff but that would be something you'd have to test. I have a range of scalers and converters but none of these down converters to test.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Char Aznable View Post
    The problem is all the good hobbyist stuff I can think of takes you FROM scart to yuv.
    That's why I started this discussion.

    I heard that analog output adapter for Super Nt Mini is planned which takes its HDMI output and converts it to analog output. I'm wondering will that adapter also work with other HDMI devices, like my laptop, or just with Super Nt Mini.

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    You could try posting on shmups, some people on there know about some obscure stuff.

    https://shmups.system11.org/viewforum.php?f=6

    I couldn't find anything that looked good myself. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

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