MiSTer FPGA Forum

I purchased a pre-built (at the time it was cheaper than buying separately) MiSTer setup a while ago that comes with the digital IO board. It has yet to arrive, but I'd just like to make sure of a few things.

I intend to use it with a consumer CRT that has been modded with a RGB SCART input. I also purchased a VGA-to-HDMI converter and a VGA-to-SCART cable from Retro Gaming Cables:

https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00NBUTHJG/

https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/ana ... packapunch

The product page on RGC mentions, 'When using the MiSTer on a SCART TV please ensure VGA pin 9 is activate for 5 volts. This signal is used to force a SCART TV into RGB mode.'

This lead me to stumble upon somebody with what is admittedly a very different MiSTer setup:

https://the-artcade.blogspot.com/2020/1 ... binet.html

They mention, 'Video requires your VGA port to supply 5v. You have to switch your VGA jumper on the IO board to output 5v. Additionally, you have to make sure your VGA cable has all 15 pins connected. Pin 9 on the VGA is the 5v line. There are VGA cables that only have 14 pins connected, so you have to make sure your VGA has all 15 pins hooked up.'

So, my questions are:

-Do I have all of the necessary components for Direct Video?

-Do I need to do anything with the jumpers on the digital IO board for Direct Video to work?

The 12V on SCART pin 8 and 3V on pin 16 are only needed for TVs with original SCART connectors, and they tell the video processor to switch inputs to RGB and to use 4:3 aspect ratio.

They aren't needed on a SCART RGB modded American TV.

In other words you should be fine.

I'm not too sure about the HDMI to VGA dongle though, as it doesn't use the recommended AG6200 chipset.

El_Syd wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 10:09 am -Do I need to do anything with the jumpers on the digital IO board for Direct Video to work?[/b]

No, it's completely independent. Make sure direct_video=1 is enabled in the mister.ini, and also you will need to set composite_sync=1, or 0, if "1" produces rolling image.

caad wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 11:35 am The 12V on SCART pin 8 and 3V on pin 16 are only needed for TVs with original SCART connectors, and they tell the video processor to switch inputs to RGB and to use 4:3 aspect ratio.

They aren't needed on a SCART RGB modded American TV.

In other words you should be fine.

I'm not too sure about the HDMI to VGA dongle though, as it doesn't use the recommended AG6200 chipset.

Australian TV, but yes, thanks for clearing that up.

It seems that the Ugreen ones, like most of the others out there are a total crapshoot since rarely, if ever, do the product pages mention the chip. I recall somebody on the MiSTer subreddit mentioning not too long ago that they bought one which worked for them.

akeley wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 1:20 pm No, it's completely independent. Make sure direct_video=1 is enabled in the mister.ini, and also you will need to set composite_sync=1, or 0, if "1" produces rolling image.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

I don't know why only some chips support DV but there must be a way to improve the situation...

There is, but it may require help from someone in China:
https://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.p ... 4&start=25