MiSTer FPGA Forum

Hi all,
I’m sorry if this post is redundant as I know it gets a lot of attention. It’s a bit of a technical information overload and I’m getting lost in all the information.

My mister setup includes:
De-10 nano
Digital I/O board
USB hub
128 vram expansion
Coaxial to Optical Digital Audio Converter to be able to use my headphones, or output to speakers.

I am planning on primarily using an HDMI monitor, but through Craigslist locally, someone has said they have some crts they are about to throw away. Not knowing anything about the specs of the monitors in question, what would be the easiest route for my current setup? I’m trying to have an idea of what I should be looking for or asking about when I check out and potentially obtain one of them for use with my MiSTer setup.

Sorry for the question on a tired subject - any input would be appreciated, I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed.

You have the digital IO board so your only option now is Direct Video. Meaning you'd have to obtain an inexepnsive HDMI-VGA adapter and plug it in MiSTer's HDMI. Then you can connect it straight to a 31kHZ VGA monitor via VGA-VGA cable or to a 15 kHz consumer TV via component. Since you mention Craiglists I assume you're in the States, so the latter will be bit more problematic, since you'd need to mod the cable. And the TV would have to have Component input.

If you had the analogue IO board it would be a bit simpler, since you could connect to a TV via component without mods, or buy an S-Video adapter (if one of these TVs has S-Video).

It's also possible to connect to a TV via Composite, but this is still at a somewhat experimental stage and not all cores would display properly.

Sorry to add to your info overload but it's a bit tricky situation - feel free to ask questions, and perhaps say what cores you're most interested in and what kinda TVs/monitors are on offer.

Two very common choices are a consumer CRT TV with "component" input or a CRT PC monitor with VGA input.

Here is a thread about using an adapter to convert your digital i/o board output to component. I assume you can do something similar to get VGA out of it but am not a digital i/o board user so dunno specifics.

Thank you for the input, both of you. It certainly clears up a bit of my confusion as I’ve tried to make sense of all the terminology.

When I go to see what displays are being offered, for the easiest solution, it sounds like I need to look for a component, or vga input port.

If the display has a vga port:
hdmi (mister) > hdmi to vga converter > vga to vga (monitor)

If the display has component:
hdmi (mister) > hdmi to vga converter > vga to component (monitor/tv)

Is that right?

FishInSearchOfWater wrote: ↑Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:21 pm If the display has component:
hdmi (mister) > hdmi to vga converter > vga to component (monitor/tv)

Is that right?

Yes, as long as you remember you will have to do the sync-on-green mod either on the converter or cable. This requires some soldering.

Ultimatemister shop (from Europe) sells https://ultimatemister.com/product/ultimate-vga-to-component/ which perhaps acts as this mod, but I'm not 100% sure it works with Direct Video, we'd have to ask them.

FishInSearchOfWater wrote: ↑Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:21 pm If the display has a vga port:
hdmi (mister) > hdmi to vga converter > vga to vga (monitor)

If the display has component:
hdmi (mister) > hdmi to vga converter > vga to component (monitor/tv)

Is that right?

I’d honestly just get the analogue I/o board to reduce complexity with connecting it to a CRT. If you’re already confused / overloaded having to try and get the direct video solution working on component by getting the right hdmi to vga adapter and modding your cable is going too far much

The analogue board can easily connect to a tv with component input via a simple vga to component cable , which are readily available.

People will mention you need the digital io board for dual ram, but as there are no cores that require it at the moment I don’t see the point. If and when that becomes an issue it’s better just to reevaluate things then in my opinion.

That is a good point by daveo. I'm quite happy with my analog i/o board for my use cases and have had no need for the digital one so far. Its greater simplicity + capabilities re: analog video output make it a better choice for my needs.

One potentially very cool advantage of the analog i/o board is it can output both HDMI and analog video simultaneously, so you can output to two screens or easily play on a TV while sending the other single to your PC's vidcap card or whatever.

One minor-ish downside of the analog i/o board is its analog audio out jack is very noisy; I can constantly hear electrical interference-type sounds, especially during sd card access. Luckily the same port also supports digital (optical) audio out, and that's seemingly flawless. Been happy since I finally got optical-input speakers.

Thank you for all the information!
I already have the digital board, as I was not initially planning on using a crt. I saw various places that people said direct video was an option and that dual ram down the road is “future proofing” your setup. >_<

Depending on the crts that are available in my area, I may just put a pin the the CRT idea unless I can find a display w/ vga, or decide I want to delve into modding a cable for a component connection.

Word. If dual ram ends up being advantageous you may get the last laugh, hehe.