MiSTer FPGA Forum

Currently I've got an AV Famicom and Super Famicom (among other systems) that I run through a Retrotink 5x Pro on a 1440p computer monitor as well as capturing through a second Retrotink 5x on an Elgato HD60S+. I'm using two Retrotinks because I want to run scanlines on my computer monitor while I play, while the second Retrotink upscales to 1080p for live streaming/recording without scanlines.

I'm leaning towards the analog I/O board so I can easily connect the analog video out to the Retrotink I use for my monitor (= Retrotink). Also, this allows me to easily change to a CRT someday later if I want to not use my 1440p PC monitor anymore. I'm curious about the digital I/O, but I'm afraid that might make things more complicated in my case. I guess some people are using random HDMI>VGA>component cable setups or possibly just using an HDMI splitter from the main HDMI output?

Someone on reddit said:
"You might want to check on the Mister forums to find out if you can use both analog and digital simultaneously out of the HDMI port. I know you can switch back and forth; there's a newish feature called DirectVideo that puts out a nice analog signal through the HDMI. But I'm not sure if you can do both analog and digital at once using that port.

You can definitely do it with an analog board. DirectVideo is apparently somewhat better if you're driving a VGA class monitor, where the analog board has a slightly inferior signal that works better with TVs. (and maybe the RetroTink, not sure.)"

I just received my DE-10 Nano today, but I haven't purchased any other parts yet.

Does anyone have any feedback about this?

Thanks!!

I don't have a 5x but it's not clear that it can do anything better than the Mister's own HDMI scaler options. Mister can also go to 1920x1440p and even includes shadowmasks from the 5x along with others and the ability to make your own. You should get even sharper results from the Mister's HDMI because it doesn't have to be converted to an analog format and back via the 5x.

That said a real ideal Mister streaming setup is to take the analog out to a CRT and feed the HDMI side into your stream. You could also feed the analog side to your 5x/computer monitor in the meantime while the stream gets the pristine direct digital output. You need the analog I/O board for this dual video output. There's also potential stumbling blocks with getting direct video working, like you need to build a sync-on-green circuit for component. I don't really see the advantage in the digital I/O when none of the stable cores really use dual memory, and plenty of hinderances.

Direct Video to CRT is fantastic btw.

Analog board is worthwhile, besides being able to drive two displays at once you can easily tap audio. I also find ADC and the aux SD slot handy.