How to convert CGA video to HDMI for around $65
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- Опубликовано: 23 дек 2018
- #retropc #retrogaming #tandy1000 #sierraonline
Let's look at how to output beautiful sharp CGA/Tandy 1000 digital TTL RGB video on a HDMI monitor so I can look at the 1988 Sierra Christmas Demo.
I now recommend you get a RGB2HDMI -- a much better solution to this:
Buy a RGB2HDMI board:
github.com/hoglet67/RGBtoHDMI...
RGB2HDMI Github: (Ian's Fork with improvements -- see releases for latest Beta)
github.com/IanSB/RGBtoHDMI
Original project:
github.com/hoglet67/RGBtoHDMI
------- In this video:
SCART to HDMI converter: ($22)
www.ebay.com/itm/292602066717
GCLabs CGA2RGB Converter: ($40)
www.ebay.com/itm/GGLABS-CGA2R...
SCART RGB Cable: ($2.80)
www.ebay.com/itm/1-8M-V-pin-S...
Sierra 1988 Christmas Card: (SCI version)
archive.org/details/sierra-ch... 
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Hey! I have actually used that exact Scart to HDMI adapter for a few Pro AV installations. As you said, it is a normal TV scaler IC, and so it actually has a full TV menu system available. If you solder a USB to UART adapter to the UART connector you can use a software configuration tool to adjust color/brightness/sharpness/aspect ratio and over-scan. I would be more than happy to show you how. Great video as always!
I would be interrested in such info. Is that information available somewhere on the net?
Can you turn off the stupid overlay that way?
@@adriansdigitalbasementHey, I put together a quick video going through the UART software control
ruclips.net/video/dvcoXRKdPvI/видео.html
It would be great if the SCART input would allow to connect an RGB signal directly without the overhead of all those adapters... but I guess it's just wishful thinking. Something like this www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/micro-computers/commodore/commodore-c64-vic20-128-audio-video-scart-av-cable-tv-lead-for-sale
I wonder if the annoying overlay could be tuned off by some undocumented method such as holding down one of the hardware selector buttons for a few seconds. Might be worth to try them all, and in combinations. ;)
Minimelkav please upload some update video for this, I want to reduce the brightness for this converter. lock the output resolution to 480p or maybe 720p and keep 4:3 aspect ratio
Merry christmas! Thanks for the video!
that sierra demo just hit me in the feels, my dad used to run that on his old PC back in the day. god knows how long ago that was.
I enjoy seeing how passionate you are about the tech
Merry Christmas Adrian.
Thanks for your good content over the Year.
Good Bless you.
Merry Christmas, Adrian! Thank you for the Christmas Eve gift!
Interesting and well explained as always. Love the Sierra Christmas card :)
loved the sierra demo, so christmasie!!
Bravo! As usual, I love your lectures. My first computer was a Commodore VIC 20. It didn't come with any software, but it did come with BASIC in ROM. It allowed a whopping 3 kB of space for writing code. I think the total amount of RAM was 8 kilobytes.The OS took up well over over half the RAM. I had to write my own software, with a mixture of BASIC and machine language. Yes, MACHINE LANGUAGE! There was no assembler, so i had to write the code by hand. My second machine was a Tandy 1000 SL, running MS-DOS 3.3. It didn't come with Basic, so I had to go to the computer store and buy a copy of MS QuickBasic 4.5, for $149. Those were the daze [sic].
This is excellent information. I just checked, and my five year old Samsung flat panel TV still has a SCART input! This will make a lot of things much easier...
Watched this on February 16/17 2021 and when I realized it was uploaded Christmas day 2018 brought a tear to my eye as my mother had passed away two weeks before
thanks for the video, always a pleasure to watch your work.
Awesome content as usual, merry Christmas Adrian, look forward to more in 2019.
Merry Christmas, nice conversions :D
Excellent video as always, I love to see ways people hook up newer displays to old hardware.
I have looked into it myself and I think I might need to go with a solution like MCE2VGA. It costs a bit more but one of my 5160s came with a MDA card and a seperate EGA card. My other machines are mostly CGA and most of my LCDs have a VGA hook up but no HDMI hookups, VGA to HDMI converters are not expensive but probably something else I dont really need.
Great video. I’ve still got my 1000 EX and HX in their boxes in the basement. Makes me want to pull em out and power them up again!
Perfect timing with the release of Planet X3 and it's various CGA modes! Would love to try this... if I could actually get my hands on a decently priced Tandy.
beautiful christmas theming on the video
merry christmas & happy new year mr adrian
+Adrian Black
Thanks for making this video; as owner of a couple of 128K ZX Spectrums, I've had some issues with connecting them to my flat-screen TV, but this looks like it's the perfect solution.
Also, I hope you'll have a lovely Christmas time, and a happy new year. I'll certainly see you again in 2019.
Greetings from Denmark.
Great description. I’m fortunate that my Sony PVM includes a RGB TTL input, along with the BNC RGB.
lovely... reminds me of a heath robinson invention :) english inventor who made highly elaborate devices to perform very simple tasks like opening a boiled egg..... merry christmas from england x
Good info on the converters, might be useful to those in such need. :) Greetings and happy whole year 2019 (not only New Year which is 01.01.2019). :D
The convoluted way you have to do this reminds me of My Mate Vince's funny "300K Subscriber Special - The Heath Robinson Guide to Connecting an iPhone to a TV" video. I've had to patch a strange mix of cables and adapter plugs/sockets to get video signals to display in the past, but never anything this extreme, lol. At least I didn't have to use active converters in my bodge-jobs.
Thank you, Roberta Williams.
Nice work! i'd much rather find a complete solution via ready made cables/adapters, but it's good to know how to make these yourself.
Nice to see a CoCo3 cable. I remember Tandy making a proprietary CGA/TGA monitor just for the coco.
Merry Christmas! I think it's awesome that you can convert an old CGA signal to HDMI by climbing of the ladder of converters! However, I would be worried about the conversion delay, but you already addressed that ;p. Nonetheless, it'll be a long lasting solution until people start making retro CRT TVs for computer hobbyists.
Hey Adrian,
love your videos you have a great presentation style and a clear passion for "messing around" with hardware for the fun of it.
I actually have one of these upscalers but it has the MST6M181VS-LF-Z1 chip which i "think" is RGB, i tried it with an rgb and a composite scart cable separately and the quality is very much different).
I had the same thinking as you when i got hold of my converter and found it to be RGB so i ordered another that looked the same and the second one is awful quality and the main chip is rectangular and has had the markings scratched off the top so i have no idea what it is, it is a very inferior unit but to all intents and purposes looks exactly the same as my RGB one, it seems these units can really be pot luck sadly!
Thanks, looking forward to more videos :)
Merry Christmas! 🎄
Great channel - one of my faves!
So you converted from digital TTL RGB to analog VGA, and then back to digital HDMI. I suppose there is no way to avoid the analog step in the middle and keep it all digital? I guess I'm ignorant about "digital" TTL RGB - especially since there was no digital display technology at the time that was being used.
Hi andrian
Merry Christmas for you and yours family
Happy new year
Wow, this is some real conversion technology! :P
I've been using an Extron RGB 118 (currently ebays for $25-30) to convert my CGA/Tandy/EGA and Apple IIgs to a VGA-ish signal, and it works pretty well. The Extron RGB 118 converts both 16 and 64-color TTL RGB (which means 64-color EGA works correctly), and also supports analog RGB in (Apple IIgs). It has DIP switches inside it that control what it converts, which I cut a notch out of the top to access without opening it. It has a single 9-pin "universal" input, and a 15-pin analog output. It converts sync (it accepts composite, sync-on-green, or separte sync, and outputs any of those you pick). It DOESN'T increase scan rate, so you need something like the HDMI converter mentioned in the video, or a monitor that supports 15.7khz (some 4:3 LCDs, like Samsung SyncMasters and NEC MultiSync's support it). I've been using a SyncMaster 710N with good results. The main advantage to the Extron is that it supports EGA, which very few other TTL converters seem to do, and it's very reasonably priced and well built. Additionally, it doesn't add any lag itself, as it's not really a digital device and doesn't modify the scan rate.
Back in the late 90s when I was learning about all these old devices CGA monitors were already starting to become a rare commodity. I'm amazed people are able to find them at all these days.
Good choice on the gglabs unit. It's the best quality of the 5 I've tested.
Hey Adrian, Marry X-mas! This graphic conversion looks awesome, and indeed no inaccuracies and artifacts are visible, but do you think it could be even better if all the cables were even shorter? I get that there were prepared for different projects and now they are just co-residing with each other, but I wonder if that would change anything?
Merry Christmas :) I've done a ton of cables. Damn. I'm in Europe and I'm blessed with many RGB CRT TVs (for my Arcade cabinet). On the bad side. It's impossible to find a CRT TV with HDMI (last Sony TVs for example). I've had to search a ton to find my current with component inputs. I wanted to change my VGA -> RGB SCART setup to HDMI -> Component because it's difficult to find new GPUs (except old AMD ones) which even have a VGA output. (And I like to play other than old emulator new stuff on a CRT like Cuphead for example) :) But, I'm giving my current CRT about 5 more years of operation. Then the struggle continues :) A bit reverse struggle than yours :)
Great video to explain it for casuals, and I have the same cheap Chinese SCART to HDMI thing as well, but anyone seriously into recording his videos, or uses more than one system, should get a pro HDMI scaler. Everyone seems to be into the OSSC, but my favorite currently is the Extron DSC 301 HD, although I'm no gamer so it might introduce bigger lag than the OSSC, but it's certainly a lot faster than this SCART2HDMI box you reviewed. It's a professional scaler, which was, and still is very expensive new, but with some luck you can find these on eBay for around a 100-150 EUR (i'm in Europe). Bought several around that price lately. Accepts HDMI, CVBS and RGB inputs, the RGB (VGA header) input handles anything I've thrown at it so far - including this CGA2RGB adapter, Amiga, Atari ST, or an old PC box running up to 1024x768 SVGA and beyond -, plus its HDMI input works like a champ with the RetroTink 2x, so you can have component, and SVideo inputs as well. Which pretty much covers any retro peep's needs. Still, the more videos like this, the better, you can't have enough combinations of retro gear vs. HDMI stuff tested. :) Merry %FESTIVITIES_NAME% and a Happy New Year!
chainq68k I picked up a couple Extron DVS-204’s a while back and they are awesome for things like this. I’ve been wanting one I can use for direct HDMI output so thanks for the tip, the 301 looks perfect.
I bought a CGA/EGA multisync monitor off ebay in 2017 for $10, local pickup. It cost about $50 to repair. It cleaned up ok but some time in its life someone had dropped it and there is a crack in the front of the case but it works great. I bought one of these CGA2RGB thingies off ebay as an alternative after watching your video.
@@adriansdigitalbasement The monitor is switchable between 8 color, 16 color AT&T, 16 colour CGA, 64 colour EGA and Analog RGB. It can also handle output from Monochrome and Hercules display adapters. I repaired it myself, replacing around 100 capacitors. Here in Australia you never see CGA monitors, let alone EGA monitors. The CGA2RGB at the current exchange rate including shipping and taxes cost me $75 which is roughly $15 more than it cost me to repair the 30 year old monitor :-)
That's amazing, are you going to try out using an HDMI capture device with it?
merry xmas adrian! what you think should be the size of the hdmi tv for this purposes? i mean using it in front of you like you would with the cm5?
You rock very very good job
A very interesting video. I have a similar SCART to HDMI converter here. I thought it died on me when it only started to show pixel junk and noise with my Megadrive. I now suspect it suffers from overheating.
More interestingly you said the power supply for these is not so good. What specs are needed for a replacement? Can I use a decent phone charger 5V/2A? And if so, which polarity is on the plug to the converter? Is it +5V on the inside?
Thank you for your great channel! And keep that little ZX Spectrum up :)
The MCE2VGA is now also an almost all one adapter, you can connect a 44khz VGA or adapt it to HDMI.
Thanks!
Many thanks to you, now I know what is the ttl digital rgb db9 in the back of my Sony pvm 2730qm, I want try my Amiga 1200 with a cable digital db9 ❤️
Happy Festivus :)
LGR tested some CGA/EGA conversion box lately that seems like a nice alternative.
Hey Adrian, Were you at MGC last year by any chance?
Adrian, doesn't your LCD monitor have a VGA input? I also wonder if some US TVs are the same as european ones and just have the SCART inputs unpopulated on the controller board.
that's interesting, 9:01, here in Europe (not for long) in the Uk, we have a about 4 year old flat screen tv, still with scart input!
I've been wanting to test out a scanline generator with a setup like this. Whenever I have to use an LCD in an arcade game, it just doesn't look quite right without the scanlines.
Just a heads up, you need to be cautious of certain router/switch power supplies when using them for other projects. I've run into a couple that weren't well regulated, and actually put out 6 or 7 volts, despite being a switching design and labeled as 5 volts.
A couple years ago, I used one of those GBS-8200 converters in an arcade game, then took the VGA output from that and ran it into a cheap VGA to HDMI converter. It worked great, and it makes me wonder how the GBS-8200 (or 8220) would handle TTL on the RGB input. They have potentiometers to adjust the RGB input gain, and are meant to accept 15.7Khz or 24.8Khz sync rate. I haven't tried one with 18Khz MDA yet though.
This seems simple enough to bang out in a cheap cpld, could even do fancy things like hardware palette swapping.
For a no lag solution get a AG02 based VGA to HDMI convertor, it doesn't do any signal processing so your HDMI screen needs to support 15khz signals
Ahh the sweet tandy 3 voice sound chip
Hi, great video. @JanBeta mentions that you made a video where you modded the UART on this converter. I can’t find a link to that video, is it available? Thanks.
I'm so glad that for my TL all I had to do was get a VGA card-so much simpler and cheaper. But you cant do that with the others so far as I know
@Lassi Kinnunen You're right! But if you dont have the proper monitor(which I dont) it at least makes the computer useable, until I come across the actual monitor.
I wanna know how to convert HDMI video to CGA (colors and resolution) is it possíble? Do you know something about?
Actually some North American RCA ColorTrak and Dimensia CRTs had SCART, labeled as "EIA MULTIPORT" that did carry video and audio.
Broadcast engineer here: You may want to consider shortening some of those analog RGB cables. Analog video should be handled by 75ohm coax cable. A lot of those cables you show are just straight multiconductor cables with unspecified impedance. Shorter cables may improve sharpness and reduce ringing on edges. Of course CGA is relatively low resolution so it may not make much of a difference to use 75ohm coax. But just a thought.
you can use NEC multisync monitors it on my Amiga with just the RGB to VGA and the BENCQ monitors work to
great job, do you know if there is any way to convert the cga output of the amstrad pc 1512k to hdmi, rca or something like that? I have 2 Amstrad PC 1512 units but the monitors are already broken, leaving the computer useless since it also receives power from these, would there be any solution to be able to use these computers on another type of monitor or TV?
The CGA(EGA/MDA) to VGA converter may be all you need. Many "digital" flat screen monitors still support VGA (RGB) input. And there are other VGA to HDMI converters out there too.
I remember knowing a guy in the early 90s that was using a monitor that he easily switched between a 5150 and an Amiga just by moving the plug between the two computers. I can't remember if he was just using the IBM CGA screen on the Amiga or using come kind of commodore display.
@@adriansdigitalbasement Well I knew about those, I was certain he was either using the IBM brand screen on the Amiga, or a Commodore screen on the IBM. I don't think IBM ever did a screen that could do TTL and RGB, but I'm not as familiar with Commodore screens if they ever made something like that.
I see you put one of the longer screws through the bottom and created that dome standing up. I did the EXACT same thing! I hate when I do that.
I hope you publish an update if you ever find a CGA-HDMI chain with fewer parts or less overall complexity
We also need you to make a Patreon or find a way to help us support you, I really love your content!
Patreon is difficult for many people to use due to their arbitrary dealings and people withdrawing their funding. They don't seem to understand that the freedom to speak is not a right to say whatever the hell you want, but a responsibility to speak the truth.
Jack Candid I didn’t know that and yeah I understand the downside but I would still like to support this channel somehow.
@@MrKeebs Well I agree, this is a great channel worthy of support, thumbs up to that for sure! Personally I let the ads run but don't support anyone with Patreon.
I'm sure Adrian is happy if folks just watch his channel (letting ads run is even better) as well as subscribing, participating with comments and thumbs up/down interactions, and especially sharing the videos with folks you know or on your social media platform of choice.
Merry Christmas! What is that little screen on your Sony screen? Can you connect that to all your machines? ;)
@@adriansdigitalbasement Thanks for the information. It was too good to be true. Just a speaker, damned!
Hi i belive this hdmi - scart box will do all 240p modes from the tandy as interleaced tv signals ?
LCD TVs (and monitor/tv if you can find one) still have Scart input in Europe. You coud import one from amazon.co.uk or whatever. It's awsome for Playstation 1/2 era consoles and other stuffs.
4:50 Doesn't the 1084S do RGBI natively?
Thank you for the great video. Could you please work on a project to convert amiga ocs/ecs rgb to hdmi based on the fact that amiga generates 12 bit rgb color in order to obtain the sharpest quality? It may be useful to convert analog to digital signal more conveniently this way.
I have a questing, about the cable you made. Will this work in Europe too?? Or do we have to made a caple with different color/cable?? It sounded a little confusing. I'm working with computers too and want to buy a Commodore 64 and an Amiga!!
I have that SCART to HDMI converter and generally it is a good choice. I have noticed a few disadvantages:
* For some reason it doesn't like the Commodore 128 VDC signal. Probably minor timing difference, but I haven't found the cause yet. Would be interresting if it accepts the signal of your NTSC Commodore 128 (mine is PAL).
* The composite quality is acceptable, but by far not as good as my CRT monitors, some discolouring is visible.
* Doesn't support S-Video via SCART. Interresting because an S-Video to HDMI converter that I own uses exactly the same chip, it is likely just a some firmware support that is missing.
On the other hand the RGB quality is just great and also the latency is not bad at all; I am abel to play C64 games just fine with it, many who depend on low latency. It looks like the Chinese designers of the device were aware if its applications and have looked into the latency. I'd say it is an excellent product.
Interresting that you convert anything to DE9 and DE9 to anything. Personally I convert anything into SCART and SCART to anything.
Some place out there there is a Radio Shack Christmas Demo were the voice says "Tandy because there is no better value".
interesting. i have an old computer, but it's got vga.lol. love the retro stuff tho. I thought my Atari was old. You've got me beat.
10 years ago I wrote some vhdl just for this. Lost in time. Maybe I should make this
Somewhere on the way we lost those lovely CGA scanlines...
Adrian, what is that clock thing on top of your PVM?
EGA is still digital TTL. It just has 2 bits per color.
Hi Adrian, can you please publish few links to this exact SCART->HDMI converter on Aliexpress? There are many, but we all need one with best chipset.
Which chipset to look for?
would this also work with MDA by any chance?
I have my festivus pole up!
Shout to wished that LGR could see this for his CGA Games...
The biggest problem is that many older devices don't run at exactly 59.94Hz or 50Hz etc. so when you convert them to HDMI, you get a stutter every ~10 seconds. Some devices like the Ultimate64 output a non-standard HDMI frequency which can cause problems with some modern displays. My hope is that one day most TVs will support variable refresh so that a converter can be made to view old arcade boards/consoles/computers without motion issues.
Here in the Netherlands we have had scart for a long time ( started somewhere in the 80's) but sinds HDMI came obsolete and not used anymore
the issue is everything from respective of VGA connection on modern lcd/plasma tv's the GPU in this casewould need to support a bare minimum of 720x576 for wide screen use..
Noting that most gpu's of modern computers across vga can support 1080p...
the bigger issue is where vga is supported in most cases the tv only supports 3.5 mm audio input for audio
Too bad that converter is not listed any longer. After searching , I found it. I take it that if I plug the cable into one of my C-128's I will get the same result? That is with you exact setup?
Is it CGA, I thought CGA was 4 colour, some of the images looked like EGA to me. Does the converter handle 15khz signal?
any thoughts on simulating the CGA composite artifact coloring with the digital connection?
that’d be the ultimate CGA setup, i think :)
my first vga monitor (ibm 8518) takes like 20 or 30 minutes to turn on properly these days. it starts too dark, unreadable, unusable. and it's not a matter of brightness and contrast. after 20 minutes it works normally, but it used to start already 100% usable, it's not normal that it starts very dark. I'm worried that it's going to break soon.
I'm curious, can you get a isa 8 bit vga for that computer?. a vga monitor will give you at least ten more years.
Check the capacitors in it and replace if necessary.
the demo doesn't support ega?
I'd probably pair the CGA to VGA thing to an ossc . May work fine
Great channel, just subscribe and enjoy...😁
I think that there is a company that actually makes CRTs for legacy equipment. Since it is of course a custom facility, though, it’ll cost ya! But at least it means that you can get access to brand new CRTs if you want them. I think they also rejuvenate old ones, so don’t throw yours out, whatever you do!
I just realized my composite video to HDMI converter is the same thing, but with a cheap arse RCA plug where the SCART is. I can desolder the RCA sockets and solder in a SCART and modify the box or pay $40 AUD for the one in Adrian's video. I will see how much a SCART socket is, probably cheaper to buy the SCART>HDMI box in Australia (we don't have SCART at all here since we stopped importing European TV's 25yrs ago)
No mention of how modern TVs mishandle 240p? It applies to this device as well! They treat it as 480i, which introduces artifacts and severely impacts the quality. You’d need something like RetroTink 2x, OSSC, or XRGB Mini to correctly scale 240p RGB on an HDMI display. In many situations, especially 240p games with 60hz effects, a composite to HDMI adapter like the RetroTink 2X would be preferable. It’s too bad RetroTink 2X doesn’t accept RGBS but it does accept YPbPr Component, which you can transcode RGBS to (at additional expense).
Low resolution CGA has 200 lines not 240.
Adrian Black RetroTink 2X is the cheapest at $80-$100 so, yeah, it’ll cost a lot more. :(
How bad is the lag? Did you try any games?
I see you have an Atari Stellette chip as your desktop wallpaper.
Wow, two different converters and three different kind of converters in a row, daisy-chained to get a CGA Picture out on an HDMI-Screen... I would prefer the solution with an GBS-8220 to get CGI to RGB and then hook it up to a PC-Flatscreen Monitor with RGB Input. I use that on my Amiga 500, which puts out a 15,7 KHz signal just like your Tandy...
Actually, this video was specifically for the Tandy and he used more cables than needed so he can swap around between devices easily. However, for many of the systems he mentioned, like the Amiga and Atari ST, you can do it with just the one box and a scart cable. For my Atari ST, it came out to about $40.. $25 for the box and $15 for a good scart cable with resistors. But yeah, depends on how much you want to spend on how elegant your solution.
Se não fosse o YT ficaríamos sozinhos em nossos laboratórios sem ninguém para ver as coisas legais que fazemos.