Help with TV out cable settings

[notaz]

@Notaz : thanks. Did you find the problem with TV Out on Picodrive 1.85 ?

No, but i haven't really looked for it, I'm finalizing some cd emulation related changes right now.

 

[Monkfish]

i suspect my tv-out cable isnt working properly what should i do?

 

[TrashyMG]

^Not sure what issues you are having as the post is vague, but a new version of Picodrive has been pushed that fixes the TV out.. also with a recent firmware update the TV setting tray now respects what profile is being used..  Just need to run the "update Pandora OS"..

 

[Asmo]

i suspect my tv-out cable isnt working properly what should i do?

What makes you think so? By default, I think, it's set to S-Video so if you're using composite, you'll need to change that in the settings.

On first use, enable TV Out Main Layer, and you should see the desktop IF you have selected the right input on your TV. If connected with S-Video, (or composite and have selected that in settings), and Main Layer TV Out is enabled, try cycling through all your TV inputs (non HDMI ones) and give each a couple of seconds to respond.

If that fails, try playing anything on the pandora that makes continuous sound - when the right input is selected, even if no video is seen you should hear the sound, indicating the right input is selected.

Try changing the output settings then, to see if the picture appears.

If all fails, it could be the cable being used to connect to the TV, rather than the Pandora's TV cable - have you got another device you could connect using the S-Video or Composite (phono) cable to see if it's working?

 

[Monkfish]

ok after some further testing i've discovered that the main layer works fine but any attempt to use hardware scaling/overlay (PlayStation emulation for example) results in half a second of distortion followed by blackness when running software that should be visable onscreen (not no signal, as this would result in a blue screen) - tried various encoding options and profile settings etc all with the same result and i'm using S-video. If my cable is faulty should i send it back?

 

[TrashyMG]

If your getting perfect signal with the main layer, your TV out cable is fine..  You seem to have an issue switching scalar to main layer on your Pandora, not sure if this is a software of hardware issue as I've never seen this behavior. 

What programs have you tried that require the scalar layer?

OpenTyrian which I ported requires the scalar layer for TV out.. does that work?

Edit: have you tried another television too?

 

[Asmo]

As per Trashy above, if you get a picture in either mode then your cable is fine, switching layers still uses the same lines on the cable, so it's functioning.

Don't forget that when you use the HW layer, depending on the software you may only see the output of the actual game and not the menus/desktop. It can be normal to only see a black screen until the game itself is launched.

In some rare cases, very rare, your TV could in theory lose sync when you switch layers (assuming you have launched a game and still had no picture with HW layer). If that was the case, going back to your TV's ordinary mode and then switching back to AV input should resolve that (although it's very unlikely to be the problem).

 

[Monkfish]

It can be normal to only see a black screen until the game itself is launched.

yes i know this, its only after a game is launched that i get a short period of distortion then blackness, in some cases followed by more distortion. i'm using the cable through my projector, the only other tv in the house is bolted to the kitchen wall so no chance of plugging a cable in there. Tonight i will try and video the cable behaviour and post it here so you can better see what i mean.

 

[notaz]

Is your firmware up-to-date? Using 3.2 kernel?

 

[Asmo]

What kind of projector is it, something current? Have you tried switching TV out between NTSC & PAL to see if switching modes might be the cause? IIRC if your firmware isn't bang up to date, it's best to make these changes from within the menu settings rather than from the taskbar, to ensure they take effect.

Bearing in mind you can force PAL (50hz) or NTSC (60hz) as default within PCSX too, I don't know if this overrides the TV out settings if they are different.

EDIT:

If you can't plug it into another display to test, what I would try, since it sounds like the projector losing sync for some reason (though this would be very odd, and I'll wager the cause is more straightforward), would be change your projector's input to something else (redundant input if need be), start the game and then switch the projector back to the Pandora, now running the game - or only turn the projector on once you have launched the game, to see if it picks up a signal then.

What version of PCSX are you using (and have you changed any settings, plugins etc)?

 

[Monkfish]

i always keep firmware up to date projector is a fairly current Epson LCD one but i'd have to check the model number if you want that, using most recent version of PCSX.

 

[Asmo]

An up to date Epson should be able to cope with sync weirdness, but it might be worth trying the above, just to see if it accepts the signal by not selecting the Pandora's input until you've launched the game.

The distortion you describe, is it like the image is skewed diagonally/horizontally and broken up - that's what sync problems in a unit like this tend to look like.

When you view the desktop in Main Layer output, and change the TV-Out setting from Pal to Ntsc (or vice versa) does that work OK?

Have you tried PanMame? - That requires HW layer activated too, you'll see the selection screen on the Pandora and nothing until the game is running on the TV-Out. If you get the same results with that your best bet is probably to get access to another display to confirm whether you're generating a HW layer signal at all.

 

[Monkfish]

Tonight when further testing in an attempt to show the distortion i describe i find that the Main layer no-longer functions also, giving distortion and blackness. When i get time i'll upload the video.

Have you tried PanMame? - That requires HW layer activated too, you'll see the selection screen on the Pandora and nothing until the game is running on the TV-Out. If you get the same results with that your best bet is probably to get access to another display to confirm whether you're generating a HW layer signal at all.

No, i use MameEX for all my maiming needs. I dont use the romset required for PanMame. Tried switiching display on the projector as you describe too, with no variation in results.

 

[Asmo]

Problems with main layer now too? Definitely changes things.

Time to check whether the other cable you're using is OK to eliminate that - not the pandora one, but the S-Video cable you are using to connect between it and your display. Faulty or substandard S-Video cables are not unusual, sometimes one of the pins in the plug at either end can get bent, or even forced back into it. Sometimes the cables don't fully connect properly, does it comfortably insert fully into the projector and the Pandora TV cable? Jiggling them a bit while in their sockets sometimes fixes it, but to eliminate the Pandora cable, if you have another S-Video lead try that to see if the issue is the same, or find some other device to connect it to, to test.

Does your Pandora AV cable 'click' into the Pandora socket, or is it loose feeling there?

 

[Monkfish]

pandora cable seems to "click" in fine, i'll conduct further investigations. Thanks Asmo you always have the best hardware advice.

 

[jameswilder]

I got my TV out cables working fine.... but I was a little disappointed at the blurry/washed out picture I'm getting for my games and emulators..... I changed the Color, Contrast, Picture on my TV but that doesn't help out much

I also played with the Video setting.... but I dont understand the "Gamma" and "Advanced Gamma"

Any tips on getting the picture a little crispier

I'm currently using S-Video, I saw improvement over AV

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[TrashyMG]

^ What type of TV do you have? flat panel LCD, CRT? Because I hate to say, but most flat panel LCD TVs just handle old analog signals horrible. At home I use the Pandora on my DLP projector or an old CRT TV, both give a really nice picture compared to any LCD TV I've attempted to hitch to it. 

S-Video is your best bet for quality output, Also If your TV can support PAL I'd suggest trying that as it does allow a slightly higher resolution.

I believe all the Gamma setting on the Pandora only change what's on the Pandora's LCD screen and not the TV out..

 

 

[jameswilder]

Thanks for that update.... I was experimenting with an LCD TV.... I will try on one of my two older tv's.... not sure the model but their old lol.

I think that will help.

 

[pengo]

It can be normal to only see a black screen until the game itself is launched.

yes i know this, its only after a game is launched that i get a short period of distortion then blackness, in some cases followed by more distortion. i'm using the cable through my projector, the only other tv in the house is bolted to the kitchen wall so no chance of plugging a cable in there. Tonight i will try and video the cable behaviour and post it here so you can better see what i mean.

I have the same problem having tried on three television sets. Still trying to figure out what the problem may be.

 

[Asmo]

I have the same problem having tried on three television sets. Still trying to figure out what the problem may be.

Do you get sound even if no picture?

That'd be the first step, I think, to make sure your TV is set to the correct input. Enable TV-Out on the Pandora, start a game or play some music, and connect the red/white (audio L/R) phono cables to your TV's corresponding red & white Audio inputs. Now cycle through the TVs inputs until you hear the sound - then you'll be certain that's the one you should see a picture on when you connect the video (yellow) phono, or the S-Video. Check your TV-out settings from the Pandora's menu, to see which (composite or S-Video) is enabled. Try both S-Video and composite video cables in turn (not together).

If you've been having no luck on multiple sets having tried the above, it could be the cable you're using between the Pandora AV cable and the TV is the problem. You can easily test a composite phono lead by using it on one of the audio channels instead. S-Video cable you'd need to test with some other equipment - got anything else with S-Video output that you could try?