TV Out Cable: Time to Mass produce! (2013-06-22)

[levi]

The cable just comes in a platic bag - no quick start guide. It's pretty easy to get going though - you can get a picture just using the options in the quick settings icon (next to network) - under the TV out option you can enable s-video output for either PAL or NTSC, for either the main layer or the HW Scaler layer. Which layer you need to enable depends on what you're doing - main layer shows you the desktop and quite a lot of emulators, HW scaler shows the rest. It's just trial and error to work out what you need.


For more options, like composite out, or scaling the image, you'll need to go to the TV-out-settings either under Menu->Settings or I think under the quick options->TV out->Configure TV out (though the latter does nothing for me in SZ1.52).

 

[slaeshjag]

Should work in later firmware releases. I'm pretty sure I fixed that. Can't test though, been without a pandora for a a few months to half a year (can't even remember when it broke enough that I stopped using it.)

 

[Neelix]

*nods* There are no problems with access to the tv-out configuration panel via the configbutton under SZ1.55.

Also if you upgrade to the latest dev version of SZ via the Upgrade Pandora OS tool,  the TV Out script will honour the last profile you selected via the panel,  So once you select either composite or s-video via the panel that setting will be honoured when you switch modes via the configbutton.

- Neelix

 

[lingenfr]

Got mine today. Looking forward to trying it out.

 

[God Ginrai]

Not sent it yet - as I was totally busy with catching up with orders.

Tomorrow is planned eMail day for me.

Can you post back in this topic when you have sent the email? That way, we have a definitive date to measure our waiting time against.

-God Ginrai

 

[SoulFire9001]

Got home today from Michigan and happy to see I received the package sometime before then .

 

[bzar]

Got mine today. Then remembered neither my TV nor my amplifier take S-Video. D'oh! Also threw a couple of "s-video to scart" (which my TV does take) adapters away during move in february. D'oh! Fallback to composite. Fiddle with settings until I've got picture. Picture is way oversaturated and has loads too much contrast. D'oh! Not sure where the fault is at: pandora, upscaling A/V amp, or TV. No time to find that out today. Hopefully I'll get it to playable condition at some point. Given that others haven't complained, I'll assume the problem is in my gear

 

[EvilDragon]

LCD TV? They usually have WAY too much saturation aws default setting.

 

[bzar]

Yes, LCD. I've calibrated it for the HTPC's HDMI signal and at least there the picture's fine. The picture comes to the TV via an upscaling A/V amp so my guess would be either the issue is in that or the TV has different color settings for different modes.

 

[EvilDragon]

Yeah, modern TV actually often have different modes and safe their setting per input

 

[TrashyMG]

The TV out looks great on DLP projectors and CRTs though..

 

[worzyl]

Tried TV Out yesterday as I have a rather large collection of leads and adapters that plugged in nicely.

Booted up Double Dragon on FBA and played it on my old television set of 20 years (or so) using the S-Video signal. It works very well, but wondering if the results would be better

connecting the S-Video lead to scart?

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

I don't know how that would make it better.  The Pandora, I believe, can't output RGB so it's still just gonna be S-Video quality even if you hook the S-Video of the Pandora to S-Video-to-Scart connector.

 

[levi]

Yeah, unless your TV has some weirdness that means the same signal over one of the SCART ports looks better than it via its s-video and audio ext sockets, I can't see why it would look any better. In general with these things the fewer adaptors and shorter lengths of cable you can use are better (I've no complaint about my 3m s-video cable by the way).

 

[worzyl]

I don't know how that would make it better.  The Pandora, I believe, can't output RGB so it's still just gonna be S-Video quality even if you hook the S-Video of the Pandora to S-Video-to-Scart connector.

Yeah, unless your TV has some weirdness that means the same signal over one of the SCART ports looks better than it via its s-video and audio ext sockets, I can't see why it would look any better. In general with these things the fewer adaptors and shorter lengths of cable you can use are better (I've no complaint about my 3m s-video cable by the way).

Ahh okay.

I may track down a lead that has a gold plated connection as they are supposed  to give the best quality.

 

[EvilDragon]

SVideo has one connector for luminance (Y) and one for all colors ©, whereas composite has colors encoded into the luminance signal. Decoding is NOT lossless. Especially when there are high frequencies in the picture (like multiple lines or checkboard graphics), it will create random colors in that area and it will be less sharp overall.


So yep, SVideo is the better choice if your set supports it.

 

[Linux-SWAT]

I've already said that on the boards, but N64 emu with S-Video is an amazing experience. New Mupen hi-res will probably blow out our eyes.

 

[worzyl]

Looking at these S- Video leads which are kinda pricey:

http://www.simplyelectricals.co.uk/qed-i-qedpsv-1.html

But hey - I'm going to be using this A LOT! So I may as well make the purchase.

 

[TrashyMG]

Looking at these S- Video leads which are kinda pricey:

http://www.simplyelectricals.co.uk/qed-i-qedpsv-1.html

But hey - I'm going to be using this A LOT! So I may as well make the purchase.

Honestly wouldn't pay more than $6.00 US for them.. Gold wired, expensive connectors won't give you any bit more quality.

 

[PokeParadox]

The quality increase from buying gold plated cables is marginal at best and at worst is a placebo effect and at very worst is just expensive with no benefit.

This is truer when the cables are providing a digital signal! (Gold plated OPTICAL cable WTF!?)