MiSTer FPGA Analog Video Guide and Setup Tutorial - VGA, PVM's and Component Video
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มี.ค. 2021
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I asked, you answered...and I try to listen :) Of all the requests for new content on the channel one of the most frequently asked for videos is a series on the Terasic DE-10 Nano MiSTer FPGA hardware...so here it is!
It's an amazing piece of FPGA hardware that is a must own for any retro gaming enthusiast or arcade gaming fan. It runs everything from Neo Geo to Sega Genesis to Super Nintendo to the NES to Gameboy Advance to the original Gameboy to the Capcom CPS hardware to probably your toaster and maybe pacemaker too?
In this video I will go over the Analog Video Output options for MiSTer, including RGB for PVMs, VGA for VGA monitors and Component video. Additionally I will explain the necessary settings changes to achieve each of these video outputs.
Additionally we will talk about different SYNC formats (composite, HV and Green) and what Sync you need to select for each and every analog output!
As good as MiSTer looks in HDMI it looks EVEN BETTER in Analog if done properly!
Here is the cable I used : www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
Questions? Comments? Just leave them below and I will do my best to answer each and every one of them!
/ videogameesoterica
You can follow us at IG : ChicagoGameCollector , or join our Discord Server : / discord
VGE - เกม
You are killing it with the latest content, on great video after another, good job man! and thank you for the content
Glad you enjoy them! Plenty more coming. Like the more in the MiSTer series alone
Great video! No long intro up to the topic at hand, and surprised me with exactly the kind of specific settings adjustment I was hoping for. The scandoubler! VGA is working now all thanks to you.
Happy to help
Excellent video! I don't have ANY of this equipment, but I am very excited to get into MiSTer and analog video/PVM. Your video is very informative and well-produced.
Glad you enjoyed it. You can always get new equipment too. Consider my channel an interactive shopping list lolol
Cool stuff man subscribed I’m waiting for all my parts for MISTER to get started!!
Nice. Good luck with the build!
Big fan of your channel, thorough informative videos like this one are why :) Thanks for making excellent retro gaming content.
Happy to do it! Just glad you enjoy it
Oh wow! This truly is amazing VGE. Great how you have professional public relation skills and interact with the gamers with request and answering the questions as fully as possible. This will be great for Neo-Geo for sure. 8^)
I posted this up on the Neo-Geo thread for you on AtariAge bro. It's on post #26,043 for you to view. Thank you as always bro. Always in the mood to see your content. 8^)
Anthony..
Haha thanks. I’m used to the whole speaking and interacting with people thing
Thanks for the good description of the ini settings. I had the sync slightly wrong and it was driving me crazy. Happy my little $50 pvm is working perfectly now with RGB.
Nice. So glad it helped :)
Got mine up and running on a VGA monitor thanks to this video. Thanks!
Glad it helped :)
Great tutorials as always.
Thanks. It was a fun one to make
smart to make a note of the port stressing from the heavy cable.
I am a filmmaker and cable management / locking ports / not damaging ports from cable runs is very important in the camera department. Ruin a port and ruin your shooting day. So I am def sensitive to warning people about heavy cables breaking ports / cracking solder joints :)
Great introduction! One thing you didn't mention was Direct Video, which is an option to use the MiSTer's HDMI port along with a cheap HDMI->VGA adapter and can give you 15 kHz or 31 kHz video, all without even owning the IO board. I have been using this option since the beginning and love it!
That is true but I will mention that in advanced HDMI settings coming later. I wanted this to be exclusively about the VGA port out options on the analog I/O board :)
What did you use to connect from the HDMI -> VGA adapter to the CRT?
Yes most adapters won’t step VGA down to 15khz off HDMI. You’d need a downscaler in the mix
I got one of those standard VGA cables with the blue connectors and the ferrite cores clamped around the cable at each end. Took one end off as close to blue connector as possible. You keep the ferrite core. Then you basically take the sync, R, G, B, RGB switch, and ground cores and put them into an RGB scart connector. You can find the specific mister FPGA wiring diagram easily online. If it's a good VGA cable the R, G, B and sync wires will each have their own screen for each signal. You take those screens down to ground. I connected it up to a little Toshiba portable CRT and it's one of the cleanest, crispest 240p pictures I've ever seen.
Good to know. Cheaper than VGA to SCART
This is super helpful
Glad to hear!
Awesome video - now I just need to win the PVM lottery & I'm all set
Haha it’s about as easy of a lottery to win as the real one
Very useful thank you!
Happy to do it. MiSTer looks so good in analog
Nicely done. I hardly subscribe anyone, but I gave you that like and sub. I got a new old stock Compaq CRT monitor I'm itching to try out.
Thanks, appreciate it!
Thank you. Would love to see a video on analog audio output!
I’ll add it to the list. Hard to shoot because you can’t “see it” but I’ll think of something
@@VideoGameEsoterica Thank you! maybe just some cables, suggestions on how to implement good audio. Digital, analog, receivers. Anything really. Nobody ever talks about audio. :)
I’ll look into it :)
Just going through INI MiSTER settings will be helpful for Many new owners, nice one! 👏👊
I have an Intermediate Video setting INI your coming soon and in the future I’ll do an advanced INI / settings video for real granular stuff.
I’m sure 90% of the people view the INI as advanced / sketchy to mess with so I wanted to show it’s no different than a menu really
@@VideoGameEsoterica agreed and nice idea. It’s really quite intuitive with read me descriptions.
Yes it’s really not an INI so much as it’s a GUI that lets you tweak some INI settings.
Way easier than notepad and changing entries
@@VideoGameEsoterica how do I use that GUI like you? What do i have to install?
The GUI is in the base installation. It’s under scripts
An excellent video.
Super appreciate it!
That's interesting to see how a PVM's picture lines up with different cores. I have a cheap VGA to Composite converter (meant for PC to TV) and I'll often have to change the size or position between cores. Didn't occur to me that it could happen with a more direct analog output. Of course, a PVM can handle the original resolution and frequency and I have to rely on the forced_scandoubler option so there's still merit in other analog out solutions.
Appreciate the videos! They've been a helpful source to a newcomer to MiSTer!
Yeah even with a PVM how it fits the screen changes between cores. It also changes between original hardware too.
Glad you enjoy the videos! Plenty more coming
It’s much quicker to adjust on the fly with a PC CRT but yeah it’s a pain with a service menu every time on a 15 kHz crt
Always a pain but worth it
That's great bro. it really shows in your works for sure. 8^)
Anthony..
Plus it’s fun responding to the comments and chatting with people. I do my best to answer each and every one of them
i like that you apologized for laying the tv down lol
lol it was a terrible angle. I’m a filmmaker so that stuff drives me nuts
Thank you for the video exactly the explanation I was wanting.
Has the prices of the components for the mister components increased?
The DE-10 has gone up a few dollars yes. Nothing drastic
I love my MiSTer so much I can't stand it. The absolute GODS and GODDESSES among men who work to make this miracle box the most compact entertainment center one could hope for
I can’t tell if you like it or not? Haha
@@VideoGameEsoterica Hey, why is the analog audio out of the analog I/O board so awful?
I dunno? Mine isn’t? What hardware are you putting the audio into?
Hey great videos, I just saved all your MiSTer vids for future reference. So do you basically adjust the horizontal and vertical position and size etc via the dials/service menu each time you play any game? Because if I make the image look good with one game, it seems to change from game to game and core to core, even when using the 240p test suite. That, combined with messing with the crop offset. Do you do that for each game? Or is there a way to show the full game image with analog out instead of being cropped ie crop offset? I'm on a consumer crt, no pvm yet. Thank you!
Usually I adjust per core but yes with old systems and analog It’s always needing some adjusting
I love your videos! I followed the tutorial and every core that outputs horizontal mode works well on my consumer CRT using vga to component cables. However if I try to the vertical or rotate mode the image doesn’t rotate, or on the Cave games like Dodonpachi it gets all garbled. Is there a way to get the vertical option working on a CRT? When I use HDMI every core rotates to vertical mode without issue. Thanks again for all your awesome content! Loving the Mister :)
To my knowledge no...scaler isn’t involved so you need to literally turn the tv on its side. Like standard TATE
ALWAYS opt for composite sync when going into a PVM/BVM for true RGB. I had ypbpr (component) set accidentally for a number of hours on first setup, the video out is so good on this thing that I almost didn't notice.
Yes you can accidentally end up on Component with the PVM but on these models it’s hard
Have you used crtswitchres on a powerful pc? Would be interested in hearing how this compares. Eventually if I get a mister I may make one myself. :)
I haven’t tried it yet but I’ll check it out :)
Hello, I have a MiSTer assembly from RetroCastle, a version with an analog Saturn video connector, I connected Loewe Xelos A20 to my LCD TV, Scart / RGB connector, resolution. 640:480. in the mister ini.settings settings I set the videoMode to 640:480, how does the picture show with flickers and there is no sound at all, or does Scart not support sound? and should I use the 3.5 section, or are there any settings, or on the De10-Nano board, you need to switch the slider.
I haven’t the faintest clue on that one as I’ve never used that board
I have a tv philips with component and when I tried to connect the cable vga-> component on it, I had to change ypbpr to 1 and vga scale to 1 as well, if I set vga scaler to 0 as shown in the video I dont get any signal. And also sog switch set to on.
Good to know. Every tv is slightly different for sure
Lots of good information.One thing, maybe slow down a little bit when talking. Thank you
You can slow me down in settings lol...that is me talking slowly
Thanks for the video. I noticed on my PVM the colors look a bit washed out, and the brightness is little low too. I read on the mister fpga forum that "gamma settings" can help with this but not sure where those are / how to change. Any idea?
Google “mister gamma settings” and use the first link. I’d link it here but YT deletes comments with links sometimes
@@VideoGameEsoterica Thank you. I found it in the menus ("Gamma correction - On/Off") and was able to get a better looking image using the settings in Contrast_Boost/Contrast_Boost_1 file.
Glad it helped!
on a small crt sony blacktrinitron tv, i had toi change ypbpr to 0 in order to get rid of the green colour. also on my tv image is a little to the left side.
That’s the tricky thing with CRT. Always needs some adjusting to get things centered.
I am using Antonio’s s-video adaptor to hook my MiSTer up to a consumer CRT. Many arcade cores look great but many have a slightly wavy image. Some are more wavy than others. I assume this is a refresh rate? All the CPSII games have this issue as well as Neo Geo. Is there an ini setting I can use to get rid of that waviness and get a solid image across all games?
It’s def refresh. I don’t use S video so I don’t have the answer but I’d try the mister FPGA forums. Just Google it (id leave a link but they always get deleted)
@@VideoGameEsoterica thanks! Yeah I did just that and it seems to be an issue with cores that run less than 60hz. Neo Geo and CPSII both run at 59.something. I read something about a 60hz version of the Neo geo or perhaps a way to force 60 with some cores. Will investigate further but at least I now know the issue. Thanks again!
Good luck getting it fixed :)
I have my MiSTer hooked up to my new (to me lol) Sony Trinitron CRT via component from the VGA port and have been very happy with it (except the geometry is pretty bad but I can ignore it in most games), and have been kind of interested in at least seeing how some things look in composite cause it's my understanding that a lot of games were made with composite video in mind. Do I need a special adapter for this?
You need an adapter yes. Just go HDMI down to composite. You are correct, pretty much every game of that era was designed with composite in mind
@@VideoGameEsoterica Ah so you'd suggest going through the hdmi port and not the VGA? Why is that?
VGA is fine. Both will work, I just know the VGA to composite adapters can be a bit of a wait to ship
Is there something like crt switchres for the doublestrike effect on vga crt monitors?
You can line double for VGA yes. I showed it in my analog video guide. Check the playlist :)
Does the stretching the image thing work with the arcade cores like Mrs. Pac-Man?
Some. Not all. Case by case basis
❤️
:)
What should I set the resolution in the ini file when using a PVM/240p/480i? Can I just leave it at 1080p? That’s what I’m using now and it looks fine.
You are using the analog I/O? Just connect the cables and make sure you are using 15khz mode. Should be fine from there
I have crt monitor connected with vga cable. My prob most games not full screen is there a setting. And in ini file what the best settings. Tks
Sorry I’m not 100% sure what you are asking? Can you clarify
Only ever use my mister on my CRT, almost always since I have to connect it to hdmi to run the update all script.. wish they would find a way to run it while connected to analog sources
That would be a nice touch
I've seen it recommended to use a VGA-BNC cable with vga pin 13 attenuated with a 470 ohm resistor. My PVM's external sync says it can handle up to 4v, so it should be fine just to use any standard cable? Don't wanna fry my pvm, lol.
You’ll be fine with your PVM. That’s more for “consumer” monitors. Diff between TTL voltages and the like
@@VideoGameEsoterica Great, thanks for the reply!
No worries. It’s a semi common question actually. I throw arcade voltages into my PVM all day with zero issues. They can accommodate it. So while that recommendation isn’t wrong, it’s more for consumer sets / hardware not intended for those signals.
Like I use that resistor on the line when I use my Framemeister to upscale arcade boards / other hardware using a TTL signal. Just not on my PVMs
Thanks for a great video! One question though... I'm using a consumer RGB CRT TV (VGA-SCART cable) and when I go into the INI settings there's so much overscan that I can't see the 4-5 first characters on the left. I haven't found a fix for this, maybe you have a trick? I tried changing the video_mode to different resolutions that didn't make any difference...
So the overscan is just when you try to change INI settings? Like main MiSTer ones? Yeah I’d just alter the settings via notepad on the SD card via a PC. Quick and dirty solution but effective
Should have elaborated : open the INI file on your pc with notepad and change settings and save
@@VideoGameEsoterica yeah that's what ended up doing, just thought there might be a fix to make it more visible on the tv as well :)
Honestly there may be but I am always “do it the easy way” and this instance it’s notepad lol
@@VideoGameEsoterica Just to add some more info ...the overscan issue also cuts off notifications like controller bindings and resolution info. But most games doesn't have anything important being cut off.
Great video, i have a Sony Pvm 1442Q ...tried to plug my snes mini over with a chinese mini hdmi adaptor to the Video In but i got black and white colors...what can i do?
Oh I have no idea on that one. I’ve never tested
@@VideoGameEsoterica Thanks anyway, keep the good work! :)
On a CRT tv why does it get blurry before the game boots up and the only way I can fix it , is by having another monitor connected(HDMI) and changing the region back and forth. then it will adjust it self to starting displaying normally,
I have zero idea on that one. First time I’ve heard of that. I’d try the discord channel
I just ordered a MiSTer, planning on using it as the guts for a home built arcade cab. Now I'm worried that every single arcade core will have me re-sizing my tv image.
I do plan on trying to find just a nice VGA monitor to put in there. Not many PVMs around me to be had.
You may need to adjust but you get used to it
Also nice username lol. My corgi is lying on the floor next to me
@@VideoGameEsoterica Thanks! I have two corgi boys myself. They're passed out on the couch as I'm work from home. :)
Haha same. Ours is 13 and she loves sleeping
Does this work with the sony pvm 14n5u? It doesn't seem to have a spot for the sync
No. That model does not have RGB
Any ideas why my wallpapers won’t display color through my crt? Games look great but no color on menu screen.
Hmm odd. I’d have to ask around. I don’t use wallpapers
Whats with all the private videos in this playlist? Do you have more tutorials?
Yes. I upload them in batches and schedule them. Private just means “not out yet”
@@VideoGameEsoterica I'll be looking forward to that. Thanks
👍
Any chance of a component video out set up? Are there any changes to the IO board that need to be done like the jumpers? I still can’t a signal to my kv 32fs100.
I may do a component video soon
Did you try SOG / sync on green
@@VideoGameEsoterica yes sir, that was the first thing I did and nothing. I've heard ppl change their output resolution, but I don't want to mess with that setting. If you can it would be awesome but I understand if your busy with other stuff thank you for understanding.
I’ll look into it. I just need a diff cable
@@VideoGameEsoterica if you need one I’ll send you a vga to component.
How do you get into the ini settings onboard?
Home button on main MiSTer menu, then go to scripts. INI will be nested in there
Hey awbacon the forums still down for you? I thought they were coming back soon lol
NG? Yeah so far not back. No clue what’s happening
Is there a better source for one of those PVM CRTs than ebay?
Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, etc etc.
Def DONT pay eBay prices. They are dumb high
I followed all the component steps & tips to a tee and have been trying for the last 3 hours and I get a clean image on my CRT BUT … it’s completely green ☹️ edited my ini a million times, messed with my crt adjustment settings… not sure what to do now. Just ordered the cable you linked in the description and should arrive tomorrow, hopefully that works instead of the misteraddons cable I got
Green huh? And the crt was fine before hand? That sounds like a gun issue but obviously that’s a guess. Lmk if the new cable exhibits the same issue. It should just “work” so long as you have RGBS on be RGBHV
@@VideoGameEsoterica yeah totally neon green overlay LOL. and will do, will check back in tomorrow with the news lol
Yeah lmk. My guess is a bad cable or a bad color gun
@@VideoGameEsoterica well, had a brain fart yesterday when I ordered those cables you linked.. arrived today and realized they were RGB BNC cables and I don’t own any RGB CRTs LOL.. 🤦🏽♂️ good news is the image cleared up today? Seems to be working perfectly now, no more green? Don’t know how I fixed it but it’s working ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ thanks for your videos & help again dude
Haha well in the end I’m glad it’s working!
@Video Game Esoterica If I usually use the HDMI output, can I do the "composite_sync = ON" thing in the MiSTer.ini, and have it still work on my 1080p display?
Or would it somehow cause problems with the HDMI output, meaning I need to create a MiSTer_alt_1.ini file just for that one setting adjustment?
Should be fine. Composite sync is for analog signals. HDMI works independently. So you can change whatever sync settings you want for analog output as they aren’t tied to digital out
@@VideoGameEsoterica Awesome, thanks!
No problem :)
Got the same cable... my SYNC was the BLACK cable.
Yeah sometimes either a) it’s reversed or b) certain inputs need the OTHER sync. Always confusing lol
Awesome tutorial. I wasn't getting any signal at all before... Now at least I'm consistently.getting one. My issue now is that I have a green tint to everything... Everything's green. Any ideas on what could be causing this?
Sounds like you have the cables crossed up? Not 100% sure but it sounds like the signals are incorrect
RGB or component or VGA?
RGB! Rechecked the connections. Totally fine, using a rgb ready console to the PVM also works fine. When using the mister everything has a green hue.
Yeah that makes no sense lol. That shouldn’t happen. Sorry I don’t have more info but if R G and B are on the correct lines it should be fine?
@@VideoGameEsoterica figured out the issue! Ybpbr was turned on in the ini. It works now!!
Hmmm only supports 15k and has to upscale… dang that sucks I wanted raw native res per system like 256x224 without any scaling… I’m lucky with fw900 let’s me run most low res on displays scaler. Butttt it’s 30k horizontal limit would mean 480p if I used the mister right?
Yeah that monitor is just special. Most everything else wont do it
@@VideoGameEsoterica ok cool beans… I was getting so excited for the mister ;( guess I’ll have to run bnc to scart and mod some og consoles.
If ur bored I have a bunch of shorts on my channel showing exact res for the games…. Mainly for testing purposes lol
I’ll take a peek
@@VideoGameEsoterica ;) keep you n mind I just found the 240p tool so some aren’t perfect 4:3
👍
When using the SNES core, is it possible to adjust the aspect ratio even when using the analog output on a CRT? I prefer to use the 8:7 aspect ratio (even on a CRT), with small black bars on each side of the screen.
I haven’t tried that specifically but yes you an adjust the image aspect just like you can via hdmi. I assume the narrower option in the core would give you what you are looking for
share the mister.ini or past contend file used
I’ll try to in the future
Just setting those settings didnt work for me - cant seem to get my mister to display on a known working PVM ..bummer
Sure you used the right sync cable?
@@VideoGameEsoterica I got a VGA -> BNC5 cable ( tried both black and grey as you said), oi board on SOG, de10nano SW3 toggled away from ram, updated the mister.ini as you said. Nothing!
Odd. That should work. I wonder if there is an issue with the IO board itself
Ill keep trying.. im sure its something simple im missing. I appreciate your reply and your video - cheers!
Yeah lmk how it goes when you figure it out!
ur pvm supports component
Yes it does. Pretty much all PVMs that have RGB support component too
Does that mean CRT VGA monitors aren't that good for MiSTer?
No they work nicely. Ones that work with 15kHz are rare but with the line doubling to 31kHz it’s a very nice option.
I prefer a PVM but that’s for form factor + I need RGB BNC + SYNC in for arcade light gun games I collect.
@@VideoGameEsoterica That's the thing, it's difficult to find a good 15kHz monitor nowadays and it is getting pricy. Thank you for your answer :)
Yes 15kHz stuff has gone way up in price for CRT monitors
@@VideoGameEsoterica do you recommend the model that you have in this video? or are there comparable models/examples as well?
Bummer! My VGA cable doesn’t have a sync cable 🤦♂️
You need VGA to BNC
@@VideoGameEsoterica I think I’m gonna order the one you have linked in the description this week. Thanks!
Happy to do it!
@@VideoGameEsoterica quick question: so when I plugged my MiSTer FPGA back into my 4K TV with the HDMI cables it has a bunch of tearing now? Before I went down a Reddit rabbit hole, I thought this was something you might know off hand. Thanks.
Yeah that one I have no clue on. Never seen that happen. We’re you in the INI changing anything?
nice tutorials, i've gone a mile with these while setting up my MiSTer
Oh so bring 31kHz down to 15? retrotink will downscale. But nothing in MiSTer to my knowledge will downscale internally
@@VideoGameEsoterica Cheers for the speedy reply mate. Yes, i'm reaching for 15kHz. Seems I will need a vga monitor or stick with hdmi on AO486.
Yes that would be my recommendation