( click here for a standalone version of the XRGB-Mini Framemeister review ) (and here for a Spanish translation of the Framemeister review) Noteworthy News: - February 14th, 2016: my review for Markus Hiienkari's OSSC is online . - November 5th, 2015: the extremely promising line doubler announced earlier this year can now be preordered (hint: do it!). See here! - April 20th, 2015: new FRAMEMEISTER firmware (v.2.0) with lots of improvements. Download here! - April 20th, 2015: promising new line doubler project in the works for late 2015. Infos here! The Sales Bin (updated March 14th 2016) : - Nothing for sale right now.... Email me with any question or inquiries! Coming in 2016: - planned for sometime in 2016: video demos (1080p60) of all popular upscalers. - review of an Extron DVS 304 video processor (hint: good for 24khz upscaling) - a tale of converters and transcoders. The ultimate how to connect everything to anything guide - finally a redesign splitting up the giant 900 kbyte index page Update Log: - February 14th, 2016: added a review for the OSSC - July 22nd, 2014: added a review for the DVDO iScan Mini video processor - July 22nd, 2014: added a review for the HDV-8S Scart RGB to HDMI upscaler - November 26th, 2013: added a review for the Datapath x4 video wall and geometry processor - September 13th, 2013: added a review for the ulta-rare Micomsoft XC15 DISPL upscaler unit - September 13th, 2013: added a review for the Faroudja Picture Plus DVP-3000 upscaler - September 6th, 2013: updated the review for the Pioneer PDA-V100HD - September 3rd, 2013: added a review for the Waka Playstation Up Scan Converter - August 25th, 2013: added a rather extensive Micomsoft Special - August 18th, 2013: added a review for the Micomsoft XPC-4 Scan Converter Unit - August 16th, 2013: added a Spanish version of the review for the XRGB-Mini aka Framemeister - May 2nd, 2013: added a review for the Lenkeng LKV362A RGB Scart to HDMI converter - April 23rd, 2013: added a review for the Auvisio 9-in-1 HD upscaler - April 11th, 2013: added a review for the Lumagen VisionPro HDP - April 7th, 2013: added a review for the Cinemateq Picture Optimizer Plus HD - March 2nd, 2013: added reviews for the Mimo Genius and Genius II (combined up-/downscalers) - February 6th, 2013: added reviews for the PMS Crystalio II (models 3100 and 3800) - Feburary 6th, 2013: added reviews for the Vigatec Dune and Dune-F - February 6th, 2013: revamped several older reviews (iScan Pro, VP30, VP50 etc) - for the remaining uddate history since 2008 click here )



If you want to do some easy testing on your own and don't want to fiddle with a massive stack of games for all different kinds of test situations, just download Artemio's 240p test suite. It's available as a Mega Drive / Genesis ROM, a Mega CD Image and as a Dreamcast CD Image. The MD Rom runs on flash carts from Tototek or Krikkzz's Everdrive cart.



The test suite offers everything you need to test your TV's integrated processor, from 30Hz drop shadows to checkerboard patterns to check for irregularities with the TV's scaling engine. The Mega Drive versions runs in raw 240p, while the Dreamcast versions offers 240p, 480i and 480p for VGA-equipped DC systems.



The Rom(s) and Disc images can be downloaded here from Artemio's website . Update, Sep. 2009: a general note on future updates. The CYP Instant HQV review marks the very first review without any use of a digicam. All future screenshots will be taken digitally using a HD capture device. This eliminates any artefacts (moire) and gives a 100% pure impression of what the processors' outputs look like without the additional processing by my own television. There'll also be video captures of the upcoming processors. The first videogame upscaling video can be found down under the Instant HQV review. Check it out!! The device used for all new screenshots and video captures is a BlackMagicDesign Multibridge Pro2. Besides capturing it can be used to do scanline overlays for HD sources (without any additional lag!). The screenshot below shows Death Smiles on the 360 "scanlined" (little more info here .). I might do an article about it some time in the future. If you're interested in details right away, feel free to email me. (as of February 2016) Oh, how I hate these Top Ten or Top Five lists. That's probably one of the reasons why I have more processors than actual sources in my own setup. It's impossible to give *the* 100% recommendation when it comes to buying a deinterlacer for your vintage videogames systems. Still I get so many emails asking the same question over and overa gain, that's I'll try and give my personal top list of recommended which video processors to buy. This is the right list, if your main concern is the processing of classic 240p signals. 1st Place: The XRGB-Mini aka Framemeister from Micomsoft. For quite a few years now the king of 240p processing! I decided to place the Mini before the OSSC, because it's better suited for casual gamers than the OSSC. At approx 330 Euro (US$370) one of the best processors for 240p you can buy, especially if you have a large high-end Plasma or LED/LCD set. Integrated scanline support, high compatibility and very good picture quality for all 240p sources. Requires a certain knowledge of video processing and the willingness to spend time learning about video signals. 2nd Place: The OSSC by Markus Hiienkari. Considerably less expensive than the Framemeister. Zero input lag, fantastic 240p line doubling to 480p (or 720p if you got a compatible display) and integrated scanline support. A bit harder to handle than the Framemeister due it's missing audio support. Consider this one instead of the FM if you want lagfree processing! The OSSC makes the XRGB-3 obsolete. 3rd Place: The XPC-4 from Micomsoft. The XPC-4 is is little more expensive than the Framemeister and it's not really aimed to console uers. It doesn't have internal scanline support, but it does a very nice job at upscaling RGB signals of all kinds to fullscreen 1080p. If you don't like the idea of scanlines and you don't like fiddling through settings after settings, the XPC-4 is worth your consideration. To accept RGB Scart signals you need a Sync Strike device. 4th Place: The Videon Omega One and Vigatec FX2 units are fantastic (vintage) line doublers. The units are identical with the Videon having two component inputs, while the Vigatec has one RGB and one component input. They have analogue 480p/576p output only (through component and VGA). You can add a SLG3000 for scanlines. Both units also have great comb filters, so if you plan on using a composite video source (NES or Turbo Grafx without RGB mod), they're your number one choices. Prices range from 100 to 150 Euro right now. A scaler with the same processor is the Silicon Optix Image Anyplace , but it's hard to find and does not have RGB inputs, but then again it does image rotation! Honorable mentions: The processors above are the best of the best. That doesn't mean that other processors do a worse job. All the classic XRGB models up to the XRGB-3 do a fine job. The iScan VP20 and VP30 by DVDO are nice processors that have proper 240p recognition when used with the ABT102 upgrade card. (as of February 2016) And here's a revised list, if perfect 480i processing is more important for you. For example if you want to play many PS2 RPGs or GameCube games without 480p support. 1st Place: The XRGB-Mini aka Framemeister from Micomsoft. The Mini produces amazing detail out of 480i sources. Static images easily reach the quality of real progressive sources. With a flexible scaling engine, the Mini is even able to handle difficult 480i content, like those classic compilations running 240p games at 480i (Capcom Classics, Taito Memories). 2nd Place: The OSSC by Markus Hiienkari. Just like the older XRGB units the OSSC uses single field processing to line double 480i images to 480p. This allows the OSSC to process interlaced signals without adding any lag. On the other hand the resulting picture will have less details and a slight flicker compared to "real" 480i deinterlacing. This is what you want if you like to play 480i action titles without any lag. Also the best way to play all those tragically converted classic compilations! 3rd Place: The iScan VP30 with ABT102 upgrade card, VP50Pro or DVDO Edge from DVDO/ABT. DVDOs video deinterlacing with the ABT102 card is fantastic and the detail level is outstanding. You will get similar results with the iScan VP50, Edge, Duo and VP50Pro. Downside to these is that their 240p is not up to the dedicated video game processors. 4th Place: The Optoma HD3000 and the PMS Crystalio II . Both processors use the Gennum VXP chip for deinterlacing. The Gennum has retains an amazing detail level with 480i content, but has a slightly blockier scaling compared to the DVDO processors. On the other hand they don't add ringing like the DVDOs do. The Crystalio II is sharper than than the HD3000 overall the better designed machine. The HD3000 is basically a white horse design based on Gennum's evaluation board. The HD3000 exhibits slights problems with some PS2 revisions. (as of February 2016) And here's a special list, if you want to get better results from your 480p sources. 480p sources include PS2, DC, GameCube and XBox1. 1st Place: The PMS Crystalio II offers the BEST upscaling of progressive sources of all processors I've have ever tried. The detail level is amazing an the lack of ringing simply gorgeous. The CII is hard to find though and at about $800 not exactly cheap. 2nd Place: The Lumagen Vision HDQ is a beast when it comes to 480p processing. The only processor available with four fully processed RGBHV inputs. A great scaling engine, completely free of ringing. Other (cheaper) Lumagen processors should offer the same level of processing, just not as many inputs. 3rd Place: The Optoma Themescene HD3000 is a close third. Compared to most other video processors (e.g. the DVDO Edge) the upscaling is super clean and completely free of ringing or distracting halos. The Lumagen gets 2nd place because it's the better hardware design and the more solid machine. Also the HD3000 can't correctly interpretate 720x480 on the VGA inputs. 4th Place: The XPC-4 by Micomsoft does a beautiful job upscaling 480p sources - at least for RGB sources. On paper it does also process component signals, but from my experience it causes bad chroma shift with YUV signals. You can use a transcoder to connect component sources though and they'll look excellent as well. The Gefen VGA to DVI Scaler Plus performs on a similar level with the same problem with component sources. 5th Place: Try transcoding instead! Many modern TVs actually have really scaling engines, especially Sony's Bravia W series. The best transcoder for all purposes is actually Markus Hiienkari's OSSC . It offers transcoding for Component and VGA sources while adding integrated scanline support on top. With a good display you'll be surprised how good 480p can actually look by just taking the A/D conversion off your display's hands. Analogue transcoders are getting harder and harder to find these days. My reference machine for VGA to component transocing is the Kramer FC-14 . You can email me whenever you like by clicking here: email me! Definitions: old videogame = anything 8-bit (Famicom, PC Engine), 16-bit (SNES, Mega Drive), 32-bit (PSOne, Saturn) up to the PS2 or GameCube.

flatpanel TV = anything LCD or Plasma with a resolution higher than 480 lines - no matter if 32" WXGA or 65" Full HD. Basic Proposition: If you like to play classic videogame systems from time to time and have switched to a Flat Panel TV lately you will have noticed that most games look plain ugly. You might be happy with the picture in case you've only used inferior connections before (FBAS, that's the single yellow video line with the RCA (Cinch) connector at the end. And before I forget it: plugging such a cable into a Scart adapter doesn't make the picture any better, the signal's still the same). Most people I've talked to assumed that the shitty quality is introduced by the scaling neccessary (bringing the videogame's resolution to the TV's resolution), but that's actually only rarely the case.



Of course there are TV sets out there with bad scalers (for example the R7 and R8 series of Samsung TVs do an incredibly bad job in scaling 720p to the panel's resolution), but most of the time it's the horrible deinterlacing combined with the TVs video electronic which is optimized for video material (movies, TV shows, but not graphics). Deinterlacing is neccessary because your old videogames have a 15kHz video output (that's classic NTSC or PAL). Since LCD and Plasma displays are progressive by nature, the incoming signal has to be deinterlaced (linedoubled) to 31kHz before it can be displayed. The TV can take over this job, but it won't look nice.



To get the best picture out of your old systems you can buy an external deinterlacing device which takes the system's videosignal, performs some kind of linedoubling and outputs a 31kHz signal, so the TV has just to do a little scaling before it can show the actual picture. That's actually what this whole site is about - guiding you in finding a proper device for this important job.



And what about your newer systems ? XBox360 and PS3 can be connected via HDMI or component (YUV) to your TV directly. They'll output progressive 720p or 1080p signals. The old XBox has 480p via component for nearly all the games, same goes for the GameCube or Wii. At the bottom I'll have a quick look at a transcoder unit which can be used to "transcode" 480p YUV into VGA. 240p vs 480i: non-interlaced vs. interlaced 15kHz video: Most of the classic systems use a non-interlaced 15kHz output which is compatible to the classic TVs we all had at home in the 80s and 90s. That's usually between 220 and 240 lines of visible video, along with 280 to 330 pixels of horizontal resolution. In the 90s 480i output became popular. It provides 480 lines of resolution (but only 240 lines per field = at a time) at 640 to 720 pixels of horizontal resolution. A handful of SNES games used this mode (Ranma 1/2), some Saturn games (Columns 97), quite some PSOne games (Tobal 2) and actually most of the PS2 games out there. While in theory 240p games don't have to be deinterlaced, 480i can be converted to 480p in a lot of different ways, providing different qualities in the result. 240p games run at 15khz as well and have still to be "upconverted" to 480p (31khz). Many newer TVs won't accept 240p on their component inputs. That's why it's often not an alternative to use a RGB Scart to Component (available for $50 to $100, e.g. from CYP) on those new TV sets. The Purpose of the page: It's been 12 years now since I switched from my classic Sony CRT television (with Scart RGB input) to a progressive CRT display. I've started using linedoublers back then to enjoy the more vibrant picture a progressive tube can provide. About 8 years ago I've switched to a LCD television and have upgraded quite some times since back then to better models (from a Samsung 32" to a LG 32" to a Sony 52" XBR5 and currently ending up with a 52" Sony HX905). Videoprocessors (enhanced linedoubling devices) has been a central part of my setup since back then.



While I own a XBox 360 and a PS3 I still like to play classic videogames. I like my PC Engine, I love my Saturn and the PSOne's got a nice collection of classic videogames as well. In addition I've got a PS2 which provides a nice lineup of titles for everyday's use. For years I've strived to gain the perfect picture on my LCD display. I've test lots of different video devices and by setting up this little page, I want to provide an overview on what's available on the market today. The benchmark: There are thousands of possible software titles which can be used to benchmark the devices in question, I usually use these: - Metal Slug X (PSOne): a classic 240p title, I use a PStwo via Component or RGBS video to display it. - Winds of Thunder (PCE): a classic 240p title. Used on a PC Engine it provides pure 240p RGBs video. - Dragon Blaze (PS2): a 240p title running falsely in 480i mode. - ESPGaluda (PS2): a game which can be switched from 480i to 240p and vice versa while running. - Sega Ages: Fantasy Zone II DX (PS2): this one can internally be switched between 240p, 480i and 480p - very convenient. - Outrun2SP (PS2): my reference 480p title on the Playstation 2. Here are two screenshots how 240p signals are processed on a good, modern LCD without any additional, external processor -

take it as a benchmark for the tests below. Game specific things to look out for: - Metal Slug X (PSOne): a good deinterlacer should not try to deinterlace the game. If this happens you'll notice a different apperance of the picture while the game is in motion (compared to non-scrolling portions of the game). Usually the pixels become blurred when the background starts scrolling in case deinterlacing is applied. - Winds of Thunder (PCE): many current devices have a problem to accept 240p signals at all. Quite a few Samsung LCD TVs come to mind. I connect my PCE in addition to the PStwo just to check if the device is able to handle 240p video from vintage signals without loosing sync. - ESPGaluda (PS2): 30Hz drop shadows (the shadows on the ground below the flying battle ships are flickering with 30Hz to create a kind of transparency effect) are the hardcore test for every linedoubling device. "Good" devices try to deinterlace those flickering shadows and therefore create terrible artefacts by deinterlacing the shadows with the ground. The game uses these drop shadows in 240p mode as well as in 480i mode. Deinterlacing them correctly in 240p is crucial for vintage systems, while deinterlacing them correctly in 480i mode is important for many newer games (Beat'em ups like Capcom Fighting Jam). - Dragon Blaze (PS2): it's just used for crosschecking the ability to deinterlace 480i signals. It's an interesting title since the actual graphics are 240p which are just mapped onto the 480i output of the PS2. General things to look out for: - Inputs: nowadays component video is a must and RGBs is actually nice to have. If you want to play vintage games on their real hardware (e.g. NES or PC Engine) and want the best quality, you'll want to get a RGB output modification for your system). Video and S-Video are pretty standard and the hardest of hardcore gamers will want a RF input to connect their pre-vintage systems (Pong?). - Outputs: VGA is the standard for 31kHz video signals. The downside is that many displays won't accept linedoubled PAL (576p@50Hz) on their VGA input (important for european gamers only). The more sophisticated processors have progressive component video output as well. Nicer are DVI or HDMI outputs. The signals are digital and HDMI is capable of handling 576p without any problem. One way to get a linedoubled PAL signal running on your TV using a device which has only VGA output is to buy a VGA to HDMI converter. Those thingies are pretty common, are about $50 on ebay from HK and work quite well. If you want reference quality, check the Gefen units on this page. - Processing delay: Current "gamer LCD monitors" have an input delay caused by the overdrive of about 2 frames (30ms), older LCDs have a more blurry picture, but no input lag (2011 update: it's actually getting better again, check the recommended displays section at the bottom for some monitors with 1 frame or less of delay). LCD and Plasma TVs have a common delay caused by the deinterlacing, scaling and processing of the input signal of about 30-50ms. Some TVs come up with 100ms delay (Samsung A6 series with 100/120Hz), some TVs have a gaming mode which reduces the lag to 10-20ms. If your deinterlacing device adds a delay of it's own now (e.g. 50ms) to an already slow LCD television, things get pretty unplayable. You won't be able to hit your arrows in Dance Dance Revolution, you won't be able to perform your combo moves in Street Fighter and you won't be able to dodge bullets anymore in DoDonPachi. As a player you'll be able to adapt to a certain delay, but you should nevertheless try to keep the delay as low as possible. - Interframe Creation: is a new tech introduced on 120/240+ Hz displays to render new frames between the original ones. While this can be very nice to have to watch movies (especially Sony's motionflow tech) and while it might be intriguing to use it on video games, it's usually the No.1 killer in terms of added delay. Interframe creation simply takes time. The fastest (and not very good) methods take two additional frames of processing, while Sony and Samsung sets usually end up in the 70ms+ range with this feature enabled. - HD Box Pro (around $50 new) - Arcadeforce SLG-in-a-Box (around EUR 170 new) - Lenkeng family of videogame processors (around $50-60 per device, new) - Lenkeng LKV362A RGB Scart to HDMI converter (around $60 new) *added 2013* - Ligawo RGB to HDMI converter (around $70 new) - Auvisio 9-in-1 HD Upscaler (around 90 EUR new) *added 2013* - HDV-S8 Generic RGB Scart to HDMI Upscaler (around 50 EUR new) *added 2014* - Extron Andora Linedoubler (around $100 used) - Videon Omega One (around $130 used) - Vigatec FX2 (around $150 used) - Vigatec VC1280 (around $180 used) - Vigatec Dune (around $180 used) and Vigatec Dune-F (around $300 used) *added 2013* - Zinwell Brite View Video Scaler (around $100 used) - ML20 3Dplus Linedoubler (around EUR 90 new) - Silicon Optix Image Anyplace (around $350 used) - Datapath x4 video wall processor (around $1,350 new) *added 2013* - Cinemateq Picture Optimizer Plus II (around $200 used) - Cinemateq Picture Optimizer Plus HD (around $270 used) *added 2013* - MIMO Genius and Genius II (combined up-/downscalers) (250 EUR new) *added 2013* - Waka Playstation Up Scan Converter (100 EUR used) *added 2013* - Markus Hiienkari's OSSC (about 100-120 EUR as a DIY-kit, 180-200 EUR assembled) *added 2016* - Micomsoft DISPL-TV ($150 used) - Micomsoft XRGB2 ($200 used), XRGB2+ ($250 used), XRGB3 ($300 used) - Micomsoft XRGB-Mini Framemeister ($450 new) *Number One for 240p and 480i* - Micomsoft XPC-4 Scan Converter Unit (300 EUR new) *added 2013* - Micomsoft XC15 DISPL Up Scan Converter Unit (too rare to pinpoint a price) *added 2013* - PixelMagicSystems Crystalio ($400 used) - Faroudja Picture Plus DVP-1000 ($220 used) - Faroudja Picture Plus DVP-3000 ($350 used) *added 2013* - Spatz Barracuda ($1400 new) - Pioneer PDA-V100 HD ($150 used) - iScan Pro (around $90 used) - iScan Ultra (around $120 used) - iScan HD/HD+ (around $170 used) - iScan VP20/VP30 (around $200-350, depends on ABT102 upgrade card) - iScan VP50 (around $400 used), VP50Pro (around $700 used) - DVDO Edge ($799 new, $350 used) - DVDO iScan Mini (EUR/$220 street price new) *added 2014* - Optoma Themescene HD3000 (around $350 used) - PMS Crystalio II (3100, 3300, 3800 models) (around $800-1000 used) *added 2012/13* *Number One for 480p* - CYP Instant HQV (Realta) ($900 new) - Algolith Dragonfly (Silicon Optix Realta) (around $500-750 used) - Lumagen VisionPro HDP ($300 used) *added 2013* - Lumagen Vision HDQ ($500 used) - Lumagen Radiance XD (about $1000 used for a XD unit, $2000 for a XE unit) - Vigatec S1 (high-end $15,000 processor, last seen for $2000 used) - Gefen Home Theater Scaler Plus (around $150 used) - Gefen High-Def Scaler (HD Mate) (around $150 used) - Denon DVP-602CI (around $500 used) - PS3 (for running PS1 and PS2 Games) ($400) - Asus EEE Box (for emulating instead of playing on the actual hardware) ($350) - Extron Super Emotia ($100 used) and Burosch Con-1 ($100 used) for the fun of it (these are not deinterlacers) - Crescendo Systems RTC 2200 transcoder unit ($180 new) - Gefen VGA to DVI Scaler Plus ($120 used) - Micomsoft XSelect-D4 Cross-Transcoder ($180-200 used) - Extron Crosspoint 128 RGBHV Switch ($150-200 used) - SLG3000 scanline generator ($70) Introduced in early 2008, the HDBoxPro is a low-cost 1-chip design from China. It can be ordered from the manufacturer's website directly at the incredible low cost of $50 plus shipping. Click here for the order website . MSX: a loss of clear definition and sharpess can be seen when the screen starts scrolling. Nothing serious though. ESP: with the right setting (video-biased deinterlacing setting) drop shadows in 240p are correctly deinterlaced. DB: deinterlacing errors in the drop shadows in 480i games. The overall picture is to be considered good. It's not as sharp as the XRGB's output when the output is set to 480p, but it can very well stand up to much more expensive processors. One big advantage is that the the box does accept 480p and HD signals as well. So when playing a Wii or PS2 game which supports 480p you don't have to re-do your cabling to gain something out of the better output signal. As further tests have shown the HDBoxPro is lag-free when used with 480p input (as a pure transcoder). Pros: cheap price, component input, 480p compatibility, scaling ability, little delay, remote control, did I mention the price ? Cons: noisy signal, no zoom function, mediocre transcoder function, just a single input, agressive sharpness regulation Since the introduction of the HDBoxPro in early 2008 a few clones using the exact same chip have shown up. Most notably probably the XCM "Megacool" VGA Box. It's slightly more expensive (around EUR 70), but has a sleeker design. There's also the CBS8220 CGA/EGA/YUV to 2VGA converter PCB which is sold as an arcade accessory. It's basically a tweaked HDBoxPro with Dual VGA ouput and RGBs input besides the component input. It's available for $50 on ebay.com (just search for CGA to VGA). (left pic is the XCM box, right is the arcade pcb version). If you're looking for the home versions and are living in the USA, Monoprice is offering a nice clone for under $40 ( click here ). It's basically identically to the HDBoxPro, but is missing a motion sensitivity setting, so 240p is treated as 480i all the time.

Conclusion: terrific performance for the price tag. If you have to stay on a $50 budget, this is your only option anyway. Beware of the additional costs for RGBs to YUV transcoders though which might catapult you into price areas where other devices might be available.

Can easily be paired with a SLG3000 for scanline emulation. Can also be used as a pure transcoder from component to VGA. The SLG-in-a-Box is a new creation by Jochen Zuborg, who brought us the SLG3000. Rather than being a completely new creation, it's a combination of the (in-)famous GBS8220 scaler board, the Sync Strike (a sync stripping device) and the glorious SLG3000. The Sync Strike and SLG portions have been redesigned with new board layouts to accompany the scaler board inside one sexy looking plexi case. The case measures roughly 26 x 22cm ( 10.2 x 8.6 inch). The SLG board sits in the front and offers switches to enable and disable scanlines and to chose between odd and even lines to darken. One the same board you'll find a power switch which disables the GBS8220 sitting in the middle of the case. This comes in handy, if one wants to use the SLG portion for other VGA sources (like Dreamcast or XBox360). There are three additional switches in the front which control the scaler (brightness, sharpness controls and resolution setup) and one to select the input (RGB via scart or Component). On the backside there's an input/output board which offers RGB scart, component and VGA inputs as well as a set of RCA jacks for stereo audio output and of course the VGA output to connect the SLG-in-a-box to a monitor or TV set. Setup is as easy as it gets. The scart input on the back is connected to a LM1881 IC for sync stripping, so the input can accept RGB signals from all the scart sources you could think of. No need for special cables, japanese RGB cables or raw sync type of cables. The component input accepts 240p, 480i and 480p, all of which are processed by the GBS8220 board sitting in the center. All boards are powered by a single 5V input on the back. The actual processing quality unfortunately is the weak spot of the whole construction. While I wouldn't call the GBS8220 bad by any means, it's just a very generic linedoubling board, originally made for arcade operators (who give a shit about quality) to run Jamma boards on PC monitors or LCD displays. The GBS's output looks ok. The results are quite similar to what most of today's TVs can achieve with a component source on their own. 240p signals are processed as 480i, so you'll run into deinterlacing artefacts, even for progressive 15khz source signals. If used with low-res sources, it's basically mandatory to enable the scanlines, which help in masking many of the artefacts and render the picture - well, let's say - acceptable. The GBS board needs about 2 frames processing time. The GBS is built for NTSC signals, but PAL signals are usually accepted. The output will still be rendered at 60Hz, so it's not advised to use PAL machines with this setup. With the prototype design I've had on hand for testing, I've run into a few problems with the VGA passthrough function. With a Dreamcast connected to the bypass input on the back and the GBS board switched off, I got some interferences and noise when trying to run the DC with enabled scanlines. Since the very same DC works just fine using a classic SLG3000 I guess it's just a little quirk, which will get fixed quite soon. Another problem (and a rather weird one) is that while the DC was connected to the SLG-in-a-Box using the VGA input the scanline overlay for any of the processed sources would stop working (of course the DC was switched off). ArcadeForge is looking into this. Eventually the SLG-in-a-box is more like a proof of concept. Of course it's sleek and of course it's the perfect way to utilize a GBS8220 scaling board, but with an anticipated price of roughly 170 EUR there's very hard competition out there. Usually for around 80-120 EUR and a little patience one can pick up a large number of home theater processors ranging from an iScan HD, over the Vigatec FX2 units to the Cinemateq processors (which even offer scart RGB inputs) and by adding a SLG3000 for about 50 EUR one ends up at the same price but with *much* better processing and increased flexibility over the rather cheap and generic GBS8220 core. XRGB-2 or 2plus units are also available in the 180-200 EUR range by now. Conclusion: minor VGA input quirks on the prototype board aside, the SLG-in-a-box does exactly what it's supposed to do, plus it's readily available (contrary to so many vintage home theater processors), on the other hand you can spend the same amount of money and get one of the other recommended processors on this website and end up with superior processing results. Lenkeng is a chinese company which offers video converters. From the looks of it, most of them are identical with the basic HDBoxPro layout and though I have no idea who came first (Lenkeng or the original HDBoxPro), Lenkeng succeeds in offering some of the cheapest, but most convenient video game processing boxes out there. The official website can be found here and the easiest way to find shopping sources for the item in question is just to copy the product code (e.g. LKV7000) into Google and see what comes up. Most of the boxes cost somewhere between $40 and $80 with many eBay offers already including worldwide shipping. I'm far from having tried all the available Lenkeng solutions, but logic suggests that they're all based on the very same processor inside and since I had good experience with two of Lenkeng's boxes and with a third one coming along, I wanted to add their whole lineup to the processors on this page. Let's start out with the LKV7600 which is just the same as the HDBoxPro but without a IR remote control. While quite a few people seem to have problems with the HDBoxPro (grounding issues), the LKV7600 I had on hand was fine all around (but so was my HDBoxPro). The LKV2300 is a VGA to component transcoder with chooseable output resolution. I haven't tried this unit, but it seems reasonable to add this to a XRGB's output if now VGA input is available on the TV set and all HDMI inputs are in use. The LKV354 is a Component to HDMI converter without any scaling capabilties. It's basically just a video analogue to digital converter. The very same unit is available in silver and with "game converter" printed on it. It's then called LKV5000 Wii to HDMI converter. It comes bundles with a Wii component cable though... Then there's Lenkeng's RGB Scart to HDMI converter series called LKV360 and LKV361 (the 361 just adds S-Video support). Those two units are confirmed to work very nicely with 240p material, so they basically replace the overpriced and hard to get Coosis Scart to HDMI box. The output is again fixed at 720p, but both PAL and NTSC supported with 720p50 and 720p60 output. Likely the cheapest and easiest way out there to get 240p RGB onto the big screen (2011 update: the LKV362 offers 1080p output as well). And last but not least there are Lenkeng's two PSP processors. The analogue one is the reason how I first came to find out about Lenkeng. The LKV7000 looks much like a HDBoxPro, has got component inputs and VGA output. My guess is that this has the same processor as the HDBoxPro, but with a different firmware. Interlaced signals are not supported anymore (hence no deinterlacing), but instead a zoom function is available through the menu which zooms the PSP "272 lines in 480p signal" to fullscreen. The output resolution can still be choosen from a list of PC resolutions. The LKV8000 is the digital version, probably performs in the same manner, but has a fixed 720p output. The PSP zoom works rather nicely. Next to the XRGB-3 the LKV7000/8000 are the only machines out there which can zoom PSP games. Some higher end video processors obviously can do this as well, but the picture usually gets very blurry on those. At least on the LKV7000 the transcoding of non-PSP signal (e.g. 480p from a PS2) works very nicely as well. Probably the next best thing to a Buroch Con-1 or an XSelect-D4 (which are both hard to find and cost a lot more). Here's photo from a my 52" Sony LCD running PSP Prinny in glorious fullscreen. Conclusion: while I usually don't like "nameless" chinese manufacturers, Lenkeng succeeded in getting it's name out there. Their HDBoxPro clone, their PSP scalers and their easy to use RGB Scart to HDMI converters are highly recommended. Don't expect XRGB-3-like performance from them, but they're all worth their money and if your goal is basically just to add RGB Scart inputs to your HDTV set, this is the quick'n dirty path to 240p glory. Over the years Lenkeng introduced a number of interesting low-cost converters. The LKV362A is their updated Scart RGB to HDMI converter unit (introduced in early 2013). The metal chassis of past years' converters has been replaced with a light-weight plastic case. The LKV362A features a HDMI passthrough input as well, so you don't lose a HDMI input on your TV set when using the converter box. The LKV362A is available for about $50 to $60. For many users pixel perfect scanline emulations is not a necessity and if your goal is just to add a Scart RGB to your LCD or Plasma television set, converters like the Lenkeng always seem a good deal. I've reviewed other converters in the past (e.g. the Ligawo one if you scroll down a bit) and so I usually stay away from new incarnations of the same converters. What made me look into the new Lenkeng Box was Lenkeng's product page including this feature ad right here: Unfortunately that's basically false advertisement - or at least it's not directed towards end users. The Lenkeng LKV362A does not support 4:3 output. Whatever you input, no matter if PAL or NTSC, it's output in fullscreen 16:9 with no way of changing that. Unfortunately many newer TV sets don't allow the aspect ratio to be set to 4:3 with 720p or 1080p inputs, so you're stuck with 16:9 on those sets. I contacted Lenkeng about this and they stated, that the LKV362A is available with 4:3 options for OEM orders, but it's more than unlikely to find any converters with such configuration out in the wild. The deinterlacing quality might have gotten a tiny bit over the past years, but in general it's still on the level of the original HDBoxPro (without the motion sensitivity setting). This means 480i and 576i deinterlacing looks ok, but 240p and 288p inputs are also handled as interlaced signals and the usual deinterlacing is applied. The converter does not offer an on-screen menu, instead you get two buttons on the unit, one for cycling between 720p50, 1080p50, 720p60 and 1080p60 and the other for switching between the HDMI passthrough input and the Scart RGB input. Conclusion: the Lenkeng LKV362A is far from being a great converter, but it does it's job. It's compatibility with old video game systems is good (SNES, Mega Drive, Playstation working without any problems) and the picture quality is ok. Just remember that unless your TV set offers full aspect ratio controls for 1080p input, you're stuck with 16:9 output. Ligawo is a chinese manufacturer just like Lenkeng. The converters can easily be found on eBay and Amazon. The concept sounded promising! A single box solution for RGB Scart and S-Video inputs and a HDMI output with various output resolutions (including 720p, 1080p and some PC resolutions). But boy, Ligawo's boxes have really bad quality. While the basic functions work (50Hz and 60Hz RGB input via Scart), the processing quality is just bad. The upscaling is quite blurry and there's a lot of deinterlacing happening even with already progressive 240p sources. Quality for 480i inputs is kinda ok, but then again you don't need RGB in the first place. You would expect this kind of quality from a no-name $299 32" LCD TV, but not from a 60 Euro external solution. The Lenkeng boxes are better and the HDBoxPro clearly shows that you can get actual quality at the same price. Conclusion: works if you're deperately in need of Scart connector, but almost every processor on this website has better quality than this Ligawo converter box. Oh well.... I so knew what I was getting into when I ordered this one. Auvisio is Pearl's private electro-gadget brand, with Pearl being a big online electronic discounter here in Germany. From the looks I already knew exactly what to expect. I reviewed a similar unit under the Ligawo brand maybe a year or two ago and it was so bad, that I didn't even bother to put the review online. Hell, I like to recommend machines, not to post warnings about them. Still, the Ligawo was approx. 300 EUR back then, the Auviso is incredibly priced at roughly 90 EUR . I got at least a dozen request over the past months to write something about it, so people will get an idea what they're buying. And let me tell you right away: this won't be a recommendation. By having a look at the analogue inputs available (picture below), it's easy to understand, why the Auvisio would be a pretty great machine. The 9-in-1 HD upscaler offers everything you would expect from a high-end video processor. 2 HDMI inputs, 2 each for composite and component, s-video, VGA and even RGB Scart connection are available for basically all sources one can imagine. The output is realized through a HDMI output (720p and 1080p) and a set of analogue audio output is available as well. First off I tested the unit with the VGA input. VGA is usually pretty easy to process. No deinterlacing neccessary, just scaling. I connected a Dreamcast and gave Sturmwind a little spin. The scaling is kinda ok, very similar to what entry level TV sets can do on their own. A big problem for us console users: the Auvisio does not allow any aspect ratio control with VGA inputs, so the Dreamcast's 640x480 output gets scaled to a fullscreen 16:9 1080 output. Unfortunately most TV sets nowadays don't allow 4:3 for 1080p either, so you're stuck with the stretched output (see the Sturmwind title screen down below). In direct comparison a 35 EUR VGA to HDMI converter (from Lenkeng) looked better and because is just converts to HDMI in 480p without doing any scaling, the TV allows full aspect ratio controls. Next up was the RGB Scart input trying both a Super Famicom and a Playstation 1. And just like the Ligawo unit some time back, the Auvisio cannot process any 240p signals. You just get static noise until you reboot the processor or change to an interlaced input signal. So RGB is out of the question already. On the component inputs I connected a Playstation 2, as usual with both 480i and 480p output selections. Deinterlacing quality on 480i sources is rather mediocre. You get the typical motion-adaptive bullshit deinterlacing you get from every 30 EUR deinterlacer out there. In addition the Auviso adds ringing to 480i sources, while 480p sources appear considerably cleaner. Compare the two Fantasy Zone snapshots above. 480i source to the left and 480p to the right. 480p sources are scaled rather softly with small details disappearing. There's a sharpness control available, but it adds heavy ringing and lots of noise. In addition to those processing problems, the Auvisio is very bad with low IRE levels and causes drastic black crush. Dark details are swallowed by darkness and if you try to raise the brightness, everything gets washed out instead. You can see that from the obligatory OutRun2SP shot below (a 480i shot by the way, 480p looked a bit better). Conclusion: With a retail price of just 90 Euro and the motherload of analogue connections, the Auvisio seems very intriguing. Still I cannot recommend it. It does not process 240p at all and for other kinds of signals (VGA, component, 480i, 480p and even RGB) you can find cheap converters that do a much better job. If you really don't care for quality and just want to add analogue connections to your PC monitor, it's ok - I guess, but nearly every other processor on this site is better. For the same price you can get a 2nd hand iScan HD and for a little more you can choose from a wide range of really good and once very expensive processors. Oh, no! Not another one of those generic, chinese upscaling boxes! I don't like them, you don't like them, so why bother and review another one ? Well, I recently watched a classic game video on Youtube, which was recorded using this particular box and I found the quality to be rather pleasing - at least for a processor of this price range. And since I like new gadgets after all, I quickly ordered one and gave it a shot. The box in question doesn't get any more generic. I couldn't find any information on a manufacturer and the box appears to be available from different distributors, differently labeled depending on the country where you buy it. The one you see above, saying "HD Video Converter Scart / HDMI" is a version I got from a european eBay seller. In the USA there's a at least one version available which runs under the tag "HDV 8S", so I chose that descriptor for this little review. If you're shopping for this box, just go by the looks. If the converter looks identical (except for the label on top), it should be identical inside. The boxes go for EUR 45-50 over here and maybe US$60 stateside. The upscaler features a single RGB-enabled Scart input (European layout of course, no matter where you buy the converter from) and a single HDMI output. In addition you get a HDMI input (just for passing through signals) and two audio outputs (digital coax and analogue stereo).

The processor used inside the converter isn't much different from other converters in the same price range - think of the GBS8220 boards for arcade use or the Lenkeng processors. It features a motion- and pixel adaptive deinterlacer that treats all sources as interlaced (doesn't matter if you feed 240p or 480i or the PAL versions of those). For static picture content this results in a nice and vibrant picture, while moving objects or backgrounds get smoothed out and appear heavily interpolated. All content is scaled to fill the screen, so you get no choice of pillarboxing your content for a proper 4:3 ratio. One trick is to switch the output from a HD resolution (720p and 1080p are available) to a PC resolution (XGA or SXGA). Usually your TV or display will display those in 4:3, even if aspect ratio controls are disabled for other HD resolutions like 1080p. The output resolution can by cycled using one of the three buttons on the side of the box. So, you basically get ok'ish picture quality (probably very similar to what your TV can achieve on it's own) and you get mediore aspect ratio handling. Is there anything that actually speaks for getting this one ? Indeed the reason is that it just works and is actually what I would call plug'n'play - and that's an extremely rare situation with video processors in general. Other converters I tried suddenly just used composite video from the Scart input, displayed black & white picture or had washed out colors with heavy chroma delay on their HDMI input. Not this one. I got solid RGB colors and sharp graphics from all the classic sources and no hiccups whatsoever. The output of the converter isn't framelocked to the input, instead you get a 100% perfect 59.94Hz timing with 720p or 1080p output. This might result in a little stutter now and then (when the source is running at a different refresh rate), but it actually makes this converter a perfectly affordable add-on to your HDMI capture box. If you got a live h.264 encoder from Hauppauge, Avermedia or Elgato, you can use this converter to add a RGB-capable Scart input to your capture box. As mentioned earlier, this exact setup is what got me interested in the box. If you want to have a look for yourself, the "Shmup Master" series on Youtube is recorded using this exact converter box. Follow this link for the Youtube video. Like all converters using this or similar processing, the box adds a little under 2 frames of processing delay to your video chain. Conclusion: from all the cheap, chinese RGB Scart to HDMI converters, this is the best one yet. It's not great or massively better than the other boxes out there, but it gave me much less trouble than all the other ones. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for actual gaming (since every real video processor is still better), but this is indeed the perfect add-on for your HDMI capture if you want to record classic games without spending a fortune. The Extron Andora series of linedoublers probably represents one of the oldest machines on this site. The Andora units are from the early to mid 90s, a time when progressive displays were rare and the world was ruled by mighty CRTs. This said, with Extron being a high-end manufacturer since back in the days, the Andora already featured a 15khz RGBs input. It will only accept clean sync, so you need to use the proper cables for your systems or use a sync stripper like the Sync Strike. The RGB input is a 9-pin DSub connector, but a Scart to DSub adapter is easily built. One remarkable aspect about the Andora is that it's completely lag free as there is no deinterlacing applied to the picture. The single fields are just weaved together to get the proper 31khz output. This results in slight combing artefacts in high movement scenes, but this is masked pretty nicely when using a SLG3000 for scanlines on the Andora's output. The picture quality of the Andora is quite good and - thanks to the non-existent digital processing of the picture - sharper than on most other candidates you can see here. In terms of sharpness the Andora is comparable to the XRGB-3. With the missing deinterlacing the Andora isn't for everyone, but if you're into fast-paced arcade games and want ZERO processing lag, you might be able to catch an Andora very cheap on eBay or elsewhere. The snapshots below show the Andora running a PC CRT monitor. The visible scanlines are produced by the high resolution CRT tube. Conclusion: a very "pure" processor. No fancy extras, RGB input, ZERO lag. Pair it up with a SLG3000 for use with arcade boards! The Videon Omega One has been introduced in 2001 at a price tag of US$1500. It features the legendary Faroudja FLI2200 deinterlacer chip and was named one of the best linedoublers on the market . The Vigatec FX2 is a relabeled Omega one unit from a german company. One of the two available component inputs on the Omega One machine (along with 4 Video and 2 S-Video inputs) has been remodeled to RGBs. The Videon can commonly be found on eBay all over the world, while you need to look out on european marketplaces to score a FX2 with RGB input. Current market price of the Videon is around $150 while the Vigatec might hit $200. There are updated versions of both processors available. The Videon is called Omega HDP, wile the Vigatec is called FX2+. The units are basically the same with an additional HD passthrough input added on both machines. They also feature an enhanced filmmode function for movie deinterlacing, but that's of no concern for us right here. MSX: 100% maintained clearness and sharpness on scrolling backgrounds. True 240p mode, no deinterlacing applied. ESP: 240p dropshadows are deinterlaced correctly - as well as 480i drop shadows (at the cost of a little delay) WOT: works fine on the FX2 unit. Works fine on the Omega One with an addition RGBs to YUV transcoder up front.

(Depending on the PCE Engine RGB amp in question, a little more work on the amp might be neccessary.) These two machines can probably be considered the best standalone deinterlacers for 240p material out there. The picture is somewhat not as sharp as on the competitors (XRGB), but this gives the picture a very natural CRT-like look. If you need more sharpness apply some from the TV settings. Picture quality of the Video and S-Video inputs is top-notch as well, because of the great comb filters used. If you have vintage systems which you don't want to mod to RGB, this is your machine (NES via yellow RCA). There's also a FLI220 specific feature called diagonal edge enhancement. One 240p this will interpolate the picture to avoid blockiness. In the end it's a matter of taste, but it's nice to have and works very well (while I prefer to keep it disabled). The Processing delay for all FLI2200 or FLI2300 based processors is rather low (between 1 and 2 frames) (Vigatec Germany claims that the FX2 performs at under 0.5 frames, but from my testings a few years back, that's not true. The Faroudja chips also "feel" more laggy than the lag-free XRGB-3). A missing zoom function by the way results into black borders around the image. Especially on the PS2 which uses an underscanned output image (e.g. standard black borders on all four sides) this can get a bit annoying (can be 2-2.5 inches on a 50" screen) The FLI2200 or FLI2300 can also be found on the Holo3DGraph PCI cards. I've done a seperate article on these cards which you can read here . It focuses on picture rotation instead of deinterlacing though. Pros: affordable ($150-200), multiple inputs, very high built quality (originally $1500 machines), perfect 240p mode, switchable diagonal

edge enhancement, remote control, both VGA and component progressive output Cons: not 480p compatible, no sharpness function on the YUV and RGB inputs, rather soft picture out of the box, no zoom function Conclusion: next to the XRGB series, the very best processors for 240p material out there. With some systems (e.g. PC Engine or Neo Geo MVS) even less problematic than Micomsoft's XRGB-3 processor. The Vigatec VC1280 was introduced around the year 2000 at horrendous prices of about $3000 back then. Similar units are available from various companies. The one I had on hand was a Comm-TEC Up 1280 unit. The VC1280 is a full-size rack-mountable processor with 4 composite inputs, 4 times S-Video, 2 times RGBs/Component and a single VGA passthrough port. On the output side a VGA port and a set of BNCs is available. The unit has also audio switching capabilites with 4 analogue stereo inputs and one output. In Comparison to the Vigatec/Videon linedoublers the VC1280 does upscaling to 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 (plus a few weirder ones like 720x960) and 1280x720 which is nice to feed computer LCDs or a HD-Ready display (LCD or Plasma). The unit has a little LCD screen on the front which allows the user to all settings without the need of an onscreen display. The RGBs/Component inputs are done in DSub15 style (VGA connectors). This might be litlte weird for first time users, but it allows for smaller size connections and cheap self-made cables. I used a D-Sub to Scart adapter to test the VC1280 with a japanese Sega Saturn unit and a D-Sub to Component adapter to test a PS2. The unit succeeded in 240p tests. The picture quality is similar to the FX2 unit above (with DCDi turned off), but with added sharpess due to the scaling process. The Vigatec VC1280 doesn't show up very often on eBay and other sites, but when it does, it can usually be bought for around 150 EUR ($200) which makes them a nice alterntive an XRGB machine. The VC1280 is one of the few machines which is upscaling to XGA and other resolutions and are still very fast (1-frame delay) and does proper deinterlacing of drop shadows on 240p titles. The machine also has got zoom and shifting functions which allow you to eliminate the underscan (black) borders on a PS2 signal. Pros: affordable, scaling engine to XGA, fast, nice picture quality on 240p inputs, 2 RGB ports, audio switching, zoom Cons: DSub inputs instead of Scart or RCA, no 480p input processing Conclusion: nice vintage processor. Hard to find. Involves extra work for building Scart and YUV to DSub15 adapters for every single input. Two rather interesting processors are the DUNE scalers by german company Vigatec. The Dunes actually bridge the gap between the earlier Vigatec processors (VC1280 and the FX2 linedoubler) and their later on released high-end machine S1 (see my review elsewhere on this page). The Dune comes in two flavors: the original Dune model is actually a GVC1280 with a new case. The GVC is an upgrade to the VC1280 reviewed a few years back (The VC1280 could only passthrough 480p and higher, while the GVC1280 has a wonderful scaling engine for 31khz+ sources). The successor to the Dune is the Dune-F which replaces the deinterlacer portion with a Faroudja FLI-2200 (the same processor was used in the FX2 linedoubler). When introduced the price for the Dune units were nearly $4000. Now you can pick up a Dune unit for about 150 EUR and a Dune-F unit for about 250 EUR. The original Dune unit (that's the one shown above with the green front LCD) is quite similar to the VC1280. You get 3 composite inputs (one can used for SDI signals), 3 s-video ports and a whole bunch of HD15 (VGA) connectors. Two of them are intended for 15khz component and RGBs signals, while the other three are intended for ED and HD signals (480p, 720p, 1080i in both YUV and RGB and computer signals). On the output side you get a set of BNC connectors (for RGBHV and component output) and a HD15 connector. Four analogue audio inputs are available as well and they're all routed to a single analogue output (all in 3.5mm jack format) Just as on the VC1280, all classic output resolutions are available (from linedoubling = 480p/576p, over XGA up to 1080p). Some of the HD timings are bit weird, so compatibility with 1080p question might not be perfect. The higher-res PC resolutions all work fine though. 240p signals on the 15khz inputs are handled great. Deinterlacing can be set to "game mode" for faster single-field processing, but even in standard video mode, 240p is properly recognized. Deinterlacing is perfectly on par with the better linedoublers (Vigatec/Videon) out there. 480i processing is kinda ok. I would say about the same quality you get from the earlier DVDO machines (iScan HD and such). Upscaling of already progressive signals (like 480p) looks very nice with basically no ringing or edge enhancement present. Similar to what I've seen on Faroudja machines like the DVP-1000. The Dune does not offer an OSD, but if fully controlled through it's front LCD screen. It's not overly complicated, but not very logical either. SD and ED/HD sources can't be connected to same inputs, so would have to use one input for 15khz signals and another one for 31khz ones, even if they come from the same system. The Dune-F doesn't look much different from the original Dune. The green LCD has been replaced with a fancy blue one and the HD15 output has been replaced with a DVI-I output. The rest looks the same and the two machines perform quite similar. The scaling engine remained untouched, so upscaling of 480p sources still looks pretty good. The deinterlacing processor has been replaced with a FLI-2200 processor which offers better 480i processing, but since 240p already looked stunning on the VC1280 and the older Dune model, there wasn't much space for improvement anyway. 240p still looks good and no unneccessary deinterlacing is applied. The Dune-F now offers a digital output, but compatibility is flawed and the newly introduced OSD is only available when using the analogue output instead. Kinda half-hearted implementation I would say. Pros: affordable, nice scaling engine for 480p sources, fast game mode for 15khz sources, proper 240p handling, audio switching Cons: HD15 DSub inputs instead of RCA, buggy OSD on the Dune-F, not the most logical menu system Conclusion: just as their predecessor, the VC1280, the Vigatec Dune units are nice and affordable machines. They are very rare in the US, but can sometimes be found on european auction sites. Both units offer proper 240p handling and can be nicely combined with a SLG3000 unit for scanline support. 480i handling is certainly the weak point of the original Dune unit, but it's capabilities for handling 240p and upscaling 480p sources make it a worthwhile addition to most gaming setups. The Dune-F improves on the 480i side, but adds a flaky DVI output. A rather unknown processor. To my knowledge Zinwell was quite active on the US market, but I can't remember seeing a BriteView over here in Germany more than a single time over the past years (and that's when I bought this one). With it's limited inputs (composite, s-video, component, one each) the Brite View at first seems like a processor in the iScan Pro range, but a first test run (or a look into the manual) suggests that it's actually a more powerful unit. The Zinwell supports VGA output resolutions of up to SXGA (1280x1024) and component output resolution of 720p and 1080i. The BriteView comes in a dark metal chassis with an embossed Zinwell logo on top. The remote control allows to switch between inputs and to adjust basic cotrols (brightness, contrast, sharpness). There's also a button to directly change the output resolution, so you can easily toggle between VGA, SVGA, XGA and SXGA. The processors supports 480i and 576i inputs and properly recognizes 240p and 288p video on all inputs. The image quality of the processor is ok. It's not great, but it heavily gains from the scaling to higher resolutions and the proper 240p handling is nice to see. The Zinwell adds a little overscan to the picture, which can easily be noticed on a PS2 signal (which usually has large underscan borders). The processing lag on 240p is quite low (around 1 frame) and the Zinwell works nicely with the SLG3000. The scanlines get thinner/smaller the higher you set the output resolution, so the Zinwell should be set to 480p output for a "proper" scanline look. In comparison to other processors, the Iscan Pro performs a little better, but given the low price of the Zinwell (50 Euro), it's surely an affordable alternative. Conclusion: overall a nice little processor. With the scaling minimized (output set to 480p VGA), the Zinwell can be used with the SLG3000 for added scanline goodness. The ML20 is a basic linedoubler designed and made in Germany. It has a very high-end built-quality to it and the units supposedly sold for several thousand Euro a piece back in the days. The units are available in dark blue or charcoal grey color. You can use these to drive 3D glasses (hence the name), but if you skip this functionality, you have a solid, but simple linedoubler which takes 15khz via RGBs and component and outputs 480p or 576p through VGA. The unit works fine with most 240p sources and handles 480i (and 576i) as expected. Quality isn't great (not bad either), but there's little adjustment possibilites and the inputs are quite sensitive to noise. There's really nothing to rave about. If you have one of these, they can be used for basic 240p to 480p processing. You can add a SLG3000 to the output to add scanlines. On the other hand, you can find plenty of other processors at this price tag, which do the same job. Conclusion: not bad, not great either. Really nothing special and hardly any adjustment possibilites. This one actually took my ages to get. I've setup an automated eBay.com search for Silicon Optix back in 2008, but the only units showing up were in bad condition and with prices of more than $700 plus shipping. Anyway, in the summer of 2011 I finally got one and ran the full program of tests. And what can I say ? Who would have expected that the Silicon Optix turned out to be a new star among the video game processors out there ? Well, it did. Read on to learn about it!. The Image Anyplace was introduced in 2004 or 2005 for a hefty $4000. It was aimed at users of digital high-end projectors, because - as the name already suggests - the Image Anyplace is the only video processor out there to feature extensive digital keystone correction for projectors. You can use it to counter any kind of geometry distortion caused by projecting from all kinds of weird angles. What hit me about the Silicon Optix unit, is it's ability to provide +/-90° picture rotation to any of it's inputs. But first things first.... The Image Anyplace features the FLI2200 processor (just like the Videon and Vigatec units), but adds a FGPA for scaling (up to 1400x1050p or 1080i) and live-geometry-corrections and rotation. As expected from the Faroudja processor inside, the Image Anyplace features full 240p compatibility and recognition, so it doesn't even try to deinterlace 240p material. For 480i material you get full control over the FLI's deinterlacing features. There's a even a DI-mode called static mesh which is very similar to the gamemode on the DVDO units - just better. I'm hardly impressed by any video processor nowadays, but the SI did the trick. Amazing for all kinds of classic video game signals! With the nice scaling available in the unit, the overall picture quality is even better (= sharper) than on the Videon/Vigatec units - excellent! The processor has got SD inputs (composite, s-video, component) and HD inputs (component, RGBHV, VGA, DVI) and processing and image rotation is available to all of them. The only thing missing (because of it's american heritage) is a RGBs input, but a RGBs to component transcoder can be added cheaply.



So far, so good. The major selling point in this processor is it's ability to rotate the picture. Before the Image Anyplace, this feature was only available in a HTPC setup using the Holo3DGraph processor card. Unfortunately it's a pain in the ass to find a Holo card nowadays and setting up a HTPC isn't everyone's cup of tea anyway. The Image Anyplace takes all those features and puts them into a single standalone processor. No matter if your input is 480i (e.g. from a PS2), 240p (e.g. from a Saturn) or 480p (e.g. from a Dreamcast), the Image Anyplace makes all your TATE-compatible games shine - without the need to rotate your display. As you can read in my Yokotate article , the advantage of using a TATE mode isn't only the bigger playing screen, it's the better resolution and the waive of any scaling in the source. Classic games running at 320x240 usually need to be downscaled to 180x240 for Yoko play. Dreamcast games like Exelica running in 640x480 have to be downscaled to 360x480. With the Silicon Optix, you get the full resolution all the way. The Image Anyplace offers both clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation as well as multiple combinations with all kinds of flipping or mirroring. Everything works like a charm and looks stunning! The whole processing lag remains on a very moderate level with around 1 frame for already progressive signals and still under 2 frames for interlaced 15khz signals.



There are two very minor cons I could find while testing the unit: a) given the age of the unit, 1080p is not available. The highest HD resolution output for DVI/HDMI and VGA is 1080i and the highest PC resolution output is 1400x1050p. And b) while the scaling overall is really good, the Image Anyplace cannot apply picture rotation to a signal with scanlines without causing scaling artefacts (unevenly scaled scanlines). For 99% of all possible users this isn't important, but it's a hint for anybody thinking of chaining a XRGB-3 with the Image Anyplace ;-) Pros: excellent processing quality and full 240p compatibily, many inputs, picture rotation for "Yokotate" gameplay Cons: not this easy to find if you're on a budget. No 1080p output (just 1080i or PC resolutions up to 1400x1050p) Conclusion: one of a kind! Not only great quality for all 240p sources, but the only processor to allow picture rotation for all inputs.

Hands-down the best processor I can think of to use a supergun on a large digital display without rotating the display. The Datapath x4 video processor is a very interesting machine. Contrary to most other processors you can find here on my page, the Datapath x4 is neither a linedoubler nor a deinterlacer or a classic upscaler. It's a dedicated video wall processor. It's main purpose is to take in a high-resolution PC signal and split it onto four separate outputs - something you might have seen on various events, in company lobbies or at larger advertising installations. Plasma screens are available with a 100" diagonal, but they literally cost a fortune . Front or back projection is usually an affordable alternative, but the results aren't suited for bright-lit or even daylight environments. Combining four 50" LCD screens for a bright and cheap 100" video wall is certainly considered the best option today and that's what a video wall processor like the Datapath x4 takes care of. This - of course - raises the question, why I was considering a review for a processor like that. Well, if know my other reviews, I've long been looking for more processors to add to my Yokotate project page . Yokotate is a concept which allows you to play tate-only games (from classics like Donkey Kong or Galaga to every modern vertical shoot'em up) vertically on a horizontally orientated screen. A friend of mine recently did a video wall installation in Switzerland and he chose a processor similar to the Datapath x4. When checking the manual for the device, I noticed the extensive geometry options the unit provides (rotation, mirroring, flipping) and immediately thought about adding a chapter to my ongoing Yokotate project. Without basic deinterlacing or linedoubling capabilities, I consider the Datapath x4 to be more of an add-on for existing setups instead of a standalone processor. For one part of the my review I paired it up with a XRGB-Mini (Framemeister), for another part with a PC running MAME. To check the compatibility with various sources and signal formats I used a DVDO video processor (iScan VP50Pro) with a XRGB-3 chained to that. For most users a processor add-on like the Datapath x4 will be total overkill. - Still it's a prime example for a set of desirable functionalities currently missing from most other processors and it's certainly something that everybody would like to see integrated in a processor like the Framemeister. While my main focus was on the unit's rotation feature, I couldn't pass the opportunity to try out the video wall features the Datapath x4 has to offer. Lacking four 50" LCD screens (my apologies), I took three classic Pioneer plasma panels (40" each) instead and put them into vertical orientation to get one large widescreen display (see the snapshot for the configuration above on the left, while the color bars on the right were generated by the x4 - very convenient for an easy setup). The Datapath x4 has one DVI-D input for full range RGB signals. The input accepts both single- and dual-link DVI signals, meaning you can input anything from 480p to dual-link resolutions like 1600p60 or even 4K at 30Hz (2160p30). Each of the four outputs comes with a single-link DVI-I connector for both digital DVI and analogue VGA signals. The outputs are fully customizable with resolutions up to 165MHz on each output (1200p). To connect the x4 I used a HDMI to DVI-D cable on it's input (from my Framemeister and/or PC) and three DVI-A to VGA cables on three of the outputs. Video wall processors can be real fun. That is if you got a number of identical displays and especially enough space to put them. I first planned to put the three Pioneers horizontally next to each other for some extensive Darius sessions, but unfortunately I just didn't have the space (or at least the ability to take proper photographs of a horizontal setup). Basic video wall functions are available from a number of processors including the XRGB-Mini. The Mini can split a signal into four identically sized parts and the user can choose which one to output. It's limited to a four-screen setup though and you need four Framemeister processors to do that. The Datapath doesn't limit you to anything. You can freely choose between 2-, 3- and 4-screen setups and you can even choose the orientation of the screens. For my first test setup I had OutRun2SP running on a PS2, through the Framemeister and into the Datapath x4. While three 16:9 screens put vertically next to each other result (roughly) in a 16:9 ratio again, three 4:3 screens like the Pioneers put together are considerably wider. That's why I stretched the game a little (from 1.78:1 to about 1.9:1 and padded the remaining space on the left and right with black). Still an awesome experience! Of course I also tested the Datapath x4 for it's processing lag. I benchmarked the identical setup without the Datapath x4 using Leo Bodnar's handheld lag tester and then compared the results to the x4 in the processing chain. The Datapath x4 adds exactly one frame (16.6ms) to the processing delay. That's less than half the time the Silicon Optix Image Anyplace processor adds (another Yokotate processor) and considerably less than what a Holo3Dgraph setup adds. From a technical perspective a one-frame delay makes sense. In order to allow a picture flip (or 180° rotation) one frame has to be buffered in order to output the bottom rows of pixels first on the flipped image. Think big, think Darius! Even when playing Darius or Darius II (or Ninja Warriors for that matter) horizontally on a 50" screen, the screen height remains tiny (11" on a 52" screen). With a MAME PC connected to the Datapath x4's DVI input I was able to output Darius onto three 40" 4:3 screens. Unfortunately I can only provide the following snapshot with vertically orientated screens, but just use your imagination. With those screens put horizontally, this would result in a total image with 24" in height and nearly 100" wide! Sheer awesomeness! I did a three-screen Darius setup before using three 21" NEC LCDs. Back then I just used three dedicated DVI-I inputs on my workstation (which is pain to configure). Using a video wall processor like the Datapath x4, it's much easier. For this setup I used a small Atom-powered EeeBox with a single HDMI output running into the processor. The x4 took care of the rest. And you don't even have to reconfigure your screen output. MAME was running in it's standard 1920x1080 configuration. To configure all this multi-monitor extravaganza the Datapath x4 is completely controlled using a small but rather versatile windows control program. The x4 does not have any buttons nor does it have a remote or an on-screen display. Instead the x4 gets connected to a PC using a standard USB cable. Using the config utility the x4 can then be setup. The whole setup process is quite easy. First step is to configure the right output resolutions for all attached displays. Using static or moving color bars, it's easy to get the geometry right. Unfortunately the utility only provides standard timing presets for SMTPE 720p and 1080p. Everything else (for example 640x480 in VGA for the Pioneer displays) has to be input manually including all the advanced timing parameters. Fortunately I was able to just look up the timings on my DVDO processor and copy them from there. Step two is configuring the input areas. For each of the four physical monitor outputs different input regions and picture transformations can be chosen. For Darius running on the MAME PC I chose three areas (640x480 each) next to each other, thus "capturing" the complete 1920x480 playfield of the game. For OutRun2SP I chose three areas of about 250x450 and had them additionally rotated by 270°. All configurations can be saved for instant recalls. The input configuration is one of the only areas in which I ran into a few problems. Two to be more specific: a) The Datapath x4 can only upscale image areas, not downscale them. With the limited resolution of my Pioneer displays (640x480) I couldn't work with the fullscreen output of the Framemeister. Fortunately the XRGB-Mini offers underscanning options and so I just used the Smartx1 option on the Mini to have him display the 480p game in 1:1 resolution on 1080p carrier signal. And b) the Datapath x4 does not honor aspect ratios. Whatever region you choose, it gets scaled to output in fullscreen in the chosen output resolution. That's not a huge problem, but it makes the setup a bit more complicated as it would have to be. As mentioned earlier, my idea behind reviewing the Datapath x4 processor in the first place, was to test it's rotation capabilities. The x4 marks the fifth machine I tested for this purpose. The first was the Holo3DGraph capture card by Immersive featuring a Faroudja processor on a PCI card. The second was the Silicon Optix Image Anyplace processor (very nice, but lacking 15khz RGB inputs and without 1080p output capabilities, so you couldn't rotate scanlined images). Number three and four were the Startech / Micomsoft 500N1 capture card and the external XCAPTURE-1 box (also by Micomsoft, reviews for both unpublished so far). To test the Datapath x4 for it's Yokotake capabilities, I used a Neo Geo MVS into a Framemeister. One of the games I tested was NG.Dev.Team's brandnew Neo XYX . The first ever tate (and tate-only) Neo Geo game. The Framemeister was set to 1080p output with Smartx1 underscanning and enabled scanlines. V-Sync was enabled, which added another snare to the test setup as the MVS outputs a refresh rate considerably different to the standard NTSC timings. Results were great. The Datapath was able to rotate and upscale the horizontally running game along with enabled scanlines. Of course the snapshots below don't really do the live experience any justice, but it gives you an idea (note the glowing Sony logo on the TV set for proof of the game running in true Yoko mode). The x4 offers two different scaling modes. A sharper (but more blocky) text-optimized mode and a softer video scaling mode. Depending on your exact output resolution and your need for under/overscan one might work better than the other. Overall the rotated and re-scaled scanlines looked just fine - with some input/output combinations better "snapping in" than others. Neo XYX is actually my only tate-only game. Other games like ESPGaluda on the PS2 offer interlaced Yoko modes already, but they just look so much better when used with their true 240p tate output and rotated afterwards. And if you're into arcade PCBs, then the Datapath certainly sets a new benchmark when it comes to forcing yoko on your home displays. One usually overlooked, but extremely fun aspect of geometry processors like the Datapath x4, are their flipping and mirroring options. On the snapshot below you can see the display in the middle showing the original version, while the displays on the sides have been flipped (or mirrored) on their vertical axis. I've been stuck with this idea since my Silicon Optix review a few years ago, but never got around actually modding one of my arcade sticks to match the flipped controls. Anyway this time I did it. On vertically running games (usually shoot'em ups) flipping the image inverts the left / right controls, so you have to flip the controls on your stick as well. If you have a HRAP or similar controller, it's easy to just pull the quick connects and just exchange the wires for left and right. This way you can control the games just like usual, but with the game flipped. It's a totally new experience - believe me. You won't recognize any of the enemy patterns. It feels like diving into a whole set of freshly released black label versions - seriously! I literally spent a few hours playing ESPGaluda and DoDonPachi DaiOuJou this way and it was just great. After that I reconnected my MVS and tried the picture flip on a number of shoot'em ups. It basically works great on anything vertical, but also gives a great experience on horizontal shoot'em ups. Playing games like Last Resort, Pulstar or Blazing Star from right to left might seem silly at first, but you'll never again want to miss the possibility after trying it once. The games feel totally different than originally intended and it's like a new life for your whole back catalogue. For a moment I even tried Mario World - crazy fun to say at least !! Below you see a little gallery of flipped MVS games. Unfortunately the flipping function cannot be used at the same time as the rotation, so you need a true vertical display to flip your tate-only games. Datapath UK offers the x4 in two flavors. The medium sized desktop unit I had with me for the review and a 19" rack version. While I have seen 2nd hand x4 units in the past, it's usually very hard to find them used. Datapath has an extensive network of distributors and dealers and you can get in touch with them to check for availability on your area. I got my unit from german distributor Dimeso . Pricing is set at about three times the price of a Framemeister, but very reasonably compared to full blown processors like Lumagen's Radiance series. Hardcore arcade enthusiasts should consider that a x4 is still condiderably less expensive than any single one of the Cave PCBs released over the past years. For a 4-screen video wall processor the x4 is cheap anyway. - Similar products by other companies are 3-4 times the price. A re-branded OEM version of the same processor is available from a company called EMS Limited (also in the UK). Instead of x4 the unit is named Xtreme4vs. As far as I can tell its 100% identical to the Datapath version (the manuals are identical and EMS even lists Datapaths WEEE registration ID). According to the german distribution Datapath is the original manufacturer of the machine. Conclusion: The Datapath x4 is a fantastic processor add-on, if you already have a complete setup including something sophisticated like a Framemeister or a XRGB / DVDO combo. The video wall function is great to play with, but of course it requires a lot of space. The USB-only control of the x4 seems weird at first, but it turned out very convenient and the ability to easily save and load configuration profiles make the x4 extremely easy to work with. Of all "Yokotate" machines, the x4 is the fastest (exactly one frame of delay) and the one with the best quality. The flipping function is a great gimmick that let's you replay your whole library in a way you would never have imagined. Consider this the creme de la creme of processor add-ons for the enthusiast gamer who already has everything else. Cinemateq is a german company (on the outskirts of munich) which had it's high a some years back (around 2004/2005). They introduced a series of processor called "Picture Optimizier" ranging from a simple linedoubler (PO), over three generations of scalers (Picture Optimizer Plus and Plus II and POP HD). Cinemateq went out of business a few years back, but the company assets were bought and so the name's kinda still around nowadays (but without the original team of engineers and technicians). The Cinemateq processors were quite expensive back in the days, but can be found quite cheap on eBay these days. I bought myself a Picture Optimizer Plus II SDI for about 180 Euro. While the usual downs apply to the Cinemateq just like to most processors of the time (e.g. it does not process 480p inputs, but has seperated pass through inputs for ED and HD signals), it has one thing that no other processor (besides the XRGB) has: real RGB Scart inputs - and there are even two of them! Besides the Scart inputs, there are two sets of component, two S-Video, two Video (or SDI). On the output side the Cinemateq is very well equipped with RGBHV (BNC), VGA, Component and DVI. On older units (probably an older mainboard revision) for some weird reason the DVI output is officially limited to 1080i output, while the RGBHV output supports 1080p without any problem. On newer sets the DVI output supports 1080p50/60 as well, although I found that 1080p in general introduces some scaling artefacts, which other output resolutions didn't show. The Cinemateq processor are quite flexible and can be set to every output resolution you want (which is nice for WXGA display users). All settings can be done on the front display or via on-screen menu. The menu's are easy to understand, but get more complex the deeper the user gets into them. From a compatibility standpoint the Cinemateq performs very nice. I threw various sources at it, ranging from a PS2 via component to a Saturn through RGB Scart (and some others) - and the POP processed all of the them like a charm. The Cinemateq units have lots of manually selectable deinterlacing modes of which only some work nicely on 240p material. The auto setting can't be recommended as it causes 240p to flicker and judder. Cycling through the modes I quickly found a working deinterlacing mode. The results for 480i material are ok, but nothing to talk about. There's no motion-adaptive video deinterlacing, so the possible resolution is cut into half (on slow moving games, e.g. RPGs). The results on 240p were nice though and reminded me very much of what the Faroudja based Vigatec units can do. Diagonal enhancement is available in the menu as well, but it's not really as good as Faroudja's implementation. The scaling and optional sharpness setting add a nice touch, so that in overall the POP's picture appears sharper than the pure linedoubling of a FX2 unit. The BNC and HD15 outputs are compatible with a SLG3000 (or any other scanline emulator). With the Cinemateq's output set to linedoubling the resulting image is very close to what a XRGB can achieve (see the screenshot above). Pros: very affordable nowadays, 4 RGBs/Component inputs, many outputs, highly flexible menu with lots of options Cons: no audio routing, some units only offer 1080i for DVI / HDMI, the usual 2-frame delay on 240p and 480i gaming material Conclusion: a nice processor from Germany, extremely well built, good quality, nice alternative to Faroudja linedoublers. The Picture Optimizer Plus HD was Cinemateq's last processor and it's still sold and supported today. Cinemateq asked quite some money for the "HDMI and audio upgrade" for the Picture Optimizer Plus II - I think the upgrade was listed at 1,200 EUR a few years back. The POP HD itself was available 3,000 EUR when it was new and is still 2,000+ EUR when bought new today. Compared to the POPII (which I reviewed some years ago), the HD reduced the number of analogue inputs in favor of four glorious HDMI inputs. The component output has been removed and replaced with a proper HDMI output instead (component output is still supported through the BNC output connectors). The POP HD version I had on hand was the standard version with two composite inputs available. There's also a SDI version which replaced the composite inputs with BNC ports for digital SDI signals. On the audio side, the POP HD adds five digital audio inputs, which can be assigned to any video input you like. Audio is output through HDMI and SPDIF (coax and optical) at the same time (and compared to other processors this really works well). Since the Picture Optimizer processor series was developed in Germany we get a real Euro-Scart input fully capable of processing RGB signals. The older POPII had two scart sockets available, while the upgraded HD version only has a single one left. Still better than no RGB at all as with so many US-developed video processors. Check the pictures below for full closeups of the POP HD's input and output connections. Compared to the older POPII the HD has got a newly designed deinterlacing processor. That's good because the new design only has two deinterlacing options left (TV mode on and off, which actually is a video-only deinterlacing mode), which makes the processor easier to use. The bad thing about it is that the POP HD is not as perfect with it's 240p processing as the POPII was. It's still solid, but you can see that the processor sometimes tries to deinterlace when it really shouldn't. On the plus side, the 480i deinterlacing quality looks nicer than it did on the older Cinemateq units. 240p are handled on all analogue inputs. The screenshot below was taken with a NTSC Super Famicom connected using the RGB scart connector. Real plug'n'play. The component inputs accept 240p and 480i (and 288p and 576i for PAL sources), but they don't handle 480p. If you want to connect a 480p source for further upscaling, you can add a component to HDMI transcoder (about $35) and use the HDMI inputs. Upscaling for 240p and 480i sources is really solid, for 480p I've seen better. Overall the Cinemateq POP HD is a solid processor. 2nd hand pricing nowadays is around 200 to 250 EUR which is reasonable given the full processing available for the HDMI inputs. The missing analogue audio input can be a bit of a hassle (with component video sources), but an analogue to SPDIF converter is easily added and not this expensive ($30). And while the old POPII was limited to 1080i through it's DVI-D connector, the POP HD of course fully supports 1080p through it's HDMI output. The analogue VGA and RGBHV outputs are fully compatible with the SLG3000 and other scanline emulators with the processor's output set to 480p (or linedoubling). Conclusion: the Cinemateq Picture Optimizer Plus HD is one sexy looking processor. It's not exactly overloaded with options, but that just makes it easier to use. Just like the older POPII I would recommend the Cinemateq to users who don't want to hassle with scart breakout cables and want something that "just works". From a pure picture quality standpoint, the POP HD increases in 480i deinterlacing quality but takes a (little) step down, when it comes to handling 240p signals from old game consoles. Results are still nice though and certainly better than many of the other solutions out there. And in terms of compatibility, the Cinemateq's still a beast. Everything works out of the box. A rather surprising discovery in still young 2013 are the GENIUS boxes by Italian electronic company MIMO . One of the boxes was first brought to my attention my a fellow member on the shmups.com board. He found a relabeled version of the Genius 1 box listed at Australian (!) reseller converters.tv . After a few minutes of googling, I contacted MIMO in Italy to get ahold of two review units - - and here we go. The most interesting fact about both the Genius Box 1 and 2 is that they're no simple upscalers, but cross-converters with both up- and downscaling capabilites. The original Genius box offers a 6-pin RGB input and output as well as a HD15-style VGA input and output connector. The converter accepts 15khz RGB/CGA (240p and 480i), 24khz (384p) and VGA (480p) and converts every single one of these resolution into each other. CGA to VGA would be the most common situation, but the other way around (VGA to CGA) is especially interesting, since both the Extron Emotia and the Ultracade UVC are so hard to find nowadays. The Genius 2 box adds a composite video input and, a HDMI output and higher upscaling resolution (e.g. 720p, 1080i and 768p). RGB and VGA connections are still available on the input and on the output side (HDMI downscaling isn't supported though). 50Hz output is not supported. 50Hz sources will be converted to 60Hz (on the Genius 2 at least). Current retail prices (directly at MIMO) are 220 Euro for the Genius 1 and 250 Euro for the Genius 2. Both boxes are built with a heavy-duty steel chassis and are obviously meant for industry applications and nonstop use in commercial arcade environments. This review here will focus on the upscaling capabilities of both converters first and downscaling in the second half . If your focus is on downscaling, read on here, but make sure to check my Scanlines Demystified page as well, so see in detail how both the Genius boxes compare to the classics (Extron Emotia series and Ultracade UVC). (I'll try to update the page in early march). Obviously both versions of the Genius boxes are built for commercial applications and that's something you'll notice in the connections as well. Compared to many other upscalers here on my page, the MIMO boxes are certainly not what you would call plug'n'play. In order to get any of them working you require a bunch of additional material. This starts with a PSU (12V, less than 1A) with a custom output cabling. You also require a so called AMP Modu-1 connector for your RGB sources (or for the RGB output if you want to use the Genius boxes as downscalers). Modu-1 is basically just a straight line of 6 pins, similar to the output of the Ultracade UVC, but not exactly the same. For the purpose of this review I quickly soldered a Modu-1 to HD15 adapter which gives me access to my usual cabling. For the RGB input you might also require a sync cleaner (depending on which systems you want to use as a source). To avoid any trouble I chose the Arcadeforce Sync Strike for this purpose (Scart RGB source > Sync Strike > VGA to Modu-1 adapter cable > Genius Box). On the VGA output I added a SLG3000 - just for fun of course. If you don't want or need scanlines, leave it away. With all that gear in place, we're ready to start! On the Genius 1 I had a *very* hard time to get a picture from my RGB sources. Please keep in mind that I don't have any arcade RGB sources around and can only test RGB with consumer levels (0.7V peak level on home equipment vs. 2V+ on arcade machines). I ran my RGB sources through a sync cleaner without any success. I then added a number of RGB interfaces between the Sync Strike and the Genius. Again no success with a Kramer sync converter and no success either with an Extron RGB 203rxi. Finally I tried an Extron RGB 190 and got a picture using the C-Sync output wired to the H-Sync input on the Genius's side. Seperate sync signals (H+V) didn't give a stable picture, although the Genius' CGA input is labeled RGBHV. The picture I got at first looked very weird (see small picture below on the left). After adjusting the contrast level down to about 50%, the colors looked right (bigger picture on the right). Linedoubling quality on 240p sources is very nice. No deinterlacing is applied and the results are easily on a level of the earlier XRGB linedoublers. The Genius' auto adjust function is a problem though. Again the unit is meant for nonstop usage with a single source. If you switch sources you'll need to re-adjust the geometry settings and this can get nerve-wrecking. And even with a lot of adjusting I wasn't able to get rid of an irritating and visible instability on the vertical axis - similar to what I'm used to from the early XRGB machines. It's a clear sign that the original Genius box was geared for use on CRTs and not on digital setups ending in a LCD or plasma setup. The SLG3000 works nicely on the Genius' output. Sync polarity isn't a problem and the scanlines are a perfect match for the linedoubled 480p output. The Genius II on the other hand performs like a much more modern machine. To be on the safe side I first connected a composite video source (a NTSC Super Famicom) and used the HDMI output to connect the upscaler to my display. The Genius II features a little LED display showing a number between 0 and 7 corresponding to the eight available output resolutions. Unfortunately not all resolutions were compatible with my Sony LCD, but at least XGA and 720p worked fine. No surprise here, but the NTSC composite signal looked crazy bad. Terrible comb filter quality with lots of artefacts and rainbows, but at least the linedoubling was again flawless. I first switched to the VGA output and as expected all the VESA timings worked fine on my setup. I then replaced the composite source with a proper RGB source and things started to shine. Contrary to the complicated setup on the original Genius, I was easily able to get a picture from all my RGB source running through a Sync Strike first and then directly into the Genius II using C-Sync. No RGB interfaces neccessary. The Genius II has an enforced auto adjust function which (successfully) tries to scale the active source to fullscreen. This is nice if one wants to get rid of the over/underscan borders, but it kinds ruins the perfect 1:2 linedoubling using straight VGA out (480p) and if one tried to overlay scanlines, they'll be misaligned, since most videogame systems run at resolutions around 224p (with Playstation 1 being one of the very few real 240p sources). Nevertheless using higher output resolutions like XGA brought a nice, colorful and especially smooth picture with no instability problems whatsoever. Quite nice. Again no unneccessary deinterlacing is applied. The OSD and menu on the Genius II is kinda hard to use. Again you can try to counter the auto adjust function, but once you turn of your source or the MIMO your settings will be gone and you won't adjust those settings twice. I also ran into a little bug using the menu: when reaching the last entry (OSD position) the MIMO got unresponsive and I had to power cycle to get back into action. Conclusion (for upscaler use): The original Genius is an outdated and hard to use upscaler, while the Genius II works quite nice, but brings nothing to the table what other processors don't. At the price you can easily get one of the older XRGB machines instead. But to be honest - my only reason for reviewing the MIMO units was to see how they perform with downscaling - so let's have a look at this neat function next! In the second part of this review, I'll focus on the downscaling capabitilities of the Genius boxes. Without repeating myself, just a short intro why downscaling is interesting: If you have a classic RGB tube (monitor, TV, arcade cab) at home and you want to connect a modern system like a MAME PC, a XBox360 or a Dreamcast you can usually do this by using a 15khz 480i RGB signal. This works, but causes problems like flickering graphics and doesn't show proper scanlines. On a PC you would also need an ArcadeVGA card to do so and not everyone likes to build custom PC setups. By using an external scan converter you can downconvert any VGA signal to a 15khz RGB signal. All of the scan converters sold today offer 480i output only (no 240p). The only two converters to offer real 240p output were some of Extrons Emotia units (out of production for more than 10 years now) and the Ultracade UVC (out of production since 2008 and now completely sold out). Although more expensive than a 2nd hand Emotia or a UVC, the Genius boxes promised to fill this gap and I'll have a look at how they perform. For my testrun I will have two targets. First a Sony BVM RGB monitor and second a XRGB-Mini upscaler. Both are always happy to receive real 240p material, so it will be easy to see if the Genius's output meets that promise. My source will be a XBox360 with titles like Futari, ESPGaluda II or Deathsmiles. Those run in native 480p and have to look 100% like the PCB once downscaled. The XBox360 is connected through VGA. I have an Emotia on hand to do a 1:1 comparison of the quality. Compared to the upscaler part of the review, this time it's easy to connect the source, since both the Genius and the Genius II have standard VGA inputs. On the output side I'll use my AMP Modu-1 to VGA adapter. I expect both Genius boxes to output seperate sync signals (H+V), so I have a bunch of interfaces ready to combine those sync signals back into composite sync for use on the Sony display and Micomsoft machine. The Benchmark to meet is an Emotia setup tweaked using an Extron interface with vertical shift function (see the two pics above). If set to 240p output, the Emotia will average two adjacent lines of the 480p source signal into one line. On a direct feed the Emotia begins with line 2 and merges it with line 3. The result will be a nice looking progressive 240p signal, but it will not offer perfect sharpness and won't look 100% like the PCB. For perfect results, the incoming signal has to shifted by one line (up or down). Some games (like Cave's XBox360 titles) have internal controls to do this and so does MAME. Overall it's still easier to use an Extron interface to do this. The following two screenshots show the difference. Standard alignment on the left, tweaked alignment on the right (easy to see on the big "1" on the top left, which is originally three pixels high, but spread over four lines without the alignment adjustment). The UVC performs just like the Emotia. This might be nitpicking, but if I hear people complain that an Emotia does not deliver *perfect* results from any MAME setup - this is the reason. First up was the original Genius box. XBox360 connected to the VGA input. The RGB output connected to the monitor (through a sync combiner interface). Unfortunately I didn't get any usable results. I checked the connections and cycled through the Genius's output options. I made sure the LED next to "15khz output" was lit, but again, no picture. I then connected the output of the Genius to a more advanced RGB interface and interestingly, it showed me that the output signal was around 30khz instead of 15khz. So, for the moment, no Genius 1 downscaling results. Fellow shmups.com board member Capoz had more luck with his unit, so I'm positive that I either did something wrong (unlikely) or the unit I have on hand is flaky. Next up was the Genius II box. It already performed much better on the upscaling testrun, so goods things are be expected. Again, 360 connected to the VGA input. Genius II output running through a sync combiner into the Sony BVM. Before powering up the Sony, I set the Genius II to output resolution #0, which - according the the manual - should be a 15khz 240p timing. One extremely positive thing I found right away is that the VGA output can be used instead of the Modu-1 connector. Both outputs deliver the same signal (at least in #0 mode). Of course the VGA connector is much easier to use for a wider range of available cables. With the seperate sync signals co