XRGB Upscan Converter Series

I'm seriously considering investing in an XRGB upscan converter but am in need of some recommendations as to which one to try to obtain and why.

I'm undecided at this point as to whether to use the XRGB to play games on my 32" 16:9 LCD TV or on my 17" 4:3 CRT VGA monitor. I am leaning toward the latter, as the games will obviously be in 4:3, and it is easier to tate.

I remember the XRGB 2, 2+, and 3 all having different strengths and weaknesses. It wasn't that the newer ones were better in all areas. Does anyone have some facts about that or some first hand experience with any of the versions?

The first console I am interested in using with this is the Saturn. Is there anything I need to know specifically about that, aside from the obvious need for an RGB cable? PS2 is another possibility, so I'll go ahead and ask the same question for that.

Finally, does anyone have a link where these things are for sale besides ebay?

I had an XRGB2+ I had bought from NCS (years ago) up until about a month or so ago. I sold it on this very site. I used it for all my systems sans 360. Had it hooked up to the TV with a VGA cable. For the Ps2 I ordered a D-link cable to connect to the XRGB unit (It has a D-link port) and the rest: Saturn - SVid; DC - VGA; SNES composite; etc.

I have nothing but praise for the thing.

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Originally Posted by icarusfall

I had an XRGB2+ I had bought from NCS (years ago) up until about a month or so ago. I sold it on this very site. I used it for all my systems sans 360. Had it hooked up to the TV with a VGA cable. For the Ps2 I ordered a D-link cable to connect to the XRGB unit (It has a D-link port) and the rest: Saturn - SVid; DC - VGA; SNES composite; etc.

I have nothing but praise for the thing.

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I have one called the XGA. It only supports S-video and composite upscale. Is that a lesser version, by the same manufacturer?

When my 32" HD Wega blew out its board, I used this to play my Saturn, Gamecube and PS2 using composite and S-video cables. It took a little getting used to, but it did a semi-decent job of using my VGA monitor for console gaming. Still, the consoles look better on the Wega, than they did using the XGA.

XRGB-3 won't work particularly well with retro systems so I'd avoid it and look for the XRGB-2 or 2plus. The latter does not work well with arcade PCBs, the former works with tons of stuff including PAL but does have a known power switch/hot PSU (depending upon the version) problem.

I used to have the XRGB2+ and I recommend it without hesitation. It supports both component and RGB and comes with adapters that let you connect standard component cables to the units d-terminal and 21-pin ports.
I had my PS2, GC and XBOX running through component and my Dreamcast running through s-video (for non VGA games, of course), and all looked great.
Just about every aspect of the VGA output can be tweaked and adjusted to make everything look just right, and you can make all adjustments via the remote.
The only complaints I have are minor ones. The onscreen display has a weird jitter to it, but the actual image is perfectly stable, so it's really a non-issue. The other problem I had was that the included VGA cable is cheap and poorly shielded, but that wasn't really a problem either, since I already had some high quality cables that I used instead.

Thanks, everyone. It sounds like a 2+ is what I want, since I am not planning to get back into PCBs any time soon. If anyone stumbles upon one for sale somewhere, please let me know.

Through blind luck and a tiny bit of deviousness, I was able to score a brand new XRGB-2+ from a seller on shmups.com. I ordered a PS2 D-terminal cable and am looking for a Saturn RGB cable now.

This morning a thought hit me. I may order a Wii D-Terminal cable for use with the 2D GameCube games but also the Virtual Console! All of the settings available to me through the XRGB would justify the "paying for ROMs" approach I would think. Has anyone else thought of this or tried it?

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

Through blind luck and a tiny bit of deviousness, I was able to score a brand new XRGB-2+ from a seller on shmups.com. I ordered a PS2 D-terminal cable and am looking for a Saturn RGB cable now.

This morning a thought hit me. I may order a Wii D-Terminal cable for use with the 2D GameCube games but also the Virtual Console! All of the settings available to me through the XRGB would justify the "paying for ROMs" approach I would think. Has anyone else thought of this or tried it?

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im not up to speed on this stuff, but don't most non hi-res 2-d games look like ass on monitors/nice displays, or does Nintendo bump them up for the VC?

That's what the XRBG is for. It up-converts with various options. The fact that Nintendo used completely unenhanced ROMs is actually a good thing in this case.

Another idea I had this morning was to connect the GameCube with the GameBoy player to get upconverted GBA games. I'm going to go apeshit this weekend trying all of these combinations.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

That's what the XRBG is for. It up-converts with various options. The fact that Nintendo used completely unenhanced ROMs is actually a good thing in this case.

Another idea I had this morning was to connect the GameCube with the GameBoy player to get upconverted GBA games. I'm going to go apeshit this weekend trying all of these combinations.

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you sound like a fat kid in a candy store. :tu: i always wanted to try an XRGB but never did enough research or had the disposable income to track one down.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

That's what the XRBG is for. It up-converts with various options. The fact that Nintendo used completely unenhanced ROMs is actually a good thing in this case.

Another idea I had this morning was to connect the GameCube with the GameBoy player to get upconverted GBA games. I'm going to go apeshit this weekend trying all of these combinations.

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Hook up your PC to your TV and you can do all that and more.

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Originally Posted by kingoffighters

Hook up your PC to your TV and you can do all that and more.

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yoshi feels very strongly against free roms though.

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Originally Posted by kingoffighters

Hook up your PC to your TV and you can do all that and more.

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Not really. The PC emulators don't offer the same options or controls, even if I were a fan of intellectual property theft, which I am not.

edit: The poster formerly known as Dyne beat me to it.

PC Emulators give you even more video options, so I am not sure what you mean. But I see your stance on the intellectual property theft.

Someone over at neo-geo.com is selling one now, but no price (just best offer)

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165715

Here are some screenshots from my setup of using the XRGB-2plus with SELECTY 21 (RGB switchboxes) and Sony CRT HDTV.

http://www.wannafight.us/tenshingood...o_sf2_pic1.jpg
Super Street Fighter II X (3DO)


http://www.wannafight.us/tenshingood...ionic_pic2.jpg
Bionic Commando (GB on SGB2)


http://www.wannafight.us/tenshingood...tasic_pic1.jpg
Fantasic Pinball (PS)


http://www.wannafight.us/tenshingood..._yuyu_pic1.jpg
Yu Yu Hakusho (MD)


http://www.wannafight.us/tenshingood...odcds_pic1.jpg
BIOHAZARD 1.5 (PS)

damn i want one of these now :(

what do they normally cost?

anywhere to get a new one?

Wow, that looks really good. Yeah, when I get my HDTV this is something I need to look into... wait a second...

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Originally Posted by Shou

http://www.wannafight.us/tenshingood...odcds_pic1.jpg
BIOHAZARD 1.5 (PS)

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:doubt:

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Originally Posted by D_N_G

anywhere to get a new one?

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2 is old, the latest one is 3 and you can get it from ncsx.com

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Originally Posted by kingoffighters

2 is old, the latest one is 3 and you can get it from ncsx.com

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they're listing OOS for the 3rd one as well.

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Originally Posted by D_N_G

damn i want one of these now :(

what do they normally cost?

anywhere to get a new one?

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The 2 and 2+ were over $200 when released. The 3 was over $300. I haven't seen one available at a retail place in quite a while. You'll have to keep an eye out on forums or ebay and expect to pay at least $150 used or well more than that new in my experience.

My package arrived today. I tried it on my 17" CRT monitor and just couldn't live with the size. I was wary of using it with an LCD, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I moved it over to my 32" LCD HDTV, connected via a VGA cable. I have my Saturn connected via RGB and my PS2 connected via D-Terminal. So far I've only played shooters. Sexy Parodius on Saturn, Gradius V on PS2, and G Darius on Taito Legends 2 on PS2 all look fabulous. The XRGB upconverts them to 720x480 (at least by default... I haven't played with all the settings yet). Once it gets dark, I'll take some pictures and post them.

so if i wanted to hook my ps2 or xbox up to my 19" widescreen lcd, this would be the way to go? would all ps2 games display fine or just progressive? how would the two systems handle widescreen?

All the games display fine. The 2+ doesn't output progressive at all. I believe the 3 does. Since I am only running older stuff, I'm ok with that, since none of the games were progressive anyway. For 480p PS2 games, I'm using my PS3. So far, I am only getting a wider screen format, though I suspect that is an option. 720x480 is 15:10. It has a small border around it on my 16:9 TV. Being able to add scanlines and stuff like that is so damn cool, since many of these games would have had them in the arcade.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

scanlines

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RECAP!!!!1!!

desu ne?

scanlines are the shit

recap was ahead of his time imo