Hello! I'm currently working on this, too, so here's where I'm at. At first, I thought a simple VGA-to-HDMI converter would work, so I bought this one. It's actually not bad for $12 USD... it's very fast (some videos I watched indicated it's less than a frame of lag), but it has some trouble with the 720x400@70 DOS resolution. Some columns of pixels are missing from the right side of the display, and it takes a while to resync when the resolution changes. For the price, I would say it's *mostly* usable, but it didn't feel right to me.

I built a gbs-control upscaler to try to fix the resolution (then I put the output through the cheap HDMI adapter above). These are buildable for about $30-40 worth of parts (I have the worst soldering skills on the planet and I was able to do it). It successfully identifies and upscales the content, but has some issues with separate sync lines (RGBHV). I get a rolling vertical band slowing moving down the screen and although I can adjust it, I'm not able to get the entire resolution on the screen at one time. For example, I can either lose a few pixels the left side or the right side of the screen, but I have to choose. So, this isn't ideal either. Looks like this is a known issue and hopefully someone can resolve it.

I bought an Extron RGB-HDMI 300 A and an Extron VSC 300 from eBay for about $100 total, but I'm still waiting for these to arrive. This topic on SHMUPS and the product manuals seem to indicate this will work. If not, I'll import a Micomsoft XPC-4 and be done with it, but I'm hopeful that these two products will work at 1/4 the cost of the XPC.

Ah ! I just bought the same as yours at the beginning of your answer. It says that it supports 740x400 70hz DOS mode, but what about gaming in VGA 320x200 mode ?
I just bought too a Kramer Switcher/Scaler on Ebay for $36. It is said to do the job - input in VGA, scaling and re(framing in what resolution you wish - then you go out into one of these cheap VGA to HDMI adapter. Waiting to receive it.
I saw the comments on Shmups for that, that why i went for the Kramer.
We need a Google Drive particapting sheet so we can put our entries and tests on it. What do you think ?

As i said at the beginning, i have an OSSC too, but its complicated to use between the resolutions switchs when using the PC on MS-DOS.

Best regards
Philippe

Phil's Computer Lab has a video on the Startech VGA2HDMIPRO. I've used it too, and it works well for my needs.

https://youtu.be/pJPitZh3HKA

Prez wrote on 2020-04-21, 18:42:

It says that it supports 740x400 70hz DOS mode, but what about gaming in VGA 320x200 mode ?

I didn't actually test that... once I had trouble seeing everything as the system booted I realized it wasn't what I was looking for.

Prez wrote on 2020-04-21, 18:42:

We need a Google Drive particapting sheet so we can put our entries and tests on it. What do you think ?

It would have saved me many hours of reading! I would suggest editing your first post to contain a table of information rather than a Google Drive, if only because it's hard to archive Google Docs.

Hi there !

Just to let you know that by total surprise, i found a cheap device that accepts VGA MS-DOS 70hz signals to convert into HDMI standard resolutions (720P, 1080P, maybe something else) !
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/32971318124.ht … 6ef8IJ0stJ&mp=1

Only $31, it seems to be working very nicely. I will do a videotest tonight.

ps : Funny fact, nowhere you can find that it takes the 70hz VGA mode ! pfff

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

Prez wrote on 2020-05-18, 13:27:

Just to let you know that by total surprise, i found a cheap device that accepts VGA MS-DOS 70hz signals to convert into HDMI standard resolutions (720P, 1080P, maybe something else) !
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/32971318124.ht … 6ef8IJ0stJ&mp=1

Only $31, it seems to be working very nicely. I will do a videotest tonight.

Interested to hear more from your tests 😀 I have a cheap scaler I bought years ago, and my main issue is that the scaling is a little blurry. Looking for a solution that does nice, crisp integer scaling.

Pierre32 wrote on 2020-05-18, 13:50:

Prez wrote on 2020-05-18, 13:27:

Just to let you know that by total surprise, i found a cheap device that accepts VGA MS-DOS 70hz signals to convert into HDMI standard resolutions (720P, 1080P, maybe something else) !
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/32971318124.ht … 6ef8IJ0stJ&mp=1

Only $31, it seems to be working very nicely. I will do a videotest tonight.

Interested to hear more from your tests 😀 I have a cheap scaler I bought years ago, and my main issue is that the scaling is a little blurry. Looking for a solution that does nice, crisp integer scaling.

Its a bit blurry, yes, i need to check if i can do better :

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

Here is a video made with this VGA to HDMI scaler, and i think its great =
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQHT3goVE6s

Sound through a S2 Midi synthetizer on real hardware, of course 😉

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

I went through this a year or so ago. After 'abusing' my Amazon prime free returns, I found one that worked well for me. It was the OREI XD-600.
https://www.amazon.com/XD-600-Laptop-Video-Co … r/dp/B00IUJJHAW

It's still listed on their website, but it looks like it may be unavailable now.
https://www.orei.com/products/orei-xd-600-vga … with-audio-jack

I found that even if the specs show it supports 700x400@85Hz, you have to test it out. I bought a couple others that either wouldn't sync the input signal or didn't display it properly.

On the flip-side, if you're just looking for a new/modern monitor, try searching for EYOYO 1024x768. I got the 10" version and it looks great and so far has great compatibility.

Prez wrote on 2020-05-18, 16:34:

Here is a video made with this VGA to HDMI scaler, and i think its great = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQHT3goVE6s […]
Show full quote

Here is a video made with this VGA to HDMI scaler, and i think its great =
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQHT3goVE6s

Sound through a S2 Midi synthetizer on real hardware, of course 😉

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

Aaahhh.... very bad luck.
It seems i'm lacking about 30 pixels on the right of the picture !!
Ahh i'm so disappointed 🙁
Nothing i tried can help that, the picture is incomplete. Damn !

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

We use the Extron vga-hdmi device mentioned earlier in this thread and it works very well.

Playing dos or Windows 9X looks decent.

Just my two cents.

McKie1 wrote on 2020-05-19, 12:02:

We use the Extron vga-hdmi device mentioned earlier in this thread and it works very well.

Playing dos or Windows 9X looks decent.

Just my two cents.

I'll take my chance with the 300A, i just found one for a decent price, thanks for the advice !

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

Though Amazon doesn't appear to carry it anymore. I was using one of these for quite some time for use with my DOS gaming PC, Dreamcast, and my Game Gear and Lynx that both have VGA outputs on them. It worked excellently for all of those devices and with all the games I played at the time.

The Hammerhead by Sewell
https://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/03/23/sewell-h … nverter-review/

I've now migrated everything over to my Extron 7SC and it will passthru all the VGA modes directly to my OSSC which, so far seems to like the 4x option I have in place for it just fine from the Extron.

boxpressed wrote on 2020-04-21, 18:47:

Phil's Computer Lab has a video on the Startech VGA2HDMIPRO. I've used it too, and it works well for my needs.

https://youtu.be/pJPitZh3HKA

It seems that this product is discontinued and replaced by the VGA2HDPRO2. I assume it would be similar but Phil's video is about 6 years old by now... Is there any experience with the new version?

This new one is quite expensive as well... 🙁

pan069 wrote on 2020-05-19, 21:38:

It seems that this product is discontinued and replaced by the VGA2HDPRO2. I assume it would be similar but Phil's video is about 6 years old by now... Is there any experience with the new version?

This new one is quite expensive as well... 🙁

I heard somewhere (maybe even on Vogons) that the VGA2HDMIPRO2 is not as good for capturing as the earlier version. Yes, they've really shot up in price over the past few years. However, you can sometimes grab one for $50 or less if you have an eBay alert set up.

Prez wrote on 2020-04-21, 11:06:

Did someone made such a comparison table somewhere ? so we can easily see what are the best options despite the OSSC for MS-DOS games capture in 320x200 mode ?

Isn't 320x200 just about the same as 640x400 from a monitor's point of view ?
If memory serves, the VGA circuit normally double-scans 200 line modes to 400 lines, and 320 line modes to 640 lines.
There are exceptions, of course. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3mikF1bUT4

boxpressed wrote on 2020-05-19, 22:39:

pan069 wrote on 2020-05-19, 21:38:

It seems that this product is discontinued and replaced by the VGA2HDPRO2. I assume it would be similar but Phil's video is about 6 years old by now... Is there any experience with the new version?

This new one is quite expensive as well... 🙁

I heard somewhere (maybe even on Vogons) that the VGA2HDMIPRO2 is not as good for capturing as the earlier version. Yes, they've really shot up in price over the past few years. However, you can sometimes grab one for $50 or less if you have an eBay alert set up.

I wonder if the VGA2HDMIPRO is re branded Atlona AT-HD500 . The size and layout look almost identical .

darry wrote on 2020-05-20, 13:12:

I wonder if the VGA2HDMIPRO is re branded Atlona AT-HD500 . The size and layout look almost identical .

I can't say 100%, but they do look the same. Although I don't know what the VGA2HMDIPRO2 looks like, so it might be a clone of that. Some of them are inexpensive enough that I'd risk it if I really needed one.

Remember that these have that unusual color range demonstrated in Phil's video. It's not a problem for capture because you can edit during post-production, but it might be an issue if you want to use it for gameplay only.

Hi all !
I just received this one, very cheap, only $10, and it works so great !!
https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B07VW6VK66/r … 0?ie=UTF8&psc=1

From Windows 98 screens in 1024x768 with a perfect image to MS-DOS gaming in VGA, everything is fine !

Here is a first result, i think its perfect for this price :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8e6Nxl6VU8

I just used a cheap HDMI H264 encoder ($30), the video quality is even better than that you can watch on youtube of course !

Best regards
Philippe Dubois