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VGA Capture Thread

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Reply 520 of 1395, by ramunegaming

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I recently got the Sewell Manta which was working great when I last used it (3 weeks ago) however, I've since run into the problem of it not making the resolution correct so I get a zoomed in image (similar to if you don't use a scaler) I'm not sure if it's the device being defective and damaged or if I'm doing something wrong but I can't see how I'm doing anything wrong it's a plug in and go sort of deal. Side note: Are there any other alternative brands for VGA capture?

Reply 521 of 1395, by root42

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ramunegaming wrote:

I recently got the Sewell Manta which was working great when I last used it (3 weeks ago) however, I've since run into the problem of it not making the resolution correct so I get a zoomed in image (similar to if you don't use a scaler) I'm not sure if it's the device being defective and damaged or if I'm doing something wrong but I can't see how I'm doing anything wrong it's a plug in and go sort of deal. Side note: Are there any other alternative brands for VGA capture?

What are you using on the software side for capturing? OBS? What are your settings then?

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Reply 522 of 1395, by ramunegaming

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root42 wrote:
ramunegaming wrote:

I recently got the Sewell Manta which was working great when I last used it (3 weeks ago) however, I've since run into the problem of it not making the resolution correct so I get a zoomed in image (similar to if you don't use a scaler) I'm not sure if it's the device being defective and damaged or if I'm doing something wrong but I can't see how I'm doing anything wrong it's a plug in and go sort of deal. Side note: Are there any other alternative brands for VGA capture?

What are you using on the software side for capturing? OBS? What are your settings then?

I'm currently using OBS Studio with a setup like this: PC VGA Out -> Manta VGA IN -> Manta HDMI out -> XCapture-1 HDMI In

No settings on the capture card change anything. As for OBS settings, for the video settings they're your general run of the mill settings video is downscaled to 720p 30fps. As far as I'm aware no other OBS settings would affect the outcome.

Reply 523 of 1395, by root42

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ramunegaming wrote:

No settings on the capture card change anything. As for OBS settings, for the video settings they're your general run of the mill settings video is downscaled to 720p 30fps. As far as I'm aware no other OBS settings would affect the outcome.

Well, cropping transformation might do something like you describe. However, maybe you can share some screenshots?

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Reply 524 of 1395, by ramunegaming

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A picture would be a good idea I agree 😜.

https://imgur.com/a/WhEuRh4

EDIT: for reference: http://falselogic.net/images/KQ1/sciv_100.png

As for transform/cropping, I don't use it and it's currently not in use I even reset it just in case. I'm pretty sure it's a hardware problem more so then a software problem.

Reply 525 of 1395, by root42

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Ok, this is already much more enlightening. So first of all it seems the capture device either stretches the incoming picture, or your OBS settings do that. Would be nice to see your OBS transformations. There you can definitely set the aspect ratio so that it does not look so awkward.
As for the missing top part: I had the same problem with a cheap vga2hdmi converter. Only when I bought the OSSC I got an uncropped picture for 320x200 modes. Although I am still struggling with 480 lines modes...

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Reply 526 of 1395, by ramunegaming

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My transformation on obs is just the default reset settings. I have concidered the OSSC in the past for other reasons, might not be a bad investment. The thing is the manta was meant to solve the resolution issue as someone on here recommended it to me and it was a pain to get it shipped to the UK too. I wonder if something inside broke because it's so hot here atm.

In terms of dos games is there many that support a 480 resolution? I did grow up on dos games but my knowledge outside of sierra and lucasarts is limited. To be honest if only a small handful of games support 480 then the OSSC might be the solution for me. I do a lot of retro console gaming too so I guess I can use it for that.

Any idea if there's another hdmi scaler for cheaper though as I am broke atm. Might be nice to have an alternative until I can get the funds.

Reply 527 of 1395, by root42

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You should definitely try the OBS transform and crop settings. That way your 320x200 games will look ok, minus the missing lines at the top. But I think this is a problem with the cheap scalers. Or maybe our capture devices...

I don't think heat is the problem. Then it would probably not work at all, or have weird artifacts.

There are quite a few SVGA or 480 line VGA games, but indeed most are 200 lines, and a few 240 lines.

Out of curiosity: what capture device are you using?

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Reply 528 of 1395, by ramunegaming

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Oh, maybe the image wasn't clear enough but it's not just missing lines at the top, it's a bulk of the right as well and a few lines from the bottom. I'd say it's about 25% of the overall image if not more, cropping, unfortunately, won't help with anything.

I just don't understand how it was working fine the last time I used it then suddenly today back to resolution issues.

As for what I'm using. I'm using the XCapture-1.

Reply 529 of 1395, by root42

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Did you try hooking up the Manta to a HDMI screen, instead of the capture device?

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Reply 531 of 1395, by root42

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Ok, but this rather shifts the blame to the upscaler, and not the capture device, which lets us concentrate on rather one device. I guess the Manta does not have any drivers or control software?

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Reply 533 of 1395, by root42

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The ossc is great, but also not without flaws and needs a lot of tweaking for PCs. It is more suited for consoles. For 640x480 i need to use the DTV setting for example. And text mode needed heavy tweaking of the timings.

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Reply 534 of 1395, by ramunegaming

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Well it seems to be my old option. As long as I can get it working I don't mind if I have to do some tweaking, I did also read this elsewhere. I have a framemeister for console upscaling but while it will support a VGA signal it lacks port for it. To solve this in theory I could get a VGA box like the toro but that's £60 but there is a chance it won't work which would mean £60 wasted as I won't have a use for it as I would then seek out the OSSC so I might as well just jump straight to OSSC which I can use for other things. I've read that you can link up the framemeister and OSSC for some interesting stuff... Now I just need money.

Reply 535 of 1395, by BeginnerGuy

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Just caught up with your PM. When I get home (unfortunately not until next weekend) I'll try a kings quest on mine. I don't recall it ever squishing the top of the screen like that on either my HDTV or my capture card (Avermedia C985). Last games I was playing with mine were DOOM (and doom engine games) and I had no issues. I wonder if yours has some hardware issue or if they've since modified the components, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009TB3HVA/ … ailpage_o00_s00 is the link mine was purchased from so model SW-30008.

DOS PC VGA --> 4K TV

The above link is the post that led to me purchasing my own sewell manta. Looks like maybe only the top few rows of pixels are cut off on his tv on what I imagine is the same exact game engine.

Sup. I like computers. Are you a computer?

Reply 536 of 1395, by pixelmischief

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I recently tackled this problem with help from all the great information in this thread. The solution that works for me is a Gefen VGA to DVI Plus with a DVI to HDMI cable going directly into my Samsung 4K TV. I get all modes: BIOS, DOS, VESA, and Windows 3.1 with both SVGA and S3 Trio 64 drivers. The only caveat is that the Gefen output is vastly superior at 720P when compared to either 480P or 1080P. I suspect this has to do with some disharmony between the Gefen's scaler and the Samsung's scaler.

Very, very happy.

Reply 537 of 1395, by ik777

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pixelmischief wrote:

I recently tackled this problem with help from all the great information in this thread. The solution that works for me is a Gefen VGA to DVI Plus with a DVI to HDMI cable going directly into my Samsung 4K TV. I get all modes: BIOS, DOS, VESA, and Windows 3.1 with both SVGA and S3 Trio 64 drivers. The only caveat is that the Gefen output is vastly superior at 720P when compared to either 480P or 1080P. I suspect this has to do with some disharmony between the Gefen's scaler and the Samsung's scaler.

Very, very happy.

Gefen should do that, I also recently bought them cheaply. Since portta scaler is less than 10 bucks, it should be more cheaper.
Please do not advertise this one's capable of 720*400 so price got lower. (I think ebay things are from school.)
But Phil will advertise it... 🤣 🤣

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Reply 538 of 1395, by northdale

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Hi. So I have been roughly reading through this thread., and man it's a lot of information.

Basically, I need a portable setup that is not to expensive but has pretty good quality for dos games and more modern games.

If I get a Gefen VGA to HDMI and Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus, would it probably work fine?

Edit: I'm taking my chances on elegato game capture hd 60s for about 90$. Seamed cheap so.
And I bough the gefen to dvi. should work with a simple dvi to hdmi adapter. I hope.

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Reply 539 of 1395, by creepingnet

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I use a cheap and crappy setup I put together for about $1.99, it does the job though.

The main capture device is a VIDBOX HT USB DV Capture box. It only does composite or S-VIDEO, works okay with the Tandy 1000 (though I'd probably get best quality with a monitor attached)
vidbox-mac-100690875-large.jpg

The second capture device is what I use to convert my VGA Signal into a Composite signal, this is a "PC to VIDEO EZ" box. It works alright. I've also used to to run my VGA machines into an older CRT TV or a TV without VGA inputs.
G126-1034-call02-ar.jpg

I use Open Broadcaster Studio for capturing the footage, and I use OpenShot Video Editor to edit the video captured and piece it together for youtube.

The computer I'm using for all this is a Core 2 Duo 3.0 GHz with 6GB of RAM and Windows 10, with a 512GB SSD and a 1TB SATA HDD. I eventually plan to upgrade it sometime in the next year or so when I can afford a new CPU/MOBO/RAM setup for it in mATX format. It does the job but it has been a little more sluggish lately. There is also a little latency between what is actually on-screen on the PC being captured and what is on-screen on that actual device (if I'm not using the capture monitor on my main PC to see what I'm doing). It can't be too bad though - made it to Night 5 on FIve Nights at Freddy's using my old crappy Win7 Toshiba with this setup without dying once so the latency is a non-issue for 90% of what I'm doing.

Here's a a screenshot of my 486 DX4-100 running Windows For Workgroups 3.11 from just a few seconds ago

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Plus I did a new trailer today showing some footage of the rig in action in short spurts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=30&v=b89lnIIKnGQ

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My Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/creepingnet
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