maybe this will do ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GBS-8220-RGB-CGA-EGA-YUV-to-VGA-ARCADE-VIDEO-CONVER…
On 5/23/2015 8:24 AM, Mark J. Blair wrote:
Assuming that I don't find an off-the-shelf
converter that Just Works for our poorly-behaving vintage computer video outputs, what I
have in mind is this: A converter that is specifically designed to emulate the response of
an 80's TV or 80's composite monitor when driven by a vintage computer output, and
translate that as well as practical to modern displays (particularly, 1080p via HDMI). I
have some ideas about how to accomplish this, but I will need to do more work to see if I
can create a solution that is not absurdly expensive.
On the input side, I envision having two RCA jacks and an F connector, accepting
composite video, Y/C separated video (for C64, etc.), or TV RF input. It should be able to
accept NTSC or PAL, so the US and UK folks can play. Is there a need for SECAM, or any
other video standards? What about other electrical interface options? I'm only
hands-on familiar with US machines. I understand that Atari computers were especially
popular in Poland, so I'd like to support those... anybody here know what
format/channel a Polish Atari 8-bit would output?
In the middle will be some FPGA to perform any necessary magic. I've been looking at
a prohibitively expensive ($115) one that has enough dual-port RAM blocks to support a
frame buffer. I need to see if I can push the frame buffer out into external RAM in order
to move to a cheaper FPGA. It would be ideal if the video parameters could be figure out
automagically, but I have a feeling there will be a need for user-adjusted parameters, and
possibly even loading up different FPGA programming to handle some odd-ball signal.
Output would be HDMI, at 1080p. Are other interfaces and/or resolutions desirable?
I'd like to keep it as feature-simple as practical.
Handling the VHF/UHF tuner economically may be another sticky point. Maxim makes a tuner
chip that's available at Digi-Key, but I refuse to design Maxim parts into anything on
account of off-topic reasons. Mouser has stock of a very inexpensive ST tuner chip that
looks very promising, but the full datasheet isn't openly available. I need to contact
ST to see if I can talk them out of it. Their site mentions an NDA for the eval board, so
it might be tough, particularly since my intention would be for my design to be open to
allow off-label uses.
Assuming I don't lose interest before completing this (a high-risk caveat, naturally)
and that I can find a way to make the price bearable, what do y'all think about this
silliness? I'm particularly interested in learning about non-US TV formats so I can
design in maximum utility.
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