PDA

Archiv verlassen und diese Seite im Standarddesign anzeigen : International Topic



FunkyCoch
08-04-2007, 08:40
Hallo leute,

Here should I stop my German Knowledges :)
Yesterday someone from a french forum inform us about your project.
I spent my complete morning to read all the topics out there to be sure of what your project was dealing with.
First of all I must say it is absolutely amazing to see all your work and explainations, even if I wasn't able to understand in deep.

As your tool is quite a revolution, I think many people worldwide whose german skills aren't that high will ask you many questions about soft15K.

It maybe useful to start an international topic or section in order to open your work to the international audience and for sure get additional support and testing help from the whole world.

Thank you for wasting your time reading this.
Funkycochise

SailorSat
08-04-2007, 18:26
Thanks for your feedback.

I'll add an english version of the topics soon.

FunkyCoch
09-04-2007, 15:50
Thank you for your answer.
Many eyes are spotted on your project for a few days
We are following your progress with attention :thumbs:
Despite the fact i don't have a correct setup yet to test your work.

JoyMonkey
07-05-2007, 14:35
This looks great! I'm hoping to test it out this week. I have one question though:
The FAQ says that Soft-15KHz works with ATI Radeon cards, but will it also work for older ATI Rage cards?

I like to use old Dell Optiplex computers for my MAME cabinets because they have on-board ATI Rage graphics that work very well with AdvMame and arcade monitors in DOS.

SailorSat
07-05-2007, 19:12
Sadly it won't.
The Rage128 drivers do support my programming, however, they don't support custom resolution.
Rage XL and RageIIc drivers don't support either.

JoyMonkey
13-05-2007, 22:17
I'm trying to make a custom resolution for Robotron and Joust. These games run at 292x240.
I don't completely understand the "Formeln und Grundlagen" thread, so can you tell me if I'm right here?


Horizontal:
H_ACTIVE = 292
H_TOTAL = 292 / 0.73 = 400
H_START = (0.73 + 0.09) * 400 = 328
H_END = (0.73 + 0.09 + 0.09) * 400 = 364

Vertical:
V_ACTIVE = 240
V_TOTAL = 240 / 0,92 = 261
V_START = (0,92 + 0,01) * 261= 0,93 * 261= 242
V_END = (0,92 + 0,01 + 0,01) * 261= 0,94 * 261= 245

Number of pixels = 400 horizontal pixels per line * 261 vertical lines = 104400 pixels per frame

PIX_FREQ = 104400 pixels per frame * 60 frames per second = 6264000 pixels per second = 6.26MHz

Modeline <NAME> <PIX_FREQ> <H_ACTIV> <H_START> <H_END> <H_TOTAL> <V_ACTIV> <V_START> <V_END> <V_TOTAL> <OPTIONS>

Modeline "292x240@60" 6.26 292 328 364 400 240 242 245 261 -hsync -vsync

Is this right? I'll try and test it out tomorrow night, but to be on the safe side I'd like to know if I got it completely wrong.

SailorSat
13-05-2007, 22:28
yeah that should do it.
you got a typo there, but the calculations are right.


Horizontal
Active = 292
Total = 320 / 0.73 = 400



also, you could try lowering the horizontal sync width a bit.
this would look something like this.

Modeline "292x240@60" 5.88 292 304 336 376 240 242 245 261 -hsync -vsync

JoyMonkey
13-05-2007, 22:37
Thanks for spotting my mistake, I fixed the typo above.

Why would I want to lower the horizontal sync width? How did you calculate those values?

SailorSat
13-05-2007, 22:58
no specific reason, I used 0.8 instead of 0.73.
but that differs from screen to screen.
it may be you get some black borders to the left and right of the image, thats why :)

JoyMonkey
15-05-2007, 14:44
I tried both modes (using the 0.73 and 0.8 values) and it looks exactly the same each way.
The mode didn't display correctly using my GeForce cards (the picture doesn't use the full horizontal width - see attached).

Then I tried my Radeon 7500; everything looks much better with this card and the custom 292x240 mode works perfectly!
:thumbs:

pierrick
09-09-2007, 19:21
hey ! your job is Great :D

I have test your prog on my cab and it works great but i have a problem with the Verticale synchro of the monitor (an hantarex polo 20"). I couldnt set the V sync and its strange because on dos (with advmame and advmenu), the v_sync is Ok and i have no problem to set her.

My config:

- Windows XP pro sp1
- Radeon VE DRR
- lastest ATI driver
- your (wonderfull) prog :p

Have you an idee ?

thanks, your prog is Great !

SailorSat
10-09-2007, 10:01
Mhm...
What Version of MAME do you use?

As far as I know, AdvMAME does NOT support vsync in windows.
With normal MAME (or MAME32) just enable "tripple buffer".

Should work then.

pierrick
10-09-2007, 11:02
Hi thanks for your response.
In my mame cab, I use advmame,advmenu on DOS witch arcmon.sys driver.
With this solution, the V_sync on the monitor is OK and I'have no matter to set it.

When I test your great prog, I couldn't set the V_sync. When I try to regulate it, as finely as possible, the v-sync rols slowly uninterrupted and coulnd'nt fix.

thanks ;)

SailorSat
10-09-2007, 16:24
Hm... That's strange...
How is your monitor wired up? Are you using a J-PAC?

Soft-15kHz should output negative (seperated) H- and V-Sync so you need to connect both on the VGA side (or twist them together for C-Sync).

Works fine on my Polo 25"...

I really wonder because it works in DOS...

pierrick
10-09-2007, 19:33
yes it's strange and an other personn as the same probleme on gamoover.net
(french arcade forum).

Yes I use a JPAC between my computer and my PC and someone tel me that I must use the same MODELINE on windows that on DOS but I don't know what is it.

bye & thanks ;)

SailorSat
10-09-2007, 22:10
Hm... I'm clueless!
Modelines won't help at all.
This seems to be a rather specific problem, although I can't tell whats the problem right now :(

JGreen2034
17-09-2007, 18:21
Hi SailorSat, I am new to this forum and am working on an arcade project using Windows XP Embedded. Many thanks for your work on Soft15k, it has helped me tremendously! I am sorry I am not German-speaking, so I especially appreciate this English-language forum.

What I am wondering about is this: is there a way to make Soft15k install resolutions automatically, with no user intervention (no GUI buttons)? Such as with command-line parameters, or through a startup file?

Regards,

Jason

SailorSat
17-09-2007, 18:25
Hm... Not yet.
But that's quite a nice idea!

jpblond
02-10-2007, 20:46
Sorry for posting the other posts in the german section (only now seen this english section).:p
Well iīve made progresses after discussing the matter in a portuguese forum http://www.techzonept.com/showthread.php?p=2062734#post2062734

Iīve installed Catalyst 6.1 , last version of soft-15khz and set to 15khz, boot-up (mixed image,i thought itīs normal), and when windows starts, I started setting H-Freq and V-Freq of my monitor, until I almost almost get the image stopped, but never been able to full-stop completely the picture.
Do you have any ideas why the image never stops completely.
By the way, the J-Pac never lights up on XP (but if I see the picture like that itīs because itīs in the 15khz frequency right?).

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/2941/000b0190ih3.th.jpg (http://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=000b0190ih3.jpg)
http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/465/000b0191bq1.th.jpg (http://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=000b0191bq1.jpg)
http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/5589/000b0192wf2.th.jpg (http://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=000b0192wf2.jpg)
http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/8985/000b0193oa9.th.jpg (http://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=000b0193oa9.jpg)

Thanks and keep up the good work.
João Pedro

caso1326
19-10-2007, 16:08
i have a video card geforce 7100 gs in pci express
can i have a video signal of 15khz with "soft15khz" ??
danke schoen

Kernel
29-10-2007, 21:34
Hi all. Thank you very much for this great piece of software.

This prog. works great with my arcade monitor + riva tnt2. It correctly switches between the resolutions.

I'm an AdvanceMame fan and I'm trying to use custom15khz.txt. I've copied all the resolutions I have setted with advv (I've used the format you've suggested in the faqs: not "device_video_modeline" but "modeline"), but I see that Soft15khz picks always its resolutions ignoring "custom15khz.txt". I've tried also with "remove x,y" with no success.

Here an example of what I've done with "advmame.rc" resolutions and "custom15khz.txt":

-Two AdvMame resolutions setted with advv and stored in "advmame.rc":
device_video_modeline custom_304x224@59Hz 6.49999 304 336 360 416 224 234 237 264 -hsync -vsync
device_video_modeline standard_320x240 6.9168 320 352 384 440 240 242 245 262 -hsync -vsync

"Custom15khz.txt" resolutions "transformation":
modeline "custom_304x224@59Hz" 6.49999 304 336 360 416 224 234 237 264 -hsync -vsync
modeline "standard_320x240" 6.9168 320 352 384 440 240 242 245 262 -hsync -vsync

Maybe I'm missing something!

SailorSat
29-10-2007, 21:51
Hi Kernel,

Your 320x240 will give problems for sure, because windows is hardcoded to doublescan 320 pixel resolutions, try 321 active pixels

The "real" NeoGeo Modeline would be modeline "neogeo" 6 320 350 380 384 224 240 256 264

But here happens the same, use 321 active pixels.

The rest of the resolutions should work.
At least the to do for me.

PLEASE NOTE! You can only define up to 31 resolutions with the Detonator/ForceWare because of a buffer overrun bug, maybe thats why it won't work for you.
Try removing ALL of the builtin resolutions.

demether
23-12-2007, 11:52
hi everybody

I tried to use soft15khz on my mamecab (ati radeon 7000) : it works great BUT I 've got a big problem: I use a tv with scart rgb. So I can't fix the image like on an arcade monitor.

On my configuration, the image goes on exterior of the screen (1-2cms on each side)...but I don't know how ti fix it. I tried catalyst software to reduce the screen image, but when I do that I loose synchro.

What I would need, is a solution like advv in advancemame, little software who permit to finely tune and calibrate screens, even scart rgb tvs by software.

Anybody knows how to fix the problem? thank you

SailorSat
23-12-2007, 13:54
There's only one way...
PowerStrip.

Nemo[
14-01-2008, 00:40
Hi SailorSat, thanks for a great program, got my arcade cab up and running thanks to you :)

I've got some questions, my specs are 7600GS running the latest nvidia drives and XP sP2 btw

1) Adding custom resultions:
If I add the line to custom resultions15khz.txt
Modeline "720x288 at 50" 13.88 720 742 808 888 288 290 292 313 -hsync -vsync
I get the error Run-time error '13': Type mismatch
Did I miss something? An empty resultions15khz.txt file works fine. 640x288 also works great.

2) 321x256 goes out of range and gets filtered out by the j-pac. I can live with it, but curious about why?
From the german forum, probably just a chipset problem



ATI NVidia Matrox1 Matrox2
240x240 ok ok N/A N/A
256x240 ok ok N/A N/A
256x256 error1 ok N/A N/A
256x264 ok error2 N/A N/A
288x240 ok error1 N/A N/A
296x240 ok error1 N/A N/A
304x240 ok ok N/A N/A
321x200 ok ok error3 N/A
321x240 ok ok ok* N/A
321x256 ok error1 ok* N/A
336x240 ok error1 ok N/A
352x256 ok ok ok N/A
352x264 error1 ok ok N/A
352x288 ok ok ok N/A
368x240 ok error2 ok N/A
384x288 ok ok ok N/A
392x240 ok ok ok error1
401x256 ok ok ok* N/A
448x240 ok ok ok N/A
512x240 ok ok ok N/A
512x288 ok ok ok N/A
512x448 ok ok ok N/A
512x512 ok ok ok N/A
632x264 ok ok ok N/A
640x240 ok ok ok N/A
640x288 ok ok ok N/A
640x480 ok ok ok N/A
720x480 ok ok N/A N/A
800x600 ok ok ok error1
1024x768 ok ok error3 error3

3) For some reason neo-geo games double every 8th (aprox) row of pixels in mameUI. Has anyone else noticed this. It's easy to see in cyberlip or any neo-geo game with horizontal scrolling. Forcing the resolution to 640x240 lessens the problem but doesn't solve it. I guess this is a mame issue more then soft15khz though.

*edit*

SailorSat
14-01-2008, 10:03
1) Adding custom resultions:
If I add the line to custom resultions15khz.txt
Modeline "720x288 at 50" 13.88 720 742 808 888 288 290 292 313 -hsync -vsync
I get the error Run-time error '13': Type mismatch
Did I miss something? An empty resultions15khz.txt file works fine. 640x288 also works great.

try without spaces in the resolution name, i.E. "720x288@50" should work.



2) 321x256 goes out of range and gets filtered out by the j-pac. I can live with it, but curious about why?
I don't know for sure why that happens, does work sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't.


3) For some reason neo-geo games double every 8th (aprox) row of pixels in mameUI. Has anyone else noticed this. It's easy to see in cyberlip or any neo-geo game with horizontal scrolling. Forcing the resolution to 640x240 lessens the problem but doesn't solve it. I guess this is a mame issue more then soft15khz though.
Thats because the neogeo has a resolution of 320x224, however it displays garbage in the leftmost 8 and rightmost 8 pixels.
MAMEdev decided to "stretch" the center 304 pixels to 320 pixels.
You could push ^ (or whatever the button left of 1 is on your keyboard) and cycle (with up or down) through the list until you reach something like "screen0 horizontal zoom" which should read something like 1.21. Once you found it, lower that value to 1.00, or at least something VERY near that value, and those doubles lines should disappear)

Nemo[
14-01-2008, 21:48
try without spaces in the resolution name, i.E. "720x288@50" should work.


Nope, didn't work.. nor did any just string or int name.
Is there any logging switch?



Thats because the neogeo has a resolution of 320x224, however it displays garbage in the leftmost 8 and rightmost 8 pixels.
MAMEdev decided to "stretch" the center 304 pixels to 320 pixels.

Well that makes perfect sense, mame dev removes highscore saving, all of the working none correct sets in the name of correct documentation.. and then adds zoom as default resolution ;)

Thanks though, it works great again.. I can't tell the difference between my neo-geo board and the computer now.. apart from the computer having cleaner sound.

SailorSat
14-01-2008, 22:59
Nope, didn't work.. nor did any just string or int name.
Is there any logging switch?

Nope.
However, try this one. It works for me.

modeline "720x288@50" 13.88 720 742 808 888 288 290 292 313 -hsync -vsync

Nemo[
15-01-2008, 21:44
Nope.
However, try this one. It works for me.

modeline "720x288@50" 13.88 720 742 808 888 288 290 292 313 -hsync -vsync

Yup, that one worked great
Here's another one for the amiga/atari users :)


modeline "704x288@50" 13.50 704 722 786 864 288 290 292 313 -hsync -vsyncAspect is a bit off if your monitor is configured for 60hz

SailorSat
06-02-2008, 11:06
Build 37 online.

SailorSat
08-02-2008, 07:55
Build 38 online...
Just a small bugfix regarding decimal seperators... (I hate it! I really do!)

dennis
08-07-2009, 11:02
Hi,

I try to use Soft-15KHz on my Jetway NC81-LF mobo (http://www.jetway.com.tw/jw/ipcboard_view.asp?productid=515&proname=NC81-LF). CPS2 resolutions work, but neo-geo and other lower resolutions not. :unsure:
Can anybody help me? I tried some modifications in custom15khz.txt but I don't realy know what I'm doing.

I'm using a J-pac and a Egret 2 cabinet.

SailorSat
08-07-2009, 13:00
Hi dennis,
You might have hit a "pixelclock" limit.
As far as I know the HD3000 series has a limitation to about 7.12MHz Pixelclock, which is too high for several low resolutions.

Currently you might want to try the "edited" modelines I've used with my HD3450

Remember to "uninstall" and "reinstall" Soft-15kHz after changes to custom15khz.txt

custom15kHz.txt

;Remove some "too low" resolutions
remove 240x240
remove 256x240
remove 256x256
remove 256x264
remove 320x256

;ReAdd some "low" resolutions with higher pclock and (way) larger sync width
modeline '288x240@59.885' 7.12 288 332 392 448 240 243 246 265 -hsync -vsync
modeline '296x240@59.941' 7.12 296 338 392 448 240 243 246 264 -hsync -vsync
modeline '304x240@59.305' 7.12 304 344 392 448 240 243 246 264 -hsync -vsync
modeline '320x240@59.014' 7.12 320 350 392 448 240 242 245 264 -hsync -vsync
modeline '336x240@59.749' 7.12 336 356 392 448 240 243 246 264 -hsync -vsync


You might also want to check what resolution is the lowest you can use (with QuickRes) as this should give as a clue on your cards limit.

dennis
08-07-2009, 13:37
Thanks SailorSat!
Everything works great now! :D also 288x240.

Now it's time to update my old mame set :unsure:

dennis
08-07-2009, 14:11
btw, is there a change 256x224 would work? for nes/snes games?

italiandoh
13-08-2009, 00:28
Hello,
I'm new to the Soft15kHz adventure, trying to put together my first Mamecab :)
I have a Nvidia GeForce 8600GS. I connected the JammASD interface to its VGA output and Installed Soft15kHz (twice, on both cards seen in the SW interface). When I reboot with the PC monitor attached to the VGA output, the video signal correctly goes to 15 kHz 640x480@60Hz as requested. I am able to disconnect the monitor and plug my arcade monitor. Everything is working very well ! Thanks SailorSat ! :)
But if I then reboot with the arcade monitor attached, I get a black screen. Video stays off until I disconnect the arcade monitor and reconnect the PC monitor. After this I get 640x480@60 Hz at 31 kHz :'-(
If I change resolution, it goes back to 15 kHz and it works, but only until reboot...
Is there a way to fix this ?
In the tested cards I see that my card should work, but it "Needs the Soft-15kHz-Dongle (or any other valid EDID source) for resolutions below 512x384." I don't understand this. Isn't 640x480@60 Hz above 512x384 ?
Do I need the dongle ?
I also read that it is generally better to use the DVI output of the card, not the VGA...could this be my case ? I don't have a DVI to VGA adapter here so I cannot test this now... :'-(
Please help, I'm getting tired at this...
Thanks,

Matteo

SailorSat
13-08-2009, 00:46
Basically most new cards have their "primary" output set to the DVI port.
As your arcade monitor doesn't get detected as a "valid" monitor, the card switches to "analog mode" that basically is VGA out on the PRIMARY port, in your case most likely the DVI port.

The VGA port would be the secondary port.
Your normal VGA monitor most likely gets detected and the card says "okay, only 1 monitor connected, on the secondary port". With your arcade monitor connected its like "hm... no monitors detected, switch primary port to VGA".


As for the dongle:
Sure 640x480 is above 512x384. You may need the dongle to get to the low resolutions, like 320x240 as NVidia may restrict the card to resolutions 512x384 and up.
Please note: That may have changed in the meantime, as that problem was introduced by the geforce 8000 series and I guess there would be many people with that problem.


First, get a DVI-VGA adapter, then try booting with the arcade monitor connected to the DVI port.

Second, grab a copy of QuickRes (can be found in the downloads) and look for resolutions smaller 512x384 once you can boot with only the arcade monitor attached.

italiandoh
13-08-2009, 11:39
Basically most new cards have their "primary" output set to the DVI port.
As your arcade monitor doesn't get detected as a "valid" monitor, the card switches to "analog mode" that basically is VGA out on the PRIMARY port, in your case most likely the DVI port.

The VGA port would be the secondary port.
Your normal VGA monitor most likely gets detected and the card says "okay, only 1 monitor connected, on the secondary port". With your arcade monitor connected its like "hm... no monitors detected, switch primary port to VGA".


As for the dongle:
Sure 640x480 is above 512x384. You may need the dongle to get to the low resolutions, like 320x240 as NVidia may restrict the card to resolutions 512x384 and up.
Please note: That may have changed in the meantime, as that problem was introduced by the geforce 8000 series and I guess there would be many people with that problem.


First, get a DVI-VGA adapter, then try booting with the arcade monitor connected to the DVI port.

Second, grab a copy of QuickRes (can be found in the downloads) and look for resolutions smaller 512x384 once you can boot with only the arcade monitor attached.

OK, I went out and bought a DVI to VGA adapter (13,5 € :eek: :)).
I hooked up the arcade monitor to the DVI output of the video card through the adapter. Here's what I see :

- if I boot with the arcade monitor attached, I get a blank (well...black) screen. Video goes to 640x480@60 Hz 31 kHz if I disconnect the arcade monitor and connect the PC monitor instead.

- if I boot with the PC monitor attached, as soon as Windows starts the video goes to 640x480@60 Hz 15 kHz and PC monitor switches off. In this condition if I connect the arcade monitor I get a very good picture. I can start MameWah and play most games with no problems. I get a good picture with 100% speed, even at low resolutions below 512x384.

So what do you recommend now to try to fix this ? :'-(
Yesterday I even tried to install Soft15kHz with no monitor attached, using remote desktop control from another PC, but it didn't help... :confused:
Can you help please ?
Many thanks,

Matteo

P.S.
If needed I can post here the whole PC configuration, drivers and so on.

SailorSat
13-08-2009, 13:01
Mhm... Strange
What ForceWare are you using?
Also, try checkout the nvidia control panel via remote desktop when booting with the arcade attached.

I'm pretty confused the card doesn't output anything with the arcade monitor connected.

italiandoh
13-08-2009, 13:45
Mhm... Strange
What ForceWare are you using?
Also, try checkout the nvidia control panel via remote desktop when booting with the arcade attached.

I'm pretty confused the card doesn't output anything with the arcade monitor connected.

Hi and thanks for the reply.
Sorry, I didn't explain very well.
If I boot with the arcade monitor attached, I get a out of sync video. If I then disconnect the arcade monitor and connect the PC monitor, I see 640x480@60 Hz 31 kHz. If I change resolution, video goes to 15 kHz and is perfectly displayed on the arcade monitor if I reconnect it. If I reboot, I get no picture on the arcade monitor.
Here's a video I took of the boot with arcade monitor attached :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Zm33oVvpk

Here when it is working :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP4BINXZUz4

And here you are a couple of pictures of my current setup (still on bench) :

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/1599/mamecabvideoproblem002.jpg (http://img198.imageshack.us/i/mamecabvideoproblem002.jpg/) http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/mamecabvideoproblem002.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img198/mamecabvideoproblem002.jpg/1/)

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/6614/mamecabvideoproblem001.jpg (http://img197.imageshack.us/i/mamecabvideoproblem001.jpg/) http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/mamecabvideoproblem001.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img197/mamecabvideoproblem001.jpg/1/)

I tried to access to Nvidia control panel via remote desktop but it won't work. If I click on it, the control panel won't open.
It seems like it needs to have the PC monitor attached at least once to switch to 15 kHz. After that, it runs with no problems. :'-(
I tried with both Nvidia Forceware version 190.38 and 178.24 (as tested on this forum) with the same results.
I also spent some hours tweaking in Nvidia control panel, to force monitor/TV detection, but that also didn't change a thing.
Any clue ? :confused:

Matteo

italiandoh
13-08-2009, 21:30
Hi,
I spent the whole day trying to get this thing working as it should to no avail :

- installed latest Forceware drivers
- installed Forceware drivers that are said to be working on this forum (178.24)
- installed latest Forceware drivers without monitor from remote desktop (installation hangs in a forever loop, but at least driver are installed)
- re-installed latest Forceware drivers with arcade monitor attached over the previously installed ones
- tried to force monitor detection from Nvidia control panel
- updated Windows and all drivers to latest version

None of the above solved the boot problem : without a PC monitor attached at least once, the card never displays a 15 kHz video after boot. It is enough to hook up a PC monitor and change resolution by launching MameWah or using quickres, then a very good 15 kHz video is displayed.
I'm very frustrated at this point : either I am missing something/doing something wrong (please someone tells me what) or the Nvidia GeForce 8600GS PCI-E should be stated as NOT working on this forum in "Getestete Grafikkarten" thread, page 4. :(

Matteo

SailorSat
14-08-2009, 04:28
Hm... Guess you'll need the dongle after all.

italiandoh
14-08-2009, 09:01
Hm... Guess you'll need the dongle after all.

Hi,
I've sent you a private message about the dongle.
Thanks,

Matteo

italiandoh
22-08-2009, 20:53
Hm... Guess you'll need the dongle after all.

OK, while I am waiting for the EDID dongle to arrive via mail I spent some time configuring stuff and doing some other tests. I found out that if I change the screen resolution from 640x480@60 to 640x288@60 I am able to get a picture on the arcade monitor without attaching the PC monitor at startup.
On the test bench I was using a Intervideo 14" that displayed a very good picture with 640x480@60. When I moved the stuff inside the arcade machine, the Hantarex Polo 28" displayed a horrible picture (a lot of flickering, unreadable text) so I tried to switch to a non-interlaced picture and I found out that.
Is there anyone else who is getting a very bad picture on Hantarex Polo 28" with 640x480@60 at 15 kHz ? Is this common or could it be my monitor in need of a fix ?
Can this be a problem related to interlaced resolutions only ? :headbonk:

Matteo

SailorSat
22-08-2009, 21:01
Can't tell for sure.
My old Hantarex MTC 9110 worked fine, so did my Polo 25".

On my current cab theres a Polo 16/9 33" that has problems with interlaces resolutions. But more like the fields are "switched" meaning instead of line 1-2-3-4 I see 2-1-4-3 etc.

As for that... Well If you get a good 640x480 on your intervideo I'd take a look on your hantarex.

italiandoh
22-08-2009, 21:13
Can't tell for sure.
My old Hantarex MTC 9110 worked fine, so did my Polo 25".

On my current cab theres a Polo 16/9 33" that has problems with interlaces resolutions. But more like the fields are "switched" meaning instead of line 1-2-3-4 I see 2-1-4-3 etc.

As for that... Well If you get a good 640x480 on your intervideo I'd take a look on your hantarex.

OK, I'll take a look at my Polo 28", I'll check the power supply and the capacitors.
As for the fact that my GeForce 8600GS works even without a dongle at 640x288, do you have an explanation ?
Note that it works only if I don't shutdown Windows properly (hard power off of the PC - i.e power fail).
Thanks,

Matteo

SailorSat
23-08-2009, 01:04
Maybe a new driver doesn't need the dongle or whatever :)
Don't have a real explanation

MsG
02-09-2009, 01:56
Hi guys,

I have some questions.

I am in search for a videocard, because my onboard VGA doesn't work with soft15khz.

When I look at this thread, i see for example this post:
http://community.arcadeinfo.de/showp...17&postcount=4 (http://community.arcadeinfo.de/showpost.php?p=56617&postcount=4)

Which says:

Notes: Minimum Resolution is 320x240.

This means that all my games that are below that resolution won't work? When I look at my mame-games, I have tons of roms that are a little or more below that resolution. So they won't be playable with this videocard?

I have a standard arcade monitor, so my max progressive will be 240 * 320 right?

SailorSat
02-09-2009, 10:32
A standard resolution monitor can go much higher than 320x240.
640x288 (@50Hz) should be the maximum in progressive mode.
And 800x600 (@50) should be the maximum in interlace mode.

As for the "minimum resolution". That just means games that use lower resolutions will have black borders around them as they will get centered on the 320x240 screen.

MsG
02-09-2009, 13:10
What do you mean with "standard monitor" because I have an arcade monitor from a neogeo machine, so I guess it will only work with 240 * 320 or lower, or 640 * 480 interlaced. So every video card listed in that topic will work, but some with the notes under it will make round borders around it instead of scaling it?

SailorSat
02-09-2009, 13:28
NeoGeo uses Standard Resolution Monitor (15kHz), and those can do more than just 320x240 / 640x480 :)

None of the cards will scale the image. They will simply output the resolutions as any real arcade board does.

The cards that don't support certain lower resolutions (like the Matrox) will use the next best mode and leave the "missing" pixels black. (i.e. you want to play a 256x240 game, the card uses 320x240, and will have 32 pixels of "black" both left and right of the game screen)

MsG
02-09-2009, 13:36
Cool they really do more than 320 * 240? So I can play other emulated games that are higher then? Nice! :)


So the best for me to do now is to pick a videocard from the topic that hasn't got any problem with lower resolutions? Like for example the NVidia GeForce 7300GS?

SailorSat
02-09-2009, 13:57
Yep, thats right.

MsG
02-09-2009, 14:36
And when the 7300GS (according to the test) doesn't have any problems with any resolution mame games are, the 7300 normal edition and other editions of the 7300 will also don't have any problems? Because I don't want an overpowered videocard just to give me my image.

SailorSat
02-09-2009, 14:47
They should work fine.
Just don't use the newest forceware, as newer forceware usually breaks something ;)

MsG
09-09-2009, 23:52
Hey mate :), i got my secondhand 7300LE Passive edition.

Do you want to upload your forceware drivers? Because I can't find the Forceware 168 anymore :(

many thanks

SailorSat
10-09-2009, 00:18
Try one of these :)

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_169.21_whql.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_163.75.html

MsG
10-09-2009, 00:22
Thanks :) I already tried one below 168 you described.

What is the procedure then? Install soft15khz, and not plug any normal monitor anymore? And then put it to the JAMMA module? What resolution should I set windows before I stick it to my arcade monitor?

I really hope it works. It says 7200GS / 7300LE. Hope it is the same idea. as your 7300GS

It is 69 degrees without doing anything, because it is passive, so I maybe need some extra cooling :). I don't will get any airflow in the arcade cabinet I think. I have it still in a pc case at the moment, still doubting between putting the case in the cabinet, or just the internal parts.

SailorSat
10-09-2009, 03:29
640x480 should be fine

italiandoh
19-09-2009, 12:35
OK, I'll take a look at my Polo 28", I'll check the power supply and the capacitors.
As for the fact that my GeForce 8600GS works even without a dongle at 640x288, do you have an explanation ?
Note that it works only if I don't shutdown Windows properly (hard power off of the PC - i.e power fail).
Thanks,

Matteo

OK, I had some time to work on this. I changed all electrolytic capacitors and checked all main supply voltages on the Polo, and they all look fine. The monitor works perfectly using a standard 15 kHz Jamma board (Street Fighter EX).
When it comes to my Mamecab, I get a unacceptable vertical flicker when using interlaced resolutions. The flickering goes away if I reduce the vertical size of the picture to near the minimum (half vertical size) or if I stretch the image vertically well over the cinescope vertical size. Plus I get a black screen when trying to display any resolution below 300 horizontal lines. Is this normal for a GeForce 8600GS ? If these problems cannot be fixed, I'll buy a ATI video card.
Please help if you can. Thanks. :(

Matteo

SailorSat
19-09-2009, 13:57
Hm... Actually thats quite strange.
Your 8600 either should work out of the box, or not show any resolution below 300 lines in quickres.

Strange...
I'd recomend to get a Radeon HD 4350.
They are pretty cheap, and work like charm without any fancy tricks.
(and they would support DirectX10 though not very fast)

Firestriker
09-10-2009, 15:00
I used the software on my pc (connected to an Arcade monitor) but my screen keeps going upward or, when I turn some settings on the monitor, it keeps going downward. How can I correct this issue?? :confused:
See also: http://www.youtube.com/watch_private?v=KdeqjasXV9Q&sharing_token=47BgEBZmp9pJsrx5f09WzA==

italiandoh
17-10-2009, 16:24
Hm... Actually thats quite strange.
Your 8600 either should work out of the box, or not show any resolution below 300 lines in quickres.

Strange...
I'd recomend to get a Radeon HD 4350.
They are pretty cheap, and work like charm without any fancy tricks.
(and they would support DirectX10 though not very fast)

OK, I bought a Asus EAH4350 Silent and it's mostly working fine now.
I also replaced the Polo 28" 15 kHz with a Selti 28" 15-25 kHz NOS that I found. Most resolutions are working now, but I still have some flickering when switching from one resolution to another while changing games. Sometimes I get a stable 640x480@60, sometimes not, even though it's way better than before. I don't know why is this.
I installed Soft 15kHz for both 15 and 25 kHz. Games like Paperboy display quite well at 25 kHz, even though I see some flyback retrace lines in the upper part of the screen.
Do you have any custom modelines to recommend for this graphic card ? Are there some custom modelines for games like Mortal Kombat or Tapper ?
Thanks for all the help so far and congrats for your work.

Matteo ;)

italiandoh
05-01-2010, 19:47
OK, I bought a Asus EAH4350 Silent and it's mostly working fine now.
I also replaced the Polo 28" 15 kHz with a Selti 28" 15-25 kHz NOS that I found. Most resolutions are working now, but I still have some flickering when switching from one resolution to another while changing games. Sometimes I get a stable 640x480@60, sometimes not, even though it's way better than before. I don't know why is this.
I installed Soft 15kHz for both 15 and 25 kHz. Games like Paperboy display quite well at 25 kHz, even though I see some flyback retrace lines in the upper part of the screen.
Do you have any custom modelines to recommend for this graphic card ? Are there some custom modelines for games like Mortal Kombat or Tapper ?
Thanks for all the help so far and congrats for your work.
Matteo ;)

Hi,
I would like to know if there is a solution for the video display problem I'm experiencing with interlaced resolutions. It looks like some lines are not correctly drawn by the monitor on the screen. The result is a flickering image with unreadable text on some lines. I can live with a little flickering but not with unreadable text.
I've uploaded some screenshots here : http://picasaweb.google.it/italiandoh/MultigameCabinet# They show some Windows screens at 640x480@60 Hz.
I used a Hantarex Polo 15 kHz on a 28" CRT and I was having this problem, only with interlaced resolution. A friend of mine with the same model of monitor (Hantarex Polo 15 kHz) and same CRT size doesn't have it. As I said in my previous posts here I've replaced the Polo with a Selti 25 kHz and the problem is the same (same CRT, 28"). Sometimes it goes away after the monitor has been on for hours.
The Polo was recapped and is in perfect working order. The Selti is NOS, never used before and in good working order as far as I can tell.
Everything works perfectly with non-interlaced resolutions, video is awesome.
I've noticed that, if I adjust the VSYNC pot to the limit before going out of sync, the interlaced text on screen gets somewhat fixed and is correctly displayed. But I can't live with this setting because the monitor goes immediately out of sync when I change to another resolution. This is valid for both Polo and Selti chassis.
My questions for you experts are:

- is this a common/known problem ?
- what's the problem here, the CRT itself or the monitor electronic ?
- is there a fix for this ?

Please advise if you can. Thanks in advance.

Matteo

SailorSat
05-01-2010, 21:36
Hm... I've seen that problem myself.
Infact my 33" Polo has exactly the same line problem.
It looks like it hat the fields swaped -> line 2 -> line 1 -> line 4 -> line 3 etc.

However I have yet to find a solution as only THIS monitor hat the problem.
My various smaller screens don't have this "bug".

italiandoh
06-01-2010, 01:41
Hm... I've seen that problem myself.
Infact my 33" Polo has exactly the same line problem.
It looks like it hat the fields swaped -> line 2 -> line 1 -> line 4 -> line 3 etc.

However I have yet to find a solution as only THIS monitor hat the problem.
My various smaller screens don't have this "bug".

Interesting to see that you are seeing the same problem with a big CRT. Mine is a 28", yours is a 33". My 14" CRT with Intervideo electronic that I use for testing is just perfect with 640x480@60 Hz.
I don't understand why my friend doesn't see the problem with his 28" CRT and Hantarex Polo 15 KHz. The only difference is the PC HW apparently. He is using a Radeon 9800.
Did you try adjusting VSYNC to the out of vsync limit to see if this fixes the bug on yours ?

Matteo

dasfool
19-02-2010, 04:03
I have a system set up with a nvidia geforce 7900gt. So far, the newest forceware that works is 169.21. Nothing newer will allow me to use interlaced resolutions. So I've been using 169.21 and it looks great, when it works...

There's one problem though. Every once in a while (seems completely random, but only happens with 640x480 interlaced) the screen will just get garbled and I have to change resolutions and then change back to fix it, or unplug the vga cable and plug it back in. This will fix it, but sometimes it'll garble again a few seconds later and I'll repeat the process a few times until it stays put. As far as I know, this is a video problem and not a monitor problem. When the issue occurs, the sync light on my J-Pac flickers quickly showing that it isn't receiving a proper sync signal. I don't believe the J-pac is the problem either, since I've tried running it without the jumpers (which should disable any of the "intelligent" sync doubling stuff it does) and the issue still occurs.

Any ideas? Should I take a picture? I'll try the 163.75 drivers tonight and see if it still occurs. Besides that, I'm at a loss. I suppose it could be a power supply issue causing a momentary glitch in power and the video card to reset/corrupt or something.

Lastly, if I can't get anything to fix the issue, do you recommend an ATI video card over Nvidia now? I was thinking about the ATI HD5670.

dasfool
19-02-2010, 08:57
I did some more troubleshooting, and it looks like the J-Pac may be the culprit. The J-Pac needs to be plugged in to usb in order to get 5 volts in order for anything to be displayed correctly. When the picture gets flakey, if I pull out the J-Pac usb cable and reconnect it, the picture goes back to its flawless self. Now I just need to figure out if the J-Pac, motherboard, or power supply is the problem.

P.S. I hope it's just the J-Pac...

SailorSat
19-02-2010, 11:13
Hm... As I never had any issue like that, it really looks like a j-pac issue.
Try another USB Port, solving the problem may be as easy as that.

dasfool
20-02-2010, 01:59
I've done a bit more playing around and it still seems to be occurring with other usb slots. I'm trying to see if there's some kind of method to the madness, but have yet to find any.

dasfool
20-02-2010, 07:39
SailorSat, have you used a J-Pac before? Is there a way to use the J-Pac as a passthrough so I can check the video out without the J-Pac interfering? If I can passthrough, then it should show up with a stable image on the screen still (just a little dim since the signal won't be amplified), right? I mean, the J-Pac isn't doing any real video work besides brightening the image I think.

SailorSat
20-02-2010, 14:26
Yeah I used J-PACs myself.
Sadly there is no passtrough except to "not jumper", and even that requires a "stable" power supply to the J-PAC.

apfelanni
20-02-2010, 19:52
the first thing i try when probs with a jpac occur is change from usb to ps2 or ps2 to usb connector . maybe ur usb port is unstable or ur motherboard damaged. try other computer . for testing purpose i have an old multisync monitor laying around that can be fed directly via 15 khz capable vga card. some time ago one of my jpacs went down with a broken videochip . after replacing it was running good as new .

dasfool
21-02-2010, 04:33
I've decided to put together a newer mame pc. All the stuff in the last one was pretty old. I'd like to go with one of the new ATI 5000 series cards since they have a nice low power requirement. Can anyone confirm soft15khz works with this series?

Also, I saw a post on another forum (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=66402.msg973117#msg973117) by SailorSat that soft15khz was working on windows 7 x64. Does the current build of soft15khz function properly with windows 7 x64 or is it still a work in progress?

apfelanni
21-02-2010, 15:25
im gonna use a radeon 4350 in a current project . its fanless and running very nice with jpac in a cabinet enviroment and mamescart tv setup. if ure focus is on classics games u might get ur hands on one of those.

an onboard nvidea 7xxx graphics i checked some time ago was a real pain in da ass . the interlaced res didnt work out properly in my cab nor did it run with mamescart as expected. the only foolsafe nvideas i encountered so far were a 5200 geforce agp and a 6100 onboard graphics.

dasfool
26-02-2010, 16:30
Good news. I finished assembling the new Mame pc and the ATI HD 4670 card performs excellently in it with soft15khz in XP going through a J-pac into my Taito Egret II. I first tried using Windows 7 x64 but couldn't get any of the drivers to work properly with soft15khz, so I gave up and went back to XP.

Currently, Catalyst 9.7 is installed. Can anyone confirm a newer Catalyst working without issues with soft15khz? I'm thinking of throwing on Street Fighter IV, and that game would probably function better with newer drivers.

Thank you very much, SailorSat, for all of the work you've put into soft15khz. :)

SailorSat
26-02-2010, 18:44
Well my Radeon HD 4350/4550 works fine with Catalyst 9.12 on Seven 64bit.

dasfool
27-02-2010, 02:29
With Windows 7 x64, after installing catalyst, then soft15khz, none of the low resolutions would be available, but sometimes after a reboot it would say out of range on my pc monitor and plugging it into my arcade cab would work. Nothing would stay put though (another reboot and it'd go back to pc range sync), and after a few hours of trying different things I just gave up. Also, I think soft15khz wasn't uninstalling the registry entries properly in windows 7.

Did you have to do something special to get everything running correctly in windows 7, SailorSat?

SailorSat
27-02-2010, 07:53
Hm... Yeah there should be a notification window that you need to run Soft-15khz as Admin to avoid problems with the registry.

I guess it still needs some additional love though.
NVidia doesn't work at all on Seven. ATI didn't need any changes FOR NOW...

Junior
09-08-2010, 09:18
Hi, I use soft-15khz since some times now it always works. I tried to patch two computers, one in 2k with TNT2 and one with Xp Pro with radeon9200. I use the program as usually ... install 15 khz. it seems to be good. I reboot and nothing. I have a normal display no 15 khz. Idea ? DCC detection ? Thanks.

SailorSat
09-08-2010, 09:29
If the vgas have two outputs, try the other one :)
Other than that... What driver versions?
R9200s should use Catalyst 6.5
For the TNT2... Oh well... ForceWare 66.93

Junior
09-08-2010, 09:36
Woowwwwww so fast. Only one vga available on the radeon 9200 with 6.5 drivers as recommended. I used that card before and it works. I assume you didn't change a thing for old cards in the newer version.

Junior
23-08-2010, 16:50
Hi again. It gets weirder. I did a brand new Windows XP Sp2 PRO French installation. I put 6.5 drivers for my ati. I patched and nothing. BUT I did all my updates and &quot;sysprep -mini -reseal&quot;. I boot in vga. I change the resolution in 1024x768 and then I'm in 15 khz. Ideas ??? [EDIT] In fact, the sysprep has nothing to do with it. If we change the resolution. It works.

mrgraves
27-09-2010, 00:28
i saw the hd4850 is working with Soft-15khz mod, any chances the the hd4850x2 or 4870x2 are also working with the mod? no difference at all

after reading a lot about the soft mod i am still not sure if i can play every mame game as with my ol arcadevga (current cab setup).

whatever the conclusion is, thx for really pushin the old school world of vidgames ^^ THX

Junior
27-09-2010, 10:27
It works great ! But I recently discovered that not only the graphic card has to work but the computer. I explain. I did some experiments. Two computer, one from Compaq and one from random parts with the same graphic card. I configure both computers. I start I've got the front-end on both. I start a game on Compaq and nothing. A black screen and unable to do a thing. Reason unknown ? The graphic cards are the same. I even switched the cards. Same configuration. The compaq works great in standard mode . The computer is a exact science, isn't it ?

obb
29-10-2010, 15:35
Well my Radeon HD 4350/4550 works fine with Catalyst 9.12 on Seven 64bit.

SailorSat,

Can you tell us exactly how you got it working on Win 7 64bit ???

I have a Radeon 4650, Win 7 64bit and using Catalyst 9.12, and soft15khz doesn't work at all on my set up. Tried loads of different things such as runnin it in compatibility etc but nothing .... Just will not run in 15khz no matter what.

By the way works fine on XP 64bit no problems

Cheers,

mrgraves
12-12-2010, 21:31
Finally i got a hd4870 x2 for my cab, will report this week how well it will work with the softmod and emus like demul^^

italiandoh
19-12-2010, 00:39
Hm... I've seen that problem myself.
Infact my 33" Polo has exactly the same line problem.
It looks like it hat the fields swaped -> line 2 -> line 1 -> line 4 -> line 3 etc.

However I have yet to find a solution as only THIS monitor hat the problem.
My various smaller screens don't have this "bug".

OK, with the help of a professional arcade monitor engineer I have finally solved this problem. It is caused by a ground loop on the sync input pin of the TDA1675 (vertical amplifier). It is a pcb design fault of Polo and other monitors. I have a Selti monitor and it has this problem too. It is not noticeable unless you use interlaced resolutions.
The ground loop is caused by a filter capacitor placed between the sync input of the TDA1675 (pin 5) and ground (pin 8). In order to fix this, there are two options:

- connect the end of the capacitor that goes to GND directly to pin 8 of the TDA1675 by means of a very short insulated wire
- if this doesn't help, remove the capacitor completely

On my Polo 28" 15 kHz I had to remove the capacitor (C136 on my chassis) to completely fix the problem. Now the image is PERFECTLY stable and correct even with interlaced resolutions (no flickering at all).
I wanted to post this also here for everyone to benefit as it was a very annoying problem and damn hard to fix.
All the best,

Matteo

SailorSat
19-12-2010, 11:39
Thanks for the tip.
I'll try as soon as I get home from my holidays :)

Junior
09-05-2011, 11:34
Hi, everyone.

I would like to know what are the recommanded parameters in mame.ini with soft15khz ?
I'm talking about video parameters:

video D3D or DDRAW
hwstretch 0 or 1
triplebuffer 0 or 1
switchresolution 0 or 1

I don't know what's best ?
Sometimes it seems unable to launch game and tries to expand the pagefile.sys

?

italiandoh
09-05-2011, 11:54
Hi, everyone.

I would like to know what are the recommanded parameters in mame.ini with soft15khz ?
I'm talking about video parameters:

video D3D or DDRAW
hwstretch 0 or 1
triplebuffer 0 or 1
switchresolution 0 or 1

I don't know what's best ?
Sometimes it seems unable to launch game and tries to expand the pagefile.sys

?

video DDRAW
hwstretch 0
triplebuffer 0 or 1
switchresolution 1

Junior
09-05-2011, 12:00
Hi,

I just did a quick test.
When I put switchresolution=1
Galaga doesn't launch.
The screen stays black.
I assume it's the limitation from graphic card videos modes. (nvidia 6200)

Junior
09-05-2011, 12:39
Hi,

I just did a quick test.
When I put switchresolution=1
Galaga doesn't launch.
The screen stays black.
I assume it's the limitation from graphic card videos modes. (nvidia 6200)

EDIT : I remove nvidia keys in the hives "run" (user and local machine) and now it works.

shstormont
29-05-2011, 23:33
I tried soft-15khz with an Nvidia GeForce G210 using the version 270.61 drivers on Windows Vista SP2 x64. When I run soft-15khz, the card is identified correctly and I can toggle between the two video ports on the card using the buttons on the left, but all of the options on the bottom (install, uninstall, etc.) are greyed out. Is this card not compatible? I also tried running the .exe as Administrator and that didn't make a difference.

SailorSat
30-05-2011, 00:24
Most likely the driver is not recognized. I'll take a look into this

shstormont
30-05-2011, 05:09
Don't know if it helps, but I attached a sceenshot.

SailorSat
31-05-2011, 07:31
Actually I seem to be blind. Windows Vista and Seven does NOT work with NVidia for now and therefore the buttons are disabled.

shstormont
31-05-2011, 16:08
Actually I seem to be blind. Windows Vista and Seven does NOT work with NVidia for now and therefore the buttons are disabled.

Is it just Nvidia cards? I was able to get my hands on a Radeon HD3450 (which I haven't tried yet, but I see from other threads that it works), but I didn't know if it only worked in Windows XP.

SailorSat
31-05-2011, 18:55
ATI works fine so far.
Problem was/is that NVidia changed the mode format with every release in the early days of Vista and kept it that way ītil Seven betas

Junior
02-10-2011, 11:32
Guten Tag, Hello.

I patched a ion nvidia used on a Xp Pro.

I have a problem on resolution like 800x600 and 640x480.
In fact, all the "standard" vga resolution.

It's like the patch doesn't work on those. The screen splits in two.

It works on every other resolution.

What's wrong ?