MiSTer FPGA 2023 Analog Video Guide! RGB, Component VGA, S Video and Composite! Updated

Almost a year ago I did a SECOND tutorial video on how to use the Analog IO board on MiSTer FPGA to get crystal clear and amazing RGB signal into your PVM! But MiSTer moves fast and now we have RGB, VGA, component video, S-Video and composite video on MiSTer FPGA...which covers every format from a VGA monitor to a Sony PVM CRT to consumer CRT's...so I need to update the video one last time!

Consider this the 2023 MiSTer Analog Video guide!

Patreon Thanks : Seth Peterson, John Thompson, Paul daniel, Porch, Jon Anderson, RayceARoni, Kuranghi, Jason Hixon, Sam Matthews, Alex Tessler, Jonathan Leung, Martin Donlon, Tom Van Deusen, Barabob, Steve Randall, Ahab, K-2, Eric Walklet, J Z, Ivar Wennerholm, Adrien Sebbane, tobemorecrazy, Mike Puelinckx, Tony Escobar, H7, Humanoide70, Ben Parfitt, Holder Schmidt, Tim Lehner, matschmonster, Shad Uttam, Dan L, James Mann, Richard Schneider, Sunder Raj and Dorfus!

I asked, you answered...and I try to listen :) Of all the requests for new content on the channel one of the most frequently asked for videos is a series on the Terasic DE-10 Nano MiSTer FPGA hardware...so here it is! Retro gaming goodness.

On this episode of our MiSTer series we are going to be talking about all the different analog video sources you can get out of your MiSTer FPGA, breaking down what cables and settings you need in the MiSTer INI files....and more! Added this time around: everything needed for an active Y/C video adapter for MiSter...including all the necessary boards, cables and settings.

Because whether you are playing Neo Geo in FPGA, SNES in FPGA, Sega Genesis in FPGA, arcade cores in FPGA...ok seriously this list is too long...MiSTer FPGA analog video output is amazing and you should be enjoying it!

Cables I used

Questions? Comments? Just leave them below and I will do my best to answer each and every one of them!

VGE

#retrogaming #misterfpga #sega #ps1 #retrogamer #retrogames #analog #pvm #crtgaming #fpga #arcade #arcadegames #arcadegame #snes #neogeo

[AndyDo]

The swiping away of the cables is always a joy to me. GET IT OUTTA HERE!

[camerontinker]

Great video! I bet with a VCR as an RF modulator and the composite active adapter, one could even connect their MiSTer to much older TVs. I don't have any RF only TVs, but would be cool to see. Imagine playing MiSTer on a vintage 40's or 50's TV.

[bearonguitar]

There's a method how you could fix the crack in the shell. Get a similar colored piece of plastic, cut it into lots of small pieces and melt it into a paste by placing it all into a jar of acetone, letting it sit until it has dissolved. You can then use the paste to fill in the crack, however you'd have to apply some pressure to the shell to keep it in place as the paste dries out, maybe also using some tape on the inside to prevent the paste from seeping too far into the shell, and you may need to level it out afterwards. I do suggest practicing on some other plastics parts first. The same method is used to fill in gaps in plastic guitar neck and body binding in guitar construction and restorations. The melted plastic basically turns into the perfect plastic glue. Since it is only a single crack it should be possible to restore it.

[robibennobi]

Just a note for anyone finding their consumer Sony or mitsubishi sets aren't showing a signal over rgb scart. I found u will need to set the jumper to 5v and add a pigtail barrel jack to your rgb scart breakout cable if going from mister and an extron into the tv. Unfortunately this means another power adapter and cable in the set up. Don't forget u can set controller shortcuts with multi ini to swap from rgb and vga settings. Back button up, back down, back right and left can all be used on mister main menu.

[gavinturman]

Thanks. Video outputs just fine by the way.

[williammiller]

12:18 S-video does not need an active adapter. if you have analog io board you just need a VGA to component/bnc cable and a Svideo to RCA/bnc cable and Bob's your Uncle. also should work with direct video and a HDMI to VGA adapter but I have not verified this bc I have io board

Edit: I see this was already commented and you already replied... either way I think you should have mentioned it even if it is not your preferred method. I already had all the parts needed so I could have been misled into buying an active adapter from the video

[gcolombelli]

Oh Wow! Thanks for the tip on the power over pin 9, I was always curious about that jumper. I will test this with my encoder board as soon as I find a proper VGA cable where pin 9 is actually connected.

[WilliamVentura]

For me, mini toslink to toslink on my cheap sound bar has been amazing for audio

[dreamshooter]

I'm so happy I came across this. Your mention of SCART was great because I am trying to find a way to properly get a signal from my computer via either HDMI or DisplayPort to my CRT TV with a SCART connection and make it look good and proper and not have any delay if it can be helped. What will I need to buy in order to do that? I don't want to leave any stones unturned for this set up and sound is important for me too.

I would have joined that Discord server and found one of my fellow Europeans but the link appears to be dead.
Thank you again for all the info, even if I didn't understand everything as I am new to this.

[lordbacon]

Thank you for this video, it was extremely educational and helpful! What PVM model did you use in your video? Asking because there seems to be many different models and each have their peculiarities and differences. Many of them don't have OSD and you need another device to configure the settings or even require removing the tv case to change some settings!

[zackmezera]

Your videos are invaluable, thank you <3 Do you have, or know of, a guide for the process of adapting a *Digital* IO board for analog output?

[METRlD]

It's been so long since I had a CRT. I miss them, especially for their motion quality. Flat panels with their sample-and-hold means of displaying frames make for some truly awful looking motion. My last CRT was a Sony 40 inch HDTV. It was massive, and weighed 304 pounds, but man it was glorious.

[sidnamyzo]

One thing I’ve had fun doing is putting 2 CRTs side by side with an original console like my Genesis and MiSTer running the same game and see if I can notice any differences….so far MiSTer is 100% spot on…great guide too

[dpcaire]

You can do s-video straight out of the DB15 port, no adapter board necessary.

[leckel]

Weird it's called sync on green when it's technically sync on luma. I get that it's the green cable, but with component the green cable is Y which is luma.

[emmettturner]

2:39 “Now, they do change manufacturing sometimes so it might be possible that that switches”
I don’t think you mentioned who made the cables anyway. ;) That said, composite sync when enabled should remain on the H-sync lead.

[SiincereARC]

Watched the video, loved that you did it. 2 questions. 1. I just got the new direct video HDMI-to-Component adapter for my MiSTer. Haven't had a full chance to try it out yet. Have you or do you even plan to get one? 2. Would you be ok with doing an update to the whole "component vs. s-video" on MiSTer comparison video? I know you can't fully tell the difference via youtube but your words of wisdom would accompany it well.

[emmettturner]

I believe Antonio Villena’s I/O boards have audio on the VGA port using some particular pins but you obviously have to have the right kind of cable to take advantage of that. I wonder what VGA cable with audio people are using when they find there is no audio on the standard I/O board.

[shodan]

Thank you for this tech, really fantastic.

Question: (Sorry, I don't know your name) - I'm looking at a CRT with Component Video. However, the inputs are listed in the manual as 480i specifically. I am thinking about two scenarios:

1. Using the available Component inputs for Retro games, i.e. 240p, which raises the question of how, or even if the inputs can be used to display the native 240p without interlacing up to 480i ? I am assuming this input is consistent with DVD line voltage.

Oh, I should note that I am planning on using a PC with a GPUs analog output (which is why the MiSTer VGA input is so helpful).

If I can run the Component 480i in 240p, would that shrink the image on the screen? I do not see any options for aspect ratio, scaling, etc. on this TV.

2. I also want to be able to go in the complete opposite direction, running modern games, specifically FPS games, without the latency of modern flat screens. The TV does have an aspect ratio option, which I hope is achieved by simply compressing the output of the tube's electron emitter, not via digital processing.

Using the same PC as the source, can I output from the MiSTer to the TV, that's now in 16x9, without introducing any latency?

I apologize, my grasp on these concepts is very limited, but I am learning as I go, so please excuse the above questions.

I am just now examining the TV itself and how it handles the Component Video and aspect ratio. The Service Manual is excellent, so I hope to spot any issues of digital processing if they exist, and nail down the frequency of the YPbPr.

Thanks again for your excellent tutorials and additional help. Without guidance such as yours, us simps would all be screwed.

[karoo_bushman]

Hi, can I connect the Mister VGA directly to 5 port BNC (RGB, H-Sync, V-Sync) of my Sony Trinitron PC monitor? Just your regular VGA->BNC cable?