Best video options for a500.

olliethebasset

olliethebasset

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Hello! I am pretty new to retro computer and the Amiga scene. I am also not a tech wiz but I’m learning! I have been working on tricking out my a500. Right now I am running an ACA500plus and have upgraded both Denise and Agnus on the MB. It’s running with 1mb of chip ram and 8MB fast ram. I’m using a gotek for floppy needs and I have purchased a new case from a1200.net as well as a new keyboard. In terms of video, I am using a gbs-c connected via hdmi to a 21” lcd TV. I am not so thrilled with the video. It’s fine, but I have been investigating purchasing a CRT. Of course because of shipping and the fact that I am in USA, the cost is prohibitive. I’m wondering what you guys think is the best video option for my Amiga in terms of a quality image? Is the crt the best way to go? I have also tried a retrotink 5x. It was good but 1. It’s expensive and 2. Not so much better than my gbs-c. Any thoughts are appreciated and thank you!
 
Rgb2HDMI provides best picture You can achieve...

It's cheap, and it's reliable..even compared to D520....
 
Looks like rgb2hdi and Indivision ECS v4 are the best options if I can’t find a CRT, huh?
 
olliethebasset said:
Can you tell me more about this one and why you like it? Does it matter what kind of monitor you use?
Click to expand...
It's refined, fits nice, works very well with LCD and CRT with VGA output and it "has" an onboard Super Denise too, so not only do you get a flickerfixer, you get that upgrade for your 500 in it too. Those Super Denise chips have become more desirable lately, and as a result more costly, so this detail is not to be overlooked. And I'm reading some P96 stuff RTG stuff is potentially coming to V4 - which is annoying because I bought the V3. Apparently V4 has a bigger FPGA, so who knows what they will make it morph into?
 
YouKnowWho said:
It's refined, fits nice, works very well with LCD and CRT with VGA output and it "has" an onboard Super Denise too, so not only do you get a flickerfixer, you get that upgrade for your 500 in it too. Those Super Denise chips have become more desirable lately, and as a result more costly, so this detail is not to be overlooked. And I'm reading some P96 stuff RTG stuff is potentially coming to V4 - which is annoying because I bought the V3. Apparently V4 has a bigger FPGA, so who knows what they will make it morph into?
Click to expand...
So I could use it with a CRT that’s not intended for an Amiga?
 
olliethebasset said:
How does that look compared to say a commodore 1084?
Click to expand...
No comparison, even on the non-flat relatively "basic" quality AOC 17" VGA CRTs I ended up buying NOS a few years back in beige and black versions. Higher refresh, higher res, bigger screen size. I had a 19" DELL CRT monitor at one point, but for my taste I found it too large, although I do like to use a 19" 4:3 LCD on occasion as well. I'm thinking of maybe splurging on something Sony Trinitron or Mitsubishi Diamondtron 17", as those aperture grille tube CRTs are next level, and best of class, but the right one hasn't found me yet.

I'm a big fan of the 1942 and even 1084 as they are authentic and original and if you want the original experience, it's the way to go. On the 1942, I had it connected to a IV24 card that has an onboard flicker fixer, and when I flicked it on with the back switch, even on the 1942 I did not want to switch back. Such a significant image quality improvement with the refresh step-up.

But for overall enjoyment for me, 17" VGA CRT is where it is at. The thing about VGA out on an Amiga as well is that you can go out to DVI/HDMI for LCD/TV use, so suddenly you have more things you can use it with. It's just a no brainer. I've reduced it to two categories on my systems - either system that will be Commodore CRT monitor use authentic, in which case it's mostly 1200 AGA machines and I don't care much about flicker fixing these much...or we're going up a notch to larger res, larger VGA monitors or TVs, in which case the standard video needs a "fix".

Considering that you would HAVE to buy the V4 (no choice) of the Indivision, with the larger FPGA (vs. V3 I got) that thing by default gives you flickerfixing and Super Denise (ECS Denise) - which matters to you, since you don't have an Amiga 500Plus Rev 8, there is a lot of value there for you. Even I'm starting to be tempted by the V4 by the future features potential with that larger FPGA.
 
Last edited:
I use, love and recommend an OSSC with the well-known perfect pixel timings input into it.

Definitely worth it if you have more than one computer or console to use it with.
 
Okay thank you for all the guidance. Here is a question for you. What does it mean to say that the rgb2hdmi provides a “pixel perfect” image? How is that better than my GBS-c? Or maybe it’s not?
 
olliethebasset said:
Okay thank you for all the guidance. Here is a question for you. What does it mean to say that the rgb2hdmi provides a “pixel perfect” image? How is that better than my GBS-c? Or maybe it’s not?
Click to expand...

In the case of RGB2HDMI, it grabs the digital video stream from Denise before it gets turned into analog, thus there are no analog steps where quality could be lost.

In the case of OSSC, the analog video stream is instead sampled, but at least it is done with enough precision timing-wise that each individual pixel is sampled individually.
 
Wohthu said:
In the case of RGB2HDMI, it grabs the digital video stream from Denise before it gets turned into analog, thus there are no analog steps where quality could be lost.

In the case of OSSC, the analog video stream is instead sampled, but at least it is done with enough precision timing-wise that each individual pixel is sampled individually.
Click to expand...
Thank you. What does that mean in terms of the quality of the picture, rgb2hdmi vs. OSSC?
 
rgb2HDMI - is more precise, in my option, as already mentioned above:
Wohthu said:
In the case of RGB2HDMI, it grabs the digital video stream from Denise before it gets turned into analog, thus there are no analog steps where quality could be lost.
Click to expand...
1. So this is really best quality picture You can get from Amiga computer.
2. There is no better quality for now, and that's for FullHD.
3.And it has no lag - it's also important
4. Ah! And it's cheapest from all mentioned hardware.😜

It fully compares to the threads title - it's best video solution, take it, You will never regret...
 
8 Bit Dreams said:
rgb2HDMI - is more precise, in my option, as already mentioned above:

1. So this is really best quality picture You can get from Amiga computer.
2. There is no better quality for now, and that's for FullHD.
3.And it has no lag - it's also important
4. Ah! And it's cheapest from all mentioned hardware.😜

It fully compares to the threads title - it's best video solution, take it, You will never regret...
Click to expand...
Ah I see. Thank you so much for explaining. That makes sense.

And how would this compare to the picture provided by a working commodore CRT?
 
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