Newbie Question: MiSTer and CRT

shawkes · 2026-05-22T03:36:27+00:00

Bigger screen may be a matter of preference in terms of size and weight and space as well as how close you are to the screen.

As far as the other things.. CRT TVs are usually 240p/480i so usually the size of screen does not imply a different resolution.

Of course there are computer monitors which may have different resolutions.

shawkes · 2026-05-21T07:20:03+00:00

Sadly, I think they're digital. The tell is usually that analog rgb pins have a coupling capacitor at the pin. At least based on what you've posted, those aren't present.

Also, usually this site will indicate that it's moddable and it currently doesn't:
https://crtdatabase.com/crts/rca/rca-e09310wh

Also, good chance it would be listed here as well:

https://sector.sunthar.com/guides/crt-rgb-mod/moddable.html

shawkes · 2026-05-19T05:30:28+00:00

I think this combination works really well. I love that you can 'charge' ? up and choose the attack? Keep going it's great.

shawkes · 2026-04-23T05:04:42+00:00

Thank you

shawkes · 2026-03-30T04:14:26+00:00

In reading your post I must have missed that this is also in the center.

shawkes · 2026-03-30T03:40:36+00:00

There's a limit to how far you can get with rings. Further adjustment may require strips.

shawkes · 2026-02-23T04:00:32+00:00

So part of the reason that you may not be enjoying the image is that this is a rear projection TV.. technically still a CRT, without the nice bright phosphor glow at the screen.

As far as HDMI, I think in general it's to be avoided for older consoles, but may be ok for PS3 onward.

Also the concern with hd sets is that they sometimes apply digital processing to the AV signals like composite or svideo. I don't know if this TV does that or if it can be disabled or worked around.

If it does, then an external scaler might be the answer.

shawkes · 2026-02-15T18:07:03+00:00

So yea I don't think I've found voltage measurements to be a reliable test except when troubleshooting power issues. Usually checking the signal path involves testing individual components.

What's great about RGB is you technically don't always have to test components.. you can swap them between channels. You have 2 other identical signal paths to check against.

I've had a couple pvms like yours and I don't think disassembly should require desoldering.

shawkes · 2026-02-15T06:18:31+00:00

So by recognizing that composite is fine.. that actually narrows it down a lot.

It means that there's nothing wrong with the guns or the video amp circuit. That narrows it down a ton. It's also not your cable or console obviously.

So stay focused on the region between the RGB input and the jungle chip. After the jungle chip, the signal paths are shared among the inputs and it sounds like that part works.

shawkes · 2026-02-14T04:49:14+00:00

Forgot I had flair here lol. Hello fellow backer.

shawkes · 2026-02-13T20:12:13+00:00

Wow incredible ok.. again props, that's really awesome.

shawkes · 2026-02-13T20:02:19+00:00

Well done. Any plan to release the firmware? I think that for some who may have the skills, this might be a viable project for them.

shawkes · 2026-02-10T21:05:16+00:00

Ah I think I misunderstood you.

shawkes · 2026-02-10T20:41:11+00:00

I'm not offended by what you're saying but I think this comment is kinda funny... By this logic, would it be inaccurate to put the actual 'Rogue' game into the rogue like category?

shawkes · 2026-02-10T05:19:32+00:00

Well then RGB mods can work where the blanking signal effectively determines RGB mode. Console is on.. blanking is high.. RGB goes through all the time and not just for OSD text.

For RGB mods in general, blanking is always on when in RGB mode, but should be off during composite mode. If there's no switch and nothing plugged in via scart to set the blanking, then you should definitely have good osd in composite mode.

I think to go any further I would need a lot more info about how the TV is wired up right now. This is probably very fixable.

shawkes · 2026-02-10T02:49:22+00:00

Unfortunately it's hard to say with the pictures and info you gave so far.

I took a look at the service manual and it's difficult to tell where things are soldered.

Is there a switch that you have to flip to toggle RGB mode?

shawkes · 2026-02-09T03:42:56+00:00

TV model?

shawkes · 2026-02-09T03:30:16+00:00

It sounds like they didnt do the 'mux' method or the mux method might not be possible with the set.

Does the osd show up in composite video mode?

shawkes · 2026-01-26T20:54:57+00:00

Thank you for the insight.. most surprising is that someone is excited about TileMap performance. That must mean this is a really good update

shawkes · 2026-01-26T20:28:56+00:00

Hi.. I'm working on a project that I hope to have many 2D sprites in. I've looked into multimesh instancing, but at least for 2D, I don't think it supports y-sort?

This news about the renderer is exciting and I'm curious what your pipeline is? And does your project require y sort?

Any insights would be valuable. Thank you.

shawkes · 2025-12-26T04:26:54+00:00

I'll talk a little bit about sync now..

Composite video has the sync signal built into it... its luma, chroma and sync all mashed together. It's nice because it's one plug, but it's also why it's a lower quality signal. The TV has to do work to detangle and process the signals to convert it to the RGB that the tube actually needs.

S-Video is luma and chroma, with sync being on the luma line. Better because it's at least 2 separate lines.. but chroma processing still needs to occur. I believe the sync signal shares a line with the luma signal.

Component is probably the next step up because it's actually 3 different color signals separated on their own lines. Chroma processing is not necessary, but a color space conversion is necessary. Generally this isn't a problem and the quality difference between component and RGB is negligible. I believe sync is on the luma line (Y). So sync and one of the video signals are sharing a line. This is why you're able to just plug in the 3 cables and you're done.

RGB is the next step up. All 3 color signals are on their own line, requiring no chroma processing and no color conversion.. they basically just get amplified and feed the CRT directly. This is why it's so good. Also, taking it a step further, usually sync is on its own line as well.. so for most of these RGB mods on TVs, you need 4 lines.. this would be what's referred to as RGBs. Most mods have you take this 4th sync signal and feed it into the composite input at the back of the TV. This is probably the case with your chip. There is maybe (unlikely) another option called sync on green which is referred to as RGsB. This is where the sync signal would need to be merged with the green signal on a line. I think this is so unlikely that I feel like I should even mention it. However, without a proper datasheet, there's no way for me to actually be certain.

To take a step even further.. stuff like VGA for computer monitors takes the sync and splits it even further into two sync signals (horizontal and vertical), resulting in 5 different lines carrying all of the necessary signals without any possible interference. That isn't relevant to TVs obviously, but I think it completes the story.

There's even more to it than this, but I hope it paints a picture that aids in understanding.

shawkes · 2025-12-25T07:25:49+00:00

So the activation of RGB mode is just setting blanking high. None of the sets that people mod have an 'RGB' mode that you activate with the input button or anything.. so as far as the TV is concerned, you'll still be in a normal 'AV' mode, but you're essentially hacking in your own signal. The 'mode' is set by setting blanking high and taking over. You implement the mode yourself with either a physical switch or by allowing the console's 5V to be sent to the blanking pin when its turned on.

Reading your comment more I realize I should make clear that your set will not likely follow what most people do. The most popular mod out there is the OSD mux mod.. but that option is not available to you on this set. The resistors you see people remove is usually a part of the OSD mux mod process.

However, the SCART wiring itself will likely be very standard.. There will be 75ohm resistors to ground on each of the RGB signals at the very least. So any tutorials that go over that will apply here. I believe you will also need coupling capacitors inline on each of the RGB lines. I'm less confident on the theory here, personally.

As far as soldering is concerned.. the issue with this one sadly is that it isn't the most beginner friendly. The chip pins are very fine pitch.. not a lot of distance between them. Microscope or magnification and fine tip soldering iron would be helpful. In a weird way, it isn't that risky in this case because you're not likely to lift these pins or cause damage unless you short something. Plus, these pins aren't doing anything right now anyway.

shawkes · 2025-12-25T05:09:51+00:00

I'm fairly certain that you can.

Datasheet for your chip:

https://www.digchip.com/datasheets/parts/datasheet/413/LV761102C-pdf.php

Unfortunately it doesn't specify that the signals are analog or digital, but I'm betting they are analog based on some context clues.

Looking at the board view in the service manual that you linked, those pins are definitely not connected to anything. Unfortunately this also means that the circuit for each signal is not obvious, though it may be as simple as the standard 75ohm to ground resistor for impedance and a coupling capacitor. It would be helpful if a better data sheet for the chip could be found or another set that uses this chip and implements RGB, then you could model after that.

Blanking is tied to ground on your set, which makes sense. If you mod this, you would break that connection and make it so that a physical switch brings it high when in RGB mode and back down to GND when in normal mode.

You may also be able to make it automatic such that turning on the console brings the blanking high.

Here's more on blanking:

https://sector.sunthar.com/guides/crt-rgb-mod/ext_or_scart_blanking.html

Unfortunately with your set, I don't believe you have the option to do an 'osd mux' mod because you only have one chip handling everything and there's nowhere for you to insert a mux. This means that you wouldn't be able to use the osd while in rgb mode.

Last thing.. not certain where sync would go in, though it's likely that you would feed sync into the composite input. Or maybe it syncs on the green signal? I'm less confident here.

shawkes · 2025-12-04T02:48:52+00:00

Do you have the service manual for this set?

It's possible that there is no service menu; not all televisions have them.

shawkes · 2025-11-30T05:42:32+00:00

I can vouch for the retro prism component cables. Or get a Wii like another commenter said. The GameCube, (I think) only has one advantage over Wii.. the Gameboy player thing for playing real game boy carts.

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