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Sega Saturn: Advice on getting a decent picture on my HD TV?

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    Sega Saturn: Advice on getting a decent picture on my HD TV?

    Recently got my Saturn out the loft to play some shmups. My god, is this the ultimate shmup console?!

    Anyway, the picture on my small HDTV in the bedroom looks pretty good. I can't tell if the TV cable I'm using is a RGB scary or not though... Any way to found out if it is?

    On my living room large HD TV, the pixels don't look as sharp. The picture improves when setting aspect ratio to 4:3.

    I'm not too clued up on this side of things and I'm hoping I can get a better picture on the large TV without breaking the bank.

    I have a PAL model 2 Saturn. Using an Action Replay Plus 4M.

    Any advice would be helpful , cheers.
    Last edited by hudson; 07-11-2019, 22:00.

    #2
    You could try the LevelHike HDMI cable for the Saturn. It’s not expensive but obviously don’t go expecting OSSC quality.

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      #3
      Originally posted by CMcK View Post
      You could try the LevelHike HDMI cable for the Saturn. It’s not expensive but obviously don’t go expecting OSSC quality.

      http://www.thesaturnjunkyard.com/201...levelhike.html
      Does that work with PAL consoles? I seem to remember this coming up during the last time we discussed this topic.

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        #4
        An OSSC has pretty much become an essential device for quite a few of us, I'd recommend that despite it being over £100. Buy cheap, buy twice and all that.
        3DS FC (updated 2015): 0447-8108-3129

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          #5
          The Saturn has a really good picture through RGB as standard. It should look pretty crisp even without a scaler. I'm wondering if you might have some picture settings on your TV that are making it look soft - a lot of default settings can make lower resolution sources look blurry. I'd definitely take a look at that if you haven't - Turn off any picture processing and look at the sharpening settings (on some TVs you actually have to turn it down, which is a bit counterintuitive). I had to do a bit on mine.

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            #6
            Is there any clue on the TV cable itself to indicate whether it is an RGB or not? I can't remember if it was one when I bought it.

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              #7
              Try turning the TV on with no leads plugged in, then turn your Saturn on and insert the Scart for it - if I remember correctly, non-RGB ones aren't automatically detected whereas RGB ones the TV should pick it up and switch to that channel automatically. Might be wrong.

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                #8
                Yeah, it does automatic change to AV channel from say if it was on an HDMI output previously. I'll have a tinker with the bigger TV settings. I'm not bothered about having a bordered 4:3 image as long as it's pretty sharp.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Hirst View Post
                  Try turning the TV on with no leads plugged in, then turn your Saturn on and insert the Scart for it - if I remember correctly, non-RGB ones aren't automatically detected whereas RGB ones the TV should pick it up and switch to that channel automatically. Might be wrong.
                  It's to do with the voltage on pin (er I've forgotten) that forces the auto switch.
                  3DS FC (updated 2015): 0447-8108-3129

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                    #10
                    Turn off all the so-called 'image enhancement' settings(dynamic contrast, noise filter, MPEG reduction etc..) and if you have a 'sharpness' option, turn it up to max. That should increase sharpness/clarity. Also, when it comes to the image choose 'Full Pixel'. 4:3 is also important for retro games.

                    I've never seen an LCD screen that works really well with retro consoles direct into Scart though, so don't expect beautiful image clarity. A scaler like the OSSC does wonders.
                    Last edited by Leon Retro; 08-11-2019, 23:59.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by Leon Retro View Post
                      and if you have a 'sharpness' option, turn it up to max. That should increase sharpness/clarity
                      that’s going cause excessive ringing and a very, very wonky looking image....

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by dvdx2 View Post
                        that’s going cause excessive ringing and a very, very wonky looking image....
                        I've noticed on LCD televisions that the image is way too soft when 'sharpness' is low. You need to have it at least 50%. But on LCD monitors, I can go below 50% sharpness and it looks fine. My current monitor is at zero sharpness. Televisions seem to be calibrated differently to monitors. One television I have needs 100% sharpness, because you can see the image is strangely soft without it -- especially when using Scart.

                        Having monitors set to 100% sharpness definitely causes "ringing" and other issues.

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                          #13
                          If you want a sharp image and no (or at least, very little) lag you're going to need a Framemeister or an OSSC. Neither are cheap options, but if you're serious about the Saturn, they're worth the money. The cheap £30 SCART to HDMI upscaler boxes you can buy on Amazon and eBay are abysmal. They treat the input as 480i which causes some nasty artefacting, and the amount of lag they introduce is completely game breaking.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            OSSC +1

                            Really essential for a Retro gamer today.

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Zaki View Post
                              OSSC +1

                              Really essential for a Retro gamer today.

                              Agree.

                              I love my OSSC

                              Last edited by RetrogamerX; 10-11-2019, 14:56.

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