Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod « Virtual Boy Development Board « Forum

#11

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/5 2:34

PVB Elite

Joined 2014/6/4

USA

589 Posts

Quote:

furrtek wrote:
Hey,

Just registered to say this: there's no soldering of the ribbon cable required. There are two connectors: one for the provided ribbon cable that goes to the main board, and one for the original display's ribbon cable.

The only soldering required is for the video output and palette switch (7 wires max.)

I'll make that clearer on the page and the install manual soon.

Thanks for your interest in my work :)

Oh that's fantastic! This makes it much more accessible to me with my soldering skills. I'm glad you finally joined the forum. Myself and many others on Twitter were hoping you would so you could talk about your work.

#12

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/5 4:11

Nintendoid!

Joined 2017/1/9

USA

112 Posts

Quote:

furrtek wrote:

Thanks for your interest in my work :)

Great to see you finally here!! :D
Can't wait to get my hands on one of these bad boys!

#13

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/5 4:26

Nintendoid!

Joined 2014/5/16

USA

147 Posts

@furrtek, I second what @retronintendonerd wrote! Many of us have been aware of your work for quite some time since, as I'm sure you would not be surprised to learn, some of the systems you have modded in the past belong to members of this site and they have showcased them with pride! And I saw the recent video posted on Twitter by the person that put together the VB console (I'm the guy who commented that PlanetVB memebers would love this, btw). I'm quite interested in what your board opens up and still thinking about what route I may want to take on this personally... but you have come to the right place!

We have members that are skilled at soldering/repair/hardware mods, board design and fabrication, design and 3D printing of parts and enclosures, software development, game development, and more! Unfortunately, I am only skilled in providing financial support for some of these efforts

In addition to the dual use application of your board, I am imagining the various talents of this site coming together to develop a kit (or the parts/plans) to consolize a VB (with irreparable displays for example) in an beautiful, clean, tidy little package...

Quote:

retronintendonerd wrote:
Quote:

furrtek wrote:

...

Thanks for your interest in my work :)

...

Oh that's fantastic! This makes it much more accessible to me with my soldering skills. I'm glad you finally joined the forum. Myself and many others on Twitter were hoping you would so you could talk about your work.

#14

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/5 16:55

PVB Elite

Joined 2013/6/17

Canada

1212 Posts

Quote:

furrtek wrote:
Hey,

Just registered to say this: there's no soldering of the ribbon cable required. There are two connectors: one for the provided ribbon cable that goes to the main board, and one for the original display's ribbon cable.

The only soldering required is for the video output and palette switch (7 wires max.)

I'll make that clearer on the page and the install manual soon.

Thanks for your interest in my work :)

Thanks for clarifying!

#15

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/6 17:00

Virtual Freak

Joined 2017/12/29

65 Posts

Quote:

furrtek wrote:

The only soldering required is for the video output and palette switch (7 wires max.)

That definitely makes it easier, but I might go as far as replacing the solder points with headers and premade DE-15/SCART dongles and palette switches; then it can be sold as a complete no-solder kit with an enclosure. (Unless soldering is needed to replace the mirror assemblies with that

What is the reason for having two separate versions of the board rather than one version of the board that, for example, has a jumper or a mode switch for toggling between 800x600 and 240p modes?

Also, why not an additional jumper or mode switch for toggling between 60Hz and the native 50Hz? My understanding was that the VB displays run at 50Hz, so won't framerate conversion to 60Hz introduce studder?

#16

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/9 5:29

Newbie

Joined 2018/9/5

France

5 Posts

Didn't join sooner because I didn't have much to share apart from research on the LED display. Even if that could have been a reason, everything's already on my website. Not very suitable to start a discussion :p

Originally I planned to only sell the board to mod shops, as I really didn't want to deal with people not following instructions and breaking everything.
That's why I'm only proposing the bare bones kit right now. Maybe I'll add an option to buy it pre-wired with the appropriate connectors later on.

The reason for having two versions is simply cost reduction. The logic for both versions couldn't fit in the CPLD I currently use. To fit both, I'd have to use a larger, more expensive chip.
So in the end, the price would have been (slightly) higher and half of the logic would be wasted anyways.

About the 50/60Hz mismatch, I could change the NTSC version to provide a 50Hz output if interest is high enough. Otherwise the mismatch is dealt with the buffer mode jumper: you can either chose to have a single buffer (tearing, max 1-frame lag) or a double buffer (no tearing, 1-2 frame lag).

Sorry for the quick reply, if something needs to be detailed more, poke me !

#17

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/9 17:59

PVB Elite

Joined 2003/7/26

USA

1466 Posts

Are there any options for 3D output? e.g. could one buy two of these and output the R channel of one and the G & B channels of the other to one monitor and use anaglyph glasses, or would they not sync up? Could you make a version that could talk to each other and output a half side-by-side or over/under video signal, for use with 3D-capable displays?

EDIT: I just found the video you posted. It looks like a perfectly fine anaglyph output, like you'd get from an emulator. I have no idea why it's listed under "no, it won't work" in the FAQ, when it clearly does...

Edited by RunnerPack on 2018/9/9 18:13

#18

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/9 20:36

Newbie

Joined 2018/9/5

France

5 Posts

Quote:

when it clearly does...

So you tried it, right ? You tried anaglyph mode in fullscreen on a 24" monitor or projector, standing less than 3 meters away and the depth illusion worked ?

I'm sorry but I only see 2 flickering pictures. The max separation I get on Teleroboxer is about 6cm, which is way too large to work.
I'd question my sight but the 3 other people who tried it said the same thing (didn't condition their answer, just asked if it worked).

Really wondering (no sarcasm) if it works for you, and if it's the case, would like to understand !

#19

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/10 2:27

PVB Elite

Joined 2003/7/26

USA

1466 Posts

Quote:

furrtek wrote:
Quote:
when it clearly does...

So you tried it, right ? You tried anaglyph mode in fullscreen on a 24" monitor or projector, standing less than 3 meters away and the depth illusion worked ?

Yes, I have used Mednafen in both anaglyph and passive polarized mode, on a 23" monitor (ASUS VG23AH), sitting at my desk, with the monitor about 3' away, and the depth worked perfectly. It even works with your cam footage on the YT video (although not as well since you're at an angle to the screen). There should be no problem with the separation, since it just overlays the screens pixel-for-pixel, which is the way VB games were designed to be viewed (with the IPD set correctly).

I'm honestly curious about why it doesn't work for some people; especially VB fans. Maybe the real reason 3D displays never catch on is because those of us it "just works" for are in the minority of the population...

#20

Re: Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod

Posted on: 2018/9/12 2:00

VB Gamer

Joined 2015/12/8

18 Posts

Installed mine today. Works like a clock. Thanks furrtek <3
only one detail I wish you could add for next person. please tell where to grab the 5V from, it wasn't crystal clear. I took mine from pin4 of the U8.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUQRLf2clSA&feature=youtu.be

Edited by Elrinth on 2018/9/12 2:22

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"Furrtek Virtual boy video out mod"