Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

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Hifeno
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Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

Post by Hifeno » Sun May 16, 2010 4:36 pm

I do not know if this belongs in this topic or the screens topic but.

I have a spare 22 inch computer lcd that I would like to use to hook some of my older consoles to to test them and play and such. It has VGA and DVI. Does anyone know how to build a converter to hook composite to vga or dvi. I don't really want to have to buy an expensive adapter.
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Re: Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

Post by bicostp » Sun May 16, 2010 5:27 pm

The cheapest converter I could find is $80 at Tiger Direct:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=1430" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You could always get a video capture card for your PC. This is probably the cheapest option (and you get video recording on your PC), but you have to have the computer running to use it.

Another option could be a box that converts composite to HDMI. Then you could use a DVI to HDMI adapter (usually just a couple bucks) to get the signal into your monitor. Here's one for $60:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6 ... _HDMI.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The cheapest option would be to get an old TV, but that's too easy. :lol:

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Re: Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

Post by Hifeno » Sun May 16, 2010 6:14 pm

This is an extra monitor that I wanted to find a use for so no pc to use with it. No one has figured out how to build one.
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Re: Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

Post by gannon » Sun May 16, 2010 7:45 pm

There are cheap ones on ebay usually that are for gamecubes / etc with rca jacks. Not very good quality but good enough for some things.

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Re: Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

Post by Hifeno » Mon May 17, 2010 1:21 pm

How cheap and what should I look up.
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Re: Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

Post by vskid » Mon May 17, 2010 2:01 pm

I think this is what gannon was describing. In the seller's feedback, one of the buyers said the picture quality was pretty bad. Your best option is probably to sell the LCD (or find another use for it) and buy something with composite in.
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Re: Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

Post by tom61 » Mon May 17, 2010 9:10 pm

Another thing to consider is grabbing DVD Recorder with HDMI out that has broken drive for cheap, and then run composite through that, plus you get a analog and digital tuner in most cases as a bonus.

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Re: Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

Post by Sparkfist » Thu May 20, 2010 10:03 pm

This may not be a fix for you but there are VGA boxes for the Dreamcast on Ebay. I know the Dreamcast can output RGB and to a point a VGA signal, but from the looks of the box it has the ability to take video input from RCA plugs... or you can mod it with RCA plugs. If anyone has owned one let us know if it can be modded for this purpose.

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Re: Compsite to VGA converter question??? Please help

Post by tom61 » Fri May 21, 2010 11:08 am

Sparkfist wrote:This may not be a fix for you but there are VGA boxes for the Dreamcast on Ebay. I know the Dreamcast can output RGB and to a point a VGA signal, but from the looks of the box it has the ability to take video input from RCA plugs... or you can mod it with RCA plugs. If anyone has owned one let us know if it can be modded for this purpose.

-Sparkfist
Dreamcast VGA boxes are mostly passive devices. The Dreamcast has a dedicated VGA mode, so the box doesn't do signal conversion, only pull the right lines low to switch to that mode. The RCA jacks for composite and audio out are mainly for convenience, in case you want to use it with a regular old TV without having to find other cables. Also, not all games can boot in VGA mode, so you sometimes have to do a trick where you boot into composite mode (there's a switch on the side of most of the VGA boxes), and then when the game is started, switch to VGA mode.

IIRC, the IC is an amplifier to get brighter video output. I have the box most commonly listed on eBay it seems (the clear one).

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