/vr/ - Retro Games

>>2433126
Yeah, being near the tube can be dangerous.
Discharge it first and it is far safer (though still not 100%)
>>2432602
>Since retroRGB is a bit sketchy, what other places do you go for information such as this? I had a lot of trouble finding it. I'm guessing because this getting more and more expensive, hard-core, and technical. I might not have a bench, tools, and time, but I wouldn't mind knowing more about video signals, and how to extend the life of my hardware. it can save lots of time and money.

Video is pretty complicated.
I learned the most by playing around under linux with custom signal timings on a CRT monitor.
For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XFree86_Modeline
Also see this guide. http://en.tldp.org/HOWTO/XFree86-Video-Timings-HOWTO/introduction.html
There's a tool called CVT that will tell you the 'standard' frequencies for a given resolution and refresh rate, as well as a spreadsheet that tells you everything you'll ever need to know about CRT timings: http://www.fl-eng.com/_lib/doc/vesa.xls
Get a CRT monitor that has an OSD and such, as it is least likely to kill itself when fed an incorrect timing. Sony "Multiscan" monitors (mine's a CPD-100SF) are GREAT for testing with. I was able to figure out how to 'pad' an image (change the horizontal total without changing horizontal pixels) as well as getting 2560x1920 video out onto a 14 inch CRT by interlacing.

It was really fun, especially when I used my knowledge to hook my computer to a PVM. Note that some video cards are better for this, and I've found older intel chipsets to be versatile.

Know that a vertical sync is when you tell the tube to move the scanline beam from the far right of the tube back to the far left, and that vsync is a pulse when you tell the tube to move from the bottom of the screen back to the top. Pixel clock is how often pixels are sent per scanline.