VGA-to-SCART_RGB

The ideal equipment for the project:

-1 male VGA sub-d lead, to-solder type

-1 male SCART lead, to solder type
-1 9-wire cable, the one I use is from a COM-port extension cable for example.
-1 75 ohms resistor (purple-green-black-gold)
-Needed tools for electronic working: soldering iron, solder wire, cutting pliers, multimeter.
Optional:
-a stereo cable, IE a cinch cable for HiFis.
-1 stereo jack/mini jack (according to your sound card output).

On the PC and software side:

-an ATI Radeon card (Tested by me on a 8500 and on a 9800, should work starting with the 7500).
-Catalyst 3.4 or newer
-Powerstrip.
Optional, but very useful:
-2 PCs networked, and communicating via TCP/IP.
-VNC server on the ATI-equipped PC (from now on will be referred as compA); VNC Viewer on the other PC
(which will be called compB). NEW: VNC4 doesn't need to reconnect when changing resolution. Using it is highly
recommended.

Just to clear a point: this project is made only for ATI RADEON cards. According to Powerstrip author, only
RADEONs and some old Matrox card can generate a "composite sync" signal. A possible way to use it on other
brands would be to merge H and V sync with a small circuit, diagram here. Again, you do this at your own risk.

1 - THE CABLE:

VGA SCART Function Extra info

1 15 Red TTL Level (block 5 volt)

2 11 Green TTL Level (block 5 volt)

3 7 Blue TTL Level (block 5 volt)

6 13 Red ground
7 9 Green ground
8 5 Blue ground
9 8 AV Commutation (+5V) 0-2 Volt=TV 5-8V=AV_16:9 9,5-12V=AV_4:3

9+R 75 Ohms 16 RGB Commutation 0-0,4Volt=composite 1-3V=RGB

10 17 Composite sync ground ??

18 'Blanking Gnd' / 'RGB Control Gnd' ??
13 20 Composite sync
Sound, optional
Jack tip 6 Audio left
Jack ring 2 Audio right
Jack base 4 Audio ground
Schematic:

rood
groen
blauw
rood gnd
groen gnd
blauw gnd
schakel AV
blank.RGB/ctrl

comp.Sync_gnd

comp. Sync.

Diagram:

Nothing really hard, only that VGA pins are quite small. Start soldering the middle row.

For the resistor in SCART's shell, solder the wire comming from VGA-9 on pin 8, and then solder the resistor
directly on SCART pins 8 and 16.

To carry sound, the best way is to use a separate cable (one from a hifi system), solder to appropriate pins on
SCART side, and to a jack plug on the other.
Ander schema (KJ), met nwe composiet sync uit h-sync & v-sync

The circuit schematic for a VGA -> SCART converter is below.

Component Type
R1 3.3K
R2 1.2K
R3 820 Ohm
R4 68 Ohm
Q1 BC548B

The following connections should be made. You may also want to connect your sound card to SCART pins 2
(right), 6 (left) and 4 (audio ground).

Name VGA Pin Converter Connection SCART Pin

Red 1 15
Green 2 11
Blue 3 7
Red Ground 6 13
Green Ground 7 9
Blue Ground 8 5
VSync 14 VSync
HSync 13 HSync
Sync Ground 10 Gnd
CSync CSync 20
Sync Ground Gnd 17
Here is my finished cable (it is a prototype model, I plan to redo it more cleanly). Be warned that wire colors do not
match diagram colors (excpeting Red, Green and Blue)

In details:
 2 - THE CONFIGURATION:

2 solutions:
-The safe, needs 2 computers linked with TCP/IP and a fixed IP for the comp that is going to be connected on TV.

The quick, doesn't need a second comp, but that lead to an unusable display if not done correctly.
THE SAFE WAY

For a maximum safety, you should do that way:

-Have 2 computers linked with TCP/IP network, with static IP addresses (at least for comp A)
-Have RealVNC server installed on comp A (with a password set, otherwise VNC will not accept commands) and
configured to launch at boot; have RealVNC viewer on comp B.

-Have Powerstrip installed on comp A, and configured to start at boot and restore settings on start.
To check if you can remote-control your comp, boot both computers. When both have finished booting, run VNC
Viewer on comp B. In the dialog box, enter the IP address of comp A (replace with your correct address):

Press Ok, now you have to enter the password you set on VNC Server.You should now see the desktop of comp A,
meaning everything is working.You can now remote-control computer A from computer B.
Installing Powerstrip should not be difficult.

Then do the following on comp A:

-right-clic on the powerstrip icon in tray, display profiles, configure

-Advanced timing options
-Custom resolutions
Here you have to enter the right parameter, thankfully for you I've done the homework:

640x480 60hz (NTSC)

PowerStrip timing parameters:

640x480=640,54,64,138,480,8,7,30,14113,41

Generic timing details for 640x480:

HFP=54 HSW=64 HBP=138 kHz=16 VFP=8 VSW=7 VBP=30 Hz=30

Linux modeline parameters:

"640x480" 14.113 640 694 758 896 480 488 495 525 interlace +hsync +vsync

720x480 60hz (NTSC)

PowerStrip timing parameters:

720x480=720,42,72,134,480,4,7,34,15246,41

Generic timing details for 720x480:

HFP=42 HSW=72 HBP=134 kHz=16 VFP=4 VSW=7 VBP=34 Hz=30

Linux modeline parameters:

"720x480" 15.246 720 762 834 968 480 484 491 525 interlace +hsync +vsync
720x576 50hz (PAL)

PowerStrip timing parameters:

720x576=720,42,72,134,576,3,28,18,15125,41

Generic timing details for 720x576:

HFP=42 HSW=72 HBP=134 kHz=16 VFP=3 VSW=28 VBP=18 Hz=25

Linux modeline parameters:

"720x576" 15.125 720 762 834 968 576 579 607 625 interlace +hsync +vsync

Select and copy only the resolution (in bold) that you want. For starting, I would recommend to try 720x576 PAL,
since some TVs don't like a 60hz signal (there are still some around); If you are sure that your TV can handle a 60hz
signal, you should choose 720x480 (I will come back later on the 640x480 since it is a standard resolution it needs
some more tweaks). In the Powerstrip window, clic on the clipboard icon in the down-right corner:

and clic on "Add new resolution", if the resolution did not exist before, Powerstrip will ask to restart; else it will ask
if you want to test the new resolution. In both cases, refuse and close all Powerstrip windows. Shutdown the
computer and unplug your monitor. If your sure that your cable is well done (no shorts,...), plug it on the main VGA
output (not on a DVI+VGA); do not plug a secondary monitor(VGA nor DVI). Also plug it on the TV side, on
SCART 1 if you have more than one SCART. Turn on comp A, the TV should set itself on SCART but the display
will be scrambled, this is normal. For now you can (and should) turn your TV off. Turn on comp B and lauch VNC
viewer to take control of comp A. The next is done with remote control.

Once on Windows desktop, right clic on Powerstrip tray icon, Display profiles, configure, and choose your new
resolution on the bar. Apply, turn on your TV and check the display:
1-It works, confirm :)
2-It almost works, the display is stable, but garbled with only the mouse cursor being clear. You have a primary
tiling problem, like this.
3-The screen scroll on a vertical fashion, your TV does not accept a 60hz signal, use a PAL resolution (50hz).
4-The screen scroll in a diagonal fashion, your TV is not on the SCART channel (there is not enough voltage on
pin8 for some TVs). Switch on SCART channel with your remote control.
5-The screen scroll in a diagonal fashion, AND your TV is on the SCART channel. Well something is not right in
the cable/soft combo

If you are in case 2, you need to disable primary tilling (you can do it either directly or with VNC), do this:
-right clic on powerstrip icon, display profiles, configure, Advanced timing options, Custom resolutions.

Here, double-clic on "new résolution":

A window will tell you the state of tilling and will ask you what to do. Make the choice to disable the tilling, and
accept to reboot. Retry a TV resolution, and if you had a clean mouse pointer, you should now have a clear desktop.
Disabling primary tiling can induce a performance hit in 3d applications, however I did not notice one.

THE QUICK

Once you're sure that your config is working (by using the safe method), you can bypass the remote controlling step.
Here is how:

Once all the needed resolutions have been entered, shutdown comp A and connect your PC monitor on the
secondary VGA output (most probably a DVI output. If you have a DVI monitor, plug it in; else use a DVI-VGA
adaptor to connect to your monitor). Turn on and once on windows desktop, plug the tv cable on the main VGA
output and to the TV.

If you use the CATALYST Control Center (4.8 and onward), click here.
If not, do the following:
-Right click on desktop, properties, parameters, advanced.
-displays tab.
The first display is the TV, the second is the PC monitor (do not pay attention to the "TV" display, it is for the TV-
out output). As you can see, the TV is not active. Turn it on (the red button in the upper left corner , turns

green ), and put it on primary display (this button ). Once like this,
push Ok. The monitor will briefly go blank and return, while the TV will start to display an unsynched picture. Then
on the display parameters, switch to your TV resolution (here I choose 720x480). Press "Apply" or "Ok".
Now the 2 screen should display the resolution correctly. You can turn off your PC monitor if you want (to watch a
movie, play a game...)

To switch back to a typical monitor resolution (ie 1024x768), you need to:
-right click on desktop, properties, parameters.
-Change to your needed resolution (1024x768 in my case), APPLY (and not OK) and confirm in the 2 windows.

The TV will go unsynched (you should now switch it off). Then:

-"advanced" button, display tab.
And here, turn off the first display (green button now turns red ).Click Ok and your TV will turn black
(if you did not turn it off).

Once you have the resolution you want, you can fine tune the position and size, again with Powerstrip:
-Right click, display profiles, configure, Advanced timings options.
The first thing to do is to check "Lock scan frequencies". You can now adjust with the arrows, but keep in mind
these few guidelines:

-Adjustment of horizontal size is quite large, but I would stay around a horizontal total of 968 dots. The 640x480
horizontal allows a little more, you may go as low as 848 just fine. Keep in mind that not all TVs can handle some
timings. If you think your TV is "whistling" too much, get back to original timings.
-Adjustement of vertical size is much less allowing, the total number of lines must be 625(+/-1)(525(+/-1) for NTSC
resolutions). This makes the stretching/squashing of the picture impossible and the overscan unavoidable. Try best
to center the display (don't forget that overscan is a normal thing in TVs)
-Adjust vertical and horizontal positions with care to avoid losing sync.
-If you do not touch anything during 5 seconds, Powerstrip will revert to the original timings. Usefull if you lose
sync.

Regarding 640x480: since this is a standard resolution, the TV timings will replace the stock ones, and make it
unusable with 99% of PC monitors. So, if you need to get back the monitor-compatible 640x480, do this:
-Right click on the powerstrip tray icon, display profiles, configure, and choose in the refresh rate drop box
"windows default". Powerstrip will ask you to confirm, chose yes. Close the Powerstrip window with the cancel
button (if you click Ok you will make an unneeded switch to 640x480).
To re-enable the TV timings, do the same as above, but choose "custom timing" instead.

3 - MY RESULTS:

RADEON 8500: I had to disable primary tiling, no other problems.

Emulators are an absolute delight to use, thanks to the right stretching options of some (MAME comes to mind).

640x480 games are also nice.

Videos in mpg, avi, ogm, etc are all nicely displayed. DVDs are a little more trouble, go see the dedicated appendix.

RADEON 9800: No need to turn off tiling on it.

Emus, games: same as 8500.

Videos: Here I ran into the problem of the overlay surface being distorted when display is interlaced (a bug that
should have been correted with catalyst 3.4). The workaround is to use a VMR9 Video surface. BSplayer, Media
player classic, Zoom player among others allow this trick.
WARNING: While using Media Player Classic, I came into a quite annoying bug: when going from fullscreen to
windowed, I had the "ATI VPU recover" kicking in, with CATALYST 4.10. I have found out that it is some
combination between MPC, CATALYST drivers (4.10 for sure others I don't know) in interlaced mode, and
Windows task bar. Setting the bar as "automatically hide" will trigger the VPU recover. I'm finding out that this
problem isn't easy to avoid, as I thought first. It triggers when:
-playing in windowed mode (after ~10 seconds of play)
-playing in full screen, with the windows taskbar set to "automatically hide", and dragging the mouse pointer at the
bottom of screen
-going from full screen to windowed while playing.

The solution is: disable task bar "automatically hide", quickly go into full screen mode after opening the video file,
and exit MPC while still in full screen (alt+F4).
Not very convenient because you have to remember it, but at least it's avoidable and the comp is still responding
after the crash.

SPECIAL DVD APPENDIX .

SPECIAL EMULATORS APPENDIX.

Some examples (pics taken with a low grade digital cam):

4 - THANKS:

-Author of page http://www.idiots.org.uk/vga_rgb_scart/index.html, unfortunatelly I forgot his name .

Extremely available and willing to answer my questions.
-Paulo Sérgio Coelho, author of page http://pwp.netcabo.pt/pscoelho/, who was also very helpfull and responsive
during my firsts experiments.

Without them and their extreme kindness to respond all my questions, this circuit and this page would not exist.
A big "thank you" for them!